RS is an immersion program, but that's the best way to learn a language, really. There are wkbks that go along with it (although I've not used those at this point.) Ds is using Latin American Spanish and doing quite well with it. There have been updates to the program (not sure what it was like before). Unfortunately, I don't think they're made available thru the library systems anymore. BTW, RS is incremental in nature. You gradually add to your base of knowledge as you go thru the activities in each level. One section will work with certain words/phrases. Following sections will build on those words/phrases to form complete sentences. In working this way, you begin to see patterns in the language and greater understanding ensues. Just like learning your native language from infancy. Sorry - don't mean to preach. Just throwing in my two cents!

180 days in Washington state. Because we're enrolled in an alternative education program, we are also required to do 25 hrs per week at ds' grade level (K is considered half-time and grades 1-3 is 20 hrs/wk) and, like AZ, you "call the shots". WA state understands that much of home education is experiential in nature.

Ruth Beechick also has some good, enlightening reads. As a former preschool teacher and a BTDT hs mom, I can tell you with great assurance that young children learn best while having fun and playing. Pre-K & K do not need to be overly academic. Lots of hands-on, exploration type stuff is great for this age. Read a lot of books on a variety of subjects. If you've been on these boards very long, I'm sure you've seen my list of favorites, but here goes anyway: File Folder games (do a google search) Treasure Boxes (ziploc-type plastic tubs containing items that can be counted, sorted, patterned...we used buttons, colored paper clips, tiles, links, etc...and a muffin tin/veggie tray to sort items into) Dr. Seuss' ABC and the Living Books cd rom that goes with it (great for learning letters, letter sounds, rhythm...) Kids Create! Scribble Cookies Mudworks Sonlight Reading lists (including SS and Science) Tangrams (and activities) Pattern Blocks (and activities) Unifix Cubes Reader Rabbit cd rom games I remember my ds being about 2-3 and getting all gung-ho about those curriculum catalogs and all that cool stuff out there that I couldn't wait to start using...and I tried to use a bunch of it! Poor ds' eyes glazed over more than once. :lol: Yes, I am a self-confessed curriculum junkie...but I'm getting better! It's good that you're researching now. You'll have a better handle on things when the time comes. Just try to avoid the curriculum addiction. :willy_nilly: You don't need three different LA programs...trust me! There's lots of great advice on these boards. You're in good company!

I got our ABC cutters used but here's some on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E69DGG/?tag=plentyofnuts-20 not sure if Lakeshore has them or not. The Mudworks (and the other two) book has lots of different playdough recipes. You might check your library to see if they have those books. I know ours carries them. I went back to the Lakeshore site after my last post to see just how big the cardboard letters are and I can't find them on the site. :crying: So I don't know if they've been discontinued or what. It's a bummer because I was actually considering purchasing another set for ds. We kept the letters spelling his first name on his bedroom wall after taking the others down. He has since decided to go by his middle name and has suggested putting those letters on his wall instead. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the other letters (I'm beginning to regret that!) :blink: Haven't told ds yet that he's out of luck. Thought I'd just present him with another set. Now that may not work. Ugh. I did just find some smaller 9" ones at Discount School Supplies...still looking tho! http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/NewDSS/Product/ProductList.aspx?category=0&keyword=collage%20letters&scategoryid=0 Looks like Oriental Trading has some 10"-12" - a set of cap's and lower case. Might have to get those! :D

Hi! I haven't read the other responses so forgive me if this is old news. Lakeshore Learning http://www.lakeshorelearning.com has a set of colored cardboard letters that are about 15" +/-. We used these (one a week) for collaging. For example, on letter "A" we put stickers of angels, animals and paint prints of apples, among other things. On letter "K" we glued some old keys, a picture of a kangaroo, and "k" stickers, among other things. You could take that one step further and investigate animals, etc that begin with the letter of the week. Learn the ASL sign for each letter. Our favorite book at that time was Dr. Seuss' ABCs and the Living Books cd rom that goes along with it. I love this book for letter recognition (capital and lower case), beginning letter sounds and rhyming/rhythm. You can also play scavenger hunt type games like, "Go to your room and bring me back something that begins with ___" I used to look at Lakeshore catalogs/website for ideas. They have phonics tubs for letters/sounds which contain items beginning with that letter/sound. You could put something like that together. Use playdough to shape letters or use letter-shaped playdough cutters. Use your finger to draw letters in cornmeal (for example). For different playdough recipes and activities check out Scribble Cookies, Mudworks, and Kids Create! Some other books that may be fun: Chick a Chick a Boom Boom Animalia File Folder Games can also be a great activity. A google search will give you some fun ideas. This is a great age! Have lots of fun!

Some fun resources that provide great hands-on fun: Scribble Cookies Mudworks Kids Create! We also did a lot of file folder games (do a google search for some ideas). It also sounds like you might enjoy lapbooks or something similar. We used History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations in K. Ds still enjoys looking thru what he created then.

Lots of reading! Lots of hands-on! Lots of fun & exploration! Some of our favorite resources/activities: SL PreK/K reading lists Singapore Early Bird (we also used those cheap sticker math books that you see in the drugstores) Kids Create! Scribble Cookies Mudworks Carson-Dellosa Kumon Workbooks File Folder Games "Treasure Boxes" (same size containers filled with items (buttons, links, colored paperclips) for counting, sorting, patterning....and a muffin tin/veggie tray to sort them into) Dr. Seuss' ABC and the Living Books cd rom that goes with it (love this for learning sounds, rhythms...)

Seriously? I'm in awe. When my catalog came I immediately went to Goodwill with the book lists and started gathering and drooling....I'm not even using SL next year! :lol: Well, ok, I did plan to read the books, but we're not using the IG or anything.

We just finished up our Middle Ages studies which we began with SL 2 yrs ago (ds' favorite time period so far). For the second year we used Usborne's Internet Linked Medieval World ( http://www.amazon.com/Usborne-Internet-Linked-Medieval-History/dp/0794508154 ) as our spine. Your ds10 might like that for extra info/research since there are things to look up online. We also incorporated notebook pages into our studies ( http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?cPath=946&products_id=21197&it=1 )

Who knows? Especially when you consider that, at least in this state, compulsory attendance is age 8! (At least it was the last time I checked) And I say this knowing full well that I was once a preschool teacher and was very anxious to begin preschool lessons with my ds when he was that age. It's just a fun age for me!

We like Phonetic Zoo, too! I've been sorely neglectful of spelling up to this point. It just wasn't at the top of my priority list. This year (4th grade) ds as much as told me he wants to learn to spell correctly! Glad I was sitting down! :lol: Anyway, I bit the bullet and purchased Phonetic Zoo because I like that it incorporates auditory, visual and kinetic elements. It is very hands-off for me. Ds runs the cd player (you only have to pause if the word list goes too fast for dc to write the word. This rarely happens to us.) Ds listens, writes, listens to the correct spelling, writes. Then he checks his original spelling with the correct spelling he wrote down and marks the ones he got right. I love that it gives him independence and responsibility for his own spelling lesson - and he doesn't have "Mom" telling him he got ______ wrong. He sees it himself. I do double-check to make sure nothing was overlooked. And I help him practice (sometimes). He actually enjoys his spelling lessons and they only take 10 minutes or so!

We love Narnia. Other favorites include the Classical Kids cds (Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Mr. Bach Comes to Call....) Ds listens to SOTW a lot. We listen to a lot of the Jim Weiss readings. Check out http://www.greathall.com/ for his products (we like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, King Arthur, Tom Sawyer, and others) You might check out Henty for your ds. We're just starting into those so I don't really have any recommendations yet.

I'll second the Rosetta Stone. It's an immersion program, which I think is way better than just teaching translations. Ds is using the Latin American Spanish and is doing quite well with it. It's expensive, but it's something your whole family could benefit from. There are workbooks that you can get to go with RS, but I've not used those at this point.

Check out the links I put in my previous post on this thread. I'm like the second poster. There's some good how to's on those sites.

Good to know. Thanks for the heads up! I'll be sure to listen with ds instead of just handing him a cd. :001_huh:

We're just getting started with Henty. We're using audio books at the moment. The only one we've done so far is Wulf the Saxon and ds has listened to it 4 or 5 times now! Just wish they weren't so spendy! Thankfully I have a generous friend who is letting us borrow her's. :hurray:

How 'bout a simple "structure" like the alphabet. I used large cardboard letters - one a week about. On the letter we'd put stickers, objects, painted shapes that begin with that letter. We'd play games like "bring me something that starts with "a". You could take that one step further and use that as a science jumping off point and study an animal that begins with "a". Get some sidewalk chalk or cornmeal and practice writing "A" with large motions. Something like that can be a way to provide some structure for you but provide lots of fun & flexibility for dc. File folder games are good too.

Hmmm. Let's see, what did we do? We read through/discussed some of the Come Look with Me series (Gladys Blizzard). We worked through some of How to Teach Art to Children (both of the previous can be found on Amazon). And I kept the art supplies well stocked - tempura, acrylic, pastels, pencils, collage materials, glitter glue.... You might check into the Draw Write Now series. Step by step drawing and writing to boot!

Just to throw one more tidbit into the conversation - If you look on the website, you'll notice that SL recommends each core for a certain age/grade range and not individual ages/grades. There is great flexibility in these programs. I think most people (at least I know I do) find it easier to beef up a core for olders than to tame it down for youngers. This makes combining with differerent ages more feasible.

:bigear:

Great list! We just finished Middle Ages and used many of the books on your list. Have fun!

Just had to hi-jack for a moment. I did a double-take when I saw your Sig. My name is Cassie and I have a brother named Frank! :lol:

From one curriculum junkie to another.....just say no! :tongue_smilie: Lots of reading. Lots of hands-on. Lots of exploration. Some of our favorites: SL reading lists History Pockets (Ancient Civilizations goes well with SOTW 1) SOTW (audio books are great!) Science Activities (Usborne) Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science (this was a hit when ds was 5) Tangrams w/Activities Pattern Blocks w/Activities Unifix Cubes Kids Create! Mudworks Scribble Cookies File Folder Games (a google search will give you lots of ideas) Reader Rabbit JumpStart Oh, I almost forgot. One of the SL core K history books was Living Long Ago. I think it's an Usborne book. Good info and a few activities. It was top of ds' list. I still catch him reading it sometimes. Don't think we'll ever be done with that one! :D

:hurray:

What about something like "How to Teach Art to Children"? http://www.amazon.com/How-Teach-Art-Children-Grades/dp/1557998116 It covers line, color, form, texture.... in simple terms with suggested activities.