Wow! Guess I'm not the only one trying to get an early handle on things! My plans are a bit in limbo at the moment tho, as I wait to see what classes will be offered next year at our ppp. Here's what I've got so far: Math: Kumon (cont'd); TT Pre-Algebra Language Arts: WriteShop 1; Writer's Jungle (used with all core studies) Science: looking at maybe using Real Science-4-Kids Biology - still deciding Geography: Runkle's World Physical Geography History: possibly History of US Health/Fitness: possibly Taekwondo; maybe swimming World Languages: RS Spanish (cont'd) Art/Music: Piano (cont'd) To me, this looks like a lot of work- especially once we get his classes in the schedule, too, so I'm sure this will change somewhat. We'll take the two-year trek on a couple of these. This year, his ppp classes were Public Speaking, Technology Projects, Novel Writing (NaNoWriMo), and Art in 3D. He will also have daily reading and Bible times. Busy, busy!

I have no experience working with dyslexic kiddos so take this for what it's worth. We are using Wordsmith Apprentice currently. I plan to follow it with WriteShop (http://www.writeshop.com/). I've also been reading through Writer's Jungle and am excited to implement that with next year's studies. WJ gives you (the teacher) guidelines that enable you to guide your dc into better writing without bogging them down in "meaningless" assignments. Check out their website for a good explanation of what it's all about. WJ is an easy read and makes a lot of sense. You may find it useful in teaching your dc. http://www.bravewriter.com/program/home-study-courses/the-writers-jungle/ *warning - there is a lot to read on the site, but it's worth it.

I agree with going chronologically. As for SOTW, I might recommend holding off on that for a year. When ds was K age, I used Evan-Moor's Ancient Civilizations History Pockets. It was the perfect seguey into SOTW for First Grade and gave ds a chance to mature a little before tackling a bigger chunk of history. And, FWIW, we loved the SOTW audio books! Ds would listen to them for hours at a time, while playing with his legos. *oops! Just reread your post and noticed you were talking about 1st, not K, so feel free to ignore what I just said! :tongue_smilie:

Hello! At that stage in the game, the only thing my ds really used computer for was learning to type and edu-games like Reader Rabbit and JumpStart. We also used Rosetta Stone. There are other things you could use it for, but they require internet access. You might hold off using the computer for too much in the lower grades. It's been our experience that the older they get, the more is done on the computer (schooling, gaming with friends, research, writing, tech projects....). Once they get started it can be challenging to get them off!

You're not thinking of the Apologia Zoology series are you? http://jeanniefulbright.com/ Eep! Just reread your description - no cartoons in Apologia. They use photographs. Sorry.

-A Child's Garden of Verses (I think that's the title; it's found on the Sonlight reading list) -Shel Silverstein (He has several books with fun, nonsensical poems - some will be complicated for a K'r, some will be very fun)

:lol: Had to laugh! My ds is newly 12 and he & his buddies are always playing Mine Craft. He was sooo excited today when I let him load it on my laptop so we could play together! "Wait till I tell the guys my mom is playing Mine Craft!" :lol: 'Course I have yet to figure the thing out and he has to tell me how to do things multiple times...but he's thrilled I'm playing with him! :lol:

File Folder games, sensory tubs, pattern blocks, unifix cubes, tangrams and anything that can be counted, sorted and patterned (linking cubes, tiles, keys, colored paperclips, pop beads, buttons....), playdough with alphabet cutters, magnet sets, puzzles, lacing cards.... Kumon wkbks, Funtastic Frogs and the like are also great items. These are all great items for preschoolers (provided they are beyond the putting things in mouth stage) to use in developing pre-reading & pre-math skills - especially patterning. She'll learn tons just by playing around with these things...and it's fun! You could also give her "assignments" to cut certain types of pictures out of magazines (find all the pictures of animals with 4 legs, etc) and make a collage. This will allow her to practice cutting skills as well as counting, recognition, etc. Or maybe have her make collages of items beginning with a certain letter/sound. If you want computer games, I recommend Reader Rabbit and JumpStart. HTH!

Here are some sites you might want to check out to add to your resources although they are probably better suited to middle school & up: http://www.googleartproject.com http://www.eduweb.com/pintura/

Did you check the NaNo site? http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/node/619879 They will usually do a free printing for NaNo "winners". My ds' first book was published through Lulu.com. Subsequent books done in his NaNo class are being published thru a local printer with Third Place Books.

Too funny! :laugh:

DS is on his third year of NaNo and old enough now (12) that I figure I have half a chance of completing NaNo myself- my first attempt. Not sure how I can get 50,000 words out of the story I have planned, but it does lend itself to a series, and, as my son says, "you can write more than one." We actually started at midnight, after we finished with Halloween activities, and worked for an hour till our 1am limit. We're both off to a good start! Happy writing everyone!

The other thing to do is just type your story in word or pages or something then copy and paste the whole thing in to the proper section under "edit novel info". It will count and update for you and will not save the story on the site. It's for word count verification only. Look under the FAQ for more info.

I've been thinking about WriteShop as well; looks like a great program. We are currently using Wordsmith Apprentice and it seems to be going well. I also just bought a used copy of Writer's Jungle. You may want to look into that. I'm reading through it right now and am pretty excited about the ideas and methods it presents. Rather than being "just another writing program" produced by educators, this is a method written by a writer for writers and writing instructors (ie homeschool moms). Not sure I can really explain well how it works, but you may find it to be a better fit for your natural writer. It's spendy brand-new, but it's also something that can be used indefinitely, and it's not a workbook so the same copy is good for the whole family. The following page has a pretty good chapter-by-chapter description. I'd suggest taking the time to read it. http://www.bravewriter.com/program/home-study-courses/the-writers-jungle/

Never used it so I can't vouch for the contents, but here's one on Currclick: http://www.currclick.com/product/65175/Trumpet-of-the-Swan-Literature-Novel-Unit-Study-and-Lapbook

:iagree: We have a friend who was recently diagnosed and his tremors started in his hand/arm.

A couple of places to check out: notebookingpages.com - if you sign up for a free account you can gain access to the free pages they offer, which include general bio pages. http://notebookingnook.blogspot.com - I don't know if you'll find what you're looking for here, but they've got a lot of nice stuff.

When ds was your dc's age we banned "stupid" from his vocabulary too, because he waaaaaay overused it. Now that he's older, we've relaxed that a bit as he's learned more about what's appropriate use and what's not. "Words are powerful- choose them wisely" is our mantra. That said, you could either edit on the fly, the books in question, or you could use this as a teaching time and discuss with dc whether or not the word usage was appropriate and why. Don't get too deep, tho. They're pretty young. I would just say something like, "Stupid is a word that doesn't sound very nice so our family doesn't say it." Keep it simple. I don't think you're over reacting; you have to do what's right to establish the values held by your family.

Let me throw another book at you... The Way They Learn, by Cynthia Tobias. It's an easy read that gives insightful info about learning styles. Might have something useful for you.

I almost did, but then I found the item used for 1/2 of the co-ops 1/2 price sale. :D

Well, I always "stub" my toe. DH on the other hand, "stumps" his. I wonder if it's a geographical thing. I grew up in the NW; he grew up in the SW. I also use "chuck" (as in chucking the wood over the fence or chucking the bad meat) whereas he uses "chunk". I've always just figured it was regional.

Ds is doing NaNoWriMo for the third time this year. He already has a classroom tho, IRL with our PPP. It's a great suggestion tho. Hope you get some takers. The kids always have such a blast encouraging each other, giving each other ideas, and just being together to work on their novels.

We are beginning to learn more about nutrition, etc. in our family. We haven't made any major changes yet, but are studying what kinds of changes to make. We recently watched a "movie" called, Forks Over Knives that speaks to the effects of chemical additives, animal proteins vs plant proteins, and whole foods. They mentioned several case studies where unhealthy people move to new eating habits of using only whole foods thereby dramatically improving their health (to the point of no longer requiring meds, reversing diagnoses, etc). You may be interested in watching that. It's pretty interesting. Definitely thought-provoking. For your dd's sweet tooth, I agree that training her to fruit, etc is the healthiest option, but for the occasional candy treat, check out Unreal http://getunreal.com/ They've reformulated popular candies using only natural ingredients - no chemicals, no preservatives, natural colors from beets, etc. It's a new company offering a comparably priced product. We just got some to try this week and they are really good. My favorite so far is the peanut butter cups. Anyway, what I notice about these - at least for me - is that they don't have the addictive quality that, say, Reeses has. With Reeses I could sit down and eat a whole bowl and not be satisfied. With the Unreal, I almost :tongue_smilie: didn't even eat the second pb cup in the package because one "did it for me". We have also started using Himalayan sea salt instead of the over-processed white stuff you find in the stores. It has lots of minerals - way healthier than the white stuff - and I would venture to say, is not addictive. Anyway, I'm interested in hearing what other info you get as we try to decide a course of action for our own habits. :bigear:

I'll join! :D Married 16 years and I still haven't figured it out! My in-laws, btw, are okay with that.

After 16 yrs of marriage...I still don't know what to call them :blink: Am I silly or what! Love my in-laws, but I've never been super comfortable calling them "mom" and "dad". On the other hand, calling them by their first names doesn't feel quite right either. I do end up calling them "mom" and "dad" most often tho, due to the kids in their lives (they adopted).