I use JAG because I live in a state that requires testing. JAG is nice and light so it covers what we need without a lot of pain. Love it! Heather

It really depends on your kiddo's learning style. Most kids start out concrete (which is why everything goes into a 2yo's mouth)and sequential learners, but many kids develop the ability to think more abstractly and randomly. That just means that they can take random pieces of information, and place them in the right order to figure out the whole and that they can deal with things that are not physical in nature, but theoretical. Every person has some of each ability, mine tend to be more concrete and sequential, especially more sequential than average. For example I find concrete thinkers like fantasy in general because it is pretend, and like stories about reality, but don't care for stories like Dr. Doolittle because they combine the two. Where abstract thinkers love the blur between reality and pretend. Concrete thinkers will also struggle with situations where something is not explicitly stated, but implied through body language or such. Abstract thinkers will pick up on the undertow quickly. Also sequential learners, if told a story out of order, will have a hard time with comprehension, where an abstract leaner will be able to put the story in order in their mind, and still get the comprehension correct. These generalities are not always true, but they can be guides to help you in figuring out the needs of your child. Heather

We are still doing RS through E, but Geometry didn't work out here. Parts of Geometry were too easy, while others were too complicated (not hard just....more work than it needed to be....at least for us), and even through I bought the printable disk we continued to have differences in measurements. When you are measuring to a tenth of an inch it is just really hard to get the same answer. Does the beginning mark go on the start of the line or right before it? It is easy to end up a tenth off. After re-doing many answers I finally started having her turn in her measurements for me to correct with the RS measurements so I could actually use their answer key. It just got old and we dropped it. But I really liked the way E showed the relationship between percents, decimals and fractions as well as the multivide. Heather

7th edition, it does have the odd answers. I bought the student answer key, which has the odd problems worked out. For the even I have gone in and made an answer key, which allows me to get the nuances of what they are teaching (every text approaches thing slightly different) and thus teach it better. There is all the answers in the TM of the current edition. You just have to get set up with the publisher as a hser in order to buy the TM and the newer edition is more expensive. I think some people have found the 7th edition TM used. I didn't really even try. Heather

Kim, Given his age and that you are almost done with Homer, I would just keep going with CW. Diogenes has been a breeze for my oldest, and I don't do much at all. Heather

Singapore was my first love of math programs. I am a math person and I adore it. I capture my heart right off. But my kids are extremely sequential and concrete learners. This hasn't been a problem with addition and subtraction, because they are basic skills that are used daily and which are reinforced. The longer my kids do Singapore the more problems they have. Not with simple multiplication and division. They can do that wonderfully in their minds. Even simple fractions and decimals didn't make them flinch. Remembering how to do long division, long multiplication, how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions and on into area and such they start to have recall problems. They just aren't getting enough practice to own it for their learning style. For her 7th grade year (last year) I pulled my oldest from Singapore and put her into Lial's Basic College math. She does all the problem sets, review and tests. The incremental to mastery learning with cumulative review has turned her around. She's remembering it. I finally gave in and dropped Singapore for the rest. It is a great program. I still adore it. But that is from the perspective of someone who has already mastered the concepts and can just enjoy the depth. My kids need step by step learning with lots of practice and review. Singapore just wasn't meeting their needs. If I had more energy I probably could take the extra practice text and the Intensive practice texts and line everything up so they do get more practice and mastery. It would help. But in the end the program is a certain amount of spiral and that still also leaves out cumulative review. I am sure there is still some way to make it work. I just don't have the energy at this stage to do it. All this to say I moved my 2nd dd over to Lial's as well, but at a slower pace than my older girl. This move was confirmed when I got her test scores back and she had dropped significantly in math...even through she often gets 100 percent on her worksheets from day to day. She can do it at the moment, but it isn't transferring into long term recall. She understands why math works, but she can't remember the formulas and procedures (steps to use). What an odd problem, usually it is the opposite. They child can do the formula and can't tell you why it works. For my younger two they will continue with Right Start (also doesn't have enough practice, even with daily games, but at least they still get the why and learn their math facts here). Then they are doing Math Mammoth because it allows me of focus on a single topic at a time, working to mastery. Just thought I would share the journey. Food for thought for those who are trying to make decisions for fall. Sometimes you have to let go of perfectly good (or even beloved) stuff for that which is a better fit for the child's needs. Heather

Debbie, As a teacher I found it difficult to follow. I felt you needed to know Latin to teach from their TM. I had some from Lively Latin, but still often found myself saying, "What was that?" In the end we are using First Form as our main learning program, and then Cambridge for fun Friday thing, which is working very well. Heather

Mostly I just want to know more about the workbook and Romans Speak for Themselves. What part do they play? Can the questions be answered without the workbook...does it just make it easier....or is it necessary. That sort of stuff. Heather

I have the student text, teacher text, workbook, Romans Speak for Themselves student text and teacher text and audio CD's. The online stuff would be a pain to use here. I don't really use tests. Is there something missing, or something listed I don't really need? Heather

How is it going, for those of you using it. While I get VV, I just don't have the time to get it up and running right now, so I am thinking of just buying IC...but first want to make sure it is actually working for people. Would you buy it again? Heather

Never mind. E-mailed the company and apparently I just missed the new workbooks that do have them included. They are e-mailing me out one of the new versions at no charge; and they responded to my e-mail over the weekend. I am very impressed with the customer service right now. Heather

I can't seem to even get it started because half the pages (Affix Adder) are in the TM. I don't want to rip apart my book to get copies, the pages are not tear out, they aren't in the student book and I can't hand them the TM to do them there because the answers are on the previous page. Heather

I don't know what Singapore is like compared to MM. The level 3 bar graphs are easy because they kids have to learn to draw them. And as Bill stated they stay on the easy side in the Primary texts, but not in the CWP or especially the Intensive Practice books. If you want to avoid the tougher problems just stick with the primary text and extra practice books. My kids aren't super mathy, and I don't even start Singapore till 2nd grade. My kids haven't had a horrible time with the bar problems. My oldest doesn't want to draw them, so often we go back and forth on just getting her to draw it instead of guessing. But that is a different issue. My middle two do a lot better with it. Also if they have really tried I will draw it for them or do it with them. Heather

They start in level 3 and are easy there, but they get harder and harder. :D Heather

That was the one I was thinking of, but I haven't seen it or used it. Heather

Reading by the Colors. Heather

TOG is a weekly schedule where MOH is a daily. TOG still has a more. That isn't always good, because TOG is too much for may people. If I remember right there are two different alternate paths to the R level Literature that cut many titles because the reading level is so heavy as scheduled. TOG generally has a lit worksheet for every book assigned. My understanding of Illuminations, but you might want to ask for clarification, is only the books with the family reading guides have literature analysis. The rest are for fun reading. That might have changed, so it would be something to ask about. Illuminations has dictation/copywork at the R level that TOG doesn't. In fact TOG recommends the use of narration/copywork, and sometimes schedules it at the beginning of some levels, but then it just says to continue to do it and doesn't schedule anything or pick anything out for you. Illuminations has copywork/dictation through high school, as I understand it. I saw one set of passages that contrasted Biblical passages with the Origins of Species. If Illuminations includes LA other than writing at the high school level, TOG does not. TOG at all levels only covers writing and no other LA. Illuminations covers lower level science for you, but recommends Apologia at the higher levels. I don't know if they schedule Apologia though. Those are the things I have picked up by just being on the yahoo groups, but I haven't used Illuminations, and I know it continues to change, so the literature part might be out of date. Oh I seem to remember they integrated a Bible program. TOG really only has Bible for year 1, so you might ask if all years of Illuminations has Bible covered or if it was just Illuminations 1. Heather

Janna, Classical Writing has online classes, but honestly one on one works better with my kids. I use Typing Instructor Deluxe. For tracking it depends on the source. If it is vision issues, then vision therapy is the best. If it is a processing issues, colored overlays might help. You can buy the book, By the Colors by Helen Irlen comes will a full set. If those don't help then you are down to using your finger or a notched 3x5 card. Heather

The SL forums are funny, but they are a great bunch of gals. My feeling is most people choose based on the oldest child then supplement for the younger. I personally find it easier to do the opposite. My oldest so loves history, is much more academic and is a serious reader while my younger three are not history lovers, more visual (SL doesn't have a lot of visual books), sensitive and not avid readers. It is much easier for me to pick something at their level, and then hand my oldest extra books to read. Thus in TOG I read the LG or UG books aloud, then assign my oldest additional reading. Honestly I think you could do SL K, just pick a text(s) for your oldest to also read independently. Maybe something like this? Not recommending that book, because I don't own it, but it is an example of something that might go well with SL K. I think you could easily do Core 1 and then Core 2 after that, but have your oldest read the Kingfisher Encyclopedia along with it. I wouldn't try to coordinate them either. Review is good. Just figure out how many pages they have to read per day to finish the text in 2 years. My red Kingfisher book has 464 pages. 2 years of 36 weeks is 72 weeks. On a 4 day schedule that would be 288 days. He would have to read 1 page front and back a day and you would still finish Kingfisher before you finish both cores. You could pick and choose readers from Core 6 and 7 for him. Then you could do Core 3 and 4, and have him read the spine of Core 100, History of the US. You might buy the 100 TM for the notes and again pick and choose from the Core 100 literature for him. With that many littles, I would tend to think it would be easier to do SL for now and TOG later. Less planning. Heather

Generally you continue to use the tiles, rule cards, phonograms and sound cards, for review. The one exception is with the rule cards going from level 1 to level 2. Level 2 reviews all the important cards from level 1. If you need replacement parts, call them. They are generally very good about selling pieces at a cost effective price, especially if you send them a written request with a self addressed envelope (thus you don't pay priority shipping). Heather

IEW has a course as well. Heather

We hs year around: 2 weeks of full school (independent and one on one work) 1 week of independent hs and I do planning 2 weeks of full school (independent and one on one work) 1 week off I generally take 2 weeks of at Christmas, and during the summer there are extra weeks here and there for family vacation, but it works for us. Oh and we only do a 4 day school week. Heather

I don't remember it being a big deal when I was held back. The school stated it was for maturity reasons. Personally I think it was the dyslexia. I can remember being called on to go through my phonics out loud in front of the class and I remember totally freezing. Couldn't remember a thing. The next year the teacher didn't do things in front of the class like that and I learned to read and passed the grade. Heather

I had a long talk with my Ophthalmologist about using reading glasses with kids, and he said there is no conclusive evidence it helps or hurts their vision. There is a slight danger of the child becoming dependent on them and their eyes saying far sided because of it. I suspect it would have to be quite a lot because he wasn't worried about my 2nd dd using them for school and night reading. If it helps I say go for it! Have you looked into Irlen's book and tried colored filters as well? Her books has a set in the back, which are nicer than many others because they have a non-glare surface, so it also stops glare problems. Heather

Sequential Spelling was a total bomb here. No rules and we don't intuit anything. We need direct, implicit instruction. Which is funny because we are all dyslexic to some degree. Spelling Power is also generally accepted in the homeschooling community as being a great program for natural spellers (as you also state), but not good for those who struggle, and the original poster already stated her child is struggling. Heather