I would suggest the west side first, then look to the east. I'm not very familiar with the northeast area, except that the army base is located in that area.

No there are not bars on ALL the windows. There are bad parts of town, just like every city I know of. But there are also nice areas. I do not live there, but I know the city well. Everyone is very friendly, and the mexican food is excellent (that alone would be worth it for me;). It would be a good cultural experience, as well as a learning opportunity. Check out the missions; there are tours which are pretty interesting. Like a pp said, it is dated, but there are up and coming areas mostly to the east and west. Do not go to Juarez, as it isn't safe anymore. What part of town would you stay?

Thanks so much. It helps a lot to read about others' experiences. If you don't mind I have two more questions: What is FFL? Also, how often did/do you have lessons per week?

I have 1st, 3rd, and 5th DDs, and it is time to add Latin. The recommendations for Latin differ for grammar and logic stage children according to WTM, and I can't decide which program would best benefit my two older children. I don't think my almost 7 year old would be able to hang in with the other two, so I am not really planning on formally teaching her Latin, unless the hive says it would be beneficial. Also, I took three years of Latin in HS, and it came very naturally to me. I don't know if that would make a difference in any recommendations you would have. I'm leaning toward The Big Book of Lively Latin. How do you think that would work for both grades? Originally I was going to buy Latina Christiana 1. I'm just not sure what to get and it's been 6 weeks. I need to make a decision soon. Thanks, Cindy

My kids WERE in a PS that used Singapore Math. I have no idea which books they used, but I do know that they sent home 4-6 CWP type problems for homework every day. The students were required to use a 4 step process with modeling to solve the problems. Again, that was for homework. Part of the reason my kids are home now is because I could never get any direct answers about anything from that school; I was always directed to use the website to get my answers about curricula, scope and sequence, etc., which only answers so much. I got tired of trying to be involved in my kids' education as a third party, so DH and I decided to homeschool them. Sorry for rambling.

I can see how Saxon or any math curriculum wouldn't be a good fit for everyone. Our dilemma this year when choosing a curriculum was that the kids had been using Singapore Math in ps, but I was more comfortable with something like Saxon. We opted to use Saxon with Singapore as a supplement. So far, so good on that front, and I still prefer Saxon I think because it speaks my language ;) So which of you handles Math with the children? I've never seen Calvert before. DH and I decided it is equally important for us to be comfortable teaching the material as it is for the kids learning it.

I started this year with a 1st, 3rd, and 5th grader, and we just started at the beginning with the ancients. I'm so glad I did this, because it would've been very difficult to keep up with a separate timeline for the 3rd grader.

Thanks for the tips. I remember when I used to volunteer at oldest DD's school, her teacher would have the kids write the letters first in the air before starting their writing lesson.

That's good to know. I'm on the fence still about the two lined workbook HWT uses. I don't remember if I asked earlier. Do I need the teacher's manual for HWT or can I wing it?

I like your suggestion about requesting a few perfectly formed letters rather than writing the same letter over and over and over. DD would be thrilled too. I need to pull out the playdoh. It's in the garage still from our recent move. Thanks for the suggestions.

It's great to see that HWT has worked well for your DD. I was wondering about the two lines when I saw the sample pages. I have lots of three line paper, so that shouldn't be an issue for us. Did you order it directly from their website?

I was planning on ordering the Zaner-Bloser workbook, but DH came home one day with a handwriting book he found that he thought would be helpful. I think he got it at Wal-Mart. I decided to give it a try and wait to order the Z-B. I have to sit with her while she prints each letter to make sure she is doing quality work. I suppose I'll be doing this for a while until she undoes the bad habits. I checked out HWT tonight, and I was impressed. Would you recommend buying the TM along with the workbook? Anything else I should consider getting?

She is in 1st grade about to turn seven in about a month, but she's been able to write since she was four. The problem is that her penmanship appears to be that of a four year old still. She went to ps K last year, and I figured that her handwriting would improve with improved motor skills, handwriting practice, etc., but that hasn't been the case. Also, I don't know if this matters, but she is a lefty, the only one in our family. When she writes a word, she interchanges lowercase letters for capital letters. For example, she will print the word happy like this: HaPPy. Another thing she does is reverse letters, which I remember being common when my olders were little like her, so I am not too worried about that yet. Finally the last two things I'd like to address with her are using solid strokes and forming the letters correctly, for example, she will draw a small circle to form the loop in the letter e, then in a separate stroke complete the letter by adding a half circle to the bottom to make it look like an e. This was not the way I taught her, BTW, I think she must've picked it up at school. So, what would be the best way to help her re-learn forming letters? I'm feeling like I want to stop all copywork for a while until she can write better. Do you think this would be a good idea? Do you think my DD being left-handed is something to consider? Cindy

I use the stopwatch or timer on my iphone, depending on whether we want to count up or down.

Thanks for taking the time to type all that out. It really helps me get a feel for how to structure the week. I purchased the Usborne Internet-Linked Science Encyclopedia to use, but I couldn't wrap my mind around how to make it work for all the kids, hence the original post :D How much time does it take you to plan out what you want the kids to accomplish on a given day as well as gather the materials?

This is exactly what I was looking for. I could make this work, however, I wonder how much time it would take to plan out? I am short on time these days. Did I mention that I have an almost one year old to care for as well? -Cindy

I'm not opposed to any curriculum, religious or secular, as long as it is of good quality. Thanks for the recommendations; I'll be looking into them this week.

You've given me a lot to think about. I'll definitely be looking into the curricula mentioned to get an idea of what would work for us. I have a strong math and science background, so I think I would want something not too scripted, but at the same time something that is already put together in terms of which topics to cover. I don't have the time, nor the experience to put together my own stuff. Again, thanks for helping me out. -Cindy

So far, all I know is that we are going to study Biology since it aligns with both 1st grade and the 5th grade according to WTM. Would anyone be willing to share how it's done in your home? What are your expectations for the younger children vs. the older ones? Could you describe a typical week? I withdrew my children from school in mid-September, and we have only been doing Math, Reading, Spelling, Grammar, Writing, and Logic (for my 5th grade DD). We are all feeling confident enough with our routine to add in History and Science. I just need to order our Science materials for experiments. Once we get comfortable with History and Science, we will add Latin, Art, and Music. I expect that will happen in about a month. Do you think I'm hurting their education by doing it this way? Thanks, Cindy

Hello, I'm sort of new to homeschooling, and I wanted to introduce myself. I have four little ones at home ages 11 months to 11 years. I homeschooled my 2 older DDs when they were in k and 2nd grade for a year. Now they are in 3rd and 5th, and along with my 1st grade DD, we are back to homeschooling. All of our materials except for our Math texts have come in, and I've been taking it rather easy getting the kids (as well as myself) into a routine. My kids are eager learners, but I'm having trouble juggling my baby's needs along with household responsibilities and homeschooling. I'll be searching the forum for as many tips as I can find that could help me better balance it all out. This forum was a great place to ask questions about homeschooling when my kids were home the first time. I'm sure it's no different today. I look forward to getting to know you all, and maybe I can throw my two cents in once in a while.:001_smile: -Cindy

I'm sure someone else already suggested this, but maybe she is a whole to parts learner and gets a better grasp of the book by knowing where the story is going ahead of time. That was my first thought. Now I'm off to read the replies.