I have some readers coming to me and we do *a lot* of reading as is :) I do want to read the WTM, but my library does not have it :sad: So as soon as I get some more $ I will be investing in my own copy. I will definatly have to think about doing both GTG and SWOT together, it sounds like SOWT is going to be enough however. J enjoys letters, that is why I was thinking about doing an "extra" spelling. When I get my Saxon Phonics I will see if adding in another spelling program would be over-whelming. Thank you for the replies!

Below is what I would like to do with J this upcoming school year. I have some "tweaks" to work out, making sure this is *really* what not only I want but what will benefit J the best. Handwritting-Zaner Blosser (this is what he has been using, so we will stick with it) Reading/Phonics-Saxon Grammar-Growing With Grammar Spelling-Bob Jones University (not 100% certain-yet) Science-Apologia, J is learning about the Solar System in school right now but ADORES animals, which one would be best? History-Story of the World Volume 1, supplement/also use some lessons from guesthollow.com possibly. Would this work? He likes American History and we have some battefields around that we could tour. Geography-Galloping the Globe Math-Saxon/MEP Still not certain on a Religion course, most likely going to use something from CHC. Would like to continue Spanish, anyone have any good curriculum for this? Music-we have a piano, going to try to get some lessons for him. Art, he HATES Art class in school right, not sure what to do :confused: How does this look for a first time homeschooler whose son will be doing 1st grade work. Any comments/suggestions are welcome. Thanks so much!!!

Since J is already have spelling test in school, it is imperative to keep up with this, even if he is "only" doing 1st grade work. These are the two programs I am looking at, I like them both and can't decide which one to use! Pros and Cons to each please :) Thank you in advance!

This is the program that sounds it would be best for J this upcoming school year. I like the looks of CLE as well, but the reviews is something that both DH and I (yes he is on board now 100% :D) think will benefit J. Can I use MEP to supplement with this program? I *really* like MEP, for various reasons, but feel that Saxon Math is what we will use for the most part. Thank you for any insight/comments in advance.

Seriously looking at CLE, Rod and Staff or Saxon (which he is using now in school). We have been very impressed with the Saxon Phonics/Reading-so far. Do I stay with this program or try something new? Could I use another program and supplement with the readers thru the Saxon program? Thank you for any insight you have!

We are just starting on our homeschooling adventure and I took a very quick look at this and really liked what I was seeing. Would this be something good for a first time homeschooler? J is 6.5yrs and will be doing 1st grade work.

Sorry, I have another question :blushing: Wanting to introduce Grammar, will be most likely using CHC for spelling. Have a misc workbook as well, but would like a "foundation" resource as well. Thank you!

Forgive me for this next question :blushing: I am not familiar, and can not seem to find, all the abbreviations. I am interested in knowing what some of them are, as I have been able to learn some of them, but not all of them. AIMS materials OPGTR WWE FLL OPG SOTW and the AG SOTW 1 MOH MEP I just want to make certain I choose the right curriculum for J. DH came home from work and I asked him if we should (a) just get a new printer (ours is finicky) or just print off stuff at the Library. He said "well if we are going to do this (homeschooling) then you should have a new printer"...he is REALLY coming around-and FAST! HORRAY!!! :D

Wow the responses have been GREAT!!!! Right now I have DH on board thru the summer, we are keeping J's spot in our school for now. DH is getting more and more eager to see what we can do and homeschooling is getting more and more appealing to him the more we talk :) I am looking at both Seton and CHC for Relgion. Not certain which one I will go with yet, but leaning more and more towards CHC. Math, he enjoys-once he gets the hang of it. It sounds like Saxon Math will be good for him, and me :tongue_smilie: I am not the math whiz. I will look at Math-U-See and Singapore as well. I have heard great things on other sites about these two programs. I honestly think Math is going to be the hardest to choose. We actually have a piano, but no one knows how to play :blushing: It was given to us by a very good friend whom could not take it on her last move. This is a perfect chance for J and I to learn how to play. Science, I am strongly leaning towards Apologia. It looks really fun and like something J would really enjoy. History I think I will go again with CHC since it is light and would be nice for the first year. What about Geography? I was thinking about introducing minimal amts of geography/map reading to him this year. We like to travel so it would be nice for him to "know" where he is if nothing else. Explode the Code sounds really nice as well! Is this a primary or could this be used with something else? Have to look at it more, it sounds great! Thank you again to everyone, I am receiving great information, keep it coming!

I am looking very foward to homeschooling J this upcoming year :D He has approx 4wks left of K and the buzzing in my ear for homeschooling is getting louder and louder every day. Especially when your LO doesn't wake up until almost 645a and you have to be out the door by 730a-that does not leave a lot of tiime for your morning routine without a lot of tears and frustration on a 6.5yr old's part. I refuse to wake him up, well because that would just be B-A-D :cursing: Right now his school uses Saxon Phonics, Harcourt Brace MATH ADVANTAGE, and use HB for Language Arts as well, and for handwritting Zaner Blosser. I *think* I will continue to use ZB for handwritting but also really enjoyed Handwritting Without Tears when they used it last year in K4. I know that I do not particullarly care for the math program they are using. I hear a lot about Singapore Math and Math-U-See, any thoughts on these two programs? I do like Saxon for Phonics and Reading, thinking I will stay with those, but of course I am open to any suggestions. I took a quick peek at Apologia for science/biology, it looks really nice :) I have no idea on Social Studies/Geography :confused: Any good programs that are easy to use for the first time homeschooler but also really fun for the child? Since we are Catholic, I am looking at different religion courses. I really like the chcweb.com materials. I want to continue with his Spanish and I have been able to find (thanks to another thread) some on-line resources that look promising. Did I leave anything out? I want to make certain that I can not only do this but prove to a very sceptical DH that homeschooling will work and J will thrive. Thanks so much to everyone in advance!

I think we can all say we know what is best for our child(ren) and while they do *a lot* with the children in our school, they (the teachers) seem to all want them at the same level. There is only one class per grade and until JH years, if even then (I can not remeber right now) there are not any "advanced" classes, they are still all on the same "level". The more and more I think about this, how can this be good for all of the students? Our school uses Zaner Blosser handwritting and Saxon math. Not certain if I really like Saxon math or not yet, I will really have to look at it more before making a decision. I too will do most everything in pencil, who knows what will come up or what I *really* feel like doing that day, or even what J really wants to do. J knows the word without the added "s" at the end, but add that "s" at the end and it just confuses him sometimes :-( They just go on though, keeping "up with the Jones's" I guess. I can't wait to read the WTM book, it sounds like it is FULL of very helpful information! J would love watching the beans grow! Never thought of using that as part of school! I just do not see how schooling-at least for J-can be effective when we are taking 3 months off over the summer. We will definatly be year-around homeschoolers :) Thank you again everyone! I can't wait to really start looking into different curricla!!!!

When I picked J up this afternoon, my heart almost skipped a beat-I missed him sooo much. I even asked him if he would like to have school at home with Momma and he said, well really didn't because he looked at me very confused and kinda shy at the same time. This is a much different reaction I would get when we were talking about staying K another year-he broke down emotionally when that question was asked. I am very worried about trying to "hold his hand" too much. I want *him* to learn things, not just be "taught" if you know what I mean. How do I know he *really* knows these things? I would really like to find an on-line placement testing of sorts, something I could keep track of his progress would be great! I will look for the WTM in the library tommrow :) I never thought about attending Mass on Friday mornings! We would both really like that and he could see his friends. Our church does have a communion class that *all* students not attending the school must attend in order to recieve their 1st communion. Josef can attend that on Sunday mornings :) How did you know that homeschooling was the right choice for your child(ren)? Do you ever see yourself going back into the school system and if so, at what age? I worry about HS, but that is many years off, but I am pretty good at worrying ;) If I could find something to track his progress and know that he could go back to school outside of home if need to be and not be behind his classmates I honestly feel like that would "seal the deal" for us. Thank you to everyone whom has replied, I have never felt so welcome on a board!

This is my first post (well actually second since I posted in the AL thread) but I thought I should formally introduce myself. :) I will apologize in advance for the very long post. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read it. I am a SAHM to our one and only, whom is currently attending a local Catholic school. He had a very rough start to the year but is now doing great thanks to the interventions we have put into place. There was a lot going on in our family that caused J a lot of frustration in his own life while dealing with his own personal demons of sorts. His K teacher asked me if I would think about keeping him back next year. After MANY sleepless nights, tears, and talking with others we (DH and I) have decided to let him go into 1st grade as planned. I will include his last 9wk report card for reference, it will be at the very end of this post. I have thought numerous times about full time homeschooling as J has a really hard time each year adjusting to the new routine, and of course his academics hurt because of this. DH is not certain this is the best course of action for J, as he has developed life-long friendships (as have I) and the social skills he gains in school are needed for him. There is unfortuanatly not a lot of homeschoolers near me and thanks to my own health, traveling over an hour away to meet up with others is not always possible. Currently I will be homeschooling him over the summer, unless his school says he *must* stay in K next year, and then of course we will not be staying since they do not respect our wishes in doing what is best for J. I have done homeschooling of sorts with J as a younger child. He was dx with PDD-NOS at age 3.6yrs and we did A LOT of work with him to get him where he is now. I LOVED it, sure there were some days that I thought "am I EVER going to get him back?!" but in the end what I did with him in addition to therapies, was the best for him. He has SO many opportunities at the school he is currently in, some that I am not certain I would be able to provide for him. The main one is his Spanish class-I do not know a lick of Spanish, but he enjoys it and I would really like for him to continue learning a forgien language. What do homeschoolers do for music and art classes? These are the two classes that J does not do well in, I honestly think he has too much freedom. It seems to me that he *needs* the rigidness of a classroom setting and everything around in both the music and art room is just too much for him. I want him exposed to the arts, how do I do that if we decide to do full time homeschooling? We are a Catholic family, so learning about his religion and preparing for his first communion then eventually his confirmation is very important to us. This is another place I struggle, what materials would be apprioate for this? Of course he would still see his friends on the weekends and afternoons, if possible. I just want to make the best decision for my son I can. He really enjoys school, but would homeschooling full time be best for him? I know only DH and I can make that decision, but I am hopeful to have others insight on this as well. DH is worried that because of my health that I will not be able to "keep up" and J will fall behind because of that. He does not see how I can do 7hrs of school a day/five days a week and still be healthy. Do you HAVE to do that many hours of school? Why can't we do school on Saturday's or Sundays? DH works the weekends sometimes, so if he is off during the week, couldn't we take the day off as well? I will now include his last report card for reference on what he has/is learning in K this year. M-Mastered, NP-Needs Progress, U-Unsatisfactory, I-improving Fine Motor Development- Uses scissors correctly-M Holds Pencil/Crayon correctly-M (although I have heard he has trouble and can see how he does not always hold it correctly ) Prints first name-I Prints last name-NP Prints Alphabet-I Copies a sentace-NP Language Readiness- Speaks Clearly-M Expresses ideas well-M Tells a story in sequence-I Uses adequate vocabulary-M Mathematics- Identifies shapes-M Sorts and classifies objects-M Makes repeating patterns-I Knows more, less, fewer, equal-I Identifies numbers 1-20 Matches sets to numbers 1-20 Counts from zero to 40 Identifies coins-NA Knows days of the week-M Identifies calendar-M Tells time to the hour-NA Understands addition-M Undersands subtraction-NA Personal Development- Knows full name-M Knows address-I Knows phone number-I Knows birthday-I Knows names of parents-M Knows names of classmates-M Phonics- Identifies rhyming words-M Matches capital/lowercase-M Identifies a word in a group of words-M Recognizes short vowel sounds-I Codes, blends and reads a word-I Identifies intial/final word sound-I Knows the names of letters-M Knows the sound of letters-I Writes the letter in lower case-M *Excellent improvement! Please practice letter sound Yy, short vowel Ii &U* Reading Readiness- Identifies name-M Identifies colors-M Knows left and right-M Works from left to right-I Comprehends a story-I Identifies part of a story-I Identifies color words-I Identifies high frequency words-M Religion- Knows sign of the cross-M knows our Father-M Knows hail Mary-NA Knows grace before meals-M knows grace after meals-M knows gaurdian angel prayer-M Shows reverence in prayer/church-I Social and Behavioral- Listens when others speak-NI (U first two 9wks) works well with others-NI (U first two 9wks) participates in group activities-NI (U first two 9wks) obeys rules-NI (U first two 9wks) is respectful/courteous-NI (U first two 9wks) works independently-NI follows oral directions-NI finishes work on time-NI works neatly-NI *J's improvemed coperation is aiding in his progress in all areas*

I am in Tuscumbia, would love to meet up with others!