We've needed to use both methods for spelling to stick. We use Rod and Staff spelling because it is simple to use and teaches the rules well. We use Dictation Day by Day because it is free and spirals words. This helps put the words into context for DS.

A written and an oral narration a day would be too much for us with an additional writing curriculum. I would alternate between written and oral each day. But I think the rest is in the range of normal to expect of a child this age.

Phonics Pathways for phonics and early spelling. Rod and Staff 4th or 5th for grammar.

C-rods and Gattegno is my favorite. I have a lot of manipulatives from RightStart and they are all good. But I don't turn to them as often as c-rods

I wouldn't jump to pre-algebra after CLE 500 that would be a big jump and missing a lot of concepts. CLE takes several years through middle school to ramp up to algebra concepts. Maybe do a year of 600 and 700 combined skipping quizzes and tests and the first unit of each year. Or find something that fits better.

No. They are reprinted by Master books. You can look on their website to see the cover. It has a band of color and says writing strands.

Yes they are

Yes. I don't like going out every year to buy new wrapping supplies. I save it all.

I don't sleep well until I know my dh is home safe. We don't share a bed because I sleep better alone. But if he comes home after I am asleep I like to know

Thanks. DS hangs out and socializes better with older kids (by a year or two) or ones much younger than him (by two or three years). That could be due to being an only child as well. You all have given me some things to think through. DS is advanced but has executive function struggles, but again he is only 11.

Grade skipping pros and cons for an 11 year old. He has worked ahead in English, reading, and math for years. I didn't care so much during elementary years that he was ahead we just worked where he was at. Now in middle school looking ahead to high school (we might put him in a b&m school for high school) I feel like I need to think this through. I would only put him one year ahead. Anyways, what are the pros and cons to think through about advancing a year while homeschooling. Part of me thinks just keeping going where we are at is the best and deal with 9th grade when we hit that if we place him in b&m school. But another part of me thinks if he is working several grade levels ahead we might as well consider him the grade he is working at.

No. The lyrics are too distracting. I can listen to instrumental music.

Yes! And we love it. We live where there are no Christmas celebrations so we have no place to go Christmas Eve. Reading and eating treats is one of our most favorite traditions.

We LOVED Miquon. It was very easy to use once I figured it out too. Before beginning have her play with the c-rods to get a concept of them.

I think December and February are the months I feel this way most often. School is just doing the next thing a lot of the time and year after year. It gets boring and mundane. Some years we just push through the school part and add more fun in outside activities. Some years we make school more fun (I find I don't like to put the effort in unit studies or crafts so I usually just keep school going like normal). But usually after a break for Christmas I feel better getting back into the books and routine.

It has been a difficult year for us so far. Not because of school per se, but because we have been displaced from our home. We have enjoyed being the States for a time and buying more books, going to museums, etc. But I didn't pack a lot of our school work when we left due to weight. So we have not done any Latin, piano, history, or classical Composition this year like I had planned. I picked up Fix It Grammar to fill our time. I have enjoyed it a lot. But I think R&S does a better job actually teaching the content so I will be glad to get back to that. I ordered CLE reading to fill our time too. We used up through 5th grade and then I decided not to continue, but picked it up as we had nothing for reading. I think the 6th has done a good job of teaching skills and might just continue using it through 8th now, but will need to think it through a bit. We should get back to our home at the beginning of the year, and then we can pick back up in our stuff. But I am expecting piano and Latin to take some time to review before we move forward.

We don't do logic anywhere near 3 hours a week. We are about 20 minutes 3x a week too. I don't think we could stretch it out to 3 hours without loosing interest. We do however, play a lot of games. Many of our games could count as logic learning, but I don't stress the time spent on games as logic time. I personally think 3 hours a week is way too much.

https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/070071/Chemistry-Card-Games-Kit.html? This is it from Rainbow Resource. I'm sure RightStart has it on their site too.

We have loved RightStart card games. We try to get a day in once a week where we play a game. I noticed they now have a chemistry card game kit. Anyone use it? Is it good?

I didn't need it for level 1. That is the only level I have used. If you are strong in grammar or go through each lesson together it really isn't needed.

Thanks!

Thanks. That sounds like a great book series for a Christmas gift.

Glad to know others use Rod and Staff science as well! I really like how easy it is to use and science gets done regularly now. I've tried bringing up what I remember from my schooling. But it has been many many many years now and I have forgotten so much. We do a lot of museums and often I read the signs and that includes evolution. But I feel he needs a better understanding of the eras and details. I just worry about DS growing up feeling he is blindsided by another view. (Maybe I read too many former homeschooled students complaints on thing like reddit). But thanks for the idea of just looking up questions. That may be enough for now. Maybe high school is a better time for an indepth look at evolution.

This sounds good. She doesn't have a sample I can see though. Does she just schedule readings from books? Do you know what books are needed? We haven't used anything from BYL before so I don't know what it is like.

I have been using the science that gets done at our house. Currently that is Rod and Staff. It is easy to read through and then additional activities are there if we have time and resources. It is very practical and meaningful for science. (I know all about many people saying just read books until high school. But we live overseas (currently we are stuck outside of our country, but should get back soon) and have no access to a library and the cost of purchasing books adds up quickly. It just doesn't work for our home.) We haven't come to a conclusion in our family on creation vs evolution. It just doesn't seem worth it to us to debate or take up so much time. That is one reason I don't want to use Apologia, that just feels like it keeps beating creation over and over. We are Christian so I don't mind the occasional reference to God's creation. We believe in intelligent design, just don't want to spend so much time discussing how the design happened. Anyways, R&S hasn't been too over the top with creation. But I would like to add in a unit on evolution so that DS can learn the other side too. Any good resources for a unit to add on evolution? What have you found balances out science study well? It just seems that the textbooks that are easy to use and engaging to read are so full of creation! Like that is the only part of science to study! Rod and Staff at least does a good job balancing out the topics it just seems to be a sentence here and there. So what all have you found to use? Is a science encyclopedia enough for evolution topics through middle school? Or do I need more resources?