anybody have any ideas???

All this talk about All About Spelling got me looking at again and thinking about using it for next year. If I do I will have to cut ETC books 4-6 since I don't have the budget for both. So what do you think?? By the end of the year she will have completed the HOP program. Which means that we will have introduced all of phonics by then. I know that she will not have mastered it all which is why I was planning to continue with ETC, but the grass is always greener on the other side. My dd does like ETC, but workbooks are not her favorite, somedays it's no problems, somedays it's a fight. So, I'm wondering if All About Spelling might be a better choice for us? What do you all think?

My first weekly report is up, link in the siggy...

My first weekly report is up!

We started out the year with a first grade Harcourt text, but it just skimmed the surface, so I beefed it up with library books and more experiments. In the end I wrote my own curriculum to go with TWTM suggestions and I love everything about it, go figure! There is a link to it on my blog if your interested.

My dd is learning Chinese and this is what we have found also. Get a tutor, the tones are very hard for use English speaking folks! If you have a college near you, start with thier language dept. Usually they can give you information about classes or tutors in the area. That's where we found ours. HTH!

I have planned SOTW1 to take 36 weeks even though it's 42 chapters. I have put my lesson plans up on the web. You can go to my blog(link in my siggy) and click on free downloads, then click on SOTW1 & SL Core 1. I am also using Sonlight's Core 1, so the plans have blended both along with the AG. It may not be exactly what you want, but it will give you an idea of how it can be done in 36 weeks. HTH!

You guys are all welcome, it's nice to share something useful. Also I finally got my spring nature walk sheet in a form so that I can post it here. My dd has enjoyed collecting the new flowers every spring and making a book from these. This spring will be our third year doing it. I can't believe, the time flies with them! Anyways, enjoy! Spring Nature Walk.pdf

Thanks for the link!

I think that you can buy it in the cereal aisle near the wheat germ???

I just posted a link on my blog for FREE downloads for some printable books that might help you. The first is an animal study book that you can use like a diary of observations while you raise a butterfly or frog or ant farm or whatever you choose. The second is bird book that can be used to record your observations of your birdfeeder(place for a picture and type of bird). Just thought with all the threads going around about nature studies these might be helpful. Check it out(there's a link in my siggy) and Enjoy!

Not exactly wordless, but there is a picture! Promise I'll do better next week, this is my first try!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. That was so much easier and I was able to do what I wanted with the exception of uploading files that can be downloaded. Can this be done or should I just do it through my website? Thanks again for your help and check it out, it looks alot better.

I see what your saying, I may be switching it over. The yahoo blog came with my website, but for those who are not tech savy it's kinds hard to use. Thanks for the advice!

Thanks Laura! So that's what the Picasa program on my computer is for. Sorry you couldn't access it :(! Can anyone else get to it??

Ok guys, let me know what you think! And those of you blog veterns who add pictures, how do you do this easily?? Maybe I'm just not computer savy enough, everytime I upload the picture it takes up half the page, how do I shrink it? Anyways, hope you enjoy and thanks for visiting! http://www.elementalscience.blogspot.com

If your dd has science aspirations you should try to fit in the AP level of the field she is interested in, so you need to plan for that in your HS plan. That said and coming from a science major, if you dd has had plenty of exposure to science, I don't think that you need to do general and physical science, unless you wanted to give her an extra year before starting biology.

Mix 1/2 cup chocolate sugar free jello with 1/2 cup Cool Whip(i think there is a sugar free version). It makes something similar to chocolate mousse and it tastes good.

I used the teacher's manual for 1A and 1B and it does have a scheme of work chart in the front with the lesson in the manual and the corresponding textbook and workbook pages. It also tells you what to teach in the tb and wb after you do the lesson. It does not schedule the CWP and IP for you. The only problem I found was that the lessons were designed for a class setting and some took a little tweaking to make it work for one, some weren't worth the effort. Also it's quite a bit more expensive. Please don't tell me that the HIG doesn't have this, I just ordered it for next year!

If you want something that talks about identifying and sampling for younger kids, try "Be Your Own Rock and Mineral Expert". I found it at my library. HTH

Have you thought about working on math facts and like Alana said playing math games that incorporate what she has learned. This will keep her skills sharp, but won't seem so school-ish

We are using FLL & ETC with success and plan on adding WWE next year. We used Sonlight's LA1 for half a year, but I found it wasn't structured enough for me.

I didn't know there was a review book for HOP, we must have a newer version. Thanks ladies, I was thinking that she was past OPGTR, but I really liked what I saw. Maybe someday we will have another!

Hey all, I'm wondering if I should bother purchasing the OPGTR? A little backround...My dd has just finished HOP red level and I suspect that she will finish the final blue level before this year is done. She will be 6yo next year, so technically it will be first grade. Next year we are going to use early readers and ETC (she will finish book 3 at the end of this year). What I'm wondering is would it be worth purchasing OPGTR for next year to reinforce her reading skills or is ETC going to be enough? Our library doesn't have a copy so I can't check it out to see what I think and the samples aren't enought for me to make a decision, but I do like what I see. Thanks for your input!

I'm a big fan of Janice VanCleave's books. There is a variety of topics and most are available at the public library, which is always a plus! They also use relatively simple materials, so no hunting at a specialty store for the supplies to do your experiments.