The guide helps you see the scope and sequence, but I use the CC Connected lots more for ideas :)

PAL was developed by the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) and also includes AAS as part of the program. I haven't used either, but I have heard if them :) We are using Phonics Road. Yes, AAS is attractive, but PR 1 covers the first three levels of AAS. And PR incorporates handwriting instruction, spelling, grammar, composition, and literature study, so in the long run, it isn't any pricier than buying spelling, grammar, lit, comp, etc, IMHO. Look up PR on you tube...there are some informational videos that show you what is included in each level. And know that you are not alone. I agonized over phonics too!

I'm kinda at the end of my rope. The I'm about to send my precious DD to public school rope. I don't know what to do. My 6 1/2 yr old fights me every day to do school. I mean, at some point during our day, she has a temper tantrum about doing her work. She says she "hates" school. It might me a math problem that causes her to think a little bit, and she will throw her pencil to the floor and say, "I can't do it!" and just lose it. (We do NOT allow this behavior in our home. We expect obedience, but this just seems like her knee-jerk reaction to anything that causes her the littlest bit of discomfort.) It's like she mentally shuts down. Sometimes I think it is almost on purpose, for attention. Sometimes I wonder if she eats too much sugar or is tired or there's some other physical reason. It is just taxing. I hate conflict, and I don't want to argue with her to get her work done. I've sent her to her room for her behavior until she gets control. I've stopped doing the work with her and make her wait to do it for "homework" when her little sister gets to watch a tv program. I've given her more work to do. I've thrown up my hands and just let her go and play the rest of the day because I'm just so worn out. Just typing this out makes me realize I need to find SOMETHING and be consistent, but it just seems like nothing works, and I don't know what to do. This is the last thing I want our home school experience to be. I want our family to be close and enjoy each other's company. I want her to love learning. I want to go through a school day without and temper tantrum. I know there is probably nothing anyone can say because you don't know me or my child, but I just had to get this off my chest. I feel like such a failure today. I want to do what is right, I pray every day for wisdom, but we keep hitting the same walls over. and. over. and over.

I immediately thought Easy Classical also. Dont know what VP flavor means :)

:grouphug: It's hard not to compare. It's hard not to worry (just a little). It's hard to wonder if "someone else" could do a better job with your child. I struggle with these things almost every day. Have you ever heard SWB's lectures on writing? The "nibbled to death by ducks" concept? That's what I'm trying to remember--doing the basics, a little bit every day, will eventually get you there. My soon-to-be-second grader is *just* at grade level for reading. And we work just a little bit on it every day because she is easily frustrated. But I am so thankful that I can help her where SHE is at, and she doesn't have to sit in a classroom and compare herself to the other kids all day long. Because in that situation, I think she would want to give up. You are not alone! Hang in there!!

Love these ideas! Just finished reading Marva Collins' Way, and I ak determined to get Shakespeare in my kiddos :)

I'm reading Marva Collins' Way right now. Mrs. Collins gave underprivileged kids an intense, classical education. It is inspiring me to be a better teacher to my girls.

First off, I think this is a common experience among first year homeschoolers. I was "sucked in" by some pretty curriculum that ended up not working for us. I think it takes a few years to figure out what your kids need and the kind of teacher you are. So don't feel badly. If MUS isn't a good fit, try something else :) We use RS. My daughter is auditory and kinesthetic. There are very few worksheets-- maybe one a week. You use a lot of manipulative in place of worksheets. Take a look at the convention if you can :)

That looks very tempting!

Right Start is our main program, and we supplement with Singapore and MEP.

Can't tell you about RB, but CM delays formal grammar instruction until the child is about 9. WTM recommends starting in first grade. CM and WTM both recommend copy work and narrations, although the style is a bit different. This is off the top of my head...and I'm not home to check my books, so I know there is much I am missing! Have you looked at the WTM website? They compare their methods to CM in a couple of articles.

I would wait to start WWE un til first grade, for sure. Practice doing narrations with other books until then.

Intensive in teacher planning--not at all. Intensive in you are with the child the whole lesson, yes. If you decide to use RS, do not plan on a lesson a day. As other posters pointed out, you don't need to do a lesson a day to finish the book. And as you progress through the book, sometimes with the review and warm-ups, a lesson could take a REALLY long time! So I often spilt lessons in half or have a day of review and games to help let concepts solidify. As another PP mentioned, the order concepts are taught is different than PS. Subtraction is not introduced until the very end of level B, first grade. If you have to take achievements tests or worry about that for another reason, you could easily supplement with Singapore or another "Asian" math program.

I love RS, and we have used it for two years, starting in K. RS is not a "complete" program in that it doesn't go through high school. I think it may only go through 5th or 6th. Have you looked at the RS games book? What have you tried and why wasn't it a good fit? Why does TT seem to be working better? What kind of struggles does she have with math?

We are in the middle of PR1. I was despairing for a little while, wondering if these phonograms and rule tunes were going to "click." Then I realized that they wouldn't click unless *I* knew them and KEPT reviewing them with DD. That has made a huge difference in her progress. (Seems like a "duh!" moment now, but at the time, I couldn't see the forest for the trees, ykwim?) For my own personal understanding and education, it really helped me to reading The Writing Road to Reading by Spalding and Unlocking the Logic of English by Eides. One piece that I feel is "missing" from Phonics Road is the WHY. You watch Mrs. Beers teaching on the videos and you (I) start to wonder --why is she doing things like that. We do we have to mark Every. Single. Word? Reading the other two books helped me to see why we were doing the things we were doing. Not just because Mrs. Beers said so, but because these are things that are based on research and the rules of phonics. My own knowledge of phonics has increased tremendously...I didn't know what I was missing!

I love Phonics Road. It is not just spelling, however...it is integrated language arts :)

I'm a bit confused...if you are using CWP to supplement, do you still need the CWP book? Is that what you are asking, in essence? The app is great, but not the same as the book.

Thank you, Ecclecticmum!!!!!

Grammar starts in PR 2. Check the website about the Bridge. I'm pretty sure that is what you use before Latin Road if you haven't used Phonics Road.

:iagree: I am teaching my four-year-old the letters that start at 2:00 (when you form them)-- c, a, o, q, s, g, f, d. Teaching her ALL the sounds of a: short, long, and ah as she writes it. She also knows the "alphabet" phonograms-- all the ones that are single letter except for qu. She loves to play bingo with the sounds. And she has started reading cvc words--because she is interested and wants to. That's why I said earlier that a level doesn't equal a year. You could use PR one for K and 1st. It will be first and a little bit of second grade. I don't want to just "get through" the material-- I want my DD to be confident in the words she spells, so I am taking about six or seven school days to complete a "week." We are at CC one day a week, so we only do PR on four school days.

Not an expert here, but I think asking a 3-yr-old to write--with a pencil and paper--would be asking a lot. Drawing counter-clockwise circles beginning at the 2 o'clock position...drawing straight lines starting from the top...those would be great. Especially if you are using shaving cream or sand :)

Another thing to keep in mind is that a level of PR does not necessarily mean a year. It may take you longer than a year to finish a level. Whereas AAS 1 often takes less than a year to complete, PR 1 may take longer. But some people will accelerate a student through a lower level to get them up to grade level in spelling or reading. AAS is really just a spelling program, and PR is integrated LA.

The Writing Road to Reading? It *is* a program, but you can fins the rules used for spelling in it. Probably at your local library. Is that what you are looking for?

Halcyon, I tried to message you, but your box is full :)

Oh THANK YOU! I am completely floundering in science right now...I want to love science and for my girls to love it, but right now it just feels like the thing that never gets done :glare: I hear great things things about BFSU, but if I have to "figure it out," I know that will just frustrate me more. PMing you now!