Share a curriculum that has blown you away

[Novafan]

Math, LE, Writing, Science, anything goes. Share a curriculum you've used or are using that is amazing/ground breaking/stimulating.

I think it's fun to hear what others are excited about.

[JanOH]

they are working:

Apples and Pears Spelling for my squirrely middle son has improved his spelling by leaps and bounds with very little pain on either of our parts.

All about Spelling Level I is giving my younger son an amazing start so that hopefully I won't have to use Apple and Pears during the middle school years for him.

SOS Spanish I has been a surprising hit here as my kids usually hate computer program based education but my ninth grader is actually doing his Spanish and going above and beyond the daily requirements.

[Trivium Academy]

I think everyone here realizes that Tapestry of Grace is newfound love! Lol, sorry all. It has not only inspired me as far as what it covers but has changed my heart and mind about all of our studies through it's approach for learning. It accomplishes all that I could hope for my children academically in the subjects it covers and keeps in mind the fact that we're raising individuals. It provides the structure I love and the freedom I need to tailor our studies.

Primary Language Lessons and similar language arts programs:
These are the epitome of how I wish to teach LA with my children, especially in the early years. One on one, short meaningful lessons that allows us to enjoy the time spent but also accomplish the academic portion.

Ecoutez Parlez French Oral Program
Finally a program that reflects what I want to do with my children after trying everything else! We listen while looking at the book, repeat the words after the audio cd and repeat 1 unit for 9 weeks, I don't have the student book yet but I feel this is what I've been looking for.

Horizons Preschool
Our ds3 has CALMED since our Rainbow Resource order came in and he realized he has "school" stuff too. Who knew the boy wanted to do school? He's been free to do as he likes with a few activities with me but he lit up when he saw the Preschool box and I told him it was his school. He didn't want to let it go. He's coloring, cutting, and doing prewriting activities now and his behavior is calming down. The Lauri Perception puzzles and a dry erase workbook allowed us to have a QUIET, CALM day in church this past Sunday, everyone in the congregation commented on how GOOD he was. This is the child that I usually wait until 20 minutes into the service to take into church so that he can go directly to the nursery with the other kids. I hope this isn't just a fluke but God has changed my heart through this too.


We're currently transitioning our philosophy of education to a more relaxed, natural type of learning rather than forced academics. The beauty of this is that only a few curricula changes are needed and the rest lies in me as the teacher. My heart is singing with praise about this change and I'm finally understanding the difference of teaching a child and reaching a child.

I feel so grateful right now to be able to homeschool, to be able to make these decisions for our children. I truly feel for the parents that never take the time to learn about their children in these ways, that blindly/ignorantly allow others to make these decisions for them and their children. I know that this type of education and responsibility isn't for everyone but I sure wish it was so that everyone could get out of the rat race.

[Michelle T]

[QUOTE=JanOH;36302]they are working:

Apples and Pears Spelling for my squirrely middle son has improved his spelling by leaps and bounds with very little pain on either of our parts.>>>



I would also say Apples and Pears spelling has been the most effective curriculum we've used this past year. DS is 11.5, with dyslexia and dysgraphia. We finished book A, are a quarter through book B. I plan on doing all four books, my DS is a REALLY poor speller, and this is the first program that has actually made a big difference.
Michelle T

[Chloe]

but the books used by Ambleside Online really excite me. I'm tempted to try AO, but I'm not sure if I agree with all of the CM method. Mostly I worry about LOTS of subjects covered in short lessons. I've always felt really concentrating on getting down the basics of reading, writing and math were what is most important. It seems it's better to go deep with a few subjects than just touch the surface of a lot of subjects. I also wonder if the short lessons would just promote more attention problems. Not everything in life can be kept short for the sake of attention.

I didn't mean to ramble. I do LOVE the books AO uses.

[Chloe]

Michelle, could Apples and Pears be used for a just-turned 10 yo?

[momofkhm]

Horizons Preschool
Our ds3 has CALMED since our Rainbow Resource order came in and he realized he has "school" stuff too. Who knew the boy wanted to do school? He's been free to do as he likes with a few activities with me but he lit up when he saw the Preschool box and I told him it was his school. He didn't want to let it go. He's coloring, cutting, and doing prewriting activities now and his behavior is calming down. The Lauri Perception puzzles and a dry erase workbook allowed us to have a QUIET, CALM day in church this past Sunday, everyone in the congregation commented on how GOOD he was. This is the child that I usually wait until 20 minutes into the service to take into church so that he can go directly to the nursery with the other kids. I hope this isn't just a fluke but God has changed my heart through this too.

This is so wonderful Jessica! Does this satisfy your dh and his dad? (Did I get that right, it was fil who wanted to send him to preschool and even said he'd pay for it, right?)

My ds has always been excited when the school box came. I remember when first grade came - MFW. The Bible reader which we were supposed to start in week 30 or something, was completely read through by the time we were supposed to start. He loved it!

I hope your school journey with him continues and gets better and that Sunday was not a fluke!

[MIch elle]

CLE math 5 and IEW U.S. History Based Writing Lessons are excellent resources that we're using this year.

I'm blown away by CLE reading because it teaches SO much in just 15 weeks - lit. analysis, comprehension, etc.

CLE math 5 blew me away when I compared it to R&S math (used R&S math 3-8 for older ds).

IEW U.S. History Based Writing Lessons is exactly what we needed for writing after floundering around for several years with writing.

[Baseballmom]

Tapestry of Grace! This was the first thing that really stuck for us. We are getting ready for our second round next year! I am excited about that.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

the books used by Ambleside Online really excite me. I'm tempted to try AO, but I'm not sure if I agree with all of the CM method. Mostly I worry about LOTS of subjects covered in short lessons. I've always felt really concentrating on getting down the basics of reading, writing and math were what is most important.

I too *love* most of the books that AO uses! The overall CM philosophy does nothing for me, however, so I have decided to use the main spines from AO in my own way. I too focus on phonics/reading/handwriting/math/latin as the most important here.

Also, rather then following AO, as in LOTS of subjects, we won't be doing that either. The 3 R's, Latin and the AO spines for our history/literature is what will work here. :D

Oh, back to the question: the breakthrough for *us* this year, honestly, has been Explode the Code and 2 Easy readers per day (bob book type). Great progress, finally! :cool:

[Novafan]

We're currently transitioning our philosophy of education to a more relaxed, natural type of learning rather than forced academics. The beauty of this is that only a few curricula changes are needed and the rest lies in me as the teacher. My heart is singing with praise about this change and I'm finally understanding the difference of teaching a child and reaching a child.


This is beautiful! Especially, ". . .the difference of teaching a child and reaching a child." My desire is to be my children's guide and observer, not a lecturer. They do not thrive on lectures and busy work, they thrive on exploration and choices.

[Novafan]

A winner for us in our short time HS'ing is something my DS5 used at his old Montessori school for beginning reading, Primary Phonics (http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/series.asp?seriesonly=357M). I adore these little books as they are generating great reading confidence and speed in my DS5 and the higher level books are helping DS7 (a less confident reader) gain the confidence he never had.

[Wendy in ME]

Reading The Latin Centered Curriculum has truly changed our lives at home. Learning that less is more and to keep it simple is giving the boys a great education and helping everything to get done. Our lives are no longer ruled by school. It also helps me to resist the urge to check out new things. I stop and ask myself if they fit in to our over all philosophy.

[Marie in Oh]

We are doing latin, learning latin, loving latin. Well, love is a strong word, but no one really groans anymore. ;)

[Ferdie]

Does anyone have a link for the Apples and Pears spelling curriculum? I wanted to check it out but am having trouble finding it online.

[Plaid Dad]

Lively Latin fits the bill for us.

[LNC]

nm

[Lori D.]

- Miquon Math, Singapore Math, Math-U-See
Whole new ways of seeing math for ME! -- really *seeing* connections and the "fluidity" of numbers, rather than it all being about mindlessly memorizing formulas, with no "big picture", which was the way I was taught many years ago.

- Beautiful Feet Geography Guide & Maps, with the 4 Holling books
First curriculum to really resound with the whole family. Learning could actually be FUN -- we love reading books, we're enjoying these books, AND we're learning! (lol)

- Lightning Literature & Composition (for gr. 7 and 8)
First curriculum to not only live up (for us) to all the hype but to exceed my hopes for a new program. Another curriculum that (for the most part) helped "school" to be enjoyable.

- Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings
The curriculum that has really launched us into high school and into reading and *discussing* classic works, as it is carrying over into doing other classic works together, too.


Thanks for this post! It's fun to look back and see those really "bright" points in our homeschooling journey! Warmly, Lori D.

[tiffany k]

http://www.prometheantrust.org/soundfoundationsbooks.htm

We use it for our first and second graders. A great program and Hilary is wonderful! She'll help you out personally with questions you might have.

[Linda]

Well, this doesn't exactly reach "groundbreaking" or "blow me away" levels of excitement, but the Draw Write Now books are a big hit with ds6 (and, thus, with me).

He asks for them, and he doesn't complain about copywork when it's from these books and he gets to draw the picture first.

Funny, really, because this is a kid who, just a few months ago, HATED drawing, coloring, writing . . . any pencil-related activities, really. Just when you think you know . . .

[one l michele]

There are so many factors in determining what materials work for each family, the number of children they are juggling, religious beliefs, educational goals, previous experience, teaching style, if they live in a relaxed or high regulated state, etc.. Instead of simply seeing xyz curriculums listed and checking them out, I encourage newbies especially to look beyond that and find "mentors" who have similar factors and look at the materials they use, but keep in mind it is so important to find materials that connect with YOU in some way and to TRUST yourself. Educate yourself about the many paths one can take and soul search to find which fits your needs best. Use the info from your mentor simply as a guide, friendship, and sounding board, but in the end focus on what really matters to you and look for validation in your children's eyes, not on a message board.

Yes, I've had a "deep" night.

[Linda in NM]

I couldn't make AO work for me, much as I'd like to, and I found Trisms, which I do love. Lots of questionnaires and research, the integration of my favorite writing program (IEW), and lots of living books.

[Rhonda in TX]

I have loved our switchover to the CM method this year. It has been a true blessing.

We are using a schedule combining AO Year 1 and 2 and it has been fantastic. My children are actually enjoying history, which they're never really done before. It has been absolutely wonderful.

[Rhonda in TX]

I've been drawn to IEW for quite some time, but have resisted it. I finally started it awhile back and it has really changed things here. DS no longer fights me so terribly with writing. DD (my natural writer) is getting some guidance and structure. Love it!

[Narrow Gate Academy]

For reading, I love Phonics Pathways. It has worked great for both girls so far.

For math, I love Singapore math. The emphasis on understanding the concepts makes sure that the kids know not only what to do but why. It's also very easy for me to see when the girls aren't getting a concept and we need to spend more time on it.

For history, we are really enjoying TruthQuest this year. It has succeeded in removing all of the "not history" groans from our house and even has the girls reading and enjoying a few biographies on their own.

In general, we love lapbooks. Take any subject previously deemed boring, add a lapbook, and suddenly we have a new favorite.

[Closeacademy]

Singapore Math and Science is something that consistently works for us. My oldest is mathy and working in level 3 now and my youngest is unmathy and doing just find with earlybird as long as I go slowly.

SWR/WRTR phonograms and spelling rules--they work for teaching reading and when we are ready we can work through the lists or use them to back up any sort of spelling lists we decide to do.

Fun Review Books--an idea from a friend but she calls them "Round-Robin books." I make up individualized workbooks filled with fun stuff (mazes, decodes, search a words, coloring pages), easy stuff (math and reading that is super easy) and some hard stuff (math and language arts topics that we have just learned or are still trying to master). I use worksheets off the internet, old half-finished workbooks and cheap workbooks. They are all mixed up in the books and the child can do whatever they want and I replace the finished pages with new pages every week. It's been a big hit here, they love it and don't know that they are learning and reviewing.:)

[Penny]

CLE math 5 and IEW U.S. History Based Writing Lessons are excellent resources that we're using this year.

I'm blown away by CLE reading because it teaches SO much in just 15 weeks - lit. analysis, comprehension, etc.

CLE math 5 blew me away when I compared it to R&S math (used R&S math 3-8 for older ds).

IEW U.S. History Based Writing Lessons is exactly what we needed for writing after floundering around for several years with writing.

Please share why you like CLE math better than R&S. Also, what does CLE stand for? Do you have a link? Thanks!!

Penny

[Trivium Academy]

Yes to dh, don't care about FIL. I've been talking a little bit more to dh about the kids' education, small parts not enough to overwhelm him just the bare essentials of what my thinking processes are. I think that is building his confidence in me and ds3 is just bursting with curiosity right now.

FIL's influence and verbal discourse about our kids may still cause problems in the future but I'm not worrying about it at all right now. I know that I have the kids best interests at heart and FIL doesn't even care enough to ask about what we ARE doing. That seals it for me, it doesn't matter if FIL said I was ruining the kids, I would laugh b/c he doesn't have any idea about what I am doing.

I like Horizons Preschool and I'm glad that ds3 is being the indicator of when to start, it's what I wanted. :)

[JanOH]

Not Michelle - but I'm using Apples and Pears (just finished Book A) with my almost 11 yods so I would think it may work for your 10 yo also.

[kfrench]

All about spelling. My dd loved the tiles and wanted to work extra. I love that there are flashcards for the phonograms and then seprate ones for sounds. i.e. parent says sounds and child writes it down. Coming from SWR which I loved the idea but hated using it All about spelling is like taking SWR and making it easy to use and it's all spelled out what to do and it is doable easily. We also use the tiles to study spelling words first time my dd got all her spelling words correct after spelling them with the tiles twice. That never happens. Usually she missed about 70 percent or more. I can't wait to use it to teach my youngest to read.

Kris

[MIch elle]

Please share why you like CLE math better than R&S. Also, what does CLE stand for? Do you have a link? Thanks!!

Penny


CLE math prepares dc for higher math (algebra & geometry) much better than R&S math. CLE yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christianlightfamilies/)group to see the detailed scope & sequence charts in the files and samples in the photo sections of the group. The CLE website is poor.

[Carol in Cal.]

I always seem to be really, really happy with homeschooling in January and February, when DD's half year birthday is past. I think that she would really have been a great Spring Start scholar--she always seeems to be right in the middle between two grades.

Anyway, even though we finished it quite a while back, I have to say that RS4K chemistry and physics, level 1, were stunningly outstanding for us. Retention was good, concepts were well taught, and even though we did not get to all the experiments (ahem), DD is well versed in the basics that those lessons covered. Short, sweet, effective, and laying a great foundation for later with real terminology.

Notebooking in the 'almost like lapbooks' sense of the word has been excellent for us. DD attended a class last semester that studied the voyages of Magellen. For that class she had to choose a location where Magellan landed, study what it would have been like then, and report on it. She chose Brazil, and we headed to the library and internet. She learned research skills and a LOT of editing. She started with one monster report, and then we divided it into main categories--Magellan's life, Brazil's geography, flora, and fauna, and Native Americans of Brazil. She learned to leave out material that was 'good' because it didn't 'fit'. She learned to edit, and edit again, and edit again (something that she is getting better and better at over the years.) She presented all of this work on a science report board, and it was much admired. Because of the way that I was able to really interest her in this, and to work in language arts, and because she was really happy with her finished result, we are taking this approach to several more history topics this year. Right now she is working on a bigger project about English explorers, emphasizing Captain Cook. After that, it's on to the Lewis and Clark expedition, and maybe a more general study of immigration to the United States during the 1800's. This really rocks, and her retention is much higher than with the standard reading, summarizing, discussing and testing that we have been doing with SOTW.

Love Saxon Math and Rod and Staff grammar. They are what they are--incremental, appropriate, and not too deep. They have short, reasonable lessons with plenty of review. DD does not like either subject very much, but she does feel proficient and capable in both of them thanks to these materials (and I would not have said that she felt proficient in math 6 months ago before we switched to Saxon.)

Still loving Story of the World. It takes the dry and makes it fascinating. Thanks to that curriculum, history is DD's favorite subject.

This year I started a middle school book literature group. The kids read one book every 3-4 weeks, and we meet to discuss it and talk about literary elements. This group is so great. Everyone there WANTS to be there. The kids are able to relate the various books with each other, and so we are building a shared library of great book experiences. Our last book was "Number the Stars"--a tremendously inspiring and stirring book taking place in occupied Denmark during World War II. I highly recommend this book, and I also recommend figuring out how to bring together kids who love books, especially if you have an only child. They tend to isolate themselves a bit, you know, and loving books is a wonderful thing to have in common.

[Jenny in Atl]

I would say, with great surprise, Singapore's NEM. We also love Latin Prep as well as some other Galore Park goodies. We have also really liked My World Science and Plato's CyberEd too.

[Stacia]

She presented all of this work on a science report board, and it was much admired. Because of the way that I was able to really interest her in this, and to work in language arts, and because she was really happy with her finished result, we are taking this approach to several more history topics this year.

Carol, I love this idea. I worked w/ my child last year to do a 'report' poster & it was great. I've meant to get back to using that again, but we just haven't. Your post has re-inspired me, lol!

Do you have any photos of her report board? (I'm a visual type & love seeing ideas.) What grade is your dd in?

Thanks!

P.S. I guess for great curriculums for us, I would have to list the following:
Phonics Pathways
Growing with Grammar
MUS (recently started, but so far, it's going great)
Trail Guide to World Geography
English from the Roots Up
And, we use living books a lot, go on lots of field trips (museums, ballets, operas, trips to other cities or countries, ....)

[Chloe]

Thanks, Jan!

[Violet]

and this year, we started AO. We LOVE it! We still do get plenty of time to focus on reading, writing, and math. I have been so blown away by Charlotte Mason. It's exactly what I want for my children. It was really hard to let go of the push to "teach" writing at an early age or go heavy on grammar. I'm getting there, though. I've been reading When Children Love to Learn, and it's a great resource. It may seem like AO/CM covers many, many things, but a lot of it takes almost no time. For example, artist study takes minutes a week for us.

Someone else mentioned Draw Write Now--we agree here, it's a great program. Even my 11 year old loves it, so it's not just for younger kids. And my dd 8 who has lots of learning challenges can achieve success with this. An easy way to do art.

Sequential Spelling is a huge hit, and it seems to be working.

Another thing that we have come to love are Singapore's Challenging Word Problems.

These are the things that truly stand out in my mind as being things I wouldn't want to be without.

Anita

[SnowWhite]

WinterPromise Animals and Their Worlds! I started this year half-heartedly happy about the theme topic. I LOVED WinterPromise, but I would have preferred one of the "older" themes myself. Now I am THRILLED beyond belief about our year of immersion in Animals and Habitats. Science, literature, art, crafts, even poetry is included! I can't wait to start our second year of WinterPromise education with the American Story 1.

Another winner has been God Made Music 1. When I was a homeschool student way back in the early nineties, I never DREAMED I'd be able to use a program like this to foster a love of music in my children and give them the basic music knowledge most public and Christian schools offer.

[SandraDumas]

Five in a Row.

For the 2-6 crowd this is the most wonderful special, gentle, inspiring, enjoyable, do-able, affordable, fun, interesting, educational program you can get. You get more bang for your buck and your time than any other preschool/early ed "program." and it doesn't *feel* like a "program."

We are not die hard do every-single-unit Rowers, and we've taken several breaks. But as I look back on homeschooling the past two years this is what just sticks out to me as a fabulous program that knocked our socks off.

You have to stick with it for two units, and you have to understand that it's not a highly academic thing. It's more about enjoying each other and loving learning, than about teaching your children to be the smartest kid on the block, though they very well can be if you give them a good well rounded life alongside FIAR.

[Kristiana]

For the 2-6 crowd this is the most wonderful special, gentle, inspiring, enjoyable, do-able, affordable, fun, interesting, educational program you can get. You get more bang for your buck and your time than any other preschool/early ed "program." and it doesn't *feel* like a "program."

I totally agree! FIAR was such a fabulous beginning for us. Through using it, my children really came to love learning.

[Bee]

Mosdos Press for literature.It's textbooks but they are so nice.So many textbooks write "down"to the students and the 5th grade textbook we had did not.I thought it could even be used for struggling students in upper grades.The teacher's manuals have so much information in them.I can't wait until they come out with their 4th grade book.
I like Lightning Lit too though.It's so easy to use and requires more writing from the student.I plan to use this throughout high school.
First Language Lessons left oldest dd very well prepared for 3rd grade grammar-the entire third grade was review for her.I am enjoying re-using it with my youngest now.

[GVA]

This is our seventh year homeschooling and my fourth as a teacher of other people's homeschooled children. We follow a slightly different model of neoclassical education than many on this board, but I truly feel like we have hit our stride.

I love, love Classical Conversations. It has streamlined and yet raised our whole approach to homeschooling, and I'm hoping to continue with it until the darlings graduate.

I love, love Sonlight. It keeps me sane, and the book choices are 95% great for us. I open the binder and go each day with almost no prep. I used TOG for two years and it was NOT a good fit for my schedule and priorities.

I love, love IEW. The longer I use it, the better it gets. I learned about Teaching the Classics from Andrew Pudwa himself, and I plan to buy it in May and roll it into our IEW work as the latest enhancement to both our studies at home and the class I teach.

That's it!

[Michelle in GA]

My favorites are(or have been):

SOTW(all the volumes)

Rod and Staff grammar/Hake grammar

Bob Jones Science books

Greenleaf Press Famous Men books

[GothicGyrl]

Can I ask a question? For those who use LIAL--they have either the pack they sell or just the book. I really don't need the pack, as I own at least one copy of each of those books. So, for just the book, if I have 3 kids, do I need 3 books? It says it comes spiral bound with all answers in the back. But it has all the stories within--so I would rightly need 3 of them for 3 students right?

Thanks.

[mcconnellboys]

Math: I continue to love Singapore.

Language Arts: I've really enjoyed several, including FLL, PLL, ILL and Abeka (well, maybe *enjoyed* isn't quite the right word for Abeka, but I think it really gets the job done, LOL).... For spelling, SWO has always been just the ticket for us.

Writing - I think we've used some good programs, but nothing I've ever used has made me fall in love with it....

History - SOTW!!!! Awesome. I also have really liked History of US, by Hakim.

Science - not much on curriculums, but I've really liked Fun with Atoms and Molecules, Elements intro (and her follow-up on organic chem, both available from RRC), Science in a Nutshell kits (most of them) and the Reader's Digest How ________ Works books. I also have a botany study by Kym Wright that I picked up and am finally going to actually use next year (RRC) and really like it.

Mostly, we get excited when we run across good books, particularly if we haven't ever read them before!

Regena

[chiguirre]

We've loved R&S Arithmetic 1 this year. It moves at just the right pace, ds is learning his math facts, place value, skip counting and it's easy to teach.

Reading was a bit of a struggle this year until we hit our groove with Pathways. To be fair, it wouldn't have worked at the beginning of the year, but now the preprimer is just a bit easy for ds and it's been a huge boost to his reading confidence and enjoyment.

I'll third the vote for FIAR. We love it here and it's the highpoint of our hs day.

[Lostinabook]

We're enjoying everything we're using right now: RightStart math, All About Spelling, & Ambleside Online

[gandpsmommy]

Reading The Latin Centered Curriculum has truly changed our lives at home. Learning that less is more and to keep it simple is giving the boys a great education and helping everything to get done. Our lives are no longer ruled by school. It also helps me to resist the urge to check out new things. I stop and ask myself if they fit in to our over all philosophy.

I just read The Latin Centered Curriculum at the end of December. I found that it effected this change in me as well. I am still trying to process it mentally and decide how drastically we will alter our curriculum/schedule for next year, but it has already begun to affect the way we conduct our school day.

[Testimony]

This woman is a master at writing. My sons are so addicted to this curriculum. They can't put it down and I am learning so much history. I have never learned history like this before. Volume 4 is the toughest, but Volumes 1-3 was such a great foundation that my sons are hooked. They can get enough of this lesson.

Thank you, Susan Wise Bauer!

Oh! I cannot forget Writing Tales. The simplicity of the program and yet it packs a punch. Good Writing program.

Love ya' Amy!

Sincerely,
Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Heather in VA]

Analytical Grammar, Writing Tales and Lively Latin are just wonderful.

[Shannon831]

MFW Kindergarten. It's really been all that I could ask for in a K curriculum.

[Aletheia Academy]

My kids really love Explode the Code. It's an excellent reinforcement and confidence builder for Phonics Pathways. Use of PP has shown great results here; although, we are proceeding very, very slowly. I wasn't so sure in September, but I am convinced now.

There's a new product I really love: Classical Math Facts. It's a series of 4 CD's that teaches math facts (MDAS) set to classical music. I can hardly describe the mood it sets- energized, but not brash? We use manipulatives and a number line to "see" the addition facts, then listen to the song. Now I've taken away the manipulatives and am showing flashcards with the music. Great product. You can check it out at www.singnlearn.com (http://www.singnlearn.com).

[Paula in PA]

RightStart Math, hands down. I'm a mathy person, always have been. But even I have learned some really cool things with this program, different strategies and methods of calculation. Second place would go to FLL. It's been an interesting journey with it and has left my dd with a strong liking for grammar. My dh would choose SOTW, though, since that's his thing to do with dd. He likes that it's chronological and in a format appropriate for young kids.

Paula

[Karenciavo]

5 years ago I was blown away by Tapestry of Grace and have pretty much remained true, I added in Omnibus last year and had a very brief flirtation with Truthquest 2 years ago :D (bought, never used)

This year I am really loving the new Latin For Children high school Latin program. It's called Upper School Latin I and I can't wait until you all can see samples of it! I've always found the LFC series to be visually appealing, that's important to me, and Upper School Latin follows suit. The text is a fantastic follow-up to those who have used an elementary level Latin program or are just beginning Latin in middle school and up. Each lesson includes exercises on syllabication and accent for new vocab, new grammar concepts taught and practiced, parsing and translating of sentences, chapter readings, (Level I has readings based on Livy and Level II will feature Seutonius, Sallust, Vergil, Ovid, Quintillian etc., and also writings from the Latin Church Fathers), comprehension questions for the readings asked and answered in Latin, derivatives, conversational Latin and Roman cultural studies. I think it's going to be available early summer.

[BizyPenguin]

I've been very very impressed with CLE Math and Language Arts. After years of searching for the perfect math and lang arts programs I found CLE and it was just want I was looking for. Not too flashy, easy to teach, allowing for independent work, reviewing previous concepts, and inexpensive. Wow! I recently reviewed both of these on my blog (see link below) for those who want to know more.

[Kathie in VA]

I really like how Alpha Phonics teaches reading. It was soooo easy on my part.... and my two ds just took off reading before we finnished (but we finnished anyway :D I loved that it was 'no frills'. We just sat on the couch or at a white board. My 8yo is a bright boy. I used this to teach him how to read last year and he is already reading books that list on a 6th grade level.

Classical Writing has really impressed me, not only for the work I'm seeing in my kids but also in what I've seen the later books teach. I like where it's going.

Lial's BCM is the BEST catch all that I've found for around 5th/6th grade math if you don't want to finnish with your current math program.

[Susie in CA]

What we really like:

Right Start Math

Galore Park Junior English

SOTW I and II (not III IV)

Susie

[Lenora in MD]

I love ao's reading selections. My kids love them, as do I.

I love shiller math, it fits the younger children perfectly. I also love teaching it.

My daughter loves the pathway readers and of course bob books.

I love sotw and truthquest.

hwt for handwriting has been fun and effective.

We all loved real science 4 kids, best science we have ever done

[Trivium Academy]

The order of our lessons was the only thing that really hit home with me, I love history and science too much to do what Drew is doing.

[Another Lynn]

The big one for us has been Spell to Write and Read. Ds has had major jumps in reading level and I think spelling will eventually follow as well - at least now I feel like I *know* how to teach phonics whereas before I was always floundering. It has helped me see that the English language can be taught and studied with a structured and logical approach.

[Lisawa]

Tapestry of Grace did almost 5 years ago now... still using it... although slower than usual at the moment. :D

JAG and AG have hit my top 5 ever. It will be fun to read what others put....

[jabuford]

http://http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=727011&netp_id=267934&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=details

Apples to Pears Spelling

[Carol in Cal.]

I don't have a picture of DD's board, but she is in 6th grade.

It was a triptych, and on the left flap was a portrait of Magellan, a picture of one of his ships, and a map of the world showing the route of his voyage. There DD also mounted her biography of his life.

In the middle, largest section, were lots of pictures of plants and animals of Brazil. There was also a map of Brazil that indicated it's major geographic and climate zones. That section included DD's description of the geography and morphology of Brazil, and of its major plants and animals.

The right flap had several modern photos of Brazilian natives and native dwellings, and DD's description of their culture, way of life, diet, etc. at Magellan's time.

[Stirsmommy]

For us this year most of it is just a continuation. Dd 12 continues to love TT for alg I. She loves the conversational style and I think that she is really grasping the concepts. We will be switching to something more rigorous for high school but I have no idea what as that is two years away. She is also loving Apologia Physical science. She likes all of the experiments.
DS7 is still struggling with things but loves to join in and watch his sister's experiments. He loves SOTW. We bought the cd's this year and I have to say that I LOVE this. I get sleepy reading aloud and I really needed sometime when I could be doing school with him and yet be cooling my heels a bit. This perfect. I can be in the room to stop and talk if we need too and I get a bit of me time by knitting. He also colors the sheets from the AG while he is listening to keep him focused.
Melissa

[Stacia]

I don't have a picture of DD's board, but she is in 6th grade.

Thanks for the info Carol! I was picturing something along those lines but wanted to verify that what I saw in my mind was something similar to what you were describing.

Thanks again!

[Cindyg]

OK, these are tools and/or supplements, not full curriculia, but they're all really good.

1. United Streaming, now called Discovery Education. We use this every day, and I don't know how I lived without it. Love it.

2. The Right Start abacus, which they call AL-abacus. This is an awesome tool. Every kid who has not yet memorized his math facts should have one. He'll use it every day for years for everything from number recognition to long division. Because of the way it's color coded, it's as simple as counting on fingers, but you don't have to count. Really good product.

3. The voice recorder has changed our homeschool. This is a little hand-held device that you talk into and record your voice. It's much easier to record on and listen to than a tape player--for one thing, you don't need tapes. Our little cheapo will hold more than 20 hours at a time. I record all our memory work (math facts, spelling words, Bible verses, Spanish vocab, state captitals, etc.), and DS listens (indepenently) every day. He's a good auditory learner, and this has really improved and simplified his memory work.

4. Hands-on Equations is a pre-algebra program for elementary age kids. My son has a lot of trouble with his math facts, but --surprise! -- he's a wiz at algebra, and this has been a real shot in the arm for his math confidence. You could also count it as a logic program. Link. (http://www.borenson.com/index.html)

[Crissy]

Galore Park's Latin Prep. :D

It has transformed Latin with my 3rd grader.
He loves it! I love it! He translates paragraphs and sentences like a champ, and enjoys every moment of it.

[ELaurie]

Professor B (http://www.profb.com/Shop.aspx)

[JanOH]

http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/

[Baseballmom]

3. The voice recorder has changed our homeschool. This is a little hand-held device that you talk into and record your voice. It's much easier to record on and listen to than a tape player--for one thing, you don't need tapes. Our little cheapo will hold more than 20 hours at a time. I record all our memory work (math facts, spelling words, Bible verses, Spanish vocab, state captitals, etc.), and DS listens (indepenently) every day. He's a good auditory learner, and this has really improved and simplified his memory work.


We use a voice recorder too, it works wonders. My son does his question and answer flows for Shurley English. Love it!

[maadrose]

Right Start Math
All About Spelling
Copywork

[ncmomo3]

- - Lightning Literature & Composition (for gr. 7 and 8)
First curriculum to not only live up (for us) to all the hype but to exceed my hopes for a new program. Another curriculum that (for the most part) helped "school" to be enjoyable.
Lori D.


I totally agree!! Lightning Literature is the first curriculum that has surpassed my expectations.

[Laura Corin]

Laura

[Lisawa]

OK, these are tools and/or supplements, not full curriculia, but they're all really good.

1. United Streaming, now called Discovery Education. We use this every day, and I don't know how I lived without it. Love it.



I forgot about this... we use it weekly, not daily... but its been a wonderful and $$ well spent resource!

[LizzyBee]

Calvert Spelling on CD is the most important curriculum I have purchased in six years of homeschooling, not because it is such a great curriculum, but because it unlocked spelling for my middle child in a way that was truly amazing. By the end of third grade, I couldn't even give dd a spelling test because it was so traumatic. She couldn't write a paragraph because she got bogged down in trying to spell the words and inevitably had a total meltdown. She had begun pulling her hair and calling herself stupid.

Then I bought a used Calvert CD from Ria. Dd cried through the first 3 or 4 lessons, while I kept telling her that it was okay that she couldn't spell the words on the pretest. By the end of that first week, something clicked and she started spelling!! Now spelling is her favorite subject and she has gained confidence in her writing. She is no longer traumatized if she spells a word incorrectly. Her retention level with Calvert is fantastic - she rarely forgets how to spell a word that she's learned with Calvert.

After dd did so well with Calvert, I bought it for my natural speller, too. It works great for her, too, and it's one subject that I don't have to teach. :)

[susie in tx]

(Level I has readings based on Livy and Level II will feature Seutonius, Sallust, Vergil, Ovid, Quintillian etc., and also writings from the Latin Church Fathers), comprehension questions for the readings asked and answered in Latin, derivatives, conversational Latin and Roman cultural studies. I think it's going to be available early summer.

My almost 13 yo just started Latin Prep. She's reading In Search of a Homeland right now and is asking to read Livy. Would LP prepare a student for this type of program? She'll surpass me soon in Latin, too. I don't know how I'm going to keep up with her...

[mom2abcd]

http://http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=727011&netp_id=267934&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=details

Apples to Pears Spelling

Do you mean Apples Spelling?

[RoughCollie]

Here's what we've used that I particularly like:

Five in a Row, grades 1-3
Explode the Code, grades 2-4
Singapore Math, grades 1-8
Keys To math series
Saxon Math, grades 7-8
Rod & Staff grammar
Geography, Runkle
SOTW with activity guides
Real Science 4 Kids




Math, LE, Writing, Science, anything goes. Share a curriculum you've used or are using that is amazing/ground breaking/stimulating.

I think it's fun to hear what others are excited about.

[KidsHappen]

Phonics - Rocket Phonics

Phonics Workbooks - ETC

Vocabulary - Vocabulary Cartoons

Grammar - Growing with grammar & Analytical Grammar

Writing - Write Source

Math - Mastering Mathematics, Teaching Textbooks, MUS, & Singapore

Science - PAC, Singapore, RS4K & SYRWTL Science

History - SYRWTL History Junior and Prep, History of US

Government - Great Source American Government

Economics - Uncle Eric Books, Financial Peace

Art Application - Gordon's School of Art: New Masters Program

Latin - Getting Started in Latin, Maybe Lively Latin and Latin Prep

Anything by the Teaching Company

[Ginger]

Something no one has mentioned.....The I See Sam series of readers from 3rsplusread.com. I heard of this on the WTM Special Needs Board...and I have seen an amazing change in my 7 yo dyslexic son's reading. They are simple books that build on each other. I also use Wilson reading with him, but I'm thinking I may be able to drop that and just use the I See Sam books.

[Kristafish]

Can you direct me to a website or something :D
Thanks!!

We use Apples right now, but is this something new called Apples and Pear or they 2 different things?
Thanks :)

I just did a search.. It is one thing~correct?? Confused here LOL

[Karenciavo]

My almost 13 yo just started Latin Prep. She's reading In Search of a Homeland right now and is asking to read Livy. Would LP prepare a student for this type of program? She'll surpass me soon in Latin, too. I don't know how I'm going to keep up with her...

Any introduction to Latin would be helpful, but none is required. The text starts off with the basics, pronunciation, and covers any Latin grammar she will have previously covered, but at a faster pace.

[KristineIN]

I think they are talking about apples & pears from : http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/ scroll down.

there is another program that is just apples spelling.

Kristine

[LillianinAL]

I really love the samples. They explained to me why I am spending time on grammar, and where my dc need to go with writing. I can't wait to get it! Otherwise, I look at many many different history/ literature curriculums and always come back to Sonlight. We are very happy with it. Lillian

[susie in tx]

Any introduction to Latin would be helpful, but none is required. The text starts off with the basics, pronunciation, and covers any Latin grammar she will have previously covered, but at a faster pace.

Thanks Karen.

I like the LP a lot because it's self teaching, but she may want to switch to something like this...

Hmm...

[Karenciavo]

Thanks Karen.

I like the LP a lot because it's self teaching, but she may want to switch to something like this...

Hmm...

It could be self-teaching, all the new concepts are in the student book. I'm not sure yet if they will just have an answer key or a full fledged TM, I gave them my 2 cents and requested a full fledged TM :D

[Lizzie in Ma]

Gotta say, Galore Park Latin for my 6th grader and Lively Latin for my 1st are huge, huge, hits here. I have used or looked through most Latin programs out there and own many and these are the best I have found for my kids in this age group.

CLE for Math is something else I am thrilled with. Simple, effective, self teaching for my 6th, not much teacher time for 1st. I love it.

IEW Theme based Lessons, having gone through SIC B and SICC B, these were a very welcome addition to the line-up. We have used Bible (not my favorite) Ancients and Medieval which are all awesome. Lori V. writes the best ones IMHO

Landmark books. All of them. We stick with a classical rotation for history but are reading through these for American history as well. They rule.

[Roses]

We loved The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading.

We started when my daughter turned 4, but skipped the first 26 lessons because she already knew her letter sounds. We took the pace very casually -- sitting down to look at it just a few times a week or so -- and we would do as many lessons in one sitting as she wanted. We finished the entire book this fall when she was almost 5.5 years old.

Everything just clicked for her! And it was so easy for me to teach since it is scripted! She is now reading on a solid 3rd-4th grade reading level as a 5yo. And now she is starting to learn spelling and is really good at it (I think) because she knows the phonics rules that she learned in the OPG.

I had a friend of the family who was a reading specialist teacher for 20+ years in the public school system in Wisconsin take a look at it... she hadn't seen it before... she said it was "absolutely fantastic" how it was put together.

[Verena]

But...

We really like SOTW and MUS. I suspect that I'll really like TOG as well- but we haven't started with it yet ;)

What I really, really like, though, is all those wonderful children's books we get to read together (I choose from Sonlight, TQ, Books Children Love, Read-Aloud Handbook and personal recommendations). Not having grown up in this country, the literature here is a treasure for me (and of course, sometimes we read books that have been translated into english).

The other wonderful resource that I love is classical music cd's by Marko Simsa. These are in German (Marko Simsa is from Vienna) and won't be much help for most of you here :(-- but they combine wonderful classical music selections, a story that weaves through the whole cd and exposure to the German language. Win, win around here :D

http://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_ss_m?__mk_de_DE=%C5M%C5Z%D5%D1&url=search-alias%3Dclassical&field-keywords=Marko+Simsa

[Susie in CA]

But...



The other wonderful resource that I love is classical music cd's by Marko Simsa. These are in German (Marko Simsa is from Vienna) and won't be much help for most of you here :(-- but they combine wonderful classical music selections, a story that weaves through the whole cd and exposure to the German language. Win, win around here :D

http://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_ss_m?__mk_de_DE=%C5M%C5Z%D5%D1&url=search-alias%3Dclassical&field-keywords=Marko+Simsa


Verena,

I will have to check these Marko Simsa CDs out. They will help us for sure. We also just started listening to "Eine kurze Weltgeschichte fuer junge Leser" by Ernst Gombrick. We really like it. You may like it as well. History in German. It's great.

Susie

[Verena]

Verena,

I will have to check these Marko Simsa CDs out. They will help us for sure. We also just started listening to "Eine kurze Weltgeschichte fuer junge Leser" by Ernst Gombrick. We really like it. You may like it as well. History in German. It's great.

Susie

You will appreciate Simsa- he talks with an Austrian accent :D

I will check out your recommendation as well.

[Susie in CA]

Thanks!

Susie

[Susie in CA]

Susie

[kRenee]

A short course for middle school chemisty -

The Elements Ingredients of the Universe by Ellen McHenry

It only takes 10 weeks +/- to complete but has very good information in it.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I just have little ones, but we have already found some things that are working well.

For pre-reading we are loving the sound game from Montessori Read and Write and SWR phonograms. DD is beginning to be able to pick out the distinct sounds in words. She's asking to spell words now so I guess that's where we'll go next.

We also enjoy math manipulatives. Our favorites are Funtastic Frogs with activity cards, pattern blocks, geoboards, and a bucket balance.

[countrykiddos]

Teaching Textbooks Math!!
Growing With Grammar!!

I've homeschooled my three, ages 14, 12, and 10, since the beginning. We have been through MANY programs for math and grammar, but TT and GWG, well, as my dd would say, they rock!
My children LOVE TT Math and will do several lessons a day, even beg to do more on their free time! This is a super program and the concepts seem to be sticking very well.
I can't say enough about GWG. It is an especially good fit for my son, who hates writing. There is very little writing involved and the workbook format is perfect for him. The lessons in GWG are short, but well laid out. There is just enough review in each lesson. We love it!!
I have to say that my son also enjoyed Singapore Math, which we did for 2nd and 3rd grade. I didn't start formal math until 2nd with him, then slowly worked through a few Singapore books to give him a start. He's in 4th grade (for all intents and purposes) this year and loving TT 5! I'm all for waiting on the formal instruction. Trial and error at our house has proved this to be the better way!


Kim in Va.

[hmschooling]

I know this is an older post, but I just have to add in one more awesome curriculum!

Heart of Dakota is incredible!!!!! I've not had on ounce of burnout since starting and we're done a year's worth already and just started the next guide. Everything else I've used I had burnout in the first few weeks. HOD is laid out, yet flexible...rigorous, yet fun and effective...CM in a balanced way with a classical flavor...affordable...so much more I could say if I had the time!

[Heather in NC]

Reading The Latin Centered Curriculum has truly changed our lives at home. Learning that less is more and to keep it simple is giving the boys a great education and helping everything to get done. Our lives are no longer ruled by school. It also helps me to resist the urge to check out new things. I stop and ask myself if they fit in to our over all philosophy.

:iagree:

[motherdear]

This year, I chose to use the program, Americawith my nine year old son. It has proved to be (in my opinion) among the most wonderful unit study programs out there. The program utilizes Peter Marshall and David Manuel’s The Light and the Glory trilogy. It's kind of funny that I always contemplated developing my own unit study using these books (there are so good!), only to find America quite by accident!. This unit study/book combination is a hidden treasure.
Author Chris Rowe has supplemented the program with other "living" history books. Since the program is broken up into two levels (grades 3-4 and grades 5-6), some of the additional books are different for the different levels. In the lower level we are using books such as: The Mayflower Secret, Pedro's Journal, The Courage of Sarah Noble, and The Matchlock Gun, The Cabin Faced West, among others. The daily guide is very user-friendly and there is VERY little preparation work for the parent. For the most part, you can pick up the book and go. All of the hands-on activities are very doable with things found around the house. We have been "notebooking" much of the written and art activities and are developing quite an impressive notebook. The Bible study/applications are very practical and thought provoking. Science is integrated in a biweekly form and even English is included in it! We are truly enjoying it! For those of you interested in checking out the scope and sequence and looking into this program, the link is: http://christiannovelstudies.com/America/america.html (http://christiannovelstudies.com/America/america.html)
BTW-there is a Year #2 which follows this study (up to present-day America, I believe), however you'll have to check the web site for details.

[razorbackmama]

My Father's World. It truly is the history curriculum I have been looking for for YEARS. I've been through TOG and Diana Waring and finally got to take a good look at MFW, and ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I'm home.

Writing With Ease. Love it. Gentle yet now that we are on level 2, somewhat challenging. My kids aren't very good at summarizing, and WWE is teaching them step by step how to do that. Love it love it love it.

[plimsoll]

Latin Centered Curriculum, Life of Fred, Singapore Math, IEW, Lively Latin.

[christine in al]

Dc can do things IRL , that excite both them and me.

I am going to suppliment with word problems next year.
~christine in al

[mamaof2andtwins]

Five in a Row.

For the 2-6 crowd this is the most wonderful special, gentle, inspiring, enjoyable, do-able, affordable, fun, interesting, educational program you can get. You get more bang for your buck and your time than any other preschool/early ed "program." and it doesn't *feel* like a "program."

You have to stick with it for two units, and you have to understand that it's not a highly academic thing. It's more about enjoying each other and loving learning, than about teaching your children to be the smartest kid on the block, though they very well can be if you give them a good well rounded life alongside FIAR.


Our children used FIAR when they were young. It was great. They still remember the stories and things the learned. The stories give them great hooks to hang their learning on.

Jennie

[Amy from WT]

I have mentioned this curriculum before, but I love it so much, I feel it deserves a mention in this thread!

I've been using "The Great Latin Adventure" by Katharine Birkett (www.classicallegacypress) for years now, even though it's only been published for the past year. Both my two youngest kids have used it, and I've taught it in co-ops for five years. As a beginning Latin curriculum for 4th - 6th graders, it's absolutely outstanding!!!!

Mrs. Birkett has a wonderful way of writing that is appealing to both the students and mothers who may feel intimidated going into Latin. Not only that, she has come up with a new approach to Latin grammar that gets the students to learn and do so much more in a beginning curriculum.

While other curricula teach 1st, 2nd, and sometimes even 3rd noun declensions and verb conjugations, GLA only teaches 1st noun declensions and 1st verb conjugations. This allows the students to do SO much more with their grammar. They learn three verb tenses, lots of wonderful vocabulary that is very appealing to both boys and girls alike, direct objects, predicate nominatives, possessives, etc. Plus every chapter has a terrific worksheet that emphasizes those all-important English derivatives. With that wonderful push on derivatives and grammar, GLA really hits home on the main reasons I want my children to learn Latin!

And when they finish both volumes of GLA, the students can move into a higher level beginning Latin curriculum (middle school, such as Latin Prep, or high school level) with extreme ease.

I have to stop myself - I'm sorry to go on for so long! I didn't mean to. You can tell how much I love this curriculum. It's not well known yet since it's so new to the market. But I expect it to be a big hit relatively soon.;)

What a fun thread...especially at this time of the year! Keep 'em coming!

[violin69]

Still excited about Sonlight Cores. We've recently gotten excited about All About Spelling and Michael Clay Thompson LA.

[Kayaking Mom]

CLE LA and Bible. They are super. I plan to add CLE reading next year based on the LA and Bible.

SOTW on cd. Love that it's on cd and everything gets pronounced correctly.

Gee Art. LOVE it.

Mark Kistler Drawing online through the homeschool co-op. Rocks.

The Bible. Really - could we do anything without it??

AWANA. Man, my kids have learned TONS this year. LOVE it.

[3blessingmom]

Singapore Math and RightStart Games

Not a curric, but StartWrite has been a wonderful tool for me.:001_smile: I teach cursive first and there are not many materials available for preschool - 2nd grade. The materials that are available are not typically what I want - so with Startwrite I can completely tailor all handwriting and copywork for my kids.

Again, not a curric, but All Through The Ages by Christine Miller has been well used thus far. I break it out every few weeks and put library books on hold.

[momto2Cs]

Oak Meadow
Saxon Math
Real Science 4 Kids
I think History Odyssey will fit for us too.

[kloumc]

I am another huge fan of Tapestry of Grace!

For math, we've had great success with Math-U-See. We've used every book!

For Latin: The Great Latin Adventure by Katharine Birkett (ClassicalLegacyPress.com) for grades 3-6 followed by Latin Road by Barbara Beers.

For Writing, IEW.

For Grammar: Shurley English

[Aurelia]

Right Start math. We went from tears every day at math time to having to use math as the "carrot" to get reading done. I still can't believe how much she enjoys math and looks forward to her lessons.

Sonlight's and AO's reading lists - Ariel loved the P4/5 and K read aloud books and I'm so impressed with the selections for year 1 of AO that we're starting them as soon as my Amazon order arrives!

[Mommyfaithe]

CLE math 5 and IEW U.S. History Based Writing Lessons are excellent resources that we're using this year.

I'm blown away by CLE reading because it teaches SO much in just 15 weeks - lit. analysis, comprehension, etc.

CLE math 5 blew me away when I compared it to R&S math (used R&S math 3-8 for older ds).

IEW U.S. History Based Writing Lessons is exactly what we needed for writing after floundering around for several years with writing.

Michelle. I totally agree with you. I am blown away by CLE Sunrise editions.
I am hooked....wish I had these when my older kids were home...sigh...
Faithe

[sweetbaby]

Two free resources...KISS Grammar and MEP Math. Love it! :001_smile:

[dragons in the flower bed]

If I were handing out awards for curriculum design, I'd give some out to Lively Latin, Life of Fred, Writing With Ease and Artistic Pursuits (not that I ever get around to using it).

[kalanamak]

SWR has taught me so much, and I can't believe what my son can spell. He can spell far beyond what he can read. He loves marking the words and identifying the "second sound of ow". It has given us a shorthand for spelling and reading. If he mispronounces a word, I can literally say "it is the 3rd sound of -ough" and he will read the word correctly. Amazing.

[Melissa in CA]

I have mentioned this curriculum before, but I love it so much, I feel it deserves a mention in this thread!

I've been using "The Great Latin Adventure" by Katharine Birkett (www.classicallegacypress) for years now, even though it's only been published for the past year. Both my two youngest kids have used it, and I've taught it in co-ops for five years. As a beginning Latin curriculum for 4th - 6th graders, it's absolutely outstanding!!!!

Mrs. Birkett has a wonderful way of writing that is appealing to both the students and mothers who may feel intimidated going into Latin. Not only that, she has come up with a new approach to Latin grammar that gets the students to learn and do so much more in a beginning curriculum.

While other curricula teach 1st, 2nd, and sometimes even 3rd noun declensions and verb conjugations, GLA only teaches 1st noun declensions and 1st verb conjugations. This allows the students to do SO much more with their grammar. They learn three verb tenses, lots of wonderful vocabulary that is very appealing to both boys and girls alike, direct objects, predicate nominatives, possessives, etc. Plus every chapter has a terrific worksheet that emphasizes those all-important English derivatives. With that wonderful push on derivatives and grammar, GLA really hits home on the main reasons I want my children to learn Latin!

And when they finish both volumes of GLA, the students can move into a higher level beginning Latin curriculum (middle school, such as Latin Prep, or high school level) with extreme ease.

I have to stop myself - I'm sorry to go on for so long! I didn't mean to. You can tell how much I love this curriculum. It's not well known yet since it's so new to the market. But I expect it to be a big hit relatively soon.;)

What a fun thread...especially at this time of the year! Keep 'em coming!

OK, this is the first I have heard of this Latin curricula! I took a look at the samples and really like what I see. Just in those few chapter samples I learned things I had been pretty confused about beforehand.

Do you think this curriculum would work well for a 7th grader who is still relatively new to Latin? I have looked at other "middle school" Latin curricula and, frankly, none seem to have enough information/exercises/etc., for full retention and understanding. We are sloooooowly plugging along with LFC, but I don't know how much actual understanding and retention is going on. :confused: He often wants to know the whys, before the whys are taught and I surely don't know the answers. Having something that goes more slowly with a lot of explanation and practice seems like the ideal.

Would YOU consider using Levels I and II for 7th & 8th grades? Or do you think they just don't cover enough for Jr. High Latin?

[ElizabethB]

Webster's Speller.

I had used 20+ different phonics programs before finding it, it's a shame they ever stopped teaching phonics and spelling this way.

I first used it with my daughter as a guinea pig when she was in K, and found the combination of syllables and spelling really accelerated the pace with which she learned phonics, and got her to an amazingly high reading level at a young age.

Now, I've used it with about 20 remedial reading students, it's also very useful for them. While I've been able to get most of my students reading at grade level and a few reading a grade or two above grade level, now several of my remedial students have been reading several grades above grade level after completing Webster's Speller.

Before using the speller, I hadn't realized how accent dependent English was, using it with remedial reading students who were also ESL made me realize how accent dependent English is. The arrangement of words in Webster by accent pattern is especially helpful for my remedial students with speech/language difficulties and my ESL students.

[Rebecca in VA]

Lightning Literature 7. I ordered it last week, and the UPS man delivered it on Friday. I looked it thoroughly (it didn't take long -- things are very clearly laid out), found that it was EXACTLY what I wanted in a literature course, and started using it with my daughter immediately. We're going double-speed, which means we'll finish the course in 18 weeks (before the end of summer).

Lightning Lit is extremely easy to use -- it requires very little from the parent. Yet it covers the kind of material I would want a seventh-grader to know in an easy-to-use format. I'm excited and impressed.

[Amy from WT]

Would YOU consider using Levels I and II for 7th & 8th grades? Or do you think they just don't cover enough for Jr. High Latin?

Speaking here of GLA (Great Latin Adventure)...

You know, I think I would...that's how much I like these books! But I would go through the books at a faster pace. I think my goal would be to try to get through both volumes in one year with my Jr. Higher, and then go into Latin Prep. What a great foundation that would give him/her!

[littlebug42]

After many failed attempts at curriculum, I have fallen in love with Winter Promise and although maybe not in love but in serious like with Abeka math. I have even found the religion program that fits us perfectly this year. All is going well for us right now.

[Melissa in CA]

Speaking here of GLA (Great Latin Adventure)...

You know, I think I would...that's how much I like these books! But I would go through the books at a faster pace. I think my goal would be to try to get through both volumes in one year with my Jr. Higher, and then go into Latin Prep. What a great foundation that would give him/her!

Thanks Amy! I appreciate your getting back to me. I may actually try that...both books in 7th. I really like what I see from the samples. It seems well laid out and without the confusion of other programs that seem to want to teach too much, too soon, too quickly. ;)

Now, life would be wonderfully grand, if you could have WT3 available for me next year... (hint, hint) :lol:

[workingmom]

SOTW (we've only done Ancients but love the CDS and DS adores the activity book and CDs)

Singapore Math
Handwriting without tears

Hooked on Phonics (very effective)

[Wendi]

This looks very interesting. Would you think it would work well for a 7th grader who's had a tiny bit of Latin exposure and is a little weak on grammar? It's not babyish looking at all, is it? (Doesn't seem to be, from what I saw on the website.)

Wendi

[Amy from WT]

This looks very interesting. Would you think it would work well for a 7th grader who's had a tiny bit of Latin exposure and is a little weak on grammar? It's not babyish looking at all, is it? (Doesn't seem to be, from what I saw on the website.)

Wendi
Wendi, are you talking about GLA too? Nope, not babyish in the slightest!! That tiny bit of Latin exposure would help your 7th grader absolutely zip through the first several chapters, which would be great. And the whole thing would do nothing but strengthen his/her grammar, in both English AND Latin! That's one of the wonderful benefits of studying Latin :001_smile:.

Melissa in CA, we're just praying for my hubby to finally get a job! Then I will be able to get my family moved and finally concentrate on WT 3...can't wait to get it started myself. Thx for the encouragement!

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

We love:

Montessori Read and Write for pre-reading and pre-writing
Sandpaper letters
All About Spelling
Happy Phonics
Math on the Level (with some Right Start ideas)
Child-Size Masterpieces

[Wendi]

Wendi, are you talking about GLA too? Nope, not babyish in the slightest!! That tiny bit of Latin exposure would help your 7th grader absolutely zip through the first several chapters, which would be great. And the whole thing would do nothing but strengthen his/her grammar, in both English AND Latin! That's one of the wonderful benefits of studying Latin :001_smile:.

Melissa in CA, we're just praying for my hubby to finally get a job! Then I will be able to get my family moved and finally concentrate on WT 3...can't wait to get it started myself. Thx for the encouragement!

Thanks! Yes, I was referring to GLA. We tried Latin for Children earlier this year, and my ds was frustrated with memorizing stuff he didn't understand yet. For various reasons, we ended up setting Latin aside for now. But I would like to get to it next year (7th), and I want something that will help strengthen his grammar as we go. This just might be it! Now I'll go back to their website and browse it a bit more. I didn't look at the price yet; hope it's not too expensive!

Thanks again!:001_smile:

Wendi

[Wendi]

My son and I are both enjoying Story Grammar for Elementary School by Don and Jenny Kilgallon. You can buy it Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Story-Grammar-Elementary-School-Sentence-Composing/dp/0325012466/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239067990&sr=8-1).

My 12yo ds has a language disorder, so his writing skills have developed a bit slowly. However, he has made quite a bit of progress in the past year. At least some of the credit goes to this book (and we're only halfway done!).

I can see the difference in his creative writing; his sentences have much more variety and description. And he WANTS to write more; when I ask him to write sentences using vocab words, he'll sometimes write a mini-story (4 sentences) for each word, just for fun!

We will definitely continue to the middle school book next year. The book uses sentences from popular literature (Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, Charlotte's Web, etc.) and helps the student imitate the sentence structures used by the authors.

Wendi

[teacalm]

Saxon Phonics K and Gr 1

Alpha Phonics

Teach Your Child To Read in 100 (is it 100??)

Horizons Math/Singapore

SOTW Audio cds

D'Aulaire Greek Myths audio cd

Rod Staff English (brought ds to grade level in just a semester)

Latin Book One (had so much fun with this before we switch to Henle/Lingua)

ALEKS (saved ds and keeps kids on top of their maths)

Growing with Grammar

Mosdos Jade and love Coral (havn't started)

BJU Reading 4 and 5

Galore's French Prep

Lively Latin/Minimus/Latin Prep

LLATL/Lightning Lit

Calvert Grades 3 and 4 set

History of US by Hakim

K12 Human Odyssey vol. 1 and 2


Enjoys using the above resources with my kids

[Beth in SW WA]

Chalkdust
SOTW 1-4

[OnTheBrink]

Thinking back over the years, the things that stand out are:

For my son:
TWTM
MP's Traditional Logic
BFB Ancient History guide
Henle Latin
IEW

For my daughter:
Phonics Pathways
Miquon Math
MathUSee
Classical Writing Poetry
IEW
First Start French
Mystery of History

And, I just read the Latin-Centered Curriculum and it's been like turning on a light! Taking the focus off history has revolutionized our homeschool for my dd.

Doing school TWTM way was great for my son, but not dd. CM wasn't the greatest for her, but it was better. LCC has brought it all home for us.

It's amazing how different kids are and how different things/materials/methods work with them.

[Impish]

This has been my first year really branching out into curriculum, rather than following more of the school board stuff, or using their guidelines as a template. So far this has been our likes:

Horizons Math: love that its not droning on a single concept in a unit, mixes it up, brightly coloured, short units keeps my dd interested. No more prodding or arguing about math, she just zips along, and its done! Yay!

Handwriting Without Tears: Love it! Her cursive has improved hugely, even though she still doesn't enjoy it, its legible now!

Story of the World: Stumbled upon it by chance, and adore it! Since I just found it a few wks ago, I'm using it solely for the history, geography and some social, since language arts is done for the year already.

Tapestry of Grace: Already planning to start that next year, give that a whirl.

[LadyAberlin]

Math: We love MUS
Phonics: Love Mcruffy
Grammar:FLL
Art: Watch Me Draw
Science: We loved LLB1 and haven't been able to find anything that we love as much.
Prek: Learn and Grow Prek This is the perfect prek for us.

[specialmama]

Tapestry of Grace

Cozy Grammar (it's true... it's grammar and it is cozy!)

Music Ace (both my kids LOVE this)

[tinkgumby]

I pretty much don't do anything I don't love, but my very favorite finds are:

- Sonlight (where I am as excited as the kids to find out what happens next!)
- Rod and Staff handwriting (simple, cheap, has improved my sons' handwriting SO much)
- SRA Real Math (one of the most thorough and yet fun math programs I've ever seen)
- Story of the World (I wish I was better about doing the supplemental activities)

[Debbie in OR]

Edupress "Quick Flip Questions for Critical Thinking".
www.edupressinc.com (http://www.edupressinc.com)

We are very Socratic around here but I was always struggling to come up with questions if they weren't already scripted. I use this to pull together questions for a "scholar's reading lesson" we do each week. Additionally, I use it for math, science, history, Bible, whatever, whenever. It's allowed me to be very spontaneous and consistent in asking questions to lead my dc into higher level reasoning and critical thinking. I actually bought two, one for upstairs, one for downstairs, because we use them all.the.time.

[Annabel Lee]

Well there's nothing I'm doing cartwheels over, but here's what I like...

Horizons Math: after using it and switching to others in previous years, then back to it this year, then researching other curric's in depth mid-year, I'm stuck on Horizons for its' simple scope & sequence. If you're a "tweaker" like me, there is plenty of room in Horizons to add hands-on activities, living math books, or cross out problems that your child has mastered and you consider "extra", add supplements like word problems from Singapore or whatever you please. I like the simple but solid & effective track it keeps them on: K- addition, 1st- subtraction, 2nd - multiplication, 3rd - division, etc. Of course all the extra stuff is in there too - geometry, fractions, exponents, etc.

FLL: Short, simple, and you get to snuggle while doing grammar that they retain.

Abeka Writing With Phonics K and 2 for penmanship, student books only (though I've taught this out of their TM's before), have been great for my boys this year. They both have wonderful handwriting and my 2nd grader used the manuscript-to-cursive 2 book this year with ease. So good that we may not have to use an official penmanship program again until my youngest transitions to cursive in 2nd!

OPGTTR: SOOoo effective yet so simple in its approach. Like Abeka phonics based reading w/o all the bells & whistles, plus you get to snuggle during this too! (Can you tell I like to snuggle my little'uns?)

[paulcindy]

A surprise and huge blessing

CLE for Math, LA, Science and History.

[TMarie]

Singapore math - the longer we use it and the more I see of other programs, the more I love it. It just might be the only materials that have worked for my 3 children with very different learning styles.

IEW - especially the History Based Units, makes me want to sing with joy

Mark Kistlers Draw Squad - the easiest, cheapest, and yet best drawing instructions we've had yet (sorry Mona, I feel almost guilty saying so.)

SOTW audio version - you can't find an easier or more entertaining history spine.

[johnandtinagilbert]

After all these years, Tapestry of Grace (including Writing Strands) is my favorite, hands down. Love the organization, the richness, and the options it provides.

[emmsmama]

SOTW and Righstart are working really well in our house.

[Liza Q]

I am so glad that I found this thread! I am off to research the Great Latin Adventure, Calvert Spelling, Apples and Pears Spelling and Story Grammar for Elementary Schools!

Thanks! :)

[cbb_momof3]

I love love love Apologia elementary Science books!!! It is a creation based curriculum with a Charlotte Mason flare. My kids enjoy it emensly and I find it very easy to use.

[aly9712]

We love our Story of the world CD's and have listened to them 3 times know.
We started Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading when she was 3.5 and just finished 2 months ago (yes, we went really slow and at her pace) really worked and she's now reading/comprehending at a solid 3rd grade reading level, singapore math (1a standards) is going really well as she's starting to enjoy math more and it forces her to really "know" math.
DD is almost 5 years old.

[zaichiki]

Sonlight Cores (with a little tweaking) and Singapore Math hands down!

[HeatherH]

TOG -

I just love it. When I'm having a bad week, and then my olders and I have a really deep discussion about History, Bible, and our own lives. . . .

Then I think, "Ahhhh - THIS is why I homeschool!"

[Sunshyne]

Galore Park Latin Prep is so much fun! We also love the RSO Chemistry (Pandia Press).


This is an old thread, but a good one! Thanks for bumping it up.

[trisharog]

IEW Medieval lesson- This was my first year to HS and cant believe this transformed my analytical son who hates to write into an incredibly creative writer.

TOG- Just getting my feet wet , but heart sings when I see the whole tapestry being woven together :)

[sagira]

I have to say I've been blown away by Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. My child is comprehending and manipulating ideas I wouldn't have dreamed of exposing him to until much later, and it makes me think about the world in a different way too. I can't wait to learn more alongside him every week!

Deceptively simple Tanglewood's free Really Reading program was something I got.. because it was free. I went through it with ds, not knowing if he really got it or not. My goal for Kindergarten was for him to read. We started school in early September. If he had started reading by June this year I would have accomplished my goal. However, only weeks into the program, by October, he was reading. Now he's reading at a solid 3rd grade reading level. I'm so proud! This is all I used for reading instruction (along with real books of course). The best part is he loves reading and I don't have to prompt him at all or assign reading at all. It has become a habit :001_wub:

We also really like our MCP Math. I love the mental math and the nicely laid out lesson plans. I need more guidance in math, and this program offers it to me. No frills, no fuss, and ds does well with it. So far math doesn't seem to be his forte but this program offers him the explanations and problems he needs. He doesn't get distracted easily as it's not full of colors and illustrations.

I've been blown away by the Charlotte Mason method in general for several years now, but now I'm starting to see the seeds being planted of habit training, longer attention spans, and I'm realizing how everything is so beautifully interconnected. The vivifying ideas of whole, living books, narrations, nature walks, and emphasis on doing your best has been a God-send and has infused our new experience of homeschooling with wonder and joy. Thank you, Charlotte Mason!

[lovinmomma]

This is beautiful! Especially, ". . .the difference of teaching a child and reaching a child." My desire is to be my children's guide and observer, not a lecturer. They do not thrive on lectures and busy work, they thrive on exploration and choices.

This is a wonderful way to teach your children. It is definately what my heart is for my children, but I don't understand how it applies to things such as math.

[Tree House Academy]

I have been totally blown away by CLE. We are using Math, Language Arts, and Bible on two different levels and it is just working beautifully and is SO EASY to teach. What a blessing it has been.

My older ds and I have also really enjoyed CHOW this year. :)

[willowcreek]

Teaching Textbooks and LOF for a child who dislikes math, but is competent, and adding LOF for a child who is advanced but had been bored with drills.

Rod and Staff Grammar: simple and comprehensive. Leaves no doubt.

Bravewriter: TWJ: the teacher/mom needed the wise advice to balance things out after three years of IEW. We may go back and forth some, but the author's voice and ideas were helpful for me to see a big picture when my kids got a little burned out/"over strucutured" on IEW's format.

History Odyssey--just got it in, but it looks very promising.

[Caroline4kids]

I've been blown away by the Charlotte Mason method in general for several years now, but now I'm starting to see the seeds being planted of habit training, longer attention spans, and I'm realizing how everything is so beautifully interconnected. The vivifying ideas of whole, living books, narrations, nature walks, and emphasis on doing your best has been a God-send and has infused our new experience of homeschooling with wonder and joy. Thank you, Charlotte Mason!

:iagree::iagree:

[Caroline4kids]

I'm surprised I don't hear more about the Simply Charlotte Mason Organizer at www.simplycharlottemason.com (http://www.simplycharlottemason.com). It is a great tool and the curriculum guide is complete for K -12. It is so easy to customize too.

[freeindeed]

I have been so pleasantly surprised by Five in a Row. It is such a gentle approach to learning, yet my dc have learned and retained so much using it. For example, we read The Story About Ping several months ago. Then, last night, dc wanted to play our Ping board game. They didn't miss a single question--not just questions about the story, mind you, but geographical and cultural questions about China as well.:D

[Caroline4kids]

I have been so pleasantly surprised by Five in a Row. It is such a gentle approach to learning, yet my dc have learned and retained so much using it. For example, we read The Story About Ping several months ago. Then, last night, dc wanted to play our Ping board game. They didn't miss a single question--not just questions about the story, mind you, but geographical and cultural questions about China as well.:D

I used FIAR for four years and loved it too. We still re-read the books often.:)