Wanting to know whether people have used Saxon geometry, how they like it, and if not, what they recommend. Thanks! SaraLyn (long time Saxon user, but first time for high school)

I think the narration excerpts are delightful. After using the text, my 6 y.o. begged me to buy the whole workbook. They have picked great "hooks" from classic literature that make my kids want to read the whole book. Their enjoyment in listening to/reading the excerpts helps make narrating it back more palatable, and as they've gotten better at both narration and dictation, they complain less and like it more. When they get to choose which writing program to use for a given day (my older ones are doing some catch-up work w/ WWE as well as a more advanced program), they pick WWE.

Wasn't Rainbow Science very highly recommended in the last WTM? It didn't make it into this edition-- what happened?

I didn't love it, but I haven't found the perfect thing yet either. I'll keep watching . . .

Sorry! I'm looking for a 5th grader and a 7th grader. Both do well at writing, but are very reticent. It is a hard process. SaraLyn

Got my new copy of WTM, and I'm still trying to compare more specifically Rod & Staff's writing component with Writing Strands, Wordsmith, and IEW. What are the exercises like in Rod and Staff? I can see samples of Writing Strands and Wordsmith, and I own IEW. What have people liked best with their children? I've liked a lot of things with IEW, but I'd like to add some more exercises. SaraLyn

Has anyone compared Vocabulary Vines to Vocabulary from Classical Roots? Also, because we've been using Spelling Power (we didn't love Spelling Workout in the early grades), I don't know if we should jump back to Spelling Workout G & H in preparation for Vocab study, do the prep books in Vocab from CR (books 4, 5, &6), or do Vocabulary Vines. There is only one book for VV unless you do science roots. Does that mean it isn't as in-depth as VCR? I have a 5th grader and 7th grader next year who are good spellers (Spelling Workout was way too easy for the grade levels suggested in 3rd grade). Thanks! SaraLyn

One last question, Debbie- How mother dependent is it? Sounds like it takes very little time, but I'm trying to decide if I should combine my 7th grader and 5th grader on level 6, or get them their own levels. SaraLyn

Here is the link: http://www.dgppublishing.com/

Has anyone used "Daily Grammar Practice" by Dawn Burdette? My public-school teacher aunt raves about it-- says it has immensely helped her students' writing skills. It is a diagramming-based program, but I wonder how it compares with Abeka or other good grammar programs. Thanks!