Thanks for the info, ChrissySC!

ChrissySC, What do you use for a writing program?

I appreciate your help! We are starting R&S 5 now, and it is good to know that it will be hard - at least we are prepared :glare:! Thanks!

OK, I guess that that settles it, thanks so much!

Hi, I just got my Artistic Pursuits curriculum in the mail, and I was under the impression that it would have separate pictures to paste into the book. However, as there are no pics that came with it, I am wondering if I am wrong (maybe that was for some other program I researched), or if they are missing. Thanks for your help!

If you use Rod & Staff for grammar in 5th grade (Following the Plan), do you need to use an outlining book as well? It seems that the TWTM recommends the Note taking and Outlining book in addition to other programs than Rod & Staff, but I want to make sure. I have never used Rod & Staff, so I don't really know what to expect. The Outlining book recommended in TWTM is out of print, so I would need to find something else anyway. Also, if you use Rod & Staff for 5th grade, do you use a separate writing program like Writing Strands, or do you feel Rod & Staff writing instruction is sufficient? Thanks!

That's what I figured... :001_huh:.

Wow, Dawn, that is so nice that you shared your studies. I am sure it represents hours of work! How generous. You would not by any chance have any recommendations for 20th century artists and composers, do you? Thanks!

I am so very sorry for your loss. Much much strength for you and your family. I pray that you may know the Lord's comfort.

I am sorry, but I don't know what PR is! I KNOW what AAS is though, and we love it. I made the switch from SWR to AAS and it has been a good one. The biggest hurdle we faced with SWR (after we learned all the phonograms!) was that there was no logic in how the words were introduced (other than that they were somewhere on the list of most-frequently used words). AAS is so much better in many ways. The phonograms (and everything else) are introduced at a very gentle pace and it is really very well organized and user-friendly. The whole thing is very logical. All you need to do is open the book and continue where you stopped last time. I just bought two more books in the series as we know we will stick with it. I have two friends who also are extremely happy with it. So here are my 2 cents. Not to make your decision more difficult...

You can check it out here: http://www.archive.org/stream/storythirteenco01guergoog#page/n22/mode/1up as you can read the book online, or even download it. I remember printing out the pages that I would need at the beginning of the year. I really like this series, it is well-written.

What a horrible story. I pray that Ben will be OK and that the Lord will give all of you much strength during this time.

We have been using WWE and FLL both and have really liked it. So far we have done WWE 1,2 and 3 and FLL 1/2 and 3. I really did not feel that there was that much overlapping. The only thing that I remember to be similar is that there were some copywork (or dictation) assignments in FLL that maybe could have been skipped. We did not do the optional exercises in FLL. I think FLL is a really excellent program. It is well organized and very easy to use. The only drawback is that the program won't go any further than FLL4. At least that's what the company wrote a few months ago. I encouraged them to write on though! And even so, we will definitely use FLL4 next year!

We have been using WWE 1,2 and 3. I think they work well for reluctant writers. It starts very gently. If your son likes narration, then this might be a good fit for him. Susan Wise Bauer uses excellent excerpts from quality books, and the child narrates back to you. At first he/she does this with the help of answering questions. In book three the child moves to writing part of his narration down. We have had some struggle with the dictation sentences (dictation starts later in the series, the first book begins with copywork) as some are long and some have seemingly above-grade words. I have at times just made the dictation into copywork or left it out (we were covering two bookdays per schoolday anyway to catch up in the series). One great advantage of the series is the fact that it really sparks interest in the books that are being used. He ended up reading a lot of the books. I have not used any of the other programs that you mention, although I also have heard that Writing Strands is more for kids that are strong writers.

Thanks, I will look into those.

Thanks for all the good input. I will continue to dictate the sentences, but if it is a real long one I will continue to cut the dictation up a bit. And trust that it won't hurt in the long run. I am just happy to read that I am not the only one who feels the dictations are quite long at times (not always, today's dictation was fine). One of my goals is that my son will learn to love to write. Although I am all for high standards, I also don't want to discourage him. Does anybody know how the levels correspond with grade levels? One of the reasons I am curious is that we started late with WWE and are trying to 'catch up' by doing more than one WWE day per actual school day (and that has worked fine for us). I have always assumed that the levels correspond at least generally with grade levels, but I am really not sure about it!

My ds9 has been mesmerized by science since he was three years old. We are working our way through the elementary Apologia series. We own several science encyclopedias (like the fat Usborne one, and also books like "The New Way Things Work") and he has read many books about science from the library. He also loves 'Popular Science' and 'Popular Mechanics'. Anyway, he would like to add another science curriculum. I am thinking about something with physics. His reading level is very high and so is his understanding of science concepts, but his math and writing skills are probably more like average. Any suggestions? I am thinking in the first place about a curriculum, but I also would be interested in book suggestions. Thanks!

I have just read a post about how some kids (and Moms!) have struggled with some of the long dictation sentences in WWE. We are doing WWE3 right now, and I have been surprised about the length of some of the dictations. I have to admit that I am not overly motivated to have my son remember them, because I don't understand the reason for it. I would love for someone to chime in and tell me what the reason behind it is. I know I have never had to remember such long dictations, and as far as I can tell I am doing fine :001_smile:. We have used WWE1 and WWE@ and have absolutely loved those books. Also, do the levels correspond with grade levels? Some of the words in WWE3 dictations seem a bit much for third grade. Thanks!

I would try to download as many audiobooks from the internet as possible. There are many excellent books that are free downloads. Look at www.myaudiobooks.com (partly free) or www.librivox.org. You could still listen with the kids, so there is still that sense of 'togetherness'.

I remember I had a lot of questions about WWE at the end of last (calendar)year and this board was a great help. We have gone through WWE1 and have now started WWE2. The kids love it! I love it too. It is so userfriendly, I just open it and we can start - no preparation necessary. We only use the workbooks, and the story selections are excellent. The kids call them 'teasers' as they often end up wanting to read the whole book. And I have nothing against that as the stories are so well-chosen! I really appreciate that the material systematically teaches the kids to narrate and summarize correctly. I noticed that Level 2 truly takes the writing to a bit of a different level, it is nice to see that the material is progressing in difficulty. We also use FLL, and started with Level 3 this year, after finishing 1&2 last year. Again, this is really userfriendly and well put together. Thanks to Susan Wise Bauer for a great curriculum and a great board!

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions, I really appreciate all the input. It was good to be reminded of "Leading Little Ones to God", we did that a while ago. Actually, some of the suggestions I am planning to investigate for ourselves also. Thanks again!

A friend of mine was asking about a good Bible / character training program for her 6 yo grandson. This little boy is very intelligent (I am fairly sure he is gifted). I have not used stand-alone Bible programs, so I did not have that many suggestions myself. What has worked for you? What has helped your child to grow in understanding of the Bible and his/her relationship with the Lord? Thanks! P.S. It could be a program that is part of a larger curriculum also, but that can be purchased separately.

I don't have a membership (at least not yet), but I understand that there is 75% of remaining content of the site that will be unlocked if you purchase the membership.

There is a new audio site that is worth checking out. It is called www.myaudioschool.com and it is beautifully set up. It arranges audio material in time periods through history plus it has some other miscellaneous categories also. It is set up in a way that kids can navigate the material by themselves. It is especially helpful for kids that struggle with dyslexia. Part of the site is free to use for anyone, so you may want to take a peek.

I made my own planner in Excel, two pages for each week. I print it out and put it in a binder, latest week on top. Some tasks that stay the same are printed on it. Assignments that change I pencil in. If I need to change anything I can erase it. I really like this system as I have been able to perfect it to meet our needs over the years.