I have used from 106 thru 210 with my ds. We have the 300s I'm just taking a break from school while we get ready to move .. :glare: To answer your questions : 1) Provided the child can and will read and follow directions then yes, it can be done nearly completely independently 2) Yes, there are whole pages in there for explaining and teaching new concepts. Also its laid out in a way so there is not a bunch all squished up and hard to read. 3) The tests (IMO) are really to test and see if they know the material. The teaching of each new concept/operation etc is right in the lightunit addressed to the student, so yes it teaches not you. I was sick for a few days back not too long ago, and didn't get much checked much less taught. Well ds kept on going all on his own and didn't miss any lessons. More often then not when he does miss something or say he needs help its only because he didn't read/follow the directions well enough. You can look at a sample lesson from each lightunit on the website. However if you are serious about using CLE you should download the diagnostic/placement test and have your child do that to determine what level to start at. CLE introduces a lot of concepts earlier then most other curriculum's so using the test will make sure you place him where he needs to be. HTH,

:lurk5: Bumping ... so anyone who hasn't seen this can .. before it turns into old news ;)

Hmm... why are you looking for something like R&S if its not working? For what its worth, I was using R&S English for my ds until I decided it wasn't working for ME. He liked it just fine. We switched over to CLE, he now says he does NOT like the R&S, and prefers CLE! CLE is not like R&S, however it is just as comprehensive and quite thorough. CLE is spiral, where R&S is Mastery. Also to consider is that CLE LA includes Spelling, Handwriting, and Creative Writing all into one. For us its not a big deal, my son just knows he can skip the section (its clearly marked) for the stuff I don't want/require him to complete and the rest works just fine. With CLE you can go look at a sample lesson from each lightunit, and the placement/diagnostic tests are also online and free to download. From what I have seen, and I have heard from others, the scope and sequence between the two is pretty close so going from one into the other should work fairly well, though I would still have the child do the diagnostic test just to make sure there are no gaps there. HTH,

:iagree: This one is good, but might be a bit much for a sensitive child .. just fyi .. my boys all really enjoy all the miller books. In fact I just found my set yesterday when sorting some books out to pack. I think we will read through them again soon ;) Other then that, CLE and R&S both carry quite a few books about and by missionaries. HTH,

Wow ... lots of good ideas here ... As I am preparing to move I have been thinking a lot about these issues, and enjoyed reading about what others are doing. I am (at the moment anyway) planning to "give" the master bdrm with its bathroom to my 3 boys. This way we will have a bedroom to dedicate to being the playroom. I have been a bit undecided though about what/where to put the schooling stuff. This coming year will be the first year that all three will be officially doing formal work so I will need to have something halfway setup for at least the little two. My living/dining area is a pretty open large area that will likely turn into a mostly school area. Just not sure yet how it will all work. I would love to have a basement, however since I also need sun its likely to be better that I don't.

Thanks a bunch for posting this!!! :D

Good for you !!!! :grouphug: My sister has a similar story, about a dentist they took their 6yr old too... the current trend of excluding parents from a child being treated I find appalling ... hope you find a new Dr. that is more reasonable soon!

hmm ... only thing that jumps out to me is ... salt? most hermies need FRESH water ... not salt water...even the ones that need salt water need fresh water too! other then that ... sounds good, I will say mine also seem to do better with less care ... If your using the dry food from the pet store it doesn't need changed... just the fresh stuff (mine get fresh bits in a separate dish thats removed within 12-18 hrs) Also a weekly (or so) "bath" in barely warm (not hot!) water with some stress coat (fish care) stuff in it is good for them. Here is my fav site about them : www.hermit-crabs.com/ HTH!

Hmm ... I would ask about antibiotic use ... or for that matter any medication ... then again I would say its good to be able to get fresh raw eggs regularly no matter what the feed .. The fact they are allowed to eat the bugs and such they would naturally is a good thing ;) HTH,

Well .. you don't say what level readers you are looking for ... R&S Readers for grades 1-4 are Bible stories, I have not used or even looked at anything above that. The Pathway readers are simple stories relating mostly to farm life. Once again I have not used the upper levels just grades 1-3 here. We use pathway readers for extra reading. My son has really enjoyed the 2nd grade Science and Health & Manners workbooks ... however once again you don't say what ages/levels you are looking for? I plan to use R&S Science with Apologia and History/Social Studies with CLE materials for the rest of our pre-highschool years. Personally I prefer CLE for Reading/LA/Math although my eldest is using R&S for Reading/Phonics as thats what he started with and he really didn't want to switch. I plan to switch him after 4th though. I know this isn't really quite what you were asking for ... but hope it helps anyway.

Well ... being a firm believer of "Better Late then Early" ... as well as a horrid procrastinator... as well as having boys who have all been "late bloomers" ... We also school pretty much year round ... This is my "Kinder" plan for ds 3 ... who is 6 now ... for over the summer : ABC series (by R&S) Before We Read (by Pathways) Writing notepad (lined paper) to learn name Wipe off number writing book Pre-Writing workbooks Various games online for counting/sorting/matching Sitting in with the other two for Apologia Astronomy (soon to be Botany) Plenty of discussions about other math/science concepts Listening to ds 1 read his Bible and Health & Manners lessons Pretty laid back around here about this age ... Once he can use a pencil to form letters/numbers at all we will start the following R&S Math 1 CLE Learning to Read Both of these he is very excited about, and keeps asking for already. Of course my boys all play with duplos, legos, blocks, K'nex, pattern blocks, math cubes, and have tons of books around as well as other toys.

I wasn't planning to let my boys watch any more of them unless I watched them first and made sure I wanted them too, but thanks for the info about Manor. Ohh ... I didn't know about the Texas Ranch House! ... I just checked and Netflix has it too! Its now in my queue :D Thanks! EDIT : Upon further searching I found one more in the House series ... however it doesn't look at all appropiate for children , its called Regency House Party .. and its more about romance back in the early 19th century, a matchmaking party in fact ... not something I want my boys exposed to right now.

Hmm ... not really ... he came from Missouri ... I don't know where that combo came from though ... He was military before I was born, could have picked it up then I guess ...

Hmm ... I have a couple versions of this .... somewhere ... I will look and see if I can find them ... Will be more then happy to sell them for a couple $$ to anyone interested when I put my hands on them .... just shoot me a PM if you are wanting to get a copy ... I have 2 different version ... 2 and 4 ... or something like that .... Note about running on Vista/XP ... works better if you tell it to run "as if in 95/98" ... whichever it was made for ;)

Good deal, I sure wish I could get rid of mine, even knowing how horrid it is the temptation to use it for convenience takes over once in awhile .... and I wish it wasn't even in the house ... Glad to be able to help push you over the edge :tongue_smilie: I will be moving soon, and be able to plant a garden, but will be renting still and in the same situation .. built in one over the stove that I will NOT be able to get rid of ... *sigh* To health!

I've watched Frontier House, and really enjoyed it... wasn't overly thrilled with the way some things were shown in terms of letting my boys watch but it wasn't too bad. (I am a lot more conservative/strict/etc about what my boys see then most people here seem to be) There is also a 1940s House, and a 1900 House ... both British which we enjoyed even more. I have rented them from NetFlix, have not watched Manor or Colonial ... but may do so in the future. They are surely an interesting look at what life could have been like back in the past. HTH,

Well ... so far we are both happy still. Hes doing well, and working hard on it. Doesn't seem bothered by getting different tokens, even after he knows what they mean. Seems to be just what I was hoping for!

Other then the fun stuff already mentioned (great ideas!). I would also suggest the R&S ABC series of workbooks, and the Beginner set that R&S and CLE both sell as well. You can see them here : http://www.clp.org/store/by_grade/1 and here (with samples) : www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Preschool/ www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Kindergarten/ The ABC books are great for readiness skills, and the Beginner books are great for the younger ones who want their own "school" books, but are not ready for anything formal yet. HTH!

How else would you ever eat those nasty fries McD's has (other then with icecream) ?? I think about the weirdest food combo I can think of from my childhood is something my father does ... Canned pears, topped with Miracle Whip, and shredded sharp chedder cheese ..... yummmmyyy ... but ... not at all normal ... :tongue_smilie: Tarter sauce on fries I did too ... when I was in my 20s and working at a Long John Silvers ;)

While I can't actually toss mine .. (its built in, and I'm in an apartment) I rarely use it. It is currently my hiding place for Mommy yummy stuff. (treats I don't want the boys getting into or seeing) I only use it for food about once a mth or so. However if I could, I would throw it out entirely also. Here is some reading on the why : http://www.relfe.com/microwave.html http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/microwave-ovens-the-proven-dangers.html http://www.cancersalves.com/articles/Microwave.html There are many many reasons why using a micowave for food is bad. And I have chosen to forgo the convenience for the peace of mind in knowing my boys are not being exposed to the dangers it causes. HTH,

I would stick with the 3 "R's" for the 2nd grader, and I can see from your sig that you already know about CLE. For a 2nd grader who can read well it can be done mostly independent. For K I think I would just read a lot, that can be done WITH the new baby. Also the 2nd grader can read to the K'er. Other then that for K my boys have all done the R&S ABC series, very easy and low key. They are simple books that lay a good foundation for basics without requiring ANY prep work, and only take a few minutes per page to complete. Unless the law in your state requires more at a K level I would encourage your friend to relax about it. As a couple other people have already mentioned unschooling is still MUCH better (at that age for SURE) then any public school experience. HTH!

From the OK pdf file from HSLDA : OKLAHOMA Compulsory Attendance Ages: “over age of five (5) years and under the age of eighteen (18) years.” Oklahoma Statutes Annotated Title 70, § 10-105(A)-(B). Required Days of Instruction: 180 days. Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 70, § 1-109. Required Subjects: None, strictly speaking. However, some courts have suggested that home school education should be equivalent or comparable to public school education. Teaching the following subjects is therefore strongly recommended: math, language arts, science, and social studies. See 70 Okla. Stat. Ann. § 11-103.6. However since no notice is required they do not enforce even these... pretty much no interference here at all. I've also schooled in TX and they are just as laid back, even when I had trouble with CPS there (neighbors lying through their teeth) allI had to do was tell them I had a curriculum (they didn't even look at it) and they left me alone about it. HSLDA has a map ... showing how easy each state is .. http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

:iagree: CLE is great, but does move a bit quick for most K'ers. However if your child has completed a couple of K programs already then it might just be what you need. It does start off very basic (numbers/easy facts) but gets into other things quickly. You can see (and even print) sample lessons from each lightunit (10 per yr) on the CLE site. Also you could order just a few LUs to try it out. If you child needs a bit slower pace, or the facts presented in families/houses/groups, then I would recommend R&S. CLE is spiral, or what some call incremental. While R&S is Mastery with some review. Both start at the beginning, and are made for the child who is just starting formal learning, so the beginning would probably be review in either for a child who has done a K program. This can be good though as it will allow the child to get used to the new format while doing some easier work to start off. HTH,

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Oh my !!! I was laughing so hard by #3 that my 11yr old came in .. and had to read the rest of them! ... Thanks for the good laughs ... raising boys you sure need to find reasons to laugh at time!

Here is one site .. http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/measuring.php if you Google : free worksheet measuring ... you can find a bunch of them ;) HTH