My 7th grader just switched over to Thinkwell Algebra. Do you have your child do the worksheets every time? Every question? Or only if they got lower than a certain score on the practice problems?

DD12 is going into 7th. She was ready for Algebra last year, but we took a year to review and fill holes from public school. Ideally, I would use AoPS Algebra, but she is not ready for that method yet. She is very good at math, but it causes anxiety and she still lacks a lot of self-cofidence (bad public school experience with math). I'm hoping that using the second two books in the Jousting Armadillos series (I never remember the names) with Alcumus as supplementation would be enough to prepare her for AoPS Geometry. She does want to go into the sciences, so obviously math is important, but I really want to get back that self-confidence and joy she had in math before her final year of public school. TL;DR Are the second two Jousting Armadillos books with Alcumus enough to prepare DD for AoPS Geometry?

Keep in mind that it's a human history and doesn't include some major historical figures. I don't remember all the ones I looked up, but Alfred the Great wasn't in them. Which doesn't mean that the book isn't meaty, just that it's a different kind of textbook. We used a history encyclopedia alongside and that worked great for us.

Wrinkle in Time. Oh so horrible!!

Norse mythology is quite complex (at least to me), even a book geared towards younger students will give her plenty to chew on. I've recently read the National Geographic's new book on Norse Mythology with my DD and it was enough for me!

Jacob's Elementary Algebra was "the one" after trying Saxon and MM. We are really happy with it. I paid $47 on Amazon last November. It hurt to spend that much on an old used book, but I stalked it for a while and that was the best I could find and I got to the point where I couldn't wait anymore :)

Many many years ago, I taught middle school briefly and I used a series put out by The Folger Shakespeare Library called Shakespeare Set Free. It's been a while since I looked at it, but if I recall correctly, the first part is kind of a grown-up cliff's notes for teachers on the play, and the second part addresses the classroom. Yes, it's geared towards classroom use. I don't recall if any of the activities require more students (like, acting out a scene), as the focus of the books are to take Shakespeare off the page, since they are plays and were never meant to be read. Might be worth taking a look at. I'm not sure that they are generally available in libraries. It's not a curriculum, but a guide.

This Star Won't Go Out is the journal of the girl who inspired John Green to write Fault in Our Stars. Other than that, I'm in the same boat as you. My DD11 is reading Paper Towns, which I'm not thrilled about, but I think the sexual references go over her head.

How long is it taking to get through a lesson? Do you do all the practice problems and all the problems in the practice set? DD is taking forever with it, but also I think she is overwhelmed by seeing all the problems on the page. I'm new to Saxon, so was wondering...

Will the children continue to be homeschooled, or go back to public school? If going back to PS, it might be easiest to see if the local PS has textbooks that can be borrowed (this varies by state, but ours allows homeschoolers access to PS materials).

We used Science Fusion last year. DD did not like it. The questions were...weird. We only used the worktext though, nothing else. DD liked Pearson Interactive Science a lot better. It's the same concept, but better accomplished, in my opinion. Again, we only used the worktext for that too, so I'm not sure what kinds of other stuff is offered to go with the program. I guess, in short, I have no recommendations LOL. Just a "I was so excited about Science Fusion and it did't work for us either." :)

Well, I know how I'd like to think I'd react in that situation, and then there's how I likely would react. Given DD's experiences in PS last year, where she was treated so very poorly, shamed, manipulated, and ignored to the point of her thinking she was stupid and unlikable, I likely would have violated the noise policy in the library. And probably the language policy too. People don't expect me to be discrete with my younger DD's artistic ability, so why do I have to hide my older DD's intellectual ability? It's silly, and damaging, and unfair.

I think you would need a streaming device like Chromecast. Or maybe Curiosity Stream will come out with a Roku app. That would be awesome. I signed up for the free trial and I like the selection, but beware of appropriateness. I only wish there were some sort of rating system. The dramatized series about the fall of Rome had Nero engaging in orgies and forcibly castrating a slave/servant. I mean, we all know Nero was a nasty guy, but it seemed over the top to see it dramatized. Certainly won't be watching it with my 11 year old, and I am VERY liberal in what I allow her to watch :)

Oooooooh, I want that collapsible tool box thingy! DD homeschools at my place of employment so she needs to drag with her everything she needs for the school day. This would save our backs!

Thanks for asking this question! I've taken a look at the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, and I'm wondering why a person would bother outlining it. I guess it could be done, but why? It also certainly isn't a good place to learn outlining either. DD doesn't relish doing things just because.

Yessssss!!! Thanks for posting this! I was literally just about to buy The Elements curriculum but thought to search the forum for reviews and this post popped up. Yay! So happy!

I bought mine used on Amazon for a few dollars. Like this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0133684881/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1438776123&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=pearson+interactive+science&dpPl=1&dpID=51J86Od5SyL&ref=plSrch They're about 1/2" thick. We have the Human Body Systems one too.

I know this thread is a couple months old, but thought I'd chime in. We used these last year (a partial year since I pulled DD from PS half way through the year). DD (who is going into 6th this year) preferred these books because she was new to reading textbooks, and the way these books are formatted with the workbook-like fill-in spaces mixed in with the text, she knew right away if she was getting the concept. She would get so frustrated with other textbooks where she didn't realize she missed something until the end of the chapter and she'd have to back-track and feel like she's bad at science. Also, you can mix and match what you want to do in a year (we used the modules). At the end of each section there is a space where the child can write what they feel they need extra help with. DD homeschools at my job, so I'm not right there. For some reason, she would write there what she didn't understand (example, she had a hard time grasping the concept of controls in experiments) but would be hesitant to tell me to my face LOL. The layout is magazine style which DD found interesting and stimulating. Another child might find it distracting and over-stimulating :) Depends on the child. The layout is similar to National Geographic books, as an example. DD loves the National Geographic books and almanacs, so these books were right up her alley. High, intensely colored with snippets of information in the margins. One drawback, though, is that it is hard to figure out what modules to piece together to make a subject. As in, what books would make up a biology, or earth science, or physical science course.

Man, I love this place :). You guys are so helpful! Thanks soooooo much! I will spend tomorrow scouring the used book shops :)

...one combined time line? We are using a notebook timeline, not a wall time line. Sorry for all the silly questions :)

I am looking for suggestions for novels that take place during: The Norman Conquest (I'm trying to get my hands on an affordable used copy of The Shield Ring by Sutcliff, but it's evading me.) The Hundred Years' War The War of the Roses Viking Age (would like one about the daily lives of the Vikings, not the raiding side, if possible. I was considering Raven Speak, but it seems heavily horse-themed and we are already reading a lot of horse-centered books, including I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by the same author to cover Mongolia. We will also be doing Norse mythology, but again, that's more of the hero tales, fighting, raiding, etc.) Aztec/Maya (I am considering ​The Well of Sacrifice but I'm not sold on it yet) The People of the Pacific in the Middle Ages North Africa in the Middle Ages Something about Russia in the Middle Ages The Byzantine Empire The Ottoman Empire I'm awash in books that take place in England :) Also, and very important, we are a secular family. I totally understand that books about this era may be about religion, but I am not interested in Christian worldview/morals/themes, etc. My rising 6th grader is a gifted reader, but since she will be reading a book a week, I'm looking for something under or around 200-250 pages. She gets overwhelmed easily and this will be our first year of classical education, so she will have a lot on her plate already :) TIA!

We got rid of our landline years ago and don't miss it at all. My cell phone is so much cheaper (but wifi is include in our rent, if I needed a better data plan, it would cost much more). All of my family is out of state and paying for long distance was too much (do landlines still have a long distance charge?). My kids are old enough to be home by themselves for a bit, and I never go more than 2-3 miles away. We have 911 service, which is free here. We live in Maine, but our power has never gone out.

Subbing. I found I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade to fill a much needed spot in studying Mongolia and Kublai Khan. Haven't read it yet, though.

3-ring binder: http://m.staples.com/Binders/cat_CL167205