You will find Adventures and ECC to be repetitive. In Adventures, the book basket is great and the first semester is great (studying American History excusively) with hands on, but once you get to the state study, it's very much the same every week. The same with ECC. It's basically a formula with new countries changed every 2 weeks (i.e read from book "A" on Germany, read from book "B" on Germany, read from book "C" on Germany...). That all being said, my ds has enjoyed his year with ECC and has learned a lot about where over 70 countries are in the world. He has liked his study - and he's a kid that likes new and different. I got bored. Ifyou're looking for new projects and a little more variety, I would not chose ECC - Adventures you'd be O.K. for a while and then find it to be same old same old. Beth

I am teaching my 4 1/2 year old son to read right now. He learned letter sounds first mostly from the best video of all times - Leap Frog Letter Factory. So, when he looks at a letter, he says the sound not the letter name. His progress to reading has been incredibly smooth. Much smoother than his brother who I taught the names of letters first. I am going to have to teach him the names also now, but it seems to be working well. Beth

My son was 7 when I started teaching him cursive. I did so because his handwriting was getting worse the more he practiced. His cursive is decent and his printing has improved. Beth

For those who want to know... I found a sequence order that you can use to make your own workbooks. http://www.hwtears.com/files/HWT-TEACHING-ORDER-CURSIVE.pdf Thanks to all who helped. We're going to try this! Beth

So, how would I write my own handwriting program? Do I just start at "a" and go through each letter? I have a set of phonogram cards from all about spelling. Is there a place that would help me make my own workbook? I'm thinking of cursive first and how they say they group similar cursive stroke letters together. Beth

Would you say cursive first is worth the money? I know it's non-consumable, but I would have trouble coming up with something on my own. I do have startwrite though... Beth

I just started my 4 1/2 year old ds with Alphaphonics. He has known his letter sounds for almost a year and also was starting to sound out words. We do it very informally. If he wants to, I do it. I don't push it too hard. Lately, he's been wanting to because if he finishes up a sticker train track, he gets to go to McDonalds with Daddy. Beth

All About Spelling--all the way. LOVE IT! Beth

Can this work? Has it worked for you? I just read an article about it and the thought makes me go "hmmm". It makes a lot of sense since 8 year old ds is having trouble just making the switch over to exclusive cursive. Ds 4 (I'm looking at next year) is also a lefty. Does this mess up a young child? After all, they have to learn a whole other alphabet- the cursive one. Anybody do this with success or failure? Beth

I haven't ditched it - I just realized that I need the workbooks to keep ME on track. I just need someone to do all the work for me otherwise it doesn't get done. I'm very flighty in some aspects - very organized in others. Sigh... Beth

Science: Microscope Lots of books on different subjects Science kits to do in free time circuitry boards Physics kits (such as the building kits in the Timberdoodle catalog) History: All the books needed for TOG Drive through history DVD's Usborne History books on random topics Other: Craft kits to do in free time Lots of books so we don't have to go to the library and weed through a lot of junk books. I would just buy a lot of quality books. I find that if the book is laying around, ds tends to read them when he's bored. Of course that would mean more bookshelves, but that's a price I'm willing to pay. I've got a whole unfinished basement and can just put in bookshelves instead of drywall. Works for me!:tongue_smilie: Beth

I have something I call "mommy spa" when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I cook dinner for my family and then when dh comes home, I head to my bedroom and lock my door. Then I eat dinner by myself and watch a movie or read a book - whatever I want. Sometimes, dh has offered to bring some favorite food for me to eat. Nobody is allowed to bug me until the next morning. I go on a free mini-vacation. For some reason, it really helps me to get rejuvinated. I have a friend who scrapbooks during her mommy spa. Beth

I guess ultimately, I want my kids to learn how to find information instead of just giving it to them. Maybe I'm being too optimistic for a lg/ug ds? Maybe I should just see if it's in our Bible and if not, just give them the answers? Beth

What is a good 3rd grader friendly atlas I can get to answer the questions for the maps used in year 1? I don't really want to use the teacher's map for the answers. Thanks! Beth

We're finishing up ECC in 5 weeks and I'm glad to be done with it. Ds didn't seem to mind it- he is learning about different cultures and knows where most of the countries around the world are. For me, I am very glad to be almost done and am grouping 2 weeks into 1 week just to get through it. They take a basic formula and repeat the same formula for 34 weeks (i.e. read this missionary story, read about the country from this textbook, read about the country from this other textbook, color a picture, read about the biome from this Usborne book...). There are some things that make it different each week, but I personally need a little more to keep ME motivated. We also did Adventures and ECC is a lot like the second half of Adventures where you study the states. If you are looking for open and go and not have to really think much or plan much, this is the way to go. Like I said before, ds doesn't mind it much and doesn't feel the same way I do. I'm using it with a young 3rd grader and finding it to be very much his learning level. I've added extra notebooking pages just to make it a little more meaty. The book basket books are mostly picture books that even my 4 year old enjoys. I'm not sure I would do it with a 10 year old. It would need some beefing up. if you did decide to do ECC with an older child, I would suggest adding : http://www.historyscribe.com/hs-geoscribe.htm Beth

Another plug for Letter factory...Ds 3 has learned all his letter sounds VERY WELL - enough so that I didn't have to teach them to him at all. LOVE IT! Beth

We're at 3B. I look at it occasionally, but if I hadn't been given a set, I probably wouldn't have needed them. I think it may be nice when ds is more independent and then I can use the HIG for the answers. We use the ones made by Sonlight. I think the Singapore math site has different ones? Beth

This is good to know---I had my own thoughts about Latin's not so Tough. Maybe GSWL is the way to go... Beth

Just wondering which would be better for a young 4th grader...These are the two I'm deciding between. Thanks! Beth

There was a book at my aunts house that your description reminded me of. Is it this book? http://www.amazon.com/Gnomes-Wil-Huygen/dp/0810909650 Beth

I too am bi-polar Charlotte Mason and Classical Education...I find that Charlotte Mason works well in directing me to the twaddle free books and easier structure for grades 1-3. I am finding that as we're approaching 4th grade, I feel the need to start heading to a more Classical Educational style. I think a lighter approach to learning works well in the early grades when everything is new - reading, writing, spelling... We have been using MFW for 2 years now. I did not like Spelling Sound and Structure at all. It made no sense to me as a teacher. We have done PLL and liked it well enough though I am skipping a lot of the composition in favor of WWE. I feel WWE is more Charlotte Mason in it's approach since it uses a lot of dictation/narration/copywork. So, we are doing All About Spelling, PLL, and WWE. If what you're doing is working, don't change it. Beth

Were you raised with two white parents? I've heard that it does make a difference in how they accept themselves. She would be greatly loved. It was funny, I asked my son if it mattered...he said "does it really matter what color she is?" I agree. I have a friend adopted from Hawaii who was thought to be black by people in her small town(not too far away from here actually). They had to have a racial awareness day at her high school because of how she was treated. I couldn't believe it! She's "exotically beautiful!" Our town is a college town and more open to racial differences, so we have that going for it. Anyone want to help with the domestic adoption maze? Where do I go for that? Beth

We are open to it, but have NO IDEA where to start. With international adoption, you fill out all the paperwork and then wait - they match you with a child. My impression of domestic adoption is that you write this nice letter saying "choose me!" and then wait for a birth mom to pick you. The other impression is that you foster care and then hopefully some child is available for adoption, but you never really know if the child you foster parent will ever be available. I am open to this, but don't know how to navigate that maze. Beth

We have been trying to adopt from China on their waiting child program. We are finding that the children on the lists they get have more medical issues than we can handle. We already have a 9 year old in a wheelchair with significant developmental delays. We're trying to find a 3 year old or younger with either mild medical issues or none at all. We're having a lot of trouble just due to our families ability to travel for long periods of time (2 weeks is our max). Also, has anyone in a small town adopted from Ethiopia or adopted an African American child? Our racial makeup around here is white norweigen (we live in MN), Hispanic, and Asian. There are VERY few blacks. Anybody have this experiences? I'm thinking about when they get older and being homeschooled AND being very different racially. Beth

Need to agree on the Sonlight Science. Just get the basics mentioned by the poster above...lots of fun - not much hassle. The DVD's were a bit hit over here. Beth