You can see some sample pages of FLL3 (both teacher and student books) at cbd. I would definitely get the workbook, it makes the program open and go and easy for me to teach and ds to follow along. I really like the program and so does my ds8. I don't think I would use 1 or 2 with a 3rd grader. We use the WWE workbook for the same reasons, but if you have a method for comprehension, narration and dictation you wouldn't need it. You could just use the concepts learned in your FLL lesson and apply them to the dictation/copywork sample. HTH!:001_smile:

We used a variety of Let's Read and Find Out books about weather and some Seymour Simon books. These have great pictures and easy text. We watched some nature shows about tornados, hurricanes and other wild weather. We learned the water cycle and how to classifying clouds. My oldest kept a weather chart for a while. He read up on barometers and made a gadget on his own. It was our focus for about a month. They still drag those books off to bed with them and they remember much more than I do. We kept it light and fun. HTH!:001_smile:

I used Apples and Pears last year and this past Fall. I liked how it was laid out. I switched to AAS in March. I think AAS works better for my son because he can apply the rules, which are so simply presented and reviewed each day. It has the dictation that I enjoyed most about A&P and doesn't have the British themes or vocabulary. The tiles are a great bonus to AAS as well, at least we find them so. My son doesn't have a LD, so I can't answer in regards to that. We went through Level 1 quickly because he did have a good spelling foundation and he is gaining a lot of confidence in Level 2 now. HTH!

I'm sorry, pqr, it struck me as funny. She was asking about personalizing uniforms for her daughters and I imagined a bunch of "unique" uniforms on this group of homeschooled children. I agree that making the uniforms unique may be defeating the purpose, but apparently it is allowed in her circumstance, so what is the purpose of requiring uniforms in this situation? I didn't mean to bash uniforms or those who require them. :001_smile:

How about this hem facing idea? http://www.oliverands.com/blog/tutorials/2008/08/hem-facing.html I don't think there is anything wrong with making it as unique as is allowable. What is the purpose of the uniform in this situation? Kind of makes me laugh, independent-minded homeschoolers made to conform to uniformity. HTH

FLL3 is scripted, but I read over it first and then teach it. It would seem unnatural to read it or repeat things that many times, but the script is helpful to point out what I'm supposed to teach. My ds8 likes this program a lot and it is certainly easy to teach. I haven't seen the other programs.

There are a lot of components to LA. I tend to stagger them for my kids. Here's how 2nd grade LA worked for my son this year: WWE 1 for four months, then HWT cursive and All About Spelling 1 for three months, then AAS 2 and FLL 3. Now he is better prepared for the dictation in WWE 2, so we added that when we moved on to AAS 3. So, LA for him at the end of 2nd grade is AAS 3, FLL 3, WWE 2 and BJU Reading 3. We both like BJU Reading, it is easy to use, has a nice variety of short selections, and provides the comprehension questions for me. We don't use the workbook, but it has additional phonics practice. I have three kids to teach and two little ones running around, so this is how I have managed to make progress without overwhelming ds or myself with LA. HTH!

I liked the look of it as well, so I bought the red level and the book pack. It is probably a great program, but it was so difficult to get it done. There was a lot of cutting and sorting and preparing and it felt random and disorganized. Maybe the other levels are easier to implement. I returned to FLL, WWE, AAS and HWT and we have made consistent progress, go figure. I suppose I am just better at an approach where we do the next page and move on. I teach a lesson of FLL and AAS and then later we do WWE or HWT. I wonder if you know someone who has LLATL so that you can see what each day's work is like? I think it is a great idea, but I found it impossible to continue with consistently. Of course, the older levels may not be as teacher intensive as the red level was.

I really agree with Carol in Cal. Focus on narration until it is effortless for him. Here's how I taught my ds8: Read a paragraph or short section where important information is given and ask him a leading question: Me: Who did the princes ask to help them drive away Rodrigo? DS: Tariq Me: Right, the princes asked Tariq to help them. Read some more, then stop again. Me: What did Tariq do when he got to Spain? DS: Took it away. Me: Right, the princes asked Tariq to help them, but he conquered Spain instead...for what empire? DS: Islam Me: You got it! Tariq conquered Spain for the Islamic Empire instead of helping the sons of the dead king overthrow Rodrigo. You were really paying attention! This sounds so totally corny, but it works and it keeps him engaged in the story and teaches him what a narration sounds like. We are on SOTW 2 now and he narrates very well. Maybe too well, but that's a different problem! As for additional reading, the readers suggested in the AG really are worth looking at. If he's visual, the picture books make great independent reading without it feeling like school. He can tell you about what he learned as you look through the book together afterwards. My dd7 is very visual, so she enjoys this approach a lot. You can write up your own questions for readers if you really want him to write out his answers. My kids do a lot of writing so we do history orally. HTH!

Has your daughter used and liked History Pockets? My kids tried it last fall and it was hit and miss in the beginning and then they just didn't want to even see the book anymore, nor did I! For American history next year, they chose Draw Write Now book 3, Interactive 3-D Maps of American History and Easy Make and Learn Projects Colonial America. I have a lot of the same books you listed, but the ones my dd7 is most looking forward to reading next year are the Maestro series of books and How We Crossed the West by Schanzer. They are nice and inexpensive. I'm looking forward to The American Story, as well. Not that you needed more resources to look at, just my two-cents!

For LA, my next second grader will be doing WWE 1 with HWT 3/4 and BJU Reading 2 or Right Into Reading 3 (she likes them both). FLL 1/2 is great, but I found that WWE had enough grammar for my requirements. Along with math, I anticipate that her seat work will take between an hour and an hour and a half.

I am similar. Sometimes I am all over the board, sometimes I am a box-checker! Finally, this year some things clicked and I have found a method I can live with. For math, reading and writing skills, we use curriculum that is open and do the next assignment. If a fun tangent should present itself, we can take it up 1) if there is time or 2) at a later time. I don't sweat this stuff because I am committed to doing the next thing every school day. Now, history and literature are my darling subjects! I want to do it all. I got very frustrated with everything I tried because I wanted to add more or I didn't really want to do the things someone else had suggested in their TM that I spent too much money on...., so I have to do it myself, but that's okay because these are my pet subjects. So I take SOTW and I list it out by chapters and then I go and add in all the materials that I've seen and liked and purchased or loaned from the library. I add those to the appropriate chapter. Then when we hit those subjects I take out all that stuff and request what we need and then we just spend as much time parked in that time as we want. If a book flops, it flops. If I can't get something in time, it goes into the book basket when it becomes available later. This allows me to not feel like we are missing out on things that we might like and also to roll with reality. I can check off the resources we used, cross out what didn't work and move on satisfied. Here's an example: AMERICAN REVOLUTION SOTW 3, Chapter 22 3-D Maps, pages 46-53 An American Story, pages 42-64 Places in Time, pages 18-20 OIS, Chapter 95 Pilgrims and Patriots, Unit 6 Light and Glory, Chapters 11 & 12 Johnny Tremain, Read-Aloud Liberty’s Kids, DVD Liberty, How the REvolutionary War Began Phoebe the Spy George Vs. George Liberty or Death (1763-1783) 3-D Maps, pages 46-53 SOTW 3, Chapter 23 George Washington (Harness & Giblin) Places in Time, pages 20-23 Pioneers and Patriots, Unit 6 MTH Revolutionary War on Wednesday Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution Fourth of July I have all these resources available for this unit. Maybe we will spend a month on the American Revolution and use most of this. Maybe we will peter out after a week and only use a bit, but I know what is available to me and can adjust to fit our time and interests. Of course, many of the SOTW chapters have nothing but the chapter and mapwork! This gives me free rein to "use it all" without having to actually use it all or follow a prescribed schedule. Science education is a priority for my husband and the passion of my oldest. We use curriculum that is "do the next thing" and I let him spend his time following his rabbit trails. I think he gets more out of the independent work he does, but I can faithfully say that we completed this and that curriculum this year. Everyone is happy. I hope this helps or maybe it just makes me look crazy. From one formally overwhelmed mother to another...

I don't know how well The American Story would work as a spine. It is a compilation of well-known and lesser-known stories, short and independent of each other, arranged chronologically. It is really more of a compliment than a spine. I am planning to use it alongside of SOTW 3 and it will work nicely in that way, but I wouldn't want it to be our history spine. SL 4 comes with Story of the USA, so maybe that will be adequate and you can add in some library resources to flesh it out. Although that might not be necessary since SL 4 is already quite full!

I've got 5 kids also (2-8) and I pay $12/hour also. I would offer $100/day and give them a nice tip or gift when I returned.

I wouldn't read it to my ds8 or dd7. I'm not ready to talk about harems or the fact that the king murders his wives. I enjoyed the story, but it is young adult in my opinion!:001_smile:

My son will be a 3rd grader next year and he'll be doing FLL3 and WWE 2. He did WWE 1 this year and now we are taking a break to improve his cursive skills. He is still a slow writer and labors at making each letter just right, so we needed to wait on WWE 2 so he would be able to concentrate on the writing and not the handwriting. Even if you dc is comfortable with handwriting, I think you might still benefit from the foundation of WWE 2 before 3. I don't think WWE 1 would be challenging enough for a 3rd grader, but that's my opinion.

I have it. I bought it for my second grade son, he draws all the time. It is a little advanced for him. It requires drawing a lot of sight lines and erasing, he isn't really capable of penciling in softly and erasing gently at this point. When he draws, he never erases, so that is new to him. It is very detailed and the copywork is in cursive, which he is just learning. It is a beautiful book, but it will be more practical on our next go round of medieval history, in my opinion. He does get it out occasionally and he will draw a castle to look similar to the finished one in the picture, but he hasn't followed the step-by-step directions. The same can be accomplished with a lovely picture book. If money is no object and you're curious, get it. I wish it were more on the level of Draw Write Now, that would be more ability-appropriate and I would recommend it without hesitation. HTH!

My 5 are close in ages. We use teacher-intensive math curriculums (Saxon 2 & 3 and Right Start A), but math is teacher intensive in these years so get something that makes you a better teacher. You have your hands full, it's nice to have some guidance when your brain is fried. Make math time count. We use wkbks from Critical Thinking Co., Singapore, Horizons and BJU. My kids love math and I think that a large part of that is Saxon's painfully slow, incremental approach. We play lots of games, like Uno. Even the toddlers can play that and they are learning numbers and colors and directions without even knowing it. What are you looking for in Language Arts? I keep it simple with Click-n-Read, ETC, Apples and Pears Spelling and WWE. We rotate these. We do copywork daily and aim for lovely and accurate. We love SOTW and the picture books recommended in the AG. We love Jeannie Fulbright's science books and fleshing them out with library books as well. My kids never stop talking, so narration is a breeze. If you know what you want to accomplish with LA, that will help people give you more specific curriculum options! HTH!

My iPod is desperately bored with itself and I need to breathe a little life back into it, pronto! What are your favorite tunes for running? Here are my favorites from last month, the only ones I still like! Warm-up: Fever (Peggy Lee) Running: Bounce With Me (Kreesha Turner), Give It 2 Me (Madonna - Paul Oakenfold Edit), and If I Never See Your Face Again (Maroon 5 - feat. Rihanna) Cool-down: You Are Goodbye (Holly Conlan) So, what are yours? Thanks!

Terebith, I'm not familiar with nature kindergarten. Thanks for your suggestions. We will certainly take a look at the German schools and preschool programs for language immersion. My husband has talked to a few other military families that were stationed in Germany, but all of their kids went to the base school. It sounds like they weren't really part of the culture, just American tourists on a long trip. I suppose this is just something we'll have to see for ourselves. I see the benefits of what everyone has said here about local schools, but when we bring this up as an option with these families they seem wary. I like to have a plan, but I suppose this is one of those situations where we must just wait and see. Maybe I'll spend time planning trips... and figuring out how we're going to live without our stuff while it's in transit for such a long time. :001_smile:

I totally agree with Danestress! A daughter, your daughter, is worth more than money and if you can swing the financials and your husband knows this is the right thing to do as well, I'd waste no more time wishing and start actively pursuing an adoption. Maybe ask prayer circles to pray for adoption opportunities to open up for you, you never know, you could be an answer to someone else's prayer! You have kids, you know the nitty-gritty, this isn't just about wanting to buy pink stuff and hairbows. You know the process and what it is really like. I'll be praying for you!

I don't mind the shrinkage or quilting up, but these are kind of scratchy with the pilling, not what I would think of for something next to my baby's face. I'm not going to ask her to buy different ones, I'll replace them with something softer that washes better. I can use these ugly ones for dusting or something. Does Babies R Us carry decent diapers? I have one of those not far from me. Her baby is due in two weeks, so I'd like to finish these quickly. Thanks for your help!

A dear friend and I saw some burp cloths made with cloth diapers and pretty fabric at a trendy little baby shop, they were so cute. They only had girly colors though, so I told her I could make her some with patterns she liked better. She gave me some new cloth diapers and I washed them for shrinkage and now they look awful! They are pilling all over. I've washed them half a dozen times and they are no better. Is it the diapers? Did I ruin them? Are there better cloth diapers that wash well? I don't want to waste this nice fabric I bought on these ugly diapers! I don't know anything about cloth diapers, maybe this happens to all of them, in which case I'll use something else. Thanks for your help!

Wow! Thank you for sharing this information! I had no idea that foreign schools could have such different schedules, that sounds much more family friendly and like a tremendous opportunity for my children. Thank you, Starr and Matroyshka for filling me in! Thank you, Jumped..., I will print off your list and look into those things. It's a relief to know that we can order from the curriculum suppliers we currently use. It sounds like the kids will have many more opportunities for enrichment than they have access to here. I suppose I should look into Rosetta Stone and give the kids a little head-start. Maybe buy some travel books, too! Thanks so much!

Thank you, Susan, I'll look into this! That would be an interesting opportunity indeed! I think I could bear to part with them for the morning... Has anyone here had any experience learning a foreign language through immersion? I have no idea what my kids would think, they might really like it. I think it would annoy me, but maybe it just really forces you to learn fast. Thanks for the info!