Ok Mommas, I'm working on the third baby here. I have a Maya Wrap, which is good for a variety of reasons. I use it a lot when the baby is a little older--I have never felt totally comfortable using it when they are newborn. I know they won't suffocate, but it always looks like they are! And I would like to wear the baby most of the day, and the Maya, since it is just on one shoulder, starts to really pull after only 2+ hours. I have one shoulder that is lower than the other, so I have to be really careful. I've been looking at the Moby Wrap on Amazon because it looks like it goes over both shoulders and could still be used multiple ways. What wraps do you all use? Is the Moby a good one? Or do you have other recommendations?

Maybe it's Seasonal Affective Disorder? I just want to crawl in my bed and cover my head with my blanket for about 24 hours. Doesn't help that the kids have been whiny and sick and dh has been working a lot lately. I just feel like I'm tired of being the mom!

I've read other reviews on line that were very glowing, and I just wanted to make sure all of the hype was true. I think I looked at the program last year at our local homeschool convention, but I looked at SO many things... :) My daughter will be 5 in July, so we plan on started K'er in earnest this fall. Thanks for your input!

Don't let the Cycles hang you up. As everyone has mentioned, CC deliberately covers a vast amount of material in a short time. For a K'er, I think it would be easy to expand on what CC is covering that week, or just go with what your curriculum spine is doing and see the light bulbs come on when things do line up.

I'm especially interested in the guide for younger grades, but would like to hear feedback from users at all stages. Do you have the new edition which incorporates artist study? Do you think the curriculum does a good job of helping kids actually produce art (not just a "how to draw Mickey Mouse" kind of book).

Yes, when you look at all the numbers, it seems like CC is a LOT of money. But with all the fees and everything, it is less than $20 a week per child (for Foundations). And while you shell out a lot for the curriculum guide and timeline cards, you can use those with every child from K4-6th grade. So divide $260 by the number of children you have and the number of years each will be in the program...very reasonable, even if you don't do it forever. Attending CC has helped me as a homeschool mom by giving me tools for training my children in the classical way. I also get some much-needed "mom time" at least once a week! My kids love their tutors and the socialization aspect as well. And we have all learn so much in such a short time (this is our first year.) Someone else has done the hard work for you and chosen the important facts to memorize for each subject area. Not only that, but you can also get the songs and other memory work aids to make the memorization portion practically painless!

Thank you so much, everyone! All of this information has really clarified things for me. I feel a little more confident about my leaning towards MUS (I appreciate the advice of parents of children with similar personalities to my own!) I will also check out Cathy Duffy's books--I didn't know she did matches of curriculum styles to children's personalities. Great recommendation.

Your responses have helped clear up a few things for me. I'm wanting to look at the programs at my local home school convention before I buy--because I'm visual too! Any one else have input? I really appreciate it! And I notice that a lot of people seem to do more than one math program. Do you just alternate days for variety? Do one right away and one before lunch? Go through one program until it seems more challenging and then back up and start with a new one?

My daughter will be 5 in July, and we will be starting K in the fall. We done pretty laid-back preschool "stuff" because I've wanted her to explore/play and not get burned out on a lot of workbooks and school stuff. She is very visual; she loves art and handwriting. She is a typical perfectionist/firstborn; if something does not come easily for her, she tends to get really frustrated and goes into melt-down mode quickly. We are working on that! I am not a math person, so I need a math program that is well laid out (Miquon sounds really scary, even though I've never actually seen it!) I thought MUS would be a good fit for my visual girl, but I've read on the boards that it is not spiral, and I think she might need that too. Can you give me the pros/cons of MUS and Singapore and Math Mammouth (is that right?) Those are really the only programs I've looked at. Thanks!

I was determined to stay away from Wal-Mart as long as possible. (I live not far from the Wal-Mart capital of the world, unfortunately, so that decision limits my choices.) I was able to stay away for 9 weeks, but Christmas came, and I was sucked back in!