The only thing I would add is that maybe you would want to get another set of the materials as well. I am just starting using aas with my second child, and I just realized I need another set.

I used the k-3 books and the 4-6 books and have really enjoyed them. They are easy for mom's and kids to use. They cover art instruction as well as picture study and short artist bios. The younger books expose the children to a wider range of media. The 4-6 books get more into the specifics of the elements of art and composition. I have used them with my kids from the beginning and my kids really enjoy art. It seems kind of easy in the beginning, but I think it really lays a foundation for creativity that is built upon later. I did not buy the supply kits, but I think they would be a worthwhile investment.

My son is a lefty and had some similar issues. I think it will work itself out in time. One thing that did really help his handwriting, however, was using handwriting without tears. It helps to reinforce proper letter formation in a way that helps lefties. It also has a lefty friendly workbook format.

I have not used mfw, but I do have a close friend who has used it up through creation to the greeks. I have always used sotw, along with ao and now truthquest. My friend will not be using mfw anymore, even though she enjoyed the earlier years, because she is finding that it is just too much reading and it is taking her too long to get through her day. I think is you are not using the science, it might not be worth it. If you would like to add in a more biblical world view, you might want to check out truthquest, or diana warings cds. If you liked sotw and would like to continue with it, you might be able to add in a more biblical world view with those resources, and keep the expense down.

I have been using ao and I really like it. My children enjoy most of the books very much. I am using year 1 with my 1st and 4th grader. I am using year 6 with my 6th grader. I do not use all the books. For my 6th grader, I usually have her read from four different books each week, plus poetry every day. That way, she has to read on chapter plus poetry each day. In addition, we do bible, and a lunch time read aloud together as a family. She does one or two written narrations a week. She also does Writing Strands. For my younger students, I read the books aloud to them and they narrate back to me orally. We only read from one or two books each day, plus poetry. I like ao, because I can start with their recommendations and then substitute or eliminate if I need to. I like that they cover fewer books, more in depth. I don't feel overwhelmed, like we have to get so many books in. I add in sotw as well for a read aloud all together. I also use the sotw activity guide and Truthquest for additional book suggestions, for our book basket. These are mostly picture books for the younger ones, or audio books for the car. I use Simply Charlotte Mason for an outline of what to cover in the different subject areas each year. Also, I like her suggestions for character study reading. Sonlight has always looked like too much for me. But, if I am looking for some extra resources, they seem to everything!

Well, it may be that he is interested in making up the stories and telling them, but he is not really that ready for all that sentence work. Sometimes, my daughter would get really stumped with ws, because the directions seemed to make her think too much about what she already could do naturally. So, when she tried to follow the directions exactly, it actually made her writing worse! I think narrating, copywork and dictation, have helped the most with her sentence formation at a younger age. If he likes to write stories, maybe you could encourage him to tell the story to you, and then, you can help him with the sentence formation as you go along. After you type it for him, he could use some of those sentences for copywork and then dictation. When he is a little older, maybe you could add in writing tales of cw for some more formal work.

If you like it, I would stick with it. After you finish, you can start another rotation that will take you through high school. Remember to add in outlining and writing from the outline for that age. You can also add in a timeline and extra independent reading at the child's level.

Do you mean School of the Woods by Long? That is for year six. My daughter tried it, but just did not like it. I made her read several chapters to see if she could get into it, but it just did not really interest her. We have so many other great nature study books that we read, I decided to let her drop it.

I am using fll3 for my 4th grade boy and it is just right for him. You do not have to have completed fll 1&2 first.

I think he sounds like a normal six year old. If he is in Saxon 3, you don't need to give him so much work to do. He can take his time. You need to sit with him and help him to focus, since he cannot do it on his own yet. He needs to learn to discipline himself, so that he can pay attention. He cannot do that on his own yet, so you need to help him and teach him. If you want to help him learn the self-discipline necessary, you need to start small. Maybe give him a few problems to do on his own. Start with just one if necessary. Commend his efforts when he does well. Then slowly add more. Also, I would think you still need to be there when he is reading. I have a 10yo boy who was just like that, but I have taken a lot of time to try to understand how he thinks and functions and have adjusted my lessons accordingly. I have worked with him to become more disciplined and he has made a lot of progress. He also seemed to hit a point when he was between 8 and 9 when something just clicked in his brain and he made a tremendous leap forward in his ability to focus and do his schoolwork. My son is also very bright, but learns differently. It has been a challenge to me, but I am really pleased with the progress he has made.

THe Caterpiller, by Chrsitna Rossetti, Work, by Anonymous, Hearts Are Like Doors, Days of the Week, Mother Goose, The Months, Mother Goose, Mr. Nobody, Anonymous, The Goops, by Gelett Burgess, The Year, by Sara Coleridge, adapted by Sara Buffington, The LIttle Bird, Mother Goose Rhyme, All Things Beautiful, by Cecil Alexander

In the past, we received My Big Backyard, but it never really interested my kids. We now receive Nature Friend, and they can't wait to read it every month. There are several things I prefer about Nature Friend. I think it is more in line with cm, kind of like a living magazine. It does not present cutesy, entertaining, textbooky and twaddly articles. The articles are written by real people, who have had real experiences with nature and have written about them. They provide good information about the animals, but it is presented more relationally and in a more "living" way, if you understand what that means as a cm follower. The children can submit artwork and poems. There also is a nice art lesson in each issue. Maybe you could look at sample issues online or request a sample, to take a look at before you make a year commitment.

I just finished up teaching astronomy for my co-op and I used the apologia book. It was a very enjoyable book, with some great projects. I would recommend it. I used the following website for most of my projects: http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/AtHomeAstronomy/ . Things were explained clearly and the projects really worked. My kids especially like the rockets and the walk of the universe.

Well, I can offer a couple suggestions. First, do as much research as you can before you go. Make two specific lists: things you would like to look at and things you definitely want to buy. Take a look at the vendor list and decide where you want to go first, to buy the things you definitely want. Then, decide where you need to go to look at the things you are considering. After you have bought the things you need, then you can check out what else is there. I just start at the front and go from table to table in order. If I find something cheaper someplace or something better, I consider buying it and returning the earlier purchase. I usually just look at the tables first and make notes of things I am interested in. Then, I take a moment to sit and rest and look over my notes. I make decisions based on my needs and the money I have left! Then, I go back and purchase anything additional I want. When in doubt, don't buy it! You can always take a card or catalog and order it later. Better to pay the shipping later than to purchase something on impulse you won't use. Regarding the speakers, I would google them and check out their webpages to see if they interest you. The best way to choose which talks to go to is to look at the topic and see if it would help you. You can also just order cds of the talks you are interested in and listen to them later. You won't be able to see all those vendors for another year.

I don't really think you need both of them. I have used etc almost all the way through with my oldest son, (10 now), and I also just started using all about spelling. I was thinking, that I don't have to do both. Makes things easier!

Thanks so much everyone. That gives me some ideas.

Oh, it must be Janic Van Cleave!

What is JVC?

I use sotw for beginning outlining for my 11 yo and it works much better than kingfisher. The reading level is light for her, but it is just right for outlining.

My co-op starts up again this Friday, and the teacher for our human body class just told me the curriculum she was thinking of using (lyrical life science) would not work for us and that she needs curriculum ideas. The class is 4-6th graders, with one 8th grader thrown in the mix. We have an hour every Friday for class. We would prefer to not have much homework. We like hands on activities. We are a Charlotte Mason co-op. Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you!

Thanks, that was helpful, and I found more info by looking at the notes for swi.

anywhere online?

I would really like an answer to the above questions, as I am also in a similar situation. Thanks!

For his age, you don't really need to do a written narration every day of the week. YOu only really need about two a week. For those, you can write it down, and then you can have him copy the first two sentences for copywork. As you proceed through the year, you can begin to give him those two sentences as dictation, instead of copywork. As he is willing and able, you can add more sentences, until he gets up to a paragraph. But, really, you are aiming for the paragraph by 4th grade. When he is writing, you are reminding him of captilization, punctuation and spelling as he goes, if necessary. The goal is to get him writing well written sentences on his own. WWE will help you work through all of this I think. All other narrations for the week could be oral. Vary the things that he is writing about from week to week. Don't worry about not writing down all his narrations. When kids get the opportunity to just narrate, without having to worry about the writing mechanics, or even waiting for mom to hurry up, they often just go on and on. Their narrations can be long and detailed. That is great! If he is like that, don't worry about writing it all down. If he is not narrating like that yet, then encourage him where he is. If he can only narrate a sentence or two, then writing it down may encourage him, because he can see the great job he did.

What you have been doing so far would be considered beginning narration. You really do not need to catch up at this point. You are not behind! Don't worry about grammar over the summer. You can easily do both fll1&2 in one year. The lessons are very repetitive and it is easy to skip many. One narration a day is sufficient. Whether you write it down or not depends on his writing ability. If he writes well, this is what you would do about twice a week: You read a short passage to him, when finished you ask him to tell you two sentences about what you read, you write them down, then he copies them or takes them from dictation (depending on his ability). If he can YOu only need to do this a couple of times a week. If you are going to use wwe, it would already cover this. In other subjects, you can just require an oral narration, making sure he speaks in complete sentences. These oral narrations are great, because it gives them an oportunity to really pay attention to detail in their retelling, without having to worry about the writing part of it. It is great practice. Sometimes, you can have him write a few sentences about things you have read in other subjects. YOu may want to purchase the swb cd on writing without fear, it really lays out things clearly.