I had success by first laying out the rules for capitalization and having them give written examples on their white boards. So I'd call out "language" and they'd write "French" or I'd say "place on a map" and they'd write "Japan" or "First Street". Or I'd say "school subject" and they'd write "math" or "Latin". Then I pasted and copied text from a topic that they were working on in history into a Word document and changed everything into lower case. I'd print these off and ask the kids to capitalize everything that needed capitalizing. After a few weeks of this, I did the same with rules about periods and later with commas (use the find/replace option on Word).

I don't know how old your kids are... so it may be that they shouldn't be *studying* literature, but just working on gaining fluency in reading. Any literary analysis you want to do can just be in the form of questions as they read like... "What do you think of this character?" or "What do you think happens next?" But as kids get older, they need a vocabulary to discuss what they read, to explain why they didn't like the book, or what they think the author might really be trying to say. You might like to look at the book "Deconstructing Penguins" to get some ideas about how to encourage your kids to think more critically about the books they read.

How old is your daughter? If she's young... like 5 or under, I wouldn't worry a bit. I would just take a break and come back to it later. Just because a pre-schooler begs you to teach her how to read and knows her letters, doesn't mean that she'll have the ability to actually do it... but when they're ready, most kids pick up reading quite easily. It's the same as potty training or walking or swimming or any other skill. When they're not ready, it doesn't matter how much effort you put in, it's just not going to be entirely successful. But when they're ready... just watch them go! If she's 7 or 8 or older, that's a different story...

It depends -- our 7 yr old gets in 30 minutes a day. The 9 yr old would happily read more than 2 hours.

Story of Science is a winner here. I'm always being asked if we can follow up on things. Same with OUP history.

:iagree: We're enjoying History Portfolios.

We just use the textbook and workbook. My kids don't like the IP book (because it's not in color and maybe because it's not organized in the same way as the workbook -- so there's not a clear stopping point). We use Fan-Math (I-excel) word problem books on level instead of CWP... but only when I feel like it. 90% of the time it's just textbook and workbook.

Sealants are pretty awesome. I had them as a kid and ended up with no cavities until I was 25, despite some questionable dental hygiene in my teen years. My kids do have them. Our dentist will put sealants on baby teeth, but our insurance will not pay for it.

It's easy to compare what other kids are doing, but I'd really suggest trying to focus on whether the program is working for your daughter. Is she learning? Does she get enough practice? Is she feeling successful about her work? If TT is working for your daughter, put your blinders on and ignore what every other child is doing. As for whether TT needs supplementation... my frustration with it was the lack of emphasis on number sense and mental math and place value. It was good at teaching an algorithm -- how to do an operation, it was less good at teaching why it worked and what it meant. If I were going to continue using TT I would supplement with Math Mammoth blue series.

I think she was looking more for pre-school cooking materials. You might try looking for Montessori materials about cooking. I know my kids cooked snacks and meals every when they went to a Montessori school. I think they started the kids cooking at age 3. Otherwise you might want to just write it yourself.

I think you can do a search for it and will find more info. I really liked it. It can lead to some pretty impressive sentences. Once kids get the idea that they can create their own cool and exciting sentences, it really improves writing style. The grammar in the books is included as it applies to the writing process, which I think is good too.

My daughter is going to encounter this chapter later this week. Graphing linear equations seems a bit out of place in a 4th grade book. I've decided to plow onward, but not worry if she doesn't completely understand it. It probably comes up again in SM5 or 6, but if not, we'll get it in pre-algebra and algebra, where it most likely belongs.

We're using history portfolio Middle Ages for my 4th grader and her 5th grade pal. I do like it because it's flexible enough to fit the direction you are heading in (I change things all the time), but I love that it offers options for what to include when you have no idea. And it's flexible enough to work across multiple grades. We'll often do a short essay or paragraph on a topic which the girls have to do some research on (or watch a documentary), then draw a picture, color a map, add an event to the timeline. It's nice to have an attractive binder of all the work done. I'm not entirely sure it's worth the price, but I do like it. I think SOTW is more world history whereas the History Portfolio is definitely European. Also, the Middle Ages History Portfolio is pretty heavy on the early middle ages (Early Christianity, fall of Rome, pre-history of European tribes like Celts), and I don't know that SOTW does much with those.

My plan right now for my history-loving daughter is to continue through history sequentially, then swing back for some non-Western history that we missed, then move on to studying for AP exams and letting those be our syllabus. So something like this *might* be what we'll do (or have already done): 2nd - Ancients (Galore Park Jr History 1-3) 3rd - More Ancients (SOTW, Story of Science Aristotle) 4th - Medieval (OUP, Story of Science Aristotle/Newton) 5th - Renaissance / Early Modern (OUP, Story of Science Newton) 6th - US History (Hakim, Story of Science Einstein) 7th - Non-western (OUP) 8th - 12th - AP Human geography, World History, European History, US History, Government, Economics Now my younger daughter seems to have no patience or interest in history... We've been doing geography instead. I'm hoping 3rd grade might be her year to start. I've had two unsuccessful attempts at starting a history sequence.

Isn't Horizon religious too? What about Teaching Textbooks? We did TT5 last year and it was spiral and secular. Be careful about getting the right level though. Too easy and it's a waste of time.

I like the Lesson book and the Theory book best and then one book that my kids choose (like Christmas songs). The technique book and performance book get done, but not as willingly... and I feel we have too many books to flip through. I probably won't buy them again. For your 11 yr old, you might consider the accelerated version.

We've just finished the decimals section and it has been surprisingly painless. I think my kids have a much better sense of numbers than I had, so math that confused me is often no problem for them. I did use base 10 blocks for one or two lessons to reinforce some ideas. (It's not 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.010, 0.011), so you might work with them a little if you have them. Also, of course, relating decimals to money helps a lot.

For a modern language, I agree that you need a fluent speaker if you want to have any hope of being able to communicate fluently. But if translation is your goal, learning from a book is entirely possible.

If for some reason I was forced to order books 6 months before I use them, I would just guess what my kids would place in... I think most of us know pretty well what our children totally understand and what they struggle with. I'd also compare scope and sequence of the two series. Also, I'm sure you could ask on these boards whether anyone has gone from Saxon to Singapore/CLE/MM/etc.. (or whatever you're changing to/from...). I'd bet you'd get plenty of answers.

My 9 1/2 yr old daughter just finished the "Book of the Maidservant" and was fascinated by Margery Kempe (who I believe she thinks was a "hysterical nutball"). She's asked about the original. I haven't read the Book of Margery Kempe past the first few pages on an amazon preview, but it looks okay. Is it something that a young lover of history could read? She has read some authentic medieval texts (a chapter from Bede, segments from Beowulf, some Chaucer), so I don't think the reading itself should be a problem... But I don't know -- is it particularly interesting? Will it give her some insight into late Medieval life or culture or is it more of a text about her revelations? It's not at our library, so I don't know if I should bother and buy it or not. Thoughts?

Thanks! I'm going to look into this tomorrow morning when I'm more awake!

I understand that the pre-test is deceptively easy. The book isn't.

For primary math education, I agree with the idea that children generally begin to understand numbers and operations first in a physical and concrete way ( using manipulatives), then in a pictorial (pictures)and finally in an abstract (written numbers) way. A five year old who is adding and subtracting using her fingers (an awesome math manipulative) is entirely developmentally appropriate. As for Math Mammoth, it's a solid series, but it wouldn't be my first choice for a younger child. I've used 1a and 1b and I don't think it's visually appealing or formatted in a way that makes the material accessible to new writers. I would look into Right Start A or Singapore 1a or MEP. Some people love Miquon, you might check that out.

What about Ellen Mchenry's Mapping the World with Art? That would hit the geography and includes a little history too. Or maybe a short unit study like the Intellego ones?

She has *never* read a book for fun. She has read novels when she was in school and she reads medical journals and reference books when she needs to for work, but otherwise she doesn't read.