LOL joyfulheart! Trust me, I have no room to be calling out anyone for spelling or grammar. I'm going to go ahead and try level 1. There was a sale posted on Facebook that made it only $8.

bump :-)

http://www.joyfulheartlearning.com/spelling/ I was curious if anyone has any experience with this? My oldest just finished Spelling Workout B, and I feel kind of neutral about continuing to book C. We previously used AAS, but it was just more than she needed. This program intrigues me, but I can't find any reviews for it or information beyond the samples and the author's very nice blog. The price is very nice. (we have a laser printer, so printing doesn't cost much)

Duplo (I would definitely include a set that has car or train parts) Dress up stuff - ours mostly use capes, playsilks, and various hats Animals - we have Schleich but our kids also adore Beanie Babies Puzzles Doll stroller or shopping cart

I'm looking for basic kids paint. We have the Crayola stuff that is in little babyfood sized jars and I need slightly bigger quantities - but I really don't know what to buy. Here is what I am looking for.... - washable - ready to go - no powder or other mixing - can buy individual colors - need something bigger than what is in the crayola sets, but not whole gallons either - available from Amazon or Rainbow Resource (prefer Amazon)

Story of the World CD's are a great and easy way to expose them to history at this age if you want.

I agree.

I'd like to order a CD from Amazon or RR. Thanks!

We usually just roast them - brush with olive oil, season (I usually do a little kosher salt, fresh pepper, paprika etc) and bake at 350 for an hour.

I've been using it this year with my 4 year old. We enjoy it a lot, but honestly we only use student materials and the teacher's manual. You could save money by only buying those 2 items.

We use the Letter School app instead. They have the option for the HWOT font. It's a little cheaper ($3 I think) and a lot of fun.

My oldest loves Scholastic's Word Ladders - I got the digital versions the last time they had their dollar sale.

I have the whole thing on pdf, but I read from the ipad. If I didn't have that I would buy a hard copy and pdf student pages.

The Kirkland organic chips at Costco are nice, though a huge bag. I also like Archer Farms from Costco. Both are a good price.

AAS or R+S?

I had to do this with one of mine at 3 - we limited the milk intake to 2 cups at breakfast, then water the rest of the day in a cool new cup that was only for water.

Congrats! I'm glad you went ahead and told him. With my current pregnancy, we told the bigger kids with a scavenger hunt. They LOVED it.

Usborne Flip Flap Body Book

Thanks! I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me to search for previous posts. (duh!) I will confess that part of the reason I am skeptical is that we just finished up the Zigzag Zebra book in Pre-level and I really couldn't stand it. Would you say that these readers are better?

With AAS costs, my personal opinion is that after Level 1 you can easily get by with just the teacher's manual if you are willing to make a few flash cards. (We never used the word cards as I found that too cumbersome, and the key cards are easy enough to make.)

Is this idea completely crazy? We have a number of early readers already (and I especially love the Nora Gaydos collection) and access to many more at the library. I think the AAR readers look lovely, but I'm thinking about my budget and not certain the black + white books will interest my DS. The main thing about AAR that appeals to me is the student activities.

I have owned the RS Games kit for a while but never really implemented it. I also have the Activities for Al Abacus book. (and the abacus) Can anyone tell me off hand the best games for helping with subtraction? Specifically double digit subtraction. My 1st grader is finishing Singapore 1B this week and could use a little reinforcement with subtraction before we move along to 2A. Thanks!

I would love to know this too! Walmart had a great deal the weekend of Black Friday and I'm now wishing I had bought at least double the amount.

I am using the pre-level with my 4 yr old son, but at a faster pace. My older child wouldn't have needed it at all, but it has been very good for DS.

Is there any chance he is teething?