Advantages/disadvantages of each? My husband has an Audible account right now that he is willing to share; I just heard about Audiobooks and wondered if it would be a better fit for my auditory learner :)

We have a heavy duty printer/fax/photocopier for daily B & W use. I got a cheapo color printer (HP1600) on sale before Christmas to use for color. And I made sure the refills didn't cost 100x more than the printer :)

The progression of the STOW series is to use SOTW 1 in first grade, SOTW 2 in 2nd, etc. I know lots of people who combine kiddos to make life easier, so I think you K'er would be fine in 2. I would supplement with lots of picture books from the library and not expect much for map work or narrations, of course. But the coloring pages in the activity guide would be fun :) Either way, I think both of them will benefit with whichever option you choose. I haven't used SL, so while I imagine there would be some overlap if you did ancients again, it would only reinforce the learning for your older child, and then your younger wouldn't be dealing with the heavier materials in SOTW 4 in third grade. I have waited to start ancients until next year. My eldest DD will be in 2nd grade and my middle DD will be K4 (but highly motivated!) I plan to cover SOTW 1 over two years, mixing in Biblical history and spending lots of time in Egypt next year, and focusing on Greece and Rome the year after that.

There might be some MP3 downloads through Amazon which would be cheaper than buying the CDs and save you bunches on shipping. But copying them from the library would be a violation of copyright.

What does the test ask her to do? If she is expected to write something in response to an essay question, I can see why WWE2 wouldn't prepare her for that. It is a great program, but it is asking for different skills than are often evidenced in standardized tests.

Shelve it. Read books, look at worms and bees and flowers. Color pictures. Do delight driven interest led. Enjoy spending time together. Expose him to beautiful music, books, and art. Relax. Educate yourself, read great books, brush up on your Shakespeare. You don't get a do over on four. Speaking from my limited experience and trying to push less and live in the moment with DD #2, who is four :)

I am by no means an expert, but the rule tunes used in Phonics Road have helped cement spelling rules in MY head...some things I have known intuitively but couldn't name the rule that was used--such as the reasons for the silent final "e." I am also reading the book Uncovering the Logic of English which I LOVE...but I have a degree in English :)

The plastic one balances on the table --the wooden one does not. I can't really imagine needing the large one unless you were teaching more than two children on the same level at a time.

:iagree: The games are card games, and it is worth it to buy them. Check for used ones on the boards.

I've used both Singapore and MEP to jazz up outr math...if we get a little bogged down or just to give my DD a new way of thinking. Singapore 1A seems very basic at first, but 1B ramps it up. I would skip the textbook and just get the workbook if you are using it to supplement.

This is my experience going through all of level A and about 3/4th of B... Mirror works in place of the geo reflector! You NEED the AL abacus...a Melissa and Doug one won't do! We haven't used the calculator. Place value cards are second most ised manipulative after abacus. Game cards are essential. You *could* make them from the appendices, but I think they are worth buying. The math balance is really cool, but we only used it for 2 lessons in B...I think it is used more in C, but right now, the toddler gets more use out of it than the first grader!

If you stay with CC forever, and your kids enter the challenge program, they will use Saxon. But I think there are stronger programs for younger kids, and you can always transition to Saxon if necessary. We use Right Start and MEP to supplement. If your eldest is already reading, then he is probably ready for something beyond beginning phonics that you would find in most K/1st grade programs. I highly recommend reading Unlocking the Logic of English. Your local library probably also has a copy of The Writing Road to Reading. The WRTR is a classic--the Logic of English builds off of that research with the latest info on how the brain processes language. (LoE also includes a few more phonograms than the original WRTR.) LOE has a curriculum as well which integrates learning the phonograms and then learning to spell with vocabulary and grammar--the WRTR also contains these things, but I think LOE lays things out in an "open and go" style, whereas WRTR takes some study to implement. (I haven't used LOE myself, but I am considering it.)

Basic is fine :)

Understood Betsy The Courage of Sarah Noble Anne of Green Gables Greek myths The Hundred Dresses Can you tell I have girls ? :)

I am using PR and have looked at AAS because of the tactile aspect of moving the tiles, etc. I also love Right Start math because it is scripted. For PR, I watch the videos and rake notes, but I do wish that things were written down for me. I've also just started reading the book The Logic of English on my Kindle. There is also a curriculum for that which integrates spelling, composition, and vocabulary. It has a games book as well. I know I can't buy all three of these programs to try them out next year, so I am prayerfully considering what will be best :)

I'll check out the Troxel CD, I hadn't heard of that. She plays the Stack the States game, but she can't do it independently because her reading isn't strong enough...and there are lots of questions that seem to require extra knowledge in order to get right. We have the Scrambled States of America board game...didnt know there was a card game. :) We definitely need to play that more.

I am not aware of any changes, but I am not ab expert...I bought a used version of PR1 as well :)

Wondering the same thing, about incorporating it with PR. I love the integration of PR and the rule tunes, but started The Logic of English last night on my Kindle...decisions, decisions!

My first grader is working on states and capitals. I am using various Ipad apps to help her locate the states (which I feel is the most important skill at this point.) We've read The Man in the Map, which I also think really helps. But how to connect the capitals to the states? We listen to the Animaniacs song over and over :) But I don't see her making a connection to the state with the capital--in this case, the song does not aid in transfer of memorization at all, because she has to go through the whole song in order to retrieve the name of the capital city. She is also not a strong reader yet, so music seems the logical choice...just not that particular song. Any suggestions?

Thank you for all the help! Instead of mindless trudging through every local store, I went looking online. I had completely given up on Gymboree because I was sure they were too expensive. But lo and behold, this is what I found, on sale plus 30% off plus a 20% off coupon! Mission accomplished!

I've burned some cd's off of librivox, but now with our iPad, this site is solid gold!! DD listened to the second half of Pinnocchio after lunch today...we lost the last cd, and she finally got to hear the end of the story :)

Ok, I guess I live in the middle of nowhere...I will check out TJ Maxx, but no Belk, no Burlington, no Ross... :(

Alas, no Costco for over 300 miles....

I have three DDs (as you can see in my siggy). The 6 1/2-year-old wears a 7/8, the 4-year-old a 4T, and the 20 month old is little for her age and fits in 18 months things the best. I have been dreading the day when I can no longer get them matching dresses for Easter and Christmas, and this might be that day. I have been to JCPenney, Kohl's, Old Navy, Children's Place--the only things I can find in all of their sizes is over $30 a dress...and I really was hoping to pay $20 or less :) I don't necessarily want the super-frilly pastel numbers either--I would rather have something they can wear again later in the spring/summer. I'm a pretty frugal girl. Any tips or places I should check out online?

This is almost exactly how I feel about PR. I know Mrs. Beers says to review words they missed, review building codes, etc...but for the amount of time she spends spelling Every.Single.Word on the videos, she doesn't tell you HOW to review. (And there are some weeks where it seems like all you are doing is writing super long building codes and some weeks you are not. It is not an even amount of work.) One of the reasons I purchased PR in the first place was because it was supposed to be an all-in-one program, but it feel that I keep needing to supplement. I already use WWE1, and there is certainly not enough reading in level one to prepare kids for Little House in the Big Woods by level 2. It seems like PR is "almost" there...maybe LOE takes it to the next level of organization and logic.