:iagree:It seems kinda like cruel and unusual punishment :D - IF they got all the words right. I have been doing exactly like razorbackmama. If she can spell the hardest of the reinforcement with ease I see no reason to go through all of them. Basically, you know your kid and whether or not they need that practice IMO.

My dd is using CLE 100's. They start slow but are very much first grade. You could probably spread them over 2 years though. Maybe do the first three LU's for K? I am debating what to do for my ds K year too. He is doing Essential Math A right now so I will continue with B next year but I doubt it will last all year. Sorry, not much help just thinking out loud.

In my short time hs'ing: Tapestry of Grace CLE Math Pathway Readers

I agree! BFSU looks great but I am racking my brain trying to figure out how to actually implement it. I just decided I'm being a stickler and I need to let loose. I know my limits.:001_smile: So I have gone through the threads to map out the order that I want to go. I think I am just going to pick out a book/s for dd to read to herself and one I can read aloud on each topic from the library. Then one day a week we can take an hour to read aloud, discuss and do an activity. There is so much more that could be done and I wish I could devote an hour a day but that just isn't happening around here. Good luck on making it work for you!

I have just been looking at Phonics Pathways from the library too. Ironically if I use it, I will use it with the Pathway Readers but the PP is correct. They are two separate programs.

I am just realizing how awkward this can be. I get raised eyebrows from family (not all) and acquaintances when I have a proud mama moment. I feel uncomfortable when other hs moms say what are you doing for ______. And my kids are not near as accelerated as some of yours! I really like this board though. I am mostly a lurker here but it feels good to know these ladies would believe me, not look at me dirty or think I must be psycho mom if I share what is going on in my house.:001_smile:

Thank you!

They are also available here. http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/index.php There is a list of free webinars on the right hand side.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Online sites or software to buy would be fine. I have heard of Starfall (I think) for phonics. I'm going to go look right now but what are some others? TIA! This has me remembering Number Munchers - they must be better these days.:lol:

Yeah, if you look at their website each year has contents so you could get an idea what the subject is. If you go to the bookshelf you can see what books they are using. Also check out A Book in Time. That will give you more options. You will have to figure out which pages to read each week. I know there is a lot of SOTW fans here but I love using these fun picture books. Then on that year plan page is a ton of links on the right hand side. You could get coloring pages, projects, ect. The only thing you couldn't follow would be literature. IMO, not a big deal at this age. I hope that gives you some ideas.:001_smile:

:lol: I just had to laugh. You should have seen me the first time Marcia answered me on the TOG boards. I was giddy! Definitely listen to "tips for teaching a houseful." It it really mostly about lower grammar students. It is not just TOG related it is just really great advice from someone who has BTDT. jewel7123 - As someone who is using TOG with all lower grammar I would say there is nothing in TOG (for them) that you could not do on your own if you wanted to put in the time (I know your feelings on SOTW). You could even use the table of contents for each year to follow their schedule. Look at the book list to get title ideas. Seriously, Marcia put that info there so someone with limited resources could "glean" from it. Using TOG right now for me is 1)self education 2)booklist, schedule and activity ideas 3)I am sure I want to use this later so this way I can spread out the cost (I spend very little on books for this age). Next time through I can spend more on just books. If you are not sure this is where you will want to be starting in fifth grade - I would not buy it yet. There are so many other things you could do. :001_smile:

Thank you!:D I'm going to go search for your thread now!

I think the biggest difference for me is with my 6 year old I require things to be done. With my 4 yo I say do you want to do math or reading? He says math then I ask, which book/game? He has to do the pages in order but he can stop at 1 or he can do 4. There is never a moment when "school" is not fun for him. Now the same could be said for my 6 yo but (IMO) she is to the age where just because it is not fun doesn't mean we don't have to get it done. I guess that is how I loosely define it anyways.

We have just started CLE and my 6 yo is loving it. We are playing catch up so we do 2 lessons a day but it starts with oral review: count by 5's to 75, count by 10's to 100 then back down by 10's, talk about characteristics of a nickel. Then we have a new fact we learn each day. Today we continued from the new fact to the fact family (2+3, 3+2, 5-2, 5-3). Then I read a story problem that she answers in her book. We drill flash cards - they suggest which ones to do - and do the speed drills located in back of book. Next is "I can do this". Roughly 2 pages she is expected to do on her own. I know we will slow down but this takes about 25 min total to do 2 lessons.

I am in a similar position right down to the poor DH!:D The only difference is I'm using CLE as my main math. I don't have much advice but after much deliberation I think I am going to go with MM. Looking ahead at the amount of time spent teaching each lesson I think MM is the way to go (for me). It will save time and money over SM while teaching conceptual math from a different angle. That meets all my goals for a supplemental math program. Now someone will no doubt post something that will make me change my mind :lol: but I hope that helps.

Disclaimer: I have no experience here.:D But I think that if you are just looking for spelling PR is probably not the way to go. I think this because I told my dh about PR and he said "I thought you were using ____ for lit" but grammar (I said) "I though you liked _______" but, but ....... I told him he was right it was pointless for spelling. If I wasn't liking everything else it would be different. Anyway I am trying AAS. I hope you find what works.:001_smile:

Switching to CLE Math has done wonders for my first grader.:001_smile: *I* can't seem to let go of my SM dream (sigh).

She could check this out. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109114&highlight=free The worst part is everything costs something and going this route would cost time.:tongue_smilie:I think CLE is one of the cheaper routes for a complete, put together type curricula.

Only correction I see is that TOG is $680 (170/year for DE). TOG also lists more books than it is assumed you would use and you can pick and choose - especially at lower levels.:001_smile:

I am looking for some help with Latin programs. I would like for us to study Latin but I honestly don't care about going extremely deep into it. I don't care if we can ever use it to translate original works (for example). I really want it for a better understanding of English words and grammar. So does anyone have any suggestions about what would be a good fit and at what age I should start? Should I be looking more at vocab programs than Latin programs?

If I was looking at MM as supplement would the Blue Series be the best? Seriously, I would get grade 1-6 for $64 (less if discount goes up)? I have fought the urge for months but I am breaking down.:lol:

I can't compare (never having seen VP) but I think the PP who said to look at long term goals is right on. If your plan is to go with Omnibus then TOG just used for little kids would pointless - IMO. If you like the looks of TOG for your high school students then getting familiar with it now makes sense. I love it and I love how much *I* am getting from it. The truth is that right now TOG is mostly just a booklist and schedule for me. I am okay with that because I know that is where I am heading long term. If you are willing to see it that way it is so simple to use. If TOG seems like "too much" for a 7 year old it is not being used the way it was intended. As said before the meatiness of the program is with dialectic and rhetoric students. This is why I chose TOG.:001_smile:

The PR thread convinced me to try AAS. It came in the mail today and I am SOOOOO EXCITED. It looks really great. Good luck abrightmom!

I don't think this is a silly question at all.:001_smile: BFSU is hard to wrap your head around if you haven't seen it. The short answer is you can do whatever you want. You could use this side by side with another curriculum, you can stop, take breaks, veer off in other directions, etc. Dr. Nebel has refused to put "lesson plans" to this book and I can understand why. I think 20 different parents could find 20 different ways to use this book. HTH!

I would recommend maybe checking out Phonics Pathways, OPGTR, and 100 EZL from the library and see what looks like it would fit. I have used 100 EZL to teach 2 kids to read but am so-so on it. I checked out OPGTR and I thought - NO WAY. I am thumbing through PP and I think I will use it next time. It looks wonderful. But so many people have different opinions that I really think looking for yourself before buying might be the most helpful.