We have it very good. I voted 9-10. DH leaves a little after 6am and is usually home a little after 4pm everyday. He's gone before the kids wake up but has plenty of time with them when he gets home. Over-time is available if we're struggling financially. Drawback - hates his job :(

:lol: Thanks everybody, I think we'll give it a go... if it doesn't work I can always sell it on or donate it to my library. :001_smile:

alas, my library does not have it. They do have SWB's The History of the Ancient World... maybe I can request they stock SOTW too.

Ha, I try not to be a cobbler/collector! I'm not succeeding...

I agree, it's so darn inexpensive that I have trouble comparing others that look great but double the price. I also like the looks of CHOW and The Story of the Ancient World. Each of these is comparable in price to SOTW+AG, however I can't see any sort of AG for these? Also tSOtAW is not as comprehensive in the civilizations it covers - maybe it would work as a supplement to SOTW? Hmm... leaning towards just ordering it already.

Thanks for all the quick replies. Strider - Thanks for your post - I think it's what I needed to hear. Yes, I feel confused too... I'm not exactly sure why I don't like it, so I guess I'm wondering if it will grow on me if I make the investment, given that I do like so many things about it? mymonkeybug - I think those programs are for older grades? 4 or 5 up? The main factors that excluded most programs have been (in no particular order), cost - especially shipping to australia, very american worldview, OTT religious content, too teacher intensive. I liked Galore park but I don't want to get into evolution so early - and it isn't a read-aloud narrative. Thanks for all the replies, some more to think about. I'm also looking at The Story of the Ancient World http://www.nothingnewpress.com/guerber/ancient.html

Ok, thinking about history for my 1st-ish grader. I like the idea of SOTW, a read-aloud for history - great! I like the idea of using it as a spine for our own reading, I like the idea of the AG because I'm not as creative as I think I am ;). I like the price that I can get them for, and that they are actual books rather than e-things that I have to print off. The religious aspect is a plus for me. For some reason I just don't love the actual SOTW book, I'm not sure why. I liked the exerpts I read well enough... Maybe it's just an incredibly immature desire to not do what I'm told (from TWTM book - that I loved) :blushing: I was going to just use living books from the library, the usborne history encyclopedia (which I have) and do our own thing. I have a stack of ancient history books sitting there - but I think I need a little more hand holding... I've looked at and excluded everything else I think, MOH, TOG, HO, Biblioplan, BF, HOD, Galore park... So, tell me, do I need to just suck it up and try it? Anything I've missed?

Thanks for that, very interesting! Great to see a break down of how it works using the HIG. We're on the singapore wagon too, just going over 1B IP book before starting 2A. My DD loves it too.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for a little advice... My DD is currently part-way through LLATL red-book and we're enjoying it. I have Yellow ready to go, probably sometime mid-late 2011. The issue is, I'm not loving the 'Literature Link' books for this level. Has anyone substituted their own books for this (or any) LLATL level? How did it go? Was it a lot of extra work to teach/co-ordinate? What sort of books did you substitute with? Thanks in advance! Leisa.

I've had one miscarriage, my first pregnancy, as a 19 y/o newlywed. It really threw me, I didn't see it coming at all. I've never been able to fall pregnant naturally since, and the year long TTC after it before falling pregnant with my DD was terrifying.

we school 4 days a week. Around 2 hours a day. 45mins ish each of maths and english tues-thurs, plus 'something' (geography, history, music, sport, puzzles/games etc.) Friday it's 45-60mins each of Science and Art. On top of that we have Violin practice about 15-20mins a day, and reading aloud at various times through the day - maybe 45-60mins all up... Our days are still pretty relaxed and fun!

ok, there are some very similar problems in the IP to those Kuovonne posted. They made my DD stop and think, whinge, nearly give up... She can do the arithmetic no problems, but she has some trouble figuring out exactly what the question is asking. We'll get there with some more practice and manipulatives I'm sure! Though if she's still struggling with word problems at the end of the intensive practice book, perhaps investing in a CWP book is a good idea...

does anyone know if the CWP books are comparable to the problems in the 'intensive practice' books? DD is doing 1B IP atm as an overview before we start 2a PM. So far it has lots of bar graphs and word problems...

Thanks for the link pgr. Some good book lists, I'll keep it in mind! I've looked at CHOW before. A part of the problem is that being from a different country, I don't want to focus so much on Nth American history, which makes American published curriculum difficult to warm to! I've checked out my local libraries and we should have enough resources to keep us going for a while I think. I completely agree with enjoying the journey, one of the major reasons we choose to homeschool is the lifestyle.

I'm brand new here too. Just 'officially' starting to homeschool my oldest DC, DD 5.5y/o, though we've been doing a little bit to ease in for over a year now (DD couldn't wait) It's so interesting reading about what other people are doing! I'm in love with homeschooling! Here's my plan for 2011 (we're in Australia, our school year goes Feb - Nov): Language arts/reading: LLATL Red (we're up to lesson 7) Bible memory verse copywork 1 Mum Read aloud book (at the moment I'm reading Charlotte's Web aloud to all the DC) 1 DD Read aloud book (she's reading A series of unfortunate events, a bit before bedtime) Books books books. A library visit bi-weekly (or tri-weekly!), and we still read plenty of picture books daily - she has two little brothers who love anything dragon/dinosaur! I know LLATL isn't thought of as a 'meaty' language program, but we do a little extra spelling and go over the grammar guide often. We do extra copywork, and plenty of extra reading (including history/science books) so it feels like enough for us, and we're enjoying it! Math: Singapore 1B intensive practice book Singapore 2A, 2B Bits and pieces of MEP and Miquon Science: Topic/experiment led. I have lots of experiment books/resources lying around + the library. I download lots of free samples. Loosely based on the WTM topics for first grade (ie. Animals, Humans, Plants), and whatever else catches her fancy... Watching documentaries (private life of plants, blue planet etc) So I guess that makes it more like a Unit study. History/Geography: Combined at this stage. Planning to use as a spine the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History, lots of living library books, and see how we go. Also BBC history website. I really love the WTM theory using the 4 year cycle, I'm just not in love with any of the curriculum... Music: Violin lessons once a week/daily practice Classics for Kids website Art: Cobbled together from whatever resource/topic looks interesting. National Gallery of Art website We also do a bible study - LLOTG 3x a week Listen to bible story on CD DD loves to read from her bible or her bedtime bible story devotion before bed. And I like to count the real-life every-day learning ;) I'm a real rebel, apart from language arts and maths I hate being tied to a curriculum! A true classical leaning eclectic. We school 4 days a week, for about 2 - 2.5 hours a day. Tues-Thurs is math, language art and something (History/Music/Puzzles etc.) Friday we do an hour each of Science and Art. On our off day we have violin lessons and our library visit. I'm happy with that, sometimes I stress that it's not enough (I'm sure someone will notice some glaring omissions from our schedule), sometimes it feels like total overkill... DD is still happy and enjoying it so that's a good sign!