I haven't had the Bible references get in the way, but they are there. Schools are labeled as Day school, Christian school, or Mennonite school. Same with churches. The titles Sister and Brother are used frequently. Bible accounts and stories are used as example sentences. Thee and Thou occasionally show up (not often enough to be a pain) to remind us how to use archaic language correctly which always has us looking up the answer in the TM to see if we got it right and both of us giggling. I don't count those wrong, just as a bonus/challenge. I go over daily work as it's done to correct stuff before bad habits are formed and I don't give grades on daily work. I only grade the end of chapter tests. I can't imagine using the texts as workbooks because of the diagramming alone. But I rarely have him write more than half a dozen sentences total in a given lesson because I do a couple of them with him telling me what goes where before he even begins.

Thank you! I didn't even know about watercolor pencils until this research endeavor. I would've loved having that option at Oldest's age. I'm thinking I'll just grab some of Stebbings DVDs (Beginning Painting and possibly Beginning Drawing and Intermediate Drawing) along with some quality art supplies and let him watch and see what sticks. He wants to watch and copy, so this seems like the way to go.

You already know what I'll say. CLE is great, but R&S hands down. Retention is better because they have to really think about it (diagramming). The daily lessons can mostly be read together or independently, oral drill done aloud or on paper to demonstrate, and pick a handful from the written section to show understanding. Review section gets done orally unless it's diagramming or something he's been struggling with. Done. We combine easier lessons and slow down and take extra days on the harder stuff. I do get the worksheets but rarely use them. I tend to pull a worksheet that reviews a previous lesson on days I cannot be home because of another kid's dr appointment or such so DH doesn't have to teach, just supervise. Oldest may never like schoolwork, but he likes R&S English over CLE because every chapter starts off reviewing what he learned the previous year and then progresses. The structure and expectation are consistent and predictable. If there's a lesson on something specific you want to see in any of the grade levels through grade 7, let me know and I'll look.

Exactly This is how I learned them. Another fun fact for down the road: the product of any number times 9 will have a digit sum of 9. My oldest ds discovered this on his own when learning about digit sums and thought it was so cool.

EdPo: Artistic Pursuits isn't going to fit the bill. I like both versions, but sadly Oldest doesn't. He basically wants a great big art set of everything and lessons on how to use it all. Mixing paint is a biggie on his list, so exploring the color wheel is definitely on the menu. I'm looking for something in between his imagination and reality. This morning, I looked at Masterbooks Living Art Lessons and wonder if that will fit the bill with an art case of supplies and a mixed media pad? I don't see an actual package of recommended supplies ready for purchase.

I live this day in and out all winter long. It gets old. I do not envy your weather, though. It will barely break 70 here today and it feels perfect.

Definitely not Feed My Sheep based on the sample pages. I can't find any video samples of Beginning Painting by the same artist. I really like the looks of the elementary series of Artistic Pursuits and wish I would've looked into it sooner.

EdPo continued (because we're on a new page and I don't wanna be accused of forgetting to EdPo): Art curriculum I'm looking into: Artistic Pursuits Feed My Sheep Beginning Painting I'll branch out from there, if need be. I'm just glad I have a starting point.

I looked and don't see the one without the DVD covering the same stuff. I doubt he'll be thrilled about the idea of coloring with pencils before getting to use a paintbrush, but I actually think the DVD lessons are what would sell it for him. We'll see when I show it to him later on. If I spend the $$, he's doing the work. I know all the fine motor exercise would certainly improve his penmanship!

I think I saw that Amazon. Other than the DVD, how do they compare?

I was actually just looking at Artistic Pursuits! Art Core 2: Painting with Watercolor Pencils. Video instruction plus text.

EdPo: Oldest wants to do art next year. More specifically, he wants a whole bunch of different paintbrushes and paint. Um, ok, I'll look into a curriculum for that. Is there a curriculum for that? Like maybe DVDs that teach him and the supplies that coordinate? I personally think he'll get bored with just painting for an entire year, but I could be wrong. I'm not opposed to something along the lines of him learning a new type of art with a hands on project once a week, either. Give me ideas please because this is sooo not my area. Also, NOW he wants a different science curriculum. He finally realized that Berean Builders has a demo or experiment for nearly every lesson and says YES, let's do that! 🤦

It's morning and I'm the first one up?!

Afsa-ing in the pouring down rain without an umbrella, but I'm still smiling about it because no kids. Sometimes I just need to do something (anything) to reset and feel human again.

We are done! We are done! We are done! 🎉🎉🎉 I need to mail out our standardized testing materials later on and start calculating final grades, but other than that: 🎼 Schooooool's Out For The Summer! 🎶

I did not know this. Thanks for the heads up!

I am sooo glad the last chapter is usually the easier stuff like telephone skills, dictionary skills, using a Bible concordance, ect. When spring/summer weather comes around, R&S must know that my children are looking out the window and counting the time until they can go outside and play!

I completely agree with this and teach very similarly. I loved the fourth grade book and learned a lot with my oldest, but the fifth grade book seems like a close repeat of each section/topic that reviews fourth grade and then goes further with each. The fifth grade writing assignments are a step up, though, so some of them I allowed to be done on the computer just because mine hates writing and the computer makes him much more receptive to writing, editing, and expanding on things as needed. I will say that we took extra time getting through the chapter covering pronouns (that chapter nearly did me in!) and again when we hit prepositions and prepositional phrases in the fifth grade book.

I've heard that name somewhere. Wasn't there an actual DVD player by that name that did the same thing a few years back? I wish there were a player that would just automatically do that for any disc you have. It would be soooo loved here.

Most stuff is repeated from year to year and then expanded upon. However, it seems to do so more quickly the higher the grade level if that makes sense. If you go to milestones website, you can download the english placement test. It's in the second yellow box as you scroll down: https://www.milestonebooks.com/list/Building_Christian_English_Series/ I call and buy directly from the publisher instead of milestones because the price is better, their customer service and curriculum support is outstanding, and they ship faster due to being closer to me geographically.

It's still in the 60s and breezy here. Too chilly for swimming, but excellent for walks and bicycles.

Eek! Secret is "seal your pores shut" strength!

Right!? Maybe it's the testosterone? Just a theory.

Snack time, not lunch time yet.

I need to buy a new thermometer because ours bit the dust. Recs? It's been a long time since we bought one and the options are overwhelming. The last one we bought was a Bruan thermoscan ear thermometer when Oldest was a baby, so 11+ yrs ago. Accurate and easy to use is my priority.