Ondreeuh, thank you so much for sharing this! I was in much the same position as the OP when I stumbled onto your conversation! So this has been very helpful! I had a question tho... I notice there are student workbooks available on amazon in addition to the student textbook. Do you happen to know if the One-Stop planner has the same stuff as the student workbook? I was halfway considering just purchasing the workbook so I didn't have to print a bunch of stuff off... but maybe the one stop planner gives more flexibility or has addtional material?? Do you have any input? TIA! ~Heather

Hello all! I have a rising young seventh grader and two older eighth graders next year. Their favorite subject over the last couple years has been Beautiful Feet Books History. I love the fact that it is literature based but sometimes feel that there is a lack of really focusing on specific important dates and clear map work. It weaves a great story and leaves the kids with a general sense of how history moved along and highlights of some of the important people. I began looking for something a little more intensive, shall we say. I am wondering if History Odyssey Early Modern level two would be the right fit. Does anyone have experience with History Odyssey (not Human Odyssey) and or both the programs I mentioned? I fear turning my history loving kids in history drudges :( Also that HO program is a bit more expensive than BFB... Any advice would be great! Thanks!!!

The only bad grade I ever got in high school was in grammar (a D!) We use Analytical Grammar and I am re-learning right along with my kids (7th graders). She has a very easy way of explaining things and it gives me enough confidence that when the kids get stuck I can explain it or we can figure out the answer pretty easily. My 5/6th grader uses Junior Analytical Grammar. It provides a great base and I think it would be appropriate from as early as 4th grade.

I have two seventh graders and a sixth grader. We are newer to classical/WTM too and I have found my kids really enjoy Elemental Science (which utilizes Kingfisher Encyclopedia as it's spine) and Beautiful Feet Books history which makes for much more fun and interactive history lessons. My kids were thoroughly lost in Kingfisher History. Sure, they could glean information from the one page spread but to see how all the events in history were connected were lost on them. BFB history really brings history to life and we usually read a corresponding page from KHE when it correlates. HTH!

Ok, thanks! This helps! I liked the link for that book one of Critical Thinking. Would be best to start with Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox first? or in conjunction? Thanks everyone for the input!

This will be my third year homeschooling my three children (in the above grades), but about six months ago I "discovered" WTM and revamped all our curriculum. Finally feeling that we have our feet under us I am ready to begin adding in "extras". What is everyone's favorite logic resource? There seem to be many; from puzzle books, mysteries, Art of Argument, etc. I happen to have the teacher book of Art of Argument but am a bit concerned it might be a bit too much for my young 6th grader. What would be everyone's recommendations with Logic Stage Logic?

You've got this! Maybe think of starting slow. Do the read alouds that everyone loves (beautiful feet books has some great literature for this level). Start with just one book in language arts... once you've that worked into your schedule add in another in a week or two. Maybe just do math a few times a week. Sometimes the beginning of the year is overwhelming as you learn the new routine, especially with an infant! You won't ruin them if you ease into school. It won't be the end of the world if you get a bit behind here... you can catch up at the end of year. Be gentle with yourself! Do the things you enjoy together!

I second bfbooks.com awesome program!

Have you looked into Beautiful Feet Books? That may be something that would work for you. Www.bfbooks.com

beautiful feet books? bfbooks.com good for history and they have a science for the intermediate years

Check out elemental science- they have earth science and astronomy for the logic stage. Author is christian but we school solely secular and it fits the bill. She keeps it very neutral. Plenty of resources provided to teach old earth and big bang.

I have two seventh graders and fifth grader. Here's what we are doing: History: Beautiful Feet Books Medieval/Renaissance History Pack includes this Literature: Beowulf King Arthur 1001 Arabian Nights Queen Eleanor, Independent Spirit of the Medieval World Adventures of Robin Hood Magna Charta Cathedral Castle Kite Rider Adam of the Road Morningstar of the Reformation Crispin: Cross of Lead Canterbury Tales Joan of Arc: Warrior Saint Fine Print: story of Gutenberg Trumpeter of Krakow The World of Columbus Science: Elemental Science Earth Science and Astronomy for the Logic Stage Language Arts: Writing with Skill 1 (this seems too simple, but we are new to TWTM and I wanted to make sure we had our foundations solid) Word Roots A2 (finish this up and the move into Vocabulary from Classical Roots) Analytical Grammar, season 1 Math: Teaching Texbooks, Prealgebra with some Khan Academy thrown in Logic: this is new for us too, so we are thinking of working through the Fallacy Detective and moving into the Art of Argument Art: Monthly trips to local art museum, they are obsessed with drawing tutorials as well Music: .... maybe a history of classical music, but I don't when I will ever have time PE: Swim Team training 3x/week, maybe archery too My question is how many hours of school do you guys do at this point. I find that if I do everything we want from BFB curriculum we are topping out at 8-10 hours a week just for History and the reading of the literature. Is that reasonable? If I total all the core subjects (not including art, music, or PE) I'm at about 25 hours, or 5 hours a day. Is that typical? Too much? Too little? Just curious what everyone else is doing!

Yes! TT is a spiral approach! We love love love it! It is wonderfully independent for the kids and doesn't leave them floundering if they are confused on a problem. I think the key would be to stick with one program. Eventually all gets covered. I think the most important thing is for the kids to be able to be engaged in whatever program they are working on. If they are overwhelmed by it being dry or feeling like they are over their heads, they won't be as open to simply learning the concepts. TT is a good "hand-holder"... which really helps some kids absorb the info and not just feel lost and frustrated. We plan on working on math year round, completing about 4-5 lessons a week. At that rate we will be completing more than one "grade level" in a year. If you were to do that with your daughter she would be able to firm up what she knows and move into TT7 and beyond before you know it! I think some of the concerns about TT being "light" could be addressed that way. Finishing TT earlier in HS frees up a year or two to take more advanced math during the latter part of HS. Just a thought.

check out beautiful feet books. That might be another option http://bfbooks.com/

We have tried a few and really like Teaching Textbooks. The book and the disks are written directly to the student. It is a spiral approach so she won't forget things she has recently learned. It feels like a very supportive program as the kids work through it. Really great because they can pop the disk in and do the problems on their own. If they are stuck they can have the answer explained to them, step-by-step. Each lesson starts with a lecture where the new skill is explained and visually shown. If they get it wrong they find out immediately and can either retry or have it explained. There are placement tests online so you can ensure the right fit. Usually they run one grade below... so for example.... my 6th graders just completed Math 7 this past year. I know there is a lot of talk about it being an "easy" program, but I think that is because it is a continual spiral approach- which for my kids works as positive support. We recently started schooling year round, so I assume that we will finish the entire TT series early and can continue through high school with some more challenging classes. http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/v/vspfiles/tt/PreAlgebra.htm

I have the elemental science earth science teacher guide. It does give you answers though the lab and reading parts that you should hear from your kids. That way if they are not grasping it you have the answers in front of you. It would be helpful if you just want your kids to learn independently... saves you from not having the answer. Also during labs it explains what their responses should be (or close to). Also lists lab supplies broken into weeks in a nice neat list so it's easy to organize. And I think they have an easier list of all the supplement books (IF you want to request them from the library) to see than in the student text where it is broken down by weeks. Honestly if you read along with them, you should be able to help them without the guide. The labs have not been impressive, but we are only six weeks in. So, we will see. Not like the info is deep and confusing! You could live without and be fine.

Try Beautiful Feet Books. Wonderful wonderful literature based history. They are coming out with an intermediate level US and world History civil war-ish thru modern. The guide is not published yet but I believe I read that it will be available for Fall of 2014. I cannot say enough about this program. Wonderful, quality lit picks that kids in 8th grade can read on their own (especially if you go with the intermediate level) or you can enjoy as a family. Guided questions you can ask, plenty of extra history ideas that you can or can not do depending on how much time you have to devote to the subject. Research projects, age-appropriate current websites that let the kids dig deeper on their own, extra books you can pull from the library, hands on projects, etc. Very easy to just streamline and let them read through the history text and literature on their own if it needs to be more independent study. My kids love it!

OK in my search for a great history curriculum I have come across the Beautiful Feet curriculum. It seems pricey for the packs, but I think over the summer I could collect the books second hand and save some money. Does anyone have experience with this curriculum; we would be using the Medieval era. We already planned on reading several of the books in the collection. i think the guide looks pretty good and I would supplement with KFE. Any input?

Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you experience! this sounds like a good fit as it sounds like it is not biased towards one religion or another, simply showing how different religions impacted history. It also sounds like there is quality teaching included. I had a couple of questions: 1. What ages have you used this with? 2. Does the teaching of lessons seem chronological, or at least make sense as you go through the book. My one big complaint in simply going through KFE is that we jump from topic to topic with no flow. 3. This curriculum seems VERY heavy on writing. We are using Writing with Skill and I don't want to overload them with writing. Does this attempt to take the place of a writing curriculum as well as a history curriculum? TIA!

We have found that outlining the Kingfisher History of the World to be very chaotic. It has been very difficult for the kids to make connections and follow the logical pattern of history. I have stumbled across http://www.classicalhistorian.com/ The Classical Historian. Has anyone used this before?? We have a 4th and two 6th graders and are working on the Medieval/Early Renaissance period. Let me know if anyone has any experience with this! Thanks!!