My oldest is finishing book Dd and has used it from book A. This particular ds preferred the layout over Spelling Workout. He really enjoyed the ETC books, so this was a perfect fit for him. I like the alternative words, as well as the alternative homework ideas at the bottom of each lesson if you need more practice. They also have a few blank lines at the bottom of the list so you can add in problem words to the next weeks list. We are in the last book, so we will move on to the Calvert CD in the fall. HTH, Jill

I did SOTW with my oldest in 1st grade and he did enjoy it, but I have decided to wait until 2nd grade to start ancients with my middle ds. I have decided on SL Core K because it has an Introduction to the World and Cultures overview. I am including a few books to go along with our studies like DK Children Just Like Me, DK Jobs People Do and few young geography books such as Me on the Map, Me and My Place in Space, Usborne My Street and My Town. I am really looking forward to it. Jill

We are almost finished with Core 4 and I do not care for the Landmark book or the Story of the USA books. I think the next time around I am going to either use the Abeka 4th grade book or possibly buy American Story 1 from Winter Promise and use their spine. They have a book called The American Story: 100 True Tales of American History. They also in the past used Children's Encyclopedia of American History by DK. These are ideas I am mulling over... HTH, Jill

I also really like the Winter Promise books. I'll have to sleep on it - I really should not be making this decision so difficult... Thanks!

Does anyone have a library list of elementary read-a-louds/readers for American History. Has anyone done this and NOT used a spine for 1st grade? Thanks! Jill

Do you mind me asking why you use both. I used FLL with my oldest and was planning on using it in the fall with my 1st grader, but I am drawn to the Queen books. I don't know if it is the color or the workbook - what parts of each do you do? Will you also use Writing with Ease? (Which, btw, I still can't wrap my brain around why I would need it if I actually do the enrichment exercies in FLL) Thanks, Jill

Thanks!

Am I dreaming? I really like the set at notebookingpages.com, but I am trying to find free ones first. Thanks for any help! Jill

I'll have to check out living learning books, REAL Science & CL Nature Readers. The easy classical looks like a nice program... hmmm Thanks for the suggestions!

I need some good ideas for spines for animals/human body/plants. What are you using that you love? I want to do more nature study and my ds loves animals/frogs/bugs so I want to make it a fun year for him. I looked at WP Animals, but the cost is too much right now. I have My Body book by TCM that we'll use. I am looking at the Kingfisher First Encyclopedia of Animals or DK Animal Encyclopedia, Fun with Nature and the Nature Study notebooking pages from notebookingpages.com. Any reviews of those? Thanks! Jill

Do you mind me asking how you combine SL and Winter Promise? Thanks! Jill