Good advice from mims. I still have my son read aloud to me a bit. I do catch pronunciation errors that way.

Oh, and my cart in Rainbow Resource is already at 200, and I have the major componets of my curriculum already!

Yes, you will use these materials again in future years! Do you need a curriculum for nature study? I'd say if you could just get a copy of The Handbook of Nature Study, you'd be good to go. Just go out and observe and sketch what you see. As far as public school goes, you'd be spending that muCh for all those candles, wrapping paper, and small tins of chocolates that they make the kids sell every year!

Well, we are using Sonlight with my strong reader, so there will be things that I read aloud and then independent reading. I plan on having an afternoon meeting to have him narrate to me what he has read that day and discuss any ideas presented.

We used ETC this year and she really didn't progress through it very well. I think she needs a more complete program. I havent looked into CLE.

I did look at that, but my girlie IS NOT an oral learner at all, so I think she needs more variety in activities and color. It is the same reason that I opted not to go with FLL. I don't think she'd retain anything. You should hear that girl narrate,:lol:

Anyone?

I did the same thing for life and they sent me the student book and the investigations book. I plan on ordering the TE.

I'm trying to plan my day and I've come upon some stumbling blocks. I need to pick a new phonics program, but I'm not sure what would be way too many teacher intensive programs. I will now have a 5th grader, 1st grader, and a Pre-pre schooler. Here is what I need to schedule: 5th grader - SL D+E Singapore math Growing with grammar/MCT (just read through grammar and poetry, do vocabulary) Phonetic zoo Lively Latin 1 CPO Life bravewriter 1st grader - MFW Adventures Singapore/Miquon REAL science Odyssey Life Phonics/spelling - either PAL reading/ Aas or Abeka Writing - Primary LL or Abeka or PAL writing Pre-pre K - AAR pre level or PAL and montessoi activities So how do I get all of this done and what phonics should I go with? I have AAR pre-level and had planned on using it, but the levels Re not going to come out when I will need them. So, please give me advice! Writing

Thanks, Melissa, that is good advice! My dd is more workbooky than my older, so I think Abeka would be fine for her, but I know she really loves the pre level of AAR. I think both my dd and my 3yo would revolt if I got rid of Ziggy zebra right now. I guess my delimma is that I feel drawn to PAL, but I'm still holding on to my love of AAR! And I'm just wondering if all the teacher Intensive programs that I have are doable for me, or if I'll just crash and burn and end up not using half of whT I have planned because of time constraints.

Maybe I should have labeled this, "phonics help"?

I ordered AAR pre level for my Ker since she was having trouble with blending. I figured that the review of the letter sounds would give her plenty of time to mature and solidify her skills. I also thought it would be great for my 3 yo since he loves doing everything that big sister is doing. Now I am in a quandary because it seems that level 1 will not be available when she needs it, nor will the subsequent levels. So I was looking at switching her to PAL reading and writing. I already own Aas level 1 and was planning to go with that for spelling. I guess I am wondering if it would be beneficial for both my dd and little brother to be doing the same program. I am just looking at all these teacher intensive programs and wondering if I should just go with something like Abeka. We will also be using MFW Adventures with her and SL D+E with her older brother. Will I be able to do all of this?

I've gotten something like this from Mardell for a buck or so.

I'm just trying to figure out what to switch to. I have been using Etc before the pre level came out, but it is not really moving her forward like I wanted it to.

I think I AM GOING TO HAVE TO go with something else. I am not even sure if it will be the right level when it comes out and I can't stretch it out anymore. I just have to accept that I am going to miss this boat with my middle girlie.

You could get math mammoth as download, and open it in goosreader, which allows you to write on your PDF. Not sur how user friendly it is , though.

You have this optipnwith HST+, which is why I am going to be more diligent with it this year.

If you can still identify every part of the sentence do you still feel it is necessary? I just go back and forth. My son has learned the four step analysis in MCT, so I am on the fence about traditional diagramming.

Welcome to our great state! Have loved homes homeschoolingg in Tx and am so going to miss it as we are moving to Florida, sigh...

Looks great! Love the set up!

I have a great box for our smallish items. It is a flat tackle box with pastic dividers that you can customize. I have a bird nest in a small Tupperware tub, and today I found an intact fish skeleton. Those items are just too big for the tackle box.

I collect lots of nature things for my kids to study and sketch. The problem is that I really would like a way to display these items, but I'm fresh out of ides. I've seen beautiful ideas with old printer trays, but I need practical ideas of something I can get easily. Anyone have ideas for me? I'd like something with dividers if possible so that my specimens don't get all knocked around.

We use the beginner and intermediate pages and haven't noticed thm not matching up. My oldest reads the story from the Bible, then I summarize the points for the littles, oldest does his independent work as I go through the exercises with my little girl, then I do the application side with her while the older does his map work. I do not have the teacher guide nor the map/timeline. I did get the cd as my littles love songs of any kind. The map/timeline is on our wish list for next year.

Just wanted to throw out there that we loved this book! I read it to my 9yo this year.

We love Bible Study for All Ages here. :D