[Peanut Gallery]

We do some of both.

We use the Heart of Wisdom Bible Study, Singapore Math, WinterPromise for history (and this year also for science), and Spell to Write and Read for LA. I am looking for a good introductory writing (composition) program for 3rd-4th graders. If you know of one, let me know. SWR does teach sentence structure and grammar, but it only teaches writing up to about the 3rd grade level. I have access to Rosetta Stone, but it is not working out for us right now. I like it and think it's a great way to learn languages, but Spiderboy gets bored with it. Go figure. I am glad I didn't purchase it!

BTW, Spiderboy has announced that he no longer wishes to be an astronaut. He wants to be a computer graphics designer for animation (in movies as well as games).

[JenB]

I think we started Learning Language Arts Through Literature at that age. It was a literature based program, sort of - every few days you'd have a passage from a book to copy, and then activities relating to the passage. You'd get three or four passages from a book and the idea was the kid would read the book on his own. There's a whole series of them and I think it goes up through high school.

[SuziQ]

For writing, check out the Institute for Excellence in Writing. The TRISMS program uses it, and has blended its writing assignments to IEW. It starts with younger writers and will last you all the way through high school. Lots of folks on the Classical ed and TRISMS groups love the program. You might look into TRISMS for Spiderboy for when he gets up into middle school. It has a middle school program, then more for high school. It's in the Classical style, which means it covers world history and the humanities chronologically. The program is designed to teach the student to research and write well, and kids who have used it say it prepares them extremely well for college. The program does not include the hard sciences for high school, nor does it include math at any level. But it's an affordable program that covers everything else!