BJU Math Queen's Language Lessons LLATL LfC Omnibus Teaching Textbooks BJU Science Classical Conversations

We highly recommend BJU History 10. We do a mix of textbooks and literature based history, and BJU is the best yet! My DD is learning a ton, it's engaging and the assignments make her think and grapple with the material.

My DD's used SOS for 4th Grade History and Secondary Spanish. Last year when my DD was in 4th grade we used their history because I wanted an interactive program (her learning style) for a subject she hated. I liked it. I didn't love it, but I thought the information was interesting and solid. It's definitely not as rigorous as other programs, and it's not chronological or classical. But if it gets done, then it's definitely more rigorous than something that doesn't get done. I sat with DD to do the lessons and she and I still remember tidbits of information we learned, so there is retention and it established a good foundation for her in an area where she was weak. SOS is time consuming to install & set-up. But once you get the main program installed, each subject is easy. Then you have to set up the calendar, etc... the first time you'll need to read the directions, and then the other subjects will be easy. It's very easy to use once you get it set up the way you want it. It was probably more cumbersome for me because I wanted a custom calendar doing history 3 days per week instead of 5. I notice you're using Sonlight this year. Can your 15 (and maybe your 12/13) year old work independently? How about something like MFW for high school? Then use Teaching Textbooks for math and have them do all their own grading and you and DH spot check the grading? Maybe SOS for science and then you'd have everything covered? SOS's Scope & Sequences all look solid, and I assume it would provide good preparation for any standardized testing. Have you looked into BJU DVD's? We are using quite a bit of BJU this year and loving it! My DD is sitting behind me at the moment reading interesting facts out of her World History 10 text. She reads primary sources, completes timelines, answers cause and effect grids, essay questions, etc... And we're very, very happy with BJU Science and Math as well. But it wouldn't do the grading and track it for you like SOS will. Best wishes with your decision. I hope this helps a little.

Here's my two cents. I've used LLATL Orange with my younger DD and LLATL Green with my older DD. I own LLATL Gold (both British & American Lit) and I'll be using LLATL Tan next year. It is a Christian program and I think it could be used secularly. There are occasional scripture verses for dictation and the poetry lessons include Psalms along with numerous other poems. When older DD used Green, she also used IEW for writing, Wordly Wise for vocabulary and Latin for additional Grammar. For younger DD, she uses LLATL with Queen's Language Lessons and Just Write (& next year IEW). Obviously, I think LLATL needs a little supplementing, depending on what your child needs. My younger DD is an excellent speller, so we don't do any additional spelling, but some kids might need that. IMO, there's definitely not enough writing. LLATL is excellent for covering Literature and reviewing grammar. The other thing it's really good for is filling in gaps from typical Grammar Programs - for instance, how to use the library, how to write a bibliography, etc... LLATL Scope & Sequence refers to the topics of "Research and Study Skills" and "Higher Order Thinking Skills." I love that the lessons are open & go, short & to the point and the variety is interesting. We especially loved the Green book for 7th/8th grade. The Poetry, Literature and Shakespeare units are outstanding. Personally, for your 8th grader I'd use the Green book and not the Grey book. I've owned the Grey book and really tried to like it, but it never clicked for me. You can see samples here: http://www.commonsensepress.com/covers.htm Hope this helps.

I really like the looks of Latin Alive. And this might be the way to start, especially if you'd like to use the DVD's. We use LfC so I'm a fan of Classical Academic Press. But if you're going to continue with Latin though High School, you might consider Henle - it will give you breathing room to take two years (or 1 1/2 years) if needed. The lessons are broken up into very manageable sections to complete each day and I believe it's recommended for 7th grade & up. I'm working through it myself and I like it.

We're using this book for 5th grade. It's definitely interesting enough to hold the attention of a teen - it certainly holds mine and DH's attention. I think it's written at a deeper level than some of the other Apologia Elementary books. Apologia Anatomy & Physiology does an excellent job of covering the human body and includes nutrition and other health issues, but will not include any of the more "adult" topics typically found in a High School Health course. The Notebook includes crossword puzzles, short answer questions and mini lapbooks for every chapter. My DD11 likes it. Sorry I can't advise if this would be helpful for a high schooler. My DD14 wouldn't like it, but she has become less and less hands-on as she matures, so a teen who still likes crafts might enjoy it.

Veritas Press Scholars Online has been great this year! Class meets twice per week and the discussions are always Socratic - DD's teacher introduces topics and the students discuss their varying viewpoints. It's excellent!

:iagree: My DD liked these. Also Royal Diaries - there are several about royal families in the middle ages (ie: Eleanor of Aquitaine). "Marguerite Makes a Book" is a little young, but the illustrations are beautiful and well worth checking out of the library if they have a copy. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village is a "collection of short one-person plays featuring characters, between ten and fifteen years old, who live in or near a thirteenth-century English manor." Newbery Medal winner, 2008

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post... I'm in no way affiliated with this company, I just wanted to share a good deal. I love it when people post coupons for CBD. The Book Cover has a great selection of used curriculum - especially Bob Jones & A Beka, but they carry most of the really popular materials. If you're not in Texas, it will be an especially good deal because you'll save in sales tax too. http://www.the-book-cover.com/ 15% SALE Through March 26 - all items on the web-site are on sale for 15% off. Discount automatically calculated during checkout. Plus FREE SHIPPING! For U.S. orders of $75 or more.

DD used IEW's Elegant Essay in 7th and it was excellent. It taught her very solid, 5 paragraph essay skills. It seemed too easy at the time, but now looking back, it must have been very good because I've never had to cover this skill with her again.

:bigear:

Don't forget about Chapter 28 on the Teacher CD. DD got to Chapter 27 in her test booklet and said "Hey Mom, there's one more test here for Chapter 28." The lesson is on male and female anatomy so BJU put the Chapter on the Teacher CD. It's only a couple pages long.

After completing IEW, my older DD used Elegant Essay for 7th. It helped her to the level of writing a very solid 5 paragraph Essay. I've recently been looking at this very inexpensive curriculum from Christian Liberty press called The Exciting World of Creative Writing. I like the way it's laid out. http://www.christianbook.com/the-exciting-world-of-creative-writing/ruth-mcdaniel/9781930092709/pd/0109208?event=CF We also used Write with the Best vol 2 for 1/2 a year. I liked it. I didn't see the huge leap in skills like I did when we used IEW, but it kept my DD moving forward. http://www.christianbook.com/write-with-the-best-volume-2/pd/477102?item_code=WW&netp_id=440388&event=ESRCN&view=details

Me too! My 11 year old practices 20 min and my 14 yr old practices 30 min per day. However, my 14 year old probably plays the piano an extra 10-30 min per day on her own. Our piano is in a convenient spot and if she is waiting for dinner to be ready or waiting for us to get ready to go somewhere or just feels like it she sits at the piano and plays through her songs. ETA: Our piano teacher recommends 30 min per day because she assumes families are busy and students won't necessarily practice every day - so she says 30 min per day, 4-5 days per week is a good goal. I prefer to keep the time shorter for my younger dd (@ 20 min per day), but she rarely misses a day of practice.

I haven't seen anyone mention Queen's Language Lessons. Even though we are more classical than CM, my daughter adores her QLL book. We also use LLATL and I feel that is CM'ish - short lessons, copywork, etc... We especially like the poetry sections in LLATL. I wish we did more picture study. I started out doing it regularly, but it was the subject that got pushed aside in favor of core subjects. QLL keeps picture study in the mix for us.

My younger DD and I are both auditory (& sequential) learners. We used SM last year and while I really enjoyed it, we were starting in the middle and she didn't have the foundation she needed from previous SM levels to complete the word problems. She became very frustrated every time we got to the WP lessons. Anyhow, after trying TT and MUS we finally settled on BJU and we've had a great year! I was worried about BJU since I've always read the text doesn't include enough instructions so I ordered the Online lectures. But we stopped using them and I'm comfortable with all the topics so I can teach them myself - it sounds like it would be the same for you. All you need is the textbook which you can buy used on Amazon for less than $1 (I never use the TE, but it's cheap too): Math 6 Text: ISBN 978-1591664260 http://www.amazon.com/Math-6/dp/1591664268/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1298841899&sr=8-4 Math 6 TE: ISBN 978-0890849910 http://www.amazon.com/Math-Christian-Schools-Teachers-second/dp/0890849919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298841967&sr=8-1 Since you're part way through SM 6, you might consider the old version of BJU 7 Fundamentals of Math instead (the newest edition is much beefier & a big jump from BJU 6). BJU 7 Text: ISBN 978-0890848425 http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Math-Christian-Hal-Oberholzer/dp/0890848424/ref=pd_sim_b_1 BJU 7 TE: ISBN 978-0890848593 http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-math-Christian-schools-Teachers/dp/0890848599/ref=pd_sim_b_6

My DD is using BJU World History (10th) and it's excellent! This history text is very straight forward. I don't think there's anything offensive - for instance, they're complimentary of the scientific and medical contributions of the Muslim Empire during the Middle Ages without making any snarky comments. Over all it seems like an even handed text, just sticking to commonly agreed upon facts. The first chapter is about God's hand on historical events and reading about history with a Christian Worldview. If this doesn't mesh with your beliefs you could skip the first chapter. The Activity Pages include multiple choice and short answer type questions, but there's a good variety and you could pick and choose which ones to complete or skip. Many of the questions refer to the Bible and may not always fit your beliefs, so you might skip those. One really cool thing about the Activity Pages is they include a number of "original documents" (ie: Cyrus' Cylinder, excerpts from Homer, Josephus, and Machiavelli). There are also a lot of mapping and timeline activities. I'd give this book two big thumbs up and it sounds like others are really enjoying their American History text so maybe it will be a good option for you. I bought the TE, but just for the answers to the Activity Pages.

While the TE is essential for the Critical Thinking books (per your previous thread), I don't recall using the TE for Building Thinking Skills. If you've used other books like this (ie: Mind Benders) and didn't need the TE, you might be ok. I have old editions (1988) and you can get them for less than $1 plus shipping on Amazon: ISBN: 0894553003 http://www.amazon.com/Building-Thinking-Skills-Book-Verbal/dp/0894553003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298678283&sr=8-1 ISBN: 0894553011 http://www.amazon.com/Building-Thinking-Skills-Verbal-Teachers/dp/0894553011/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298678344&sr=1-1

The grammar in CLE is pretty intense. The writing is minimal - there is a complete LU (3 weeks) spent on a research paper and that's about it (if I remember correctly). CLE English is very thorough, and I used it for one final year of grammar with my DD. I haven't used BJU English, but from looking at it there is a writing assignment about every two weeks? It seems like there's one paper for each chapter in the text so it's a bit more interspersed with the grammar lessons.

My artsy older DD like Teaching Textbooks. I think it works well for creative types. My more analytical younger DD does well with Bob Jones for math. The placement test should give you the best idea of what level to use. My younger DD used TT6 and we moved along steadily until we got to dividing a decimal by a decimal and we crashed and burned on that section. Then we switched to MUS, then Singapore, and finally settled on BJU which is going well. But TT has worked well for my older DD and she is halfway through TT Algebra 2. For me, Rainbow Science was worth every penny because the labs got done. We don't do labs if they're not convenient. How about Jump In for writing? It looks very independent, well organized and pretty fun.

Rainbow Science (the labs are the focus of the curriculum) LLATL - Green (low key grammar, lit, poetry & writing - should be done with a parent for discussion) A Beka 8th Grade US History & Geography (straight forward text, not too long) Math - ? Maybe "Key to...." for Fractions, Decimals & Percents to solidify these topics. Any good math program will cover these topics in 7th grade, so consider whatever fits his learning style and you're comfortable teaching. If he is a highly kinesthetic learner, and YOU like doing hands on things too, you might consider Winston for Grammar and http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/ for US history. If you'd like to combine history, lit and science, to increase his reading and history studies through his interest in science, Beautiful Feet History of Science is excellent.

My DD is doing Challenge B this year and opting out of Math and Latin. However, she stays in class for those subjects and the lecture/discussion reinforces what we're doing at home. It's a nice bonus.

:iagree: That's what we do also. As long as the assigned reading is getting done, they are free to read what they want on their own time.

Here's a link to sparknotes. You can search by author or title: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/index_author_f.html Each book includes the following resources: Context Plot Overview Character List Analysis of Major Characters Themes, Motifs & Symbols Summary & Analysis Important Quotations Explained Key Facts Study Questions & Essay Topics Quiz Suggestions for Further Reading

You've put together an excellent list and I'm going to bookmark it! I created the following list to go along with BJU World Geography for a co-op. The goal is to complete a chapter of the text each week and read a related novel every other week. I know you're not using this text, but I thought it might be helpful anyway.... I'm also specifically trying to coordinate with books available on Sparknotes to use as a Lit resource, which may not match your goals. Around the World in 80 Days BJU: Finding our Place in the World BJU: The Earth’s Surface and Climate Brave New World or 1984 or similar BJU: Industry: Man’s Use of God’s Resources BJU: Society: The Interactions of Mankind A Room with a View by EM Forster BJU: Western Europe BJU: Eastern Europe Tolstoy Short Stories BJU: Russia BJU: Canada Travels wih Charley by Steinbeck BJU: Landscape and People of the US BJU: Regions of the US Through Gates of Splendor or Bruchko or Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway BJU: Middle (Central) America BJU: South America Out of Africa by Dineson or Cry Beloved Country BJU: Southern & Eastern Africa BJU: Central & Western Africa Antony & Cleopatra by Shakespeare? BJU: Northern Africa (Egypt) BJU: Eastern Mediterranean (Turkey, Cyprus, Syria) 1001 Arabian Nights BJU: Persian Gulf BJU: Caucasus & Central Asia Passage to India by EM Forster or Theresa of Calcutta BJU: South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, etc.) BJU: East Asia (China, Korea & Japan) The Good Earth? or Anna and the King BJU: Southeast Asia (Indochina, Malay) BJU: Australia & New Zealand Torches of Joy BJU: Oceania BJU: The Last Frontiers (Antarctica, Oceans & Heavens)