Just a few questions before ordering... I have seen lots of good reviews for A Beka Health. It sounds right up my alley, worktext. I've tried a few other ideas, but they have not been just what I'm looking for. I also like the fact that it looks like they go through grade 12. If you have bought the K4 and K5 Character/Safety cards, were they worth the money and did you like/use them? How many pages are the grades 1-5 workbooks? I think I saw they were around 12 weeks of study at the end of their Science courses. Did you purchase the tests/use/like them? Did you purchase the teacher manuals? I often find they don't offer much for early grades. Sometimes they do offer additional info, worksheets, reading, etc. Thank you! :001_smile:

10 is a great age, especially after years of piano. My oldest son started guitar ay 8.5. His teacher preferred that he had taken piano lessons for at least 2 years, but in his case he caught right on then started piano. He practices 1-2 hours per day on his own. He just loves it. We started next son on piano, then around the same age will start guitar lessons with him. He is 7 and has a scaled down guitar and plays around a little, and does strengthening exercises. I would say go for it, but continue piano. Maybe require 15 minutes per day of piano. The music theory is the same for each. I think the two compliment each other nicely. P.S. I know the piano and do lessons with my kids. I'm learning the guitar now from my son. We have a teacher that comes to our house...priceless!

Sounds like typical boy behavior to me! Sounds mild compared to my house. My boys wrestle and fight all the time. Doesn't help that their dad is a big instigator :glare: Last fall I went out on the deck to check on the kids and my DS7 was three stories high up a tree! After I recovered from a brief heart attack I yelled what are you doing up there? He said his older brother,9, said I bet you can't climb to the top of that tree. I said get down right now!!!!!!! He said I don't know how to get down. So I ran to the back yard to the tree and talked him down branch by branch. The boys wanted to know what happens if you put butter on the bread and toast it. Not pretty. 7 and 5 YOlds were drinking mud concoction in the yard yesterday...YUK...just to see what it would taste like. I looked out the window and my stomach rolled. Out the window: Me: What are you drinking? 7YO: Drinking water. Me: Why does it look like mud? 7YO: ummm, there is some dirt on the outside of the jug. Oh ya, last fall after a rain I found a worm in the entryway. I thought, jeez, we really need to seal up the door! Then I found another worm in the laundry basket sitting on the entryway. Freaking now that my house in infested. After I get the laundry in and coming up the stairs there was a worm coming down. I had another heart attack. Then the story came out that one son had some worms in his pocket he forgot to unload outside. After a few coctails I felt much better :D My husbands 3 brothers were over and they found this all real comical. My husband told him all my screaming was giving him a headache. It will only get worse in my case, baby boy thinks of things all the others combined haven't yet thought of. He recently flodded the upstairs bathroom 2 days in a row. Once plugged the sink with 2 toothbrushes, a key, then toilet paper. Next day wads and wads of t.p. in toilet then just kept flushing. oh...life with boys :001_smile:

It seems like you have gotten a lot of great advice so far. Just another idea...We do Music at Your Doorstep, and I don't know if you have something like it in your area. The music teacher comes to you. My oldest son started playing guitar at 8. His teacher said it's really beneficial if they have 2 years piano first. In his case it didn't matter. He learned the guitar then started piano about 6 months later. When my boys were 8, 6, and 4 I started teaching them piano(I know how to play.) I started them on the Bastien series, and I was really surprised how the younger 2 took off. The older one then saw how the music theory applied to guitar and piano. We will start our DS 7 in guitar soon. We have a friend who started their son in gutar at age 5(same teacher.) They used a scaled down guitar. They are very happy. They do go slow through the material, and use a lot of strengthening exercises. Our kids are exposed to a lot of music and concerts and have always showed an intrest in playing. DS7 wants to start drums...oh boy...but we said he really needs to stick with piano longer, show he can practice daily, etc. So I would say since your child is so interested go for it! It is really amazing what little kids can do. I really LOVE the teacher coming to our house. It saves a LOT of time, and me or my DH can sit in and see what DS is learning, his assignments, and we are both trying to learn the guitar too!

Get Holy or Die Tryin'!

:grouphug: Hugs for those who need them!

I love Seton books. I ordered the preschool package and like it a lot. I first used one of those complete preschool books, I think from School Specialty Publishing, then moved on to the Seton books. This was with my DD-3. She's begged to "do school too" since she could hold a marker. I used to put the older kids used worksheets in a 3 ring binder and she would trace them. But then she kept insisting...WHAT DOES THIS SAY, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! So then I got her her own workbooks. We both like them :D ps...also using a starter spanish preschool workbook. Gently introduces colors, numbers, letters and a few groups of words.

Maytag all the way!!! We had a new one when we moved into our house 10 years ago. Now with 5 kids we do normally 2 loads per day. There is no need to pre-wash or rinse your dishes. Not kidding. I scrape big chuncks off. I think it has an internal disposal, or is hooked up to the dispoal? I'm not very handy. It is also a water saver. It steams the dishes dry too. Never had any repairs.

As much as my DH lets me get away with :D After 1st child mostly consumable workbooks, art supplies then library builders.

Ohhh. A rolling suitcase! What a great idea! I thought about using our wagon, but was just too embarressed. The funding thing now makes perfect sense to me. I always wondered why our librarians loved us so much and get so giddy when we check out mass quantities of books. They mentioned us helping their numbers personally. We usually check out as many as we can lug. This is only a sugesstion. What about making one trip to the far library once a month, or renewal period? If you are lucky it is long. We have a three week checkout, and can renew online twice. I never knew how lucky we were. If you are lucky enough to be able to renew, this could prolong your trips. Good luck next year HSing full time :001_smile:

Looking for MORE things to hang up around the house :D

This might be a little late... We own the set grades 1-8. My oldest wasn't really interested. He learned to read on his own early with no instruction. He's an advanced reader. When they give snippets of stories in later grades, he had already read the entire book. He would glance through and read for fun sometimes. My second DS did learn to read with the readers, along with OPGTR. He was a late/reluctant reader, and he did enjoy them. For some funny reason, these seem to be favorite carrying around books for 3-5 year olds at our house. Maybe because they see older kids with them, I don't know. If you haven't found any used ones yet, let me know. I am getting ready some auction stuff and going to sell grades 1, 2, and 3.(have duplicates of these grades, long story.) Grade 1 is very used, but grades 2 and 3 are new.

Would you recommend Britannica, World Book, Compton, others, and why. Did you purchase new or used, and where. I did read some older posts on the pros and cons. Whether they were used vs. dust collectors. I think my kids would love a set, and we would use them. Our friends own a VERY OLD set, but when we visit their house my DS 9 devours them. The kids also spend hours looking at DK books we have. My DH said he thinks they would be a nice addition to our home library, and we could make space. :hurray: We are starting our search on Amazon, Ebay, Craigslist and our library. Thanks for you opinions!!!

I love to buy books in series. What are your favorite series? I have a lot for younger readers. I am looking for some more series to get into for my oldest DS 9 advanced reader. Here are a few of mine :001_smile: All Classics :drool: Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science The Cat in the Hat Learning Library Cornerstones of Freedom Mike Venezia Getting to Know the World's Greatest... Living History Books Childhood of Famous Americans

Thank you for the site!!!