I like to go year-round, however somehow I never accomplish what I'd really like to because the weather is so nice we just have to get out! So my requirements are: one page of math/day, nature walks with notebooking when we find something really interesting, some kind of writing once or twice a week, and regular reading (which is usually a nighttime thing anyway-but it has to be educational in some way). We definitely don't keep up the schedule as we do in the regular school year, but I don't want any going backwards.

I absolutely love this program! I believe 4 books makes up one years English program. If you go to their website, you can click on the books that you are considering to see the difficulty level of each book in different areas. I've been dying to cover certain books, but my son is "average" and I want to be careful about frustrating him with difficult vocabulary, comprehension etc. just make sure you check out the books and know your what your child can handle.

I am having a very difficult time keeping up with the scheduling and this program. My sixth-grade son is using the 4/6 guide and I find the reading is all over the place: too easy, at level, and too difficult. There are some things I really do like about it on the other hand: The Mystery of History and Notebooking pages, some of the books are excellent, while others are dull (perhaps I just don't like the subject matter) I'm an American history buff and I think DS is also. We hardly ever have time for the extra activities either. But I would definitely go with the 4/6 guide for a seventh grader. There is plenty to learn!

And enjoyed it very much. Mine was part of the Winter Promise"Quest for the Ancient World" course. I found the course very time-consuming as there was so much reading. I was thinking that the Mystery of History could easily be used all by itself (with a few books on the side for added interest) and the notebooking pages that Winter Promise sells. They go with MOH chapter by chapter and they are great!

My sons found in Math U See online drills to be a quite painless way to learn their facts. Hope this helps!.

Yes,I would agree with the other poster who said she must be a motivated child; and advanced as well. Sonlight tends to be a more advanced curriculum. If she's an avid reader, she could probably read the read aloud to herself, but that would take some of the fun out of the read alouds. My kids have fond memories of mom reading stories even at older ages. I hope you don't take that away from her.

Were studying ancient history and we enjoy listening totell all the ancient stories of the past. She's very enthusiastic and her storytelling and it kind of catches!

I have found Beautiful Feet to be a wonderful program! Your friend could purchase the intermediate American history for her older girls and select some of the readers from the primary package for her little boy. The programs coordinate well. As for science, she could do lap books which focus on different areas of interest, making it very simple for her young one and expecting more from her older two. I'm not sure how creative she is (lap books and unit studies take a certain amount of creativity if you're making up your own) but there's always Konos, the Weaver and a myriad of others.

This book has been the best choice in our family. It is a multilevel curriculum which takes you from grade 2 through high school. It is very easy to use and you will not have any "gaps." It's worth a looksee at the local convention.

This book has been a wonderful choice in our family. I believe it's written for grades two through high school. It is very thorough and covers everything you want to know about writing. It's very easy to use and worth a looksee at your local convention.

This has been around for ages. It can be used from grades two through 12 and is the most thorough book for writing I've ever come across! I believe it's proved its test of time!

Leave well enough alone!If your son loves his Bob Jones and is learning tons, stay with it!

We're using Quest for the Ancient World, and I find it has its pros and cons. We're using the 4/6 guide and I'm finding it to be very time consuming. We rarely get to do the hands-on projects because of all the reading. Most of the books are wonderful, but they seem to be, level wise, all over the spectrum from very easy to very difficult. One of the best things about it is the way the author integrates the Mystery of History with the Kingfisher Bible and notebooking. They also have exclusive rights to a book called Lamps, Scrolls, and Goat Skins which is a gem! I'm not sure I would use this program again, but I would certainly use some of their other topics.

I would check out Sequential Spelling. You'd be amazed how much it helps the child you described.

First I like to respond to your sons sloppy writing. I was having a problem with my son when I discovered that Handwriting without Tears has some wonderful paper that help guide children in writing; especially with the sizing of the letters (tall letters, letters that dip). This helped him tremendously! Remember that being able to tell a story is a precursor to writing. If your son is that opposed to writing, perhaps he could start by dictating his stories to you. Then he can copy them into a notebook and illustrate them. At a certain point, however, you will expect him to write his own stories. Try brainstorming with him some neat topics about experiences and things he likes that he could write about. It's much easier to write about things already familiar with. Then, write the topics on little slips of paper and put them in a jar. He can choose a paper randomly and write about it. Once you have him actually enjoying it to a certain extent, you can focus on the particulars (punctuation, sentence structure etc.) One year, I went through my sons magazines (skateboarding, biking, karate) and pasted the pictures onto notebook pages. I would let him pick any page and write a story about it. There also many books out there chock-full of story starters and topics. You can get them at your local teacher materials store. Have fun!

My older son had a lot of trouble in Math, but I kept plodding along. The result was that he did terrible and hated math very very much. Now, the minute things seem to be confusing to my younger son we stop and review review review!!! Be sure your child knows his math facts instantly! You'll be glad you spent the time and you won't be behind, either.

I had a chance to listen to David Marks, (author of Writing Strands) speak at a convention several years ago. He spoke of how the young child's brain is not truly ready for "grammar" until junior high school age at least. Textbooks use the spiral approach year after year, and very few children seem to really get it. I took his advice and did not teach my boys anything but very basic things: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. Then, depending on the child we covered it in seventh or eighth grade. Of course you can get deeper with it in the upper high school grades, but remember to consider the field of interest you see them leaning towards. I don't think a child who seems to be mechanically inclined and needs to be diagramming sentences. They're all doing perfectly fine!

I spent all that money on the Teaching Tank (it looked so good all set up at the convention!) and we haven't even touched the thing! It is set up on our window sill, ready for use and we plain old don't have the time! I'll have to put it on my to do list.

I think notebooking and lap books absolutely "the nuts!" Then, of coursethere are the Lamplighter books which are just a gold mine of vocabulary and character lessons.

I have five boys: now ages 27, 25, 23.5, 22, and 12. When the 12-year-old was just starting out the older ones were almost done! Somehow we manage. I also have a friend with 14 children-from ages 2 to 24. You would think she'd use something easy like LIFEPACS, but no, she uses Sonlight and unit studies! She never ceases to amaze me!

nor do we do candy! What we do, is what my mom always did when we were children. She always bought us brand-new clothes because Easter is such a special day! I've always done the same with my children and they look forward to it too!

What's that?

Here is a link to their website:www.bfbooks.com This is a literature approach.

I guess so!

The text makes answering the questions very easy, so I require some extra reading so to add a little depth to the subject matter. But I like having the subject outline for me. As ds delves into the subject, sometimes we add or subtract material. I have a copy of Dinah Zike's book of folds and often prefer to use those. In the Hands of a Child occasionally had something that looks different, but we do often use other folds. I do think they're worth it though.