You should be able to return it within 30 days.

I've used it for science this year for my 1st, 4th and 6th graders BUT I beef it up significantly for the older two. I add in library books, experiment kits and Evan-Moor Daily Science lessons that go along with whatever we are studying.

Some people start with a packaged curriculum their first year to get their feet wet and then feel more confident to branch out on their own. We did that for my son's first grade year. I learned what worked and what didn't and could make better decisions the following year.

Yes! I am planning to get those, too! The handwriting also looks promising.

I looked at all the downloadable levels and it's certainly appealing! It's laid out nicely and what I've seen is well done. I haven't seen levels 5 and 7 and that's what I'd need for my older boys. I looked at level 2 for my daughter and although I think she'd enjoy parts of it (especially the art!) the fact that all of the LA subjects are combined is a negative for me. She's reading at about a 4th-6th grade level so she doesn't need the phonics in level 2, but her spelling is right on grade level and her writing is about the same - so I don't want to bump her up to level 3. The other thing that makes me wonder is whether trying to cover too many subjects in one course is a good idea. Reading, writing, grammar, art, geography, spelling -- is everything being covered at sufficient depth?

We've tried several other programs (IEW SWI-A, IEW theme books, Hake, Writers in Residence, Writing with Skill, Writing Strands, just plain writing across the curriculum, a bunch of Evan-Moor and Scholastic stuff) and W&R is the one that he tolerates the best and the one that I most enjoy teaching. ;-) If you have suggestions other than the above, I'm all ears, though. Thank you - that's helpful!

My 6th grader is a fairly competent (although not enthusiastic) writer. He's done W&R Fable and Narrative II along with a smattering of other writing programs and writing across the curriculum. It's likely that he'll go to public high school in 9th grade so I want him to have as many tools in his writing toolbox as possible. If I have just two years left to teach him writing, can I skip some of the middle W&R levels to get to the higher books? Which ones would give me the most benefit in our limited amount of time? I'm comfortable doing 2 levels a year, but could possibly squeeze in three.

My current plans, always subject to change: Math: debating between BJU 2 and Right Start Science: older brothers are doing RSO Bio 2 so she'll be reading living books and doing related science kits at her own level. LA: currently thinking ELTL. Also WWE2 and AAS2. The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting. History: SOTW3 Art: Home Art Studio Bible: Bible Study Fellowship lessons and weekly class Geography: Some sort of geography workbook French: Mission Monde 1 Options Day for art, music, PE and science. Two seasons of soccer, one of gymnastics.

CLE is very portable. We like their math and language arts.

I looked at the Santillana web site but the cost is far too high for my two middle-school age students. I'm going to go with Avancemos from Houghton Mifflin. They have homeschool packages that are bit less expensive at Christianbook. A Spanish-speaking teacher would definitely be necessary, though.

I'd also vote neither. For a struggling writer, I'd go with something writing-specific like IEW or Writing and Rhetoric rather than relying on an all-in-one LA program.

I'm looking at BJU right now, and possibly Right Start for the youngest. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

We've used CLE math for several years and I attempted MM with all three of my children this year. It fell flat. While I know the teaching and content of MM is top-notch, the format wasn't a good fit for us. It was far too busy and the look and feel overwhelmed my kids. I'm thinking of moving away from CLE even though it was a good fit in the early elementary years. As the concepts get more difficult, my kids need more direct teaching and more practice on a concept before moving on than CLE provides.

I like some CAP products (namely Writing and Rhetoric) but did not like SFC. I have a college minor in Spanish and studied it for years. I bought the whole program and sold it because I just couldn't imagine teaching Spanish like that. It was too much, too fast and not in an sequence that was intuitive. It didn't make sense to me and I knew it wouldn't make sense to my kids. I also watched the videos and found them rather unprofessional. It's too bad because I loved a lot of things about it: multiple levels, the worktext aspect, video availability (my accent isn't the best) and it was targeted to kids the age of my own ...

Bumping this for additional feedback since I have the same question ...

Bumping this, as I have similar questions!

I am looking at Mission Monde and Mission ABC for my rising 2nd grader, although I don't have experience with either.

We tried it in kindergarten and it wasn't a good fit. Math is one of my top priorities so I'm willing to put both time and money into it. Not that I don't put time and money into other things, but you know what I mean ... :) Thanks for the feedback, all. I've scoured the BJU samples but won't have a chance to actually look at them until mid-July when a nearby consultant has a materials display. If I order Right Start, I'd pay for it with charter funds and orders need to be submitted around July 1, so I'm leaning towards just going with BJU.

I'm so sorry.

It's my son's birthday! He's a Star Wars baby. :)

I'm not sure what to do for math for my rising 2nd grade DD next year. She's done Singapore Early Bird and is just finishing up 1A & 1B. I don't like juggling all of the books and she definitely doesn't know her addition and subtraction math facts, so I switched over to CLE for that but she hates it. She thinks math is hard and that she's not good at it. It's the worst part of her day. (I've used CLE with my older kids fairly successfully and it's the most intuitive for me to teach, but it is not a fit for her.) I don't want to go with Singapore next year. Math Mammoth is also out. I'm looking at Right Start B or BJU 2nd grade because they both include more visuals. I'm looking at BJU because of the mastery approach that also includes some review, the colorful pages, the scripted TMs and the use of manipulatives. She needs a concrete approach and direct teaching. I think she could easily slide into BJU 2nd grade based on what I've seen of samples. I also am considering moving my older boys from CLE to BJU because they would benefit from more of a mastery approach and it would be ideal to have everyone using the same publisher. Right Start sounds amazing but my concern is that B is really a first grade program and it'll put her a year behind. I want something that will boost her confidence and get her excited about math again. I've heard that Right Start is like All About Reading in some ways -- and AAR was our huge curriculum hit this year; her reading took off and is doing incredibly well. I need something like that for math. :) Advice? Thanks!

Do you mean for language arts? Yes, it's all in one. It doesn't have enough writing IMO so we add that. The grammar is extremely thorough and we like it for that reason. It might be hard to jump in there if he hasn't done CLE LA - I suggest the placement test on their web site. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Princess in Black, Agnes and Clarabelle, Kingdom of Wrenly Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Thank you. I had a minor in Spanish and have also lived abroad so I feel comfortable teaching, at least the basics. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I really like the look of their programs but I can't figure out what exactly I need to buy. Their web site is not very intuitive. Can you let me know specifically you are using?