I'm a violin teacher, and I've had good success in steering my students and their families to Shar Music. Their least expensive violin outfit is $139 (including case, bow, and rosin), and their customer service is good. You may even be able to find a trade-in or so-called blemished violin from Shar at a lower price, but I would recommend checking with the prospective teacher for his/her guidance before buying. HTH, Tiffany

Subscribing to this thread as we are also looking for good French materials ...

Sorry for the confusion on my part. Your post makes complete sense now. Yes, I agree with Another Lynn. Consider starting the history and science (and maybe even vocab and handwriting) now so that you're gradually phasing them into a heavier workload. That should take care of the boredom issue for a while too. Hope it goes well! Tiffany

It's probably me, but I'm a little confused about which children are doing which programs. Perhaps if you could clarify that, I could help a bit. (Sorry if I'm being dense.) One easy way to add a little music exposure would be to listen to one or more of the Beethoven's Wig CDs. They may even be available at your local library, but you can check them out here: http://www.amazon.com/Beethovens-Wig-Sing-Along-Symphonies/dp/B000060OLA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1288781920&sr=8-1 You don't have to do anything formal with them. Just listen during lunch or breaktime, and check off music for the day. (FWIW, I'm a professional classical musician.) This helps to develop the ear, builds a familiarity with some of the most standard and recognizable classical masterpieces, and is fun too. I totally understand about wanting to "do the book and call it done." That's me too. Why would I want to do a craft? Unfortunately, my children (especially my youngest) have a different sentiment. I don't have a solution (other than SOTW Activity Books), but I feel your pain. HTH, Tiffany

Hope things get better soon! Take a deep breath, and move on. You can do it. Tiffany

I use Plaid Phonics as constructive busywork/phonics reinforcement frequently with my 5yo. She's working in level A, which I'd put at roughly the same level as ETC 1. I'm not familiar with Phonics Museum, but my dd is about halfway through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 ... Tiffany

At his age, with two years of study under his belt, I wouldn't worry too much about switching to the Suzuki method. (I'm a Suzuki-certified violin teacher, for what it's worth.) It sounds like one of the root problems is his gift for playing by ear ... Often, I see students with this natural gift become very frustrated with learning to read music. Even with a true Suzuki program, he would need to read music. If you both agree that he wants to continue to study piano, I would suggest you make a plan (together) to practice a certain amount per day -- perhaps 20-30 minutes. Because he is struggling so much with the note-reading, it would be very helpful for you to be involved at least for that part of his practice. But try to keep it positive! There are many resources out there pertaining to note reading (for example, Music Mind Games or Theory Time). Augh! I have a violin student coming in a couple of minutes. I'll try to chime in with a couple more suggestions later ... Tiffany

So many good suggestions! I'd also check out Catholic Children's Treasure Box Books, which are sweetly old-fashioned (published in the '50s) and very appealing to young children. Published by TAN Books, you can check them out here: http://www.catholiccompany.com/catholic-childrens-treasure-box-c239/ They contain stories of the saints, charming little moral tales, short activity ideas, and more. Tiffany

Per your suggestion, I just ordered the first two writing lectures and will listen to them later today. I had seen that they were available previously, but had forgotten about them, so thanks for reminding me of their existence and spurring me to action! And thank you so much for sharing your daughter's summary. So a "one-page summary" doesn't necessarily have to be a full page? Tiffany P.S. Nicely written summary, btw. :001_smile:

Anyone?

I've been reading/following TWTM off and on for the past 7 years. Having relied on Sonlight more recently, I'm now considering following TWTM more closely than in the past. I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share a sample reading summary (literature or history, for example) by one of their children. My two older children (those to whom this would apply) are in 7th and 6th grades. They're strong writers, but we definitely haven't been practicing narration and dictation for the past several years. (Actually, we've been using IEW, but that's a different story.) SWB asks for a one-page summary, if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure what this looks like in real life. One page handwritten? Typewritten? Three paragraphs? Intro and conclusion? Anyone want to give me some guidance? Thanks, Tiffany

We've used MUS for several years now. I'd recommend either having him spread the worksheets out over a few days (doing perhaps 2 pages per day) or allowing him to move ahead to the next lesson. If he truly has the material mastered, then he could likely move ahead with no problem. Tiffany

Thanks very much for the update on this program. Tiffany

We've been using it for years, but I do plan to check out Writing With Ease for possible use with my youngest. Tiffany

I'd probably start some kind of writing in 1st or 2nd grade, but you could wait if you'd like. How old are your children? Tiffany

... and I'm a violinist (professional) and violin teacher. I sometimes find myself really struggling to see the notes on the page unless I get rather close to the music. I usually just wear glasses to correct for my near-sightedness when I play violin. I have no experience with fiddling, as my expertise is in classical music, but I'd definitely agree that changing the position of your violin is not the answer. That could cause all kinds of other problems. If you were my student, I'd have you practice open strings, looking in a mirror, so that you can see where your bow is. As you've probably discovered, playing too close to the bridge sounds scratchy, and playing very far out over the fingerboard sounds airy. You need a different combination of arm weight (pressure) and bow speed, depending on where your sounding point (bow placement) is. Aim for just over the circles of the f-holes (the "Kreisler highway"), and you'll probably get the best sound. If you practice this enough, it will become second nature, and you won't have to look anymore. When you're looking in the mirror, you'll also want to watch that your bow is straight (or parallel to the bridge). If it's not straight, you won't be able to produce your best sound. Hope this helps, Tiffany

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and comments. This discussion has been very helpful, and I think I'll hold off on buying this program. Tiffany

From what I can see of online samples, it appears that The Art of Argument is basically self-directed by the student. The purpose of the teacher's manual appears to be mostly to provide answers to text questions, quizzes, and tests. Can anyone tell me if this impression is correct? I'm looking for a logic/critical thinking program that won't require much involvement on my part. There simply isn't enough time in my day ... Tiffany

I've had a similar experience with Sonlight. When we first started out with Core 1, it was an excellent fit for us. My kids and I loved the books, reading aloud, and so on. But over the years, we've used the IG less and less, and I've never been thrilled with the LA or Science (except as a book list). I've checked out TOG and decided that it's way too complicated for my use. Of course, for some, it works wonderfully, but with my children and my personality, I just don't think it would work. I'm also leaning a lot more on SWB's literary analysis suggestions lately. I do use IEW for writing (and love it), but I'm investigating WWE to use with my youngest -- at least for a while. Tiffany

We've been using HWT for years, but in the beginning, I really debated about which resources to use. Ultimately, I think most children will develop their own handwriting style anyway, but I agree that nixing bad habits early is a lot easier than trying to work on them later. You could probably do handwriting by just using free resources, but for me, the convenience of having the workbook is worth the money. Hope this helps, Tiffany

I forgot to mention that, although the publishers are Christian, I have so far not encountered anything that would make me call it anything other than secular. Tiffany

We're using Map Trek (by Knowledge Quest) for the first time this year. So far, it's been working very well for us. Mostly, it's coloring historical maps and identifying key locations (rivers, cities, geographical regions), but there are suggestions for some more crafty activities too. Tiffany

There are many, many versions of Gilgamesh. I had my almost-13yo son read a graphic novel version just a few months ago, just so he would have an introduction to the story. Later, I'll have him revisit the tale using a more in-depth version, but I haven't picked one out yet. Tiffany

You might want to consider Teaching the Classics, by Institute for Excellence in Writing: http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/tcs It will help you learn to approach any book, rather than specific books. It begins with the simplest of children's literature, so it's very easy and unintimidating to get started. You can also buy literature guides for individual works from the centerforlit.com site. Tiffany

Hi, GardenMom, Thank you so much for your detailed notes about the resources. I absolutely agree that the Hexco materials I've seen are low in production quality, but high in usefulness. (It took me a while to come to terms with this, but it helped that my son was so excited to read the Spelling Rules Book.) Since we use a Mac, a few of the items you mentioned won't be options for us, but keep me posted on how your materials work out for you and your son. I'm still kind of considering New Nat's Notes ... but honestly, at this point, I have more resources on hand than we will have time to study them. I know that the structure of Bee week has changed in recent years, but I'm still wondering whether there will be any scheduled activities besides spelling, the Turkey Run barbecue, and the awards banquet. For example, is sightseeing completely on our own, or will students head out in groups? Any other experiences you'd like to share? Thanks, Tiffany