Using Math Link Cubes and Base 10 Blocks- my DS learned multiplication early because he wanted to know how- these helped quite a bit, since you can use them to physically demonstrate what you mean by 3 4s...

Has anyone tried the new Galore Park Science for Common Entrance: Chemistry book? My DS loves chemistry, and this looks both clear and colorful, as well as completely up to date, since it was just published in 2015. Any thoughts? How easy it it to implement? I see there's an answers book, is that what I can use to teach from? I don't want to put random parts of programs together, want it completely secular, and want an at least middle school level of chemistry instruction. I haven't used Galore Park before, but we've already gone through several elementary-level chemistry programs (he doesn't quite have all the maths yet for full-blown high school chemistry texts). Hence our desire for a middle school level chemistry program that's relatively easy to implement, straightforward science, and hopefully interesting. http://www.galorepark.co.uk/Product/9781471847103.aspx Anyone tried it yet? Or even seen it?

Totally different from a regular textbook- Don't Know Much About American History by Kenneth C. Davis (or also Don't Know Much About History or American Presidents- all are excellent). Presents real history (not fairy tales, unlike some history books) in a really engaging way with real stories about historical figures, including cultural figures and phenomenons from Harriet Tubman to Harry Houdini, jazz, WWII, the Spanish-American war, etc. Definitely not a traditional textbook, but much more entertaining.

I second the You Wouldn't Want to Be series of books- my son finds them extremely entertaining. Also, although they're a small step up in reading level, check out the "I Survived" series- they're very good for boys and include a variety of points in history. And unlike most history-related books for kids (I'm looking at you American Girl series and a million others), the main characters are all boys- a welcome change!

Under "Manage your content and Devices" you need to set up a family library under the "Settings" tab. Register an account for each child. Then, in managing your content you can add books individually to each child's profile. Also, to prevent children from accessing pretty much anything else, you set up their Kindle Fires with profiles. My son's profile is under Kindle Freetime- that locks him out from being able to things like watch endless Minecraft Youtube videos... and still gives him access to all his books, games, apps, movies, etc. For the kids, you're not delivering the books to the kindle, per se. When you buy a book, you have to go into "Manage your content and devices" under "Content" click the "..." next to the book, and click "Manage family library" at the bottom of the list. That gives you the option to add to your child's library, specifically. Hope this helps as a start!

MiF Course 1-3. Skipped SM 6

It all depends on your charter. Some only allow their "approved" set of curriculum, have grade limits, etc. We use Dehesa and they're very flexible. DS is technically in 4th grade, and using curriculum multiple grades above- and my EF is excellent and gets us our chosen curriculum. He also takes the enrichment classes up a notch (with the 5/6 grade- but not further due to the emotional maturity difference). You really need to look at how your chosen CA charter works, since they are all quite different, with different rules. As for the LA question, you'll need to do some kind of LA- and handwriting can work for vocabulary lessons too as part of LA. My EF just lists the standards that are what he's actually doing (so in our case, not the 4th grade standards at all!). But having the charter buy our curriculum or loan it to us from the resource center has been a real money saver.

My DS loves MCT. He actually enjoys breaking sentences down (???!!)- I think it's the technical part that appeals to him. And he's going through Caesar's English, which not only teaches the Latin stems but also complex vocabulary words and how to incorporate them. This is his 2nd year in MCT- we're using the whole package, Building Poems and everything. He has written some darn funny poetry, too- again, I think he likes the challenge inherent with a lot of the MCT approach.

My DS is 9 and enjoyed the Mr Q elementary science series. As an AL, he blew through it much more quickly than scripted, but it was presented in an engaging way and he enjoyed it. He's also done the Pandia Press RSO Chemistry as well (again, finished it in about 2 months, not a whole year). This year he's going through the JASON learning modules (currently on Monster Storms), which are targeted towards middle schoolers, and enjoying that as well. All of those are good choices for a science-oriented kid without overwhelming them with the math- they all stick to the science concepts without getting too in-depth with the math for kids who aren't in high school calculus yet (my DS is in middle school math, so trying not to overwhelm the science with math as well). It's not that easy to find secular science choices that work for AL kids who are ready for the science but not quite ready for the math-heavy high-school level science, that also isn't just too frustrating to do at home (because most are designed for classroom use). What have you already tried?

My DS wanted school- and was reading and writing by 4. Do what they want- if they're interested, they'll keep going. Find a topic they enjoy, and use it- read it, map it, draw it, use it for counting and basic math- everything. We read, drew, mapped, and counted more dinosaurs than I can even say. But he kept it up and is now way ahead. And I still get the occasional "but he's already so far ahead..." comments (even from family) now in late elementary school. What am I supposed to do, tell him to stare at the wall? Sorry- the kid still considers most learning fun (OK, he doesn't enjoy when I make him write neatly...) and just wants to keep going. And is proud of being several years ahead in math for example- he wants to keep learning more and asks for harder problems. So just do what they want- teach them and enjoy it. Just be prepared to do 8th-9th grade schoolwork in 4th grade someday!

Second the notion that MIF is not less rigorous than Singapore. Also, each of the assignments in MIF's lessons include a small set of more challenging problems- essentially the problem list goes from easier ones to ones that require more complex thought for each lesson. One advantage to the TM (and if you wanted, you could always look it up online and write it down) is the breakdown of some of the lessons into chunks. Some people freak out at how long some of the MIF lessons can be- that's because they're NOT intended to be done all at once. They're supposed to be split over 2 or even 3 days. Sometimes we do the whole lesson at once (if DS totally gets it), sometimes we split it up they way they suggest (if it's more complex and honestly just takes a long time to do).

Completely agree with Math in Focus. We switched from Singapore to MIF for a variety of reasons, and it definitely has a lot more walk-through in the TM. You can check out all the level's TM's on the http://www.hmhco.com/shop/education-curriculum/math/homeschool/math-in-focus-homeschool they have a sample registration you can sign up for which lets you view the entire book. The beginning of each chapter has a section of background about the math involved, and each section has greater detail for the teacher than the Singapore HIG's.

I would agree that the math is middle-school targeted, as is the science. If your child can do middle school math, they're good to go. And the math requirement (at least for Monster Storms) isn't very heavy. This science curriculum is targeted to the middle grades- somewhere between 5th and 8th, depending on the module and the student you could go down or up.

Just having my ds do it this year- so we're not even midway through Monster Storms, but so far so good. While it's designed for classroom use, it's very doable for homeschool. I bought the family membership through Homeschool Buyers Co-op (much cheaper), and a used book from Amazon for 5$. While the student book is all online, my ds likes to also have the real book. Teacher's manual is all online through the membership, as are lesson plans for every lesson. If you want to check it out, Jason offers a 7-day free trial you can sign up for to look at the whole thing. It's done in an engaging way, with cool videos and interesting labs that involve real lab worksheets and walking through the actual science involved. And all the sponsors are big-name science agencies/organizations... and you can tell in the material. To answer the original question, the website has all the same stuff as the printed material, plus the videos and online labs. But it may still help your child to have the regular book in hand- check Amazon for cheap used ones- worked for us.

This doesn't answer the Science Fusion question, but we've started using the Jason Learning curriculum (developed by NASA, NOAA, National Geographic, etc). It's online and has books- lots of cool online videos, labs, etc. I ordered the student book (used) from Amazon for 5$- we're doing the Monster Storms mission. So far, all the supplies are simple. It's got real labs and lab worksheets, and although it's designed for a classroom, it's easy to use with just 1 kid. The teacher manual can be completely downloaded online under teacher resources, AND it has Lesson Plans for every single lesson within the missions. So far, my son thinks it's pretty cool. It's still designed for a classroom and needs you to teach/guide the learning, but so far so good. And most importantly, it's real science with real labs and some quality learning. We bought the online access through Homeschool Buyers Co-op for 75$- good for the year. You can look at the Jason website http://www.jason.org and register for a free 7-day trial access to check it out. There's a bunch of video tutorials for how to assign stuff, work with the missions, etc- I wish they just had an instruction page, but I figured it all out in about 1/2 an hour. Designed for middle school(ish) ages.