I've used both Saxon (K, 1, 2, and 3 and then 4/5 or 5/4 or whatever it's called these days ;)) and Horizons (K, 1, 2, and 3). I think they both have a lot of work -- but the work is different. Saxon has a lot of review of previously-taught concepts, along with a few problems covering the topic for that lesson. My recollection is that a Saxon lesson will have *many* kinds of problems in it. Horizons, on the other hand, will review fewer topics in the course of a lesson, but the student will be asked to do lots of problems on those few topics. So either way, there is a lot of review and there are lots of problems -- it's a question of whether you're doing 30 problems on 6 topics (Saxon) or 30 problems on 3 topics (Horizons). You didn't say how old your dd is, but if I had to choose between Saxon and Horizons, I'd probably go with Horizons. I used to tell ds that if there were 15 problems in a set and he got the first 10 right, he didn't have to do any more. It worked well because all the problems in that set were designed to work on the same concept. In Saxon, however, there are fewer problems for each concept, and it would be harder to eliminate some and still have a decent amount of practice. In terms of Singapore (I've used levels 1-4) vs. Horizons for an average math student, I'm probably in the minority here, but I would go with Horizons. Singapore worked well for us in the early grades, but as the math became more abstract, I didn't find that the Singapore approach helped with understanding, and there was not nearly enough review (how much review a student needs is a very individual thing). However, there are many satisfied Singapore users out there!:)

This sounds very much like my son, the differences being that we're using another program and he has just finished Pre-Algebra. He did very well with the lessons, but then did poorly on the Algebra placement test. Like your son, my son got through the lesson as fast as he could and didn't always internalize the concepts. I hesitated to move him on to Algebra but finally decided to go ahead -- there's plenty of review in the beginning, and we're using the Key To... books to review those concepts that he *appeared* to understand but missed on the placement test. It sounds like this might be a good approach for you, too -- move ahead, since Saxon does have plenty of review at the beginning of each book, and use something like the Key To... books as reinforcement.

Teaching Textbooks uses a spiral approach.

http://hillsideeducation.com/store/i...=index&cPath=1 Has anyone used the literature guides from Hillside Curriculum? -- specifically, the Discussion Guides or the Novel Inquiries? What did you think of them?

I just heard back from the publisher a few minutes ago. What you have is the most current -- the text is still in the first edition, and only the Teacher's Helper has been updated. Thanks! :)

:lurk5:

We loved these books, too. One funny note (no pun intended ;)) -- Wheeler uses the words "merry" and "comrade" frequently in her stories, and so these books came to be known around our house as the "Merry Comrade" books. :lol:

I've e-mailed the publisher but have not gotten a response. How many editions are there of this, and which one is the most recent? The Teacher's Helper is in the 2nd edition, from what I can tell, but I don't know if the text itself is in the 1st or 2nd edition. I want to buy these two components used, but I want to make sure I buy the most recent edition and that the text and the Teacher's Helper are compatible. Any help you can offer on this is greatly appreciated!

My son has a seizure disorder, and we were told by several doctors that that *might* make the insurance company more inclined to cover a neuropsych. Well, sort of. They had a list of doctors who were approved to do a neuropsych, but when we called two of them, they refused to do it. Their reason was this: the insurance company insisted that they complete both the exam and the report in some ridiculously short amount of time -- basically, half the number of hours they felt they needed to do a good job. (I'm not sure why their names were still on the insurance company list.) We've kind of skated along with the very thorough exam ds was given by a school psychologist and a supplemental exam from a psychologist, but ds' neurologist wants him to have a full bona fide neuropsych eval at some point. Anyway, I hope your experience is better than ours. :)

My thoughts exactly!

I' date=' on the other hand, did the same thing (sent in my LOI with my 4th quarter reports), and heard back from my district before the end of June! :eek: The earliest the clock is supposed to start ticking is July 1, so I'm using that as my benchmark. Got to finalize my IHIPs and place that Rainbow order. ;) Yes -- I've been doing three for a while and it *is* a pain. I streamline it, but it still has to be done, copies made, etc. etc. etc. ad nauseam. Do you get a receipt when you hand-deliver them? I hand-delivered my reports once and then got a letter three weeks later that said the district was still waiting for them; turns out they'd gotten misplaced. :001_rolleyes: But when I mail them, I send them certified mail, and that's expensive and a hassle.

Everything else you posted was spot-on, but I've never heard this and don't see it in the regulations. Is this a new change?

I'm trying to decide between WriteShop and Write Source (the 2005-2007 edition) for my eighth grader. WriteShop is a good solid writing program. I have a copy of it and have had a chance to look over it thoroughly. It's less expensive and it focuses on writing. If we used it, we'd use other things for grammar, etc. Write Source seems VERY comprehensive -- it's an English program as opposed to a writing program. I like the fact that it covers not only writing and grammar but things like study skills. It's more expensive, but a lot more is included. Haven't been able to see a copy of it, though, and have no idea how user-friendly it is, whether it's designed for a ps classroom, etc. If anyone has used it, I'd love to hear your take on it. Thanks. :)

Can't tell if it's really necessary or not.

I remember attending a language lab when I was in college and learning Spanish. I found it very helpful and an indispensible part of the instruction. When one of my kids began taking French in ps, dh and I noticed at open house that the teacher made no mention of any sort of language lab. Dh asked the teacher about it, and she said that language labs are now considered "passe" (her word). FWIW, I was not impressed with dd's grasp of the language following that class. I can't say for sure that "passe" methods such as language labs might have made the difference, but it makes me wonder.

I was fairly intimidated by the description, as I understood it, of IEW. The whole concept of watching a tape/DVD, learning how to teach writing, and then implementing this method that is very different from other methods -- it just seemed very difficult for anyone other than a born teacher. Then I happened upon a reasonably-priced used set of TWSS, and after I watched the first tape (about 90 minutes), it made sense. As you watch the tape, you follow along in the syllabus (a notebook that describes each step and gives examples and teaching helps). Andrew Pudewa is a *wonderful* teacher (IMHO), and while this method is different, it's actually very straightforward. I've gone from thinking this would be very difficult to seeing it as very doable. As I said, I've watched only the first tape. It begins with the concept of creating a keyword outline from a short passage and then re-writing the passage based on only the keyword outline. From there, the other tapes discuss ways to add style to your writing and move on to other forms of writing. The basic method of creating, and composing from, keyword outlines is actually a very old technique used by no less a figure than Benjamin Franklin. The basic thing to buy, according to the IEW website, is TWSS. But Andrew understands that it can take a while to implement a new writing method in one's homeschooling, so he put together the SWI tapes (Student Writing Intensive) -- these are addressed to the student and provide a way to implement the principles taught in TWSS while you're still learning the method. There are also many other materials based on the IEW method, but they're pretty much predicated on having watched the basic TWSS set. Andrew says that if you can purchase only one thing, it should be TWSS. Hope this helps.

I'm pretty sure that in one of the editions of TWTM, SWB recommends the grammar portion of Abeka but suggests using something else for writing instruction. We're starting Grammar and Composition 1 next year and intend to do just the grammar.

I've just read the chapter in TWTM entitled "Some People Hate Homer," and it's got me thinking. This chapter addresses the usefulness (or "Usefulness," as Pooh would say :)) of classical education for students in general. But I'm wondering if there are some students for whom the methodology is too intensive. I'm not talking about students with special needs but rather about students who, for whatever reason (natural bent? learning style?), don't thrive with this approach. Or should we look at the classical method as a really, really healthy soil in which every student should be trained to grow?

Does anyone have any experience with this program? It's published by EPS (the same company that puts out Explode the Code and a whole bunch of other good stuff), it's used widely in schools, and the review of it in Rainbow Resource makes me think it might be what ds #2 needs. (He has learning disabilities related to a seizure disorder, Asperger's, and ADHD. He's 10 but a very young ten, and is in the third grade in most subjects -- higher in math, lower in reading and language arts.) He is reading, and we are doing a phonics program, but I am concerned about other areas of reading in addition to de-coding -- specifically, his fluency and comprehension. Our recent testing and my day-to-day experience with him show that he is weak and/or inconsistent in these areas. There are plenty of things I could use to work on these areas, but I like how the PAF program ties it all together -- these other areas are incorporated into the instruction, which is built around the Merrill Readers and SRA skillbooks. It seems very well-thought out and comprehensive. I'm still looking around at other programs, looking for something that is just as intensive and comprehensive (without going the zillion $$$ route of something like Barton or Wilson, or anything that requires training). Just curious if anyone has experience with this.

*This* is one thing I was concerned about -- whether Latin programs were pretty standard or whether there might be some differences (such as you described) among them. I know you don't know me or my dd from Adam, but I'd like your assessment of how realistic it is for a beginning Latin student (with only one semester under her belt) to do Reading Latin on her own, with just the Independent Study Guide (and a mom who doesn't know Latin) to help her. In many respects she's not a self-starter, but sometimes she surprises me. And would Galore Park be a good supplement, or not really necessary?

Having her continue with the status quo (a little Latin humor there :D) and stick with Reading Latin was my first choice, but when I did some digging I learned that this is not your standard "student text + teacher's manual complete with answer key" resource. So I didn't (don't) have any confidence in my ability to shepherd her through this course, and I frankly think she could use the support and accountability that comes from having a teacher. But I'm very intrigued by the Independent Study Guide you mentioned, and am going to check that out, as it may be what we need. She had a semester, not a year, of Reading Latin; the text and the Grammar/Vocabulary/Exercises book were to cover two years of high school Latin at her school, so since she finished a semester, she's done roughly one-fourth of each book.

Dd (14 and in ninth grade) took a semester of Latin in a private school last fall. The text she used was Reading Latin, by Jones and Sidwell; she did well in the course. She subsequently left the school and is now homeschooled. She wishes to continue with Latin, but I have no idea what program to use. Here are my concerns: 1. I don't want her to have to start from scratch (although obviously if that's necessary, that's what she'll do). 2. My Latin background is negligible, and with a younger special-needs child I'm not sure I can be much help in terms of learning along with her. But again, if a program that necessitates my learning the language is our best option, I'll do what it takes. 3. I would like for her Latin work (past and future) to count as high school credit, not just an interesting survey of the language. There are so many Latin programs out there, and my eyes are glazing over from looking at them all. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.