No, that's what I have too. It's like a list of countries, but the CD has several songs--one for each region of Africa. I guess they decided not to print up those lyrics for some strange reason. I'll just have to listen to the CD and type them up for ds. He likes to read along.

:bigear:

:lol: I forgot that my ds did the same thing! He memorized all the names before I even realized it, and he mispronounced them ALL. Colorado was "color a due", etc. We started using them in general conversation A LOT, and he was able to self-correct. Too funny!

The strange thing that my ds does? Associate a number with everything he memorizes. He knows exactly what song is one every CD track he owns (which is a lot because we use geography songs, skip counting songs, history songs CC, SSL, not to mention kid music, Christian music, etc.). Last year is when I realized that his brain is wired completely different from mine. He had been learning the books of the Old Testament, and we were going to look up a Bible verse. I said, "Do you remember where Psalms is?" He immediately said, "19!" Turns out that Psalms is the 19th book of the OT. And no, the list he was using to learn the books of the Bible was not a numbered list. Since then I've noticed that he associates numbers with just about every little bit of memorization he does.

I really like prefolds sometimes. My favorite covers after the newborn stage were Dappi NYLON pull-on covers. You can get them new for something like $2-3 each, and they are amazing! Not cute, but they can't be beat for function. (BTW, Dappi vinyl covers are not durable, and I do not recommend them!) For something cute and easy, I really like Nana's Bottoms All-in-one's. She has great prices, and they are my absolute favorite (I tried lots and lots of fitteds and all-in-ones before I found hers.)

Does anyone get hsing books at their brick and mortar Half Price Books store? We have one about 30 minutes away, and I haven't been there since before I had children. I just happened upon the second great score that I've had on books at the local Once Upon a Child, and I'm wondering whether I should go back to Half Price Books. Do you find nice deals there?

With corn tortillas, canned red enchilada sauce, and some shredded cheddar cheese, you can make some decent enchiladas. (I'm making turkey enchiladas tonight!:)) We also do all kinds of soups (turkey noodle, turkey & vegetable, etc). If you have some refrigerated or frozen pie shells, turkey pot pie is nice too. Reames homemade style frozen noodles cooked with chicken stock and turkey meat.

I realize that the answer probably depends on the child. If a child is able to correctly do their math without instruction, is there any reason not to allow them to do it independently? After reading some threads here, I am starting to get the impression that many parents are more involved in teaching math than what I have been. If it seems to be going well, are there reasons I should re-consider our approach?

I recently purchased a used copy of Audiomemory's Geography Songs. The workbooks includes the lyrics for all the songs except the Africa songs. Does anyone have a copy of the lyrics in Word something that they could email me? I was planning to write them all down myself, but I thought I would check here in case someone has already put in the time. Thanks!

I'm wanting to get an inexpensive marker set so we can try DWC. I'm not 100% sure that DWC is a fit for us, so I don't want to invest a lot of $ until we can do a few lessons to see how it goes. I was thinking about getting some Sharpies. Should I get "fine point"? Something like this: http://www.rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1292252895-1004828? Any advice is appreciated!

For those who use Sharpies in Drawing with Children, do you get the "fine point"? Would something like this help us get started: http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Sharpie+Retractable+Fine+Markers+12-Color+Set/039656/1292168379-816358 ? We're going to test out Drawing with Children to see whether it works for us, and I'd rather put off a large $ investment until we see how it goes.

I lost my SSL CD also. I called CAP and they sent me a new one. I *think* it was $4.95 including shipping. They were great, and it was here in a couple of days!

I sometimes use red wine and sometimes use red wine vinegar. I think that both give the same depth of flavor. If I'm using red wine vinegar, I use approx 1-2 Tablespoons per 1 cup of red wine called for.

Me three!:bigear:

I'm strongly considering putting ds in a martial arts class. The choices are overwhelming! Karate, tae kwon do, etc, etc. Is there an easy way to compare them? How do you choose one?

Our basic subjects are ones that we cover every day--not necessarily in our "loop". Ds gets a checklist everyday which includes math, english (alternating grammar and writing lessons), history, and Bible/life skills (again, alternating lessons every other day). When that's done, he gets a break. After the break, we do a loop subject. Included in the loop are science, art, and Latin. We started out with a more complex loop system in Aug. He had a time slot for a Loop 1 subject and a Loop 2 subject every day. I had one short loop for things I wanted to cover more frequently and a longer loop for those that didn't need to be covered very often. (You can also put one subject in the loop more than once if you want it covered more often.) With his co-op situation and tutoring sessions outside the house, it was just too much. Hopefully that explanation made sense! Let me know if you have other questions.

We have set times for our basic daily subjects and put other things on a loop. This combination is working great. We make sure the core subjects are done but also get to everything else by looping it.

We are realizing that ds is near-sighted and needs glasses. Just curious what changes you noticed in your child after they got glasses? Any advice for teaching a 5 year old to take care of them?

I'm curious what others will say as well. We started hsing in the summer when ds was in swimming and we were otherwise engaged in playful activities.;) We started very slowly and just gradually added more as other things dropped off the schedule in the fall. I think it was a great way to start--just two quick subjects at first, then adding in extras. I didn't feel the need to get my schedule totally finalized or pressured to complete things, and I could see what worked and what didn't. Your plan sounds wonderful!

We're still plodding through WWE 1, but there have been a few passages that I've thought were surprisingly difficult to understand. I'm thinking about condensing our subjects and wanted to come up with my own narration and dictation. In preparation for that, I recently purchased The Complete Writer. It is so helpful! Not only does it give suggestions for children's literature to use (if you aren't using history or science selections), it highlights exactly what skills should be focused on during any given week. After reading it, I feel much more confident about choosing my own passages.

We just started SSL this year and have been using Eccles pronunciation. Ds loves it, and we're going to start adding lessons from Getting Started with Latin. However, we're also in Classical Conversations and plan to continue for the next 2 years. I'm wondering whether we should switch to Classical pronunciation?? It seems like it would be less confusing, and he's planning to do memory master so it's important that he really learns the CC Latin material correctly. Ds wants to stick with the pronunciation we are using now, but the more he learns at home, the more it is likely to conflict with CC. Any thoughts?

Thank you both! I was trying to find the name of the company that was recommended for ordering these. YAY!

There was an old thread about using binders to organize the VP history cards. I've searched and searched but can't find it! Can anyone help me out?

Just bumping this up because I'm curious about what age you recommend this for. It's listed for ages 6-adult. Is it pretty advanced for a 6 year old?

If she's not already identified as gifted, you might see whether they will do the testing. Ds was in p.s. last year, and it doesn't provide any gifted programming until 3rd grade. He went through some testing (had to according to their policies because he started K at age 4) and was then on the radar screen of the school psychologist and gifted coordinator. They closely monitored him for problems and had come up with some ideas for acceleration even before the problems arose. The teacher was not very cooperative, but I think the psychologist and gifted coordinator would have advocated for him if it came down to that. Honestly, she sounds bored to me. The school might be more willing to listen--standard gifted programming available or not--after they see test scores. Test scores seem to make a huge difference in how willing schools are to make exceptions. And it might be nice to get some other players on your team if the teacher is resistant. Just food for thought . . .