I'm filing this away in my brain! I recently had an incident where I had a wish list item in my cart when someone ordered the same item as a gift for me - orders placed within 24 hours of each other. I returned the duplicate item and had to pay the processing fee.:glare:

I love this! DH and I read to each other so much before kids. Of course I still read a lot to my kids, but this inspires me to try to make it work on the family level.

I'm working on this as well - a printed Word version. DS6 just completed K, and we're about half-way through OPGTR. We both love not having to share the book. We get through the lesson, and if it is a long story, we've been known to take it into the car - if he has trouble he spells it out and I coach him. DS6 'hates' OPGTR as well, but he is making progress. I added ETC recently, and he loves it. He is trying to convince me to use only that for reading - I'm still thinking...

I am! I have done Science and Bible already (the ones I had as pdf's). I need to make copies of WWE1 and SOTW1 before filing those. I will not be cutting up workbooks - not this year anyway. I am making an index card for each week with supply and library lists. I have done up to week 10 so far. So exciting!

In speaking, we use /uh/ mainly. I used long a when we first began reading sentences. Eventually, DS changed to /uh/ during reading on his own. This sounds like the rule I use for the word 'the' - as to whether I say 'thee' or 'thuh.'

What an informative thread! I know that feeling. I hadn't always had it, so I assumed it was some kind of hormonal thing after having kids. I have been a big Always user - not anymore!

We need opinions!! Is that a fact?

Where to begin? Let's start at the very beginning; a very good place to start.

what to use after Apples and Pears? Peaches

Is Writing Tales 1 too much for an average 3rd grade boy? No, even a Ker should be able to write Tales 1.

Once she completes basic high school reqs, maybe she can pursue one or two 'applied' areas. One that comes to my mind is nutrition - a topic that anyone should know. This can reinforce her understanding of the scientific method and give her a foundation in order to evaluate different issues (like nutritional changes/trends) that she will encounter.

:iagree:

We're Reformed and use Long Story Short as evening devotional. DS6.5 (finishing K) does really well with it. DD3.5 doesn't show visible signs of comprehension yet, but I don't think she's very far from being able to be involved.

This makes a lot of sense! I've just added the KF book to my wish list; it looks great! Do you find that they can follow the story in that original, abridged form? Or do you summarize the story prior to listening?

When I ask him which he prefers, he says, "I want to learn both. I'll do piano first, then I'll do flute." What he really wants to learn, though, is the saxophone. This is why I lean toward flute now and maybe adding piano in the future when we can afford it. This is my 6 yo as well :tongue_smilie: Thanks everyone - this does help me process!

Yes, I've thought about the college student option. I guess I'm still thinking. I don't know what bartering options I have with college students unless they need science tutoring, transportation, or something. They make curved flute head joints (just a pic - not to show how much I would spend on a flute!), so length is not an issue. I plan to discuss all this with her, but I'm pretty sure she'll want me to go with flute lessons. ;)

Hello! This is my first thread after semi-lurking for a while. I'm thankful for this board, and I hope to have more to offer in the years to come! Anyway, oldest DS begins 1st next year. I've always had visions of all my dc beginning piano lessons by 1st, at the latest, and loving music, becoming accomplished, well-rounded adults, etc. :) We have a piano, but it looks like we just don't have the resources to begin lessons this coming year. DS is completing the Kindermusik Young Child series this spring, and I'm trying to work out an affordable plan for next year. My options: The Kindermusik instructor also teaches Suzuki flute. I have been bartering with her for Kindermusik time for all three dc. She has been pleased with me and is open to bartering for lessons. DS has a relationship with her, and he'll be getting solid teaching from an experienced teacher. I just bought the Piano Adventures primer level books. I am confident in teaching these books to him, and he has a little head start from his Kindermusik experience. I'll continue as long as I can, and if he LOVES piano, we'll do our best to get piano lessons. We're in a college town with a good music school, so we have that option to explore. Both 1 and 2 as long as my sanity allows. I love music and never had formal lessons, so my give-my-children-what-I-didn't-have mode is in overdrive here. I know the effort involved, and I'm not intimidated (yet). So I suppose I'm looking for advice about how much is realistic to do with DS6 who is a bit reluctant to sitting still, but is capable once I provide stucture and make him. TIA!

I also have the general plan in my mind (begin Latin in 3rd, etc). I have an excel spreadsheet of the materials I plan on using for the entire grammar stage (at this point), so I can be on the lookout for them. I try to think about Logic and beyond, but I've come to realize that I don't know what materials will be available by then (oldest is finishing K). I have the "end product" in my mind and I try to absorb all I can from this board and from TWTM. Once I get closer to the Logic stage, I'll begin hammering out the details so I can buy materials bit by bit.

:iagree:Oh yes, it did help me think! It provides great training for the brain.

Very true!

In science/tech fields other than physics and engineering (someone can correct me if I'm wrong on that), a working knowledge of calculus is an optional skill. In other science fields, calculus would be handy in various research specialties, but there are plenty of areas for which it wouldn't be needed. So I see it as an academic math - used by people who make mathematical models, etc. As a side note, statistics is a math that I didn't take, but I wished I had many times!

Being required to take calculus and actually using it are two different things. I have degrees in biochemistry and genetics, and the only times I encountered calculus were in my three required calc courses and two required physics courses. None of the academics I worked with used calculus on a regular basis, that I know of. I'm saying that it's possible to go into a science field without being an expert in calculus. The wikipedia entry on calculus (under Applications) does a decent job of listing various 'real world' uses of calculus (defined there as "the study of change"). In the same way that algebra makes work with operations/equations 'easier', calculus makes dealing with things that are changing (radioactive decay, flow of a liquid, etc) much easier.

All we've done at this point is read through a Bible story book to prepare for digging deeper next year. DS will be in 1st next year, and I've decided to go with Veritas Press Bible curriculum. I find it helpful to remember the classical ed stages and apply that to Bible as well. I want to take advantage of the grammar stage "sponge brain" and pour in as much of God's Word as possible. The easiest way for me to do that and make sure I cover everything is to work through Scripture and have dc learn what is in the Bible (have Bible time during school). They then will have those pegs on which to hang information, etc from their next level of study. My goal - have "academic" Bible time in order to dive into Scripture at an appropriate developmental, academic level and have family devotional time in order to learn the elements of worship, to train them behavior-wise, and to learn how to have personal devotions. Worldview development does start early, but if I remember correctly, logic stage is when you really start working on connections between disciplines. That is why I think it is more developmentally appropriate in the grammar stage explicitly to answer the question, "What is in the Bible?" . Then as they mature intellectually, spiritually, etc, they will ask, "How should the Bible influence my thoughts and actions?" Approaching this question with a foundation of what is really in the Bible sounds much easier to me!

I've done K this year with my oldest. I wouldn't say we're nearly done though - giving birth to younger DS in December has really thrown me for a loop! I plan to keep going through the summer so that 1st grade isn't total shock. I, too, have learned a great deal about myself, my son and about how we interact. We've both grown a lot! I'm very excited about next year!

I haven't begun either VP Bible or SOTW yet, but I agree with you based on what I've seen. I like the WTM plan of three 4-year cycles more than the VP layout. I also like that SOTW is not as Western Civ focused. Next year, I plan to do VP Gensis through Joshua and SOTW 1 with DS.