I might be alone on this one, but I decided not to buy Artistic Pursuits after seeing it at a homeschooling curricula fair. I thought it was a little pricey for what you got so I passed (and trust me--- I was ready to buy it. I had my money in hand). Since then, another woman in my homeschooling group showed me this book --- http://www.amazon.com/Making-Amazing-Art-Activities-Williamson/dp/082496795X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277037725&sr=8-1 I thought the projects and the instruction were superior to Artistic Pursuits and at a quarter of the price. This book is next up on my buy list.

If you're just looking to supplement with games to reinforce math facts, get the games kit. It comes with a mini abacus. My dd loves the games. She'll be 5 next week.

We're using Rightstart A, OPGTR, and Getty Dubay Italics A for purchased curriculum. Then, we're doing read alouds from the Ambleside Online Year 0 list, the Sonlight K list, and the Hillsdale Academy K list (the link to download that curriculum is here --- http://www.hillsdale.edu/academy/academics/curriculum.asp ). The read aloud list I put together for my family is here: http://enchantedschoolhouse.blogspot.com/p/2010-2011-kindergarten-read-alouds_21.html We're also trying to have a rhythm in which we do art one day, craft one day, baking one day, games or an outing one day, and storytime at the library another day. I'm artsy/crafty so I'm coming up with my own projects for those days. And finally, LOTS of outdoor play time! We used Oak Meadow K for K4 and we liked that too.

:iagree: The library is my number one resource. For this coming school year, I based all our read aloud choices on the lists from Ambleside Online, Sonlight and the Hillsdale Academy curriculum (I went to Hillsdale College so I hold the academy in pretty high esteem. Their curriculum dowloaded as a PDF is free too --- http://www.hillsdale.edu/academy/academics/curriculum.asp). I request items the week before I want them and usually don't have a problem getting them (we have a main library and 3 branch libraries in my town so we're pretty blessed). I bought Rightstart Math Level A from Rainbow Resource (too hard to get all the manipulatives together 2nd hand), but bought Level B from eBay on the cheap and found Level C ridiculously cheap (like $12) at a used curricula fair. I would say used curricula fairs are an awesome resource if you go in with a list of what you're looking for. eBay is great, but you really have to watch your prices. You can tell there are curricula junkies on the loose there because sometimes used items go for more than they cost new! Amazon has also been good for finding things that I need for cheaper than elsewhere. My biggest challenge is not buying more than what I actually need...or being sucked in to switch to something new by all the great ideas on this forum.

Have you tried Bill Nye DVDs? There are quite a few geared towards astronomy. My four year old has been on an astronomy kick for about a year now with no end in sight. I think we've checked out every easy reader book related to outer space in our library :001_smile:

Wow---you really have tried it all. In full disclosure, my oldest will be 5 on Tuesday and we're doing Level A. That being said, we love Rightstart. Since it seems your child has not clicked with workbook type, traditional programs, it sounds to me like RS might be a good fit. I like it because from the start it has discouraged finger counting and has focused on identifying quantities as groups using the abacus. It also has lots of games which my daughter loves. My suggestion would be to start him with Level B since he isn't doing multiplication and division and is struggling with addition and subtraction, and go through it quickly so he can get the feel for the RS way of doing things. Hopefully, he'll be encouraged that he is indeed smart and that math can be fun. Lots of luck and blessings to you and your family!

I've been doing RS A with my nearly 5 year old since April and it takes us no more than 20 minutes to get through a lesson. I remember reading somewhere that Dr. Cotter recommends doing two lessons a week at the A level. Also, it really is no problem to break it up over a couple of days and go for a shorter time period. 15-20 minutes a couple of times a week seems to be the perfect amount at the K age.

We were debating between MUS and RS for our dd's K year. My husband wanted MUS because he liked the idea of the rods and the DVD learning and he didn't like the ALAbacus they use in RS (he personally has an easier time visualizing with rods than the abacus). I wanted RS because I liked that the reinforcement of concepts is done via playing games, and one of my friends told me that MUS Primer was boring. Our daughter ADORES games so I won in the end. We're 20 lessons into RS. Am I in love? I don't know about that, but my daughter does love that darn "Yellow is the Sun" song.

Would MEP also be a good complement for someone using Rightstart as their main curriculum?

One more thing I forgot --- if you're really nervous keeping your children up with their public school peers, check your state's board of education website. In Michigan where we are, they list all of their expectations by subject and grade level. Some of them are ridiculous, but at least you can acknowledge that up front. Just seeing what they are, gave me confidence that I'm going to be okay. Here's a link to what Michigan's kindergarten expectations are for Language Arts: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ELA_00_(K)_87343_7.pdf

We're all in the same boat, sister! Just have confidence that you know what's best for your children. I have to tell myself that everyday, but it is true. Start being your own cheerleader. You are choosing homeschooling--- a path that lots of parents are afraid of---and you are going to do a great job! And I am too! :hurray: for us!!!!

:iagree: about your CM assessment. Her method was to ask the child, "Tell me everything you remember about what we just read?" and if they do it in an unsatisfactory way to reduce the size of the passage. In Charlotte Mason's case, I think she was trying to teach the child more about paying careful attention to the reading than about condensing the passage.

My daughter is around lesson 75 in OPGTR, but does not write well. For those of you who use both OPGTR and ETC, would you say OPGTR is good standing alone or do you think ETC provides essential practice and reinforcement? I was thinking of getting ETC, but if it's going to cause frustration from having to do a lot of writing then I don't want to go there.

I'd like to hear from any users too. Do you like it? I have Getty Dubay A, but it seems like this may be more economical in the long run. Anyone?

:bigear:

My daughter so far is enjoying the games that are used with Rightstart Math. It feels like a nice break, but I know she's actually practicing her math facts---yay!:001_smile:

:iagree: That was a good description. I know in MUS Alpha they pretty much focus all their energy on single digit addition and subtraction. Multi digit addition/subtraction is in Beta. You get multiplication in Gamma and division in Delta.

I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to my daughter when she was 2 or 3 and she loved it. We're in the middle of James and the Giant Peach right now (she's nearly 5 now) and she begs me for another chapter all the time. It all comes down to your child's sensitivities. If she's already seen the movie, then the chokie (sp?) in Matilda the book probably won't scare her whereas that may trouble another child.

If you're looking for less teacher intensive, MUS might work. I personally have just started using Rightstart (which is teacher intensive) because my daughter learns well via games, but my girlfriend who is a mom of 7 (4 of them are under age 5) homeschools her older three using MUS and LOVES it. I think the fact that she can have Mr. Demme teach her kids the concept on the DVD and then she as mom/teacher can help with reinforcement helps her out a lot time wise. MUS is mastery vs. Saxon being spiral though. If this all sounds good, MUS could be a good fit for you. The last thing you want is a miserable kid and a miserable mom. Doing two lessons per day probably burnt you both out. Before you jump ship though, why not skip over the stuff you already know he knows in Saxon and try to jump in there? See if his attitude improves with new material and maybe save yourself some money.

Wow---I hadn't heard of it before, but it does look pricey. Have you thought about making some manipulatives like that yourself? They look pretty easy. We made some simple beanbags here and have enjoyed them.

My daughter will turn 5 on June 22nd. She'll be in kindergarten in the fall. I own Levels A-C of Rightstart Math. I know...I'm crazy. I went to a homeschool convention. I went to a hs fair looking for A or B (because my daughter could go either way according to their placement test). I found the C manual, workbook, and math games book for $17 total (bought new they would be $108). Obviously, that was a deal I couldn't pass up. Then I bought A with the manipulatives from Rainbow Resource (no discount) and B (a little more than 50% off new including shipping) on eBay because I couldn't decide which to get. So now my kid who hasn't even officially started school yet has enough math to get through 2nd or 3rd grade because of her mother's indecision. I don't regret it though. We've been doing a bit of A and I'm sure it's working out way better than B would have knowing what I know now. Good thing Rightstart has a good resale value usually. I guess I would probably spring at anything one year ahead (I'm trying to restrain myself here) at 50% off or more. It's always good if you know your prices and know you can resell them for at least what you bought them for to someone else.

I responded with 30-50. We usually read about 20-25 minutes at bedtime. The 2 year old gets a book of choice that usually lasts about 5 minutes and the 4 year old gets 1-2 chapters from a book we're reading (we just wrapped up The Boxcar Children yesterday). Then we read whenever we get a moment during the day. Usually we read a story before our afternoon quiet time and maybe 1 or 2 stories/book chapters in the morning. You all who are reading 1-2 hours per day, my hat's off to you!

We haven't tried the Starfall K curriculum, but we're on a trial membership at www.readingeggs.com and my daughter (she's almost 5 and is at around lesson 70 in OPGTR) is digging it.

:iagree: I started with my daughter with OPGTR a couple of months ago. We started with lesson 26 or so because she already knew her consonant sounds. We hit a rough patch a little while back when she didn't want to do it. I backed off, bought some stickers to reward her for finishing a lesson, and now she asks me to do it. We've reached the long vowel section (somewhere in the neighborhood of Lesson 65) and she is flying through. She has some favorite stories too that she wants to go back and read again and again.

:001_smile: I realize this thread is discussing philosophies more than practicalities BUT I am so interested in hearing MORE (lots more) about nature tables, main lesson books and block beeswax crayons. Please share :D. As far as the nature table goes, the idea is to incorporate a rhythm along with the seasons in the home. It varies from home to home as to how in depth you go with it and what kind of table you use. Some folks make dolls to represent Mother Nature and fairies, etc. to represent the different seasons. We tried using a smaller dedicated separate table, but our cats (darn cats :lol:) kept jumping into the display so now we keep our display on top of the buffet in the kitchen. We've used the book Earthways and the book The Nature Corner to get ideas for ours. Right now our buffet is covered with a light green cloth and we have a vase full of pussywillows on it. Hanging from a pussywillow is a little white fairy we made from teased wool roving (the instructions are in The Nature Corner book). We made her last year for our summer table, but my daughter liked her so much she's out early. We also made a beehive for summer last year out of braided rags that's already out. I guess it's kind defeating the purpose of following the seasons, but if she wants it out that bad (and we are getting close to summer, right?) that's fine. She also likes to collect flowers from outside and sticks, rocks, etc. to display on the table. We try to change it as close to the first day of a season as possible. I have different cloths to cover the table for each season (summer is a bright rainbow tie dyed batik, fall is a autumn leaf print, winter is light blue with snowflakes on it). We try to make something new for it every once in a while. Last fall we made a dragon out of walnut husks she collected for Michaelmas. It's been fun. In Waldorf schools, they make their own textbooks (or main lesson books) by illustrating blank books and writing about the topic they are covering in their main lesson block. My daughter is still young so she calls hers "my fairy tale book". Whenever we read a story, she draws a picture of what we read and then we paste it in a blank book we got at Barnes & Noble. She even painted a watercolor to paste on the cover. I like it because it will be a nice record of what she did at this age. I try to encourage her to only do her best work for the book. She produces A LOT of art work so we try to pick and choose for the book. Beeswax crayons----I love 'em! The Waldorf reason for them is because they encourage using natural materials for art when available. I have to say I like the blocks better than the sticks though. They're pretty expensive, but they blend WAY better than Crayola. The blocks are perfect for shading an area quickly. In fact, my daughter calls them "the shaders". She uses them to fill in the sky a lot. I got the blocks for her when she was 2 and they are super durable. Not one break and she's still using them daily. Those block have lasted forever. I can't say the same for the Stockmar beeswax sticks which broke all over the place. They stock them a lot of different places, but here's a link to a store that has them reasonably priced--- http://www.threesisterstoys.com/c-7-arts-crafts.aspx Other books you may want to check out for those who are interested in "Waldorf Lite" (i.e. the fun stuff without the philosophical reasons---in the spirit of full disclosure)--- Seven Times the Sun A Child's Seasonal Treasury - out of print and expensive but you can occasionally find it on eBay cheap Toymaking with Children I went through a period where I was all obsessed with buying or making a set of Waldorf playstands (really I was kind of crackpot about it. They sell them here. We ended up buying a play kitchen from them instead), and then I realized half of this stuff you can just create with stuff you already have. It's much easier to make a house or a tent out of a couple of kitchen chairs than to drop $300 and have these playstands around taking up space. Anyway---enjoy the fun stuff :001_smile: