We bought a couple of the small packages for stocking stuffers. As far as quality, they were fine. They are smaller that LEGOS, so if your child has trouble with LEGOS then this may not be a good gift idea (from a fine motor point).

And I would also suggest the placement test if you decide to go with it. Because it is mastery, it is based on levels and not grades. Master Books recommends Level 1 for Grade 1, but I started one of my kiddos in Level 1 about halfway through his K year. All that to say, your children's grade number may not coordinate with the level number.

We use MLFLE, and it has been a wonderful change for us. It is a Christian curriculum. It has a Charlotte Mason flavor to it with a story line, copywork, narration, and short lessons. For us, the lessons in Level 1 and 2 were short (15-20 minutes) and the lessons in Level 3 are taking a bit longer (20-30 minutes). The lesson length has been great for us, long enough to be effective but short enough to end the lesson on a positive note and not to a point of exhaustion. It also has a good mix of hands on activities with traditional worksheets. I think CLE is spiral (right?) and MLFLE is mastery with built in review. We were losing our love of math with our previous curriculum, but MLFLE brought the love back. If you have any specific questions, I can try to answer them.

We had a lot of success using CLE's addition and subtraction flashcards that come with a 1st/2nd grade scheduling guide. Because that worked well, I am doing the same sort of scheduled memory work using multiplication and division flashcards, I'm just having to make my own schedule for multiplication and division.

I just downloaded the audio book! Thank you!

Gah! I just added Kitchen Table Math to my Amazon cart.

I'm a new homeschooler and enrolled my oldest son in a once per week tutorial because of the dreaded socialization question. The first year it was great. The second year I began to loathe it. It was definitely school at home following someone else's lesson plans and schedules. It also zapped the family style learning that I longed to have from the beginning. So, the major thing that I did to drop the school at home mentality was to stop participating in a tutorial that provided all the schedules and plans. By dropping it, we're able to actually enjoy learning without the pressure of having homework ready to turn in the next week. The second thing I did was let my kids pick a few things to study for the year. For example, the oldest wanted to study Earth Science and continue with Shurley English but at a higher level. Lastly, I try to get my kids learning together, which is a bit challenging at the moment because I have one fluent reader and one emerging reader. However, I can see them doing more together with in the year as my youngest learns to read. I am a product of the PS system and did not know a single homeschooler when we started. It has taken time for ME to "deschool." I had this ideal of a family lifestyle of learning in my mind when we started, but it has taken a couple of years to get to that point and figure it out.

Just for example, the other day my oldest son's lesson was in division. He is working towards memorizing division facts, but my youngest was able to jump in. Even though the youngest is no where near memorizing division facts, he was able to take the large group of blocks and split them into smaller equal groups.

So, we use Math Lessons for a Living Education and because of the hands on activities my kids will jump in on each other's lessons, but not every day. Some things that might work for family learning at different levels... Miquon - the family could work on the same topic (for example, addition) but then each individual child work at their in level. You would need to purchase all the workbooks at once to do this. Family Math - do the activities as a family but adjust depending on each individual child's needs. For example, one child may be building fluency during an activity but another child may need more teaching during the activity.

Oh my! I love avocado and eat 5 a week. I just peel them and eat them plain.

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I use the book Uncovering the Logic of English...it's a book not the curriculum.

For addition and subtraction, I like CLE's set. I just ordered Evan Moor's multiplication and division (has arrays on them), but we will switch over to Math in a Flash's multiplication and division after my son gets a stronger grasp on the concept.

Our library has OPGTR. There is a free, online program called Progressive Phonics.

What about your planner? Is it a hit or a miss?

Hits: Abeka Phonics Explode the Code Math Lessons for a Living Education Shurley English WWE AAS (I was dreading it, but it's going well) VP Self Paced Bible VP You Teach History FIAR Artistic Pursuits (when we get to it) Dance Mat Typing (when we get to it) Misses: VP Legends and Leagues I am feeling a bit tired by all the planning involved in VP history, FIAR, and my homemade geography. Although I like these, I am going to use something more open and go next school. I don't want to burn out.

Coffee Bar style.

We like flash cards over here, too. I especially like CLE's addition and subtraction flashcards with the 1st and 2nd grade schedule. I wish I could find some multiplication and division flashcards that have a schedule.

I'm trying to lose weight and thought I might reward myself with Stitch Fix when I have no more clothes that fit. I have my current size, which is getting a bit loose, and one size down in my closet.

That's funny. I guess my kids have weird "taste" in music. We know other kids who do not like the VP memory songs (for Bible, History, Geography) or the Shurley jingles, and my kids love them all. 😂

We are VP fans, too...the Bible, History, Literature Guides...but this has been a flop. Seems like a lot of people us Evan Moor, so I may try that. I actually think our local "teacher" store has Evan Moor.