I wish I had read the book How To Talk So Kids Will Listen And Listen So Kids Will Talk before starting homeschool. I am also now realizing the importance of cultivating a relationship of respect for elders, teachers, and parents. I had so much fun playing with my kids that now I'm working hard to establish my position as the one in charge and not just a peer. On the other hand, having fun is a major motivation for learning, so finding the balance is key, IMO.

I would focus on my spiritual practice more and see what is revealed. Something may present itself in an amazing way!

Most health food stores have green powder that is made from lots of dark, leafy greens, which can be added to food and drinks. I even add it to homemade smoothie-popsicles for the kids. Tahini (sesame seeds) with hummus (garbanzo beans/chick peas) both have a lot of calcium and are great to dip veggies, crackers, or chips into or add to salad greens. You can also try making your own nut milk and nut cheese...they're really good!

I found lots of good library books and project ideas from the MFW message board: http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=43 If you have extra funds, let 'em dig a dinosaur! http://nursery-store.com/idig-toy.asp

How about making your own Wheel Of Fortune? You can be Vanna and flip the letter cards, lol!

Aloha, Lynn! There is a McRuffy yahoo group you may want to join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/McRuffyusers/ I wanted the science but couldn't afford it. I like how it looks like there's not too much handwriting involved. I did use the math for K and it was very similar to the phonics in the way that there are lots of different sets of cards to keep organized. McRuffy K was a fun year. It starts out easy if your dc knows letter sounds and cvc words, but then it gets pretty advanced for K by the end, IMO. I started McRuffy 1st and it is much harder, requiring more handwriting, spelling, and grammar. I'm using it at a slower pace along with Alphabet Island. After McRuffy K, my ds is mostly in the 2B level of AI. HTH! By the way, I'm on the Big I, so A Hui Hou!

Hi! We finished McRuffy K phonics a few months ago (and really liked it). The cheap way that I kept it all organized was with big plastic ziploc freezer bags in the box that it all came in. One bag is for all the games, another for the sliders and flash cards, another for the puppet show cut outs (if you want to save them, they can be reproduced later, too). The readers and resource pack are already in bags. Each week I would look ahead to get what is needed from the resource pack, cut it out, and get the reader for the week. I'd put them all in the tm on the page needed so it's all ready to open and go. After using them, I would put them in the plastic bag with rubber bands around the cards, and the reader would go to the bottom of all the readers, and then I'd take the next reader out. If you don't want to use bags, you could use boxes, magazine holders, file folders or big envelopes. The main thing for me was to keep the games and game cards separate from the flash cards and sliders so they are easier to find when needed. The posters and games come already laminated. The only thing I laminated myself was the page at the back of the handwriting book that has the upper and lower case alphabet with dotted lines for tracing. We used it with dry erase markers and put it on the wall when not in use. We really liked McRuffy K and I'm happy with how well it helped my ds learn to read more. HTH!

Maybe he would prefer waldorf style language arts and form drawing, which are arts based and uses word families. Maybe Oak Meadow or Christopherus or A Little Garden Flower.

Alphabet Island is fun for learning rules with songs and stories about personified letters. My 3 year old along for the ride knows many rules now just from listening to the cd. Here's one favorite, sung to the sound of Kookaburra: Clever C loves his pet kangaroo And at the end of words you'll find these two Unless two vowels are around Then Clever C will never be found The Sentence Family looks like fun for grammer! I also like McRuffy for an all in one LA program.

Check your library for Phonics Pathways to try out for free. Dynamic Phonics looks good. The author emailed a sample page to me when I was trying to decide what to get. I wish I had gotten it instead of the whole McRuffy 1st grade, since it has too much handwriting for my ds right now. Here's a sample, I know they aren't available at the website, so maybe this will help you get an idea of it: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=122c716665bc64c4&mt=application/msword&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3Da57d7236f7%26view%3Datt%26th%3D122c716665bc64c4%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26zw&sig=AHIEtbR2NRGw0_146sfe_mEenSzhzvC4xw&pli=1 I was always curious about Primary Phonics. But my ds did not like ETC, and it's kind of similar so I never tried it. I also just got Alphabet Island and we all love it sooo much. I wish I had started with it. Some kids may be distracted by it, but my ds loves it so much. Just from listening to the cd, my ds has learned a lot of new phonics rules. HTH!

There's also McRuffy science for K-3. I remember reading a while ago that Connecting the Thoughts was made by someone with Scientology. Thanks for this thread!

My ds would go to the floor...because it is hot in summer and the tiles felt cool. After letting go of my frustration, I brought the book and laid down on the floor next to him and he started reading! That's just an example of how making school seem more fun or in the flow of what they want can get them to willingly cooperate. I've also seen curriculum changes work wonders when it fits their learning style. Rewards always backfired for us. He would beg for the treat first and refuse to do school until getting it. Punishment just made everything miserable. Natural consequences are the best way to go IMO, like less play time when school takes too long. I recently read a really good book from the library called How To Talk So Kids Will Listen And Listen So Kids Will Talk. Here's some notes I took that may help: Helping Children Deal With Their Feelings: 1. Listen quietly and attentively. 2. Acknowledge their feelings with a word. ("Oh", "I see") 3. Name the feeling. ("That sounds frustrating", "you're really upset!") 4. Use imagination to fulfill their wishes. ("I wish I could get that for you right now!") To Engage A Child's Cooperation: 1. Describe the problem or what you see. 2. Give information. 3. Say it with one word. 4. Describe what you feel. 5. Write a note (this one worked really well for us). You can make it fun...you could write a note from her workbook asking for her to please write in me. Problem Solving: 1. Talk about the child's feelings and needs. 2. Talk about your feelings and needs. 3. Brainstorm together to find a mutually agreeable solution. 4. Write down all ideas, without evaluation 5. Decide which suggestions you like, which you don't like, and which you plan to follow through on. Sometimes, just simply acknowledging their feelings and needs and desires really helps even if they are not really going to happen.

Just in case you want to buy a new abacus, they're cheaper ($10+shipping) at Rainbow Resource. You can also get the lessons and worksheets there.

We're using Galloping the Globe, along with FIAR, Science All Around the World, and Draw Write Now (and just finished McRuffy K Phonics and Math which we really liked). GTG is basically a map and flag with book lists and activities for each country (plus an intro to geography and Christmas around the world). You can use it at any pace, spending however much time needed for each country. They also have Cantering the Country for US geography. We're basically using it as our library book themes plus some coloring just for fun. I got passports and flag stickers for cheap from rainbow resource, and we pretend to travel to each country. I decided to save North America for last, and then go into US geography and history after that. I've compiled library book lists for the countries we've been to so far: http://souladventureschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Book%20Lists

Some questions to ask that will help decide: Spiral or mastery? Does she like to stay on one subject for a while or needs to change it up a lot to stay interested? Workbook based or manipulative based? I think 4 year old math should use manipulatives/toys. Which ones do you think she'll like best? Abacus, c-rods, counter bears, legos? Scripted or not scripted? Do you want to be able to read what to say or would you rather read the concept and then come up with your own words? Color or black and white? Does she like lots of color, or is that distracting? When my ds was 4, we did MFW K. The math aspect was as simple as adding a straw to a cup everyday and bundling them with a rubber band every ten days and putting it it the tens cup until we celebrated 100. Everyday we drew a shape on the day on the calendar and made patterns. We made numbers with play-doh and practiced writing them and matching them with the quantity they symbolize. When he was 5, he liked McRuffy K, it was pretty gentile and hands on. I think a 4 year old could do it, maybe splitting up lessons if needed. McRuffy is very spiral, uses manipulatives with every lesson, has 1 workbook page per lesson, the tm is scripted, and the workbook is color but not busy. HTH!

I believe in the Vedic Creation story, which explains in great detail how God created our universe from His eternal abode beyond. Some parts are very similar to the Biblical Creation story, and some parts are similar to the big bang theory (plus God) and evolutionism. I'll share a summary for anyone interested, since I know it is not so well known. There are very mathematical calculations that say our universe was created 155.521960852 trillion years ago and was renovated with partial destruction/creation by flood 2 billion years ago. We are presently starting the second half of the life of our universe, which will end and return to the body of the Lord in another 155 trillion years. For 4.32 billion year cycles, life thrives. During this time, 14 progenitors will come and go, each for 305.72 million years. There is a partial destruction and creation between each progenitor. The last time this happened was 120.532 million years ago. (This is when the flood with Matsya happened, which is very similar to the Biblical story of Noah's flood...both say that eight saintly people survived in a boat with the animals). Within these huge cycles for us, there are smaller ones, too. We are in Kali Yuga, the age of deterioration/corruption/quarrel which began 5,000 years ago. All living things are evolving to be smaller and smaller. People's memories became shorter, so scripture that was once known and shared orally since the beginning of creation began being written down. This is when 'ancient history' begins, but is not ancient at all according the Vedic scriptures. (The Ramayana with the army of monkey people was 2 million years ago, when scientists say homo erectus evolved). Before Kali Yuga, everyone was born knowing Sanskrit, just like how the Bible says everyone spoke one language before the Tower of Babel. Life spans become shorter with each cycle. The maximum life span in the previous age (Dvapara Yuga) was 1,000 years and the maximum life span for this age is 100 years and will eventually evolve to be a maximum of 50 years. The Bible says that Noah lived to be 950 and Abraham lived to 175 (which means that Abraham came a little before Kali Yuga began). Both the Bible and Srimad Bhagavatam prophesize the return of the Lord on a white horse, using a sword to destroy demoniac forces. Vedic cosmology also says that one day for the demigods/angels is 1,000 earth years. One day for the creator is 4.32 billion earth years. Time exists only within material universes. They emanate from God like seeds with all of the necessary components of material life contained within to grow and evolve until it dies. I'm not making any of this up. This is all based on my reading of the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Holy Bible, both which have inspired me to go beyond all of this temporary world and aspire for eternal love of God by His causeless mercy.

It says somewhere on the website that those are a glitch from transferring to pdf form. They are not in the actual tms or workbooks, only in the samples, so just pretend they're not there. McRuffy is scripted, organized and very easy to teach. The scripted part is bolded and easy to find, the objectives and preparations are listed at the top, and each lesson is on one page of the tm. Each lesson uses exploration with games and manipulatives followed by a workbook page. It is VERY spiral, introducing new concepts each week and reviewing an older one everyday. CLE also has the same kind of scripted, organized, easy to teach tm, but has more workbook pages (usually 3). I tried it and it was overkill for my non-workbooky boy. McRuffy was more fun with the games, toys, and less writing involved. I thought he was distracted with the manipulatives, but after trying CLE, I realized that having fun with math toys is not distraction, but actually fun learning. CLE is a great, thorough program for workbooky spiral kids. My ds was also very bored with MUS and it is not scripted. I tried the free samples from Rightstart and Math Mammoth, and my ds really like Rightstart, but I can't afford it now. Try printing up the free samples to see how it works for you. It's different for every kid and every teacher. Good luck finding what works for you!

Here's a few that you might want to check out: Naturally Three Bubbles, Rainbows, and Worms Magnets To Mudpies And don't underestimate the greatness of crayons, watercolors, and paper!

I just recently finished McRuffy K reading and math with my 5 year old. We loved a lot about both. I liked how easy to use the tm was, with a lesson on each page and the objectives and preparation listed on top, and the lightly scripted lessons that made teaching very easy. Harder concepts were followed by easier ones while reviewing, so it flowed nicely without being overwhelming. I liked how there was a balance between hands-on practice, games and one workbook page per lesson. The math games especially helped my ds a lot with counting while having fun. My ds loved the readers, they are amazingly action packed to keep interest. The color workbook pages were fun without being distracting. I was impressed at the end of the program to see how much he learned in reading and math. I always wanted to get the science but couldn't spend so much. Instead, we read lots of Magic School Bus books and Janice Van Cleave science experiment books from the library, and then started Galloping the Globe with Science Around the World for more fun and educational reading and activities. I did a weekly update on my blog the whole time we did McRuffy K reading and math, so you can see a week at a glance if you're into reading it here.

Here's some free, printable one-sided phonogram cards: http://www.janbrett.com/phonograms/phonogram_fc_main.htm A spelling rule poster would be great! :)

Here's how to find a local car seat tech by zip code: http://www.seatcheck.org/ Check out this forum http://www.car-seat.org. There's lots of nice tech mamas who can answer your question. From what I have read, the rear facing seat is the safest and is good to go on one side, since rfing does best with side impacts. The oldest without a car seat should go in the middle.

Rightstart is scripted and MUS is not, so that may make a difference for you. You can print up the RS free sample lessons to try. From what I have read, RS worksheets are not with every lesson. MUS has a lot of workbook pages per lesson, which can be skipped. Another easy to use manipulative based program is McRuffy, it has a hands on activity and one workbook page per lesson and is very spiral. Miquon is another gentle, manipulative based program. Spiral and mastery are important to consider. Does your dd like to stay on one concept at a time until mastered or keep changing concepts and adding more to stay interested? Each kid is different about it. MUS is very mastery spending a whole year on one concept. Some kids love it and others need to change. I want to get RS but can't afford it right now. I tried MUS Primer and my ds didn't like the blocks because they don't stick together like legos, so he got frustrated with them. They would seem to click, but then fall apart. He didn't like the dvds or Mr. Steve either, and definitely didn't like so many workbook pages and one BIG workbook. I personally like scripted teacher's manuals, so I didn't like MUS either. It's different for everyone. I bought MUS wanting to use it for a long time, but it wasn't a good fit for us at all. While your deciding, you can read this fun mathmatical tale and do some math activities from it just for fun:Gnomes and Gnumbers

PR= Phonics Road I used MFW K and I wish I had originally introduced all of the sounds of each letter first as suggested here. My ds felt somewhat betrayed the following year when he learn that the letter 'A' says a lot more than just short /a/, and that 'C' says /s/, etc. First impressions always stick the most for my ds, and I wish I had made it more clear from the start that some letters make many sounds. With my younger one, I will certainly introduce all of the sounds in the beginning with each letter. The science and character values in MFW were great fun and unforgettable for us. I will definitely do those parts again for each letter even if I use a different program.

From what I'm experiencing with my 5 year old, I have come to realize that the most important thing right now is to make school a fun experience...something to look forward to. Ask him what he wants to learn about and do a unit study on that. Help him love learning by going with his interests. My ds started to willingly cooperate with school when his needs and feelings were acknowledged. It also helps when I just start doing something and he will join in, instead of telling him what he has to do. If he sees you loving to do lapbooks, he will probably start to copy you. We are using GTG and FIAR. I suggest starting the introduction to geography with Katie and The Big Snow, How To Make An Apple Pie and See The World, Henry's World Tour and Miss Rumphius. My son loved all of these stories, although some other FIAR stories didn't pass the test of his interest. Also, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel is a very well loved story. My ds loves Magic School Bus and Magic Tree House. There's usually a story from one of these for every country studied. We make it more fun by pretending to travel by boat, train, hot air balloon, or magic carpet. We pretend to see the mountains or the river or animals we are going by. Then we land and they hand me their passports and I stamp them with a flag sticker for the new country and say "Wow, you've been to India! Did you see any monkeys?" and things like that to review. Then I give a welcome intro to the new country with some books. I tried lapbooks for How To Make An Apple Pie, and we didn't go any further with it. This was mostly because ink is expensive, and I have Waldorf inspiration, so we like trying to draw ourselves. So, we draw or paint a picture of an animal or plant from the country or from a story. We also color a map and flag of the country and add it to a notebook. One more thing I just have to recommend for boys this age is Alphabet Island Phonics. I just got this, and my ds loves it and so do I. It is so much fun and makes phonics rules another fun story to read.

http://www.homeschoolshare.com is free and made by hsing moms with FIAR style ideas for many books for all ages.