Thanks for the replies! Good things to think about.

I'm generally a lurker, but am coming out to ask some planning advice. I'm working on plans for next fall (9th gradish, dd will be 11). So now that we're hitting HS level classes, language arts is splitting more definitively into literature, writing and grammar. Up until now, we could cover all of those at home. Next year, dd's classes will be primarily through a local tutorial and online classes. I can't see signing her up for three different LA classes, but don't want to leave anything out! I think I've narrowed down the choices to WTM Academy and G3, which would mean Ancient Lit, Expository Writing 3 and Magic Lens/WWW 2. DD would love to spend all her time on LA, but she's got Algebra 1, Physical Science, Ancient History, and Latin 2 also. What to cut??

The ones I've found on YouTube were removed because if copyright issues...

Am I correct that the videos or access to the actual episodes is not included? I have had the hardest time trying to find those for free anywhere!

That's my daughter too! Anyone have brilliant ideas to snap them out of it?

This is what I have done with my 3yo. She goes two mornings/week and I get a couple of uninterrupted hours with older dd. It's good for both of them and by the end of the couple hours they're missing each other and looking forward to being together again! When she is at home, I have found that the key is keeping the 3yo right with us. She doesn't want to go play in the playroom 10 feet away, she wants to be with us at the big table. If I set her up with her own activity there, she'll work on something independantly for a little while. Set her up on the floor a few feet away and she's pouting or interrupting in a few minutes.

I definitely recommend Felicity. My daughter has loved her stories and movie and got very interested in Colonial History as a result. The grandfather dying wasn't a big deal to my daughter (5 at the time) but it is scarier in the movie. And as a previous post said, she is being retired, so if you want a new doll, get her now! Samantha is also a favorite around here. Also, IMHO, it's good to have in mind what she wants before going in the store. I don't know which one you're going to, but for my girl, it was quite overwhelming. The chance to pick out something became stressful instead of fun (too many choices). The next time we went back we had an idea or two or three things she wanted and we chose from them at the store. Have fun!

I have found that mine work best with Keen or Merrel shoes - pricy but will last forever! I usually have to go up a 1/2 size, even though the standard shoe soles come out. HTH!

:iagree:

hello

:iagree: Once I came to really understand depression as a disease, a chronic chemical imbalance in my body, the only regret I have is when I forget to refill or take the meds. There is no reason I should have to experience such pain and take it out on my husband and kids when there is something that can help. It did take some time to find the right combination, dosage, etc. but the not so fun side effects were totally worth it.

It's meant to be done every day for grades 1 and 2 - I think there are 100 lessons for each grade? The grammar starts really slowly in the first year and really picks up in the 2nd. There is a list of all of the terms they will have learned/memorized in the back, that might help you get the scope of the book. At first the scripted-ness of the book got to me, but I got used to that and it's really helpful! Most days we can get through a lesson in 10-15 minutes and I have skipped a few here and there if it was material dd definitely already knew, like the days of the week and months of the year. HTH!

Ahh, the list for the library is brilliant, off to go see if I can do that. If anyone has typed up a list for SOTW 1 or 2, will you share pretty please?? :001_smile:

OK, so I've been filing for hours, organizing for the fall, and I keep coming back to this issue. How do you manage the lists of materials and books you need to purchase or request from the library for a given week? I've read on the other organizational threads about index cards in the pocket on the front, or just a list in that week's file, but call me lazy - I don't want to copy all of that info on another sheet of paper! I'm thinking of book lists for SOTW and things like that. I suppose I could just make a note, "Request books from p.--- on SOTW AG." That would be one more thing to go back and pull out though, and one more thing to remember to do a couple weeks ahead of time! Any thoughts?

My dd was just about the same as your son at this point last year. We did both FLL and WWE this year and she did fine. I generally wrote her narrations out as she dictated them, but she could easily do the copywork and occasionally write or copy her narrations. One of the nice side benefits was that she became interested in reading a lot of the books that the excerpts came from - this led to a lot of good read alouds and books for her to read on her own. HTH!

We always stay in the Atlantic Beach/Emerald Isle area. Beaufort is across the bridge back on the mainland and it's a nice little place, right on the water. Fort Macon is somewhere on the island also, but we haven't been there for a while. There's a really nice aquarium, too. We always stay in condos, so I'm not sure about the hotels. I would suspect most of them have kitchenettes. Oh, this is making me wish we were going sooner than August!

Great! I just subscribed.

Well, I definitely considered this, but they were only half of a book, kwim? The perforated student pages had been removed and used, this is just the first 100 pages or so with the teacher instructions. It's not like I could purchase just that again. The 2nd one turned out beautifully!

Looks fun and interesting! My dd would love basing American history on AG books. Looking forward to seeing what you will do with it. I didn't see a way to subscribe to your blog via email??

So my husband did not have an appropriately sympathetic response to this, but I knew I would get one here! I took the teacher portions of my WWE 1 and 2 to get bound at Kinko's. When they went to chop off the original binding, either the book or the blade moved at the last second and they chopped it right down the middle! The guy had to put every page back together and photocopy them which resulted in close but slightly off pages with a line down the middle. :( At least I got them both for free!

My 3yo has been using it for a couple of weeks. She really enjoys some of the activities but doesn't like the really repetitive ones. However, she knows she can't get to the next set of activities until she finishes the first, which is usually enough motivation for her. :) We're doing a trial good until 9/1/10 with a code someone posted a couple weeks back. You may be able to find it if you search. I'm thinking that after playing with it for the summer, she'll be bored, but then we're not out any money! There are also lots of "fun" games besides the reading lessons, and as you earn eggs for going through the lessons you can take your avatar to the store to buy new things for it. My 3yo loves this part after watching her big sis play Webkinz a few times!

This looks fabulous! Just what I was looking for - thanks for the head's up.

What she said. :glare:

I am looking for something to use for a short overview of U.S. history, to do over the summer (probably about 12 weeks) before we start our new cycle of history in the fall. I've got lots of living books and I know I could just come up with a plan using those, but I really want something more than that. I know it's a short time, but I'd really like a somewhat comprehensive view - broad strokes as opposed to going deep, kwim? Resources about the states would be helpful too - we'll be memorizing the states and capitals. Oh, this would be for around 3rd or 4th grade level. TIA!

I've been using FLL with my advanced 5yo this year. It's a a nice, gentle overview of the basics of grammar without lots of writing activity. When we finish FLL 1/2 (probably by the fall, she'll be 6 by then), I'm planning to begin the MCT series with her. Could she understand the MCT now? Probably, but I prefer her to get this solid foundation first. Maybe you've already gotten that from your Latin studies with dd. When we get to the sentence work in MCT, I want her to be able to move forward with that...