When my dd was 4, I started her on Abeka Phonics and handwriting. Abeka gives you the option of getting the workbooks in cursive or manuscript, but the program recommends cursive for the following reasons: 1. children learn to write in cursive from the beginning and so do not need to "relearn" writing at a later age. 2. when children learn to read and write in cursive, it helps them to "see" the blends of the letters. The letters literally flow together so it helps them transition from reading individual letter sounds to blending them together into words. Here's a link to their philosophy: http://www.abeka.com/resources/pdfs/cursivefly.pdf Now, I'm not a huge fan of Abeka, and as my daughter has gotten older, we have gotten away from it. She is starting 2nd this year, and we are doing a mix of things, none of which include Abeka,. However, she learned how to write in cursive as a 4 year old, and she has done all of her schoolwork in cursive ever since. A child will learn to write in whatever format you teach them - whether it's print, italics, or cursive. An added benefit to teaching cursive early is that they learn to read both forms of writing. My dd has no problems reading printed words (in books or handwriting) and she can easily read cards and letters from grandparents. As she learned to read, I wrote in both styles so that she could easily go between them. It's probably similar to a child who grows up hearing two languages - both become equally familiar and easy to him/her. My son is 4 and we have been teaching him to write in cursive as well. BTW, both of my dc have picked up writing in print on their own. They can print all their letters as well as writing them in cursive, so when they are just drawing at the table or making cards, they will sometimes write in print "just because." Like the previous poster said, if you're not being evaluated on it, then it's up to you to decide if you want your child to learn now or later or even never. Learning to write in cursive in pre-k is not something I feel like a child HAS to do. However, I wanted to give you encouragement that it IS very doable.

I would start by printing the reading assignments and overview pages. This is the crux of what you will be doing each week. I like to have the hard copies of these to refer to throughout the week. Secondly, I would print the pages that you want your kids to complete during the week, namely, the Student Activity pages, outline maps, etc. Only print the ones that your kids will need (for example, if you don't have a R student, don't print those SAP pages). In order to save paper and and binder space, I would not print the teacher's notes; just read them on the computer. Also, look over the writing assignments on the computer, but just write down what your student will do.

I'm schooling a 2nd and a k'er this year. For some subjects, they have their own levels, but where possible, I try to combine them. They are doing the same history, literature, geography, science, and art. So, for my daily schedule, I try to alternate one activity where we all work together for one half hour followed by a separate activity for a half hour. I also tried to plan that when I am needed by one student (to listen to her/him read or to instruct in a new subject) then, the other one has an assignment that she/he can do with minimal oversight. For example, here is how today went: 8:00-9:00 - breakfast, Bible time, memory work (all together) 9:00-9:30 - dd7 copywork and FLL; ds4 phonics (I can do his phonics while she does her copywork, and he finishes a phonics worksheet while I do FLL with her) 9:30-10:00 TOG history (all together) 10:00-10:30 dd7 writing instruction and prewriting assignment; ds4 free play time 10:30-11:00 snack and break for all 11:00-11:30 science (all together) 11:30-12:00 dd7 spelling; ds4 handwriting 12:00-1:00 play, lunch, clean up 1:00-1:30 dd7 math; ds4 reading 1:30-2:00 dd7 reading; ds4 math (they each learned their math lesson at the beginning of the week, so they needed to practice, but didn't need one-on-one time with me, which freed me up to listen to the other read.) 2:00-3:00 read quietly in bedrooms I also have a one year old, so I have lined up my schedule to correspond with her nap times. She takes a morning nap when we are doing language and history, and she naps again in the afternoon when the older two are resting in their beds.

I am not particularly fond of the extended writing assignments myself. I didn't run in to this problem during the first year because my dd did level 1, and WA didn't have that level do the extended projects. However, as I look over level 2, I find that my dd will be doing a display board for 5 or so weeks and then a newspaper for 9 weeks. That seems like a looong time for a 7 year old to work on a single project. However, I agree with ME-Mommy that she will need to learn how to do it, and I think that she (and I) will be happy with the final results. So, after debating whether to change up the assignments or not, I decided I would keep with the Writing Aids assignments (because, overall, I really like WA). However, I decided to break the larger assignments into smaller chunks. So, when it calls for a newspaper, we will write one complete newspaper article each week (diagram, rough draft, and final) and keep them in her notebook. At the end of the assignment, we will then put them together as a newspaper. That way, she'll have the more immediate feeling of completion, but she will still learn the skills of news writing, and we can have the final assembled project.

I have not used the notebooking journals - so I can't tell you if they're worth the money or not. Here's what we're doing instead: I wanted my kids to keep some kind of science notebook (but I didn't want to buy two journals), so I purchased 2 folders and printed the free notebooking pages off of the Jeannie Fulbright website. For each chapter, we'll read the book, do the notebooking pages, and add any of our own pages (like pictures or experiment/project summaries). We lose the fun activities like the crosswords and wordsearches and such, but I think this will work better for us since I like the freedom to add our own things. Plus, I did an internet search and found a few free crosswords that I will add when they fit in. Also , I made a Word document for experiments with the following questions: What did I use? What did I do? What happened? What did I learn? The kids can draw or write their answers and then add those pages to their notebook. I've had some people say that the cost of printing the free pages outweighs the "free" aspect, but really, I don't think it's that bad.

:iagree:I started my dd on alpha last year, and she loved it. She enjoys building with the blocks and and I really like the focus on mastery. The teaching videos have been great. Like the previous poster, I don't spend any time in preparation, and she enjoys having a different teacher for at least one lesson a week.

:iagree: I did year 1 with a 6 and 4 year old last year, and it went well. But, I definitely agree that the readings can be a little dry for that age (especially the longer read-alouds). If I were to do it again, I would buy fewer of the suggested books and just find substitutes at the local library. That being said, my kids really enjoyed it and picked up a LOT of history. They really enjoyed learning about the Egyptians, ancient China, the Greeks, the Romans, and all the Bible history that is included. We will be doing Year 2 this year, and we're all looking forward to it.

Thank you. I like the "switch schooling" idea and will try to implement that. I also like the timer idea. This morning, I had her working on some math problems and she did much better when I gave her a few problems and set a timer and then gave her another small batch and set the timer. I confess one of the problems is that I want to teach her to work the way I work, as opposed to finding the methods that work for her. I also want her to be able to do some work without me right there at the table with her. However, I guess I need to realize that she isn't at that point yet. (and that, from listening to some of you, she may never really get to that point). :glare: I have trouble with the advice to not have her finish her work (only work 20-30 minutes, then finish tomorrow). To me, that does not not teach diligence to complete assignments, plus that delays our schedule. (I will gladly slow down the schedule if there are problems with comprehension or whatnot. I don't like to get behind on the schedule simply because she is working slowly and won't move along at a pace I know she is capable of.) I sometimes feel like this is a power struggle more than a school issue, and I don't want to give her the upper hand in deciding what she will and will not do for school. Any thoughts?

I've read the recent thread about whining, but that is not my daughter's problem. She won't whine or complain about the work, but she will drag her feet and take FOREVER to complete an assignment. For example, if I give her a page to complete, I KNOW she could have it done in 20 minutes or less. She will make it drag out for an hour. During the time that she is "working" on it, she is never directly disobeying me (ie. she stays at the table, pencil in hand, paper in front of her). I don't know if she is daydreaming or what. I can't stand to sit there and tell her every few minutes, "get back to work." I have tried saying that we will spend X minutes on this assignment and if she is not done, she will have to finish it later when school is done. This works to some extent, but then she just drags her feet when finishing the work in the afternoon. She can make a 4 hour school day last all day. She is 7 and has no problems learning. All subjects come fairly easily to her, so there really isn't a comprehension issue or skills problem. I would love any advice as we get ready to start our new school year.

The Writing Aids book will explain the assignments. It's organized alphaebtically and you will find things in there like " Play writing," "parts of speech," "research paper," and "word banks." It has information to the teacher to explain what each thing is and how to give the assignment. Also, it comes with a CD with notes to print out for the child to have as well as some sample writing. (FYI, the word bank is a collection of index cards you add to every week as you learn new parts of speech.) TOG starts their writing off slowly each year and builds to higher-level and more involved writing assignments as the year progresses. Consequently, if you are starting in the middle of one of their year plans, the writing assignments will be much more significant than if you start in the beginning of the year plan and grow with it. I did TOG year 1 with my 6 year old last year, and the writing assignments for the first half of the year were "draw and caption." We made a book titled "The People of the Ancient World" and every week, she added another page or two. At first, she just drew a picture of the person or group of people and then copied a sentence onto the page. As she progressed, she continued to draw the pictures, but she also wrote her own sentences and then paragraphs. You could take a similar approach and do a "People of Colonial America" book. I can't say if you need to use WWE with Writing Aids. I have never used WWE, but I do like WA and feel like it covers a wide variety of writing issues and styles. However, other than teaching parts of speech, it does not cover grammar, so you will need to rely on another source for that. HTH

Does your child read fluently? If not, you will need to add reading or phonics. We just did TOG year 1 with a 1st grader, and here is what we did: TOG for history, mapwork, and writing (we used Writing Aids); a separate program for phonics, reading, spelling, and handwriting (we used Abeka for those 4 things, but other programs would work well); Bible memorization; math; and science. TOG does not give you copywork or dictation (or, if it does, I am not aware of it). I liked Writing Aids and it did introduce parts of speech and narration writing exercises, but IMO, it's not a good grammar program (I think it's better for styles and forms of writing). I really like TOG, but I don't find it to be an all-inclusive curriculum for the lower grades. This year, my 2nd grader will continue with TOG for history, mapwork, and writing. I am discontinuing phonics (she reads fluently), but I will be supplementing TOG with grammar, copywork, spelling, Bible, math, and science. HTH

True - there is the expense of paper and ink; however I wasn't planning to have the notebook bound. I have my kids keep a science journal by using a basic folder with clasps. They add the pages as they do them. This allows more flexibility so that if we want to add extra drawings or pages or experiments, we're not limited by having a pre-bound notebook. I really like the Apologia notebooking journals - they are very attractive and have lots of great activities in them. If you can find a good price on them, they are a great addition to your science curriculum. But, if you like a DIY version, it's nice to know where to find resources.

We bought Bastien Piano Basics for our daughter. It was recommended to us by a piano teacher - it's what he uses to teach his younger students. It goes through finger position, names of keys and notes, and has a lot of songs. They have primer books for 5-7 year olds and primer books for 7-11 year olds, depending on how old your kids are when you start them. We bought the books at a regular music store, but they can be ordered from Amazon, and they're pretty cheap. http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Young-Beginner-Primer-Bastien/dp/0849793173/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277295333&sr=1-5

Here is a link to her posts about organization. I found a couple of posts about her file folder system on the page. The longest, most detailed one was about half-way down the page (it's a long page, keep on scrollin'). http://dawnathome.typepad.com/by_sun_and_candlelight/organization/

If you want to make your own journal, you can download notebooking pages from Jeannie's website. There aren't as many activities and pages to go with each unit/chapter, but they are FREE! :) http://www.jeanniefulbright.com/NotebookPages.html

:iagree:I searched around quite a lot last summer because I wanted to find one program to start my 1st grader on that I would be able to continue using for a long time. I just finished TOG Year 1 with my 6 and 4 year old. They really enjoyed it, and I didn't feel it was too much for them. I was warned by another hs-ing mother that it was too much for young kids, but it has worked for us. As Marcia Sommerville at TOG explains many times, there is so much in TOG, that you are to pick and choose from the activities and readings much like you would choose your food at a buffet-style restaurant. Personally, I need something to help me stay on track, but I don't like a curriculum that is so prescribed that it tells me exactly what to do and what days to do it. I have found that TOG gives me what I am looking for. Also, I like that I can reuse the whole curriculum again as my kids get older. IMO, it is a great cyclical approach to history as outlined in WTM, allowing you to go more in-depth each time around.

I would like to hear responses as well!

I think it's a great program. It gives the students a very concrete and thorough understanding of the concepts. We tried ABeka, then Horizons, and now MUS. My kids love it, and my husband and I think it's a great program.

I'm exactly where you are. My daughter just finished first grade Abeka, but I will be using FLL this coming school year. There are 100 lessons for the first year of FLL and 100 lessons for the second year, but we normally spend more like 150-160 days doing school work, so my intention was to breeze through the first 100 lessons in 40-50 days and then take the second year at a pace of 1 lesson/day. However, I'm really interested to see what experienced users recommend!

I agree with the other comments that regrouping is an advanced concept for a kindergartner, however, I was not impressed with Horizons math. I used Horizons math in K because it seemed comprehensive and it is a very attractive workbook. My daughter enjoyed all the lessons, but I didn't feel she really "got" the math concepts. For 1st grade, I have used Math-U-See Alpha, and I have noticed a BIG improvement. Math is now very automatic for her. She really knows her math facts (without having been made to memorize them). She really likes the video series and the math blocks, and my 4 year old son has picked up so much that I will be starting him on Alpha in the fall If you look at the scope and sequence, there is a lot of overlap between MUS Alpha and Horizons K, but I went ahead and did Alpha even though it felt like we were going to be repeating ourselves. I'm very glad I did. It was just the foundation and thoroughness I was looking for. It has made a world of difference having her see and understand what the numbers mean and how they work together. MUS puts a huge emphasis on place value. Regrouping is a concept that is introduced in Beta, and my daughter was more than ready for it, and is flying through the Beta lessons. (We are working on Beta through the summer and planning to start Gamma in the middle of second grade). That's been our experience. Hope it helps.

I've read all three editions. Last summer, I checked out a copy from the library (it was the 2nd ed.). I liked it, so I bought a copy off of eBay (it was a first edition), and I noticed there were significant differences between those two, so for Mother's day, my husband bought me the third edition. The basic ideas between the three are the same, but the biggest differences are the curriculum and resource recommendations. The first one was written over ten years ago when there were a not as many choices for homeschoolers. Now that there are more options, the authors have updated (and changed) most of their recommendations. So I would say, yes, you should get the newest edition since you are starting to use it for specific recommendations.

We have been weaning ourselves off of ABeka. When I first started, that was all I used. Then, each year, I have been substituting one subject with something different. For example, I did all Abeka in k4, then for k5, I kept ABeka language and changed the math. Then for 1st, I still kept the language, but I didn't add any of the extra things that they have - like history, science, etc. Instead, I searched for options that I liked better. This year, we are leaving Abeka Language behind. By doing it in stages, I found I wasn't as overwhelmed by all the choices. If I had tried to change everything at once, I would have gone crazy. So, you could always try something like that - if you like parts of ABeka, you can keep those subjects for another year or so since you and the kids are familiar with it and then plan to change it in the future. Only look at changing the least-liked subjects. Here is what we are using this next year: First Language Lessons Math U See Tapestry of Grace Year 2 Apologia, Exploring Creation with Astronomy

That makes sense. That would be publishing their curriculum without their permission. Regarding the book lists, it only seems reasonable that, as homeschooling moms, we can discuss which books we may or may not like for our kids.

Tracy - I am glad that the books look very kid friendly. I haven't bought any yet, but that is encouraging. Seekhim4ever - I didn't realize that TOG requests us not to discuss their book lists on other forums. I don't want to do anything that violates their policies, but I was hoping to get an idea as to which books on their list were worth the investment and which ones I should simply check out from the library (or do without).

I know a lot of you use Tapestry of Grace with your kids, so I am posting this question here and would appreciate any advice. I just finished year 1 with my 6 year old and 4 year old. Although we enjoyed the program, some of the book recommendations for Lower Grammar were a little too long, too dry, or too advanced. (Most were very good, and my kids liked them). If you have done TOG Year Two with young kids, would you please let me know which books your kids really enjoyed and / or which books you would not recommend for the above reasons? Thanks, Kristen