The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History is used in Core 6 and 7. http://www.sonlight.com/6H43.html

I voted Rod and Staff, Singapore and Horizons. When I pulled my oldest ds from public school way back in 2002, I put him in Singapore as it was sold by the semester and we only had half the year left (good reason right? lol!). He was 7 and had been in gr 2 (technically for the second time). Deciding now was the time to move forward, I put him in 3A. That could have been a disaster, but he flew through 2.5 levels in 18 mos. When we put him in (very small--almost like one on one tutoring) private school he ended up in a 6th grade math book within weeks. I still don't think the first year there really challenged him. I am currently using it again with 5 yo ds. We also use Horizons for an occasional extra worksheet. I may or may not continue with Horizons for him when the current book is gone. He's a mathy kid (like big brother) and gets on very well with Singapore. I also use Singapore part time with 8 yo dd. I plan to keep using Rod and Staff for extra practice for her until we get through their 3rd and 4th grade books. I guess I just like to combine programs. This past week in my house we are also enjoying Evan-Moor's Take it to Your Seat math centers for a little extra hands-on (spring fever?). All that to say Singapore is the program I keep coming back to for the meat of our math. The one kid I haven't used it with is using Teaching Textbooks pre-algebra and Life of Fred. ETA: mom2att, the number lines may be the thing that gets me to drop Horizons. I see no reason to be adding those big numbers until they grasp place value.

Well, this may or may not be helpful, but I have both the Dover edition, and the one illustrated by Tasha Tudor. There is a poem called "Foreign Children" some may find offensive. It's poem number 28 here: http://www.kellscraft.com/childsverse.html I do prefer the illustrated one to the Dover one though--so do my kids. Very much so. They would groan when I brought that book out until I got the one with pictures. They really add a lot. I honestly doubt that they'd abridge these poems. The only clue I see in my new copy is the phrase "revised format edition 1999". That alone doesn't make me think they changed the text itself.

If your baby is sitting well, have you considered one of those pretty oak ones they use in restaurants? I got one when my dd was 1 yr old and it's one of the few baby items I'm keeping for future grandkids. http://www.webstaurantstore.com/wood-restaurant-high-chair-heavy-duty-solid-oak/6907804%20%20%20%20%20OK.html That's all we paid for ours too. It still looks new and we've gotten a total of six years use out of it (between two kids). You know it'd be hard to tip too as restaurants have to think about liability. Oh, and if you go the hanging high chair route do remember these are not recommended for pedestal tables.

If you're mixing more than 12-15 seconds they'll be flat and even a little stretchy. You WANT some lumps. Overmixing (very easy to do) causes gluten to form. Gluten is great--if you're making bread. Do use a whisk and let them sit for about 1 minute. Stir again very gently for 2-3 seconds and pour them on a hot griddle/pan. Also the very BEST baking powder is Rumsford. It's getting a little hard to find though. Nothing else comes close. If you can find some, that would probably help. The egg white whipping does work too, but the only time I've ever done it is for waffles. Never thought to try it with pancakes as the only time they come out flat here is when my dh makes them (same recipe). He insists on beating the snot out of 'em.

Sonlight uses these books in Cores 6 and 7 which can be used as late as 8th and 9th grades. I tried it with a first grader and will never again attempt to take history that seriously with a little kid. My 11 yo ds found the audio version too juvenile for his tastes though--and this is my auditory learner :confused:

I would supplement with something else and keep plugging along at this point. If you switch, of course she'll love the new curriculum--for a while. Unfortunately, the same frustrating concepts are going to still need to be learned even with a different book. In Abeka, there's 170 lessons right? There is a LOT to do. Maybe drill facts for a while and let her play some math games etc. Oh and have any of you seen Evan-Moor's Take it to Your Seat math centers? That's what we're up to here this week. They are designed to practice and review concepts and are a MOST welcome change of pace at this "I want something NEW" time of the year. http://www.evan-moor.com/centers

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/index.php?q=catalog/poetry-1 I see two of them anyway. Three if the product on page two is one of these.

' I did! My daughter told me once. She reads everything she can get her hands on about big cats. These look GREAT! Thanks for posting about them. I have the whole series bookmarked and will pick a few (soon!) for next year.

Have you looked at the Great Courses dvd's? They tend to be geared toward high school but the content should be the same. Here is one I've had my eye on for some time: http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/CourseDescLong2.aspx?cid=132 If you read the reviews, you'll see at least one 11 yo boy has been a fan of Professor Thompson!

Oh yes! I have bought several of the P 3/4 books and have one out from the library right now. My kids are reading every day (*especially* my 8 yo). I may just have to buy it. Oddly enough it's the Twentieth Century Treasury... book and we have a few of the books that are in it. Oh and I had the Maple Hill Farm book when I was little. I distinctly remember that cross-eyed cat.

Yes, I have. I may just choose the IG from this core. I like the idea of having the study pages and maps for ALL readers and read-alouds though. Just in case.

It was mentioned a while back by someone here. It's called the Children's Encyclopedia of American History and it's a DK/Smithsonian book. http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Encyclopedia-American-Smithsonian-Institution/dp/0789483300/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top It's a little light, but it still looks better than typical 4th grade textbook. I will probably buy the Landmark book (and the Story of the USA books) as well for *me* to draw info and ideas from. From it's reviews though it sounds a bit much for some kids.

It is exactly that. They do keep beefing it up though and it now includes K language arts (learn to read) making it a much gentler choice for a young K'er than Core K - yet more than a typical preschool program. I'm finishing it up with my 5 yo this spring. He was already reading though so I cut out the language arts books, and the Developing the Early Learner books.

I've been at their website several times today. There seem to be four different US History programs for me to pick titles from. I figure any SL title that appears there also (and several do) is definitely a must have. Good thing she likes to read. We'll be covering a little Michigan history as well. Core 3 includes Paddle to the Sea, so when we get there we'll just take a little rabbit trail.

Thanks for mentioning that! I do try to include him whenever possible. Making my lists! Starting my plans! :D Anyone else LOVE Microsoft OneNote?

I can't either--and wouldn't (wanna see pics of my bookshelves? :lol:). I figured if 7 or 8 people list their ten favorites we'll end up with minimum 20 books (from each core for a total of about 40) by the end of the year that we schedule, and another dozen or so that I just put on the shelf for her to read on her own. I guess I need to clarify. The top ten list (from each core) is so I don't end up buying every (4-6th grade'ish) American history related book on amazon (or end up with any stinkers...).

This is why my 15 yo (if all goes according to plan) will attend a class at our community college this fall--just one class though. He may take one online too if he finds one that interests him (probably something computer programming related). He'll also be in his final year of high school level math next year. It makes sense to move on right away so he won't have to repeat/review any. We are taking it on a subject by subject basis as well. There are some subjects (literature comes to mind) where class discussion might be more enlightening than mom discussion. It's also a great choice for certain electives or a foreign language.

I'm not limiting the books she reads--just the number she *must* read (I figure I'll leave the rest laying around and she'll read them anyway.). I'm simply looking for the best. Probably a little hard to do since Sonlight seems to do that. (I bet they had a hard time paring down for these two cores. There are SO many good books out there for US History for kids.) I do have to limit read-alouds to a realistic number. I will be doing Core K with her little brother. I find my voice gives out if I get too ambitious and try to read all day. Thanks for the reminder on the WinterPromise books! I do recall looking at those some time back and being impressed. They are also more likely to include the occasional Dover coloring book or something for activities. Oh wow... I just went to WinterPromise website, and discovered several books I had already added to my amazon wishlist are in their AS1 program. I guess I better keep poking around. So much for streamlining it! :lol:

I take this to mean multiplication was already covered? That sounds pretty rigorous for gr 2! Ok, I just looked at the TOC for BJU Math 2 and it covers more topics than Rod and Staff math 3 (which Alana is halfway through right now). Just so you can relax a bit :D

Thanks for your responses. I see some of the same titles appearing over and over. That's what I was hoping for to help me narrow it down (and I actually own some of those already - which is even better!). I will probably choose the top ten from each Core 3 and 4 and add a few more. She could easily read them all, but there's no reason why she should. She'll only be nine! Oh, and if anyone just wants to name a couple (or twenty) favorites that's ok too! I'm not counting them ;) Non sonlight American History suggestions are also welcome.

to flesh out US History for a fourth grader, which ones would you choose? Were there any you or your kids hated? I've chosen a spine that will allow us to cover US History (to my satisfaction) in one year. This will be for a fourth grade girl who is a VERY avid reader. She'll be nine in July, and remembers an incredible amount of detail from her reading. I already have the advanced readers from Core 3 so I'm mostly looking at read-alouds from both cores and Core 4 readers. I have a pretty good idea what looks good to me, but feedback from others is much appreciated! We're secular homeschoolers if that helps.

Even better (WAY more fun) is this little game: http://www.amazon.com/Bananagrams-BAN001/dp/1932188126 Interesting what someone mentioned about using capital letters. For the most part little ones are taught to recognize those first, but I have yet to see an early reading program that uses them. Hmmm...

I'm not really sure - which is odd since I tend to remember stuff like this (for instance, our family room is "Donegal Tweed"). It is basically a nice aqua. I want to paint my master bedroom with this, so I better find that paint chip! If you go here and choose "cool blues": http://www.valspar.com/explore-colors/choose-a-color.html I think it may have been fresh mist or aquatic mist.