My dd8 is on Chapter 10 of BB1 and will likely finish the same month she turns 9. I'm currently planning on taking her through BB2, then looking at the LP series. I figure we have plenty of time to get to where we want to be (reading original works) in high school, and I want the foundation really solid. I think the review in LP1 (if we go that route) will be very beneficial.

Welcome Erin! :seeya:

We are! We'll be using Trail Guide's Paths of Exploration with dd8 (3rd) and my tag-alongs, 6yo ds (K/1) and 3yo. Dd8 is also reading through the Artner's Guide books on her own; she's currently in the middle of the explorers.

Ha! I live in Oklahoma--have most of my life--so I'm used to the heat! :) It's 98 here today. It'd be nice to be a little cooler in the summer just so I could get out of doors more. Ireland=been there, done that for a few years. Didn't mind the constant rain, but 40s-60s year round along with the extremely short winter days is killer. My husband loved it. :001_rolleyes: My parents are in Missouri. We just visited them for a week and no one in my family had allergy or asthma problems for the week...yea! Just 'cause we have Oklahoma allergies from living here for so long. I love Missouri weather in the fall and spring...and summers usually, but my goodness, this year the humidity was brutal!!

:bigear: I've been pondering and researching this same question, too. So, I guess NC is out for me? ;)

Me either. Me too, on both counts. I like wearing a small scarf tied around my hair to church, although I don't do it that often. What a beautiful picture. I've often wished for some constant physical reminder... :lurk5:

I'd love it if it could be not just a lending group, but sharing ideas, free ebooks & sites, information for newbies (me!) about features, etc... I've visited the recommended forums and sites for Nook information, but it'd be nice to have a group to ask homeschooling-specific information as well since I'll be using it a lot in that way, and just because I tend to have more interests in common with you WTM parents than the general population, iykwim. Whadya'll think?

I know I'm late, but I just got my nook today, and I'm interested! :) If anyone else still is...

Our WM is going through a remodel right now. Don't love WM, but *love* that they put in a gluten-free section in the new store!! Now I don't have to drive an hour and a half for GF cereal! :) But of course, we don't have too much of a choice in where to shop. Our choices for groceries are a SuperWalmart, another SuperWalmart, an uppity-grocery store with really inflated prices and little selection, or the dirty little no-name grocery store. :glare: Oh, how I long for a Kroger...

Hi Kelli, I'm not even going to say anything about you ditching the VP! ;) I know how frustrating all of this can be!!! Well, in any case, it's good to 'see' you again! :) As you know, I did TOG-lite for 1st and 2nd and if you wanted to do TOG Year 1 with dd11 this year, I don't see why you couldn't just tack on the little ones with some recommended picture books and call it good. By doing TOG 1 and 2 over the next two years, you would be leading right into the time period of POE. Then dd11 would be in 8th grade, no? She could then do POE with the middle school supplement if you wanted to keep them together for a year. My ds6 will be doing K/1st work and he will be tagging along a little bit with big sis, while having his own ancient time period read-alouds via the Tanglewood schedule. I had a number of the books already from our TOG ancient year. They will also be listening to SOTW on audiobook--SOTW 1 for brother and SOTW 3 for sis. Although they listen to them all constantly so I don't really have to "assign" audiobooks--they'll hear it at some point. Dd8 loves read alouds so she'll want to listen in to ds6's read aloud period (good review), and Ds6 does whatever dd8 does so he'll get lots of good American history! :) It's all part of my evil plan! :D

We are an LCC-ish family. The end of our 2nd grade year on a semi-loop schedule looked like this: 1st priority subjects (done every day, no exceptions): Recitation, Latin, Math, Piano, History done via Read Alouds 2nd priority subjects (got done every 1-2 days on one 45 minute loop): Shurley English, French, Handwriting, Webster's Speller, SRA Phonics workbook 3rd priority subjects (got done every 2-3 days on a second 40 min loop): Science, Math Logic, Geography, Logic, Syllabary, Drawing

If I were starting with those ages and wanted video, I'd go with Latin for Children. (choice of Classical or Ecclesiastical pronunciation) Two others I'd research that have DVDs and would work with those ages are Logos Latin (Classical pronunciation) and Latina Christiana (ecclesiastical pronunciation). Although, we're using Lively Latin and really enjoying it ;) (no DVD, though...just audio).

This is exactly what I was going to suggest as well. There's also Paths of Settlement that covers different topics. I felt like your first ds9 with the "whirlwind" of strict chronological history. I really wanted to stop and go deeper. I think Trail Guide to Learning would suit all your children's desires. They are also coming out with a middle school supplement for 7-8 graders. I know how frustrating looking for the perfect history curriculum can be!! Good luck!!

I implemented it the last nine weeks or so of school, and it dramatically reduced the stress in our school--both my dd's and mine! I'm not sure if we'll need it next year* due to a curriculum change, but if I have a few "little" subjects, I definitely will use it again. I'm actually hoping to be able to do it again. :tongue_smilie: Dd especially enjoyed it. *I still structure our days LCC-style, so Math, Latin & Recitation are done everyday--no excuses. Plus I'm adding in Trail Guide to Learning, which will be done everyday. Anything else I decide to do (French, Spelling, Handwriting, daily editing, etc.) could likely be put into a loop. But I'm still trying to streamline our days and cut out extraneous subjects...

Has anyone seen or used the new GEMS Curriculum Sequences? They currently have: *GEMS Space Science Sequence for 3-5 *GEMS Space Science Sequence for 6-8 And are working on: *GEMS Ocean Science Sequence for 3-5 *GEMS Ocean Science Sequence for 6-8 with plans for other topics. The Space Science Sequence was developed in with NASA and other scientists. I emailed them about the possibility of making kits for 1-2 students instead of just the kits for 32 students that they currently sell for these Curriculum Sequences. I might do something like this if I didn't have to gather all the materials.

This was really helpful for me in thinking about how to include my up and coming 1st grader. Thanks!

TGTL does not include math or religion/Bible. There is an optional Bible Supplement but it is totally separate from the main curriculum. Grammar is covered, but TGTL follows the educational ideals of Ruth Beechick, who delays formal grammar until junior high. So, if you want something more than integrated, informal grammar, you would have to add that as well. I will be adding in MCT just because I was already planning on it before I discovered TGTL. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't do any extra grammar. I think you're right about the ages. For example, Preparing from HOD is for 8-10yo with extensions for 11-12yo. TGTL POE is for 3rd-5th grade, but can easily be extended for 2nd and 6th graders. By the end of the summer, there will also be a middle school supplement, making it doable for an ever wider range. I think the biggest advantage over HOD and WP for me was that I've researched both of those extensively but never really *wanted* to do them. They just didn't speak to me, iykwim? I see HOD's layout and dread comes over me! :tongue_smilie: I start feeling a little claustrophobic, with all those boxes. :001_huh: Silly, I know, but I'm a highly visual person. Honestly, I had never thought about the two (TGTL and HOD) being similar. When I look at the teacher's guides side by side I do see some similarities: copywork/dictation, notebooking, writing activities. But, IMO, they really have a different "feel." Some differences from the philosophies of education is that TGTL is heavier on Geography, including it 2-3 times a week. In the introduction they say that they wanted to create a curriculum in which all the subject areas are "taught together in relationship to geography, as it occurs in real life." Probably what finally sold me on TGTL was the emphasis on "developing higher thinking skills" (another intro statement on philosophy). The questions are not just comprehension type questions, but foster critical-thinking and making connections, e.g., comparing the colony at Plymouth to Jamestown. The two biggest differences are probably in content areas, though: 1. Although TGTL is taught from a "biblical worldview," it includes no bible/religion. There is nothing that would go against Christian/Biblical beliefs, but there is also nothing explicitly taught. HOD, OTOH, is self-described as Christ-centered, and that is easy to see in that on the first day alone, 4 out of the 9 boxes have explicit Biblical content. Some people look to curricula like HOD for that very reason--to integrate the Bible into all of their subjects. Others prefer (or are neutral to) to do their own religion & Bible studies. I fall more in that category, so TGTL is perfect for me. I got the Light for the Trail Bible Supplement (only $12.95, I think) and may include that, but I haven't looked over it extensively yet. It is very bare bones, though, from what I remember. 2. TGTL is 6 units of 6 weeks each. HOD and I believe WP both switch topics each week. I was really looking for something to get me out of the whirlwind of history and so I appreciate that TGTL will allow us to settle in a period for a bit, while still getting the flow of history. Again, others who want a strict chronological history study will see that as a negative. Other differences: HOD uses a grammar text like R&S or whichever text the user chooses. Informal grammar concepts are included in TGTL. HOD (and WP) uses more crafty, paper-type projects. Haven't really seen much of that type of project in TGTL (thank goodness!) TGTL includes relevant lessons from The Handbook of Nature Study, and art & drawing projects come out of the the nature study. For example, in the 6 weeks of learning about Jamestown, you're researching birds and animals that the colonists would have encountered, and learning about life along a waterway, writing a poem and animal ID cards about birds, making sketches of birds based on the Wildlife Guide, making a presentation board with illustrations for the end-of-unit presentation, etc. I'm sure there are many more differences, but even though I used HOD partially for one year and have researched it extensively, I am definitely not qualified to speak about it much more than I already have. I guess in thinking about how well integrated everything is in TGTL, I would classify it more as comprehensive unit studies. IDK, just thinking out loud here.

Have you seen Wildridge Software? They have two programs: "Math and the Cosmos" and "Math and Music." They look fascinating to me. Here's a blip from the link above on Math and the Cosmos: The program is slated for 7th-12th graders, but I had contemplated using it maybe in 6th.

Have you looked into The Latin Centered Curriculum? In reading your post, that's the first thing that popped into my mind. If you are not comfortable with jumping directly into something like unschooling, I think the approach of LCC might address many of your issues. The whole idea of "multum non multa"--much not many--does a lot to take off the burden of many extraneous subjects. Here's an article entitled, "Multum Non Multa" written by Drew Campbell, the author of LCC (and one-time WTM frequenter). In short, daily you're doing skill subjects--Latin, math, composition. Once a week, you're doing content subjects--Religion, History, Lit, Science, Geography. Even if you don't implement LCC totally, reading the book might give you the freedom to drop some things. Another idea is using a loop schedule. I switched to a loop schedule for the last nine weeks of our year and it really helped to prioritize my subjects (I had three tiers of importance, with two loops). You can read about how I did it here, if you're interested. It allowed all those little subjects to still get done, but in their place. Good luck! :grouphug:

Jennifer, So, are you no longer "in a frenzied search for a new curriculum?" :D

Boy, that was quick! (shipping, I mean) I agree with everything you wrote, especially the part about "The Handbook of Nature Study." I am so excited that someone laid it all out for me! I, too, am not crafty and don't really have any desire to be,:blushing: but the projects look like things I could do (as in, actually be willing NOT to just skip). I spent two years doing TOG, and as you said, the handholding will be a relief! Just enough handholding to provide structure; not so much that I feel as if I've relinquished control over what we get to study and not so much that I don't get to do any planning (which I love!). Of course, it's all planned out, but there's plenty of breathing room to add things in for the over-achiever in me! :tongue_smilie: I think (if I'm remembering correctly from another thread) you'll also be previewing S&S before you decide what you're going to use next year, but I hope we get to have you join all of us new TGTL users along our "path." ;)

We are using RS as our spine (although MM is our current summer math). We use MEP as a fun supplement. Mostly, we use just the practice worksheets. Since we're using it only as a supplement, the practice sheets are plenty for us. I've referred to the lesson plans some if I can tell that we missed some concept, and I also refer to the lesson plans in order to schedule the Overhead Transparency pages. However, we've gotten plenty out of just using the worksheets. I usually go over each section's directions briefly with dd, let her do what she can independently, and then we go over the whole page together, correcting what she missed and helping her through the sections that she didn't understand. Right now for my ds6, we're doing the full MEP program--lesson plans and worksheets. Eventually we'll transition to a RS/MM spine with MEP thrown in for fun, just like dd's plan.

Have you seen the mp3s from Wordmp3? These from past Association of Classical and Christian Schools conferences are free. I like the "What is Classical Education?" one by Douglas Wilson. I also thought this one on Latin in the Grammar School was helpful. Voddie Baucham is on there and is always good. I plan on listening to his "The Family: Educator of Children" lecture next. There are some other free ones if you poke around the site. You can quickly see the prices if you use the search engine on the site and search for something like "classical" or "education."

:iagree: I just read Dr. Lee's book on Premenopause and I have just started using natural progesterone cream. Hoping it clears up a number of symptoms described in his book that I've been dealing with for a while! *fingers crossed* Either way, I learned a TON from his book and am hoping to get a hold of his Hormonal Balance book as well. BTW, I'm in my early 30s.

Since you're at your convention today, I'm sure you're getting your questions answered :), but for anyone else who is reading this thread, maybe I can help a little. What have you done with your rising 2nd grader for history? Ancients? I did SOTW 1 and 2 for 1st and 2nd grades respectively, and was looking for something more focused on early American history rather than an early modern "world" history. I think if you want to start POE in 3rd grade, doing the first two years of the four-year history cycle is perfect. TGTL is set up to be 3 years of American history (POE for 3-5, POSettlement for 4-6, POProgress for 5-7--all with one year of wiggle room on either side of the target age), then the next three years will be world history (6-8, 7-9, 8-10) then for high school, Modern American History, Modern World History, and Government/Economics. Join the yahoo group! There's lots of great information there. This has been talked about some on the yahoo group also. I don't know from my own experience since we haven't started yet, but it looks like people are saying 2.5-3 hours a day is what it takes them not counting read-aloud/discussion or independent reading time. I will be adding math, Latin, supplemental spelling (dd's weak area), and MCT. For fun, we might continue to dabble in a little French and Time Traveler's CDs (Colonial Life). I will also add in lots of additional reading (read-alouds and independent reading) just because that's our family's favorite part of school! But, I always tend to overdo it at the beginning of the year, and then scale back as needed until we find our groove.