I used Abeka's Handbook for Reading to teach my daughter how to read. I never used the teacher's manual or phonics book, etc. even though I have it. I just go through the handbook front to back again and again and again... that seems to work alright for us. :grouphug:

I actually post videos of my kid reciting her memory work. It ain't fancy, but the grandparents eat it up. :D Here are two of the videos I've posted thus far: http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/07/and-without-further-ado-here-is-norahs.html http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2011/01/its-been-while-since-i-shared-one-of.html

:grouphug: From one perfectionist to another... My advice is to get rid of the book(s) (and any other evidence) that you didn't finish... LOL. :D This way, you may forget you didn't finish all together and you won't hate yourself every time you see the book. :D LOL!!! No, really... I totally get where you are coming from!!! I am the EXACT same way!!! I HATE not finishing something we start... even when I know we should just move on, even when I know my need to finish is making me miserable and ridiculous and obsessive. ...If you find a way out of these feelings, let me know. ;)

I ONLY have the audio version. There are times when it would be nice to have the text (like when I just want to go over a certain part of a chapter... such as the Ancient Egyptian legend of Osiris and Set at the end of Chapter Two... and I don't want to listen to the whole chapter again to go over this one little part), but I've never needed it, absolutely. I've never needed it enough to buy it. And, since my daughter doesn't mind listening to the chapters over and over again... and I like the fact that I don't have to read yet another thing out loud... the audio book works for us. Note: We are in Volume One, Ancient History... You can see pictures of our history work on my blog under the label "history" ... if you want. :D

If school is taking all day, they may be distracted by something... what is it? I'd make sure ALL the screens are turned off (televisions, computers, Nintendo DS, phones, etc.) until all school work is DONE by everyone. Not sure this would work in your situation... but it might help. I only have one kid to homeschool (and one toddler who just puts around our chairs distracting us) and we usually HAVE to start right after breakfast before my daughter gets on the computer, before I turn on a movie before she picks up a game to play... or else the day does not go well. Days that we get in "school mode" before any screen turns on (including my own laptop screen) are days that work much better (and we often finish school before noon those days.) Good luck. :001_smile:

I used The Handbook for Reading from Abeka... JUST the handbook. I started using it as soon as my daughter knew her letters to teach her their sounds. (Yes. It was a overkill... I was a new homeschool mom and a bit overzealous with my first.) BUT... my point in sharing that is that book can be used pre-writing with even the youngest kiddos. And, those books are a dime a dozen. :001_smile: Handbook for Reading worked for me. ;) Good luck.

Sounds like you need AAS... I am using Abeka Spelling and Poetry 1 with my dd right now and she tends to simply memorize the words... and then forget them. I am trying to teach her to THINK about the words and apply the phonics/ spelling rules to them, but it isn't really happening... I think I will try and finish this book with her (just because I hate "quitting.") But, we plan to get AAS next year, without a doubt and then just start at the first program and go forward as quickly as natural from there. I want her to be able to build words "from scratch" and I think that's the kind of thing AAS teaches... But, I am also listening to hear how others answer your question... since I am in the same boat right now. :bigear:

:bigear:

:iagree: My advice: Don't wait to start. Just start. I kept my basic blog design given to me my blogger for a year or more (posting everyday) until I changed it to what I have now.

I just do the memory work with the subject it goes with. I use Abeka Spelling and Poetry 1 and there are poems in our spelling book, so when we practice spelling... we just turn to the poem and go over the the one we are learning at that point. For Bible, we read from the Family Bible Time reader. I also choose a Bible verse or two that I want her to memorize. Right now, it's Proverbs 3:5-6. So, we just remember to say that together when we start Bible. And, we are using First Language Lessons. There is always a poem or two we are learning or reviewing in there. When we do language, we just review those as often as the book says. For math, we are learning our facts with the help of a CD... We use Math U See. I usually let her review the songs once a week AFTER the math lesson for the day. I just do it at the beginning of the subject it "goes with." ... Or the end, in the case of Math. No index cards for me yet... I suspect that might kill our memory work before it even began because I think I probably would never get around to making the cards. :D

I can't comment on the other two programs, but I am using The Story of the World with my daughter. She's in the 1st grade. We just started it. I posted about the program on my blog today... I'll put the link at the bottom of this post. The trouble I have had with SOTW is that it offers SO much to do for every chapter. It really bothers me to leave so much "undone." There are just SO many good ideas for each chapter, so much content, etc. But, I am coming around to the fact that our "lesson plan" will have to be to 1.) listen to the chapter a few times 2.) do the maps, coloring sheets, etc. 3.) do a narration on the chapter 4.) read at least one extra book (probably two) and 5.) try to do one of the craft/ projects. If we do that much, we did our lesson for the week and we go on to the next chapter on Monday. :001_smile: Here's the link to my blog post. It shows you what we have done for Chapter 3 so far... I think it will allow you to see what the program looks like in action. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2011/02/we-are-slowly-moving-through-our.html

:iagree: And you can always add do a few things with just your five year old while the others are napping, etc. Note: Sonlight doesn't feel like school, but your kids will learn if you read to them. I would read the reasons NOT to buy Sonlight on their website. It wouldn't work for everyone... But, I used their Core P4-5 with my daughter for Kindergarten and it worked for that time in our lives. I had just had a baby, etc. Good luck. :001_smile:

I am doing SOTW1 with my 1st grade dd right now!! :D I think it's enough. Along with the coloring pages and the maps, we try to do at least one of the activities for every chapter and then read as many of the extra books suggested in the activity guide that I can find at the library. Note: We have a great library, so I can usually find almost all of them. So... in addition to all our other subjects and the other read alouds we do, I think we're doing plenty. History is our favorite subject, too. Note: I am considering doing something separate for geography... We use our globe and the maps (like I mentioned) and we point out where the places are we are talking about: The fertile crescent, Egypt, the Nile, etc... But, I'd like my daughter to be more aware of continents, countries and cultures. A friend suggested I use Little Passports. She's using it with her six year old. So, I am looking at that, but I am also looking at Top Secret Adventure. These look like fun ways to add geography and culture studies to our days without it feeling too "heavy." :D Good luck!

Yes. Something about his voice doesn't jive with me, either... I think he over emphasizes each word or something. But, I find that I enjoy the break from reading. I have to read out loud a lot with everything else we do, so it's nice to be able to use the audio version. My daughter doesn't cry, so it works well enough for us. :grouphug:

I have found FLL 1/2 a little hard to use... It isn't always clear what is written for me to read silently to myself or what I am supposed to read out loud to the the child, etc. This "problem" would go away if I took three minutes to read the page before I used it WITH my child, but I usually just pick it up when my daughter is settled and ready to start and that's why there is this confusion. I do wish I could just pick it up and use it with more ease. My interest is peeked by the comments that mention that the new books are easier to use... But, I try to avoid spending money on books in general as a way of practicing moderation. And, since this book was given to me and it is basically brand new... I think will just have to deal. :glare: But, in your case, if the new books are easier to use and you have to buy something anyway, you may really want to go with the new ones. :D

Someone gave me FLL 1/2 so that's what I use. My daughter is in 1st. We have gotten through the first 15-20 lessons. I like it. The first 100 lessons in the book I will do for 1st grade. The second 100, I will do next year... I don't mind that it is all in one book. I just book mark where I am and move through the book one lesson at a time. The copy work in this book is usually something simple like the proper names of the people in your family... or the proper names of your city and state... We use a personal sized white board so we aren't wasting paper and can just erase it once we are done. Sometimes the copy work is SO simple that it borders on excessive because my daughter does two pages in a handwriting book everyday and copies spelling words, etc. So, sometimes we just skip it, too.

My daughter is in 1st. I am finding a need for a science plan of some kind because science ends up falling by the wayside for us since we only go to the library once every few weeks and I can't seem to anticipate what animals, plants, etc. I will need to get books about. I think Elemental Science is what I am looking for. It seems like it will provide a frame from which to work and it will give me specific titles to find at the library. But, for those of you who don't use Elemental Science (and are happy about your choice), what do you use instead?? And, if you use Elemental Science for 1st grade, why do you like it? I want to be as well informed as possible before I make a decision. Thanks. :D

http://www.veronicaboulden.com I loving blogging. I use blogger. But, I've purchased my own domain name and "attached" it to my blogger account. Good luck. :D

I live in a moderately large city in the US, by the way... But, I was ALSO struggling with some similar feelings when I saw the obvious disparity between the amount of money we make and the amount of money some of our neighbors make... for example... When I filled out a membership application at our inner city's YMCA, there were boxes to check for our income: one for 20-30 thousand, 30-40 thousand, etc. our income was, quite literally, off the charts... THAT was humiliating because many people had to watch me fill that out and I saw them whisper... Also, we go to some of the city's beaches and swimming pools in the summer, etc. Many of the kids who come there don't even have swim suits (while my daughter has one that my mom got her, one from the neighbor whose little girls out grew it, one that I bought her in spring and another we purchased cause it was so on sale that it was basically free.) Everything I was feeling was "resolved" for me when I finally came to the conclusion that though I had taken advantage of the chances I have been given in life... (I earned a full scholarship to college and kept it through hard work... I was the only child in my family to graduate college because of this... etc.) ...my husband and I also HAVE had things given to us that we just take for granted most of the time... Here's a subtle, though obvious example of what I mean... Before I say the following, I want to say that my dad is a good, affectionate man and my brother is a happy man and who is so generous to my kids, that it's ridiculous... So... I mean them no disrespect by what I say... BUT... my dad was, in fact, a moderate/ low-paid, labor intensive worker his whole whole life (he worked construction at one point, also drove a trash truck and also worked security) and his son, my brother, is now also a in a moderate-pay, labor intensive job himself (he is a truck driver). My dad would tell you that he didn't raise my brother TO be in that kind of labor intensive career, per say, but my father also didn't know how to raise my brother for any other kind of career, either, if that makes any sense...that isn't to say that my brother would have chosen a different career anyway... but just hear me out... On the other hand, my husband is an engineer and he is very comfortable in a high stress career that depends mainly on his wit because his father did that every day of his life. His dad was a top accountant for a very, very large hospital. In fact, my husband learned of his current job THROUGH his father's connection to the company!!! I see this kind of thing worked out practically all the time.... One of my female cousins is a doctor and well... her dad was a surgeon. Another female cousin works in retail. Well, her mom and mom also worked in retail, too... I don't mean to make judgments on anyone's happiness or character based on what they do for a living... But, I am just pointing out the obvious connection we sometimes miss because we think, "it shouldn't really matter who or what your parents did...", but in a real sense, it does for many, many people. It occurred to me that, in many ways (like career choices), people are given a legitimate "leg up" because of who their parents are, what they did for a living, what they were able to teach their children, what they were able to financially provide them, etc. With that in mind, I realized that the only appropriate response to the disparity between my life and someone else's life is humility, responsibility and gratitude... and... hospitality!!! I think you should have these neighbors over. And, there is no shame in offering them the jobs if they can do them and then paying them really well for the job's they do for you, and using those occasions to build lasting friendships with those families, etc. :001_smile:

This might be an obvious one, but I use The Well Trained Mind a lot. I see what it says before I buy anything else. :001_smile:

Thanks for all the feedback. I also appreciate the lists of titles. :D

Please give me your opinions on these books series: Magic Treehouse, Cam Jansen, and Puppy Place. I have a six year old who is getting sick of early readers and is ready for chapter books. Any feedback positive or negative is welcome! If you have any other suggestions for books series, titles, PLEASE give those as well! Thanks! :D

Just realized I didn't mention ANYTHING about Scripture. Oops. :001_huh: That's a huge part of knowing God's mind, too. But, I don't think that's all of it, though. Because, I think many Christians approach living for God and finding out what He wants with the attitude that since they have the Bible, they don't need God anymore, etc. etc. They can just study and study and that will make them more like Christ, etc. This is just not so. We see tons of Christians with "perfect" theology hurting each other all the time. We need the Spirit of God to tutor us about the truth in Scripture or else we will just get knowledge that "puffs up" and we need to follow the Spirit to confess, change, serve, forsake, be empowered, etc. We will know the Spirit is leading us right (and it's not our own mind) because it will be in line with God's word, etc. etc. ...That's what I meant. ;)

Please share your recipe. I am craving a good pulled pork sandwich and I'd like to make some myself and not have to go to a restaurant. The easier the recipe, the better, I think. Please share!!! :D

:iagree: But... I think (since we have the Holy Spirit and the "mind of Christ" and since we have been given a new nature) that we actually can have God's mind about everything. Do we? No. But, we can we? Yes. And, really owning this truth is very empowering, I think.;) (At least it has been revolutionary to me! :D)