I used three SL cores with my ds, and am currently using my 2nd one with my dd. It does offer some optional hands-on. I am not certain what you mean how it fits with WTM. I am planning to use Memoria Press which has a complete classical curriculum package and use SL for history. It also depends what grade/age you are speaking of for hands-on activities. Also, if you want lots and lots of hands-on, as we homeschoolers know, anything can be supplemeted, lol! As another poster said, it is lots of reading, and we love to read here. My ds graduated a year early from high school and is doing great in college. I think it is partially due to him reading loads of quality literature. Yes, you can just buy the books and not use the instructor guide, you can get the guide new or used, and get the books secondhand, or check them out from the library. There is a wealth of information on the SL forums, which you can find a link to at the top of the SL home page. There is also a list of 27 reasons to buy and 27 reasons not to buy on their website, which will help you make a decision. Additionally, they have a fabulous return policy. Check that out on their website as well. I simply love Sonlight. It made a difference in my relationship with my son because we spent a lot of time together reading, and I feel like it makes me slow down my busy life and do the same with my dd's.

My dd is taking a local hs group Spanish class, but we need some simple audio CD's and/or DVD's that teach counting, numbers, letters, days of the week, months of the year, greetings, etc. I have only found two locally, and neither of them were what I wanted. If you have some ideas or some to sell.... Thanks!

:lol::lol::lol: I needed the laugh after a long night with a teething baby!

:iagree: If I did everything with my dd every day, she would probably cry! BTW, as kiddos get older, it does take a longer day. I do agree with other posters that suggested moving some stuff to her own time. I did that with my ds, especially the reading and math. I am not familiar with Phonetic Zoo spelling, but when my ds had ongoing problems with spelling, we switched from Abeka grammar and spelling to Easy Grammar 3x week, Daily Grams every day, and Apples spelling (very short and effective) daily. It cut our grammar/spelling time in 1/2, and greatly improved his skills in a shorter time. Hang in there, you are doing great!

SL cores do not include science, so you could skip their science altogether if you'd like. We love SL, I have done several cores with my ds that graduated, but just started buying new with my two little dd's. I actually borrowed my first core, then bought used and borrowed a lot of books from the library for the other cores we used. There is a list of 27 reasons to buy and 27 reasons not to buy on their website you could read, and visit the SL forums as well. I do know several people that use SL secularly. It is not completely religion based, but does have views of various beliefs. Actually, I think one of their resons *not* to buy is if you want all books to be Christian. It is a bit pricey, but when I added finding all the books (the library here is not very well-stocked as opposed to where we used to live), I was not saving enough to justify the hassle. Also, we can use them over and over, and not have to buy a new curriculum for the younger dd, and any others that we happen to be blessed with. One major fabulous thing about SL is their return policy. It is 180 days, and the books are not required to be in perfect condition. You can view that on their website as well. If you do decide to get the science to look it over and do not think it is the right fit for your family, you can return it. I have found their customer service to be outstanding!

We use Sonlight and love it! Right now, my dd is 4 1/2 and we are working on P4/5. If you visit the Sonlight forums, there is a wealth of information there. Some people do find some of the titles too mature, but we haven't as of yet. Some use P4/5 for K and K for 1st, etc, until they get to the later middle school years. I find that P4/5 is a good mix of picture books and chapter books. My dd loves listening to stories at bedtime, so we read the chapter books at bedtime instead of as regularly scheduled. The level of the books depends on the child. Since we school year round, we will begin Core K in January. We also used P3/4 last year and enjoyed it as well.

I like the curriculum lists in signatures....sometimes it makes me check something out, or remember something that I used long ago with my ds that I may want to revist with my dd's. Pictures? I don't really care about those. Some that are not "real" are very entertaining! Just my 2 cents! :D

Ah, thanks very much! We are Abeka users (my ds used Abeka all the way through) and wanting to switch to Saxon. Abeka has separate lesson plans, I did not realize that Saxon's were incorporated. Thanks so very much! (again) :D

Is there such a thing? If yes, where do I find them? I looked at Veritas Press, but don't want to pay that much! Thanks, Michelle <><

Bumping this thread again for any new insights. I am a Sonlight lover, but am still floundering with other things. I know it sounds crazy (at least to me), but I am considering purchasing this to use until early next year when we get SL K. Right now, we are finished with P4/5, and I love something that is laid out, not piecing things together. I am hoping to combine MP K with SL K. Any ideas? I would use MP K solely until January, then add the SL K core.

What are your thoughts? My dd just got glasses last week, and the Next Generation transitions were suggested to me by an optician. Any experience with these? Thanks!

So we found the glasses, YAY! Now, I am scared to order from Zenni because if I get something wrong, then I am stuck with a pair of glasses she cannot wear. So, I am off tomorrow to find her a "spare" that is not $250!! Thanks so much for all the advice/support/pointers! You ladies are simply fabulous!

Bumping this to ask a question I posted with another thread. What are all those numbers that the Zenni site asks for and where do I find them? Dd got her first glasses yesterday. Any other tips about using Zenni would be great! Thanks!

So, my daughter has had her very expensive glasses (because I didn't know better, not because we are wealthy, lol) for about 24 hours and they are lost! :sad: We think she left them across the street at the neighbor's when she was playing, but they left right after sending her back home and are not back yet. First question, do your kids (or did they) lose them? How do you keep up with them? She is supposed to be wearing them all the time, but is still adjusting so sometimes takes them off. We remind her to put them back on, but of course my neighbor did not know that, and she was only there 15 minutes. What about those straps/cords? I honestly don't want to get one of those, but cannot replace glasses weekly either! Next question(s) about Zenni Optical. It looks like a great place to get glasses, but what are all those numbers they ask for and how do I find them? If they need to be adjusted, do you do it yourself? I am totally new to all of this and need H.E.L.P.!! :eek: Thanks! :)

So we took off on the 2.25 hour trek to Birmingham to see the pediatric opthamologist. They did a lot more testing than the optometrist, and said her left eye is 20/20, and her right eye is 20/40. He altered her presciption some and said he did not see an astigmatism as diagnosed by the optometrist. The optometrist DID NOT EVEN MENTION TO ME THAT THERE WAS AN ASTIGMATISM!!!! That annoyed me, but I knew I was doing what was in my heart, so it was alright and I let it go. He said it can possibly be corrected (or may self correct), but he did not want to give me a guarantee, which I completely understand. He wants to see her back in two months, but he comes to Montgomery once monthly which is only an hour. Less than 1/2 the drive to Birmingham, YAY! He offered to refer me to an opthamologist closer, but I told him I specifically came to him becase he was a specialist in pediatrics. He said that was great, he was simply trying to save me the drive. He also said he does not think she has lazt eye that requires surgery, he thinks the appearance of the lazy eye symptoms is due to the fact that the right eye is tired from trying to keep up with the left eye and sort of "zones out" or rests, hence the appearance of a lazy eye. He does not think we will have to do patching. Thanks again for all the comments & support, even in the OP thread on the K-8 board. That OP is what kicked me into gear to take her in the first place. I feel much better now that I went there. Keep us in your prayers! Our God is an AWESOME God!

We are off to a pediatric opthamologist today! I found one in Birmingham by the name of Dr. Eric Hein that had cancellations for today. it is a teo hour drive but will give me great peace. We did find Zenni Optical thanks for the tip. As for Sight for Students, we do not qualify. We make too much money (that I am thankful for). It hasn't always been like that! :D BTW, to the person that inquired. Yes, her eyes were dilated. she had two different eye drops, one was stronger than the other. I did feel like the optometrist spent an adequate amount of time, but never having been through an eye exam, I am not certain about the procedures. Thanks for all the fabulous advice ladies. I really appreciate the encouragment and support. I will post later and let you know how it went. Prayers welcomed!

Okay, so my 4yo dd (to me) had what I would call a lazy eye. Dh and I talked about taking her to an optometrist, but hadn't really made a firm decision. Then she tells me that sometimes she sees "creamy" (I am thinking her vision is blurry and she didn't know how to express it) and she also says she she sees "white sometimes, just a little bit." Anyway, today I took her to an optometrist (not pediatric). They tell me she is farsighted and is 4.5 in one eye & 5.0 in the other. I don't know what this translates to in the 20/whatever department, and I was so upset I forgot to ask! The poor dear has always been clumsy, I am wondering if this is why now! However, for some reason I feel uncertain and am looking for a pediatric optometrist. I see some of you have taken your child to a pediatric opthamologist. What is the difference and which one should I take her to for a 2nd opinion? Neither dh nor I wear glasses, so this is a completely new field for us. I simply want to make sure that she gets what she needs. We did order the glasses that this optometrist said she needs, to the tune of $250 and that was with a 10% military discount! We helped her choose frames and got the poly-carbonate lenses. Anyway, if she needs them, it's just money, her eyes are certainly more important. One of the things that concerns me is that the doc is "not sure" if she has lazy eye, or if it is just due to the eye working so hard o compensate for the lack of vision. So any thoughts/opinions/experience/recommendations with this would help ease a Mama's mind! Thanks so much!

simultaneously? I tried OPGTR with my dd and she was completely disinterested. I had tried it, dropped it, waited, tried it...you get the idea. All this time she is asking my how to read words, what the sounds are, and trying to sound out words on her own. I finally got 100 Easy Lessons at a book sale for $1 and we are going through it slowly. She seems to like it and is very excited to know how the letters make sounds. Recently, I purchased quite a bit of Abeka from a mom who had decided not to use it. I bought it to get the Art book and the Phonics materials. She wanted to sell it as a set....anyway... I was reading on the forums and saw where someone suggested following 100 EL with a more in-depth phonics program, and one of the programs touted was Abeka. Side note: I did not teach my ds to read, he was in a private school through 2nd grade. This is my first experience teaching reading. I was thinking I could use 100 EL and Abeka together. We are doing several things, but sparsely, and since dd is so much more interested in reading than anything else, I am more than willing to take more time with this and less time with something else. Any thoughts on this? I don't want to overwhelm her, and haven't really thought about how to fit the two programs together. Just would like some input.

I had these same issues with my ds. We started used Daily Grams and he did really well with it. It showed in his personal writing (I was peeking, too!) and in his schoolwork. It is a quick and easy way to review daily these concepts. Just a thought! BTW...I, too, am struggling with what to use with my dd. She does not really need formal LA as of yet, but we did review the SL LA K, and we are now using Queen's LL for Little Ones, Volume 1. She likes it, but after years of picking and choosing, I am so ready for a boxed curriculum that is not textbooks! I was hoping to like SL LA and SL Science but so far, not really on either one. Oh well, only so much one can do! It does seem that a lot of people are supplementing their supplements with LA. I don't know how there is time for everything that some have listed??!! I struggled with only my ds to "get everything done" and cannot imagine using 3-4 programs for LA in addition to all of the other subjects, plus outside activities, and I only had ONE child hsing! I am seriously revamping my hsing ideas for this next one! Sorry to go so OT! :confused:

MUS is Math-U-See, a hands-on, manipulative math based program. I would suggest getting The Three R's by Ruth Beechick, and Language and Thinking for Young Children by her as well. One of the very best places to begin is your local library. Find out if they offer resources for homeschoolers. There are a million books out there for beginners. You can get from the books, names of a wide variety of curriculum and order catalogs. Then you can begin looking to see what sort of curriculum you will need in the future. If you have not read The Well-Trained Mind, it is also an excellent resource, but you really do not need a lot for this age. OPTGR is great (for some, it didn't work for us), but you don't need a lot of other "stuff" for Pre-K. Some beginning places for curriculum/catalogs are: Abeka Rainbow Resource BJUP Sonlight Peace Hill Press Beautiful Feet Books Saxon Homeschool Winter Promise My Father's World There are a zillion more....this is just the tip of the iceberg! Enjoy! :001_smile:

:iagree:

I, too, am a SL user. The list helped me decide to use SL. My dd loves to read. She will let someone read to her all day, everyday, if we could. She loves to snuggle on the couch. We get lots of hands-on in other subjects, mostly science & math, so the lack of hands-on did not bother me. Since my ds left for college this past May, snuggling with the girls has helped all of us a great deal. To address BF, I used them with my son, who liked to read, but not as much as my dd. We also used two SL cores with him, but that was at dh's behest, becase he wanted him to have an intense American Hx course. We did BF, SL, and Notgrass for Am Hx. My son probably knows a lot more about Am Hx than most his age because of that. SL and BF are both great hx courses IMHO. Here is a comparison of other curriculums compared to SL by SL users. https://www.sonlight-forums.com/showthread.php?t=166571 SL uses a lot of non-fiction as well as fiction books. BF does not have so many books which is a factor in determining which to use, depending on how much time you have/want to read aloud. We all have to choose which works best for our family. I have now been through a total of four SL cores, and plan to order K near the end of the year. They are expensive, but when I tried piecing a core together, it was nuts and dh told me to "just order the box already!" I know many cores can be found used, but we will probably just buy new since they will go through two children (possibly more) and then can be resold for a decent amount.

OMG...I have never really budgeted for these. Somehow, when we need something, we just make it work. Now that we are working on the Dave Ramsey plan, I can see I will have to rectify that. Wait till I tell dh tomorrow that I get to budget for curriculum, lol! Right now, our tentative plan is to buy next year's curriculum out of his "extra" check in December. He gets paid bi-weekly, so gets two extra checks a year. The other is already gone, we spent it on our anniversary trip before we decided to do DR. We will have to revisit this, and I will have to figure out how much I spend annually. How do you even do that?? The only thing I have invoices for is Sonlight. I have no idea how much I spent on the WTM boards, ebay, Amazon, etc. HELP!

We are getting on the DR bandwagon, too. We have been discussing it for nearly a month, made our first budget tonight! Kinda scary and kinda exciting. If you have more tips or a link/site where you found tips on slashing budget, please share before you depart. We are selling and selling, but need more ideas on how to make extra money and how to save in our current budget. Internet we have to have for dh's school, cell phones...GRRR, we are in a contract FOR-EV-ER it seems like. Thinking of prepaid at some point in the future. Just bought a new truck to get rid of one truck & one motorcycle payment cause we could not sell the bike, no matter how hard we tried! That helped some, but need more! Dh refuses to let me sell my car, though we own it outright. I am willing to work with one vehicle for awhile, but he isn't. We did it while he was in college before and it was HARD, he doesn't want to re-visit that. Any other ideas....Carmen or anyone? Other resources for help? We can pay our bills but we want to do the snowball and are struggling to get there! Thanks and I didn't mean to hi-jack this farewell to Carmen thread....:tongue_smilie:

Present...mostly!:D