Graphite pencils and gum erasers are necessities. I was also going to suggest watercolor crayons. Color first, then brush water over the top to give a watercolor effect. We bought ours online from Mister Art. Watercolor paper would be a good investment. My kids love Usborne How to Draw books. Sculpey clay would be a fun splurge item (along with the Klutz books that coordinate).

My 5-year-old was in CC last year, and I had NO expectations of her. She was enrolled simply because her older brothers were enrolled. That being said, she learned so much! I was pleased at her enthusiasm and efforts to learn the timeline especially. She has a headstart now and may be able to memorize it next year as her brothers did last year. She also knows most of the songs. I didn't worry at all about the harder things like Latin or Math formulas (plenty of time to get that the second time around). I would still not have enrolled her yet if she had been the oldest, and I will not be enrolling my 4-year-old son this year either. I don't think 2.5 hours of rote memorization is the best use of his time at such a young age. Memorization comes so much easier when there is meaning attached. I prefer to wait until a child is old enough to at least have some understanding of that meaning (though a more in depth understanding comes at later stages). Otherwise I feel that am treating my child as a bucket to be filled. I believe children are much more than just a mind to be trained; they are souls to be nurtured! I like the Bluedorns list of 10 Things to Do Before the Age of 10 (or something to that effect) from Teaching the Trivium. I want to spark my child's interest in learning and fan that flame. Too much drill does seem to kill in our house. We memorize plenty but avoid that which has absolutely no meaning attached and therefore requires constant review for retention--seems inefficient to me. Does that make sense? As you can tell, I don't line up exactly with the CC model so we use it as a supplement and do much more at home (LOTS of reading and exploration mostly). I continue CC because I need the accountability and community of like-minded families. Those two aspects make it worthwhile for both me and my children despite my differences in opinion regarding the effectiveness of the model itself.

My oldest was slow to talk, but highly advanced in gross motor skills. He also was an early "communicator" but preferred to use his own made up words or gestures. He hated being read to as a baby/toddler so we didn't do it much at all. Imagine my surprise when he was reading The Chronicles of Narnia series by his 5th birthday.

I agree with the above and think it would work well for you to combine your two oldest. My boys (just turned 9 and 7 1/2) started it in April and BEG for it daily. I love the visuals and clever stories. It assumes the student is intelligent and that grammar is inherently interesting. Wonderful!

LORD, I Want to Know You by Kay Arthur. Study on the names of God to give you a passion for Him.

For green salads with lots of chopped veggies, I love Newman's Own Light Lime Viniagrette dressing. Try green onions, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini or broccoli, plus...something sweet (dried cranberries or golden raisins perhaps) and something crunchy (croutons, sunflower seeds or any kind of nut) and maybe some kind of cheese (goat cheese is especially yummy). I'd add kidney beans for protein to make it a complete meal.

You are among friends here! :001_smile:

We would like a 5th and I've found myself wondering the same thing!

Tom's of Maine but, as others have said, it must be reapplied throughout the day as needed.

My children absolutely love A Child's Geography by Ann Voskamp. We sit and read together and do some copywork. But perhaps this would be best saved for later? Have you considered having your little ones trace maps of the world (I have maps in page protectors for each child, and they use wet erase markers)? We start with the continents and then add in the detail of countries as they develop mastery. We also have Window on the World to expose them to a variety of countries and cultures and help nurture a heart for others.

I also like the simplicity of NOEO (read a living book, write a written narration/diagram/definition/etc.).

Classical Conversations sells Audio CDs of their memory work that can be purchased by anyone whether you are part of a CC community or not. We also love Sing the Word CDs for Bible memory.

Your plan looks great! FYI, I don't start spelling until 2nd grade. No need to do Spelling Workout A for avid readers (as my children have been as well). It's a lot of unnecessary busy work, IMHO.

I agree with the above recommendations. My kids love all the books, though...get them all if you can!

If you are planning to use WWE you may want to wait. Otherwise, it probably doesn't matter if you buy now or wait.

I wasn't impressed with MCT from the looks of it either. After purchasing it anyway (due to rave reviews) and using it for a month and having my two boys BEG for it daily, I'm sold. They were completing 1st and 3rd grade this last year when we started.

If you have the option, Classical Conversations' Essentials program is really making IEW doable for us. Otherwise I, too, find it overwhelming. I would choose a simpler program (Writing Strands) to implement at home if I didn't have the accountability and support of CC.

I agree. We used a Spectrum Test Prep book that I got at a used book sale. I spent one evening going over it with my son to give him an understanding of how to take a test, fill in bubbles, etc. He looked at the styles of questions to help familiarize himself ahead of time. After taking the test the next day, he declared it to have been "easy" so I think that was all he needed.

I am glad to have the newest copy since I appreciate the updated resources.

The Sonlight catalog has good selections. We love Ambleside Online's booklist. Off the top of my head I'd recommend The Moffats series by Eleanor Estes and books by Elizabeth Enright (including The Melendy series and Gone Away Lake).

We are using MCT and we all LOVE it! My oldest is also signed up for CC's Essentials next year...not sure how or if we'll be able to continue doing both.

My kids love to listen to Jim Weiss so I finally spent the money on the audio CDs. They love listening to the stories. We use them to supplement our Veritas History studies.