Used AlphaPhonics for 2 of 3. Great program in conjunction with starfall.com and Explode the Code 5-8. They liked the ETC books, not the online, even though they loved the starfall.com online format.

Some of you ladies might be interested in this: FREE (One semester) American History/Bible course for High School Junior/Seniors http://bit.ly/1DQMaRU Part Two (second semester) is in the works. Writing as fast as obligations allow.

I like to weave character studies into history like this: http://wp.me/p48PJM-41. But if you want something with more structure, try characterconcepts.com. Boyer has several products, including Character Trails which would work for you. You can also buy from graceandtruthbooks here http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/product/character-trails-learning-to-walk-in-paths-of-righteousness On the more expensive side is the Keepers of the Faith Character series: http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/category/WriteUponMyHeartCharacterCurriculum. Haven't used this myself, but other products from them have been great.

I'm got some suggestions in my "Nihongo for Homeschool" blog post. Here's the link: http://wp.me/p48PJM-3u.

I like the "Continents of the World" Series from Carson Dellosa: http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/SearchCatalog.aspx?k=kramme From something more compact, this is my favorite: http://www.amazon.com/Challenging-Geography-Teacher-Created-Materials/dp/0743937996/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386978868&sr=1-1&keywords=teacher+created+world+geography

We liked "Mario Teaches Typing," which is free: http://www.myabandonware.com/game/mario-teaches-typing-1gl Info on how to install here: http://www.glennsguides.com/2010/08/mario-teaches-typing-game-free-download.html

Mr. Donn has lots of free materials: http://geography.mrdonn.org/rivers.html (not all his links work) http://geography.mrdonn.org/mountains.html Also free units at LessonPathways: http://www.lessonpathways.com/Pathways/Detail?path=%2f03_History%2fYear_4_History_Guided_Journey%2f30Mountains_of_the_World http://www.lessonpathways.com/Pathways/Featured/34702

For those that take a break from "school" or want something lighter for a season, I put together a comics/cartooning study plan here: http://tlbnschoobynewrules.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/lets-talk-about-comics/

Mark Kistler is worth every penny!! 8/9 is a good starting age, but older kiddos like him too.

I was really disappointed in the Apologia text as well. The McHenry books are great. I really like the Paul Fleischer "Secrets of the Universe" series for physics. Here are some of the other things that we used: http://www.amazon.com/Science-for-Kids-Physics-Unit/lm/R10D0Z3QBBGK0H/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full. And here are some ideas to the go with the McHenry texts: http://www.amazon.com/Science-for-Kids-Chemistry-Unit/lm/R2MHT8AFZYD631/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full.

I am with Down the Rabbit Hole. We use math journaling ALMOST exclusively. Here's a post on my blog about how we do it (and ideas on enrichment): http://tlbnschoobynewrules.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/math-for-non-conformists/

I have some ideas about non-traditional math on my blog. Here's the link: http://tlbnschoobynewrules.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/math-for-non-conformists/