I love the CKE series. We have done Biology and I really enjoyed it...my dc did, too, but wouldn't admit it ;) I have Earth and Space to use once I get my schedule all figured out. We just did basics the first 2 months of school with some fun art projects and a few science things added in. My ds8 needed a slow immersion. Anyhoo...I'm ready to add in some American History and hopefull...the Earth and Space. I love how it's laid out, bite sized lessons, scriptures to memorize, fun activities and lots of ways to beef it up for older kids or those who want more. I love all BIP material, actually. HTH

Oscillococcinum...has worked like a charm for me. I started with a fever and cough on Saturday night. Started taking the Oscillo on Sunday morning and felt better the next day. Not 100%, but tons better than my dh did who did NOT take the Oscillo and eventually developed pneumonia :( I would say don't take the Tamiflu, instead take the Oscillo, but I'm not a dr. :D Praying he feels better soon.

Honestly, I'd stick with the Oscillo...it does work. I'm taking it now and not nearly as sick as my dh was. I'm not 100% but my fever is low, I haven't been coughing up a lung like dh and I can function...a little. Just my .02...and I'm not a dr. so take my advice with a huge grain of salt.

Oh Lisa. I am so sorry for you losses. Praying for your strength and comfort. Your circumstances remind me of a line from a Natalie Grant song called "Held". Something about "You assume that this one has suffered her share, that life would be kinder from here...this is what it means to be held..." Sorry, can't remember the exact words right now. But it is about going through tragic circumstances and knowing that God is still holding you through it all. I'm so sorry, Lisa. :grouphug:

Hey Marsha. It is my belief that a first grader does not need to do formal grammar at all. A first grader should be working on reading as fluently as possible before moving on to grammar. Copywork should be enough when they are ready to write short sentences. Point out that the sentence starts with a capital letter and the sentence ends with a punctuation mark like a period or question mark. Done. Wanna teach about nouns? Play a "noun hunt" game. Have dc look for nouns around the house and see how many they can find. Or, give them post-it notes with the word "NOUN" on it and have them stick it to something that is a noun. Play verb games like having them act out action words like run, jump, skip, hop, crawl, talk, walk, throw, etc." That's all they really need to know. It's more than most 1st graders in ps would know! Others may disagree, so take this fwiw...just my humble .02!

They have a placement test on the website. Take that first. I would NOT recommend starting in Primer...wayyyy too easy for a 1st grader who has an "excellent" in math. Starting her in alpha wouldn't be so bad b/c she could solidify her add. facts. I've heard others say Primer was "useless". Never did it, so don't know why. Take the placement test, though, and see. You won't need the completer blocks unless you plan on doing the "block clock" with her. We never bothered with that. My kids could tell time w/out it. Good luck!

First, you are not hurting their education. What you are doing now is likely more than they they were getting in ps anyway. Trust me...my 3 oldest are in ps now and I'm ready to pull them b/c of the lack of challenge. :glare: About science...we don't strictly follow the WTM, but here are some suggestions. If you are not Christian or don't want a Christian curriculum then these might now work so well!: Christian Kids Explore Biology would be my first pick for your age group. The 1st grader can sit in on the readings and do any projects he/she wants. Perfect for your other ages/grades. Apologia Elementary Science series is also good. Difference is you spend all year on ONE topic like Flying Creatures or Swimming creatures, or Botony, etc. I think they actually have a Human Body Elem. coming out soon too (or it is out, not sure). I don't have any experience with secular science materials. Sorry. I'm sure others will chime in, though!

Thanks, Kysha! That is what I thought, but wanted to make sure. It looks like a great FREE alternative!

MFW suggest going into Analytical Grammar (I think that's what it is called) after ILL. Not sure about writing. Lots of choices out there. I had been looking at Jump In from Apologia. It does get good reviews.

I'm taking it now for the flu (Not sure if it is normal flu or h1n1). It has worked well for me in the past. I take 2 viles each day normally, unless I am really sick then I take 3. Hope it works for you...hope it works for me this time!

I found Sheldon's language lessons on Google Books as a free download, both primary and advanced. I say a previous thread about this and most people seemed very pleased with this. It looks really good. Does anybody know the approximate age levels for these? Do they follow PLL and ILL pretty closely? I sold PLL and ILL b/c I didn't care for them that much. Sheldon's looks good...same style but just different enough that it might work. Has anybody used this yet? Reviews? Thanks. I'm looking at using her Primary Lang. Lessons with my 3rd grader.

My son has trouble reading from books. I started to use the tiles from AAS to drill his CVC words. It worked like a charm. We also used The Phonics Road b/c it introduces the r controlled words right after the letter sounds. Makes more sense for reading. He is doing well. He loves to make words with the tiles. I'll put out say, 'at' and ask him to spell various words ending in 'at'. Or I'll spell the word myself and ask him what it is. He loves it. Hoping we can move back to the book soon.

So I was thinking about how much I just can't stand all the electronic toys out there today that do EVERYTHING for the kids and make imagination a thing of the past. Talking everything, moving everything, noise, noise, noise...(do I sound like the Grinch? :D). I want this Christmas to be almost totally electronics free (with the exception of the iPod Shuffle my dd12 has been wanting :)) and possible a Leapster for dd4 who always fights over her brothers'. So, what are your fave, non-electronic toys (any age range). I'll start! Legos K'nex wooden blocks books, books, books and more books! simple cars/trucks that the kids has to move by themselves! play kitchens What are yours?

I do have that. And I like it. Is it too "easy" for an 8th grader? I guess not if it is recommended alongside History of US. Thanks! I also remembered I could look at BJU. Thanks.

I've been searching and searching and can't find one! I really just want something that speaks from a Christian perspective. We read secular, enjoy History of US, Story of the World, etc. but I would just like something Christian to balance the scale. KWIM? Any suggestions? Thanks!

It was suggested that I check out AO for my dd12 returning home from ps since we do not have a ton of money for new curriculum. So, I looked and I like what I see. A lot. But, I am confused. I want to do Year 5 b/c it is the time period we need to study in History. Do the years coorespond to grades and so would Yr. 5 be too easy for her? The books seem to vary from easy to more difficult...certainly not too difficult, though. Can anyone help guide me through this? I'm so confused!

If you are talking about "How To Teach Any Child to Spell" it is Gayle Graham. Is that the one?

As always ladies, I knew I could count on you all to help set my mind at ease and suggest great ideas! I'd give you all a great big hug if I were closer but for now...:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I get so "stuck" in my perfectionism that I lose sight of the actual learning that can take place w/out learning it "all in order". I think starting at the Civil War is GREAT! I will check out the lapbook on homseschoolshare and the books everyone suggested and make my own history program until I can find the money for something I really want (like MFW...b/c it includes everything like bible and music and art, etc.). Thank you, thank you...I'm off to prepare my plan of attack! :D

Well, dd woke up this morning and said she was "okay to go to school b/c she had a test in social studies and didn't want to miss it". So responsible, my dd (at least when it comes to this stuff :tongue_smilie:). Tomorrow, I said she could stay home and it will give dh and I a chance to talk over some finances and some options. Thanks for all the suggestions. A few things: I would follow WTM, but I do want something Christian. And, dd loves activities and projects and I am just not sure I can plan all that by myself. I'm looking into lapbooks at homeschoolshare.com. My second dilemna is that ds8 is now just starting to study Amer. Hist. 1 (Native Americans through 1850). They don't HAVE to be on the "same page" and perhaps it is best if she has her own stuff to do apart from the little ones. I just don't know. Must get rid of my perfectionist tendencies. Dd can be dramatic. Her crying has more to do with being tired, not liking to get up early, being scared walking to the bus in the dark, being overloaded with projects and hw, etc. But, I do want to pull her out anyway so why not sooner than later. I'm also going to send a letter to book samaritan for the remainder of what I need. Thanks!

Thanks, Steph! I forgot about Book Samaritan and I think I WILL keep her home tomorrow and talk about our options when she is more awake and in better spirits. Thanks!

Laurie, I DO think she can learn without spending money we don't have. I really, really DO, but I'm just scared! Letting her loose in the library just doesn't seem "structured" enough. I'm not confidant enough to piece together an 8th graders curriculum. Elem. ages? Sure. No problemo. 8th grade? I'm too afraid she will miss something important. Yes, I know there will be holes no matter what. But, with History...I'd just like having a schedule or a book to make me feel better. I'm a whimp...okay.

Like? Dislike? I'm looking into this as an alternative to MFW 1850-Mod. for ds12 as the price is cheaper...much cheaper. Thanks for any reviews or opinions you might have!

Thanks everyone! I'm looking into the Latin One book right now. As for the Our Los Banos...I have the one for American Hist. 1 for ds8 right now. Had planned to start next week. I like the looks of it. For dd12, she'd use amer. Hist. 2. It looks good, but I'm just not sure. We've used Hakim's books before, but she is very liberally slanted. I really wanted something with a more Christian slant. KWIM? I'm still looking around and praying that God will show me what to do. I'm also wondering if I can successfully teach Amer. Hist. 1 and Amer. Hist. 2! HAH!

we simply do not have the money to spend on more curriculum! My plan was to pull her out at Christmas break. And I will probably stick to that. However, she is becoming more and more insistant...crying spells, begging me to bring her home, saying she can't handle the stress, hates her classes b/c they are too easy (which they are), has trouble getting up at 6am and walking to the bus stop when it is still dark (I can't drive her b/c of my little ones home still sleeping), yada, yada, yada. I'm all for her coming home, but what do you do when you can't afford more curriculum? This is what I have for her: Saxon Alg. 1 Tell Me More Spanish LLATL Green book from last year that she could finish until I can afford to get her Gray book CKE Earth and Space which is geared more for the 3-6 range, but I could easily adapt for her until I could get Apologia General. The Phonics of Drawing My needs: Writing (I'd love Jump In!) History (Looking at MFW 1850-Moderns w/ the 2nd/3rd grade supplement) Latin (would LOVE the Latin Road to English Grammar b/c we'll need it for ds8 soon anyway...or some other Latin program?) Music (composer study? piano lessons? voice lessons?) I've decided against LL8 b/c she didn't care for LL7 last year and I think the book studies in LLATL will suffice. Perhaps we can use LL next year. Any suggestions on how to work this out, would be greatly appreciated. I could borrow money from my folks, but hate to do that. MFW would be the biggest expense...even purchased used if I could find it. Help? WWYD?

I just purchased the Native Americans set for gr. 1-3 for my ds8 and ds6 to go along with our Native Amer. study. I'm hoping they will like it. It's a bit different than lapbooks...which they both hate. So, I'm praying it'll be a nice "change of pace" form simply reading and doing narrations and notebook pages.