The map work does give exposure to a lot of different parts of the world. Everywhere the text goes, the map work follows. However, the world in previous eras did not have a lot of today's borders. Sometimes this is an issue I need to explain. It could also be an issue if you want your child learning modern-day geography starting now. It is great to revisit places in SOTW and set them developing into their modern-day countries, but that may not be what you are looking for when you are talking about teaching your kids geography. We just finished the map work in SOTW 4 that had us labeling the Balkan countries. We are all learning a lot!

Just so you know, I have been pleasantly surprised that the map work in SOTW 4 is more challenging than it had been in previous years. Duckens' map the world ebook by Siddhartha Singh looks intriguing! And a bit scant, so I'm glad to have the recommendation! :-)

Doesn't Ruth Beechick say the third program you try is the one that will work? You can almost go ahead and check off "teach dc to read" once you put that third program in your Amazon cart!

Since MEP has been suggested, I'll throw out CSMP. It is similarly free for the printing. That might be especially nice if you want to have things for him to practice, but don't want to push him along to fast. http://ceure.buffalostate.edu/~csmp/

For -me-, I wouldn't be comfortable taking the time off now, for work time I'm planning to put in later. Too much life gets in the way. Can you do skill subjects for some if the Dec-Jan time? That way you keep making some progress but also get schedule relief? That's me, though.

(Prefacing with - I can't see how old your kids are) I've been using the workbooks The Story of the U.S.A. by Franklin Escher jr. We do a lesson or two a month from there and in between read Venezia books on the presidents or other non-fiction books on chronological topics. Until then, do what you need to!

Me (musing out loud): What is the name if the tree in the neighbor's yard? It is not a yew... DD6: Maybe it's a Y? You might have to say it out loud to get the funny. It is a bald cypress. The other neighbors have yews (or should I say "Us"?)

I found volume 2 had a lot fewer cross-thread prerequisites. I'm not at home, but for the most part we are working the book straight through. I did wish I had bumped the lesson on density further back chronologically. Perhaps we should have held off on the A thread altogether. We did it in 3rd grade, but because my dc hadn't spent much time on division at that point we went really slowly, spread it out over a month, and I kept my examples simple and straightforward. Even so, we will finish the book in 4th or the beginning of 5th.

My nightstand has a doohickey that quietly and automatically self-closes the drawer the last inch or so. I wonder if you could find that for retrofitting?

I hand out the outline pages before I read the section out loud. Sometimes they fill them in as we goo, sometimes not. Then after reading we do the comprehension questions and the outline at the same time. I do not shy away from editing our removing the questions if they seem unnecessary. My two main goals are familiarity with the subject and an introduction to outlining. In general, my kids are good with reading comprehension, so if some of the history flees in and right back out while we are reading, no big deal (to me). We also come back later to do a timeline, so that delayed Sunday helps me see what has stuck and what we've all forgotten. All this to say, I think your ds sounds normal, and I wouldn't pursue the comprehension questions to the point that enjoyment is list.

Cahokia Mounds is a huge excavation in Illinois, about 20 minutes east of St. Louis. We haven't been, yet. Jeffers Petroglyphs is in Minnesota, near the South Dakota border. Neat place, small but lots of petroglyphs. Not far from Pipestone National Monument. There is a whole section in SOTW on the Battle of Tippecanoe (IN). They have a yearly reenactment. There is also a reenactment thing (Feast of the Hunter's Moon) at Fort Ouiatenon (also IN), set in the French trader/Native American times, early 1700s. Tons of things along the Lewis and Clark trail, obviously. I planned a notional trip for last summer, but couldn't get it to work out.

You might check out CSMP. It was the "new math when I was in grade school. Like MEP it is free for the printing, has some different approaches to the standard stuff, and covers multiple years. I went through the K level last year with my 4/5 yo, just cherry-picked the lessons mainly skipping the calculator ones). http://ceure.buffalostate.edu/~csmp/ There were one or two books you could print, but also references to a book list that I never found.

Ha! I combine MEP and BA and had thought I might be the only one, nice to know I'm not totally alone. On Tuesdays we usually do a little Pizzazz and Math Kangaroo work. I try to reduce MEP to just the highlights, but I don't want to give it up since we will outpace BA. I'm staying to do more compression if MEP since I don't want to get too far behind, and they are both full programs. He doesn't have trouble with fact practice, so we are skipping more of those, also conversions and Roman numerals. We do one or two if the classroom exercises orally. One thing I am wondering is if he can do the "multiple of 5" lessons and they go well then skip that week. They are intended to be end of the week summary/review lessons. I've just started looking at that.

I second the vote for Amulet, even my dh gets in line to read those as they come out. After me, if course. :-)

What region of the country are you starting in? Smart idea to be thinking ahead!

Neat! I'm on my way out the door, but a few quick thoughts: We love the wordless book, Where's the Cake? By Tjong Khing The. For science the clue could use invisible lemon juice writing? For art a famous painting like Night Hawks by Hopper, Freedom from Want by Rockwell (in both those I think the cake is "missing") or Salad, Sandwiches and Dessert by Thiebaud which does have cake, but could be modified to have one clearly missing.

Probably you already do this - Does your academic science build on your outside activities, science club and nature center work? Perhaps those activities could be "science" with just a little additional supplementing to round out the topics touched on there. Similarly, any chance literature and writing can spring board off the book clubs? In both cases, you MAY be changing your ideal of what the academic focus and accomplishments would be, but it would allow more peace with the activities you all obviously find so enjoyable. Of course, if you already do this, then I'm no help.

I have some cute, tiny canning jars I use for tomato paste - 6oz, maybe? Those would be cute. Also, maybe you can buy empty spice jars. Penzey's sells them, surely that is a top-end price. Maybe a craft store carries them?

Say something to the director. You know he would have a lot easier time replacing the girls than the boys. Well, I guess that is just an assumption on my part. I would NOT bring it up with the girls or their mothers, I don't see that working out in any happy way.

I never buy a curriculum the first time I hear about it here. It generally sits in the back of my mind while I slowly collect information from other discussions. In addition to following certain posters, there are other posters I really enjoy, but who are very articulate and enthusiastic about new programs they are going to try or have just started, but then quietly drop a few months later. I love them and their enthusiasm, but I am careful about the programs they are currently loving. :-) Usually, by the time I purchase a program, I know where it will go in my schedule, what I want to accomplish with it, and how we will probably tweak it. Most of that gleaned from other discussions and off-hand comments. My own threads are usually flops. Maybe I need to add drama. Oh, sometimes I get my most solid information by reading about why it didn't work for other people.

I went as a picnic not long ago. Gingham apron, pinned on cut-out pictures of picnic food, used eyelash glue to stick a line of ants up my neck and into my hairline. Oh, and I carried a basket. Easy, recognizable, not scary, delicious!

It sounds like you all need a break! I wouldn't significantly change whatever your usual tv policy is, though. Better to have people quietly resting, napping, listening, than watching mindless tv. Maybe a family documentary while you eat.

Progressive Phonics has free printable books online. It is meant to be a standalone program, but the short stories are cute in a rhyme-y way, and it would probably be fairly easy to match then up to what you are doing, or have done, in OPGTTR.

Flowers for the 9 yo dd too? My dd would be thrilled.

I have Raynaud's also and often have problems in the house on school days. HOWEVER, when I run I never have trouble, I assume that is because if the increased circulation.