Thank you! I was thinking that it was fairly new. So, I guess that means that I'm very unlikely to find the latest edition used. Off now to purchase my sale copy!:)

Just a friendly bump.:001_smile:

We just finished our first year of CC with a child who is academically accelerated and CRAVES learning, so I'll answer what questions I can. I have no experience with Sonlight, though I suspect that you may make some adjustments in your at-home curriculum based on CC. We had to feel our way through that this year. You can use CC as a major or minor focus of academics. If you want her to remember and fully understand everything learned, it does take some time. CC focuses on memorization, and much of the comprehension is the job of the parent. Some parents (esp in the early years) have a "whatever they take away from it is great" attitude and others really want their child to memorize the material. Your approach will greatly determine how much time is spent at home on it. I would strongly suspect that you wouldn't have any doctrinal issues. On our campus, people come from many differing church backgrounds (mostly Protestant). You brought up the cost in your post, and I just wanted to mention that hour-for-hour, CC was much less expensive than most other homeschool co-ops local to me. It is an expense, for sure, but I felt that we really got a lot for our money. Since your daughter is very bright, you may be interested in my past post to the Accelerate Learner forum about why CC was such a great fit for us: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259920

Does anyone happen to know when the audio CDs were last revised? I'm wanting to get the latest version of Cycle 3. Is this the first year of Cycle 3 since an update? (I would love to find them used but am wondering if I should take advantage of the 10% off sale.)

YAY! I did it! Thank you!

My technical knowledge is dismal. I purchased some MP3s from Amazon and saved them to the "Amazon.com Cloud Drive" since that was the recommended option. Now I have no idea how to get it over to my Ipod.:001_huh: Can someone walk me through it? If I want music on my Ipod, do I need to download it to my computer drive from now on?

According to the allergist, my ds has "a severe, severe pollen allergy" (no asthma). I wish I could remember all the natural remedies we tried--quercetin (sp?), raw local honey, homeopathic remedies, nettles, eyebright, feverfew. That's a drop in the bucket of all the stuff I bought and tried in vain to tame his allergies. (Just a side note--dh also has pollen allergies and feverfew works for him immediately. It's actually more effective for him than benadryl.) When he's older, I do plan to have ds use a neti pot, but I don't think it would a positive thing right now. We do as much pollen reduction as possible. No open windows in spring. If he's outside at all, he immediately strips down when he comes in. His laundry basket is moved out of his room during the spring season. He also gets a bath including shampoo if he's been out at all. We have a large HEPA filter downstairs and another in his bedroom. If his eyes are bothering him, we try plain old eyedrops before taking other measures. We have a dog, so she gets frequent baths and is wiped down when she comes in from outside. This year we started him on Flo-nase and Allegra. We've found that he doesn't need the Flo-nase as often as prescribed once his sinuses have been cleared (i.e., we use it consistently until they are better then space out his doses and the benefits continue). HTH! Allergies are not fun.

We are using the workbook, textbook, IP, CWP, and HIG including Mental Math & math games. One of the beautiful things about SM is that there is as much or as little available as your dc need. I would start with workbook and textbook for each level (absolute bare bones) and then buy one HIG so you know what it's like. Then I would just add on anything you think they need. If they need more review, add EP. If they need word problems, add CWP. If they are doing great, add nothing.

Other people have made some great suggestions for going deeper into math concepts (IP, CWP, MEP). I've also heard of a Primary Math Challenge book that other parents use in the same way. Personally I think it's great to delve deeper but wouldn't keep giving "more of the same" to a child who has completely mastered something. If she's mastered it, and gone deeper into the concepts, then I wouldn't get hung up on age. The beauty of homeschooling is being able to tailor curriculum to our children's unique abilities and challenges.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences! It's good to know that other blenders do work. Right now our family is going through celiac testing. If we end up needing to do lots of GF stuff, I may spring for a Vitamix. Otherwise I really prefer not to spend that much. Can't wait to go researching the blenders you mentioned . . .

Have any of you found a decent blender for making green smoothies (including the ability to liquify leafy green veggies) that is also affordable? I keep seeing Vitamix and Blendtec recommended, but I'd like to find something for less $. :bigear:

I have some of their other software that I bought used, and I was able to install it without problems. I don't specifically know about this program though.

We went through a similar sequence. FLL was way too repetitive. I switched to R&S very briefly but it seemed to drag everything out too. We're now doing GWG, and we both like it. It's also not as teacher-intensive, which is nice for me since everything else we're doing is.

Thank you all for your responses. I didn't even realize that there were activity guides with these, so I'll have to check that out. Do you mind sharing some of your favorites from this series? I think maybe I'll stick what the better books, as we probably don't have time for them all anyway. (So many great resources, so little time!;))

I did a search here but couldn't find any opinions about this series. Has anyone used it? Thoughts? Glancing through, it looks like each focuses on a different country. Are any set in the U.S.? TIA!

:iagree:

We use the Charlotte Mason method in a recipe-type file box. Every morning at breakfast, I pull out the file box and we do the memory cards for that day. ;)

Bumping for the evening crowd.;)

I'm organizing a family-integrated small group experience in a few months. The main purpose is to motivate and equip parents in passing on the faith to their children. The format for the activity portion will be similar to the concept of "Family Nights" (e.g., Heritage Builders Family Nights Tool Chest and Kirk Weaver's www.famtime.com-- helps explain if you're not familiar with it). Here's where I need help! I'm looking for some object lessons or activities that would appeal to teens. My kids are nowhere near that age, so I am at a loss. Any ideas? I was thinking that something involving fire may be good, but I'm :bigear: for whatever ideas you have.

I know people have very differing opinions and experiences with Classical Conversations, but I thought I would share our experience here. Ds was in ps last year at one year whole acceleration, and the school was planning to accelerate him another whole year (which would not have been a fit academically or socially) so we chose homeschooling instead. It's been a great choice.:) Because he enjoyed a classroom experience so much, I explored various co-op options. He's such a difficult child to "fit" into any given program. We finally settled on CC Foundations. WOW! It was a beautiful fit! The multi-age classroom worked well. It was rigorous without being drudgery. (He loved the songs, doing memory work along with motions, being up and moving around the classroom, etc.) The best part was that there was new material each week so the amount of review wasn't problematic. We are planning to do the next 2 cycles of Foundations and then try to find something different. Just thought I would share this as an option for those who are searching for a co-op where their child won't be with kids much much older then they are or be bored by material that is too easy for them. I haven't really seen it mentioned much in gifted circles, but it worked so well for us this year.

Thanks!:)

I tried to skim through the 16 pages, but I think I missed it. Can you point me to the right page/post? Thanks!

I'm going off in another direction but have a thought that hasn't been mentioned. It sounds like your primary objective is to find same-age peers who are intellectually similar to your son. I live in a large city, and there is a local Yahoo group here for parents of profoundly and exceptionally gifted children. Frequently parents post inquiries about finding playmates for their children or having gatherings. It's a by-invitation-only group that I found after attending a local seminar on giftedness and talking to another mother who was a member. I wonder if there might be something like this in your area? Just a thought.

Thanks, everyone! It is tricky to tell whether it's allergies or illness, isn't it? I think I will try some allergy medication and see what happens.

Ds has been "sick" for about 2 weeks, and I have been for 1 1/2 weeks. We just aren't getting better. We have horrible sinus congestion, sore throats, mild cough, swollen lymph nodes, and his tonsils are quite large. Neither of us has a fever. Ds does have a severe pollen allergy. I've never reacted to it. Could this be allergies? I haven't heard of allergies causing swollen glands and large tonsils. Does that sometimes happen? I'm getting desperate to see some improvement here!