airforcefamily Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Hits: memoria press astronomy tt3 Â misses: mm spelling workout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakereese Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 So far no misses yet this year! :hurray: Â As for hits: Â Beast Academy Bravewriter ideas/lifestyle (this has added a fun element to our LA, and has really freshened up our homeschool) Mark Kistler Online Life of Fred Disney Science of Imagineering DVDs (doing a semester with these for science) Â And our usual favorites: WWE/FLL Math Mammoth Right Start HWOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blittle6 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 6th Grade  Hits: Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Rosetta Stone Mandarin Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Trail Guide to World Geography Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Saxon Math 7/6 Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Sadlier- Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Word Within the Word stem lists Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Kid Coder Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Mark KistlerĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s drawing tutorials Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Junior Analytical Grammar  Misses: Ă¢â‚¬Â¢MyAccess Home Edition: Website is so slow to load and several times saved work is retrieved with additional characters added. Also when I tried to email customer service, I never got a reply until I sent them a message on their Facebook page. Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Plato Language Arts (7th) Ă¢â‚¬â€œ way too easy.  High School  Hits: Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Rosetta Stone Mandarin Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Trail Guide to US Geography Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Saxon Algebra 1&2 Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Teen Coder Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Word Within the Word stem lists Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Analytical Grammar Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Auto Upkeep Ă¢â‚¬Â¢LabPaq Chemistry Labs Ă¢â‚¬Â¢The Great Courses- Foundations in Western Civ., US History, American Literature, History of World Literature, HomerĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Odyssey, Your Deceptive Mind, Argumentation, Classical Mythology, Dante, Herodotus, Astronomy  Misses: Ă¢â‚¬Â¢Learning Springs Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Had several courses (most of them honors) from them, and when all was said and done, I ended up using them mainly as a guide for pacing. The assignments were not challenging or long enough IMO. I kept the textbooks they sent if they were good, and just ordered the teacherĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s editions and workbooks from Amazon. I made my own lesson plans and assignments from them. Ă¢â‚¬Â¢MyAccess College Writing Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Same Issues as Home Edition Ă¢â‚¬Â¢The Great Courses Ă¢â‚¬â€œ Great Ideas of Philosophy (Content was good, but DS though it was too boring) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Sure! Â I'm using the 6th grade book for my 5th grader. We had a false start with MeNingful Comp. it was so broken down into tiny details it was mind numbing. Â Then I made up my own Writing Curriculum using Write Source and some nifty prompt books. That worked well in the sense that my son produced some beautiful papers. However, my relationship with my son started going downhill, because my expectations were so high and because he knew I was designing the whole program, he felt he could and should argue with me. Â So I felt I needed a middle ground and searched high and low. I looked at everything I think. Â Spectrum is truly a middle ground. The 6th grade book walks the student step by step through good sentences, good paragraphs, understanding the writing process, and then an in depth understanding of the expository essay. Each assignment has ample space in the book for the assignment, with final drafts assigned on seperate paper. I am involved but not overly involved and my son feels confident that he can produce what the program is asking for. Of course we supplement with a thesaurus and I talk to him about boring words, etc. it also walks the student through writing a basic report. Â I am very happy, especially for 8.00! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 The whole writing approach I'm taking is a big hit (Picturing Writing/Image-Making Within the Writing Process) and so is Meet the Masters. We've also had success with Teaching Textbooks and Sequential Spelling. Â I'm on the fence about REAL Science Odyssey. Maybe if we used Chemistry this year it would have been better, but the Earth Science and Life Science seem a bit babyish for my kids. Also not 100% sold on History Odyssey. I like the projects it offers, but I don't like how it jumps all over SOTW. We might just use SOTW next year along with the activity guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Ooh! That sounds like a great idea. Can you share a photo?  I will have to take some first...will involve vacuuming the dog fur tumbleweeds first... :tongue_smilie:  You amaze me. I long to have your capability to take a vision and flesh it out. I am hopeless..... Way to go! Your homeschool sounds awesome. :001_smile:  Aw, thanks! I'm having fun. I seriously doubt you are hopeless. I seem to have extra time on my hands now that I don't have any very little people anymore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 The whole writing approach I'm taking is a big hit (Picturing Writing/Image-Making Within the Writing Process) Â We are still loving this as part of our writer's workshop. DD loves adding in the art aspect! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 I love these hit and miss threads.:001_smile:  Hits for us this year...  Ds6: IEW's PAL Reading  Dd9: Visual Latin IEW's Fables, Myths, and Fairytales Self created biome study * The big hit this year for dd9 has been following an LCC schedule, dropping separate LA components in favor of integrated skill building through composition and Latin, and doing away with our history-centric literature opting instead to focus more on classic literature.  Dd13: Irasshai Japanese AG WWS  Dd14: Teaching the Classics/Windows to the World - this has been a bit of a struggle to implement due to my time constrictions, and difficult in that it is really making dd have to think, but it has been a good stretch for her, and has helped me feel more comfortable in how to teach literature. So, I would say that she would not consider this a hit, but I do.  The jury is still out on: PAL Writing Classical Composition Fable - we are going to re-visit this later in the year, but right now the plot components were frustrating to dd9.  Misses for us this year, not because they are bad programs, just not good fits for us: The Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments - this is an excellent guide, however too involved and time consuming for us. It would be wonderful for a student who has been strong in science and likes doing more formal labs...it was overwhelming for us. Lively Art of Writing - I so, so love this little book, but dd14 did not. I don't know if it was the outdated topics, or the idea of reading about how to write (lots of text to read).  Our tried and true: MUS MM SOTW WWE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELITEANDLOVINGIT Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Grammarlouges is our biggest miss so far. Â Hits: Ko's Journey Wordly Wise (though she hates it, its working) Story of Science Intellego Units Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 We're having another good year thus far (week 8), and most of what's listed in my signature are hits that haven't changed, but I'll list some them anyways for your viewing pleasure. This thread has inspired me to reevaluate our misses and/or, rather, supplemental extras/afterthoughts that just don't seem to get done, and now I'm seeing a potential subhit (can this be a word for today?) where there once was not.  Hits: VP Bible (Judges-Kings) VP Scholars (NTGR Online Self-Paced Course) Story of the Ancient World/Greece/Rome series (Guerber/Miller) RightStart E Spell to Write and Read First Language Lessons 4 MCT 1/2 (Grammar Town, Building Language review, Mystery of the Hemispheres review, Paragraph Town, Practice Town) Writing With Ease 3 Latin for Children A Suzuki Violin Christian Karate!!! (we're doing this together, my little man and I)  Jury's Out: Wondermaps Dynamic Literacy's WordBuild (will combine this w/MCT's vocabulary)  Misses: SOTW 1 (prefer Guerber/Miller series) MCT CE1 & BP (save for later) HTTA's Timeline Notebook  After reading through these posts, I may be interested in:  Mapping the World with Art (but not quite yet) The History Odyssey Timeline (w/stickers?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) hits: Spelling Works by Jim Halverson. Good, easy, straightforward review of some of the easily forgotten spelling rules. my son really likes it, although it seems like any workbook to me. Diagramming Revolution-huge hit. both boys love it. good instruction. aops pre-a . big hit. my son is pretty pleased that he can do most of these problems. Well, we're only on chapter 2... Writing Tales for younger. We just got this and so far he likes it, but I don't know if it will last. I hope it will, but he tends to like change, so we'lll wait and see. But I do like how it incorporates bits and pieces of the whole gamut of language arts (spelling, punctutation, sentence structure, etc.) Â misses madrigals guide to spanish. i had high hopes for this, but it's just too dry for my kids. we have ended up using Senor Jordans free online videos with lots of games and conversation and it is going much better. Â ongoing hits: henle (we have slowed down a lot and this has really helped my son. He seems to have hit a mental wall and the change needed was simply slowign down. He is retaining a lot and getting many fewer incorrect answers). Math Mammoth: older is finishing up 5 and i still continue to love the way it is taught. Beast Academy: alternating with MM3, this has been a good fit for my younger, who is gifted but reluctant in math. He STILL moans a bit, but that is mostly because he thinks he should be able to answer everything QUICKLY. Lively Latin: still like this for younger. Edited October 20, 2012 by Halcyon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmariec23 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 This year has been pretty successful. Better than the previous 3 years so we are getting somewhere!!  6th grade hits: MOH vol 2 R&S spelling Teaching Textbooks Mark Kistler's Draw Squad Caesar's English Mind Benders  6th grade misses: Elemental Science biology History Odyssey R&S English  Jury is still out on WWE  Pre-k hits: AAR pre-level- DD LOVES this and is flying through it Singapore Essentials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Eh. Been a so-so year for us thus far.  Hits: Math Mammoth 6 Hake Grammar and Writing 6 TOPS   Misses: Behold and See 6 (not the book's fault - it was great; DD just isn't fond of a narrative science book, lol) Human Odyssey volume 1 Carbon Chemistry (not the book's fault - we'll go back to it later; we need to revisit Elements first though) LOF Physics (she disliked his math books but I thought she would appreciate just a science book from him, but frankly it was a pretty dry read and I'm not sure why he recommends it BEFORE pre-algebra; it had a lot of math in it) Caesar's English R&S Spelling  We've replaced Human Odyssey with The Story of Science, added in from Sea to Shining Sea (Catholic Textbook Project) for American; for science we are revisiting The Elements, using The Story of Science, TOPS, and throwing in a Thames and Kosmos kit and DH is doing a physics intensive with her every other weekend. We are sticking with what's in Hake for vocabulary and she doesn't really need a spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calledtobehome Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 hits: Spelling Works by Jim Halverson. Good, easy, straightforward review of some of the easily forgotten spelling rules. my son really likes it, although it seems like any workbook to me. Diagramming Revolution-huge hit. both boys love it. good instruction. aops pre-a . big hit. my son is pretty pleased that he can do most of these problems. Well, we're only on chapter 2... Writing Tales for younger. We just got this and so far he likes it, but I don't know if it will last. I hope it will, but he tends to like change, so we'lll wait and see. But I do like how it incorporates bits and pieces of the whole gamut of language arts (spelling, punctutation, sentence structure, etc.) Â Â Can you tell me more about Diagramming Revolution? Also is there a link available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 3. Prof B blended with ACE math PACE's. Finally found what works. Â Hmm...I MUST get some math PACES to look at. We've had some great early success with How to Tutor and Professor B, but I'm not sure where to go from here. I keep trying to commit to Saxon or Study Time or Strayer-Upton or Rays to provide some independent work, but none are as efficient as what we have been doing. I haven't seen math PACES in years, but...maybe.... Â hits: ongoing hits: henle (we have slowed down a lot and this has really helped my son. He seems to have hit a mental wall and the change needed was simply slowign down. He is retaining a lot and getting many fewer incorrect answers). Â Yup, years ago we make great time through the early lessons, but then needed to slow way down. The review time became exponentially greater than the time spent on new lessons. Â An unexpected new hit here has been Evan-Moor Daily Science as a spine. It's so efficient and easy to supplement. :thumbup: Â Bad misses have been K-3 history curricula. Too many to list. The sentences are too long and complicated, and the vocabulary is not explicitly taught. I've had to resort to library books and writing my own handwritten worksheets. I am appalled at the dearth of K-3 history texts that are actually written at the K-3 reading level. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 K12's Human Odyssey has been going very well. SM continues to please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) Hits for 2nd Grade: Â Â Evan-Moor Poetry MP 2nd Grade Literature K-12 Readers & McGuffey Readers (this last one surprised me) AAS 3 & 4 FLL 3 WWE 3 Horizons Math 2 (when I swore I would never do it again this year -- but it works for us) Education Unboxed -- Yeah, Rosie! Your kids are so cute! We love math now! You are the best! Rep, bling, and shout outs from this corner of the universe! Prima Latina (Latin -- She loves it!) Ecoutez, Parlez (French -- She loves it!) Recorder lessons (Home taught -- She loves this!) What the Bible Is All About for Young Explorers (Bible Study -- She loves this!) Â Misses for 2nd Grade: Â Â R & S English 2 GWG WWW Singapore Primary Math (For some reason, I just can't teach this. I want to hurl the books at the wall.) Â Hits for Kindergarten: Â Â Relaxing more than I did the first time around ;)Â Misses for Kindergarten: Â Â Nothing :DÂ Hits for Group: Â Â History: American History (Part 1) -- Using America the Beautiful (Notgrass) + American Girl books + many, many more books Geography: US States & Landmarks -- A big hit with the Kindergartners, for some reason Science: Geology/Weather -- Using God's Design for Science + Let's Read and Find Out books + Seymour Simon books + many more resources Nature Study: Wildflower/Bird focus (highly enjoyable) Bible Storytelling: Using Betty Lukens Bible storytelling felt set Audiobooks -- Your Story Hour CDs + Chronicles of Narnia CDs Chapter Books -- Heidi (HUGE hit, in spite of the long sentences. My husband says they're acclimated to long-windedness, for some reason). :glare: ;) :lol: Â Misses for Group: Â Â We haven't done much art/drawing instruction yet. We have everything to get started, but I just don't prioritize it. [blush] We haven't done as much nature study as I would like, but it's rained and rained here for weeks. God's Design is OK, but a little dry and a bit bare bones. It definitely takes more books to flesh it out. Â We're having a great year so far! Â Â Â Â Â Â . Edited October 21, 2012 by Sahamamama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Teaching the Classics. I've owned this for a while. It works much better when you actually use it. :lol: We're doing a fun Family Book Club, using TTC and making a Character Collage for the year. We each pick our favorite character from the books we read, illustrate them on pre-cut paper doll shapes, and put them all together in a collage. Â :bigear: What is this, Kristina? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Hits: IEW through Classical Conversations. Â Misses: WWS (DS was just not ready for this in 5th) History Odyssey (no retention whatsoever; not sure what I want to do instead) Â Everything else is a continuation of what we've been using and is going well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 After reading through these posts, I may be interested in: Mapping the World with Art  :iagree::D  :bigear: What is this, Kristina? :bigear:  It is an IEW product. Teaching the Classics  I must thank Dirty Ethel Rackham for reminding me that I own it. :tongue_smilie:  Heidi @ Mt Hope has a great post about using TTC. Looking up all these posts reminded me that I also own Deconstructing Penguins, TTC, and Reading Strands so, really, it's about time I started using any of the above. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joani Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Our new hits are: Spectrum Chemistry Story of Science Hake Grammar and Writing (5 & 7) Math Mammoth (2, 4 & 5) OSU German 1 Nancy Larson 2 Â Old favorites: AoPS (Ds14 is using Geometry and Number Theory, Dd12 is using Pre-algebra) Lightning Literature 8 Analytical Grammar Writing With Skill Writing With Ease (2 & 3) Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop SOTW Â Misses (which probably say more about the student than the curriculum): Teaching Textbooks - still using it because I don't know what to move to, but it's not going very well. The Creative Writer IEW SWI-B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sew happily ever after Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Hits: HOD--all 3 guides! Beyond, Bigger,and RtR--includes history and science IEW--all things fun and fascinating and medieval writing lessons--I think it helps that I am teaching both classes in my home which is motivation for my dc to do their assignments and for me to stay on track! Linguistic development thru poetry memorization--having a BLAST memorizing and reciting poetry! DITHOR--after trying to use it for 3 years, I finally "get" it and the kids like the projects at the end especially since we added the book project books. 4H--they love to do their projects and they really are gettin better each year and learning so much! MUS--it gets done and thu have solid understanding of math topics Might be misses: R&S English--not doing any of the writing though and this is just plain BORING!!!!! PAL reading and writing--ds can recognize basic sight words. But I prefer to tech the writing without so much hand-holding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 No misses yet. We're very happy so far with CLE Math and Teaching Textbooks. Â SOTW is great as usual and RSO Life science is a lot of fun. Â I'm slowly implementing methods from The Writer's Jungle and both my oldest and I are enjoying it tremendously. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Our new hits are AO Y1 and LLATL Red. The others we were already using successfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Â I also really love reading The Child's Story Bible Bible by Catherine Vos. It is very well done, and extremely different from all of our other children's Bibles. Â Â Â :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthie in MS Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Hits this year: LLATL Yellow FIAR Volumes 1-2 Living Math--not a curriculum but a method A Beka Arithmetic--grade 2-- still working on last year's book :lol: Artistic Pursuits, K-3 Book 1--still working on it from last year. We love this but can't seem to find the time to actually do the lessons.   Jury still out: Phonics Pathways MCP Phonics Level B Apologia Astronomy-- We finished the moon chapter and I'm no longer excited enough to continue even though dd8 loves this. A Beka Arithmetic--K5-- still working on last year's book Nature Study-- I just can't seem to make this work   Misses this year: Bible Study for All Ages Spelling Power-- I didn't even have to try this to know it was a dud for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 (edited) Math: Teaching Textbooks workbook. Â WOW! The lesson is included. This is a worktext. We can complete math for the day without the CD. I am so happy with this. It is like Math Mammoth in a better format, and then you have the CD as well. Â Math "work text" that teaches and is a workbook... Edited October 22, 2012 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Spelling Power-- I didn't even have to try this to know it was a dud for us  If you want to return it (and their policy hasn't changed since I bought it), you can call the company and simply tell them it wasn't a fit. They were so helpful when I called (a few years ago when I was tutoring). In fact, they were so nice that I changed my mind and decided to keep it! LOL! It might work in a few years, when your students are a bit older. But I just thought I'd let you know I would have had no trouble getting my money back. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 SOTW 2 is a Huge Hit! :D:D:D Â Knights, castles, princesses what's not to like?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012   Misses this year: Bible Study for All Ages Spelling Power-- I didn't even have to try this to know it was a dud for us  For us, one of the pluses is Spelling Power.  Isn't it neat that one thing can be a plus for someone, and a minus for someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Our hits -- my boys are 9: Â Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum. Can't keep my boys off this. It's fun. http://www.amazon.com/Typing-Instructor-Kids-Platinum-Windows/dp/B002U0L1BU Â Teaching Textbooks 4 Â Really enjoyed Song School Latin (last year; we're done with it now. Nice intro. to Latin) Â I really like: Â First Language Lessons (teaches grammar to the boys and me!) Spelling Workout (the boys spelling has progressed really well) Â Misses: Â We're completing it but I really am not a fan of Lively Latin. Wasn't just me. Co-op people were confused by it too. Â Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 For us, one of the pluses is Spelling Power. Â Isn't it neat that one thing can be a plus for someone, and a minus for someone else. Â Or even how it can change from year to year, depending on what else we are using, the student it's being used with, and our current stage of self-education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Hits: ETC Saxon 1  Misses: Horizons 2 Phonics & Spelling  OK: (these could swing either way at this point) Apologia Astronomy SOTW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This year has been successful so far. Â Hits: All About Reading Level 1 - My ds is doing so well with this program and it is so stressful planning for me. Â All About Reading Pre Level - My 3-year-old LOVES this program-the puppets, the rhyming, the coloring pages...she looks forward to it every day. Â MEP - My ds is doing Reception and blazing through. He really likes it! My oldest dd is doing Year 1 and is really getting it. Â Hands on Thinking Skills - Surprisingly my 3-year-old loves this as well. She plays with the blocks, makes patterns, and knows her shapes. It gives her the sense of "doing school" like her brother and sister. Â Nancy Larson 1 - My kids really liked this program and they retain everything. It's so simple for me to pull together too. I wasn't sure with the worksheets and the scriptedness but my kids enjoy it. So, I'm happy with that. Â Evan Moor Workbooks - My oldest just loves these. She likes workbooks for some things. I keep having to tell myself that this is ok.............. Â Prufrock Press - Love the logic workbooks like Lollipop Logic and Logic Safari. Â Atelier Art - My kids so enjoy watching the DVD's and completing the projects. They are so proud of their art! And I love sitting back and letting someone else take over. Â Standbys TOG - My kids just love the books. We add in Story of the World and do narrations and they really love it. Â Right Start Math - This has been perfect for my oldest. She can do math now. She gets math. It's painless for her. Â Bible Study Guide for All Ages - My kids like doing their Bible time together and they love the pages to fill in. Â On the fence Apologia Botany - I don't love it. It can be so wordy at times. My dd likes it ok. I think we're going to try Elemental Science in the spring. Our NL is almost finished and I don't have the budget for Year 2 until next year. Plus, I think a change of pace would be good. Â Misses Lightning Literature - I was trying out the free samples online but it felt like so much busy work. My dd was not interested in analyzing and reading the books over and over and the worksheets felt like busy work and fluff. I just didn't feel like there was much there. And the font and busyness of the pages! That made me crazy. Â Expedition Earth from Confessions of a Homeschooler - I love the thought of it but it's lots of printing and lots of books from the library. I just don't want to hunt down info right now and we just don't get to it. Â Any type of unit study. I just cannot do unit studies. I don't want to hunt things down and find things and prepare things and print things. No, I want it done for me. Maybe when my kids are older. Â Lapbooks. I can't find the time to do them. Too many little people who destroy our projects and take up my time. I can't stay on top of lapbooks. Â Any type of composer, artist, or nature study. I can't stay on track with any of those. I forget about them and I feel totally unorganized when I try to approach any of these studies. Â Â So, overall we're having a good year. The basics are going well but I'm learning that I don't have time for many extras. I want to do more projects and follow more rabbit trails but I simply can't right now. Instead, I will do playdoh, watercolor, and toddler busy bags. That's ok-we have lots of time for extras later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I like everything I am doing, but this is my new hit: Â BFSU volume 2. All I can say is wow wow wow. I am so impressed. BFSU volume 1 is also great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana B Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 We've only been in school for a week and half, and just started with the full schedule this week. After two days, my kid loves Latin using Matin Latin. Can't say it's going to stay that way, but I'm so happy that he's not FIGHTING me over it. Â Just had to say that. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 (edited) I loved reading this thread!  Hits:  R&S Grammar Spelling Workout WWS Greek Code Cracker All of our literature picks so far Math Mammoth and Life of Fred K12 Human Odyssey Volume 1 Newsademic Ellen McHenry's Elements Mapping the World with Art  Misses:  Vocabulary: started with Caesar's English, switched to Wordly Wise, thinking about going back to Caesar's English. Cambridge International Science Memoria Press Christian Studies    50/50: The online portion of K12 Human Odyssey. Mark Kistler's Draw Squad Edited October 26, 2012 by Penguin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nandmsmom Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 We're having a great year so far. However, there are always a few that don't work out.  Misses: Explorer's Bible study the kids just felt like it was so much busy work and no joy Artpacs No substance  Hits: Most of these we've used for years. Singapore math with CWP GWG WWW Building Thinking Skills SOTW with activity guide Artistic Pursuits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 New Hit/Miss - we ditched The Creative Writer; for whatever reason it was stifling Miss P's creativity, rather than enhancing it. So I got Gail Carson Levine's book Writing Magic, and she loves it! She's done an interesting and creative story start each of the last two days. So far so good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Hits for seventh grade: AoPS Intro to Counting and Probabilty which is done almost daily AMC 8 and AMC 10 exams done weekly K12's third volume of The Human Odyssey combined with library books Globe Trekker DVDs combined with secondary level of Trail Guide to World Geography college textbooks (non-major) for astronomy and geology  Continued hits: AoPS Introduction to Algebra done almost daily MCT's The Word Within the Word volume 1; will continue with volume 2 when finished (December)  Misses :( ACS Middle School Chemistry is waaaaaay too simple for dd. I think it would work really well with someone who hasn't had much physical science. She has had a ton, informally, through studying and practicing for Science Olympiad events (two chemistry-related events last year!). We are trudging through it because every once in a while there will be something totally new (energy levels and bonding) or something that I, with a chemistry background, can extend. The first three chapters were a total waste of time, chapter 4 was interesting, chapter 5 is pretty good, and I have high hopes for chapter 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Still working up to a full load after a late start. We are in our 4th week. Currently, the hits are:  Math Mammoth Rod & Staff English and Spelling CLE LA 100 VOS Bible  Misses: CLE LTR and LA 200  On the fence with: CLE Math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 No misses at all this year and we're almost halfway through. OT f our new things, DS is really enjoying SSL, Singapore, and TOG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jane Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Everything we're using currently using is working: Â AP Human Geography with small group and teacher TC Lectures How the Earth Works, Understanding the Universe and Meteorology paired with CK12 Earth Science text that was free. Saxon Advanced Math with DIVE Stewart English 3 - he finished it over the summer Growing with Grammar 6 AoPS Counting & Probability and Geometry Rod & Staff Spelling 7, 5 and 2. English 4 Classical Composition II Apples & Pears Spelling Copywork Tracing Sheets Developmental Math Grammar Songs without workbook Primary Language Lessons CLE Math 5 Singapore Math 3 with IP & CWP Beast Academy Life of Fred Creek Edge Press Earth & Space Science task cards with lots of books including MP's Astronomy text and Exploring Planet Earth First Form Latin with DVD's Mapping the World with Art Movies as Literature Lyrical Earth Science Critical Thinking Books Not curriculum but Math Journals, Memory Work and Nature Study. Â Our misses that we've dropped: Soaring with Spelling Winning with Writing Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2, 5 and 3 Rightstart Math C I tried it again - we use the games but it's a miss as a full program. Elemental Science Earth & Space Grammar Stage Mom-made history, literature and bible - I quit! ;) Â and I'm hoping TOG Year 2 will be a hit! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
journey00 Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 (edited) HITS: Time4Writing: Elementary Essays Time4Learning: Language Arts (7th, 3rd, 2nd), Social Studies (2nd, 3rd) Beakman's World for Science (we do it all together then discuss & do experiments) Catholic Heritage Handwriting: 2nd grade print, 3rd grade cursive LPH online classes Explode the Code 2 book Teaching Textbooks: 7th, 3rd grade MUS Alpha (2nd grader using it) Â Â MISSES: Homeschool Connections -- Middle School Writing Class (class too advanced, doesn't like the lecture type class...we may re-try later). The Happy Scientist: they're just not that into it :( Time4Learning: Science (6th grade, 3rd grade, 2nd grade) Life of Fred Fractions (my 12 y/o dropped it last year but we may pickup it up later) Edited October 26, 2012 by journey00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferLynn Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 We are losing steam with SOTW! We all love listening to the audio, but I am slipping keeping up with the questions & narraration. Â We also effectively dropped FLL2 (are using WWE2). I figured out it's b/c DD likes worksheets and the repetition helps. I am going to use some grammar worksheets to supplement and follow the outline of FLL2. Â Sadly, I have also left Miquon on the shelf for my youngers. I am having trouble figuring out what to do with the C-rods. I've watched the videos. I will try again, but they all just love the Singapore worksheets which are also easier for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Forgot to mention hits for art and music. We are actually doing art and music every week this year which I never accomplished previously.  Art: Mark Kistler's online drawing lessons Meet the Masters  Music: Faber Piano Adventures for DIY piano lessons Classics for Kids online (for music appreciation) http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/collections.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Continual hits for us: FLL and WWE Singapore RSO/ES hybrid  New Hits: Prima Latina Sassafras Science Beast Academy Essentials in Writing  Miss: Oldest still really struggled with spelling. Thinking of switching from AAS to R&S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandty Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 We've had a good year so far. Better than our last two years, and only with our cirrculum choices. Just getting into a routine was extremely hard this year!  New hits this year: RightStart Math-his was on the miss list a couple years ago, but it's working great for us now. Sequential Spelling for my oldest-first spelling program that he likes! Cheerful Cursive  Misses: HOD Bigger-didn't even use! Set down and tried to plan it out but couldn't make it work for us. Too bad I didn't do this before the return policy expired! Tried to use a couple pieces of it, but it was all dropped. I don't understand as I thought about this purchase for 6 months and it seemed perfect fit for my youngest. :001_huh: Faith & Life series-we have used this every year, but this year the kids were just tired of it.  We made changes to our history, but more just tweaking to make it run more smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moniksca Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 We're enjoying pretty much everything we're doing, but these are things we particularly enjoy. Â Hits: Saxon math Getting Started with Latin SOTW 100 EZL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrygal Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 MAJOR HIT:  Spell to Write and Read! - Maybe it's some maturity though, but ds loves to write and it's just really clicking :lol:  SOTW - Ds said "I love history!" and I thought he wasn't paying attention this whole time. He cries when their isn't a map to color!  Egermeiers storybook Bible - The best I've read as far as story Bibles go.  Math Mammoth - really like it. I can see how it might not work for some kiddos  Miss:  Apologia Astronomy - too chatty, too much beating around the bush. I checked out a few books from the library about space. Much nicer!  Phonics Pathways - "Don't bring out the book with the stupid lazy worm in it." :001_huh: I tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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