Those of you who don't have to name your school...did you have to file a notice of intent in your state?? What did you put down on the letter of intent for school name?? The name you came up with or did you just put "homeschool"?? Has anyone NOT named their school but had to file a letter of intent? What did you put down?

We will most likely be Tarbiyah Academy when we file with the state next year. Right now, I just call it Work of Childhood if I put it on anything since that's what I named my HS blog. I love the idea of Tarbiyah Academy though :)

We like Nat Geo Kids and Your Big Backyard (although, we didn't renew it). I like the look of Nature Friend though!!

I have gone back and forth with wanting to start SOTW in First Grade (this coming year) but I think I am going to hold off until maybe 3rd grade. We are doing geography right now, with Expedition Earth and then with Road Trip USA and we are also covering basic map skills with Maps, Charts, Graphs so I think we will stick with that and our Ambleside read-alouds for getting in our History right now. I really want to keep our focus on Math and Reading right now and keep those foundations solid. I LOVE History, so I know it's something I want him to enjoy too and I worry about adding too much into the mix too soon.

Love what they show! We might be trying these out! I think Logic Safari is just going to be TOO easy for DS...I will keep it around since he likes it, but this looks more challenging and has more variety!

Ended up at a different Target today (not on purpose, but it was in the same parking lot as where we were going, so I figured I would just check, lol) and they had VERY few left. I managed to snag up: The Call of the Wild White Fang The Wind in the Willows Pinocchio Treasure Island They also had Polyanna and Heidi, but I opted not to get those. I think I have a version of Heidi already and I am not sure if DS will want to read either one anytime soon ;) They had Moby Dick as well, and I didn't get it b/c I could have sworn I already had it, but I don't :glare: We got Huckleberry Finn, Peter Pan, Oliver Twist & The Story of Doctor Dolittle last year. And yeah, they were specifically in the dollar spot...the ones I found were literally buried on the bottom shelf underneath some of the workbook type things they had scattered. I would definitely do a little 'digging' b/c I almost missed them completely this time!!

Thanks all!! That's kinda what I thought, but I wondered if there was something else I was missing! I totally agree :D

I need to see if I can find the posts...but it was in reference to planning programs listing pre-defined courses when entering in your lesson plan. Several members stated they didn't like categorizing History under Social Studies and I am just curious as to why? (didn't know if there was some big reason or if it was just a preference thing...figured I'd ask in case it was something I hadn't heard before!) I use Social Studies as the broad 'course' but then each subject is on it's own as well (I use HST+) and I agree w/ you about each subject being called what it is...I just wondered what the deal was with not wanting it under the course title of Social Studies :D

This came up a couple of times recently in some planning threads and I wondered what the reasoning is?? The statements were specifically in RE: to having History listed under the broader course of Social Studies.

I don't remember the name of it, but I know I took it in 1st grade (well, at the end of first grade) and you had to score 98% or better on the one I took and at our school (not sure if it was at all schools) it was still limited to a certain amount of students, so even if you managed to score 98% or better, it didn't guarantee you a spot in the gifted program.

Thank you for posting this! I have Mind Benders and Logic Safari for my DS and he's blowing through them...he LOVES them, but I was actually hoping for a bit more challenge, not to mention a little more variety. These sound great!! I am off to Google :)

We currently use: Textbook & Workbook - Standards Edition We WILL use (possibly as early as 2A, we are at 1B right now): Textbook, Workbook, HIG, Intensive Practice & Challenging Word Problems

:lol:

We are only on 1A/1B, but I purchased just the Textbook and Workbook. I don't plan to get the HIG just yet...if there comes a point when I am not quite understanding their methods, I likely will...this early on, it hasn't been an issue yet. Singapore has several 'add-ons' that go with each level, like Intensive Practice and so on. The ones that specifically say Textbook and Workbook are the ones you would need, and then the coordinating Home Instructor Guide (HIG) depending on the level you are at. The other things are if you want to get additional practice in with the lessons. We aren't doing those at this point, but I may add those in once we get to level 2 or level 3.

I have the ones that have the arm on the outside, but I was torn between that and the one with the arm on the inside. I like the look of the ones with it on the inside, but the books fit better with them on the outside...The caps are missing on the ends in this picture, but you can see the shelves themselves.

Oh, no...I agree! I don't mind the abridged at all, especially for early on! I just definitely want to get the unabridged as well for later on :D I went today and our Target doesn't have them yet :/ Bummer!! I am sure they *will* get them at some point...I was just hoping for instant gratification! ROFL!! I know...I really really want to consider getting a Kindle, LOL! Part of me doesn't want to b/c I just love the feel of the actual book in hand, but part of me knows how great it would be to download and go.... *sigh* :svengo:

Oh I am so hoping my Target has the same!! I got some of the abridged versions for $1 last year (Huckleberry Finn, Peter Pan, Oliver Twist & The Story of Doctor Dolittle) but I would love to get them unabridged as well, and you can't beat $2.50 on a brand new book!! I think a trip is in order tomorrow ;)

We have rain gutter shelves up in DS's room above his bed (a series of 3 of them, 2 3ft ones and 1 4ft one). We will be getting the Ikea shelves in the post above for the next round.

For things that I don't do on a very regular basis (supplements, etc), I either have a generic assignment setup for it and just plug it in on the days we do it...OR I will just go in under the student menu and add it in manually. Just depends :)

:lurk5:

How would you choose to cover History if you went without a set curriculum?? First off, would you start with American History first? Or World History?? I am really at a loss when it has come to finding the perfect History curriculum for us to use (secular). I have considered doing Unit Studies for our History and just diving in with lots of books and projects. I worry, however, that leaving myself open to basically creating the curriculum myself, I will end up pushing it aside!! Has anyone done History as a bunch of Unit Studies?? Am I insane for thinking of trying it this way?? Or is that basically what you do with the curriculums out there (Story of the World, etc)??? TIA!!

Ditto. We haven't used it yet (we are just about finished with 1A and moving to 1B) but we might at a later date. I think it might help with a greater understanding of WHY the methods are taught the way they are presented, but I have been able to infer that and teach it just fine with the text book and workbook. For future math, that might not be the case and I will most definitely want the HIG, but I would say for 1A and probably even 1B, it wouldn't be a necessity, just a nice helpful addition!

If you are using Singapore, it should bring you to the point where you start teaching her how to visualize things in groups (making 5, making 10) to add faster in your head. We are just about finished with 1A and my DS hasn't had to 'count' in a while now. Even today, the problems were adding and subtracting with problems like 12 + 6 = ?? and instead of counting up from 12 and adding 6, it has them recognize that 6 + 2 = 8 and then the 10 carries over. I have to admit that when I first started with Singapore, it seemed SO weird to try to break apart a problem like that...I thought, "seriously? isn't it easier to just count up from 12 and add the 6?" But there comes a point where they literally don't even have to THINK about the problem...my DS is so fast with math now that if FLOORS me. He literally sees the 6 + 2 and without hesitation, knows that it's 8 and the answer is 18. It really does work! And it definitely makes later math come even easier to them as well...he's already started with multiplication and division on Math Whizz and is a pro with some of the early multiplication (x1, x2, x10, etc)

Ditto! Math/Language Arts rank at the top...Math probably slightly moreso than LA, but only SLIGHTLY, so that's why I voted Math.

I got this at Target and love it...I actually have several for different purposes! The website lists it as like $4.50, but it's only like $2-$3 at Target. http://www.mead.com/meadstore/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=09956