I initially looked into TOG first because I really liked all that it covered. After looked closely at the 3-week samples...I just don't know if it would work for us. It requires a lot of time and reading on my part. This wouldn't usually be bad, but it's hard to read every book that each student is reading so you can be prepared to discuss. I guess alternatively, you could just ask the student to present what they read...but I'd still feel the need to check the material to ensure comprehension...TOG has quite a lot of material that would need checking on my part, especially if you have many kids and different ages. I still like the curriculum overall though...but there is the issue of the price. In general, the cost of a curriculum doesn't matter to me...I'm mostly more concerned about rather the value equals the cost....im not sure the TOG does...at least for the way id use it. But like I said, I like it and find myself keep coming back to look at the sample. As far AO and Wayfarers, I really like both. I'd def tweaking both in the math and science areas, but I like the other ideas. My concerned with Wayfarers, however, is that it's not complete yet... I'm slightly apprehensive about starting something that I might not be able to finish. That's probably just my OCD. I "think" my vote would be Wayfarers....but I'm just not sure. Also, maybe you could check out http://www.oldfashionededucation.com/ it's also a free curriculum. :)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention how much I love wayfarers. I am pretty sad to see that it's not finished. I've been watching the site for some time....but I've not seen any progress on the last volume. I hope the author hasn't abandoned it. :(

I think this is a great idea. The only thing I forsee that may be an issue is comprehension and memorization in the reading. Maybe try to incorporate discussion or something to be sure they are understanding what they are reading. Also, maybe a journal or something that they can keep summaries in of what they read so they can go back and study up a bit is they forget something. For history, it's sometimes hard to have hand-ons projects for actual learning. I mean, you can color an Indian picture or make a boat out of paper, but that doesn't really instill the concepts why or how of history. For science though, I would try to incorporate a few science projects or videos that show science in action. It's sometimes hard to understand science purely from reading text.

I really like the looks of this curriculum. The only question/concern I have is about the online portion. I don't like the thought of buying the curriculum, but then only getting one year of access to the online part.... I mean, why not just put it on dvd or cd-rom? :(

I think TT is great if your child is a math person. From the samples I've seen, there is very little repetitive work. So if you don't understand their initial explanations or example problems, you may have some issues. The examples I've seen explains the problem once in a lecture-type format, then your student goes through maybe 15-20 exercises before moving one. On harder topics, this just may not be enough. The actual video type lessons are great...but I'm just not sure if there is enough practice. Also, the more advanced lessons build on the previous ones, so it's quite important to have a thorough understanding before moving on. An option similar to TT is called CTC Math (https://ctcmath.com/purchase/homeschool/) I like it slightly better because you get access to all grade level with one subscription. They also have a demo you could check out. That program might also be considered light though. I plan on using it and supplementing with the free stuff from CIMT (http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm). I like CTC because it has a lot of tests and stats to help the parent know what's going on. Also, you can print lesson summaries, tests, and worksheets. Another idea, is to get a SAT math guide so you understand the topic requirements. Once the required topics come along in the curriculum, maybe spend extra time on them. Several months before the SAT, do a few practice tests and see where the trouble topics are. This way you can concentrate on these areas.

I don't have actual experience with it directly yet, but I have been looking over the material for a few months trying to decide if it is a good fit. From what I've gathered, the material available on the site can be divided into either units (http://www.sciencelearningspace.com/study-units/) or grade level (http://www.sciencelearningspace.com/grade-levels/). If you choose the unit option (best in middle school), your student will progress through the 20 units at their own pace. I assuming all the units will take maybe 2-3 years....but I'm really not sure. If you choose the grade level option, your student will go through a few topics (2-4) selected specifically for that grade. I am not sure if these topics would span 150-180 hours required by my state for one year of science, so if using the grade level approach, id imagine there would be a lot of extra reading and activities. I don't mind this though. I think adding in living books and nature exercises would work for us. The curriculum itself covers all the topics your students need to learn in science including Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science and Life Science. The structure of the material is laid out pretty well. Each broad topic is dividing into smaller topics. Each smaller topic has and intro video and text reading to explain the concept, then several different videos with hands-on experiments to test and learn the topics more thoroughly. After that there are usually some pdfs to print and record findings or to further cement the info. i.e. The first unit is called Mechanics. It's divided into three smaller topics: Force, Gravity and Friction. The second unit is called Motion and it's divided in velocity and acceleration, etc. The Pros: (1) Covers all middle/elementary science topics, (2) has a lot of printables, (3) has video instruction we can watch together, (4) has many hands-on experiments. The Cons: (1) The topics in the grade level option don't cover the required learning time. While the topics do cover everything you need to learn, in theory, you could do all the videos pretty fast. The parent will probably need to incorporate some extra material or ideas to make it last all year. If using the grade structure, i'd suggest organizing the each topic into 9-12 week unit studies or something similar. Overall, I think this is an awesome curriculum and I think I will def be using it. The hands-on nature of the lessons and the videos really sell me. I'm not an expert on the program though, so check out the link and watch some of the videos. You'll also be able to see the lesson structure on the site.