ooh, yes, a kindle is a great idea....guess what I just got for my birthday?! I will be putting it to good use! Thanks for all the help, keep it coming! JoyinIndo

Mallory and Susan, Ok, that's good to hear. What kinds of things do you add to make it suitable? Have you found some good readers or read alouds to supplement? Thanks! Joy

hmmm, interesting. I will have to take a look at MFW again, it might be a really good fit. Is there any way to find out what the book basket selections are ahead of time? It might be really helpful to buy some of them to have on hand for readers and such. Anyone else have any thoughts? Thanks! JoyinIndo

Hi I could really use some help thinking about planning history for my kids for next year. Since I live overseas, I need to get started thinking and planning now, so I can get everything in time!! So, my kids will be 5th (DS), 4th (DD), 2nd (DS), and 4yo PS twins (DS) next fall. When the oldest was 2nd grade we did SOTW1 with the activity guide and all the extra books (well most of them), and this was by far my favorite year. We used Hands n Hearts History Kit with it and had a blast. Then, feeling pressure to get on a rotation (or catch up with one), we skipped Middle Ages in favor of American History, which we used Beautiful Feet Primary with Sonlight's Read Alouds and Readers and really enjoyed it. This year we are doing BFB Westward Expansion and California History with SL Read Alouds and Readers and loving that too. SO, where do I go for next year? SL 5? I have heard that many don't enjoy it, and while I love the RA and Readers, I have had trouble figuring out their spine book choices (tried SL1, SL3, and SL4) TOG and MFW seem out of the question for me because I do not have access to a library, I need something complete. SOTW, while I'd love to use it again, it seems too simple to do with a 5th grader, is that true? What would you do in this situation if you needed a complete program (with no library) for a 5th, 4th, and 2nd grader (the 2nd grader doesn't have to follow the same as the older two, but it would be nice)? Thanks in advance for your help! Blessings, JoyinIndo

What about some of the books that are listed for American History at Beautiful Feet Books? We have used their curriculum and really enjoy the books. The books are easy to read for my kids and they learn a lot! You could just pick and choose which ones look interesting as you said you don't wish to stick with one curriculum. I have used some of the History Pockets, and the kids enjoy them, but they are kind of just "gravy". Just extras to add to their history notebooks occasionally. Hope that helps! Blessings, JoyinIndo The Stay at Home Missionary

I used it last year, Grade 3. I actually loved it all, except for (agreeing with mrsjamie) I do not like the combo of American and World history. Confusing. That is why I am still following many of their recommendations, but not using the actual curriculum this next year. I would say if you are a beginning CMer and can either look past doing World and American together, or just do one or the other, I feel that it is a great way to have someone "hold your hand" as you incorporate CM things and ideas into your homeschool (ie Shakespeare, picture study, narration dictation, etc). Just my .02! Blessings, JoyinIndo The Stay at Home Missionary

I agree! This is what I do. I have each child scheduled to play or read to the younger ones (3yo twins) while I do one-on-one work with the other older child. This works beautifully for everyone...it's really the only way I've found to keep it all going! Blessings, JoyinIndo The Stay at Home Missionary

I have used WWE for the past two years and have really enjoyed it. It has been a good fit for us (my nearly 10 year old boy likes it!). This fall, we will be moving on to Writing Tales. I downloaded the sample weeks and tried them out on the kids (the sample week is focused on Julius Caesar), and the kids LOVED it! That was the clincher for me. :) Just my .02 Blessings, JoyinIndo The Stay at Home Missionary

I have only used their grammar. We have used Language Lessons for the Very Young and Language Lessons for the Elementary Child. I personally love them. I am a CM'er, and they fit extremely well into that philiosphy. For next year, I will be using Queen Language again, 3x a week. It seems very simple, yet at the end of the year, my children have learned (and better yet retained) a LOT! I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have more specific questions. Blessings, JoyinIndo The Stay at Home Missionary

Just chiming in to say that I agree, 3/4!! You can easily add in the extras to make it work for your children as they already know their letters, etc. I love the book selection in 3/4 and it would be a shame to miss them!! Are your twins girls or boys? I have twin 3 year old boys (they are my youngest)! Blessings, JoyinIndo The Stay at Home Missionary

Our absolute favorite in this house is Jazz for Kids: Sing, Clap, Wiggle, and Shake. The kids love it, and I love it too! It has Ella Fitzgerald singing a swinging version of Old McDonald, and lots of other fun jazzy songs. I hope that helps! Blessings, JoyinIndo The Stay at Home Missionary

Yes, there is. If you go to Simply Charlotte Mason's website and click on SCM Curriculum Guide in the upper left hand corner you can see the selections they have made for each year. There are also lesson plans for most of the modules (when you click on History, it will take you to the list of History Modules and then you can click on the lesson plan link). The lesson plan is not free (I think it's 10.00) but the curriculum guide is free. Hope that helps! I would have provided links, but I'm having trouble accessing the SCM website. Blessings, JoyinIndo The Stay at Home Missionary