I love the idea of doing weekly binders for my dc - and idea I got from a recent thread. (Thanks!) For those of you who do them, do you take apart all your books/programs (books like Singapore Math and such) or do you just put in a piece of paper listing their assignment for the book? I am trying to decide what to do and whether to start ripping apart all the workbooks. :)

For those of you who have seen/used First Start French by Memoria Press, are there many Christian/biblical references in the program? I know some of there other programs are Christian-based. Thanks!

We used Latin Primer and the kids actually liked it. I liked it because it came with DVDs. The teacher was a tad "boring" but at least I had someone to teach the latin to them! It was a break from all the workbooks and such when they got to do the dvds. :001_smile:

I can give my thumbs up for this one, too. I got the books within 10 days. And, with the exchange rate, free shipping is nice!

Thanks, Jackie!

Just adding my .02 late -- for two years we did Calvert without the math. We did Calvert everything else and did the math of our choosing. Good luck with your decisions. I know it can be difficult and stressful. Calvert does really save a lot of time as far as planning each day. I am doing my own stuff this year instead of Calvert (which we did for the past 3 years) and it is stressing me out! lol BUT, it all works out in the end (I had put stuff together before we started Calvert three years ago). I am sure it will for you, too. BTW: I have been seeing a lot of TT for sale on the sale/swap boards. You may be able to get it there for cheaper and still do the reast with Calvert. And as far as it getting mixed reviews here, I read all that, too, and still got it for this year. Good luck!

Is this the one by Classical Academic Press?

It does! Thanks!

Sue -- where did you find all of the supplements and TE? I have been doing searches and seem to only come up with the student books (unless I get them from PH website and then they are super expensive).

Just bumping this up to see if any of you who have used the art projects know -- do you do the painting free form, or are there stencils or patterns to follow? I am curious because I don't know whether this would work for all of my kids do to various ages. (i.e., should I pay for one for my 5 yo if it will just look like a blue glob? lol)

Thanks, Lana & Sue, for the ideas! I appreciate your help!

Another attorney dh over here. I used to be one, too, long ago...but my legal brain is a dusty as my diploma! :laugh:

OK...so maybe my post went a bit off topic re: picking a curriculum program and dove into my insecurities re: the whole homeschooling adventure and my role as teacher of little minds. lol Sorry about that little side trip! :tongue_smilie:

How cool! Thanks!

I am so glad I read your posts -- because I have been feeling the same way! Yes, I want the best for them and I want them to get the most out of this and I want to help them on their path in life and can I possibly be giving them all that they need??? Am I doing it correctly??? Will they succeed??? Will they hate me because gave them too much/too little? I was too strict/not strict enough?? Then I have to talk a deep breath...calm down and realize that...so far, so good. :001_smile: (Until I start worrying again!)

For those of you who do logic as a subject -- what programs do you recommend? I have looked at Mind Benders and will probably use some of their workbooks this year, but am looking for other ideas. I'm looking pimarily for my 11 yo dd, but also for my soon-to-be 8 yo. They have done some critical thinking workbooks through Calvert, but no other programs.

These look fun! Do the projects come with stencils or anything for the design? Or do the students do the painting free form?

Love this idea!

I have been working on my 7th grade dd's schedule, too -- so I admit that jumped on your thread to check out what you had planned. ;) I think it looks good! We have similar subjects. I think the only thing I have in addition to what you listed is Vocab from the Classical Roots (to replace spelling) and geography once a week. As far as grammar, geesh...I think I looked at just about every program! I finally decided on AG. It looks comprehensive and easy to implement. My daughter looked it over at a conference and said it would work. It is not a "pretty" or "flashy" product, but it gets the job done in nice, small pieces. For Lit I let her choose from a list of books that I gave her and I got Lit guides for them (the Garlic Press ones are really nice). I can't help with Logic -- we have not done much logic (we have done Calvert for the past 3 years) and I plan to start with Mind Benders -- but it sounds like you are past that. And as far as Latin, we will just be starting it this year, older dd with Latin Prep and younger dd with Lively Latin. I don't know what is covered in Henles, but the Latin Prep books look great and I know they have higher levels. Sorry, not too much help! lol Good luck!

Yes, the two K books they put out this year were made for the public schools in CA, I believe, and they are basically the A/B books in one (i.e., Earlybird 1A/1B = the first K book). My ds just really liked doing them and I figured the practice would not hurt. He was barely 4.5 years old and I didn't want to start 1A yet.

I think it looks good. We are doing similar stuff over here, with my ds (5 next month). We are actually doing stuff now, and will just add some new stuff come the new year. Just one thing, though -- ds flew through the Earlybird math, too, like your dd. He actually few through both sets (the 4 Earlybird and then the 2 new K books that Singapore put out this year) and he loved them. He is about half-way through 1A now. BUT, it is slower going. The jump from the K books to 1A is rather pronounced, at least to a 4/5 yo. The workbook is not as "fun" (i.e., no colors, no big pictures) and he can get a bit bogged down by the assignments. Not that they are particulary hard for him, just that he is not as into doing them. And, I have not wanted to really push him because I want it to remain fun for as long as possible, kwim? We are going to shoot for an exercise section a day, but if a particular exercise is really long, I will split it up. Just wanted to share our experience. Good luck!

Where can you buy the Science Explorer books? Are there teacher guides to go with them?

I can't find samples online. I assume the teacher's edition gives tips & activities? I have no experience with latin, but was hoping to avoid the TE and just have the audio to help with the student's book. Also, do you mind me asking how old your dds were when you used it? So cute about speaking latin with an English accent. My dds already do the accent because we listened to Narnia and Harry Potter in the car. lol Thanks so much!

I have been looking into Minimus for my younger dc. For those of you who use or have used it -- do I need to get the Teacher's book ($70! yikes!) or can I get by with the Pupil's book and audio cd? Thanks!

I have been trying to think how to space out SOTW and I think this could be a good idea. It would work especially well here because I will be doing it with 3 kids. If we did it this way, I could tailor the amount and scope of the "in-depth" stuff. Hmmm.... Thanks for the idea!