I think you might be right. They say the two go together. I thought the samples looked good. I guess you never know until you give it a try. :confused: Anyone else use Language Fundamentals??? :bigear:

Well, Aloha to both of you too!!! Heehee....just kidding....I'm in Wisconsin. :tongue_smilie: We are using McRuffy K right now (but taking it slower this summer). We have the phonics, math, and science. But....I sure wish I was more organized. I just have one of those plastic drawer things; each are in their own big drawer. Some things came in little baggies already, so they are still in them. I really don't have them organized in any special way, and it still works. We aren't too far along in each to really give much of a review. But, we are enjoying McRuffy; my dd loves it. So, did you open your box already?? I wouldn't be able to stand the suspense.....I tore my box open right away. BTW: I also have Alphabet Island (used it years ago with my first child).

OK....call me crazy (again!). Everytime I think I have it all figured out, I start second guessing. :banghead: My plan for 1st grade (which we won't be starting until January) was to use McRuffy Phonics (this would include grammar, spelling, handwriting). I haven't gotten to really look at it to see how much of each of these things are covered. We love McRuffy K, so I figured I'd just continue on. Buuuuuttt.....I seem to love picking and choosing each subject (this for handwriting, this for spelling, this for grammar). I know.....I told ya' I'm crazy. I've often considered Growing with Grammar. But, I have to say that every time I go back to the website and look at the samples......well, I'm just not overly impressed. I was reading reviews for GwG and someone mentioned Language Fundamentals (you can see samples at Rainbow, Amazon and CBD). I actually really like the look of it. It can also be used along with Daily Language Review, which seems like something my dd would enjoy. Both are from Evan Moore. Looks like LF goes through 6th and DLR goes through 8th. Soooo....has anyone used either of these? Has anyone tried GwG and were not very impressed? Here are the links to the publishers website that shows the most samples: Language Fundamentals: http://www.evan-moor.com/Title.aspx?CurriculumID=3&ClassID=169&SeriesID=81&TitleID=294&EmcID=305 [/url] Daily Language Review http://www.evan-moor.com/Title.aspx?CurriculumID=3&ClassID=169&SeriesID=35&TitleID=142&EmcID=140

Misidawnrn, thanks for explaining more about GwG. This has been a great thread. I love seeing what others are doing with kids that are the same age as mine. It's all so different, and I get new ideas. The Evan Moore Geography book does look good (I added that to my list). And, how about the cursive the K child is finishing up? What would that be?? Interesting. :bigear:

Can you tell us (or at least me) more about Growing with Grammar? What do you mean that it's hands on? Also, what is FLL (I'm thinking LL means Language Lessons, but I'm not sure...and don't know what the L is........First??)? :tongue_smilie:

My dd will be starting 1st grade in January. Here are our plans so far: McRuffy SE Phonics (for phonics, grammar, handwriting, spelling, reading comprehension), will also use parts of On the Right Track Reading Lessons (because she loves to build the words with the tiles), maybe Writing with Ease once she's writing better McRuffy Color Math McRuffy Science / Science Excursion (if I can afford it for next year) History Odyssey Horizons Health Map workbooks The Homeschool Art Guy videos, Little Annie's Art, Joseph the Canada Goose Pianimals and/or Kinderbach (we have both already) La Clase Divertida and/or Learn Spanish For Kids along with Whistlefritz / Mi Guitarri

I wish they had some sample pages on their website. I just see sample graphics to choose from and the little video clip; which doesn't show much and it's not very clear. Can the op give more of an idea how it's set up and what's included? I mean....is it basically just a calendar to fill in or what?? :confused: ETA: I just went back to the website and found some info on how it's set up: http://www.homeschoolstudentplanner.com/plannerintro.htm

I know....I was so surprised how fast mine was shipped too. Can't wait to get it. Hope you'll all enjoy it! :001_smile:

I don't use Sonlight, so I don't know if these ideas will help or not...but here goes. Some of our items are too big to fit in the box too. What I did was looked on-line for a picture of the cover of the book. I copied this into Word and resized a bit bigger. Than I printed it on cardstock and then cut it out (usually they are about 3" x 5") and "laminated" with clear contact paper (sounds like a lof of work; but it wasn't). I put this card in the box. There are also everything else needed in that box that can fit (pencil, crayons...anything needed for that assignment). Now dd can take out the box and pull out the card and know what book to go find. Another idea is to put the bigger books (workbooks and books you don't want bent) directly on the shelf right under that workbox. The TE's I always keep on a separate shelf. HTH! :001_smile:

I'm glad to know about Whistlefritz. I just ordered. Here's something else I stumbled upon, and I really like it (I just ordered it too.....so I think my Spanish fund has just ran out. :001_smile:). It's called Mi Guitarri (I did not order Calico Spanish....way too pricey. I just got the Mi Guitarri set). These are full immersion (no English). Here's some links: http://www.miguitarri.com/index.php Kidsimmersion posted this, you can click on their 11 videos they have posted; many of them are from Mi Guitarri. I love the guitar playing, the singing, and the cute graphics. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mi+guitarri&ih=10_1_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_1.78_177&fsc=5

Thank you for your comments.

Thank you everyone. I think I get it now. I think I'll have to investigate this further and perhaps give it a try. Someone mentioned it as being maybe more of a tool for mom. I wonder if you could use this loop/circle idea with the workboxes? Hmmm.....something more to think about. :001_smile:

Oh poo! I guess I still don't really "get" it. I've just heard of this a few days so it's still so foreign to me. When I look at your loop, I'm thinkin'.....ok....when my kid would get to the bottom that's where they'd want to stop. They wouldn't want to have to loop back up and start all over again. Apparantly I'm still not understanding the system. Is there any "Loop Scheduling for Dummies" info out there??? :blushing:

Well, I wouldn't say you are crazy. Buuuuuttttt.....I don't know if I'd go that route, personally. I have the entire K program and the Dynamic Phonics book (I planned on using that with another child, but didn't). The K program is soooo much more fun. I think the DP book would be a bit more work for you too. But, if money really is an issue, you could give it a try; it wouldn't hurt. If you can swing paying a little more, but not the full amount for the color version, I'm sure the black and white is just fine. I think the only difference in the readers is the color. I think it's cheaper at McRuffy than at RR (you'd have to double check), but you can also go to homeschoolclassifieds and search McRuffy; you might find some good deals on the B&W version. ETA: If you decide to go with the Dynamic Phonics book, send me a message. I really don't need mine anymore and it's never been used. But.....I do have to find it first. LOL!

When my oldest two were little we did some FIAR and enjoyed it. But we didn't do it the way it was designed. We never read the story 5 times. We would usually read it a few times and pick out a few activities (usually the art ones) and the questions to get them to think. My kids fell in love with many of the stories (A Pair of Red Clogs is still a favorite). I wouldn't have even heard of many of those books if it weren't for FIAR, so we would have missed out on some good stories. We found many of them through interlibrary loan. I haven't really gotten into it with my youngest, I think mainly because we have sooo many books on our shelf already (including many that we got for FIAR when we did use it). I wouldn't have worked for me to use it as a complete curriculum.

Well, whatta ya' know? I guess you really do learn somethin' every day. I've been homeschooling since my 17 year old was born and I've never heard of this. :blush:

That would be great to be sent a workbook. I wonder if that applies to buying on ebay. Hmmm....maybe not, because I got the set for quite a bit cheaper on ebay. I'll check Amazon on those books.

I had just been thinking it would be nice if there were some workbook/worksheets to go along with the dvd's. I'm glad to hear this. Maybe when they have it available, if you are aware of it, maybe you can post a heads up here to remind us (me). :001_smile: The Me + Mi books look nice. They are expensive though. Is there any place cheaper to get those? Off to ebay to look...........

Thanks Paula. I noticed they are pretty reasonable on eBay. We might just give them a try too. :001_smile:

I haven't gotten to read all the responses. This is very interesting. I hear the words in my head as I read and write. I don't see them (well, I guess I do when I read a story.....not when I'm just reading other things). I don't know how you can read and *not* hear them in your head. My son has always struggled with reading, but I've never asked him this. Interesting.

If anyone is interested, I e-mailed the company at languagezoom.com about a coupon code. Here it is: DE710 I'm not sure if that code works for the smaller packages, but I do know it works for the full set. Here's a link to some youtube clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8O3XxlGedk Their ebay name is: Spanish4kids I just got a good deal on ebay for the entire set. My dd is soooo excited. She watched the youtube video and is really excited about starting it. Thank you to the original poster for mentioning this program. I wouldn't have even known about it otherwise.

Thank you. This looks good. Does anyone have a coupon code for this?? I wish they had more of a sample of what the lessons are like. ETA: Oooohh...I quoted and it worked!

"I am also going to get another program called Learn Spanish for Kids. It is 60 lessons on 10 DVD's. It is a new program." Can you give a link to Learn Spanish for Kids? I tried to google it but couldn't find it. The Dora ones that are linked look cute. According to one reviewer, these aren't immersion. Am I correct that "immersion" is all words spoken in that language (no English at all)?? If so, then, no...those aren't immersion. But they do look cute. My dd is almost 7 and I wonder if she'd like those or not (she's starting to be too big for Dora). Also, can someone tell me how to quote people (with their quote in a little box). I click on Quote, but it doesn't do what I think it should.

Hmmmm....this is very unlike Brian. I've had nothing but very quick response and help from him in the recent past. He's always quickly answered all my questions, he priced matched items that Rainbow Resource had slightly cheaper, he mailed out a missing reader the very day I told him about, he threw in the colored cubes at no cost (since I had all the other manipulatives already). Just last week I requested a catalog (couldn't find where I put mine) and I got it like in 2 days. I've always had the best customer service from McRuffy. I'm not sure what's going on...I hope there's a good explanation for this (like maybe he's on vacation or something).