Why do you want to want to do a nature study? If your dc wants to do it, then you have to find a way to do that is not too distasteful for you. But if your dc has no particular interest, then don't feel guilty for not doing it. You can learn about nature without being outside. Last year, we took my dd4 to the zoo. She had absolutely no interest in the animals and wanted to spend the whole day in the indoor facility playing with the stuffed animals. Now, I detest being outside and sometimes I feel guilty about it. But I refuse to feel guilty about not doing a nature study with this particular child. We will sprout some beans and plant seeds inside. We will check out the occasional bug that makes its way into our house. We will watch the deer walk through our back yard. We will get books about how the body works and study about the difference between plants and animals, and so forth. But until she gives me some indication that she would enjoy a nature study, I am not going to stress over it. Tracy

That would be great, Shannon. Thanks! Tracy

Lapbooks seem like a great idea, but I know from my recent attempt at making file folder games that lapbooking is eventually going to go by the wayside because the making of them is just so onerous. (My dd is only 5yo, so she wouldn't be able to do them on her own.) Where do you get your coloring pages? Tracy

I just bought TOG to use with my oldest dd who will be LG next year. She is the kind of child that needs to know what is happening and when. She also wants to go back and remember everything that she has done. And since she really loves the TOG topics (history, literature, geography), I anticipate that this is going to be particularly so with this program. So I really have two questions: Do you have any advice about organizing what she will be doing from week to week and day to day? Do you have any ideas about keeping a record of what she has done that will help her look back on it later? Thanks, Tracy

In the past, the books were listed on the website. I don't know what they are doing now that Rainbow Resource is selling it. There really is no specific schedule or order to read them. There are a couple of exceptions where books are thrown in to go with a particular season. If you read them in order starting around late August, you will get a book about storms during the late summer storm season, a Thanksgiving book at Thanksgiving time, and a couple of winter books during winter time. But mostly, it doesn't matter what order you do them in.

Nora Gaydos books, Level 1.

My dh used to be a drama director at the high school. Many of the kids that were scared to perform spent time on the technical side--painting, cleaning, building sets, etc. If you have a local community theater, maybe he could get involved in this aspect. Tracy

Teacher Ideas Press has a lot of reader's theater stuff. Also, I would have him act out books that you read with him. Maybe you can get the whole family to do it together. Tracy

I think you are underestimating children. We all learn by making connections. My dd went through a stage before she could talk where she would want to find pictures of the same item (like a ball or dog, for example) in every book she owned. When she learned shapes, we looked for shapes everywhere we went. This is really what BFSU is doing. You introduce a topic, like solids, liquids and gases, and then you find them everywhere you go. I was amazed when I started teaching my dd5 about how air takes up space and has weight. She didn't have any of the misconceptions that Dr. Nebel warned about in the lesson. And I attribute that very much to the preparation that she received in the well-done previous lessons. You don't expect that they will "get it" right away. But every time something is taught, previous lessons are built upon and brought to remembrance, and the connections are made with very little effort. But then again, I don't believe that any curriculum can meet the needs of everyone. If you, as the teacher, do not like it (for whatever reason), then it probably is not going to work for you. Tracy

Schoolhouse Rock

For science, BFSU is great for young, gifted kids. It addresses very advanced concepts but has activities that are right on for the age group. Kumon books are great for that age. For enrichment, you could try a critical thinking book. We are using Critical Thinking: Reading, Thinking and Reasoning Skills (Steck-Vaughn), which my dd5 really loves. But you could also check out the Critical Thinking Company. Homeschool Buyer's Coop has a deal going right now. Tracy

At 3yo with reading and writing. Since she was doing both on her own, I wanted to make sure she was doing it correctly. So we would do reading one day and writing the next. Just a few minutes each day. Tracy

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding

BFSU is wonderful for young gifted kids. It is very meaty but has activities that are perfect for that age, especially if they are gifted. Tracy

Are you on the TAGMAX list? There has been a ton of lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of testing. What I have gathered is that testing at this age is only helpful if it uncovers something that you don't already know. (Later on, testing may help you take advantage of specific programs that require testing.) You know she is way ahead, but you don't know how far ahead. Testing might help you pin down her educational needs. I have seen many people remark that without testing, they would never have considered giving their young children such advanced material. Tracy

Using Horizons Math now. Taking the jump into CSMP when we finish Horizons. (She gets the work done, although she says she hates math. So as long as she is doing the work without too much trouble, I want her to finish the program we paid for. If I were fighting with her to do the math, we would switch sooner.) Tracy

HST basic is way different than the plus version. I wish I could remember why I decided to upgrade, but I realized immediately that I would want the plus version. IMO, I would not spend a lot of time with it if you plan to upgrade. It is very reasonable--only $50, and you get all updates, which are fairly regular. Tracy

My dd5 is much younger than yours, but we have really enjoyed doing unit studies for social studies. We choose either a country or a person, and we find books about that topic. I look for both fiction and non-fiction, including historical fiction, legends and myths, biographies, histories, etc. It has been a real eye-opener for me. When she picked Pakistan, I had no idea that I would actually find a wonderful picture book about an event in that country. I never imagined that when she chose Greenland, a story book about the viking, Eric the Red, would turn out to be one of her favorite books ever. Even though my dd is much younger than yours, there is no reason this couldn't be a fun detour for an older child. I have to turn down many great-looking books, because I think my dd is too young for them. And you wouldn't have to pay for a curriculum. Tracy

I love the idea of MCT, but I don't know if I can get over my distaste of the font in the beginning book. Tracy

I think from the home page, you need to click on Store and then Resource List. But I am having trouble getting to it right now. You have to log in, but you can register without buying anything. If you haven't yet made a purchase, it doesn't give you all the details. But it gives you enough to see what you will need. After you make the purchase, it gives you details such as how easily you can substitute alternate titles. I noticed in another thread that people were having trouble getting to the TOG site, so hopefully this will be resolved soon. Tracy

DD and I are both completely in love with Five in a Row. We include vocabulary, copywork, and narration. It is the only thing she still asks to do when she has a day off. Tracy

:bigear: Just bought TOG for next year, and I never heard this before. I will be interested to hear the responses on this one. Tracy

:iagree: I got MapAids only for my LG dd5. She is not into lapbooking, and even if she were, I don't think I could be. We will read the books, do the maps and many of the activities, since she is my only one in school right now. Tracy

I use Homeschool Tracker. Tracy

I would really recommend reading their introductory pamphlet and the 3-weeks of samples, both of which you can download at the web site. It is very long and a bit wordy, but it does a good job of explaining the program. As for the free samples, you don't have to actually teach those weeks to use them for an overview of the program. I took just one week and went to the library to see how many books I could get from ILL. When I got the books, I looked through them, along with the lesson plans to get a feel for what we would be doing. That was really helpful. Then you can download a list of books needed for your children for the year to see how many of those you can get from your library versus how many you would need to purchase or substitute. That will give you an idea of your cost, as well as give you a feel for the program. Tracy