Double post badness!

http://us.kinlib.com/ This is ALL Kindle books, adult titles, kids, the whole she-bang.

You can always check KinLib for a list of Kindle books gone free daily.

I bought Spelling Power to check it out but I wasn't really impressed by their presentation of the rules. We ended up doing AAS and are about to start level 3. Those rules REALLY stick here, lots of review, lots of hands-on, dictation etc. and it's easier to start too - just open and go.

I must be doing something wrong - my labels always fall off, so I don't label any more :D.

Well, I honestly love SL (we use cores, nothing else). Not everything needs to have a lot of questions to answer, or a lot of worksheets to fill out. I actually prefer to have content based subects that DON'T require that sort of regurgitation. For me, it's more important that my children have memories and rich depth, that they are interested in the content they are covering. Sonlight gives us that in spades. It gives us love of learning and high interest levels.

I personally wasn't able to make Phonics Road work for me because it is all based on DVD instructions for the mom (there just aren't many written instructions at all) although I loved the philosophy, it didn't mesh with MY learning style. I ended up going with AAS and we're about to start level 3, it's all written down and scripted, so I just have to open and go, it's worked a lot better for us - actually gets done!

Another vote for All About Spelling. We're about to start level 3 with my unnatural (not a natural speller) spelling daughter :P.

I haven't used Phonics Pathways, but we're about to start level 3 of AAS and we've been very, very happy with the program!!!

We've been happy with AAR Pre-1, but we skipped the last 14 lessons or so to start level 1 because my daughter already knew all her phonics sounds and was getting a bit bored and ready to move on :)! Her phonetic awareness skills (rhyming, first sounds, last sounds etc.) really improved with the program.

Really good stuff all the way around. You can't go wrong, but might have a tough time squeezing it in. Consider software options :)!

We're both and, not either or people :). I have to admit that when I can get an app storybook with narration etc. for $2.99 or so compared to $9.99 for print...well...I'm replacing some of our worn out picture books that way if they've been digitized :). That being said, we have walls filled with books AND iPads filled with interactive storybooks, PDFs for workbooks, Kindle format ebooks, and all the fun educational apps and digital manipulatives, puzzles etc.

Count the Animals Reading Raven Puzzle Apps: Puzzle Land, Merry Cubes, Trunky Puzzles - and lots more :) Storybook apps - especially anything Little Critter, Seuss, or B. Bears - Oceanhouse Media is always good Color Monster Find the Animals Let me know if you have a specific topic/subject in mind!

Self-transformation. Maybe that seems like a cop-out but *I* need to change, be reformed, and become more Christ-like. Reading my Bible regularly helps. Only then can I lead my children in the right way. And man, oh man. Do I have a lot of work to do.

I'm another mom who splits out a few weeks from the big binder into the mini-binder. I sometimes pull as much as 9 weeks depending on the core - whatever I can get in the 1.5" binder :).

Just wanted to chime in again with the fact that it's TOTALLY fine not to do letter tracing. I never did with DD #1 :).

My daughter wasn't ready to do a lot of writing when she learned to read. We did it all visually and it worked out fine :). Spelling on the other hand, we waited for writing readiness.

We bought Joy of Handwriting from Teach Me Joy - cheap, saved me the planning, it's working :).

I bought PDF Expert for writing on PDFs, it's more expensive but it works great for us :).

We used the A Beka Handbook for Reading along with the readers to teach DD #1 to read, worked great once she was blending - started with grade 1 readers. Essentially, you don't need the teacher's guide etc. Just do a Handbook page followed by a section of the reader that matches the lesson just taught. I haven't used the MP program though.

I've never gone and doubt I ever will. In all honesty I'd prefer to spend the convention fee, hotel fee, gas costs etc. on books, not a convention. It would be hundreds of dollars for me to go to our local one.

We only use AAS (sorry!) but it is a spelling program, it teaches spelling phonetically instead of through random word lists. It does definitely teach encoding instead of decoding (though some people use it vice versa). My oldest DD was reading well (taught phonetically) but still couldn't spell...at all. ;) Thankfully AAS is remedying that by equipping her with the rules she needs to encode - which are a bit more precise than those needed to decode (like knowing when to use a 'k' at the end of words or when to use a 'ck' - taught in level 1). HTH! :)

MUS is our original math program - black and white (DD - 9, has switched to Math Mammoth because we can't get MUS digitally - sensory issues with paper :(.)

They are awesome! I reviewed #5 and am now buying all the rest. Really great!!

We normally do 1 step over 3 sessions :).