We used Mastering Essential Math Skills by Richard Fisher and it worked great for dd. There are workbooks that address specific areas (fractions, decimals, etc.) and general workbooks for Middle / High School skills and Prealgebra. The pages are not overwhelming and there's some review with each lesson.There are online videos to go with most lessons, but we didn't use those.

Thank you all for these great ideas! Dd already has the George Morris book, but we will definitely check out the others.

@HollyDay - What a great idea! We have a wonderful equine therapy place near us so we will definitely check in to that.

@Reefgazer, thank you so much for the information! This is exactly what I needed to know. I have already talked to the trainers at the barn where dd rides and boards her horse. They are excited for dd to take this course and happy to help with anything we need.

Hi all, I am planning to do Equine Science using Parker's book for my daughter's 9th grade year. She will take Biology in 10th, Chemistry in 11th, and 12th is TBD. Anyway, in addition to the text, she will get as much real-life experience as she can handle at the barn where she rides 4 times / week. For those who have done an Equine Science course, did you count it as (non-lab) science or as an elective? Any other information about planning this kind of 'out-of-the-box' course would be appreciated.

To the OP: I'm not sure about Algebra, but DO does have a placement test for Prealgebra. You just have to email and ask for it.

Hmmm, going from MUS's mastery to CLE 600's spiral seems like a bit of a leap. I'm not familiar with AOPS, but no matter what you decide, I would suggest giving the placement test. Best of luck!

Did you give your son the placement test before he started using CLE last January?

I think it really depends on the child. My dd was in B&M school for a few years and had a VERY rough time. Finding an activity that 1) has measurable goals, and 2) she has done very well at has done wonders for her self confidence. She still has a couple of other things going to ensure that she is well rounded, but those activities definitely take a back seat to her main hobby/sport.

Thank you! Yes, I have considered that, but they only study one novel per grade (at least in Jr. High). Dd and I both prefer to study more whole books and she has already read the 8th grade selection anyway. It does look like an interesting program, though. We are actually using parts of their writing program this year to work on some specific skills.

Thank you so much, Lori. This answers my questions about LL AND gives me lots of options to ponder!

Dd will be in 8th grade next year and I am thinking ahead to options for literature. She has participated in Ctr for Lit discussions for the past two years, but I would like to add in more detailed study for next year. Is it too much to jump into LL8 without having done LL7? I am not as concerned about the comprehension/analysis as I am about the writing requirements. Are there shorter assignments in LL8 or is it all essays? Another option that I've considered is Essentials in Literature, but I really like the selections of 'whole' books used in LL. Of course, I'm open to any and all suggestions for a gentle introduction to literary terms / analysis.

CLE fits your description, but be sure to give her the placement test.

Math Fact Master is really good and it is only 99 cents.

Hake Grammar would work.

DD-7th is registered for a class with Center for Lit. I'll assign a few novels to match up with history (Middle Ages) and she reads a ton on her own.

Haha! Yes, they do have 'holey' brains at this stage!! And thanks - I am feeling so much better about WWS.

kbutton, thank you so much for your detailed response. I especially appreciate the information on how WWS progresses!

ByGrace3, thank you for responding. I pulled out the old placement test that I gave dd and see that she missed quite an impressive variety of items - plural forms of nouns, finding the subject and verb (yup!), past participles, possessive nouns and several other usage type questions. I think that Fix-it! (and IEW for that matter) are both fine programs; however, they did not fit my dd's learning style. She needs constant review and Hake provides that. If your dc have a firm grasp of grammar, then Fix-it! is a great way to reinforce those skills. Unfortunately, my dd was in B&M school through 3rd grade and the next three years were spent using programs that I now know didn't work for her (oh, the guilt!). All this to say that she has always done very well on our required standardized testing so it totally slipped up on me. I'm wondering if WWS will be a good fit for my creative girl who thrives with a tad of structure? I hope that working with her on fundamentals over the next year will help me sort some of this out, but I am open to any and all suggestions / advice!

I am desperate for help on what to do with dd's writing next year. FYI, she has used IEW with Fix-it Grammar for the last two years with a private tutor and has always received rave reviews / 'A's. Here are some of my thoughts and concerns and why were are moving on from this particular tutor: - DD completely bombed a grammar placement test that I gave her in Feb. At that point, I took over grammar (now using Hake) and things are coming alone nicely. I recently gave her the same placement test and there was much improvement. - When I asked dd to write a paragraph from a choice of three prompts, I got nothing but big, fat tears. She froze and said there was 'no way' she could write a paragraph on her own. I know that she can do it, but the fact that she THINKS she can't is a huge problem for me. - On the bright side, dd is a wonderful creative writer. She uses both varied sentence structure and interesting word choices - not to mention lots of humor! Even though writing is not my strong suit, I would like to work with her next year. I need a better idea of where she is and we also need some flexibility due to travel plans. I'm considering using The Paragraph Book Series along with Kilgallon Sentence / Paragraph Composing. I will also have her do outlines, summaries in content subjects to keep those skills fresh. My goal is to have her begin either WWS1 or Bravewriter online classes the next year. I guess I have a couple of questions here: 1) Does next year's plan look good for remediation when a student is blocked and can't write a paragraph on cue? 2) Realizing that WWS and Bravewriter are at different ends of the spectrum, what are some signs to look for next year to determine which will work better with dd's style? She became overly dependent on IEW's structure and I want to be sure to nurture her creativity while ensuring that she learns how to write a 5 paragraph essay! :lol: Is WWS too similar to IEW? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I looked at both the description and the TOC...I would not use this series. There are so many wonderful Catholic materials out there for your age dc. As a pp mentioned, Marigold Hunt's books are always good. Catholic Heritage Curricula has nice things for younger children as well. Good luck!

Julie, thank you for the information. Since dd has a tutor for writing, I'm not sure I know enough to ask many questions since I try to stay out of the equation as much as possible! The sense that I get from BW is that because the classes are shorter, there will be more time for writing across the curriculum in between sessions. Also, there look to be some interesting elective-type classes and dd is all about anything that is fun:) I may be back with more questions later, but for now I'm glad to know that the transition is not too much of a stretch. Thanks again!

I'm thinking of transitioning dd from IEW to BW before she hits high school. She has done very well with IEW (thanks to a private tutor!) but the tutor can only take dd so far and I need to outsource this subject. At the point of switching over, dd will have had SWI-A, and two years of Level-B theme-based, so I figure she will be ready for KidsWrite Intermediate and Expository Essay. My question is how much structure is there in the upper levels of BW? I realize that the philosophies of these two programs are very different, but once the student hits a certain point, it seems like there would be more in common. Also, any success stories of current college students that used BW in high school would be appreciated:) Thanks!

For your age dc, you might want to check out Mystery Science. The videos are very engaging and the instructions for the coordinating activities are very clear. There are some supplies to be gathered but MS makes it very simple by providing links to purchase the items that can't easily be found around the house.

DD 7th Grade Math: CLE 6/7 Writing: IEW Medieval (outsourced) Grammar: Fix it! (outsourced) Lit: Center for Lit, EM Daily Reading Comprehension (maybe), Faith & Freedom Readers and TONS of free reading Latin: First Form History: The Old World and America (Middle Ages Section w/ coordinating novels TBD and Timeline) Science: The Rainbow Year 1 Socratic Discussion Online: Angelicum Religion: Seton Extracurriculars: Competitive Horseback Riding, Piano, Co-Op Drama (?)