So, would you (or someone!) recommend continuing LCI and LCII until 5th grade and then making the switch? My ds will be doing LCI in 3rd next year and I'm wondering if he would be ready in 4th for Latin Prep or if he should go on to LCII first. Advice, anyone? Also, is Latin Prep a 1 year course and then you continue with what? Educate me please. :)

I used FLL, then GWG this year, and I'm moving to R&S next year. My new, final plan, :) is to use FLL year 1 and then move to R&S starting with 2nd grade. I've read the reviews over and over and over again at how well R&S prepares you for writing and teaches grammar. I have trouble with the scriped lessons of FLL and I like that R&S is a tried and true program. My ds reads well beyone his years, but I'm waiting until next year, 3rd grade, to start writing with him. I don't feel that just b/c they read well they should start writing. Writing, IMHO, takes a completely different set of skills than reading. I am planning to start my 1st grader with WWE, so that may be the option you want to take for writing. WWE is for grades 1-4. Good luck with your decision!

Hi Susan, I would like to start my 1st & 3rd graders with WWE next fall, but I know my 3rd grader will only use the book for 3rd and 4th. Do you make recommendations in the book as to what program you should use after WWE if the next book isn't out? Or, would I be better off to just start with a program, such as CW, that goes all the way through for my 3rd grader? Thank you for taking the time to answer all of our questions!

Don't be too intimidated by SWR. :) If there is any way for you to get to a class, they are extremely helpful. I had used SWR for a year before I attended a class and it still really put things together for me. Now that I know what I'm doing, SWR is an open and go program. I do need to "teach" it, it isn't something the kids do independently, but it is worth every minute we have spent on it. I've learned how to spell, that's saying a lot! LOL! I didn't look at Shurley Grammar. I am doing GWG also, but am switching next year to R&S. I like the look of the teacher's book with R&S, it has oral parts, more instruction than GWG. I'm also very impressed by the reviews of R&S. In the recent thread on "what programs will you keep using for multiple years" (or something like that, I can't remember exactly!) the one thing that was repeated over and over and over was R&S grammar. I'm convinced that this is the best grammar out there and that we will be using it for the long haul. :) I would like to sell my Beginning Grammar Readers, so I'll PM you!

I have them! I think if they are worthwhile depends on your reason for wanting them. :) If you want them for a beginning reader, skip it! You can make your own out of words from the word lists on your own and have your child illustrate them just as easily. If you want them to diagram easy sentences, well, they might be worthwhile then. I wanted to use them as a beginning reader and they are simply not worth it. The have one small sentence per page, with no picture - just a space for the child to draw, and space to diagram the sentence. Just my 2 cents!

I agree with everyone else! 1. Keep going, Sanseri says the one of the biggest mistakes is that people stop going forward 2. Review the missed words in the coming weeks. 3. Join the Yahoo group, it is very helpful! Good luck! I love SWR my oldest can spell and read like crazy! My K'r is coming along well too.

Looks good, but I'd wait on history. It is a bit heavy for my K'r that is listening in on big brother's SOTW. I did Galloping the Globe our 1st K year and it was great! It gave both of my boys a much bigger picutre of the world and was fun to boot! :) I'd recommend checking into that. I'd wait on grammar, no need to start then. I did with my 1st and am waiting until 1st grade for my 2nd.

That is my current plan as well. But, then I got to wondering if I should just stick with one program for both boys. If the next book isn't out though, in 2 years, then I think I'll probably go with WT 1. I do have Writing Tales 1 already, I just love what I've seen of WWE and really respect SWB's take on writing, so I wonder if I'm doing my older ds a dis-service to not use it with him too. KWIM? :)

I'm definitely using WWE with my 1st grader next fall, and would like to use it with my 3rd grader. However, I'm not sure if I should start with a program that won't have the next book out when he needs it. Or, should I just start with WT 1 for my 3rd grader, which was my choice before I heard about WWE. Thoughts? Edited to add: I'm not talking about the workbooks, but the actual writing book - I believe the next book will be called Writing with Skill?

I also use SWR and my 2nd grader, 8 yo, always knows how to spell the words before I even dictate them. We are in list N-7. He gets 100% on his spelling tests each week, actually he would get very close to 100% if I just read him the next week's words and asked him to write them down. I also want to concentrate more on writing and grammar next year so I'm toying with an idea - let me know what you think! I'm thinking about giving my ds the new list as a quiz/test, with me sitting beside watching if he is spelling the words correctly. If he can spell the word correctly, that word is done, if he misses a word, I would dictate it right then and that word would go on his quiz for the week. So, I may only be quizzing a few words or none at all in a week's time. This would keep us moving through this lists, but not take as long as dictating and quizzing each and every word. I'm also thinking I will continue to do some of the enrichment exercises each week, b/c that often practices word endings, e's dropping, etc. What do you think? Would it work? I just can't quite drop the lists b/c if he finishes he will be spelling on a high school/college level and that would be invaluable to him. I'm afraid if I stop he will only be able to spell as well as he can write, KWIM? I don't know if this is what I will do for sure or not, but it is one thought I had! I think I'll ask the question on the SWR loop as well. I'll be watching this thread for ideas as well!

Check out http://www.preschoolersandpeace.com. This is Kendra in CA's site, she has great advice and ideas!

I like natural and also logical consequences. An example of a natural consequence - "Oh, you didn't put your bike away and it is now missing? Sorry, no, I won't be buying you a new bike." An example of a logical consequence - "You decided to throw a fit and not pick up your toys today so I'll put them away. Oh, you won't be able to have them back for several days." Or, "You decided to talk mean to me, so you have lost the privilege to speak for 10 minutes." These are the sort of things we use at our house for consequences. We also spank, especially in the toddler/preschool years. If you give examples of the types of problems you are having in your home, you may get better answers. I've also found that having a daily routine cuts out a lot of problems - they know what is expected and when it is expected. I have a lot less arguing and temper problems when we are in our usual routine. HTH!

I purchase lots of children's books. I use the list from the Highland Latin School's summer reading list as well as from the Hand that Rocks the Cradle - Good Books to Read Aloud to Chilren by Nathaniel Bluedorn. I watch used sites frequently, I stop at garage sales, anytime I'm in an area with a used bookstore I stop, etc. I LOVE that my boys can just go grab a wonderful book anytime they wish from our shelf. Any book they choose here will not be fluff. :) We do go to the library once a week or so and there is where my boys pick "fluff". They are allowed a few of those a week, but mostly they read our home library books. I feel it is a great investment in their education!

I want to do all I can to ensure that my dc don't start out with a large loan when they start their adult life. I think that if I train them to know how to use money wisely that it can only help them to start out debt free. Our children should be able to attend college mostly funded by us and their own savings and appreciate it and not take it for granted. Those of us that didn't appreciate our "full rides" given by our parents may not have been trained to realize the opportunity for what it was - a chance to start out ahead in life, not behind. I've seen many families who struggle with college debt for years, or struggle to finish college after they have families - it does help them learn to be frugal, but it puts considerable strain on marriages and families. I hope my children do not have to start with that kind of a burden. I also love what the lady said in the thread below about what they have given up in order to fund their dc education - they don't have cable, cell phones for their kids and more. So often we feel we have to have all of these "things", but then can't afford to save for our retirement or kids' college. I'm really not judging those who spoke up in this thread AT ALL, I'm speaking to myself as well. It is very easy for me to get caught up in wanting or thinking I have to have something, when I really don't, and could save the money for my kids. For instance, I have several things I'd love to do with our "stimulus check" - new flooring, dh would like a new, large TV, Lasix for myself and on and on. What I think we will end up doing - putting it in savings for either the kids' 529's or our future car savings. :) O.K., I'm getting sidetracked here! LOL! What I want to challenge us in - is not to believe that if our dc get loans and pull themselves through college on their own will make our kids appreciate or do better at college. It may make strains in their life that could last many, many years. Now, this is all just my humble opinion! :tongue_smilie:

Harmony Fine Arts is a curriculum designed by a homeschool mom for fine arts appreciation. I'm using it for grammar stage and really like it. She also has levels designed for logic and rhetoric stages. Here is a link: http://www.harmonyfinearts.com/ It has everything, I believe, for which you are looking!

I do not know Beth at all, but on the SWR loop this morning someone mentioned their friend, Beth, that died from cancer leaving behind two daughters. I can only assume that they must be the same lady.

Sure, I'd be glad to share what else we do: My 8yo 2nd grader: Growing with Grammar (we'll be switching to Rod & Staff next year, he isn't retaining grammar) CLP Bible (switching to R&S next year as well, just like how it looks better!) My 6yo K'r: Rod & Staff Bible readers for Bible Together: Apologia Astronomy Biblioplan year 2 with STOW 2 as a spine 3yo: Kumon workbooks - they have great tracing books, easy mazes, easy coloring, easy cutting, next year we'll do R&S workbooks (I used them with the other boys and loved them for age 4) I also have all of the preschool activities from MFW. I just bought them separatley and use them on my own, not as the MFW preschool program, make sense? That's it! HTH a bit! Kathy

I have 2 boys that will be able to play baseball this spring. Last year they both played, but they were on the same team. This year, they will be on different teams/leagues, practice different night and have games on the same nights. I'm just questioning if the benefits of sports outweighs the havoc it is on the family to run to everything! My oldest really isn't into sports at all (and isn't very good), but like the social part of it, my second enjoys playing and the social part. My youngest ds, too young to play this year, is our athlete. What do you do in your family? What are your reasons for saying yes or no? Do you have guidelines as to how many sports or how many children participate at a time? We have set our limit to one sport per boy per year - I think! :) I guess if one is really talented or that is what he loves to do we may have to vary that!

run our family business. He would be a 3rd generation taking over, but has his 3 brothers and my brother's 3 girls that may want to run it as well. :) My 2nd son always shrugs his shoulders and says "I don't know...". My 3rd son wants to be a Daddy. That's it. A daddy. I think he couldn't be anything better than that!

It takes us 2 hours to do our seat work every day. I teach the following and the boys work on independent work when not with me: 3yo 10-20 minutes of coloring, mazes, puzzles, workbooks pages with me K'r - phonogram review, new words 2x week, daily quiz, reading out loud, Right Start math Level A 2nd - phonogram review, new words 2x week, My Wise Grammar 2x week, RightStart math Level C We also do the following in another 1-2 hours: Piano practice for both boys Memory Bible story History or science alternatively Both programs do take a bit of time to do. However, I feel these are the years to get a strong base in reading, math and writing and that these are the best programs to do so. I'm seeing the results in my oldest - he can spell over 3 years above his grade level, he reads anything he wants and he really understands math & how it works (and can do mental math quicker than me!). I also think both SWR & RightStart take a bit of time to see the fruits of your labor, but when you do - look out. :) Good luck with your decision!

SWR FLL for 1st, R&S for 2nd Cursive First for handwriting Copywork R&S will be new to me, but I hear such positive things here, and I like how it looks! I think it will be a long term one for us!

We do lots of playing with puzzels, wedgits, work bench with tools, cutting out of magazines, pasting, coloring, etc. However, I do start each day's seat work by working with my youngest child. I use Rod & Staff workbooks for a 4 year old, and before that use Kumon workbooks for mazes, tracing books, etc. I don't do this b/c I feel it is really necessary, but for the youngest child to feel a part of things. I taught my older two boys to write cursive and learn phonograms when they were 4 as well. They were ready! I'm expecting my 3rd son to be ready for this as well next fall.

I love it and reviewed it on another thread that Beth in Central TX posted. I use Spell to Write and Read for phonics/spelling. I look at R & S readers as our Bible for the early grades and for increasing reading comprehension. I love it for that!

Thanks, Beth, for your reply. I'm planning to use WT 1 and WT 2 then move to CW. I keep reading responses that say that R & S grammar is too much for these programs. But, I feel R & S is the best grammar and really want to combine them. It was great to read that you are doing it and how it works for you. I'm feeling better about it now. I only wish that I didn't pick EVERY subject as the most teacher intensive one out there! :) Good luck on the yard sale! We have 4 inches of new snow here this morning!

I like Rod & Staff Bible readers for 1st-4th. They are great, combining age appropriate reading with workbooks for great reinforcement of the stories. They are also good for my boys b/c they have lots of different types of workbook answers - multiple choice, fill in the blank, crosswords, complete sentences, find the word in the text, etc. My boys don't do any other type of workbook/text subjects so this is good prep for test taking as well. It is also designed to be 2 subjects in 1 - Reading and Bible. I don't think you can get much better at these ages. I plan to continue Rod & Staff Bible for 5-8th.