My daughter will be an eighth grader this year and I cannot decide between these two for grammar. She is a little behind in grammar, mostly due to the fact of my other child dealing with illness for the past three years. I really need something that will cover any gaps she may have. If we went with Abeka, should we start with God’s Gift of Language B or C? How is the writing instruction that is included? Is it spiral or mastery? For Hake/Saxon, would we be ok starting with 8th or should we start with 6th? Pros/cons of either program?

Has anyone used this? Do you feel it included enough history and science, or did you have to add to it? I have looked at the sample, and love how everything is tied together but could not tell if it was strong enough in history and science to suit our needs. We are considering the first volume.

The USS Alabama in Mobile is fun! For food, we love Wolf Bay Lodge at Zekes Marina, and Live Bait (coming from an Orange Beach resident).

My children have used KONOS the past few years for History and Science. While we love it, my oldest wants a change of pace. She will be in fifth grade next year, and I have been planning on using Mystery of History (if we begin the four year cycle, she will be ready to start over again in 9th). However, I just saw the sample for The Good & the Beautiful history, and I love the way it looks! I like that it appears to have student sheets and the way it is written. The problem is I really wanted to do a 4 year cycle and include literature (although I can add books into another program). I am also worried we may miss something. My questions are: 1. If you did not follow a four year cycle for logic stage, did you notice any gaps? Do you feel your children retained the information? 2. Pros/cons of Mystery of History? 3. Has anyone used The Good & the Beautiful history?

Thank you!

Also, how does it compare to WRTR (as far as ease of use and teaching)?

My son (7) is currently using CLE Reading 1 and is doing ok but still struggling. He still does not know all of his phonograms and we are having to move very slowly through the program so he doesn't forget what we do learn. I am afraid he isn't really learning how to decode words at this point, although he can read with ease the ones listed in his program. My dd (9) is using ELTL and we love it, so I am thinking of trying RLTL with ds. My questions: Is it difficult to teach children how to mark their words? My understanding is that RLTL is similar to the Spalding method in that respect. How difficult is it to teach? Does it take one year to move through one book? Thanks in advance!

My son will be 6 years old next week, and is doing Kindergarten work. The problem is as our school year winds down, he still does not know all of his letters, and cannot read yet. We have worked on learning his alphabet ever since he could talk just about (puzzles, crafts, all in a fun way) but for some reason it has just never clicked. This year, I bought the LOE: Foundations program, and we are moving through it very slowly. In 12 weeks, he is just now on lesson 9. It takes him a very long while of constant repeating to be able to remember the letter sounds (he knows four now). He is doing great with everything else. Math comes easily to him, and he has done fine with the first half of FLL 1. His handwriting is lacking, but a lot of the problem is he doesn't know all of his letters. I am planing on mentioning this to his pediatrician at his annual check up, because I am concerned that there is possibly a reason he isn't grasping letters. His speech is wonderful, he has never had a problem talking. I have noticed he is immature for his age (compared to others) and he is also very energetic and constantly has to be moving. My questions are: 1. Has anyone else been through this with a child? Did something finally work for you? 2. I have to make a decision at the end of this school year to keep him in Kindergarten or move up to first. With him not reading yet, I strongly feel I should keep him in kindergarten (but move him up to first in math since he has done well with it). My mother feels that it could hurt him when he is older to not graduate until he is 19. Anyone hold a child back, and did your children have any trouble getting accepted into college or have any other issues arise from it? The reason in have to make the decision, in Alabama we have cover schools we have to report to. If I hold him back, they will not allow him to move up a grade once it clicks. Thanks for your help!

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett? My seven year old loved it.

I don't have a teen...but my 5 year old had to be prescribed Tamiflu on Sunday when I took him to Urgent Care with a temperature of 103.1... Sunday was Day 2 with the flu for him, and he was well by yesterday (Monday) morning after two doses of the Tamiflu! No side effects other than diarrhea, but much better than him being completely miserable. He is still feeling much better and his appetite is back!

We love Elemental Science! Has a scheduled plan, coloring pages, optional lapbook, follows TWTM. It does involve a lot of reading, but my children are enjoying it.

Big Brother!! I will also admit that I watch the Kardashians... And Kitchen Nightmares.

My DD is in second grade and we do 3 to 4 hours a day (some of that is hands on, lap booking, or crafts related to our lesson). Since I give her a break in the middle, it really doesn't seem like its that long to us. With our lunch break that lasts around an hour, a typical day for us goes from 9:00-1:30 or 2 ish.

My young cousin lost a classmate today, presumably from this virus. The child even went to school this morning, but was sent home a little later in the day. He was a severe asthmatic from what I understand, and only in first grade. We are in Alabama. The virus has only been suspected here for a couple of days, so it is rather sudden and lots of people here are getting infected fast. It really makes me worried, having my own little one with mild asthma.

I love my Chevrolet Traverse!! Decent gas mileage, third row seating, plenty of room.