My 7th grader is using Writing With Skill. There was some frustration as she adapted to the book but now she seems to enjoy it. (And by enjoy I mean gets it done well without attitude...lol)

My now high schoolers enjoyed the free Guest Hollow chemistry schedule. It is one of those "piles of books" plans, but you don't have to use all of them.

Fwiw, when most homeschoolers say Singapore math they mean the specific curriculum from www.singaporemath.com rather than a style, so you won't find much for free materials other than the samples on that website. 🙂 Primary Mathematics shows up at my local used bookstores regularly too. My youngest two have used SM regularly and it's worked fabulously for them. One of them is the mathiest kid in the house and the other one is naturally good at math but has a lousy attitude about it. Both of them were/are the type of kid who worked best with more than one math curriculum every year, but it

This looks fun! It's free on Kindle Unlimited and I couldn't resist downloading it right away. 🙂 For the OP, the earlier Zaccaro books may be useful too. I'd start with the Primary Grade Challenge Math. I see by your signature this is the youngest? You could try round robin with some problems. Have everyone solve the same problem (with help for youngest if needed), and then have everyone take turns sharing HOW they solved it. Write it out on the whiteboard if needed. You and hub too. There's always more than one way to get there, and seeing all the different methods helps s

My math struggler mentioned above loved the idea of Life of Fred, but it was too abstract for him to actually learn new concepts with it. It was only useful as review after he'd completed a topic elsewhere. I'll add a vote for the Keys to books if you need focused practice. They are fabulous and super easy to use. Don't skip the easier books at the beginning even if he can do them blindfolded; it really adds to the conceptual understanding.

Shakespeare was my first thought. The Shakespeare Set Free guides have schedules that tend to last 4-6 weeks for each play. I'm using the one for Twelfth Night in January with my own high schoolers, and likely the upstart 7th grader who mooches into their literature whenever she can.

I encourage but don't require this, for my WWS student and my high schoolers. Sometimes you just don't see a big ole brainfart, but it's obvious when you hear or speak it.

My math struggler did best with Rod & Staff and Math U See. Both are mastery with review. R&S only goes to 8; no algebra. Each lesson has a review section at the end where old concepts spiral through. MUS has a few pages of only the new concepts and a few pages of new concept mixed with review. I haven't used their prealg, but I hear it's maybe not the best level to start with.

Jousting Armadillos is fabulous alg prep and it can be completed in a few months. My 7th is using it this year. It's one of those think smarter not harder type of books, somewhere between traditional and AoPS level. The basic Hands on Equations set AND the verbal problems set would be useful too. (Don't skip the latter if you go this route.) Patty Paper Geometry could be worth spending some time on too. The simpler Keys to Algebra could be useful for review.

No. Every kid had some moment when I stopped shielding them from nude art, much like when it seemed like they were ready for more mature topics in their literature. Like an above poster I focused on the skill it takes to do a human body well. It's a mic drop moment from a master and worth our attention. We used Sister Wendy books and vhs when my big kids were younger. A nun getting excited about the details and skill involved in nude art kept it in perspective too. She's fabulous. My youngest (10yo) and I read parts of Why is Art Full of Naked People (by Susan Hodge) this year. He was moc

I'd fifth or sixth Writing With Ease for that kid. There's a placement test on the WTM website. Since he doesn't have to keep up with the class there's no need to shove him through writing programs he's not ready for, regardless the number on the cover. 🙂 Meet him right where he's at and don't let him think he's not able, regardless past grades. ♥ My youngest also struggles with writing. He only used WWE style writing until age 10. He started in Writing Tales volume 1, which is a touch easier than the first Writing & Rhetoric. The grammar is way too easy for a kid who's been through

Ah! I haven't looked closely at them in awhile. My small ones are in 4 and 8 this year but I haven't even considered next year. If anyone is interested in the Hakim versions of BYL it's my understanding you can email Emily and arrange to purchase old versions.

There is a concise version of Hakim, which is only four volumes and more reasonable for that age to do in one year. Build Your Library uses the regular Hakim set as a spine for those ages but spreads it across two years (levels 5 and 6). We liked the Landmark book by Boorstin too. A few of mine read it as part of a US year.

I'll show her DO this week. She is one that tends to finish courses early when left to her own devices. 👍 I like the active other human part. I'm comfortable going through alg 2 with them but past that I'm not the most reliable. And I'll look up TTU-K12 and Thinkwell. Fwiw we're not aiming at a test and she's not going toward STEM. She's just naturally good at math and has 1.5 years of high school left. 🙂

Thanks! I didn't realize Derek Owens could be self-paced. I'll look at it again. 🙂 She likes what she can see of Unlock Math on the website. I hadn't heard of that one.