I haven't actually used their algebra test, but I have used their CAT testing before and they were an easy company to use with really quick turnaround time. HTH:D

:iagree: I have used it as a time-filler and review for my workbook-loving dd. When she was pre-K she did the Get Ready, Get Set, and Go For the Code books because she wanted to "do school" with the rest of us. Now, she's 1st grade and she just finished Phonics Pathways. She's on ETC 5 which we use again as reinforcement of stuff she's already learned.

:bigear:

Thanks everyone! Elizabeth, as always, thank you for such great free stuff! We are already working on ETC (we did Get Ready, Get Set and Go for the Code, then books 1-3, skipped book 4 because it totally confused my ds when he was going through it) and we're now in book 5. I think I'll try Elizabeth's syllable division rules before we go back to book 4. We'll also start AAS and just keep reading. Thanks! It's good to hear others had similar experiences with PP.:D

What do you do when you finish? Dd6 just finished it. She had no problems along the way and can read level 3/4 books quite easily. We are going to take a couple more days to finish up Reading Pathways but after that I have no idea where to go with her. I don't feel like she's done with reading instruction, if you know what I mean. She could probably read an American Girl book, she reads snippets of her big brother's books (lexile levels between 500-700) for fun, and she really wants to read the Harry Potter books but just isn't ready for that yet. Obviously, she will continue to read aloud to me (my 4th grader still does this!) to practice fluency. But, it all just came so much easier to her than it did to big bro. I mean, she's not even 1/2 way through 1st grade and we're done with phonics?:001_huh: That just feels so weird to me. Is it really this easy?? It sure wasn't with ds9. Dd6 wanted to start spelling all last year but I told her she had to wait until she finished phonics. Part of that was because I was too busy to add it in schooling four. The other part is that big bro has really, really struggled with spelling (and I thought reading was bad!:tongue_smilie:) and I know she's going to fly along at a much faster pace than he is. He's done great since I got AAS and that's what she wants to use so I wanted to let him get a little further along in it. So, we'll start AAS when we finish Reading Pathways, but can that really be enough phonics instruction? So, where do I go from here? Any suggestions? Thanks!!:D

No, it doesn't, I'm one of those 70's babies who can do all three. But, with everything else I want to teach my kids, harping on cursive just isn't that important to me.:tongue_smilie: My youngest wants to learn cursive so she'll probably master it: because she wants to. The others can read it and sign their names. Again, not a hill to die on, I'd rather read another good book with them and discuss it or go on a field trip. But, that's just me. My kids also think faster and type faster than they do cursive or print. I think it's generational and a matter of interest. To the OP: decide if it's important to you or not and then either act on it or let it go, we have enough in life to stress about.;)

I'd be sure to preview (or prelisten) to this book. Parts of it have a pretty prejudicial slant to them, not all, but certainly parts. If you do a forum search here you'll find plenty of threads discussing the relative merits and drawbacks and issues related to that book.:)

:iagree::iagree: I've taught my kids cursive. Yes, they finished the whole cursive book, but they never liked it. This was not a hill I was willing to die on, it just wasn't. They know enough cursive to read it easily and to sign their names. Honestly, the world they are going to live & function in as adults is all about digital! So, they can read cursive, but they must master typing. My oldest who is currently in ps 9th grade goes to a school that actually issues laptops to the students and most of her peers take notes in class on their laptops. I see typing as being necessary to the future far more than cursive. For whatever my opinion is worth......:D

At that age I'd use picture books, which are easily found at the library (bonus!). I highly recommend Betsy Maestro for American History. If you want a spine I love the Children's Encyclopedia of American History. You can just read the spreads and supplement with pic books. If you're looking for world history Usborne does a great Illustrated History of the World. Again, lots of pics, very little text and easy to supplement with picture books. Have fun with it!! History at this age should be fun stories and projects and play and coloring (imho). Good luck!:D

My ds read them (as silent reading) last year (3rd grade) and loved them! He's a reluctant reader, but he found the stories (Tales From the Green Forest, Old Mother West Wind, Tales of Prickly Porky, Tales of Reddy Fox, etc) funny and silly and he laughed. Plus, they were hard bound and that made them thicker. He felt like he was reading more grown-up books. He's moved on, but he really enjoyed those tales from the Green Forest around 8-9 years old.:D

This book sounds great! I highly recommend the book The Paper Bag Princess, it's about a princess who defeats a dragon and rescues her prince by using her brains! Only to find out in the end...well, okay, I won't spoil it!:D But, it's a princess who doesn't require saving;).

Thanks!! I love this idea. Dh and I will have to talk about implementing something like this!

:iagree: I can't think of a single day in my 4+ years of hsing that I could use both of those words to describe.:glare: I'd LOVE to hear more about this!! I have one ds who would do nothing but watch movies and play computer games if I would let him. It's a constant source of conflict to enforce the screen-limiting rules around here. How did you schedule/plan/implement this?? :bigear::bigear:

These were very narrative, but I found them to include inaccuracies (ie the one on the revolution states that a British soldier fired the first shot "heard round the world"). This isn't true, no one knows. I can't think of any others off the top of my head and I've sold them, sorry. But, you might try to see if you can take a look at them before you buy them, or use them as RA's and edit if you feel necessary as you go. I've only read 3 of these (our library has them) but they were narrative and engaging. The only problem is there are so many of them and I didn't have that much money to spend for a spine (hence the library). If you can find them, they are excellent! I also have the Smithsonian encyclopedia a pp mentioned. It really is like Kingfisher for American history, a great resource, even spine if that's what you're looking for, but not very narrative. HTH:)

:iagree: :iagree: This was our experience, too, with ds12. He skipped the step of writing down important events in chronological order. I made him go back and redo Day 4, making sure he focused on that step. The end result was much better.:D Apparently, WWS will also be a good reminder to him of the importance of reading and following directions carefully. Never a bad lesson to remember.;)

:iagree: When do you start in the morning? If he's working 8-3:30pm, that's a long day!! I try to keep our days (even for the 7th grader) at 6 hours TOPS!! And, that includes RA's. The kids will often read more on their own after school, but I try to keep our structured time around 5 hours (or less for the youngers). About sloppiness: with my ds it's not math as often as spelling in his other subjects. If he doesn't know how to spell a word he's free to look it up or ask me. If he misspells it, however, he has to write it 20 times properly. After a few times of this, he's learned it's easier to do it right the first time.:D Another question to think about: Saxon is "drill and kill." Maybe he doesn't need to do all the problems? If he's good at math then maybe give him the chance to do just the odds and if he gets 100% then he doesn't have to do the rest. If he gets some wrong, then he has to go back and do the evens. That worked well here when we used Saxon. Plus, it would be like a reward system if it turns out he's doing less problems than before. Heck, if he can correctly do half of the Saxon problems then he's obviously "getting it" and doing fine. With the added bonus that you only have 1/2 the problems to correct!;) HTH

At a conference in Philly I asked SWB this question: what if ds gets the gist of the sentence, he doesn't change the meaning at all, just changes a word or two? She said to let it go, especially since he hates dictation!:D HTH

I can't think of anything on the same caliber as Charlotte, sorry. But, there are plenty of picture books: This one is fun. Also, there's always If You Give a Moose a Muffin. We read all the Sweet Pickles books as kids. The moose one is here.

When we did CLE math the 1st LU of a new series (ie 501, 601, 701) was always nothing but pretests and reviews. I'd totally skip it!:D

Here's the "Try before you buy" page.:D

SWB has 2 really great lectures available for MP3 download (or you can buy a CD) on the PHP site that would flesh out the answers to your questions. I learned a lot listening (and re-listening) to them! Great Books: History as Literature What is Literary Analysis? When, Why, and How Should I Teach IT? There are also free downloads available of the lecture powerpoint slides she used on the linked pages. HTH

:iagree::iagree: I'm about to start with my reluctant writer 7th grader. It's right at his level. I agree that these skills are so important I don't care which level it says it is, he needs these skills so I'm meeting him where he's at, regardless of the level on the cover of the book.:D

My dd did CLE 4 days a week and LOF (2 chapters) one day a week.

My dd finished the 700 level of CLE and only the 1st LOF Pre-Algebra (the one with Biology). Then, she started Jacob's Algebra and she's doing fine. She's not a particularly mathy kid. HTH

This would make me crazy. Honestly, I'm in awe of people who can manage this! I just have mine all in the same cycle doing different assignments and levels of depth. Dd6 has been tagging along the last two years (preK and K) just because she wanted to. In K I had her do occasional narrations along the line of "Tell me one thing you remember from the story we just read." Whatever she says is great, I repeat it back in a complete sentence, she repeats the complete sentence to me and I write it down. She colors the coloring pages and the maps and that's all she does. It has worked beautifully. If she doesn't get it, I don't worry, she'll get it the next time through the cycle. JMHO!:)