It may not work for your needs, but ClassDojo has some nice features and it could possibly be arranged to work with what you are trying to do.

Essentials in Writing could be a good fit for LA. Math, perhaps CLE or Math Mammoth.

Tell me about how it worked for you and how you tracked progress, made assignments, etc. I know how khan works, I'm interested in how you worked with it in your homeschool. I'm considering it as a spine for my 5th grader. Not interested in thoughts of people who haven't used it or think it isn't enough, only looking for those who have actually used it as a primary curriculum--I've read a lot of those threads already. 😀

My 5th grader has been doing Math U See pretty much from the beginning. We experimented a bit with Teaching Textbooks and it wasn't a good fit, and neither was Math Mammoth, though I think that one could *possibly* work... I think that he gets bogged down with the mastery (very repetitive) approach of MUS. I have had him do Khan Academy regularly for the past 6 months and he quite likes it. He is the sort of kid who likes to be his own authority and prefers not to be taught by people because to learn from someone you have to recognize that you don't already know something. Anyone have a kid like that? I've heard good things about CLE math and am having him work through the placement tests now. He just completed the 300 Level test and will do the 400 level test this week. I've looked into Learn Math Fast, also. I guess I'm just wondering if there are curricula out there that I don't know about that would be a good fit for him. CLE seems promising because it looks to be taught to the student in the workbooks without requiring a separate instructor.

Drat! I guess since I had an account that expired last summer I am not eligible to try out the free subscription. :-/

It has been a couple years since we had a subscription to DiscEd and I remember we could access the website on the iPad but it felt cumbersome. I am wondering if it has been improved at all or if there is an app or something I don't know about. I see that there is a DiscEd Techbook app, but I don't think that has anything to do with the Streaming Plus does it? Thanks!

We have been doing SOTW 1 this year (second time for my oldest two, though #2 was just little when we started) and I've had my 7th grader read quite a bit from the Oxford Press World in Ancient Times series to expand her history. Honestly, a rigorous history curriculum is not a HUGE priority for me. I think it is best to have it be enjoyable and learned as a story of humanity to learn lessons from and understand our current world. So I don't do anything in the way of testing or require much writing about it. I like to pull in other resources as I find them (Crash Course videos and the like). I like the idea of just continuing through SOTW 2 for next year, but I would like to make it more enriching/educational for my oldest. Are there books or curricula out there that would complement SOTW well? I don't want to just exclude her from our lessons and have her do her own thing because I am pretty sure she won't like that as well. Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions. I am using EiW with my 4th grader and it's going okay for him. I may have to look at the samples for the upper grades. From what I've seen, it doesn't look like a great fit for my daughter, but I could be wrong. I keep coming back to IEW...maybe it's the one to try. Anyone have anything else to recommend?

Librivox is a great idea! I'm so glad you two mentioned it! I am excited to hear such positive reviews. It sounds like a really nice program and I think my guy will like it.

Thank you both for the math feedback. Very good info and helpful. His particular child is my toughest one to work with, so perhaps I am somehow hoping there is a silver bullet when there really can't be. I hadn't seen the placement test, though, so I'm glad to know that's available if we decide to make the switch. As I think about it today, I realize that one very good thing about MUS for him is having the blocks as a resource. He is a builder but also someone who gets "stuck" mentally/emotionally and then shuts down, and I have seen the blocks get him unstuck on a number of occasions. Looking forward to reading your thoughts and experiences with the LA, Jennifer. Thanks for taking the time.

I'd be using it with an 8th grader. I know they have the whole teacher DVD course and I saw there is also kind of a quickstart DVD for teachers. Just wondering if it is something I could figure out in a few days over the summer before fall or what is involved. Also, I am thinking my daughter would probably start with Student Writing Intensive B? Is that recommended before doing any of the themed ones or does it matter? I have looked through the website a couple of times and read through a lot of old threads here, but still don't quite have a great feel for it. Thank you!

I am considering switching my 4th grader from MUS to CLE Math. He is in Chapter 19 out of 30 in MUS Delta. He has struggled mastering division, but it seems to be clicking. I am contemplating switching him now, which of course seems almost silly for timing, but as it is I figure we will be continuing math through the summer, so maybe it makes sense? Or maybe it is best to finish Delta and make the change for 5th grade? Presently for his Language Arts we are doing Essentials in Writing Level 3 and working through Logic of English Essentials. I've not really heard much about CLE LA, but it looks pretty straightforward painless from the samples. I'd love to hear experiences/opinions of their LA, also what all it includes and what might need to be supplemented, if anything. Thank you!

I saw someone mentioned using them both, alternating days. Anyone else? I'm strongly considering them for my rising 1st grader next fall and would like to have an idea of the amount of time required per day. Also, I know I could probably figure this out by looking through the samples/TOCs more, but are the two combined a pretty solid LA lineup? Do you feel the need to add anything else? Also, please share which levels you have used. Thank you!

I was just looking into this today, too.

I am interested in all types -- online classes with an instructor, DVDs, etc. If you have personal experience with any, please share. Also indicate whether it is secular, as I can only get reimbursed for secular programs. I would consider a non-secular one if the religious content was not too strong. Thank you!

Sometimes the greatest curriculum choices that would be perfect in an ideal world just don't pan out. What are some "bare necessities" programs that you have used and would recommend? Include grade levels if relevant. Looking forward to reading responses on this. :o)

(Cross posted from middle grade challenges board to get more eyes.) Background: We went through WWE1-4 and then tried WWS1 in 6th grade and it wasn't a good fit. We switched over to do Writing Strands 3 and 4, and she was working with a writing tutor because life was crazy here with new twins. Then they kind of felt ready for something else so she spent a few months at the end of 6th grade writing a several chapter short story. This year (7th grade) she has spent most of the year composing a fantasy fan fiction story about My Little Pony characters, still working with her tutor. Her tutor was diagnosed with cancer in January so they have only met a couple of times since then. My daughter is feeling like she would prefer to get back into "assignments" and working on things other than just creative writing, and I'm trying to figure out what would work. Our homeschool schedule has stabilized quite a bit this year and so I think I can work with her more at home, but something that can be done fairly independently would be a bonus. Maybe something she could work on daily and we would meet together 2x/week. Things I have considered: -Picking up Writing Strands again -Trying again at WWS1 but not trying to use the whole thing, picking parts out that would work. I've been reading threads today about people picking and choosing from WWS1 and WWS2 and that working well for them. What killed us was the dryness of the outlining and stuff in the first few chapters of WWS1, and the very technical/uncommon terms used. I literally have not looked at it in 18 months, so maybe another visit would show me more of the rhyme/reason behind it. -IEW materials. I've never used any of these but they look pretty solid. I'm a bit hesitant to jump into something new. They look really teacher intensive, are they? -BraveWriter either Faltering Ownership or Help for High School. I am not sure if we are quite ready for the latter or if it is what we need, but I like BW. -Essentials in Writing. I'm using Level 3 with my 4th grader and it's a good fit for him (a reluctant writer), but it seems a little basic for this daughter who is not so reluctant a writer. -Killgallon Paragraphs for Middle School. I already own this and it looks like it could be good to use through the end of the year while I figure out what to do for 8th grade. We are using Easy Grammar Plus for grammar. Thanks so much for any insight.

Oh Merry, that's a great read. And I think it's spot on, but I find myself just feeling like if there are too many things to juggle, things just slip through the cracks. I'm trying to figure out how to help my rising 8th grader get ready for high school work, working with my challenging personality 4th grader, and not let my (current) K-er fall through the cracks...and that's not even mentioning the twins. I guess I really just want something that WORKS that I can feel good about progressing through without feeling the need to shop around for more curriculum.... I thought by kid 3 I'd have all my favorites and "old reliables" figured out, but my older two have been so drastically different and this one is different from both of those two that I'm not feeling like I'm getting a lot of benefit even though I've been doing this for 8 years! When I started out homeschooling, I only had 2 kids...there was a LOT of time to do things. Now with 5, there is so much less time. I feel like I have to be efficient... ::sigh::

Goodness, the more I look into these different programs, the more I like all of them! These each look like they would fit the bill: SWR LLATL CLE McRuffy This is when I need a super curriculum guru who knows the ins and outs of ALL of them and also happens to know what my homeschool life looks like. :lol: That's not too much to ask of the universe, is it?

Thanks for the CLE suggestion. I like the look of it, and my little guy likes workbooks. How much Christian content is there? We are Christian, but I'm not a huge fan of religious content in our school books. I also like the look of LLATL...I'm going to look into both of those a bit more. Jennifer, the video instruction was a big drawback for me, too. One more step and I just don't think it would happen.

Background: We went through WWE1-4 and then tried WWS1 in 6th grade and it wasn't a good fit. We switched over to do Writing Strands 3 and 4, and she was working with a writing tutor because life was crazy here with new twins. Then they kind of felt ready for something else so she spent a few months at the end of 6th grade writing a several chapter short story. This year (7th grade) she has spent most of the year composing a fantasy fan fiction story about My Little Pony characters, still working with her tutor. Her tutor was diagnosed with cancer in January so they have only met a couple of times since then. My daughter is feeling like she would prefer to get back into "assignments" and working on things other than just creative writing, and I'm trying to figure out what would work. Our homeschool schedule has stabilized quite a bit this year and so I think I can work with her more at home, but something that can be done fairly independently would be a bonus. Maybe something she could work on daily and we would meet together 2x/week. Things I have considered: -Picking up Writing Strands again -Trying again at WWS1 but not trying to use the whole thing, picking parts out that would work. I've been reading threads today about people picking and choosing from WWS1 and WWS2 and that working well for them. What killed us was the dryness of the outlining and stuff in the first few chapters of WWS1, and the very technical/uncommon terms used. I literally have not looked at it in 18 months, so maybe another visit would show me more of the rhyme/reason behind it. -IEW materials. I've never used any of these but they look pretty solid. I'm a bit hesitant to jump into something new. They look really teacher intensive, are they? -BraveWriter either Faltering Ownership or Help for High School. I am not sure if we are quite ready for the latter or if it is what we need, but I like BW. -Essentials in Writing. I'm using Level 3 with my 4th grader and it's a good fit for him (a reluctant writer), but it seems a little basic for this daughter who is not so reluctant a writer. -Killgallon Paragraphs for Middle School. I already own this and it looks like it could be good to use through the end of the year while I figure out what to do for 8th grade. We are using Easy Grammar Plus for grammar. Thanks so much for any insight.

Thank you, Ellie. Very helpful.

I've looked into Phonics Road some but am wondering if there are other ones to consider.

Thanks for the input. Ellie, what is the one book I would buy for Spalding? I am not familiar with the method and my searched pull up WRTR which requires a lot more than one book, it appears. I'm looking into How To Teach Spelling as well. That could be a good fit.

So I have been going through the Logic of English Essentials with my 4th grader. He doesn't like to guess wrong, so my hope was that going through the phonograms would help him figure out how to make educated spelling attempts. It has been going well, but I can tell he is going to need more word list practice even after we finish with LoE. I have been wondering if starting with AAS would be useful. From what I've read, it would be necessary to start with Level 1 and move quickly through the material that he already knows, rather than starting in a higher level. I have younger kids and would likely use the AAS with them as well, so it wouldn't bother me to have to get multiple levels. i also have Spelling Plus that we worked on for a while, but it didn't seem to work very well for him since it didn't spell out the rules or reason for spelling. Would you recommend AAS for this situation or is there something else that I am missing that might be a better fit? Thank you!