Thank you, all of you for your very helpful replies. I called our local Speech Therapy office, and they said insurance criteria is to treat if the problem persists past age 6. Since he's 7, we'll go ahead & get an evaluation and take it from there. Again, thank you so much - very helpful input!

Our second son, 7yo, is still using "w" in place of "r" in many words. Sometimes he can get it right, if he really tries, but more often than not, it is a "w". Other sounds seem off to me as well - certain "l" words, for example. Add to this an overall tendency to skim over consonants when reading or speaking ("fa-er" instead of "father"), and I'm concerned about his speech development. What do you think? We've had him checked by a speech therapist before, but he was only 4 or so at the time, and he scored way high on all the tests they gave him. His pediatrician checked him when he turned 6 - had some criteria like "at 6yo 75% of his speech should be understood by others", and he passed that. But, now he's seven. Seems to me we should be well beyond this sort of thing. When is it time to intervene? I'd appreciate hearing about experiences of others!

I really like their readers - very few sight words, and really fun little stories. The dialogue isn't nearly as stilted as many early readers.

What do you like about them? What do you not like about them? We're considering them for 3rd Grade.

We're another family that has switched from MUS to CLE. My son needed a spital approach & didn't do well with the minimal review in MUS. He is thriving with CLE, and can do it almost independently. I suppose he is wired similar to me - when I was homeschooled many moons ago, I remember literally spending ALL DAY trying to complete a math assignment where I had to complete 50 or so problems - all the same kind, and all exercising a brand new concept that I didn't yet fully understand. Enter Saxon Math, which was one of the few programs available to homeschoolers back then. It was such a relief to me to only do 5 problems of the brand new concept, and spend the rest of the time reviewing things I had already learned! So, for the rest of my kiddos I'll just assume they may be wired like I am, and begin with CLE, and make a switch if that doesn't go well for one of them. Hope you find exactly what clicks well for your child!

I'm considering this program for my kiddos, and I've read many positive posts about it. What do you NOT like about it? I'd like to know both sides of the story before I make up my mind! Thanks!

I'm wondering about a bit of creative writing this year, before we head on over to Writing Tales next year. This ~3rd grader has completed WWE1, and has a pretty good grasp of the concepts in WWE2. He really, really enjoys making up stories, and maybe this is a good time to let him develop that a bit and learn to do it better. What creative writing program do you suggest?

One of my boys (our 7yo) is the perfectionist type. He, too, was melting down when timed. He knew the material, and was fully capable of finishing within the allotted time (one minute), but froze & panicked when I started the timer. So, one day I told him I'd give him two minutes instead of one. He perked up, flew through the test, and was finished in about 48 seconds. Now he knows he can do it, and is no longer afraid of the timer. I think it has been good for him to meet the challenge, and succeed. Also, the mere fact of the timer running compels him to try his hardest & work very quickly. It's a win-win scenario for us!

May I have workbook suggestions, please? This is for my almost 4yo. She loves the ETC Primers, and is almost through with them. I'm looking for a workbook to use with her once she is finished. Thanks!

My 8yo son needs something for writing. He's finished WWE1, and we started out doing WWE2, but it quickly became apparent he already knows the material. So.... is it too soon to start Writing Tales? Or should we do WWE3 this year and move to WT next year? I'm a little weary of WWE, and I'm reluctant to spend an entire year learning to do a 3 sentence summary. But maybe I'm missing something.... What next? Writing Tales? WWE 3? or something else??

I'm considering having my two oldest children do Prima Latina together. But I'm concerned about the youngest being "overshadowed" by his brother. My 8yo is doing mostly 3rd grade work, and reads at least on a 6th grade level. He'd be able to do Prima Latina very easily, and may even be able to do Latina Christiana. The 7yo is doing 1st grade work, and reads at least on a 2nd grade level. He's one that likes to get everything right. For example, if he misses one problem on a timed test he'll have a very hard time not crying about it. I'm concerned that the older one will easily master the material, and younger brother will always be frustrated because he doesn't catch on as quickly as his older brother. Would you combine these two, if it were your children??

At the end of June.

I'm in a quandry as to where to officially place our oldest son. I know that "grade" doesn't matter a ton in homeschooling, but I'll need to choose what grade to put down for the records, & choose which standardized test to give him, etc. We schooled at home for K, and 1st, and then placed him in a Classical Christian School. Even though he tested academically into their rigorous 2nd grade, we placed him in 1st for maturity reasons, and it was really clear that is where he needed to be. So he did 1st grade twice. Fast forward to today. We're homeschooling again, and plan to continue. I bought 2nd grade materials for him, figuring to pick up where we left off. But it was immediately clear that much of it was too easy for him. So now he's doing 3rd grade work in every subject except math. In math he's doing CLE 2 & thriving. So, where do I officially place him? Is he a 2nd grader, doing higher level work in some areas? Or is he a 3rd grader, working at his own pace in math? Which level standardized test should he take? He's 8 years old, and thinks he should be in 3rd grade. I'm fine with that, but I don't want to create problems for him if there is something I'm not seeing here...

My newly turned 8yo is in WWE2. We're 10 weeks into our school year, and he's just breezing through the questions, and is already doing the summaries well. Is there any merit in plodding through the rest of the book, or could we skip on ahead to another writing program? We were going to move on to Writing Tales when we finished with WWE2. He's officially 2nd grade this year, but he right away tested out of his second grade language arts type materials - and finds 3rd grade English & Spelling to be more his speed. I'm wondering if it would be appropriate to move him ahead with his writing as well. What would ya'll do if it were your child??

I'm new to Phonics Pathways, and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if it's worth buying new & getting the 10th edition? Or is it a better deal to buy used & settle for the 9th edition?? Are they much different? Opinions, please?

CLE Math is a terrific fit for both my older boys. I'm mapping out curriculum, and I'm wondering how long people on this forum typically use this program??? It seems like there are some pretty great programs out there for higher levels of math, and it might be good to transition to something else later.

It seems like I've read on here before that certain light units can be skipped. I'm getting ready to order the rest of our CLE Math LU's, and I'm wondering if I need to order every one. This is for my 1st and 2nd grade sons. We've been schooling on a "three weeks on, one week off" schedule, so there won't be much of a break between grades when my kids move up. For my first grader could I skip either LU 110 or LU 201?? What about for my second grader? I called CLE, and they told me they don't recommend skipping anything at all. Not sure I want to go that route if the kids are understanding everything well.

Oh, perfect! Yes, I was thinking hard copies, but I can see that an electronic copy would make alot more sense so I could use it with all my kiddos. Thanks!

I'm eyeing Elemental Science, Biology, for our 1st & 2nd graders. I'm wondering if I should get an additional workbook (and/or lapbook) for our K son? Or maybe he should just listen & watch? He'd love any coloring or drawing involved, but wouldn't be able to write sentences on the worksheets, or read them for himself. I've looked at the online samples, but it's hard to say without looking through the entire book. Thanks!

My newly turned 7yo is in 1st grade, he does CLE math, and is in lightunit 103. I tried him on Xtra Math today, and he strongly disliked the experience - the placement quiz asked him a lot of facts that he hadn't yet been introduced to yet, and he hates to fail at anything. Is it too early to introduce Xtra Math to him? Or will this get better now that the program "understands" his level? Thanks!

My son is using CLE first grade math this year. He is really quite bright in math, but he was tripped up along about week two, when he realized there would be more than two or three math facts to learn, and that he'd have to differentiate all of them. He's on LightUnit 103 now, and cruising right along. Trips up on a new fact for a few days, but there is so much practice in the program that he gets it down after a few days. You may just be seeing a normal learning curve....

I'd like to try PP with my kiddos, and I'm wondering if I need to order Reading Pathways too? Or would that come later? Thanks!

Thank you, all of you! This thread has been a huge help and blessing to me. With your help we've come up with some promising ideas. We were indeed trying to do every subject every day. I'm going to try keeping all our subjects, but alternating these: English/ WW/E English/ WWE/ English Typing/ Art/ Typing/ Art/ Typing (he loves both of these) Spelling/ Penmanship/ Spelling/ Penmanship/ Spelling This will give us three fewer subjects to do each day, which will be a big help. Also, it will free up a bit of time for some online math fact drill, which he really needs. Again, thank you!

We're looking on input on this. It is our plan to have our kids learn Latin & Greek both, and we'd like Latin, in particular to be learned well. Should I still have my 2nd/3rd grader do R&S English?? What about WWE? My oldest (just now 8yo) has already done Song School Latin, this year he's doing Song School Greek, and next year we were going to move forward with both languages. Should I give him a year of English Grammar this year? I would really value input on this matter - I'd love to hear arguments on both sides...

This is what my newly-turned 8yo. is currently working on every day. It seems like a lot of subjects to me. I don't want to overload him, yet I want him to receive a solid education. What would ya'll change on this list? Piano Bible (finishing CLE 2) Math 2 (CLE) Spelling (finishing R&S 2, moving on to R&S 3) Penmanship (Evan Moor Daily handwriting practice) Reading (finishing CLE, moving on to R&S3) Greek (Code Cracker, Song School) Writing With Ease 2 English (R&S3) Art (Mark Kistler) History (Veritas Online Self-Paced, OTAE) Typing (BBC)