I have been looking at many curricula lately, but before deciding on what we would do I liked Konos, My Father's World, and Moving Beyond the Page for a overall curriculum. Also, I visited Home School Review and other sites to see what others had to say about various products. HTH!

Thanks Gabby, that is helpful! It was so funny when you mentioned "but sometimes has issues at 15!" My daughter counts quite high, but consistently skips 15!!!! We told her one day she skipped 15 and we pointed out that Daddy, who only has one tattoo, happens to have a big 15 tattooed on his leg. It was just amazing that the number she skips is the only thing he has tattooed! LOL! I wonder what is up with the number 15? LOL!

I feel comfortable with a 15 minute session of sitting, and she will "comply" if we keep it interesting. I am just uncertain with regard to Math, because it is an unknown thus far. What has been your experience at this age? My thought was to hope for the best (long enough to get through a lesson, however long that may be) and then let it go if she were uncomfortable. So when you mention training to sit, how would you define this? For instance, an expectation to give it a go for 10 minutes and then acquiesce and off to fun? I know this sound very basic, but I have been just enjoying fun times with learning along the way, so I am trying to be cautious about too much too soon. But I don't want to miss out on basic teachable moments which will help her grow more prepared for times ahead either. With math and your 4 year old, would it be typical to attempt a lesson and maybe get part way through and just pick up the next day? I don't know how much flexibility is built into mine (which is different than yours), but I imagine the approach with any 4 year old and this age would face this quandary. Thanks for the encouragement and information.

It has been over and above simply because we have not been doing a formal curriculum to this point;)

I lived in E. Cobb when I was in school (East Cobb Middle and Wheeler High) many moons ago ;) We moved to Smyrna about a year ago because there was a family home we could use while we got re-established in Georgia. Funny enough, our chiropractor is in E. Cobb--lol!

Symrna (this is somewhat temporary).

Hello ladies, I am new here and looking for a little direction in my planning. I have a 4.5 year old daughter I am looking to do a slightly more formal homeschooling approach with this year. I do use the word “formal†lightly. We are taking the Classical approach, while incorporating math and language. We will begin attending the Classical Conversations Foundations class once weekly and working on memorization for that (and perhaps starting our time line). My hope is to work on memorization for this through fun and music, and without any pressure. We will also be doing RightStart Math and 100 EZ Lessons for a beginning phonics. We already subscribe to Time4Learning, so that would be supplemental fun. Ideally, I would like to spend 30 minutes to 1 hour on the “academics,†like math and LA. four mornings per week I would continue doing 2 hours of reading aloud as she plays and begin incorporating songs and activities for memorization throughout the day. Oh, and she is a maze junky, so she would do maze books as she desires. These would be spread out in the morning, breaking for physical activities, games, and fun. Otherwise, we learn through play. She is my only and my little shadow all day. We clean and cook together, play together (although she is getting much better at independent play), do crafts, outings, and pretty much anything else together :lol: So my question is, does 1 hour max of academics sound reasonable at this age? For those with experience with RightStart, can I take it at a pace of 30 minutes per day (maybe less)? I know the 100EZ Lessons is pretty brief and holds her attention (usually 15-20 minutes sessions). So, I am hopeful that adding 30 minutes for math is doable. My daughter has SPD (a seeker), so I have gotten pretty good at keeping things timed to her attention and picking activities geared to her kinesthetic style. I am really hoping RS Math will be “fun†as well as effective. But I haven’t received the product by mail yet and am nervous about how it will work once in hand. Am I being realistic? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and help!

I just wanted to say I am so glad to see other Georgia homeschoolers here! I am a new homeschooler in Cobb County. We have always homeschooled in some way I suppose, just very informally. I just attended the Homeschool 101 Workshop at the Homeschool Expo last week. It was very helpful in guiding homeschoolers through state regulations. Thankfully I will not need to register my daughter until 2011 (once she is 6). I look forward to learning more from you BTDT mommies!

We are just beginning to get more formal this year w/homeschooling. But in general we average 2 hours.

Target has presidential place mats in their Dollar Spot area right now. I figure the place mat may be a useful accessory in teaching the presidents. The presidents ar not on one side however. You do need to flip to the back as they are divided front and back.