I'm trying to figure out the WTM rec's - here is what we currently do since my dd6 is still going through the OPGTR but will be done by the end of July: 2-3 lessons in OPGTR a few times a week DD reads aloud to me 2-3 MCP readers a few times a week Husband is currently reading to dd each week night the complete "Chronicles of Narnia" - they are almost done with Book 1; he reads to dd for about 30 minutes & also reads Bible to her I read to dd books from the library 2-3 times a week So for 1st grade rec's - SWB says in the WTM that there is to be 20-30m reading time that includes history studies and biographies. Then there is to be 30 minutes of "fun" reading. Does dh reading to dd count as 30m "fun" time? See, what I'm assuming is this - the 50-60m reading time is for dd to read the books herself and then outside of that would be our parent-read alouds. Do I have it mixed up?

Thank you for the suggestions - I saved a lot of them to look at further soon. I also found this list for classical homeschoolers: http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html

I'm looking for books to fill the 20-30m reading time and 30m "fun/free" reading time for my 1st grader. Are there any lists that you know of or do you have one you can share? Also, during these reading times suggested in the WTM, is the child supposed to read them aloud on her own or am I'm supposed to read to her? I'm assuming the child would be doing the reading since she will be finished with the OPGTR.

We are adding to the history rec's by using some extra geography over the summer. I wanted my dd to know the continents, oceans, countries, etc and she was only getting one country or area at a time in the SOTW history. We just purchased the "Usborne Encyclopedia of Geography; With Complete Atlas and Internet links" and we are using that as our geography spine. There are also many free printables, games, and videos online for free. One place we found is KidsGeo and they have a great games section - my favorite is the world map game. I also purchased a children's wall map that is laminated and very kid-friendly. It has tiny pictures of major landmarks and the people in other countries to help kids remember locales and cultures. Since we are pausing with SOTW over the summer, we are just doing geography. I'm estimating we will spend about 1 hour a week on geography or 2-3 days 15-30 minutes a day. She is K but will be 1st grade this fall.

We just use the tiles for the blends, vowel pairs, words, etc not the sentences. Take for instance, the lesson on learning oo, AAS has a letter tile for oo, so I use that to teach the OPGTR lesson and I make the words on the board for her to read. She thinks it is more fun that way than reading the words in the book.

Generally from what I've heard from others, Saxon K is more preschool level and Saxon 1 is on the K level. Although when you get to Saxon 3, it starts being on level and some children need 2 years to get through Saxon 3. I think Saxon 1 is definitely something your child would need as a foundation. Saxon K was not necessary and we skipped it and went straight to Saxon 1 for my dd who is in K. If your child finds Saxon 1 too easy, you can easily study and plan and combine 2-3 lessons in one day. That is what we do right now - 2-3 lessons a day and the way I set it up, it only takes 30 minutes usually.

We are currently using OPGTR with AAS tiles and it works great together! Before I got AAS, I was just writing some words on a dry erase board. Now, with the letter tiles - dd gets excited about the reading lesson and finds it easier to do. We love OPGTR and highly recommend it! ;)

:iagree: Ditto! My dd loved the leapfrog dvds and the bob books!

We LOVE OPGTR. We did NOT like HOP (Hooked on Phonics), it made my daughter cry.

Didn't even know about it till this post - just went browsing and looks awesome! ;)

I'm almost purist - I only added a Bible curriculum, an additional spelling because my dd begged for AAS, then I didn't like the suggested order for science in the WTM, so we started with Astronomy. Here is what we are using for K and 1st grade that WTM recommends: Ordinary Parent's Guide to Reading Spelling Workout Writing with Ease 1 First Language Lessons Story of the World 1 Saxon Math Artistic Pursuits Here are my additions: Bible - Memoria Press Christian Studies Spelling - All About Spelling Level 1 & 2 (we also use the letter tiles with OPGTR) Science - Apologia elementary sciences (currently using Astronomy)

I remember reading this back when I was thinking of going with Saxon, he was very helpful!

Yes, I think it was your friend not the curriculum. My dd is in Saxon 1 and we do 2 lessons a day and we are done in 30 minutes or less.

We are in WA and the homeschool rules are basically - You have to either have enough college credits, be under a certificated teacher OR take a homeschool education course and get certified to even be allowed to homeschool your child in the state of WA. You don't have to file a declaration of intent to homeschool until the child is 8. Then you have to file it yearly. From 3rd grade up there is required standardized testing for homeschoolers. I'm not sure other state's rules on homeschooling but this is WA in a nutshell. We don't have income tax here, just sales tax and there is no tax on food/groceries except certain junk food items.

There are no workbooks for FLL 1/2. The workbooks don't start till FLL 3. Hope that helps!

It has been 12 years since high school, so I can't remember lol. Maybe someone else that is currently using it for high school could answer that. I know this forum just covers K-8, so you might want to ask it on the high school forum.

I can tell you that the high school Saxon is awesome because I had it all the way to Advanced Mathematics in private school. It left such a good taste in my mouth I knew I wanted my future children to do Saxon math. :)

Awesome! Thanks ladies! :D

Has anyone ever used R&S Phonics after finishing the OPGTR? Also, has anyone ever used R&S Phonics alone without the Bible and Nurture reading series? My dd will be finishing up the OPGTR by the end of August and I thought of using Rod and Staff's Phonics 1 as a review/reinforcement. I'm not sure if it can be used alone without the readers but it seems as though it can. Any reviews either on using R&S Phonics alone, after OPTGR or something else you recommend after OPGTR please! Thanks! ;)

A few moms that have taught the early years of Saxon told me before we started that Saxon 1 is really more on the K side and so forth up until after 3 and then its right on target. I love the Saxon way of doing math and that it is very thorough and the child will KNOW MATH with Saxon. There are no worries about forgetting something or missing something. They constantly review previous concepts while learning new ones. We are a little over a month away from finishing Saxon 1 and will go to 2 in the summer. We do 2-3 lessons a day 3-4 days a week, spending more time on anything my dd needs more time on. When we start Saxon 2, we may just do 1 lesson a day/4 days a week and it will hopefully be a bit more challenging for her then.

We started SOTW1 this past fall and are going slowly because we like to really get into the history. My daughter is K so we have plenty of time to expand on the lessons, which was part of my reasoning on starting it early. It isn't too much for her and she can grasp it all and the questions, narration and AG aren't an issue - so I think you will be ok because it was written and designed for the 1st grader. We do all the first 6 steps below in one day (2 for longer chapters) and then have fun expanding on it the rest of the week or longer. Here is what we do: Read the chapter or sometimes just segments if it is a large chapter Question & Answer Narration for each segment - she does about 2 sentences Worksheets, maps in the activity guide SOTW1 Audio - she listens to it on her own before the test for review Test THEN the expansion begins: We basically check out the whole shelf at the library on the time period or topic that she wants to go further in depth with. We go through the books, reading and sometimes just looking at pictures, etc. Online sources - I have a folder for each chapter that is full of links of things to do online pertaining to that time period; games, printable worksheets, crafts Video - she watches videos from the library or online Parties - she hosts parties for other homeschool friends on that time period. For example, she had an Ancient Egypt party - I made her an Egyptian costume and did her hair, etc. We served foods that would have been during that time and then they did crafts - pyramids, hieroglyphic carvings We have time on our side because we started early and I have to say she has retained so much from adding the extras. She loves history and always looks forward to her next party. We don't do parties for every chapter, just the big ones - Egypt, China, Africa, etc. Even if you didn't have much time, you can still make it fun and more hands on and real life! That is how my daughter learns best right now. History is big for us because I was a history buff in school and still love it! I never knew it would be so much fun teaching it! I think the Activity Guide is an invaluable resource - a must!

It is 8 years old in the state of Washington.

From what I remember reading, it should take 2 years if you do just one lesson a day. My dd started this past October and we will finish by the end of August. We do anywhere from 2-4 lessons a day at her pace.

DD loves: All About Spelling Apologia Astronomy Saxon Math 1 - her favorite! SOTW 1

Generally, it would take 2 years to finish, although we are doing it in one because we are now able to do 2-3 lessons a day. Here is something I posted on another thread: I read somewhere in my research on this forum that around lesson 60 you have taught all the requirements of K and start 1st grade level material. Then by 120 they start 2nd grade level, etc. The end of the book ends with 4th grade level words. Link telling when to start what while doing OPGTR: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store..._store=default It's the last question on the bottom. Generally, spelling & penmanship should start after Lesson 115 in the OPG. First Language Lessons can start along with Lesson 140 in the OPG, etc. HTH! :001_smile: