We have done R&S 1-7. I'm extremely happy we did. We are now doing CLE 7. CLE 7 still has much review over R&S 7, but it does cover things R&S 7 does not. My dc are in 7th grade, and we did math over the summers to finish R&S 7 in 6th grade. I'm happy we did not do CLE earlier, because it is more advanced in the earlier grades...more than need be in my opinion. I'm very happy with the progression we did. Next year????

My dc did R&S through 7, now they're doing CLE 7. It seems to be a good fit. I wouldn't change it. I would not begin doing CLE earlier...R&S really cements the basics. BTW, some of CLE 7 is review, and other concepts are new.

Here is a debate of this issue posted on the Christian Research's website: http://www.equip.org/articles/the-divine-sovereignty-human-responsibility-debate I am not reformed. It seems to me to make a mockery of most of the Bible where God calls men to himself. In Matthew 23:37, Jesus says: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling...." I believe Jesus meant what he said here. I don't see how a Calvinist could read this scripture and interprete it, but would like to know! Also, without true free choice, in the Calvinists view, our Lord becomes the author of evil. This cannot be. However, this not a salvation issue. This is an argument among Christians.

Bumping this.... My dc are doing LP3 this year. I don't think they'll be ready for translating the Aeneid after finishing. I don't think LP 1-3 equals finishing Wheelock's, for example. In fact, after finishing LP 1 and 2, dc are not considered to be half way through Wheelocks. (I'm only saying this after investigaing an online class using Wheelocks. Although they've done well in LP 1 and 2, and scored gold on the National Latin 1 exam, they still would need to begin over again with Wheelocks and the class would be mostly review until Spring. The class moves very quickly.) As far as the Nat. Latin Exam goes, I think dc should finish LP 2 before taking exam 1. However, I'm anxious to here what others think too. AS far as using LP for a 9 year old, I would be cautious and move very slowly. It's definately not an elementary program. Looking forward to hearing what others think! One more thing.....LP is a grammar method and not so much reading. I think before going into the heavy translations, one probably must get used to just READING Latin. It has to go beyond the parsing of words into their correct English order/part of speech into just naturally reading and understanding. LP won't get you there. It is necessary to go through the grammar first, but I think another reading type program is needed to go further. ....Would love to hear others comment on this.

Good job changing the subject!

Do we want to limit our children to the limitations we have put on ourself? For example, because I don't know enough about history and science to be able to contribute to relavent issues, do I want my children to be so limited? Because I don't know science in a meaningful way, do I want that for my children? If all I use math for is baking and shopping, does that mean my children only need to go through arithmetic? I personally feel very cheated with regards to my own education, yet I'm only a stay at home mom who does the cooking and the laundry. My ps education more than adequately prepared me for that! If we know exactly what are children are going to do with their lives, exactly what they want as hobbies, exactly what reading level/vocabulary they will need to read what they want/need, exactly how deeply they will investigate spirituality (many diciplines are needed here including history, science, high level reading/vocabulary), then we could limit their education without future regrets. There are homeschooled children who are very angry with their parents for not educating them and limiting their options. My children do like certain subjects and gravitate towards those. However, even with these, and in all the other subjects, when it comes down to hard work, they don't want to do it. I make them because I believe if they do not do the work, they will regret it later. How many people have you met who wished they had not been so well educated?

Well, we love Pimsleur around here. It is audio only, but one really gets the feel for how the language is spoken. Also, we do it only in the car, so it makes good use of time. We'll go on to more formal Spanish later, but since we do Latin, we understand all of the grammar. With Pimsleur, one holds a conversation with the CD, and then hears the correct response/pronunciation.

R&S is formatted so that you can assign only odds or evens and not leave out any concept. It says so in the Teacher's Manual.

:lurk5:

Jackie, Why did CD not work? What program had you been using? Did you feel your ds was adequately prepared? What does it take to be prepared for CD pre-algebra? Thanks for posting. I'm also interested in this.

Yes. ANKI is just a scheduling system. Use it instead of a memory box for dynamic memory scheduling.

Uh, you really should listen to this. I know it's not the cute, memory box, page protector stuff, but it will last where the memory box will get stuffed with too much info than is possible for a mortal to deal with. I'm talking about vocab, latin, spanish, poems, scriptures, dates, science info... ANKI is a scheduling system, based on the student's ability to recall. New info reviewed more often of course, but scheduled based on how easy the information was to recall. For instance, if you enter a new word, and it is very easy to recall, it might be scheduled for review in 5 days. Next time, if very easy, maybe scheduled in 2 weeks. Next time, 2 months. Next time, 5 months...and on and on. You can get items scheduled for review over 1 year from now. This is necessary because it becomes physicallly impossible to do all the reviewing necessary unless more familiar items are moved out. Thanks so much to the person on this board who got us started on ANKI. It is one of the best finds in the last 5 years or so.

Fabulous! Only 19!!! Give me hope over my worries! What kind did you have? I sure have enough....

I have listened to many Pudewa talks, and I have been shocked about how OPEN he is with his political and religious beliefs! In fact, as he was speaking I was astounded by the fact that he did not fear for his livelihood as he addressed the politics and cultural climate of the day. Mr. Pudewa is a man of character, if you believe character means standing up for what one believes is right, although such actions may cost dearly.

Main Entry: 2institute Function: noun Date: 1546 : something that is instituted: as a (1) : an elementary principle recognized as authoritative (2) plural : a collection of such principles and precepts; especially : a legal compendium b : an organization for the promotion of a cause : association <a research institute> <an institute for the blind> c : an educational institution and especially one devoted to technical fields d : a usually brief intensive course of instruction on selected topics relating to a particular field <an urban studies institute> Please Bill, would you give examples as to institutes you feel are valid? Must they be non-profit or charitable? What exactly are the requirements necessary to be considered a valid institute? Thank you.

No need to guess or wonder. This is one of my favorite bookmarks. Thanks to whoever on this board first brought it to my attention!

If I had a child half way good at math, I probably would. I think ds may need another year of review. But I do like the way R&S approaches algebra, geometry, inverse proportions, and other topics. I do wish it included algebraic concepts earlier and continued to review them, however. If I do R&s 8, I'll have to supplement some pre-algebra concepts with the Key to series, I think. BTW, I love the CLE reading you recommended. We're doing CLE 6, and then will keep it up. Thanks!

We use WW, but I find it to be not enough. That's OK, because it doesn't take much time (dc do not answer the questions after the reading assignments at the end) and we enjoy the reading assignment at the end of the lesson. The words tend to be somewhat easy and dc know most of them already, however sometimes I'm surprised when dc don't know what I thought they did. Simply reading is not enough because even when dc or I (for read alouds) look up the words, we are likely to forget them. So, when I find a word they don't know, I add it to ANKI (a dynamic memory system) and to espindle (online spelling program). I also add WW words to both of those. espindle is also fantastic because it has a spelling catagory for SAT words. While learning to spell, dc also learn the meaning. Then the word goes into ANKI for permanent storage (both in the brain and on the computer). Sometimes I'll add the word of the day (Merriam Webster) to both programs, or start on the SAT common words list. Blessings! Oh, we also do Latin. SWB keeps up both vocab and Latin so I guess I assume we have to also!

I think this would be way too much of a leap for most students. R&S 7 barely covers quite a few topics that pre-algebra covers in depth (such as negative numbers, scientific notation, exponents, and even order of operations). The last chapter of the book just touches on some of these. R&S is about a year behind most of the other homeschool maths out there. We will finish R&S 7 this year, and I am agonizing over whether to use R&S 8, or CLE 7. Note that we will have to go back a year if we choose CLE (which seems to be a very good pre-algebra program). I haven't altogether ruled out Chalk Dust pre-algebra, but I've read many dislikes about it along with some who do like it. I love R&S because it doesn't rush math at younger ages. But, I also don't quite know where to go next.

MAGICAL I can't resist that. I'm sold. Thank you so much for your replies. I feel better about it now. Penny

I agree with these, but would add "and why?" Most people (even those with completely different world views) agree about the basics of right and wrong (for example). But the WHY is extremely important. Is right right because it is the way you believe? Is everyone entitled to their own definition of right and wrong? Or is right defined by God or a god? Another might be: Is man created in the image of God or is he a product of random chemical reactions? Or maybe a more basic, less leading version "What is the origin of man?"

I really want lots of literature and a quick world history review before 8th grade. I'd love to here your experience with Sonlight Alt 6/7.

We began espindle.com this year and I am very impressed. You can try it out for free. Plus, it is painless for moms. I wish I could remember who it was that recommended it so I could thank them. (Someone on this board..)

You have an exceptional daughter! Not many could handle LP2 on their own.

Well, for my non mathy dc, spiral approaches are disastrous, because the child never feels like he has anything down pat. Mastering many concepts at one time is very frustrating and mind blowing for some. That is why Saxon is either loved or hated. The kids who can't handle the 'little bits' approach despise it. R&S is fantastic for the kids that don't get math. And, it does contain lots of review. I keep wondering why folks think that it just teaches a subject and drops it. Every lesson has review. The topics learned most recently get the most review, then periodically afterwards. This is actually how our memory works. The things that are new to us need to be reviewed more often, while the older memories just need to be refreshed. However, I admit that I keep a list and review some topics more often just to be sure. (However my dc is very anti-math.) CLE is a great program, but I would use it for a child who is at least pretty good in math. It is about a year ahead of R&S. (Some topic levels are the same, but CLE has more advanced topics.) BTW, I love those fraction overlays. Just use them to teach while using R&S. The problems and the progression of the problems is what makes it a great curriculum.