I have used Abeka with my first two and I am currently using it with my son for kindergarten. It does not have bells and whistles like other programs and I am sure there are more exciting curriculum programs for phonics - but it is a solid program, incremental, the worksheets re-enforce what they are learning and the special sound cards are a great resource. My older two are reading above grade level and my youngest is doing great for where he is at with the program: my theory is "if it's not broke don't fix it.":tongue_smilie: HTH

I think my children will greatly benefit from these sheets. Thanks for sharing! :lol:

Christine Miller's The Story of the Ancient World - it provides a lot of Bible history in story form and in the back of the book she has a book list for additional reading if you want to park it on a particular person or event. You can see samples at Nothingnewpress.com HTH :D

These are gret thank you for sharing this site - I have already book marked it! :lol:

with my 2nd and 4th grader. Its very easy to use for this non-science mom and has activity sheets that you can print off and suggestions for additional reading and experiments that you add to each chapter if you choose. I have never looked into your other choice so I can only speak to my experience but I recommend it. By the way if you get it - I had the spine cut off so I could copy the activity sheets easier. HTH:001_smile:

we use just the workbook and I really see a difference in her narrations and dictation work. I think I am seeing the results that I am seeing because we consistently do the workbook each week opposed to before we had the workbook when we would get to narrations and dictations when we would get to them. I have found that anything that is pre-done that keeps me consistent is worth the money to me. HTH :)

Thank you both for your thoughts that helps a lot. Just as a follow-up - if he already has the phonics rules down would F then be the best book? I am going to try and get my hands on a F & G book but in case I can't I was wondering if anyone who has used them could tell me the difference of their focus. Thanks again!

I was trying to get this book from interlibrary loan and now I don't have to! :lol:

Hello - My ds has been using Abeka spelling workbooks for 1st through 4th grade and he does very well with them. I was looking to change for next year (5th grade) to the Spelling Workout workbooks. According to the WTM you would use Book F for 5th grade. I have also read elsewhere that the Spelling Workout books are a grade behind. I would love to hear from anyone who has used them or are familiar with them if Book F would be the best choice for him considering the info above. Thank you so much for your time in answering! :001_smile:

I was wondering if anyone knew if this is the standard or premium version? Thanks!

A BIG thank you to all of you who responded to my questions you have given me some great ideas/information to look into and I am so excited to get started. If anyone else has any more ideas please let me know. :D

Hello - I am planning a nature unit study for the spring and I was hoping someone might have some suggestions on the following. 1. Where can I obtain caterpillars and/or tadpoles that we can observe and what would be the best environments for them (containers/food/location to be kept, etc)? 2. When would be the best time to order to watch their transformations? 3. Any project ideas while we are oberving? Anything else I am forgetting? If you haven't already figured it out I'm a city girl and have never done this before so please have pity on me and help me make this a success. :001_smile: Thank you in advance for your help!

I bought them for my son and started reading the first one to preview it before I gave it to him. I got hooked and read the first 4 in a couple of days. He has a brand new book out that is a continuation of the first 6 books (I think this new series is an allegory of the New Testament). I think it is called the Knights of Arimethea (sp?) - you can search Chuck Black on Amazon on find it. HTH :)

we go to a co-op on Thursday's so we schedule school M-W and F. I just rework their work to fit into the 4 day schedule. HTH:)

I really appreciate your response and I can see now from many of your answers that there is more to consider than just odd/even - I am going to go back over the book again tonight with all of your suggestions in mind. Blessings to all for your time!:lol:

Hi Eva - I had mentioned in my original post that I got my bins at walmart that fit in the individual cubes. They are tall closet storage boxed from HOMZ and they sell for aroudn $7.95 - the ones that they show you in the picture at Ikea are around $11.00 each so the Walmart bins are quite a savings. Hope this helps!

For those of you who use Saxon math - Is it necessary to do all of the problems in each lesson as the book suggests. Does odd or evens get the job done or is there a reason to do all of the problems? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. :bigear: By the way, the is for a 4th grade boy using Saxon 5/4

I bought it from Ikea and it holds so much. You can stand 3 ring binders up in each cube, books, and all your supplies in storage bins. I use clear pencil boxes and stack my supplies in the boxes in the various cubes. They have a smaller one (4 cubes by 4 cubes) if this one is too big for your space. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00071356 By the way I bought my storage boxes at Walmart rather than the ones shown. HTH, :lol:

The hourly calendar is just what I was looking for! Thanks for sharing!:lol:

Doing my happy dance - I just got notified that my Amazon pre-order of the WWE book shipped today. Just wanted those who were worried about their orders to know. :lol:

Big hugs and love for sharing!:grouphug:

I have a folder for each child that has tabs for each subject. I break apart all of their workbooks, copy pages etc. and place under each tab. Then each morning the kids know that the first page in each subject is what they are doing that day. I have created a chart 6 columns accross and 9 rows that I use for daily scheduling for the week. Days of the week are on top and subjects are along the side. I fill out what they need to do each day including piano practice and chores. They have a check mark in each box to check when work is complete. I have color coded daily folders that they put their finished work in and turn into me at the end of the day. I take their work and go over with them any mistakes, then I log all their work in daily planner that has a week per two page spread. I journal what was completed and anything extra we did ie. field trips, projects etc. Hope this helps!

These look great!

I have been tormenting myself :ack2: for months now on my math decision for next year and I would love to hear from those of you who are ahead of me. My son will be in 4th grade next year and I am thinking about going to Saxon from Abeka at this point (starting in the 5/4 book) and looking to use Saxon all the way through. I know from reading another post that many have strong opinions on Saxon and when I posted regarding this several months ago I was not specific in what I was looking for, but this is what I am now looking for specifically: 1) have any of you out there made the switch I am making? and if so, did it work why or why not. OR 2) If you are using Saxon - I would love specific feedback on how well you think it prepares them for future testing ie. PSAT (this is where I am getting nervous b/c I have read some posts that despite SWB's recs of this program people felt it did not prepare their kids properly) OR 3) If you are not using Saxon, what are you using/your plans for math from 4th on. Any thougths would really help me sort this out. I am trying to do as much research on my own but I really need to take a :chillpill:! I am so worried I am going to make a bad decision and then not to be able to fix it later that I have completely lost my ability to make a decision. My husband sends his thanks ahead as I am sure I am driving him crazy over what is certainly not the most important decision in life. At this point he is going to send me to a 12 step program called Math Curriculum Junkies Anonymous;) Hopefully this will be the last time I post a math question for a long, long time. Blessings and thanks for all who respond.

Hello - I haven't posted here in months but everyone on this board has always been so helpful and generous with their advice that I thought I would throw this one out to you. My son has used Abeka for k-3rd grade (currently doing 3rd grade now). He has done very well in math with Abeka and has had no problems keeping up or using the program. However, now that he is getting older I am looking for more of the big picture with math and what program we should using going into the future. In talking with people it seems that some who have started with Abeka switch to Saxon at this point and use the 5/4 book. There reasons have varied but an overall theme was the continued use of Saxon through High School. I am usually not one to quickly change curriculums but seeing that math is not something I am good at I have a hard time even sitting down to compare programs because I am not even sure what I am looking for. Does anyone have an big picure advice for me on this? Also, I would love to hear from anyone who was in a similar situations with these programs and what you chose and why? Any reviews, advice, and/or suggestions would help? Thank you in advance for your time in responding!