Sorry to dig up an old post, but can I ask about this? We are Episcopalian turned Presbyterian just b/c we couldn't find a local Episcopal church. So also Christian but I guess not Evangelical? Can you tell me what was troubling about Beautiful Feet to you? I am struggling to find anything else for my kindergartners, and I really want to lightly do American history next year so they have some context for the stuff they are learning at Classical Conversations. I do feel like I need some sort of spine or framework FOR ME to be sure I'm not missing anything major! THANKS!

ditto!

I will be new to CC next year as well, and my kiddos are younger, so take my post with a grain of salt! My plan is to follow loosely along with CC. I hope to be ahead of them, as we are starting homeschooling in May. I am planning to use Beautiful Feet Early American History, and before we start I will cross-reference the CC Foundations Guide to the BF Guide. Then as we work our way through the BF Guide, every time we get to something that will be coming up in CC, we will start learning it. Same for science - we are planning to use Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, and I will cross-reference the CC Guide to it and teach the CC memory work when we learn it in context. Then when we get to it in the CC class, my kids will already be familiar with it. We are already working on the geography & math stuff. I will probably skip the Latin & grammar the first year as I'm not really ready to teach it at home and I don't see much point in memorizing something when you have no clue what it means. The history timeline is my hangup at this point. I can't possibly teach (even just a short familiarization) all that and stay ahead of CC.

Whew - took me 2 days to read through all that, but worth the time!

But that's kind of different - it wouldn't be accessible to everyone. They are training kids who are likely to be doing their sport long-term. I assume, anyway.

I live in a very vanilla, upper middle-class suburb. I hear the same reasons here. - "If the schools don't provide it, some kids wouldn't get to participate!" - "With Americans being so overweight, we need to encourage exercise!" - "Give the kids something productive to do so they won't be getting into trouble!"

Aah - that makes me feel better! I thought they were all different forms of computer training!

I was wondering about the same thing. Can you even BUY homeschool textbooks here that keep going up the levels? Ex - I've heard of Chem I & Chem II, but nothing further.

Information & Communication Technology vs Design & Technology vs Art & Design Boy I hope I'm not going to feel really stupid when I read the answers! :)

I have been looking at the National Curriculum from the UK. I don't even understand what some of these courses are. :001_huh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Curriculum_(England,_Wales_and_Northern_Ireland)

My kids are younger than yours, so take my advice with a grain of salt - it's based on reading here, not actual experience! We are starting with Spanish, as I am trying to take advantage of the window to get the accent right. The older they get, the harder that will be. We plan to start Latin next. As my goals for that are language-related (grammar, vocab, etc.), I think our purpose is better served by waiting some. Maybe 3rd grade-ish? I hope to add one more language in 5th or 6th grade. We'll see though - that's a LONG way away! It seems like 5 languages is the tipping point where you can get overwhelmed. It also seems like starting 2 years apart is the approach most have success with.

That really is bizarre! And says a lot about our schools here. How is it possible that they are getting a much better education in a lot less time???

Thanks - so helpful! Sounds like WTM + more foreign languages will cover us for now, and we need to reevaluate later.

I have seen several comments in the past few weeks about how European education is so much stronger than an American education. What are the main differences? Is it b/c of the multiple languages they are learning? Is their class size a lot different? Are they teaching math differently than the schools here? Are most of the European countries' educational systems similar to each other, or does it vary widely from country to country? And most importantly, if we are following the WTM guidelines, are my kids getting an education that is as good as a European education? There is a possibility of us moving overseas but I have no feel for the timeframe or particular country, and I need to make sure my kids can compete if they are older, and perhaps decide to seek employment there. Thanks!

I thought this was a really helpful comparison: http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/history.htm Scroll down for his commentary

SOTW has the Jim Weiss recordings. There was a post a few days ago talking about those - people either love 'em or hate 'em! (He is apparently very animated.)

Boy does that help me!!! Thank you thank you!!!

I would laugh at you, but Meredith (your DD's clone) does the EXACT SAME thing!!! It totally freaked me out when I first realized it. She can orally count to 100. She can put the numbers in order up to 30 (that's the highest we've tried), and yet I'll ask her to write "15", and she will give me a blank stare. "You know, a one and a five." Blank stare. Finally, she will hesitantly write "51". We'll get there, I'm sure! Don't stress!!! :)

I guess I have it set up a little differently in my spreadsheet. I don't have "start WWE in Aug 2011", instead I have "after OPGTR Lesson xx, start WWE". Who cares exactly which month they start - more important to start at the appropriate point developmentally, right? :)

I have three kids who are a few months older than yours. One thing I know for sure - no two kids are exactly average! One of mine seems EXACTLY like yours in both the reading & numbers struggles. One child is ahead of that, and the third child is behind that. :)

What can YOU do to fix the situation without offending? If the disruptive kids' moms aren't in there, you need to be stepping in. "Uh oh, Johnny, Mrs. Smith said to sit down, you need to do it." If the youngers are an issue, "He seems restless. Want me to take him out and walk him around for a few minutes?" As long as you don't sound accusing, they will either take you up on it or get the hint and take them out themselves.

That makes me laugh! I thought I was the only person in the world who had favorite math facts, and math facts I hate! :) Thank you!!

My kiddos may or may not go to public school in the fall. They have an April bday, so technically should have started kindergarten this year at age 5 1/2, and would start first grade at 6 1/2. As it was, we decided they needed an extra year, so they will start kindergarten at 6 1/2 and first grade at 7 1/2. So no, I don't think you are too late! :)