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.

Writing: WWE (we are in book 1 right now, but my DD is enjoying it and I feel she is improving) Handwriting: Rhythm of Handwriting (from LOE) Phonics: LOE Foundations Math: Horizons Grammar: FLL Spelling: AAS Bible: still trying to find one we like. As of right now, we are just reading from the bible every night. I plan on trying God's Great Covenant next year. History: story of the World Science: Elemental Science! We are loving it so far.

Obviously, I do not know what happened or who is at fault. There is not enough information out for me to make a judgement. I do want to give my opinion, although I am sure it will go against what others believe. For the jaywalking, it is against the law. Years ago, I was in Gatlinburg with my family (I was a teenager at the time), and my mom and I crossed the street. It was not a crossing zone, and a police officer did see us, and immediately came over to reprimand us. We were very cooperative and since we were not standing in the middle blocking traffic and our purpose was just to cross, he gave my mother a warning. Regardless of the fact that we weren't from the area, we still did something illegal and got stopped. So for the jaywalking, the police have an obligation to stop a person for that. Of course, no one should get shot for jaywalking, but it does explain why he was stopped. After he was stopped, we do not know how Mr. Brown acted, or if he was or wasn't a threat. It is not fair for me to pass judgement on that, considering that I have not heard enough evidence either way. But if the video of the store robbery are accurate, I could see how someone would easily feel threatened by a person as tall and large as this man. He did put his hands on the store clerk, so who is to say he wouldn't a police officer? But again, not taking sides, just simply saying I could see how someone could feel threatened. And we do not know if the officer knew he wasn't armed. Fact is him being a bigger gentleman, he wouldn't have to be armed to cause injury to the officer. It is very sad that a young man lost his life. I hope that they will get all the information they need, and if the police officer is at fault and the young man was not acting violently and was being cooperative, I do hope the police officer is charged for this. But as of right now, no one knows. It is all just a bunch of opinions.

I have only used a couple of your choices. FLL and WWE are both great; my DD has no problem doing those and they do not take much time. AAS does take some time since it is all teacher led, but we are enjoying that as well and my DD's spelling has improved so much. We also just started SorW-Ancients. The activity guide is great, and you can find hands on projects to go with it in both the activity guide and online. As for Answers in Genesis for Science, we tried it last year and my DD did not like it at all. It was very dry, some over her head, and she did not get much out of it. This year we are doing Elemental Science (with the coloring pages and lapbooks to go with it) and are loving it! She is remembering more, and having fun with it. As for adding anything else, it looks to me like you have everything covered! Oh, my DD is in 2nd grade this year.

I am completely torn between these two. My DS (5) is having trouble learning letters. He still does not recognize most of them. I really would like to get him to where he is interested in reading, but not sure which of these would be best for a child starting from the very beginning. He is very active, and has a ton of energy. He also loves arts and crafts, coloring, cutting, etc. there are many positives about both AAR and LoE that I like. We are using AAS for my older DD right now, and love it as well. I like how AAR's activity book looks with the cutting and pasting, and they way it is laid out. With LoE, I like that it includes handwriting and seems to have games. So here are my questions: Which one do you prefer and why? How long does a lesson normally take? Are you happy with the progress your child is making? What are the cons to the program you are using? TIA!

Yes, Mavy, that would be great! Thank you!

Thank you both!

I am currently looking for a new cover school. I would prefer one that is around the Birmingham metro area (I live about twenty minutes outside of Birmingham, so anything within a thirty minute drive of downtown). I have two young children (going into second and kindergarten) so it would be nice off they offered activities and field trips or other fun things for them since our current cover school does not. Any suggestions? TIA!

We will be using: Math: Horizons 2. My DD loves it, and I like that it has a spiral approach with not too many problems per day. history: Story of the World: Ancients. Science: Elemental Science:Biology. I have already looked through the Teacher's Guide and student workbook. I love the classical approach it takes! Bible: memorizing verses, watching What's in the Bible, reading from the bible and bible coloring pages. Keeping it simple this year, but plan to do God's Great Covenant next year Language Arts: First Language Lessons 2 because the first went so well. For spelling, we will be moving into All About a Spelling 2. We tried Spelling Workout, but it did not work for her. Writing: writing with Ease 2. My DD enjoys it. Handwriting: A Reason for Handwriting T. We do lots of copy work and narrations through all subjects.

I have not been to Mobile, but we are vacationing in Orange Beach Alabama right now and will be going to Mobile on Thursday to see the USS Alabama before going home. My father took my younger brother and sister (they are teenagers, one is 13 the other is 17) there a couple weeks ago and they all had positive things to say about their experience. In the park they have the USS Alabama, air crafts, military equipment, and picnic areas along with other stuff as well. http://www.ussalabama.com

Almost done! So far I have: Daughter (second grade): Math: Horizons 2 Reading: Memoria Press lit guides Grammar: FLL2 Writing: WWE2 Spelling: AAS2 Son (Kindergarten): Reading: OPGTR Math: Horizons K FIAR Together: elemental science: biology SOTW: ancients Song School Latin 1 Bible Study (not sure which curriculum) Co-op art & drama Extras: Dd(6): Ballet, jazz & gymnastics DS (5): Karate, swim lessons, & baseball