Depending on your child, WWS could be a leap after WWE4. My 4th grader DS just finished WWE4 (an hour ago! :thumbup:), but I will not start him in WWS next year. I want to spend his 5th grade year practicing, practicing, practicing, writing paragraphs (science/history narrations, probably the writing lessons in R&S 5, outlining). He would crumble under the demands of WWS. WWE4 does introduce the paragraph, but more in a "how to recognize" fashion, and not in a "you need a topic sentence" fashion (does that make sense?). That said, my DD (a young 6th grader) is finishing up WWS this week. It has been wonderful for her! She probably could have gone from WWE4 to WWS; she is a more natural writer and didn't need near the practice DS does. BUT--I think that waiting (because WWS wasn't available her 5th grade year) didn't hurt anything. All this to say, WWS is a demanding program (obviously, more so for some kids than others), and to be successful and ready for it, your child should be mature enough for the workload (unless you take it more slowly) and should be doing additional paragraph writing in 4th grade beyond what is covered in WWE4. That's just my two cents! We have used FLL, WWE and now WWS all the way through. I am very pleased with our progress.

I'm doing my planning for DD, going into 7th. She's a strong reader, has a good vocabulary, is a competent (if complaining :glare:) writer, and has a good foundation in grammar. This year we have used Sonlight (readers/history-not LA), WWS, R&S 6 (mostly grammar exercises only), and VfCR (not a fan). I'm intrigued by MCT, but I'm not exactly sure how it all fits together (I have read pretty much all relevant pages on the MCT website). But I'd like to hear from actual users. Questions: 1) Can you use the components separately, or does that compromise the effectiveness of the program? 2) Has anyone used the literature? One of the things that drives me crazy about Sonlight is that we spend a lot of time reading books, but we never really seem to do anything with them besides check for reading comprehension (maybe this is in SL LA, but I've never used it). I'd like more discussion (themes, etc.). DD is bored with comprehension check. 3) Also regarding literature--I see there are two trilogy packs. The first one seems geared toward 8-10 year olds, and the second trilogy toward 13 and up. Where does that leave the 11 and 12 year olds? 3) If you have used MCT and left it, why? 4) Can anyone compare MCT writing to WWS (which we used very successfully this year)? We've spent several years now just doing "the next book in the series," but for next year I feel the need to branch out. Thanks!

Thanks all! I will investigate AoPS a little more.

I was thinking of AoPS, but didn't know if it was a "complete" program (I don't want to supplement, because I'm just not that great at pulling together multiple programs. Poor Fred has languished on my shelf for 2 years now :blushing:). DD is no math genius, but has done well with Singapore. Is AoPS a good follow-on for a kid who isn't afraid of math, but doesn't really love it either? She may eventually move on to private HS, so I want her to be prepared in, I guess, a more traditional school sequence. I'm afraid Singapore's NEM approach might result in gaps if we don't follow it all the way through. Thanks for your help!

We've been on auto-pilot for a few years now, but are at the point where we have to move on to something new for 7th grade math. What would be a good transition for a child who has been through the elementary years with Singapore? Looking at going into pre-algebra. Thoughts? Thanks!

What I did for my 3 (who were 11, 9, & 7 at the time) was just require that they do the program of their choice (Dance Mat or Instructor) for 15-30 minutes most every day. It was frustrating for the youngest at first, but now at the age of 9 he can type probably 50-55 words a minute. I let them type some brief assignments for fun if they wanted to, but never required it. Short answer--I don't think it's the number of programs they use, but rather encouraging consistent practice with one they enjoy. BTW--they hated Typing Instructor until they became for proficient. They spent a lot of early time on Dance Mat. Good luck! Lisa

We've used pretty much every grade of K12 science from 1st-Earth Science. If your child has good reading comprehension (for textbook type reading), and can process, analyze facts and data on their own, then it can be done pretty independently. If they need you to discuss and interpret in order to really grasp the material, then you will need to be more involved regardless of the level. As a minimum, if you plan to get the student pages (at least for science), you will need to check them against the pages available online in the lesson, as sometimes there are discrepancies (usually noted with an *Updated* online). But not all discrepancies (especially concerning external websites that can change) are noted. This can be a source of frustration if the student is working on his/her own.

Yes, I think it's pretty challenging as well, and DD is not even a reluctant writer. I'm glad we've been able to use it for 6th and not 5th. My main concern is that, since my kids are fairly decent writers, I probably don't (won't) challenge them as much as I need to on my own. WWS gives me that extra push to "go a little deeper." Sigh, I'm afraid the History of the World will eclipse WWS this year. But we can always hope! :001_smile:

:confused: Where do we go from here?

There have been several revisions over the years. I have most of the books (maybe 50-60?) ranging from the earliest publications through the early 70s. There are differences (for example, there may be differences in the same book from the 40s that was revamped in the 60s). DD read all my old ones (in order!) up through #50-something. I don't think she read any of the "newer" ones (80s and later) because she said they weren't as good. I found the Wikipedia site to be very informative. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew

I order a grade-appropriate Zaner-Bloser workbook every year and a ream of same grade-level paper. No, it doesn't erase as well as notebook paper (not as durable), but a ream should last you a year, and the paper coordinates with the handwriting instruction. We started out using HWT, but DD wasn't a fan of the "no top line" paper; I wasn't a fan of the cursive style.

I would let the child's interest be your guide. We have used the WWE passages as springboards to some really great alone reading and read alouds. I didn't plan them ahead of time. After reading certain passages from week-to-week, DS just *has* to find out what happens next. It makes the library trips much more meaningful when we go get a book DS is wanting to read/hear. Sorry I can't give you specific ideas; they are all good selections. My advice is to just wait and see what sparks your child's interest. (P.S. Socks and Trumpet of the Swan were a big hit here. Can't remember if the Just So stories were from WWE 1 or 2, but another favorite as well.)

I think it would depend on how mature your child is. If she is older for her grade, then maybe move ahead. If younger, stick with R&S2. We used FLL up through Level 4 and then moved to R&S 5, and then on to 6. My daughters are almost 2 years apart in age, but only one grade apart. I notice DD#2 is a little slower to master the same concepts at the same time as DD#1 did the year before (the younger having a late summer birthday, and the older having an early fall birthday). All that to say, R&S gets noticeably more difficult about midway through grade 6. You might start thinking about what might be best for your DD in later years to help you determine where you should begin right now. It's late. Did that make any sense?

I don't go out of my way to avoid Christian curriculum (we're big R&S fans), but I do prefer a secular curriculum. I've used SL (Cores 1 & 3) largely secularly in the past, but was wondering about Core 5. Does it have a greater number of religious/Christian books in the scheduled Core? I have heard this is the case (true?) and was wondering if it was one Core that really couldn't be "tweaked" easily. Thanks! Lisa

:iagree: Rod & Staff is a great follow-on.

I guess I'm going against the grain here a little . . . We are going through a very similar situation, and I have considered exactly what you are considering. Part of me really feels like they (mostly I'm talking about dd 12) need to "toughen up" and be accountable to someone else. I know for a fact dd would work her tail off to earn a good grade or please a teacher, but she'll give me the whiny run-around all day long. :glare: I think you have to take a look at your relationship with your ds and evaluate whether it would ultimately be stronger or become more strained if you go the PS route (FWIW, in the long run, I care more about my relationship with my kiddos than I do about whether or not they take Latin). I know my dd and I have a wonderful relationship outside of school: she's a great kid-polite and kind to all, respectful of adults, and she's a really hard worker on tasks that matter to her (um, schoolwork is often NOT in that category). :lol: And sometimes I just want to be Mom--and I really enjoy those days when I can be. I don't want to be "the bad guy" all day every day (dh teaches as well, so he can be equally as "bad"). It used to be just a subject or two that brought on the laziness and bad attitude, but lately it's been almost every subject, everyday! :tongue_smilie: We had seriously considered sending them all to PS this January to address some of these issues (similar to the ones you mentioned, including "no, not all time is 'your time'") and to just let everyone "decompress" for a semester because it felt like our homeschool was being "poisoned" (for lack of a better term) by bad attitudes. But in the past few weeks we have decided to go ahead and finish out the school year. We have more breaks planned for the spring semester, so that should help. And I'm going to try to inject a little more "fun" into the schedule. Dh and I have always said we'd take homeschooling year by year, evaluating what is best for the family as a whole. (and who knows, we may dilly dally around with this homeschooling thing long enough that we might actualy get someone graduated! :lol:) However, if we ever feel that homeschooling is ultimately hurting our relationship, and that a little distance, like public or private school might actually help (like I said, we've got a great relationship with dd otherwise), then we would certainly take it into serious consideration. Please don't be too hard on yourself (guilt, guilt, guilt--ugh!) if you choose not to homeschool; only you know what's best for your family (plus, you can always come back to it if you wish!). This dilemma reminds me a little of the working-mom vs. stay-at-home mom debate. Let's face it, some moms thrive being at home with the kids, and for others it's a bigger challenge. I think it all comes down to figuring out what's going to make your family a strong and happy family. If homeschooling makes that happen, then super! If not, then, it's not the end of the world. Plenty of good things happen in PS too! Best wishes with whatever you decide!

My husband has a very large family, so we used to draw names. One year (for an adult) I put together a nice gift basket for about half our usual spending limit--it was movie-themed with a Blockbuster gift card, popcorn, movie theater-sized candy, etc. But I also included a note saying that we had adopted a Salvation Army Angel Tree angel in their honor and had purchased gifts for a needy child. Reception was a little lukewarm. Another of my SILs piped up, "They gave away half your gift!" :glare: Aside from his parents, we don't exchange with Dh's family anymore. It just got too meaningless. (FWIW, When I turned 19, my then-boyfriend's grandmother gave me a gift of "ten chickens dontated in my honor to a needy family." I still think that was an awesome gift!)

Ok, I like the program for writing instruction, but the typos and other proofreading errors are killing me! :banghead: Is every level like this? I find all this somewhat ironic, considering it's a writing program.

FWIW, we started Lively Latin with our 3rd/4th graders two years ago, and we are half-way through LL2 now that they have completed 4th/5th grade. It is slow-going at this point because, frankly, their English grammar skills haven't caught up with what's expected at this level of Latin study (not that they have slacked on grammar--we've used FLL and Rod & Staff all along. It's just that you don't cover things like pluperfect tense in 3rd--or even 5th--grade grammar :tongue_smilie: ). All this to say (in my option), that until a child's grammar skills are advanced enough, any Latin study will most likely continue to be limited to vocabulary memorization and the like. So unless you really want to take that formal Latin plunge, I think you could conceivable put off any formal Latin study until at least 3rd, or even 4th grade, without worrying about not starting soon enough. Just my two cents. :)

Can't remember when "Writing Station" comes in (Level 3?). We usually spend about two days doing the new lesson part (about 15-20 minutes per day), because in later levels the lessons are a little more involved (we're starting Level 6 this fall). Here's what we do: M-Review cards and Word Bank, teach 1/2 of lesson, dictate list (may or may not use tiles) T-Teach remaining lesson, if any (will move on to dictating sentences if lesson is complete), re-dictate list W-Dictate 1/2 of the sentences T-Dictate rest of the sentences F-Writing Station, adding in any words that have been missed during the week We usually cover one "Step" per week. HTH!

We've used Geography and History and really enjoyed them. My dc learned all the states and capitals that way. We listen to the history cd regularly; after 2 years they're still not tired of it!

Thank you all for your helpful replies! I can now better see some of the aspects that might work for us, as well as a few things that might be an issue. I appreciate it!

If you've used RS4K, can you please be specific about why you love or hate it? I did a quick search on the board. Several people seem to dislike it (or be disappointed), but I can't find out why. I'm thinking specifically about Levels 1 and 2, not so much about the pre-level. Thanks!

DD (11) and I beat ourselves over the heads with CGW for about 10 days, but then I asked myself, "Why?" We can come back and do this next go around (perhaps even attack it in Latin then). Or maybe we'll just skip it entirely and never tell anyone. I did make her read Eagle of the Ninth, though. That said, we girls over here are tired of reading about men and boys and wars. :tongue_smilie: We're ready to move on to some Medieval princesses! :lol:

I used R&S 5 this year with no additional writing program other than basic outlining and narration (narration from literature or history reading, or an outline from history and then maybe a summary from the outline). I will repeat this again this coming year for my rising 5th grader because I think it was sufficient. We almost never write anything for science except short-answer essays. :blush: For 6th grade I'm continuing with R&S 6, but I'm planning to add in Writing Strands (will cut back or eliminate some R&S writing). Additional writing will hopefully come from History Odyssey Middle Ages 2 (outlining, summaries, etc.). I know this sounds like overkill, so I'm not planning to do it all!!! I'm just trying to accommodate my older DD who loves to write, but is tired of always having to write about history! :tongue_smilie: Coming up with content is not her problem, but I would like to be able to guide her in expressing herself.