thanks. so *how* do you have them memorize the lists? do you develop little jingles, chants, songs, poems, setnences? or just recite straight? i think i struggle the most with the history facts and to some extent random bible knowledge like the 12 tribes. i want it to hang together and not just be a list ... also, because we use Rightstart Marth, I've struggled to really be systematic with their math facts. i don't want rote memorization of math facts but i also would like faster recall. are the Addition and Subtraction facts to song really worth purchasing? we do use ( and LOVE) geography songs, we've got the states and capitals, we love our poetry in Pudewa, and i'm pretty steady with the grammar stuff b/c it's something we like anyway. i wish there was something like that for history, bible facts, etc. we do our memory verses to song. we do our hymns to song LOL . tee hee. also, do you find that you start off (for example) your grammar lesson with the review/memory work for that subject or do you do a BLOCK of memory work at some point in the day that contains ALL the memory lists for all subjects? i can see pros and cons both ways. i did develop a notebook last night for them. we glanced through it and did our first day. i have a tab for each day. there is material common to the two kids on each day and some that is individual (example, the K'er is working on her phone number, address, etc .... while the 2nd grader obviously isn't). we do a four day week as well. the Pudewa is in a separate section and obviously can stand alone with the every third poem every third day type grid (love that.). i made one entire document full of all the memorization i want each child to do, then i printed it and stuck it into the 4 days' tabs, parcing and distributing it as evenly as possible. do you have your child read silently over their lists, or require aloud? :confused: i so badly just want this part of our day to be seamless. so far, it's not streamlined. :bigear:

i'll speak to Phonics Museum and Phonics Pathways: Our very visual boy learner did WONDERFULLY with this as a combo. I did lots of the Phonics Pathways on white board/magnetic letters. The phonics Museum was FANTASTIC in combining really engaging readers that are historically based, great great great artwork that he STILL talks about (and fun coloring sheets to mimic), easy to execute projects that tie in well, and a great set of puzzle cards. I think there's a *bit* of it that can turn into busy work or just get drawn out but that's probably more b/c he is very gifted in language arts, so it wasn't a stretch for him. Still, even with the parts that I'd prefer to not do, there's enough that I decided to use it for my second child .... So, two times around for us! HTH.

I've recently received my copy of Andrew Campbell's Living Memory. Wow. It's quite the compendium. But I'm overwhelmed in knowing how to parce it out for my kiddos. HELP!!! What have you done, plan to do, or found doesn't work at all? I'm the type that likes to memorize things that we've been learning about or will soon be learning about, typically speaking. I am planning to use Pudewa's Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization for our Poetry needs .... I have my own list of scriptures that they will be memorizing. So, that leaves me with Math, History, Science, Grammar, Hymns ... right? Do you have memory work from each subject that your child works on each day during Memory Work time? Or do you alternate subjects? or what?? :bigear:

i'll try to bump you up here with a little bit of my $.02 for your younger one, i think it would be appropriate to do FLL1&WWE1 for your older, i think it would be based upon strengths/interests as well as what she's already done prior to this .... i think FLL1 and 2 would be a little mind numbing if she's had ANY grammar instruction. we haven't done FLL3 yet .... but it's a bump up in difficulty and structure, so that would probably be a better fit if she's had grammar instrctution. for WWE, i would honestly plan to start from the ground up, again, depending on her exposure to narration and dictation. you could start in WWE2 if you feel moderately confident .... or just keep things simple for yourself and lump them together in WWE1. p.s. you might try to change the title of your thread to attract more moms to reply. more people using FLL and WWE together than PLL with WWE, maybe? HTH

oh yah, reading :) i forgot that part of it. thanks for adding that in :) i am interested in the editor in chief that you mention .... is that a workbook?

If you use Shurley, how do you round out your Lang Arts? I have a second grader who will be using shurley 2 in the fall. we're finishing off FLL2 and starting WWE 2. i'd like to hear how others have rounded out Shurley .... which (if any) of these components do you add, and what curr/approach? -handwriting -spelling -latin -writing -copywork -poetry memorization -phonics review :bigear:

be good to each other. take turns talking.

i was *just* logging on to start a similar thread. i have the Living Memory, the Linguistics through Poetry (pudewa), Hannah Wilson's free memory work program, and my own personal preference for a few add-ins. geography songs for one. it's a really slow work in progrss. i am working through all of it right now and developing both a list for my 2nd grader and a list for my K'er. i just saw a nicely done blog idea that i'd thought might work for us. i need to spend some time deciding how to implement it ..... here's the link: http://theclassicalexperience.blogspot.com/2010/02/memory-folder.html i'm interested in others' responses. btw, i'm wondering whether i should keep all the 1st grade stuff going ... like does this become a long, collective body of knowledge that we constantly review??? or do i set that aside for the most part since he officially recited for all his grandparents at the end of 1st grade? does everyone include math facts during their review time or just at the beginning of math each day? one other thing, if i may: honestly, how long do you review each and every day if you have children only in the lower grades (ours are 2nd, K, and toddler). they all get a bit squirmy and it gets kind of difficult to reign them in after about 15 or 20 min .... is that long enough for their ages?

so today, DH and i went into lowes just to browse for a bit (thought we will definitely not buy our flooring from there). the 20-something and the teenage boys who were working in the flooring section didn't seem to have a clue that cork and bamboo could be used in a kitchen, but they made the remark that it dents really easily. thoughts? if you have/had cork or bamboo, what brand was it, where did you buy it (local or online), and would you recommend it? i found one bamboo that's a dark stain that is hand-scraped so i figure a few extra dents from accidentally dropped items wouldn't matter so much. i'm reall confused about slate tiles .... i'm headed to the tile shop or some other flooring place tomorrow.

we had the privilege of visiting our friends in Yorktown and doing all the history we could stand while there this past month!!! it was the *perfect* time, too, b/c we had JUST arrived at Jamestown in our studies. i was elated about how God worked it all out. we hope to "celebrate" our trip through early american history next summer with a whirlwind New-England-sites tour while visiting our friends in Boston. ery excited about all htat!

yes, us, too :) very thankful for the guest hollow site! LOVE the BF Early American!! we actually started in June ... having a great time! DS7; DD 5.5 oh, we decided to use Light and Glory and Story of the Thirteen Colonies, along with a lot of other great titles i just simply prefer. we're using this as the structure for a lot of our literature studies, as well.....

:grouphug: i knew i could rely on you ladies to give me FANTASTIC advice and thoughts. thanks so much!!!!!! we're thinking the hardwood isn't a good idea b/c (a detail i forgot to mention) this flooring will extend under our washer and dryer since it is in a "Closet" off the kitchen. it has to all connect, we're pretty sure. we're inclined toward the cork flooring at the moment b/c after discussion of your thoughts and my husband's preferences, we've decided to try to stick with natural materials. we want the dark-stain cork. anybody with ideas on locations to buy cork flooring? what about bamboo flooring? anyone with experience? we're still considering the really smooth ceramic tiles, but i do loathe grout care. keep the thoughts coming! :thumbup:

Our kitchen has had severe water damage due to a long-leaking dishwasher caused by improper installation (by a company,not us). We are now looking at needing to rip out ALL the subflooring, underlayment, tile, etc b/c the grout was squishing, the tiles were cracking, etc. I'm curious about what types of flooring people have and love. I have issues with floors being easy to clean, and yet not looking dirty if they aren't clean. We have a non-shedding BIG dog, and a few people in the family (grin) who can't stand floors feeling sticky or crummy. ;) We have hardwoods in most of the other parts of the house. I'm happy to see this particular tile go b/c it's been the bain of my floor-cleaning existence since we moved in three years ago. {it has tiny little dents all along the surface that harbor dirt, and i scrub my floor weekly (sometimes twice) on my hands and knees ... crazy-making floor} thanks for all your thoughts and input -- what do you like? what hasn't worked? we all have kids running so i thought i'd start here to get advice!

thanks, amber ;) that's really helpful, actually. i'll PM you for the rest of everything. i'm enjoying reading others' responses to your direct question.

just curious: what were your reasons for choosing MCT instead of FLL to pair with the WWE. please don't hear skepticism in my question: i'm curious b/c i haven't felt that FLL1/2 has been a *perfect* fit for my DS but haven't known whether to do MCT or LLATL or actually CW when we finish up FLL2. {and i've about driven some of the others moms looony talking about it so i've stopped but your LA situation piqued my interest, so i am going out on a limb in potentially sabotaging your thread :tongue_smilie: we like WWE a lot.

LOL. i didn't realize there was any way to go through the level 1 book other than page by page :) thanks for the heads up -- i'm going to have a look and see how i would like to continue from here out. my DS7 has been working through one page a day (about 3days/week) for the last few weeks. thanks for the headsup, again.

do you mean PLL or FLL? there's definite overlap between FLL and WWE b/c of the fact that SWB wrote both. {i'm thinking that's what you meant, but just want to be sure before i give feedback} :D

hi, i have a friend who is a first year homeschooler of her young ones (ages 5 and 3) and they JUST moved to boston, MA. she is looking to network/get support/ etc .... could anyone help me figure out a way to give her some names of people who live nearby and are willing to maybe email and possibly give advice ? she needs help understanding MA schooling laws, etc .... i'm helping her formulate her curriculum plan, etc .... she just needs local help. thanks :)

i echo everything that's been said. just wanted to add this: stay steady. it will come. there will be fits and starts until they are closer to 10 or 11, particularly with boys. while it's good to reevaluate and make adjustments as you sense you need to, also walk with caution about being too indulgent. [i'm not implying you are ... i just know *i* often tend toward rethinking rethinking replotting replotting reevaluating ad nauseum (esp on difficult days) and wind up so far off the mark of what i initially felt was the right fit that i've morphed into an indulgent system of thinking that's not going to serve him well after all the dust settles. in reality, what they need is consistency while they go through their fits and their immaturity b/c mom is then a stable, steady, reliable, predictable part of their unsteady, unstable, unreliable world, etc ..... changing it too often or too much can be confusing in the end for them and can prolong an already difficult stage for both mom and child. clear as mud?] go with what you know to be right (or what you realize is right after a time :) ), commit to stick to it even on the hardest days while being comforting and helpful/encouraging and understanding to him .... and as you stay consistent with your plan you can then praise character development along the way, making it less about the work, the productivity, the smartness, etc, and more about the character of diligence, perseverance, self-control, respectful communcation, etc. praising character has been really key for us as of late. hope that's not too nebulous or ambiguous. you're in good company. stay steady. you're doing a wonderful job! and yes, *you* are the ideal teacher for your son. :)

linda, this is a good point. i like the idea of them being comfortable with either scenario. thanks for drawing that distinction :)

thanks for all the different perspectives :) i like hearing how the programs differ and such. :grouphug:

FYI, i bought two of them accidentally .... that's why i'm selling it ;)

i really like the come look with me series .... plus, we've enjoyed the series that are "camille and the sunflowers" etc .... there are quite a few of them out there and we've enjoyed every one that we've read. i have a come look with me FS on the sale and swap board.

carmen, do you mean that the exact opposite was true for your DD ? DS has HIGH reading level and low tolerance for writing....

i answered this in my last post amidst the other comments. btw, why would *you* categorize MCT as freeform -- perhaps i would benefit from understanding what your "take" on that term is :bigear: