Tell me about your kids' magazine subscriptions. National Geo for Kids? Scholastic / Weekly Reader? Highlights? Others? We school in therapy offices a LOT. The kids have downtime sometimes when either they finish a subject but there isn't enough time to start something else, or when they are waiting on me for help. I need them to fill that downtime QUIETLY instead of distracting the others. Books aren't working out for this purpose for a number of reasons - they never make it to the car from the bedside table, they get left behind, they don't want to stop reading in the middle, they are heavy to carry in along with everything else, etc. I was thinking a magazine subscription or two might be a good solution. I would like it to be at least somewhat educational if possible. I do NOT want something that requires lots of additional supplies to enjoy. My kids' phonics skills are rock-solid, comprehension is maybe at a 2nd grade level. They don't seem to understand inferences, sarcasm, etc. at all yet. My son especially prefers nonfiction to stories. Suggestions? Also, I know some magazines can only be enjoyed by one child - is your recommendation one that I would need one subscription per kid, or one for the family? THANKS!

Ours is just <Street Name> Grammar School. Easy-peasy! The only time I have used it is when I order something that asks for school name - Barnes & Nobel teacher card, and a few other times.

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Because I am the most indecisive person ever, I have a bunch of full math programs in my house. RS, MM, MUS, Miquon, MEP, every living math book ever printed, etc.. I would like to pull out the telling time portion of ONE of these programs to work through with my kids, since the Easter Bunny brought them all watches and I am already tired of having little arms thrust in my face every three seconds with a demand to know what time it is. Which program has the best telling time portion?

We decided on FLL, WWE, & AAS. My tentative plan: I *hope* to finish the FLL & WWE series before 4th grade 4th & 5th grade - CC's grammar & IEW writing; possibly with MCT during the summers, or FLL & WWE if we haven't finished them beginning in 6th grade - WWS (the next in the WWE product line)

You know this website is run by SWB, for homeschoolers following her WTM/classical method, right? I'm not at all trying to be snarky - just be sure that you knew! While there are homeschoolers of other stripes here, most are following the methods you disagree with, so it may not be the best place to find the answers you are looking for. You may get more helpful responses by asking on a website that more closely aligns with your educational philosophy.

WOOHOO!!! YAY Mama!! I know the sweet victory of a hard-earned breakthrough, and there is no better feeling in the world!!! Congrats!!!

In the CC program, they do the whole timeline in 23 weeks. There are 160 cards, so 7 cards per week. (They review the US presidents song in that 24th week.) If we were not doing CC, I would just do one card per schoolday (look at picture in detail, give a 1 minute explanation of what the card recommends, etc.), plus review saying all the cards up to that point. You would get through the whole thing, then, in 160 schooldays, or a little less than a schoolyear. When we got through, we would probably just start back at the beginning as far as card study, but keep saying the whole thing (or at least one period of history) daily. Be aware that there are FOUR packs of cards to have the whole timeline - you don't want to get just one pack as you will have only 1/4 of the timeline! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before this year, CC used a different set of timeline cards that was published by Veritas Press. This year, they published their own. If there is any chance you may ever join CC, you want the new ones. If there is no chance you will ever join CC, look at both before you decide. The cards are different. The old VP ones are more Biblically and Western world centered. The new CC ones have a lot more stuff combined on a card, which I don’t like, but they include a lot more facts about Africa, Asia, and South America, which I do like. The VP cards are more event focused – so they might pick the highlight main accomplishment of a people group and the name the person. The CC cards are more people-group focused – they identify the group, then talk about their habits and lifestyles and accomplishments. So one might say “St Jerome completes the Vulgateâ€, and the other would say “Rise of Christianity". They include similar things on the back, but one is about this one guy and the main accomplishment for the time period, and the other talks about the overall time period. Different people have different reactions. My good friend HATES the new ones b/c they are beige and she thinks they look like they are trying to put on airs. I have another friend who doesn’t like that the VP cards aren’t laminated and have pointy corners. :) So there are people who just prefer one set over another for random reasons! Honestly, I probably like them equally for different reasons. I think I am the only one who is torn between them, though. Most people seem to really prefer one or the other. One more consideration - you can probably get the VP ones used cheaply as all the CC folks are converting to the new CC ones. Though many, like me, can’t bear to part with the old ones. We are working the new timeline during the school year, and will work the old one over the summer. Many of the events are the same, but there are enough that are on one or the other to make it worth doing both given that we had already learned the old one. In both sets, there are several packs that make up the whole timeline. Be sure you purchase all the packs or you will be missing a major section of history!

We bought 2007 World Books off ebay for about $150. My kids LOOOOOVE them!! They aren't allowed to take more than 1 book from the set at a time. Each takes one to their room at quiet time each day to look for something they are interested in. Most of the time, they don't ever get to what they were looking for originally, b/c they stop to look at 400 other things! Dh was initially very skeptical - he thought they needed to google. He has changed his mind! I knew they were the right choice, but I had no idea they would be this loved!

I have not used them this way, but thought I'd throw out a comment based on what I have learned using my CC timeline cards. If you do end up flipping them like flashcards, holepunch them in the BOTTOM, not the top. Two holes in the bottom with large round binder rings, and you can just drop each card as you say it. It is much easier to drop than to pick up to turn!

Have you seen this curriculum map? http://peacehillpress.com/curriculum-guides/curriculum-map.html They say FLL1 for K / 1st, and WWE1 for 1st / 2nd.

My public school friends are suggesting "Captain Underpants". I'm not that desperate. Yet.

James loves to read almanacs & other nonfiction (especially lists of facts rather than sentences), but has had a lot of trouble getting going on stories. He will read them if required to, but not voluntarily. His phonics are solid – he can easily read the words in books on a 5th grade level, but just has no clue what is going on in those higher level books. He recently picked up “The Robinson Crusoe Reader†by Julia Cowles & Michael McHugh. This is a Christian Liberty Press book that is considered 2nd grade. I don’t know if it is the reading level, the number of words on the page, the pictures, or the more boyish adventure theme, or what, but suddenly J is actually interested in reading. He says he will only read this one book though b/c it is the only interesting book there is. :( I would love suggestions for books that are similar in difficulty and boyish themes!

Our friends are coming over tomorrow for history club. We are finishing the section of the book on Julius Casear. Any favorite activites for this section? We did togas and cuff bracelets, a Roman feast, and built a Colosseum out of wooden blocks last time, so those activities are out. OK, they don't even have to be favorites. I've been attempting to organize my homeschool books, and my SOTW activity book is somewhere in that mess, and I can't find it to figure out what we are supposed to be doing! :)

Based on this curriculum map, http://peacehillpress.com/curriculum-guides/curriculum-map.html, we decided to use FLL just about 1 full level ahead of WWE. We aren't far enough in for me to offer any other advice, but I found the curriculum map very helpful. I wonder if maybe she wrote them intending them to go together, but then one ended up being harder/easier for the average kid than expected, so the grade level recommendations were adjusted?

We keep the skill subjects (math, language arts, etc.) running through the summer. The content subjects are the major change. We don't do history or a science curriculum during the summer. Instead, we do unit studies. I let my kids pick the topics. Last year, after much negotiating among siblings, we did the Olympics, birds, and a few other things. We also did Atelier art, which we had never gotten around to during the school year. This summer, we are going to do a high-level geography overview, as well as whatever they want to do. I am also toying with the idea of having each kid lead one week-long unit on the subject of their choice. I would help, obviously, but they would be doing some of the prep & presenting. I am also thinking of working hard on one particular life skill. I'm not sure exactly what yet, but probably either cooking or money management. Those are the things I just don't get to during the regular school year because we do lots of co-ops & activities.

I couldn't just come up with a great list for my kids, so I purchased books that have other people's ideas: - Classical Conversations Foundations Guide & CDs - Living Memory (which I wish had CDs!) Both are wonderful resources, and I feel confident that by working CC during the school year, and LM during the summers, we will be more than adequately covered! First Language Lessons (grammar curriculum) adds poetry, address, phone number, parents' names, etc. We also have IEW's Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization, which we use sporatically, and my kids are in AWANA at a local church, where they memorize Bible verses. Both of those have CDs. :) My kids also like the Audio Memory / Kathy Troxel CDs for geography. I have also peek through Hirsch's Core Knowledge series (What Your __ Grader Needs to Know) each year just to be sure I haven't missed anything major. (Most libraries have the series.) How's that for not giving any information other than more places to look? :)

You certainly *could* do the Foundations memory work part at home. I am not disciplined enough to get that done, hence the reason we go to a co-op to do it. Another wonderful source of memory work is Living Memory. GREAT book!

Foundations is the basic memory work program. It is for 4 year olds up through 6th(?) grade. Essentials is different - it is for 4th to 6th graders (ish), and is taken in addition to Foundations. That consists of grammar, writing, & math games. I don't know that you could say one is a better program than the other - they are different subjects.

My kids' OT designed it! She loved HWOT, but it was missing a few things so she was always tweaking. Fundanoodle is the final product. My son is pictured in the brochure! The picture is maybe 2 years old - it was in the development phase at that point.

When we finish, my plan is to do high-level geography (blobbing ala The Core), and focus on getting the high-level timeline really solidified. This summer, we will probably do unit studies based on one major country at a time. We did random unit studies last summer (Olympics, birds, etc) and that was a big hit with my kids. Maybe one of those 3 ideas would be a good short-term topic for you?

We are out for activities every single day. Reading tutor 4 days a week, CC (9am-3pm co-op), fine arts co-op and world cultures co-op (1 day a week on alternate weeks), physical & occupational therapy appts (2 days a week), dance 2 days a week, homeschool PE at the Y (2 days a week), church choir, AWANA, baseball, gymnastics, swimming, and soccer. We do a full slate of schoolwork, but very little of it is at home. Most is at the reading tutor's house or in a therapy office. We LIKE being busy! It doesn't sound like you would ENJOY having this much going on, so don't do it! :) You *can* do a thorough job educating your child and being busy, but it is not what feels right for everyone. I have friends who don't leave their homes more than once a twice a week! Do what feels right. Do be aware that kindergarten doesn't take more than 1-2 hours a day. More than that and you are going to burn your child out. Don't plan on being home and doing schoolwork all day long! Another option - there is a yahoo group here called "Field Trip Friends". They schedule playground dates, field trips to the fire dept, etc. There are several every week. I have friends who don't do any co-ops, but do field trips all the time. The good thing about that is you aren't committed beyond what you have signed up for that week, so it is easy to adjust based on the season of life. You may want to look and see if there is something in your area like that.