oh, I've changed my mind so many times that I'm afraid to post anything! I need to start finalizing some things!! Math: finish Saxon 3, start 5/4 Grammar: R&S English 3 Writing: WWE 3 Spelling: Apples and Pears History: MOH 2 and lots of history-related reading--using Guesthollow as partial guide Science: Apologia Chem & Physics (this was a last minute, saw it at curric fair, and went with it type of decision!) Handwriting: Cheerful Cursive Health: Different topics/books from library Art: possibly something at community center Music: composer study (I think it's from Confessions of a Homeschooler)--he also wants to take guitar lessons, but we'll see! PE: lots of sports and YMCA class Latin: Latina Christiana

Well, this isn't how I really got my name, but my parents used to tease me and say I was named after Michelin tires. My name is Michelle Lynn. :( LOL!! My dad is Michael and my mom's middle name is Lynn, so that is more likely!

Love this idea...I don't know why it never occurred to me that this could be done! LOL! Thanks.

Yes, this is basically what I plan to do.

The first 5-6 chapters of Primer A will be review. I spoke to a rep at a local curriculum fair last weekend and this is the information I was given.

I'll chime in, but won't likely be much help! I have been around and around on this. Something about HOD makes me want to try it and love it. Sonlight has always been in the back of my mind, but my kids don't fit in nicely to their set up. I actually purchased Bigger and DITHOR used for my rising 3rd grader. I looked it over and it just didn't seem like enough after what he's done this year. But, every single person on their boards told me that Preparing would be too much. So, after I decided that Bigger was just too easy, I resold it. I waited on DITHOR, but eventually resold it as well. (so far, no money lost!!) What I'm leaning towards is using some of HOD's books while I make my own schedule. I look at both Sonlight and HOD and then make a read aloud and independent reading list for each of my kids. No, it's not scheduled out for me and will require more work on my part, but I think I'll be happier in the long run. We will keep our history and science together, but each kid works on their own level. I'm also trying to incorporate some of the skills and project ideas that HOD works on to build my kids into working independently. I kind of feel like this is the best thing for our family. It sounds like you'd like it all laid out for you, though, so I don't think this would work for you. I guess you really need to think about what you need. If you didn't use most of HOD last year, it doesn't seem wise to continue on that path. I think both programs look really good, so I think that the only way you could go wrong is to purchase one and just not do it.

The one I am most familiar with is Skrafty (whenyouriseup(dot)com). My son is taking the self-paced class for SOTW Ancients. For the first few weeks, it was fabulous and he loved it. We were doing the reading and videos as a family anyway, so for him, the add-on was the building assignments and quizzes. I actually think it is set up very nice, but for my kid, he just wants to play Minecraft. He is not interested in building things as much as he enjoys pvp play or games. He LOVES Skrafty for those things, but he loathes the class now because he's just not interested. With that being said, everyone else seems to love it. I have seen a lot of activity on their facebook page about the government class, which looks fantastic. I think my son would actually like that one because it is very interactive. (The SOTW is done on his own time and by himself, so he gets bored.) In a nutshell, it's a great supplement for the right kid. The owners are very helpful, too.

Gotcha! Thanks for the information. My son is young, too. I was looking at Foerster's, but the tutor thought Jacobs would be better for his age. She did say it was hard, though!

I'm curious why you won't use it with your dd? I'm just moving into Alg for next year and this was recommended to me by the teacher for Liberty Tutorials. I spoke with her at a local curriculum fair and she thought it would be a good fit for him. I would love to know what you liked or didn't like about it.

I can't find the new sale info. Am I just missing it or did the sale end?

Good point!

I wanted him to use the Activity Book b/c I thought he needed more practice than the regular workbook provided. He did the "free" version of Headventureland for a short time. He hated that, too! He said it was babyish. It was literally a fight constantly, so I stopped fighting b/c outside of those things, he seemed to like learning Latin. It's generally the first subject he wants to do each day and I wanted to keep it enjoyable. With Latin Alive, I just thought it would be too hard. LFC says grade 3+, but it seems difficult. Since LA says grades 7+, I figured it would be that much harder. Can someone jump in at that level?? I know he's had one year so far, but it makes me nervous. I'll look up GSWL. Thanks for your feedback.

Has anyone here switched from Latin for Children to the Memoria Press Latin? My 5th grader has been using LFC Primer A. He has done fine and remembers a LOT of vocabulary. He does ok with the declensions. I think he finds the program challenging, but not impossible. For the most part, he likes it, but he hates the activity book. (not the normal workbook, but the extra activity book) Looking forward to next year, I'm not sure if I want to continue with LFC or switch to something else. I'm not "unhappy" with the program, but wondering if there is a better fit for us elsewhere. Next year, my youngest son will be in 3rd grade. He, in theory, should be able to start LFC, but I just think it would be way too hard for him. I don't know that I want to do SSL for him just for cost reasons since those are reviewed in LFC Primer A. My big question is *if* I decide to change, what level of Memoria Press would I put my older child in (6th grade next year)? I don't know how the books line up in what is covered---or how. Any advice or input is appreciated.

I'm probably not the best person to respond since I've just started to use it...and only for one subject!! My boys are each doing a science unit right now. It is a lot of work. I wouldn't think you'd need to supplement anything (other than math) if you were using the whole program. Within the first few pages of science, my younger son has done Language Arts (wrote a paragraph about the subject), Science, and Math (charting and calculating things on one worksheet). I love it so far. I'm not planning to use the whole program just because my kids ages don't "line up" with our history track and other things I want them doing, but I really, really like the science and I may use some literature next year.

One perspective: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/04/28/what-you-really-need-to-know-about-baltimore-from-a-reporter-who-lived-there-for-30-years/

I used W&R Narrative 1 for my 5th grader at the start of this year. I really liked the look of it. I liked the stories they used and I thought the whole program seemed "fun." My 5th grader would completely disagree with that. What I have found after switching to another program is that he needed more hand holding and direction than W&R was giving him. He did fine with narrations and comprehension of the stories, but when it came to the writing, he just didn't "get" what they were asking. I would sit with him and try to give my own examples, but he usually ended up frustrated. Now, take this experience with a grain of salt...this was our first year homeschooling and ALL of us were on a learning curve and feeling our way through some subjects. I don't think I'd return to W&R for either of my kids, but some people really seem to like it. So, no, my student's writing did not improve, we never made it to 5-paragraph essays, and I didn't feel the instruction was complete since it cause so much stress and confusion on my child's part, but I have no doubt that some of the experienced moms here could teach it better than me!

I'm thinking about using Write Shop Primary for my 3rd grader next year.

To try it out, I ordered one science unit for each of my kids. My 2nd grader is doing Amazing Weather. We just started it last week, but I love it already. My 5th grader hasn't started his yet, but I love what I see so far! I am planning to use a literature unit or two next year.

Try Guesthollow. I think she schedules literature with those...at least MOH.

wow, thanks for your responses. we listen to audio books daily. It's the only thing that keeps my kids quiet and not fighting in the car! I guess I'll have to invest in some of these, then. My library doesn't have any that I'm aware of. I'll check there again, though.

I must admit that I was a wreck after withdrawing my kids, but a year later, I am sooooo glad I did! They are really much better off at home with me. You'll be fine. She'll be fine. Don't worry!

I've heard such great things about Jim Weiss audio books, so I was wondering...where do you all buy them? Do you buy them online from Greathall Productions? Can you ever find them at your library? (that is where I usually go, but I haven't seen these!) Are they worth the $$? Are there sales? I usually get our audio (and most other books) from our library. I hate spending money on things like this since I assume we'll only listen to it once. There are a lot of great selections on the greathall site, but it is adding up quickly!

I don't know the answer, but I'm interested. CLE will be at our local curriculum fair this weekend, so I want to know what I'm looking for, so I can try to make some decisions. :)

I haven't used this, but it gets good reviews and could work for your kids' ages. Have you looked at Apologia?

I used SOTW 1 this year and I'm planning to switch to something else next year...I just want a change...that is my main reason. I recently purchased History Odyssey Middle Ages (bought on sale and in pdf form, so not too expensive), but I'm still debating MOH or Truthquest. Luckily, MOH and Truthquest and Biblioplan will be at our local curriculum fair this weekend, so I'm hoping to make a final decision then. Either way, I'm planning to move on to Middle Ages as I think we covered Ancients well with SOTW and I don't want to do another year of it. So, if I were you, I'd move on.