I am very sorry. In no way did I intend to offend anyone. I know many wonderful and non-judgmental people from many different religions, including Protestants. I often listen to Protestant radio programs and benefitted greatly from them. There are people from all religions (my own included) that are disrespectful of other religions, and there are non-religious folks that are disrespestful of religion in general. I only specifically mentioned Protestants because I was researching a Protestant curriculum. My intention was simply that all of us, religious and secular alike, have to be careful that the curriculum we are using is not going to be offensive to our families or our children. Please accept my apologies for any offense. I truly believe that there are good people everywhere, and I am so sorry that I came across as judgmental.

Yes, I am going to try TOG, but secularizing it is not the concern for me. My problem is that we are Mormon, and TOG is really Protestant, and Protestants are known for being quite adversarial toward Mormons. But all in all, I think it is the same challenge for anyone that isn't Protestant--that is, making sure that the curriculum you are using is not offensive toward your beliefs (or others' for that matter).

We are doing Horizons K this year, and I like the gentle way that it introduces advanced concepts. But it is just drudgery for dd. It is just drill and repetition--nothing fun about it unless math is naturally a fun thing for you. We are going with CSMP as soon as I can get the stuff printed from the internet. It looks like just what my verbal dd needs.

FWIW, I have a blog post that is related to this issue, although it may be a little different perspective than what you are looking for. http://myfamilyiseternal.blogspot.com/2009/12/attachment-and-homeschooling-ii.html

You didn't mention your current physical condition, but both time that I had C-sections, it took months for me to totally recover. So I would recommend that you keep your standards low right now. I would put in another vote for Five in a Row. That is my dd's favorite part of K right now. Another way to make it special is to let him do a little bit of the leading. I thought that K was too early to do that, but my dd has led us through a study of classical composers and countries of the world. She tells me what she wants to study, and I get the books. We mark them all on our map (composers and countries). I admit it is a little challenging when she says, "Mom, I want to study Yemen next!" But she loves choosing some areas of study.

Monique, Thanks for this link. It is really inspirational! Thanks also for your previous post. I've been on the fence with this for a long time, because I have met so many people that invested in TOG and it didn't work for them. But for me, history and literature are so lacking, that I think I need to do what this link says--that is, work through the rhetoric level while my kids are young so that I am ready for it when my kids are rhetoric level. Thanks!

This year, we are using: MCP Plaid Phonics Spelling Workout A BJU Press Science (has some health components) History is unit studies by country using library books Horizons Math Five in a Row (literature) Critical Thinking: Reading, Thinking and Reasoning Skills No grammar See my blog: http://myfamilyiseternal.blogspot.com/2009/10/view-of-our-first-year.html Next year, we will use: Spelling Workout B (no phonics) Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding Tapestry of Grace (history/literature/some grammar but not a full program) CSMP Math Maybe Critical Thinking again? (We love it, but I don't know if there will be time for it.)

My dd4 is exactly the same way. I try to make it educational, and then it is easier for me to do. For example, we recently read a book about Princess Isabel of Spain, and then she wanted to be Princess Isabel. I pretended to be King Ferdinand asking for her hand in marriage. And through that, dd knows that Isabel was Queen of Castile, Ferdinand was King of Aragon, and their marriage combined their kingdoms into Spain. This is way better than pretending she is a Disney Princess, and in spite of my distaste for pretending, I am very motivated to discourage the infatuation with commercial characters. I get a lot of children's biographies, and we pretend we are real people all the time.

A lot of people really stick to the history/literature, because it make so much sense to study them chronologically and have everything integrated together. A lot of people veer from it when it comes to science. My DH is a physics teacher, so waiting until year 4 to do physics is simply not an option.

I just thought I would point out that Horizons K Math is a rather advanced curriculum as K math curriculums go. I am using with my gifted 4yo, and we chose it specifically because it was said to be advanced. If she is having trouble with recognizing numbers, she is going to struggle in the second semester when they are introducing double-digit addition. You might want to look at a program that is less number intensive. BTW, we are ditching Horizons K for CSMP. We found Horizons to be just too much drudgery.

You might want to put this on the accelerated learners board. Also, I have found the TAGMAX e-mail list to be quite helpful. I also have a verbally gifted 4yo and have similar writing issues. (She can write well, but just doesn't have the stamina to do the volume of work that you see in a 1st grade text, yet.) We started doing Spelling Workout A this year (recommended in WTM). She was getting it done, but I could see it was really wearing her out. So just this week, we have started to do it orally, instead. I worry that it won't sink in as well when she doesn't have to write it, but then I remind myself that she is only 4yo, and it just doesn't matter that much yet. Also, I use SpellingCity for her to practice her spelling words and take tests. For grammar, I was going to do FLL with her, but I think that it will be too boring for her. Since we are using Tapestry of Grace for history, it has a writing component that has the little ones identify words for the different parts of speech and write them on index cards. So for now, we are just going to do that.

I did a trial run with one week of TOG free samples. I ordered every book from the library on the first page of reading lists for all of the levels. I was able to get 90% of what I ordered within one week. There were a couple of stragglers that came the next week and just one LG book that came later than that. There were some spines, like SOTW, on the second page that I couldn't get at all. But at least in our library system, I think I can do TOG without buying hardly any of the books.

Hi, we are in the middle of Kindergarten right now. I blogged about how I found what we are using. http://myfamilyiseternal.blogspot.com/2009/10/finding-my-first-curriculum-or-scary.html And here is our curriculum for this year. http://myfamilyiseternal.blogspot.com/2009/10/view-of-our-first-year.html We have made a few changes since then, but it was a good start. I have eliminated phonics, because her reading level is gaining faster than the phonics curriculum, and it was too much writing for her. I am changing the spelling to oral exercises only. And I am doing copywork for handwriting. Social studies has become much more child-led than I originally anticipated, so we are doing a lot of unit studies there. Best of luck!

I recently posted these questions on a yahoo list, so forgive me if you have already seen this. But I wanted to make sure to get as much input as possible before investing in TOG. By way of background, I have a verbally gifted 4yo dd (reading at 2nd grade level last I checked) and an almost 2yo ds. I am 40yo, so more children are very unlikely. So I would only have one lower grammar age student next year. I want to start on ancient history next school year, regardless of what curriculum I use. 1. I have noticed that a lot of people seem to buy many of the books, and I wonder if anyone has been successful in using the library for most or all of the books (especially in the lower grammar stage, where there are so many more books). I did a trial run at our library and ordered the entire first page of books for all levels for week one of the free on-line samples. Ninety percent of them came within a week. 2. I have also noticed that many people specifically purchase one book as the spine for the curriculum. I kind of like the idea of having the book here in case the library books don't show up. But then the costs start to outweigh the benefits of the program. How helpful is having the spine in the lower grammar stage? If you use one for lower grammar, what do you use? 3. One of my biggest concerns is that Tapestry of Grace has a heavy Protestant influence, and we are not Protestant. Because my family members are all different religions, it is important to me that all religions be treated with respect. Has anyone come across anything in the program that is disrespectful or that belittles another religion (for example, saying that they are going to he** or cannot be saved)? 4. The company is really pushing the digital version (but I wonder if it is just because they make more profit off of it). I like the idea that in 5 or 9 years, when we have reached the upper levels, I will have access to information about new books added to the program. But I wonder how often this happens? The digital version is cheaper up front, but then there are the printing costs and the fact that you cannot resell it. 5. One of the real benefits of the program is the ability to teach multiple children from the same curriculum. Is it still worth it with only 2 kids? (And, of course, ds is sure to be the mathy one, right?) Thanks for your help! Tracy My Homeschool Journey: http://myfamilyiseternal.blogspot.com/

I haven't used TOG yet, but I have been heavily researching it. From the looks of the free samples at the site, TOG would be really hard to secularize. It is about as heavy a religious (and specifically Protestant) curriculum as you will ever find.

I have seen three consistently recommended on the gifted lists: (1) Singapore Math, (2) MEP, and (3) CSMP. I originally wanted to use Singapore, but I have learned that it is not as comprehensive as I would like it to be. So we are using CSMP next year, and it is free online. (See this blog post http://puzzler.multiply.com/journal/item/12/Show_and_Tell_3_CSMP, and the curriculum is at http://ceure.buffalostate.edu/~csmp/.

Thanks so much for all of your input! I think I am leaning toward no formal grammar program next year. I am tentatively planning on using Tapestry of Grace, and although it does not include a complete and formal grammar program, many grammar points are introduced in the writing exercises. I think that will probably be enough for my 5yo.

It sounds like he hasn't asked for your help, yet. But maybe you are anticipating it? We took my MIL in after she had open heart surgery. I was pregnant at the time, and after the baby was born (my first), she became unbearable (telling me how to take care of my daughter and getting angry with me when I didn't do what she said--this from a woman who physically abused her own children). My husband had to ask her to leave. She put herself on a waiting list of subsidized housing, and we helped her find a temporary apartment. I didn't feel the least bit bad about it, because she was reaping what she sowed her entire life. We visit her as often as possible, and I send pictures of the kids. I think that we have an obligation to our parents who raised us. When the parent did not raise us, then the obligation is more like the one we have to help the poor and needy in our churches or communities. We help when we can and to the extent we are able. I would say that you should help him find the social services that he is eligible for and help him get rides to the grocery store. As for him wanting to talk about what happened with your mother, I think that is a very common phenomena. My parents are divorced, and my father tried for years to talk about why he left my mom. I just told him, "I lived with my mother a long time. It is not hard to imagine why you left her. But it would not be good for my relationship with her to hear what happened between the two of you." I had to be very insistent and confident about this, and he eventually accepted my wishes and stopped trying to talk about it.

MCT stands for Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts program. It is especially popular among the gifted community, because it introduces more advanced concepts at an earlier age. But I think that FLL does this, too, but it is geared toward a slightly younger audience and is not specifically geared toward gifted children.

DD4 is verbally gifted (reading at 2nd grade level). We are doing kindergarten this year, and I am looking for a grammar program for next year. She requires a lot of interpersonal interaction and conversation. She will do worksheets out of a sense of duty but would much rather talk to someone or work cooperatively. I like the idea of cuddling up on the couch together with FLL, and I like that it starts sentence diagramming early on. But I am concerned that it will be too boring for her. I have also considered MCT, since it is geared toward gifted children. But I am really put off by the font. DD is very rule-oriented, and I am not sure she will go for a book that looks like a child wrote it. (OTOH, she might like the idea, too.) Can anyone give me any insights into either of these programs for a very young gifted child? I am thinking that we might start with FLL next year and then perhaps move into MCT later on?

Thanks, Shari. I did do that, but there were just so many, and most of them were either stating that they used it without any more info, or they were asking questions about how to implement it. After wading through dozens of posts, I didn't find anything that addressed my specific questions or offered any kind of critique. So I thought posting my questions would be more expedient. I am new to this forum. Was that improper?

I have almost a year to research curricula before starting 1st grade with dd next year. I am very interested in Tapestry of Grace for a multitude of reasons and wonder if you TOG users (or even former users) can help me make an assessment. I personally love the Socratic method and am very comfortable with it. I have always been a supporter of an integrated approach. I like the varying levels for dd that is more gifted in some areas than others. And I really want a curriculum that is Bible-based rather than secular. If I were to design a curriculum for myself, this would be it. But it is hard to assess with only three weeks of free samples (as much as that is!). The most difficult part to assess is the religion aspect. I know that it is a Protestant curriculum. However, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, Mormon), and I know that the LDS Church is not always treated very nicely in Protestant materials. Someone did make me aware of a passage of one text that had some inaccuracies and a huge amount of bias. That alone doesn't bother me, because my children have to learn to deal with that. But I want my children to learn correct history as much as possible and also to treat other religions with respect and to work together with them. So this leads me to the following questions (1) Are these inaccuracies indicative of other inaccuracies throughout the curriculum? (2) Is this bias against the LDS Church indicative of how other churches are treated generally? Can you make me aware of other instances where any church is not treated with respect? I am also interested in your personal experiences with TOG. I have received reports that it was too much material, library materials were difficult to get, it is difficult to prepare for multiple children (younger ds1 would be starting ancients with dd in 4 years). Anything you can tell me would be helpful.

Rather than avoid religion altogether, perhaps this is a time for your son to learn about many different beliefs, including yours. My husband and I are devout in our beliefs, but we strategically allow our 4yo to learn about what others believe and to respect those other beliefs. For example, we always pray at mealtime, and when she notices others not doing so, we discuss with her why other people might not pray in a way that allows her (we hope) to respect others' choices and beliefs. So if you want your child to have a religious education, why not study many religions and take some time to compare and contrast them? Help him understand why you don't believe some things that he has been taught. I don't think you have to have all the answers to provide a religious education to your children.

If you are just looking for some extra practice rather than a whole curriculum, check out these sites. http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/language_arts/handwriting/ http://www.spellingcity.com/ This is a spelling site where you can enter spelling lists. In addition to being able to print worksheets for copying spelling words, it also provides spelling practice, testing, and games.