I'm in the exact same situation and am pretty sure I'm going with RSO Bio 2. I like the worktext setup and my kids love experiments. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

My kids are 4, 7, 10 and 12 and I still read aloud to them. My daughter and I are reading Betsy, Tacy & Tib right now. I'm also reading In Grandma's Attic to the three older kids.

Thank you -- this is what I was wondering. I think I'll keep my younger ones with CLE for now since the spiral aids their retention. I'm considering Daily Grams for my rising 7th grader, though, as we plan to focus more heavily on writing next year and yet I don't want him to entirely forget the grammar he's learned.

How much review is in Easy Grammar if you don't use Daily Grams? We also use CLE LA only for grammar and appreciate its frequent review. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I really like Spelling Wisdom, although I think it's best suited for natural spellers.

I use mine 5-6x/week. I hard boil eggs most days for the kids' breakfast, make yogurt and make dinner.

The formats of SSL and SSS are very similar. I wouldn't use them at the same time.

They're also very responsive with their online chat feature.

The layout didn't work for us either, and my kids needed more review than MM provided.

All of the currently available mysteries are listed. There is a lock symbol by the ones that you don't have access to during the free trial. These are the new ones that have been released during this school year. We LOVE Mystery Science and have done quite a bit of it this year. Typically, we do the video one day and the exploration/experiment on a second day. I add in library books on the topic throughout the week for my 4th and 6th grader. Next year, I plan to continue doing Mystery Science because my kids enjoy it so much but the older kids will also be doing a Life Science curriculum with my younger child following along. We don't have enough mysteries left in Mystery Science for my rising 5th and 7th grader to consider it their full science program but there's definitely plenty left for my rising 2nd grader.

I tried it this year and found it excessively wordy. We switched back to Writing and Rhetoric. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My kids are too young but it sounds very interesting!

Mastery does not work for us. Stick with what works even if it's not shiny and new. Don't succumb to the latest curriculum fads. No PDFs. They don't get used. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is very timely for me since I'm currently in the midst of deciding on a life science text for my rising 7th grader next year. We are Christian and identify strongly as such, but do not necessarily take sides on the young earth/old earth debate. We believe in an Intelligent Designer but also believe that the creation account in Genesis might not have occurred literally as it is described; it may be symbolic in nature. The bottom line is we believe God created the world but we don't know precisely how He chose to do it. Quality is important and I am open to texts with evolutionary content. However, I will definitely avoid books that are hostile to matters of faith.

Thanks for the feedback. We've been using it for years and my kids are doing well with it. We do use some Beast as a supplement, but it's good to see that many of you don't find it necessary to supplement at all. :)

I've heard that CLE Math is too procedural and that it should be supplemented with more of a conceptual approach. If you supplement it, what do you use?

Mystery Science was our surprise hit of the year. We scrapped our other science plans when we started our free trial. Will definitely pay for it next year.

My daughter is extremely social so I put her into a co-op a few blocks from our home last year. It wasn't technically drop-off, but they didn't have room for my other kids so they allowed me to drop her off. She liked it well enough but mainly because of friends who also participated. DD's friends are now in school so this year my two middle kids are participating in an all-day enrichment program as part of our public charter. It's not technically a co-op, although parents are asked to be involved to some degree. It's been a great fit for them. It's meeting their social needs, they're doing things we wouldn't get to at home and it gives me a chance to focus on other family needs because I don't have to stay. They have done art, music, cooking, PE and science there.

We :wub: Mystery Science. 3rd grade is the perfect age for it, but all of my kids LOVE it and love science as a result! We got the yearlong free trial but I'm planning to purchase it next year -- it's not too expensive and is definitely worth the cost. I do add to it for my older two -- but you wouldn't have to for 3rd grade.

If it's a job he's excited about and is a steady income, I would very seriously consider it even without a relo package.

So glad for your update and your upcoming appointment. :)

I am using Writing and Rhetoric at 2 different levels for 2 different kids right now but also had great success with WWE at the younger ages.

There is some writing in CLE LA but in my judgment, not nearly enough. There are many who disagree with me but I'm picky when it comes to writing. I've taught at the college level and haven't been impressed with my students' writing skills as a whole. I want my children to avoid the same fate so I supplement. Yes, W&R Fable would be great for a 9 yo. :) We also used WWE with great success prior to W&R.

I started with the Reading Lesson but my daughter burned out on it after we'd gone through about half of the text. We used a few things afterwards (CLE LTR and AAR 2) and are now back to OPGTR because I don't have the budget to buy another level of AAR this year. I really like how OPGTR is laid out. It's so no-nonsense and straightforward. My daughter's reading has taken off to the point where she can almost test out of AAR3, so I may just finish up OPGTR and go to AAR 4 next year.

We use their math. Tried to switch this year because I was getting some outside pressure about needing a more conceptual approach and both other options I tried fell flat. We're back to CLE now and I'm happy about it. The kids are learning and retaining. We also use their language arts. Also tried to switch to a less grammar-intensive approach but that also fell flat. The kids wanted their CLE LA back. So we're back doing LA, too. It is so straightforward and the kids like the format. It gets harder in the older grades but is still good. I tried CLE Learning to Read with my kindergartner last year and we finished half of it before switching to something else. I didn't like how it tied writing and reading together. My daughter was more than ready to read but her fine motor skills weren't developed enough to handle all of the writing. We switched to AAR and her reading took off. She's completed AAR 2 and is now doing CLE LA 2 in 1st grade. We also tried reading for grades 4-5 but it was too much workbook work for my boys. The content is fantastic -- but it just didn't go over well with those particular kids. I dropped it in favor of just reading and discussing at this point. I am considering 2nd grade reading for my daughter, thinking she might like it better. I've not heard good things about most of the history or science except for the 8th grade US history. We just did US history this year but I'm hoping to use it in a few years with one of my younger kids.