We are just finishing up PM grade 1, having completed K as well, and have REALLY enjoyed it for our oldest DS. DD will begin casually in 2010 with it. we didn't use the CD much b/c i found the bass line to be quite bothersome; and my DS isn't much of an auditory learner. thought i found the readers to be a bit contrived at times, esp at the beginning, i felt they made for a GREAT way to pique the interest of DS in historical fact and stories that likely wouldn't have come up in our conversations otherwise. the art/museum part i feel was ingenious, even though we didn't set up the physical museum like we were "supposed" to. i felt the workbook was a bit repetitive at times, but i used various different activities to mix it up, or just skipped certain pages. :) that's the beauty of homeschooling! ;) we've done ETC and Phonics Pathways in conjunction with the PM just b/c i'm terrible at keeping things simple and DS is HIGHLY linguistic anyway, so he loves those. for fear of hijacking this thread, can i ask those of you who are a step or two ahead of me where you went after finishing PM? i was planning FLL and WWE; should i keep going with ETC through level 8 and not start a spelling curriculum proper, or should i involve a spelling curriculum with it? or should i just drop the ETC all together and switch to a spelling curriculum? which spelling and what level?

Hi. I'm Mirandi. I've been married to my high school sweetheart for 9 years. I'm a classically-trained pianist-turned homeschooling mommy. We have a DS 6 (isaac), DD 4.5 (ella), and our bonus DS almost 1 (schaefer). We just finished schooling isaac for kindergarten; ella will continue at our classical preschool but i'm starting to casually give her math and language arts lessons; she's in on all the read-aloud action anyway :) we're pretty granola -- cloth diaper, organic, no chemical cleaners, non-antibacterial soap, *limited* refined sugar, etc. :)

having covered all the topics of phonics contained in the Phonics Museum from Veritas Press, would you think a child needs to cover the beginning stuff in AAS, if he's a pretty good speller but only in 1st grade? and what does SWO stand for?

nevermind i just realized that SW is on SCM and for pete's sake the first level would be MORE than fine since it's grade 3,4,5. i just think it might be a bit redundant since i'm also going to be using WWE and FLL . . . too much overlap. i think WWE, FLL, ETC, AND SW would be overload!!! hmmm. should i just cut out ETC? should i just use ETC until level 8 and then go to phonetic zoo?

how much of the ETC have you used so far? any of it? what level are you planning to start with on SW?

if i do the Reason for Spelling, should i continue Explode? How do you know where to start with the Reason for Spelling? Is there a placement test he can take before i purchase curriculum? what would be your thoughts on spelling power vs. "All about" and "Reason" . . . i'm not "married" to it not being independent. :)

i'm having a terrible time deciding on a spelling curriculum for fall for my DS (6) who will be "doing" 1st grade . . . factors: -will have completed Phonics Museum K and 1 by fall -will have completled Phonics Pathways as well, or nearly done, by the fall -reads at about a late 1st grade level already, and is getting better everyday! -visual learner/kinesthetic -we've used Explode the Code and he's is the 4th book, getting ready for the 5th. these work well for him. plan to continue, i THINK. -is a good writer and doesn't mind copying lists/reading them . . . no frills approach. doesn't need a cartoon or a puzzle to convince him to do it, but he enjoys the occasional "game" on paper, you know? -is learning (slowly) to be an independent worker, but this is something that i'm also intentionally trying to foster in him b/c his preference would be for me to spend my whole day sitting right next to him holding his hand....i have another one who will be informally starting K and a 12 month old. -he's a GREAT speller to begin with -we're going to do WWE & FLL -he's done with HWoutTears ... i'm doing copywork to perfect skills till we start cursive in 2nd grade spelling workout A is WAAAAAAAAY too easy. i've looked at that. i'm considering spelling power i have also looked at phonetic zoo but am assuming he's not quite ready for it should i just hold off until he IS ready for phonetic zoo? what would i do to get him ready for it? i'd appreciate thoughts and help! :)

this has been really interesting. :) i asked my kids the other day if they liked "High Note Academy" for our school name. they snubbed their noses, then DS (age 6) answered, "No. We should name it "Monster School." I asked if that was because we were giants of knowledge (tongue in cheek) and he said, "No just cause we like to knock things down!" OH DEAR! i think i shall continue to make some suggestions .... next up: "Old Oaks" :) I like the biblical connection to being planted as an oak tree ..... actually H******* Academy of LIfelong Learning would work for us as well :) thanks for the idea!!! LOL

carmen, i think you're right .... and i agree that it seems there's nothing more to it than that. weird.

i'm keeping track of responses in this thread, b/c this really interests me. i have a question for those of you who've replied -- do you feel that those books pointed you more in a direction of focus on historical PEOPLE or historical tales/myths/events? i was noticing in the WTM (previous edition) that she highly recommends making sure that you focus on BIOGRAPHICAL info as much as possible b/c that's the info that kids can hang other bits of info on later as they grow in their knowledge and understanding of history. i'd be interested in your experiences.

LOL. i just thought of something ... "3 wise guys" academy. yah. that probably wouldn't go over so well ;) but it'd be funny. i like the 4 cedars .... i would like to come up with something catchy. my publishing name for my music is Kudzu & Cotton. but that doesn't work well for a school name.

i just realized i posted this in the K-8 . . . i meant to post this in the general board ....

i'm noticing that a lot of people i'm finding on blogs and such have given their homeschools a name. Wow. This seems like a fun idea. I'm curious: if you've named your school is it something that you use in daily conversation as you refer to school with your children (and others) or is this just more of a "web presence" reference? pardon my ignorance if naming your homeschool is the starting point for all homeschooling! LOL. we're entering our 2nd year. i think DS would laugh at me if i didn't come up with JUST the right name. :lol:

when will it be ready?! this sounds fantastic?! what kinds of spines and such will you recommend?

i have a highly linguistic but slightly resistant 6 yrold DS who has completed Phonics Museum K and is just about done with PM 1 (will be by the end of the summer) even though he's technically only "done" with K level work in math & other areas .... he reads REALLY well but baulks when asked to b/c he would rather me read to him (which of course i will continue to do!!!!) he's able to read the readers by Rylant as well as frog and toad, etc. so i'm trying to compile a list of books for him to read this year on his own as well as a good well-rounded survey of literature for our read alouds. i have the book tree, books children love, WTM, and honey for . . . just all a bit overwhelmed about how to sync it all. i also have a 4.5 DD whom i'm trying to incorporate as much as possible into our read aloud time. she's slowly getting the hang of more complex storylines, but she's at the opposite end of the linguistic spectrum and isn't putting the pieces of letter/sound recognition & phonics together nearly as easily, so she's also not nearly as interested in the higher level of read alouds he is. anyway, what would you recommend for both LITERATURE for THAT kind of 1st grader as well as read alouds?

woops. meant to add this. http://tanglewoodeducation.com/1h.htm uses Our Young Folks Josephus. and TOG doesn't use SOTW [my best friend is using this with hers] on http://www.simplycharlottemason.com, you can find other suggestions. i can't figure out though whether there's a suggestion of spine(s) for each unit . . . does history odyssey really rely that much on SOTW? i thought it was more CHOTW then there's this. http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=LBC&Category_Code=Ancient_Civil

wow this is exactly the question i was getting ready to post. thanks, 3boys, for starting this!!!

thanks for the heads up, lovedtodeath! :) i'm SOOOO new at all of this. i'm a crazy researcher but then can't seem to narrow it down to just one :)

i would just like to start science this fall. i was thinking of doing it from a creation standpoint. who is this "Seasoned mom" of whom you speak ;) ?

how would you compare the elemental science to the REAL science and the God's Design for Life series as far as simplicity to implement? i'm just now starting to look through science for our 1st grader and want to do it as classically as possible with some heavy charlotte mason overtones ;) so nature study is important . . . . thoughts?! i'm so hungry for a seasoned mom to help me understand this!