I am remediating my DH and I even started HIM with level one. There is a lot of good stuff in there :).

Well, I would say it depends upon the type of books he is selecting. I have DD going with the SL readers progression to build up her fluency and ENDURANCE. She can decode 4th - 5th grade words, but her endurance isn't up there yet, so we are building, building. She also reads for fun too. SO, I guess we go with some assigned reading each day and as much free reading as she likes, and that works very well here.

Hey, I even started DH with level 1! And it is helping him think differently about spelling already :).

Well, I just finished listening to the lecture and enjoyed it. Though I haven't read the book (as previously noted), in this speech Simmons does go to great lengths to explain that he does NOT consider Latin and Greek to be the only markers of a proper, good, or excellent education. He does believe that without them you cannot have a Classical education however :).

Well, is she a natural speller, or does she need direct spelling instruction? I learned that (despite my previous notions) that reading well does not always lead to spelling well. We really like AAS for direct encoding instruction using a very systematic phonics approach. If you have a natural speller she might not need instruction OR you could take a look at Spelling Power.

I don't have a copy, so this free lecture will have to get me by for now :).

http://www.isi.org/lectures/lectures.aspx?SBy=lecture&Sfor=161e5271-b028-4398-9b81-f38a3987c1e0 This is a bit of a s/o of Hunter's "3 Generations" thread (which I am still reading). Her mention of this book took me on a jolly Google chase, and here we are. I have just loaded this on my iPod, so I can't comment on it yet. I'm off to listen! Enjoy :).

Our family loves every and anything Louisa May Alcott has written - had for free at Librivox.org :).

An iPod nano sounds like it will fit the bill :). I'm not sure what a WMA file is, but IF you can import it into iTunes, iTunes will convert it into mp3 and then you are good to go. The Nano has a screen, but doesn't do videos or web. This is what I use :). Now, my oldest daughter (8) uses an iPod shuffle (no screen) and it has been the BEST educational investment we've ever purchased for her :).

For me, I would be a bit overwhelmed by so many languages on the go! I'm only planning to teach the children languages I have some experience with, or that I am interested in learning for myself so that I'm not left in the dust :). I think a child would need to be highly self-motivated in order to tackle a language COMPLETELY independent of any instruction from me :).

Ah, in light of what other posters have written I'll revise my answer a bit :). I don't consider Cambridge, Ecce Romani, Lingua Latina etc. 'conversational' Latin programs, though they are a more modern approach to the language. I think of conversational Latin as, "Hello, my name is Jennifer. How are you today?" etc. as commonly taught for modern languages. There is a benefit to providing Latin reading alongside of Latin grammar, like Cambridge etc. but I would use that as a supplement to a grammar-based program. I had two years of Cambridge, supplemented with grammar my teacher gave us outside of the regular course of studies, and despite being a honors student in that class, being able to translate etc. I still never 'got' the big picture of Latin grammar until using a grammar-focused course of study myself. Yes, if you'd like to teach a modern language, Latin will give you a tremendous head-start in any of: Italian, Spanish, French for starters :). I'm thinking of adding French in to give a modern language to the children that is complementary to Latin.

I don't know if you'll get a lot of bites on this one :). Most homeschoolers aren't too happy with immersion/modern language techniques for Latin. One of the HUGE benefits of learning Latin is learning the grammar systematically and comprehensively. It is so good for the brain, and a very different process than learning the grammar intuitively through immersion. I suppose that is why there aren't many conversational Latin programs out there. Rosetta Stone might be your best bet.

We haven't used Phonics Pathways but from what I've seen, it is largely a phonics handbook that you use to teach all of phonics to your children. All About Reading is VERY different. It is an open-and-go, step-by-step, scripted way of teaching children to read along with readers. BUT the level out right now, AAR Pre-1 doesn't have readers, comes with a puppet, and focuses mostly on letter introduction (very gentle), has coloring pages, and really, really focuses on phonological awareness through games and activities. This is the CORE of the program (for us in any case). The two approaches are quite different but both are based on phonics :). AAR Pre-1 would definitely be completed BEFORE AAS. If you wanted to, I *think* that future levels of AAR can be completed alongside AAS because they are compatible. HTH!

I'm loving it for that :). It takes you by the hand and as long as you keep stepping, you'll figure it out. I looked at Henle and Wheelock but I really need something a bit more open-and-go. I couldn't figure out how I would actually self teach with the first two resources without having a better understanding of Latin to start with (and that is why I am re-teaching myself in the first place!)

Well, I haven't used the higher cores, but I *think* that Core 100 is largely independent no? In that case I think you could definitely do it :).

Well, we do R&S but we are still in the early years :). We do it mostly orally because DD is young, but then I just add in some WTM things like narration, copywork, and dictation through our AAS and call it good.

I'd get the Junior Level of The Easy Spanish (if you are Christian?) http://www.theeasyspanish.com/ It has a lot of stories/songs on CD, but it also has a book too. I think really any program with an audio would be good for reinforcement. I'm thinking of The Easy Spanish because the stories for each lesson are recorded as conversations that intermingle English and Spanish. They have free sample downloads if you want to take a listen. I haven't used it, but I have been scoping out their French and have downloaded the samples for that. I really like that their programs are phonetically based too :).

Oh, I forgot to say, after PL (we are half-way or so), we will do LC1, then First Form Latin etc. MP actually recommends moving to First Form if you want to do more than 3 years of Latin :). I am doing it myself and it is a splendid program I have to say!

Hey, I hear you, I'm like that too (overplanner). We started PL as soon as we were formally done phonics instruction, which worked out to be half-way through 2nd grade :).

Well, my 8-year-old hates coloring, but she can do it very well. My 5-year-old started coloring brilliantly around five months ago. My 3-year-old scribbles a tiny bit on a coloring page, she's done. Sounds normal to me :).

Well, seriously, my daughter (8) thinks Demme is a genius. Watch it all! At least for your sake :).

They don't exist, sorry :). That is just part of their shopping cart design.

For us what I use as the test is the practice portions where you dictate words and the child writes them down (not that we track grades). BUT, that shows you that the child is applying the rules to new words as you are saying them. Better than a memorized test in my opinion :).

Oh yes, I have skipped the odd book if I deeply object to it :).

SL can be as much or as little as you like. The key (as with ANY curric really) is to OWN the program and do what you need to do to make it work for you. We drop elements/add them back in etc. depending on how things are going around here. It is definitely important to find your own groove! We sometimes take time off, but the IG is just there waiting for me to pick it up again whenever we are ready to start. Because it is pre-planned that is easy-peasy to do. Also - I read to the children while nursing baby or at bedtimes, that takes care of my side of the readings! I just use the core and readers, no LA, Bible (we do our own thing) or science FWIW. I also sometimes read across the schedule instead of flipping between all the books - no worries there either :). The key thing for me with SL is just enjoying it and being flexible in my expectations and how I use it. I don't worry about when we'll finish - it is a full, rich learning experience for my children that helps them ADORE books, learn lots, and look forward to 'school', and best of all - it asks so little of me in terms of planning.