I had him take the math placement test, but he was having an off day. He placed needing the 200 series. I couldn't get the Language arts test to download, so that is why I'm buying the 200's and then 1/2 of the 300's.

I'm getting ready to make my very first homeschool curriculum purchase and would like to know what you think before I hit the "check out" tab. LOL My son is was in 2nd grade public school up to about a month ago. Here's my order for today. Tell me if you think it looks like I'm covered, especially by those of you who use CLE light units!! Order with CLE: -CLE math 200's -CLE math teacher guide 201-205 and 206-210 -counting chart -elementary math reference chart -addition and subtraction flash cards -multiplication/division flash cards -CLE math 301-305 -CLE math teacher guide 300's -CLE bible 100's -CLE bible teacher guide -CLE bible 200's -CLE bible teacher guide -CLE Language Arts 200's -CLE Language Arts teacher guide -CLE Language Arts 300's -CLE Language Arts teacher guide -CLE Language Arts Reference Guide grades 3 and 4 -CLE Reader: Doors to Discovery -CLE Reading 300's -CLE Reading teacher guide I will be using the Prairie Primer for our social studies and science lessons for now. What do you think? I am getting the 200 and 300 series in case he goes through the 200's quickly. And if not, then I'm set for when he's ready to move on to the 300's. So, does this seem like a pretty good start? I am starting him at the Reader 300 because he is very advanced in reading, so I know he will be fine there, but I don't want him to struggle in the other two (Language arts or math) should it be more advanced than where he was in public school. Should I hit "check out?" LOL

Well, I am just now getting around to ordering because we've had a super busy few days. I am leaning towards the whole CLE program, but anyone who knows, do you think we'll get bored with it? Or is it pretty good about keeping you interested? Thanks! I am ordering this afternoon as I heard there will be a rate hike in April:)

Thank you all so very much for your advice and suggestions! They are all so helpful!! Well, I really like the CLE math so far and think I'll get that. I am going to take a closer look at the CLE language arts before deciding. I really want him to get a good solid foundation that allows me to build upon it in a fun and home-hitting way. I intend to review each subject by doing a hands-on activity to solidify the understanding if at all possible. That way I can make sure he's getting the school side and able to use it in a real-life way. Between the two, I hope he'll have lessons that stick long-term. I know that is how I learned best. I needed to see my learning be used in the world before I could comphrend it's purpose. I am so very looking forward to this journey with my son and hopefully with the other little ones when they are ready. I'm sure I'll be back for more suggestions as I see a need to tweak and change things. You all are awesome!!

Thanks, Lovedtodeath. I also have ADHD, so I am very careful not to expect too much of him when I can see it's just something he can't deal with at the moment. I have heard that coffee can help kids with ADHD, which I may try for him. While I am sensitive to his ADHD and Asperger's, I'm also wanting to make sure he develops a sense of self-discipline now while he is young. I was diagnosed as an adult and spent 30 yrs of my life lacking in the area of self-control and self-discipline. As a result, I let things go that shouldn't or hyperfocus on things that are not a priority, so part of my homeschooling will hopefully include giving him the techniques and skills necessary to develop those characteristics. We are both starting karate next month for this very reason. I don't want him to struggle as an adult the way I do. Some of the things I do to help with that are allowing gum chewing during testing, taking breaks between lessons and keeping it short. Nothing too extensive unless he's interested. But I cannot allow him to drag out testing because he's bored when, if given the option, he could easily sit still long enough to watch a 2 hr Pokemon movie. LOL Some things are important, even if they aren't interesting at the moment, and I do expect him to respect that fact. I know I have to be flexible, for both our sake, but he's been taking this test for 2 hrs now when it could have easily been done in 30 minutes or less had he applied himself. Instead, he has crushed crackers all over the table, put a hole through his shirt with his pencil, scribbled all over the table, and come up with a whole slew of excuses as to why he can't do his work. Before doing the test, we did an art project and he knows that once the testing is done, he is getting a good long break, so he's just having trouble applying himself. I'm not being overly hard on him, but I need him to follow through.

Well, that's good to know. I, personally, was getting confused just because it seemed to teach so many different techniques to get to the same answer. That's too many steps that are unnecessary when you have a one-track mind! LOL Especially at this point in math. I want him to have a solid, simple foundation so that we can build upon that. So, it's good to know that using another math is working for others. My son just completed the CLE math 100 test and he is testing ready for the 200's. He's taking that one now, but he is struggling to stay on task today! Ugh. Normally he does well, but he's bored with the testing. But he HAS to test at times and I'm hoping this is just his way of dealing with testing at home. He is skipping parts because he doesn't want to do them. His mind is wandering all over the place today, but I'm not going to ask much more of him than just taking these placement tests. It's just frustrating to see him not take pride in doing a good job of the testing because if he is just being lazy (which is exactly what it is!), I'm going to end up repeating lessons he already knows. What do you guys do to get your children to test properly? This is the only area I tend to have issue with. He does well during our lessons, other than complaining at times along the way. I keep our lessons light right now to establish more of a routine and get us comfortable with the whole homeschooling process, but he still needs to be respectful and responsible regarding his schoolwork.

Thanks so much! Yes, I only intend to use the standardized testing as a gauge to see where we are, though I'm not going to be teaching for the test. If that makes sense. LOL I am so thrilled to find so many other parents homeschooling and am absorbing as much as I can from all of you! This is such a great resource for those of us new to homeschooling:)

Oh, the other thing that I was worried about is that our state has us submit a portfolio of the work he's accomplished over the school year, so I don't want to go too light on curriculum. I want them to see he is getting a well-rounded education. I am choosing to have him take the state standardized testing each year to be sure he's getting what other students are and to show myself how well/poorly he is getting the lessons I teach him. It's just a guideline for me to use. He has always tested at the top of the chart with state testing, so if he starts falling, it will show me where I need to reinforce my teaching to keep him caught up.

I was going to do the Easy Grammar and Daily Grams for grade 3. I'm kind of stuck in the middle because I took him out a little more than halfway through the school year, which makes CLE appealing as I can just buy from that point on. He does have a reading/comphrension level of a 5th grader as of his last testing at his school.

Well, we are a single language speaking family (english), but our community does have a lot of spanish speaking people in it. I also feel that since spanish is quickly becoming a second language for the US, it would probably be the most beneficial. Especially since my son is naturally interested in it. Also, it's readily available from menus to product labels at the grocery store. So, I guess I will pick up a dvd at the library and see how he does. If it goes well, I might look into adding more. I have heard about Rosetta Stone for foreign languages. Is that something I should get at his level? He's in 2nd grade.

I say "rule" as well. It's the one I chose for the same reason as the others. king, royal, and crown all imply status, whereas rule can mean other things.

Thanks! My son was doing very well in school, but it was this year that he was noticing (as were the other children) that he is different from them. I could see he was struggling internally and actually began asking me to homeschool him starting in November. It wasn't until my last meeting with his principal and teacher regarding him coming off his medication that I really considered it and now I am sure it's the right option. I can already see a difference and he's been med-free for 3 wks now!! Right now, he's taking the diagnostic test for CLE math, so I guess we'll see in a bit! I really like their curriculum, but also like the idea of picking and choosing. I have actually found the Total Basic Skills workbooks (picked them up at SAM'S) to be really good. They are pretty thorough and I'm using them at this point to get an idea of what my son already knows to get the appropriate grade level curriculum for him. I cannot believe how much closer we have grown as a family in the short time since choosing to homeschool! It's wonderful:)

I see a lot of homeschoolers are already introducing latin and other foreign languages. My son kind of wants to learn spanish, but I wasn't thinking about starting any type of formal education of another language until probably middle school. My child is almost 8 and at a 2nd-3rd grade level. Should I? And why is latin the most common (from what I can see of others)? Just wondering. Thanks so much:)

I am just starting to homeschool my 2nd grade son. He was in public school up until about 2.5 wks ago. He was doing really well, but he has ADHD and Asperger's Syndrome (mild autism) and were noticing he was losing interest in school. Also, we wanted to remove him from his medication and the school said that doing so would most likely cause them to place him in special ed classes because he'd be disruptive to the other students. I felt that was a threat and decided that it would be best to keep him at home until we could determine if being unmedicated was truly going to negatively affect his education. Since then, we've fallen in love with the idea of homeschool and are enjoying it much. So, I'm ready to order my curriculum, but I'm at a crossroad. I'd love experienced homeschooling moms opinions on this. Here are the 2 options I'm considering and was hoping you could let me know which may be better. Just a little background, we are both visual learners, but are easily distracted. I also have ADHD, so a lot of preparation will be very difficult and I also have 3 other small children (ages 1, 2, and 3) that are busy and needing of my time as well. Here are the 2 I'm considering doing: #1: -CLE (Christian Light Education) for pretty much all of it -Vocabulary Cartoons -CLE history, science, and bible lessons, or... -I'm very interested in also considering adding the Prairie Primer as our science and history lesson, as well as our bible study. #2: A curriculum of pieced together subjects that I have found great reviews and that I think would be good for us. -Writing with Ease (hardcover and then adding the workbooks) -Easy Grammar and Daily Grams -Vocabulary Cartoons -CLE Math or Math U See (but thought Math U See seemed a little annoying for us per the online demos available) -The Prairie Primer for science and history, as well as bible lessons I think that is it for now. I can't remember! I have so many different things floating around, but these are the ones that are my main curriculum choices. Am I missing anything? We read together every day as well, so that is our reading and also spelling. Though our vocabulary words are spelling. When we read together, I read aloud a bit, then I have him read aloud a bit from the book. We go back and forth so we are both reading. Then I ask questions on each chapter once we are done to make sure he's comphrending it. Also, we go on nature trails and have access to a children's science museum and very nice zoo. I also like working in the Total Basic Skills workbooks. They are actually really good books! AND, we check out lots of books and educational dvds from the library. He's always eager to learn about things like dinosaurs, space, inventors, etc. We are also watching the Little House on the Prairie series together, which he thinks is great. We are reading the Little House on the Prairie books together, but he's a little bored with them. But I like him learning about the past and those who paved the foundation of our country, so he's willing to read along. His interest is growing now that he's learning that they are true accounts and watching the dvds help him to connect it visually. He is very bright and well above his grade level for reading. His math is pretty good, but I'm working on getting him to follow the rules of math. Thank God I decided to do this now because it was our first math lesson together that I realized he didn't understand regrouping, but was able to come up with the right answers. He wasn't carrying or even starting in the ones column! But he could figure it out based on averaging the total of each set of digits!! It wouldn't have been long before math would have become a nightmare and he may have been completely left in the dust in comphrending it!! Anyway, what do you think? We are both quick learners and don't like a lot of repetition that is unnecessary. But we need enough to drill the lesson into memory as we both tend to be forgetful if we don't truly get the concept. Thanks! I appreciate your feedback!