I appreciate all the responses. I would be seriously offended if a teacher would tell my child that if she's not serious she might as well be selling cakes on the side of the street. I don't think teacher #1 is that cruel. She was just impatient and more particular on that day when my daughter couldn't get the note. You're right that I am confident that this teacher is one who can take my daughter to higher levels when the time comes. She has many advanced students. Regarding the CM, I have never heard of this until our teacher made the suggestion. I want my child to enjoy music and hopefully studying for the CM will not hinder that. Right now though she prefers broadway show tunes and Disney tunes but we think she should learn classics first and the others can be good sight-reading practice she does on her own. Do anyone sit in during piano or just drop off?

I like your response and I totally agree with what you said about this being a good "life experience." I think a status update with the teacher will be very good. Where does the love of music come in? She used to like it but now she tolerates it. She doesn't want to quit though.

We took a break and this coming week will be the 3rd week of our break. I have to make a decision soon yet I don't know what to do. Teacher #1 is getting old (63) and her responsibilities at the school where she works is probably taking a toll on her. She's almost super-human in her multitasking abilities but her body is probably slowing down while her brain is still planning different projects. She might retire in a few years but will probably resume her private practice. When I told my daughter that we'll probably put her back to teacher #1, she wasn't too excited yet she is conflicted and I don't think she can decide for herself which teacher she wants either. I think I have to decide for her. She would sometimes tell me she misses her old teacher. I heard from other people that the teacher's influence is strong when it comes to how a student perceive herself. Teacher #1 is mechanical and I don't think she makes the student feel the "love" of the music. She is very knowledgeable though and stays active in the music community. Teacher #2 is just starting to build a student clientele. She taught using the British system and participated in the British Royal Academy, then she stopped briefly to raise her kids and is now back to teaching. How important is the certificate of merit?

Hey ladies, I don't know if I am in the right forum but could use some advice whether we need to switch piano teacher or not. Teacher #1 - is a highly knowledgeable music teacher, director of music dept. of a private school, teaches bell and church choirs, very multitasking person, impatient but not an unkind person. Price is right (actually very cheap considering her credentials) She recommended that my daughter participate in the Certificate of Merit program. Daughter (11 years old) has been her student for 3 years. However, 3 weeks ago, daughter had a crying episode during lesson; not due to lack of practice but she later told me that when her teacher was asking her about a note and she couldn't get it, teacher got impatient and raise her voice, gave a big sigh of being impatient. When dd started crying, teacher tried hard to make her happy again but she was just an emotional mess. She had a headache all day after the lesson. She said she wants me to tell her teacher to be "nice." She is not thrilled going to her lessons every week yet she doesn't want to quit. So I decided to let her take a break this month to try different teacher. There is teacher #2, who would come to my house, her fee is slightly higher than teacher #1. She is not part of the organization that does CM but she is classically trained and an experienced teacher. She seemed nice and patient. Don't know if my daughter is having a misplaced guilt or not but she wants to go back to her old teacher because she thinks teacher #1 gives her a lot of tips in piano. She is not sure if teacher #2 can do that and of course we can't say until we try her out for more than a month. My questions are: Should we switch teacher just because she was impatient? Teacher #1 called to apologize and also wanted to speak with my daughter to apologize. Is it normal for kids to cry during piano lessons? Do your children enjoy their lessons? My dd is not enjoying piano as much and don't know if a switch with be good yet I am not sure if it's really necessary? Thank you.

Hey ladies, I don't know if I am in the right forum but could use some advice whether we need to switch piano teacher or not. Teacher #1 - is a highly knowledgeable music teacher, director of music dept. of a private school, teaches bell and church choirs, very multitasking person, impatient but not an unkind person. Price is right (actually very cheap considering her credentials) She recommended that my daughter participate in the Certificate of Merit program. Daughter (11 years old) has been her student for 3 years. However, 3 weeks ago, daughter had a crying episode during lesson; not due to lack of practice but she later told me that when her teacher was asking her about a note and she couldn't get it, teacher got impatient and raise her voice, gave a big sigh of being impatient. When dd started crying, teacher tried hard to make her happy again but she was just an emotional mess. She had a headache all day after the lesson. She said she wants me to tell her teacher to be "nice." She is not thrilled going to her lessons every week yet she doesn't want to quit. So I decided to let her take a break this month to try different teacher. There is teacher #2, who would come to my house, her fee is slightly higher than teacher #1. She is not part of the organization that does CM but she is classically trained and an experienced teacher. She seemed nice and patient. Don't know if my daughter is having a misplaced guilt or not but she wants to go back to her old teacher because she thinks teacher #1 gives her a lot of tips in piano. She is not sure if teacher #2 can do that and of course we can't say until we try her out for more than a month. My questions are: Should we switch teacher just because she was impatient? Teacher #1 called to apologize and also wanted to speak with my daughter to apologize. Is it normal for kids to cry during piano lessons? Do your children enjoy their lessons? My dd is not enjoying piano as much and don't know if a switch with be good yet I am not sure if it's really necessary? Thank you.

Same as my dd here. I need something easy with less prep work. I am considering Simply Charlotte Mason's 106 Days of Creation. Has anyone done this? Thank you.

I have Phonics Pathways and Alphaphonics, but my eyes are roving to AAR1. What did you use to teach your child to read? Why do you like it? Thank you!

I know HOD is skill based and the placement chart tells us that Beyond is for 6 and up. My daughter turns 6 in December. She knows most of the letter sounds and can write most of the letters. She is still learning to blend words. She can sit through long read-alouds and have a good attention span. I know she can handle some parts of Beyond and then she'll slowly build up her skills. Is anyone using it with a 5-6 year old? Do you do it at half-speed or full speed? If you do not recommend Beyond for an older K, is LHFHG too easy though? (I checked the placement guide and it seemed to babyish to me, that's why I asked. But I could be wrong too.) Thank you.

Thank you for everyrone who commented. I forgot to mention that my dd will be 6 in December. She can sit through long readings but also likes hands-on art projects. Will MFW K be too easy? We have read most of the books in their RA selection. Does LHFHG teach about calendar, days of the week, seasons? What did you have to supplement? If we are to choose HOD, I am planning to use New American Cursive for writing. I am not sure about math. They use Essential Math now. I was also thinking that since the only thing I like about SL is their book list, I could try to get some books from the library and just do read-alouds.

I have a very articulate 5 year old who loves to draw and does it well. She is not enthused about learning to blend sounds and I'm thinking she could still be young. I have Phonics Pathways, Alphaphonics, Hook on Phonics but so far she is not complaining about the last one. I want to have something open and go to teach this K year. I am looking at these 3 but can't decide. Can you tell me the difference? Which one did you used and liked and why? Thank you very much.

Thank you very much!

HOD CtC keep us busy, plus all our outside activities. We do vocabulary at least twice a week. My dd makes flashcards of the root words and we keep on reviewing each time we begin our CE lesson. I am not in a hurry to finish it with all the things we do with HOD because whatever we don't finish, we can carry it over during summer. LOVE Caesar English! I bought the old edition, not the classical one and I am very impressed with it. My daughter is learning. Twoxcell - where is the fb page for CtC? I tried searching but they only have up to Bigger. Thank you!

We are currently using it. It's our best homeschool year so far (first time using HOD as well). It fits my daughter's learning style. We do not do the Bible study because we use our own devotion and she also has Awana. We use Jr. Analytical grammar instead of Rod and Staff which we tried but dd didn't enjoy R&S. We also use Caesar English which is a favorite. Math is CLE and spelling is R&S.

That is so exciting! I have PP at home but somehow my dd is not interested in it. A friend lend us Hooked on Phonics and dd listened to it without complaining. She is not reading yet so I'll be so happy when that happens. Thanks for sharing your good news.

I am thinknig of starting a literature discussion group for my upcoming 6th grader. I've watched Teaching the Classics by Adam Andrews. If you have done a literature discussion co-op, how did you do it and what age/grade level did you include? Did you buy any other materials such as the Ready Readers or Reading Roadmap? Please share how you typically do your discussion. Thank you.

Is anyone out there using a "boxed" curriculum for K? I want to start my soon to be 5 1/2 year old daughter but am still unsure to go with HOD, SL or Eclectic. Thanks!

Don't know how long this will be free but as of now it is. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=redwall

It's our first year with HOD and we're using CTC as well. It's our best year of homeschooling (so far) because we are on track and I don't feel that we're missing anything. My daughter said she wants to use HOD again next year so that says a lot! We're getting school done and it's challenging yet fulfilling.

Hello, I would like to know if anyone have used the HOD Little Hearts for His Glory for their K curriculum? Can you tell me if you like it? If not, what did you use? Thank you.

How about HOD?

I am so sad seeing my daughter’s head nodding frequently due to tic disorder. Sometimes she tells me she has a headache because her head moves a lot. I also think this is starting to affect her socially because she tries to control it when she is at her dance class and then when we are back home it gets worse. I don't know what to do or whom to seek treatment for this. I know it’s Tourette yet there is no cure. Has anyone tried alternative treatment and see improvement? Thank you.

This Is our first year using HOD and we are doing CtC for 5th grade. After trying different things in the past I believe we have found the right fit for my daughter. She complained about the writing she had to do at first because I made her do all the narrations and copywork in cursive but now she loves how beautiful her notebook looks. She is very artistic so the drawings, hands-on projects, notebooking fit her. I, on the other hand am not good about thinking up projects and so I really appreciate the easy to follow IG. Science is getting done everyday instead of being left on the wayside. We are in our third month and so far we are on track with our read-alouds (storytime books). I feel a sense of accomplishment each day when the boxes are checked :D We are using JAG for grammar, R&S spelling, WWS, and Caesar English for vocabulary. We skipped the Genesis Finding Our Roots book. We are not using DITHOR. Enjoy HOD.

Thank you so much!

We tried both and decided that FLL is gentle, more user friendly and not dry.

This is our first year using HOD CtC. We've done 8 units so far. We pray we'll continue to like it.