I can't answer your question, but have you seen this lady's blog? They are using the W&R ones. http://solagratiamom.blogspot.com/2012/08/pin-maps-cycle-1.html

That was me in June. My kids weren't even reading CVC words, and I had been through the first 50+ lessons of OPGTR like 5 times. I finally got so frustrated I hired an Academic Associates tutor. Best money I ever spent! Her lessons were not very different from OPGTR, but her demeanor was night and day from mine. This woman had the patience of Job. She never got stressed. She never got annoyed. She didn't say "come on - try!". She would point, and just sit there. Eventually, the kid read the word. Fast forward 6 months, and all four of my kids are reading on a 3rd+ grade level. :) I am glad I managed to swallow my pride and outsource this!

We just keep the skills topics going year-round. When we finish one level, we pick up the next. For the content, we finished up what we hadn't gotten through during the normal school year, then picked up random things to study. Last summer we did the Olympics, and then a unit on birds based on Burgess Bird book.

Foundations guide Timeline cards Either buy the audio CDs for the cycle, or subscribe to CC Connected and download all the songs (I think it's $6 per month for members of a CC community) One tin whistle for each child in the family I bought the flashcards last year, and again this year, and still haven't used them! We just don't review that way, so I really don't know why I bought them again. (We do 99% of our review work in the car with the CDs.) You can just copy the maps out of the back of the CC Guide & laminate if you want. I am NOT in love with their maps, so we use our own.

Have you seen picture where someone organized AAS in a file folder? I can't find it to save my life, but hopefully someone else will know what I am talking about and post a link. ETA: AH HA!!!! http://hopeforhomeschool.blogspot.com/2011/11/aas-letter-tiles-mini-office.html

We have LOVED the Core Knowledge art prints. I am NOT by any stretch an art expert, but the back of these nice large prints has background info and commentary, questions for discussion, etc. I didn't care enough to get art study done before these, but it actually happens somewhat frequently with these cards in my arsenal, and shockingly, I actually enjoy it! This is a link to the kindergarten set - there is one set for each grade. http://books.coreknowledge.org/product.php?productid=16191

If you have a stack of timeline cards 3" tall, holepunched, how big a bookring would you need for the cards to be able to be turned easily? THANKS!

We have been doing Academic Associates since June 2012, so about 7 months. We have finished 10 of the 13 lessons. I have found it to be very similar to OPGTR, except with a patient teacher (which I was NOT). My kids have come so far it is truly almost miraculous! I had one who was still confusing letters (despite lots and lots of instruction), one who was still saying CCCCAAAATTTT for every word, and two who were hesitantly reading 3 letter words. Now, all 4 of my kids are above a 3rd grade reading level as far as phonics goes. I do still need to do more work on comprehension, but I absolutely loved the Academic Associates program and wanted to recommend it to anyone looking to outsource reading.

All of my kids can read beautifully now. Their phonics are rock solid, and they can read pages out loud without stumbling over a single word. BUT, none of them are doing well in the comprehension arena. They never seem to know what they were reading. I actually had one tell me the other day "I was thinking about something else while I was reading it" and another said "oh, I wasn't listening to myself while I was reading". I make them re-read until they can tell me what is going on and/or answer my questions, but how do you make it a habit?

Who needs a laugh? James screams across the bookstore, "Hey Daddy, is this a TITTY book?" "A WHAT??" My horrified husband sprints over, only to see an ordinary comic book. "You know, a book that makes you dumber stead uh smarter?" DH was completely confused even after that enlightening explanation. I snickered & kept browsing - clearly my lil fella has overheard some of my conversations lately with my sister about literature vs. TWADDLE. :)

My girls are suddenly all excited about American Girl books, as all their friends are asking for the dolls for Christmas. (I told mine they couldn't have the dolls before reading the books, so they would know which doll's personality & story they liked.) I just assumed that the books are decent quality as far as grammar, kid attitudes, vocab, accurate portrayal of historical times, etc., because the manufacturer must be somewhat into education or they wouldn't have developed this product. It just occurred to me that I shouldn't be making huge assumptions like that. Are the books good? Or twaddle? Are these books something I should be encouraging?

Has anybody tried The Magic School Bus Science Club Membership? I was considering it for a gift. The FAQ say that if you have two kids, they can share, but they don't comment about more than that. Is 4 kids pushing it?

Is there a book series like the American Girl book series, but geared toward boys? My crew is reading on about a 3rd grade level. Looking for something with kids with decent attitudes, decent grammar, some new vocab, learning about a period in history through a story, etc.

We have placemat maps. I copied and shrunk one of those until I got it to the size of a piece of 8 1/2 by 11 paper. I used that to figure out the scale FOR ME, but I don't have the kids tracing - we look at the placemat maps & draw. On our placemat maps, I traced the 5 main latitude lines, and the prime meridian. I also outlined each continent in a very very simplified form. Africa looks like a rectangle on top of a triangle, for example. Australia is a crescent on it's side, another identical one below, and lines on the sides connecting. N America and S. America are just a triangles. We'll go for more detail when we place these one the correct lines with somewhat appropriate proportions. :)

OPGTR!

Best Value Copies has the cheapest copying I could find, even cheaper than I could print at home. I have them print everything in black & white. There have been a few pages I ended up printing at home in color, but B&W works for the most part.

Is re-doing WWE Level 1 a possibility? That's what I've done when my kiddos can't handle a new level - we just re-do the prior one at a faster pace.

PS - as tedious and annoying as I think reviewing memory work is, my kids LOVE it. Truly. They LOVE it. They really enjoy feeling like they are so smart, that they know these facts. It's really given my kids confidence that they didn't have previously. PPS - We only review in the car, so we aren't using time that we would use learning other things.

We joined CC 15 months ago, but I had real concerns. My triplets have some developmental challenges due to premature birth, and for 2 of them remembering things was a real problem. They couldn't execute 2 step instructions, let alone remember lists of things. I really didn't think they had any chance of being successful in CC, but it was the only co-op around here, so we joined just to meet people. Fast forward to today, and the brain training from CC has been truly unbelieveable. Not that I am a memory whiz or anything, but my kids can remember LOTS more than me. I really think the practice memorizing at CC has made all the difference. Their brains are stronger now than they were previously. And not just with dry facts - they are much more successful at dance, b/c they can remember the order of the routines. They have finally learned their church friends' names. They can remember the words to the songs in choir. Etc. etc. I truly think that working this memory work has stretched their brains in new ways. Also, whenever we come across something they have memorized for CC, they are SO much more interested in learning more about it! I look back at the things I learned in science in high school, and I memorized them for the test and forgot them. I can't help but think that had I memorized them in elementary school, and reviewed them for years, maybe I would actually remember them now!

Spend more time on Pinstrosity (Pinterest attempts that didn't work). :)

I hate to tell you this, but it gets worse. My kids are all reading, but a lot of the books they pick have a lot more / longer words than they can read. My solution has been to have each kid look through the books and pick ONE book and ONE page that I will read each day (in addition to what I am alreadying reading). That way at least they have picked the one they are most interested in. Sometimes if I read one page, they will continue on their own, or they will bring the same book day after day to hear the whole thing. Other times I never see that book again!

The twin who is staying in public school will have company - they have a younger sister who is in 2nd grade. :)

You are right - that is the main challenge! I am very sympathetic, as that is the same challenge I had when getting started. (Not to mention the fact that this is the sweetest child ever, and I love her like my own!) I hate that I can't be more helpful to my friend as my kids are younger and delayed. So thankful to have the users of this forum for guidance - such an amazing resource!

Such great advice - thank you all!!!!

Dad said no to de-schooling. (I said the same thing.) :( He is going for this homeschooling thing for the rest of this year, but reluctantly at best.