The plan looks great. We love the SL books from core K/A. For history, it would depend on the depth you want to go for this age. My dc have gotten more out of SOTW when they were older than 5.

I would just let him write the numbers in the boxes, letting them go over the lines and outside the box when necessary. For the written numerals, have him dictate and either write them in yourself, leave them blank, or note that they were done orally. My 8 yo ds had large printing and didn't always fit the numbers in the boxes. I didn't sweat it. Just write the answer and move on.

The Anatomy Coloring Book is amazing for studying detailed anatomy. I used it at university, but for an interested middle school student, it would be great as a supplement. The Visible Man or Woman are also wonderful for seeing the parts of the body and where they are in relation to each other.

How many times has he studied this time period? I remember studying the same old stuff in Canadian history year after year in school, and hated the repetition. Perhaps he could do a parallel time period from a different perspective? What was happening in the north (Canada) or the south (Mexico) at the same time? For example, Lewis and Clark employed French-Canadian voyageur paddlers - what would Canadian voyageurs be doing farther north? What did they paddle? What food did they eat? Why didn't Lewis and Clark ask them for suggestions on food and transportation? Who were Lewis and Clark racing to reach the west coast and why? We are studying US and Canadian history at the same time and finding it really fascinating to draw comparisons, and see how the countries interacted and influenced each other.

I've used SL cores P 3/4 through to core E. As others have said, we LOVE the special time reading and discussing the wonderful books. I've found, similar to another mom, that if you pick a core so that your child(ren) are in the mid to high age recommended, they get the most from the book choices. I do appreciate the IG schedule, but don't always follow the daily readings as listed. I like to follow it more horizontally and do a week's reading with one book in a sitting. I'll do poetry once a week and Mother Goose once a week. I never followed the schedule for P 4/5 at all - just read and re-read the books. My 6 yo still pulls out books from P 4/5 to read with me, and my older dc pull them out to read silently. The P 4/5 science books are some of my all time favorites. Core A, together with science A, and whatever LA and Math you use is a very full grade 1 program. I'm really glad they re-named it from core K, as it is too much for most kindergarden students.

There are some Canadian curriculum for various subjects, though I have to admit that I have used more American curriculum and Singapore Math. You could visit a homeschool conference and probably see what is all out there. We're coming into conference season. For Canadian history, there is quite a lot of Canadian material. Donna Ward has materials for the level you mentioned. Kids Can Press has some awesome books for Canadian history. Discovering Canada series, by Robert Livesey and A.G. Smith, is also wonderful. There is also a history guide developed by a Canadian homeschool mom which includes recommended books and a suggested schedule, called Modern History through Canadian Eyes.

I used books from SL P 4/5 for my youngest, with some SM, HWOT and DEL. Kumon workbooks for cutting, pasting, mazes, etc. were fun. Sadly, I don't do nearly as much mommy-led hands-on activities with the youngest two as I did with the olders. There are craft supplies, math manipulatives to explore, and lots of building toys available, though.

I have had plans of doing light school work through the summer, but it often doesn't get done. I find that I really need a break, perhaps more than the kids. I recognize that they need some time to just be kids, too. Having said that, we did a realitively large amount of "school" last summer. I found a friend who was willing to teach art to my dc while I watched her baby. This was fantastic! We also went on history-oriented family vacations, like Philadelphia National Historic Park on the way home from the beach in New Jersey. Awesome place to visit after studying American history! We also went camping by a fort in Canada, and spent a day touring the fort "living" the Canadian history we had been reading about. I also read a couple read-alouds throughout the summer, and we went on science field-trips and walks in the woods. The biggest mistake I made last summer was continuing our violin lessons through the summer. The pressure to try and fit in the practicing when we were camping and travelling was awful. I was really worried about them losing all the skills they had worked so hard on during the school year, but it just wasn't worth the stress.

I teach cursive to my dc at about age 8. I make sure they have opportunity to practice it by requiring regular use in some subjects, but not all. I think there is definite value to learning to read cursive;writing it is not essential, but a good skill to know. I don't believe there is a legal requirement that a signature be in cursive. Just take a look at some people's signature - you often can't read even one letter. As far as cursive being faster than printing, it could be, and it could also become illegible. I asked my doctor why most doctor's script was stereotypically horrible, and he told me that the amount and speed doctors had to write notes in university often led them to write very messy. Now, most university students bring laptops to classes, so the need to write quickly is replaced by being able to type fast. My dh teaches university classes and he notices that many students leave in the middle of his 3 hour class. The reason is the students' laptop battery is used up and they can't take more notes. Very sad and a silly exuse, but it really happens. I just want my dc to be able to write legibly and neatly; and speed is a bonus for exams and in-class writing assignments. They can choose cursive, print or a legible combination of the two. Unless they are training for a trade where they need a specific print/font, like architect or teacher, I don't really care.

I believe life begins at conception - based on scripture and science.

We love the Classical Kids CDs. We listen to them over and over - in the car, at home. The dc absorb the music and can identify composers. They love the stories of the composers lives and/or operas. The discs are a great starting point to adding in additional musical CDs, biographies or books. You can also tie in the people and timelines with history, when you cover the relevant period (e.g., King George III is mentioned in Beethoven Lives Upstairs, as well as Marie Antionette). I don't think they are meant to be a full music curriculum.

Sounds like you have a great program in store for next year! I don't know much about TOG, though it seems like a popular and thorough curriculum. I've enjoyed the "open and go" aspect to SL, especially having lots of younger dc requiring extra time and energy. The books have been fantastic and the schedule helps keep me accountable. I like the variety of the SL science programs.

We're really enjoying core A here, too. I'm doing it with my two youngest, who were 7 and 5 when we started. I also like to have the schedule to use as a guide, but we'll often go through the books a lot faster than scheduled. We tend to do a week's worth of a book at a sitting. So we'll do all the Mother Goose readings for the week at one time, and all the poetry reads for the week at a time. The dc just get on a roll and want to keep going, and I'm totally fine with that. We are going through the core A at a faster speed than scheduled, but that leaves me with time and space for those spontaneous activities or illnesses that always happen in a year. It's really nice to have wiggle room in a core so it doesn't feel as stressed to get everything done. This is nice when doing multiple cores, too. As for the new vs old core, I would definitely get Cappyboppy and Family Under the Bridge which were both dropped in the new core. We loved these books, and have read them multiple times. Even my older dc enjoy them - perhaps even more than the youngers.

It sounds like you are already doing a lot. I found it a really tough season to do a lot of read-aloud with babies and toddlers in the picture. As soon as my youngest was 3, it became a lot easier. Maybe you can: - hand pick a few really good read-alouds you want to do with your oldest this year, and make these the priority for your valuable time. - limit the number of library books your dc borrow so you don't feel guity if you don't read them all. - relax and try to enjoy these precious years with babies and toddlers. They will grow up so quickly, and then you'll have lots more opportunities to read long into the day. :001_smile:

FLL 1 - started out really enjoying it, then became very repetitive and boring. Wordly Wise - Enjoyed the first book, then took too much time for what it was. Found other ways to cover similar material. MUS Primer - Dc really disliked the DVDs and workbook. We have and use the manipulatives regularly, though.

This is what I experienced, too. I had an older core A and new science A, so I started using the older Encyclopedia with science. The pages don't match and the information is different. So if you plan to use the worksheets for science, you can't necessarily find all the information. I ended up just buying the new Encyclopedia and it's so much easier. We sometimes use the links, which is an added bonus. It's a good book if you're dc like the Usborne science.

:grouphug: I'll miss the old SL, too.

Not that anyone will read this, because it's so late in the thread, but here goes: MUS Primer - love the manipulatives, the dc didn't like the DVDs or workbooks FLL - loved the first 20 or so lessons, then couldn't take the repetition anymore Sequential Spelling - nice concept, totally lost interest. Still debating whether much of spelling just comes "naturally" (with lots of reading) and with age and experience.

Well, if you've demolished the Singapore way, then I have, too. :001_huh: The key thing is, does your child understand? If they don't get the mental method, and they do understand borrowing, then borrowing would be how I'd go - at least for now. They may understand the mental method later on, then they have two strategies to use.

I would go with SL core B and not B+C for a 6 or 7 yo. Core B+C goes through the history very quickly and the read-alouds are mostly from Core C. Also, for the SL LA, it is common for a child to be at a different reading level and writing level. In the past, you could order, for example, readers 3 and LA 2. I don't know what the process is now that things have changed. I would assume you still can choose the exact level of LA and readers you want. The copywork has been directly from the readers in the old LA, but that doesn't have to be an issue, as all the other activities and exercises are unrelated to the readers.

I hadn't checked the changes in this particular core, but it looks like there are 9 new books and 6 books removed from the old core. That is a bigger change than "normal," but not a big as some (e.g., core F). The only new books I've read are "Pippi Longstockings" and "Encyclopedia," which are both good. The books that are being dropped are good, too, so it's a tough decision. You may want to look at specific book descriptions to see which books you prefer. Have you compared the old IG to the new IG samples to see if you prefer either of those?

If you are not planning on using the SL LA, you'd be paying about $30 extra for a new core. I don't think there are major changes in the books from the old core to the new. You could always buy the old core and add in any of the new books you think you'd like - I've done this in the past even before the IGs changed. You probably won't be able to buy the old IG and additional new books from SL at the same time, though. You can always buy the new books later from SL or from another book seller. As far as not using CHOW, that is an option for you. There are people who do not buy CHOW (it's not part of the core price, but a required resource). Some people use SOTW or MOH, and build in their own schedule. If you do use books that are not scheduled in your older IG (like the new books or an alternative history spine), you won't have the SL notes for them. If this is a major problem for you, then it will influence your purchasing choice. For me, I don't use the notes for every book. Lots of times I never even look at the notes. I don't particularly like to use their discussion questions - I ask my dc questions that seem relevant to us, or obvious vocabulary and/or compehension questions. One thing I try to do is pre-read each book before reading it with my dc. This will give me a better sense of any potential problems or issues than SL notes, especially because every child and family has different sensitivities. Hope this helps a little.

I'm not a professional writer, but my children have done exercises similar to this for other reasons, such as learning how to identify adverbs in a sentence, and increasing their vocabulary. And who's to say that there is only one way to make a sentence more interesting? I wouldn't necessarily discard an entire curriculum based on a single exercise one sees in a sample.

I've been using it for several years. I like the variety all in one place. Spelling (for the first couple years), copy work/dictation, beginning grammar, creative writing, poetry, etc. It may not be perfect in all these areas, but it's been working well for us. It also incorporates the history and literature we're already doing into our LA. I can choose to drop or change certain exercises if I wish, or use it in combination with other curriculum.

I have done this to varying degrees with cores B, C and D. We've used resources such as Handle on the Arts, History Pockets, SOTW AG and some of those books published by Williamson (I think) -e.g. Ancient Egypt, Lewis and Clark. We actually spent 18 months on core B, having fun doing extended units on the different ancient civilizations. The kids really enjoyed that. I'm also doing a long "unit" on Canadian history parallel with cores D and E. It is definitely possible, though it usually adds time to the core to avoid overload or a rushed feeling.