My 8 year old is loving Wordly Wise. Next year we are going to check out "Vocabulary from Classical Roots" by EPS.

I would keep going with ETC. It gets better. It was phenomenal for my older kid even though he didn't like it at first, together with AAR and AAS and now we're adding in Spelling Workout too. Language Arts takes up a bulk of the learning at this stage, I don't think that's too much at all. ETC and AAR work really well together. I have "The Reading Lesson" too and I don't think it goes in depth enough personally. AAR now goes up to Grade 4 level and I would highly recommend it. The ETC books are usually completed from Grade 1 to Grade 3/4 and they align pretty closely with AAR.

Right now we're using the following for language arts, including FLL for grades 1-3 (I start it later and go through it faster): Phonics: Explode the Code workbooks AND All About Reading (I find they work really well together and follow similar sequence) Spelling: All About Spelling AND Spelling Workout AND Sequential Spelling iPad App Writing: Just Write workbooks by EPS Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears AND A Reason for Handwriting AND Draw. Right. Now. Vocab: Wordly Wise 3000 Reading: Penguin Young Readers Guided Reading books I had a very reluctant perfectionistic reader and writer and this is bringing him up to speed. Will try out Writing with Ease soon probably too. I don't mind a little "redundancy" in language arts, with overlapping curriculum, as I think it's good reinforcement for my language arts averse kid. So far this approach is working. He told me the other day that writing has become his favourite subject.

Explode the Code workbooks would be at the top of my list. Also All About Reading for a struggling reader, though in the middle levels I think some of the lessons are drawn out more then necessary (we started with it later though, if we were using it on grade level maybe it would be different). I would add R.E.A.L. Science as well.

I LOVE Singapore. I am a die hard fan of Singapore Math. BUT, the Kindergarten stuff is nothing like the rest of it. I would actually suggest doing something else for Kindergarten. I like Critical Thinking Co.'s Kindergarten math workbook, and it's inexpensive.

CLE and Starline Press Language Arts look similar from what I can tell... except for a huge price difference. Has anyone used both and can compare the two? Does Starline Press go more in depth? I like the idea of something I can use all the way through Grade 12.

Cathy Duffy's suggestions have been right-on for everything so far. My oldest kid does not match any of her descriptions though. He's sort of a mix of everything depending on the subject. I like her curriculum reviews. They've been extremely influential on my curriculum choice. I wish I would have read all her reviews before I ever started buying any curriculum, I would have saved a lot of money. So now I always check her reviews first.

This is what we've done. It's mostly gone really smoothly. We basically unschooled Kindergarten. Grade 1 was pretty slow. Grade 2 was partially unschooled, we pretty much only did phonics and math. Grade 3 was quite a bit more structured. A typical school day is 4 hours, 3-4 days a week. It's been fine. He did an entire year of math in 12 weeks. Same went for things like writing, spelling and reading. It was just the right thing for him to wait. He is also the youngest in his grade level with an end of the year birthday. I decided not to hold him back, so he's just playing catch-up instead. This was definitely the right choice as he's starting to accelerate in some subjects and holding him back would not have been good for him. It takes him a while to be ready to learn something, but when he's ready... he gets it really quick and doesn't forget it. I was worried when he was in Grade 1, but we realized at the end of the year he's actually a Gifted student and part of the package is being "Asynchronous", which means he is at different grade levels for every subject. For example in Grade 1 he could not read or write but he could do complicated math in his head (nothing crazy just above his grade level) and understood jr. high science concepts in great detail (he's obsessed with astronomy and all things science). If I had to do it all over again. ... I would have just stuck to the foundational stuff and focused more on doing baby steps consistently instead of taking larger breaks. Maybe. Like working on writing for 5 minutes a day is better then just putting it off for months at a time. Either way, I'm amazed how fast he's making up for lost time. He went from reading really simple early "Dick and Jane" style readers to reading chapter books in about 3 months. We also skipped through a lot of math concepts that were just "no brainers" by the time we got to them. This is my 4th year of homeschooling and one thing I've learned: baby steps. Baby steps make it happen. Being consistent day in and day out, with little bits of learning at a time. All of a sudden the little bits add up and you're looking back surprised at how you got this far. I remember when I thought my son was never going to read. Now he can read almost anything. I still don't quite understand how it happened, lol. Remember you can always do school year round too. Last year we schooled full time for half the summer break. We did "Rain Schooling". If it was a nice day we stayed outdoors and went places like the beach or a park. If it rained we did school. :) I like schooling year round as it keeps things fresh in their minds and you skip the whole "back to school" transition. Instead we just take shorter breaks throughout the year whenever we need them. So if you wait a year and regret it later you can always make up for it still!

We read whatever. Right now it's a lot of picture books as I have a kindergartener. I also do read aloud novels, I go back and forth. Mensa Kids has an excellent list of suggested books (both picture books and chapter books) for Kindergarten to Grade 3. We are going through that list right now. I also get read aloud ideas from the SOTW activity guide, Sonlight book lists, the Veritas Press books, Cornerstone Learning Resources book lists (Canadian), and the Book Shark site. Going through the SOTW suggested books alone would keep you busy for a long time! :)

We watch TONS of documentaries in our house and I have a son with similar interest to yours... Some of the favourites we've had: BBC "The Planets" series "Seamonsters: A Walking with the Dinosaurs Trilogy" (amazing graphics, watched this set several times - on YouTube) EYEWITNESS videos on YouTube - cats, dogs, jungle, ocean, rocks and minerals, dinosaurs, volcano, skeleton, natural disasters, insects, etc. "Ice World" (dramatic re-enactment about the ice age - on YouTube)

Love this. So many teenage boys and young men can be awkward around babies and children.

I recently discovered "Just Write" by EPS. Same company that makes the "Explode the Code" workbooks. The "Just Write" workbooks start at Grade 1 level. "Write About Me", "Write About My World". Painless introduction to beginner writing skills. My son was a very reluctant writer (cause he's a perfectionist and didn't want to attempt anything unless he could do it perfectly the first go) and these books have been a perfect introduction for him. They go up to Grade 4 (they aren't long books so we'll probably be done early), and after that you can do a more formal program.

Ok I just read through some of the other comments... I would not hold her back a year cause of her reading level. My son went from reading simple "Dick and Jane" style beginner readers to reading chapter books in less then 3 months. Acceleration is NOT constant. Nothing to worry about. Just keep being consistent and she'll be just fine! :) I was worried too. My son is amongst the youngest in his grade and he had a really rough start with reading, but just being consistent and patient... has paid off big time.

My son was exactly the same. Now he's finishing Grade 3 up and his reading skills have just skyrocketed! Keep up with the Explode the Code, and start "All About Reading". It has made such a HUGE difference for us. We also love the leveled readers from "Penguin Young Readers". He has to read 20-40 minutes a day (I set a timer), and I pick out books that he can read by himself that are just slightly above his ability. Lately he hasn't been asking for help figuring out words at all, so I know it's time to bump him up to the level 4 readers. Edited to add: We use Explode the Code too, we are close to the end. I usually get him to do 6 pages per school day. The teachers guides come in handy if it's becoming too frustrating, they have some good activities in there. I also found that the ETC workbooks were a perfect match together with AAR.

Just came here to ask the same question - when is the 4th one coming out?

We are doing Singapore Math with IP and we are purposefully going slower then he could go. Reason being is he will go back to being in the school system for Grade 10-12, perhaps Grade 9-12. I also think, for him at least, the extra practice really solidifies his foundation. He isn't bored with going slow yet. He likes getting everything correct. I don't see the point of moving ahead in math unless he's getting 95% or higher. If his scores ever go under 95% I'll know to slow down more. So far we've also been taking breaks to do LOF or math apps, games, etc.

I honestly didn't really suspect that my son was Gifted until he was in Grade 1. He was very asynchronous in Grade 1 and I was worried he was falling behind (ironically)... then it turned out he was "just Gifted". lol. We always thought he might be smart, but I also thought we were probably biased. In hindsight now it's apparent that he does have some unusual skills. His very first word as a baby was "Wow". Like when he was 2 he'd make these elaborate symmetrical patterns out of his wooden blocks. When he was 4 he memorized parts of the BBC Planets documentaries word for word, he was obsessed with the moon and the moon landings (he still is obsessed with space!). He knows more about space then most adults. I started looking into Giftedness and he's got all five of Dabrowski's Overexcitability traits. There is a strong genetic link and I was in a Gifted program in elementary, but I went to a private high school that had no special programs so kind of fell through the cracks after that. Reading about adult Giftedness has helped me so much mentally and emotionally, as being Gifted often does not feel like a "Gift" at all! I've been watching my younger daughter for the same traits. I think they are there. She's more "specialized" in her Giftedness though, it's more artistic/creative/ and very much like the "Sensual Overexcitability" that Dawbrowski describes. When she was younger it looked a lot like Sensory Processing Disorder though she's got a lot of it under control now. She loved extremes. Everything had to be brighter, louder, etc. or else it was TOO wet, too pink, not pink enough, too whatever.... she chose her food by color rather then taste. Unusual stuff like that. She's an amazing artist for her age and it was apparent she had unusual artistic skill as soon as she was old enough to hold a crayon (in each hand... she was ambidextrous, now she is preferring her left hand. All the things you hear about left handed traits are typical in her). She didn't speak in sentences till after her 4th birthday. Now she's a little chatter box and absorbing science facts just like her brother. She is just wired differently. She was a late walker and late talker, but I could always tell there was a ton of stuff going on in her head. Then when she finally started talking it was apparent it was true. She loves to chat about the stuff she knows and asks the most insightful questions. She's strongly intuitive. She's determined she wants to be a vet when she grows up.

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Thanks for all this info. I've been searching for the perfect science program for my super sciencey kids (Grade 1 and 4 next year) and I think the BB curriculum will be a perfect fit for them!

I was thinking the same thing, re: Hakim's "Story of Science" series. Regarding Bauer's new "Story of Science" book, I took a look at the table of contents and it seems to be at adult or at least high school level. Slightly disappointed in that aspect as I was hoping for something I could use with my 8 year old now. I'll probably read it for myself though.

For people with issues in Singapore making "conceptual leaps", do you use the home instructor guides? I've found that often people who are having issues are not using the guides... usually because they thought they weren't necessary. The guides are imperative. They contain half the curriculum really. So it may seem like a "leap" if you are only going by workbook or textbook questions, meanwhile things have already been addressed thoroughly within the home instructor guides (likely with suggestions to use manipulatives, games, other hands-on activities to figure things out). Singapore is by far the best curriculum we have ever used in any subject, but the home instructor guides (together with the manipulatives they suggest) really make it what it is.

You definitely need the letter tiles. Especially once you start on syllables and such since you need the vowels to be the other color when you do the syllable tags. Also the blends and consonant teams. Though I can't remember how much of that is started in level 1, we are just finishing level 2.

We do AAR. Just finishing up Level 2. Both my kids LOVE Reading Eggs. I love it too. It's a good complement to AAR.

This!! ^ I have come across SO many people using Singapore who just skip the Home Instructor Guide and teach it only from the textbook and workbook. I can see why they may be less then impressed then! Most of the value of the program is in the instructor guide. Singapore is extremely hands-on, uses a ton of manipulatives (they are listed per level on the Singapore Math website so you know which ones to get) and there are games and activities for every concept (all in the guide). You also can't judge Singapore by it's Kindergarten books - the rest of the curriculum starting at Grade 1 is *completely* different. Previous poster mentioned the Singapore Essentials Kindergarten books being "open and go". Singapore is definitely not "open and go". It does require prep time. But it's also by far the strongest and most valuable curriculum we use in any subject. I started with Singapore U.S. edition when my son was in Grade 2. We did level 1 that year. I find it very advanced. His mental math skills blow me away. I love the "extra's" that the program offers so you can customize how much review you do. There are "Intensive Practice" workbooks which cover the same material as the workbook. There are the "Challenging Word Problems" workbooks to use with each level if you want to. Cathy Duffy's review of Singapore Math is very accurate and she goes into detail explaining which concepts are covered in each level. Level 3 (which most use for Grade 3) starts to introduce some Middle School concepts and by Level 6 (Grade 6) the student is starting some high school concepts. I would recommend Singapore both for natural "mathy" kids and also kids who don't think they like math. It has certainly made me love math! My son is very kinesthetic so the way the workbook questions are arranged (very creatively, puzzles, etc) are very appealing to him. And there is never too much. It's just the right amount (he does not love writing). I am so happy with Singapore knowing he is getting a very solid foundation. Our current plan is after Singapore Level 6 to move on to either Stanford's Gifted online math program or do "Art of Problem Solving".

Wow, I couldn't disagree more with some of the con's some people have listed about AAR. It's not true at all that a child who does not take naturally to reading won't be fluent till after they have finished all 4 levels of the program. My son was a struggling reader and by the time he was close to finishing level 2 he was reading chapter books on his own. We are continuing till the end of the program anyways cause it's good reinforcement and he enjoys it. He hated the fluency sheets at first but we found a trick to make it fun - he gets to use different colors of highlighters as he reads the words, now it's a breeze and he actually enjoys it. I think it's an excellent program and frankly, it works! The activities are fun, it has the tactile thing going for it (which is HUGE for my very visual/kinesthetic kid), and basically "open and go" ~ can't ask for more then that! Only "con" I can think of is that I wish the teachers guides were spiral bound!