That's where I am too! I signed up, but I haven't received an email yet to look at the bottom of. Hope it comes tonight. I might just do the reading with the kids and we'll do the ornament a day late...hoping it comes tomorrow! Any help/ideas appreciated.

Too funny! :D

I decided, when I signed up, that if I took the total sum of my PSC + my enrichment day (Spanish, art, tennis) and divided it out hourly, that it was an acceptable cost. $8/hr per kid (and granny donated money to the cause). That's not crazy bad (more expensive than a babysitter but less expensive than gymnastic lessons). It could just be so much cheaper if they would let me do eDay without the PSC. :tongue_smilie: And it is SOOO conveniently close to my house and the timing is perfect. We live in Florida so PSC is basically the same thing as umbrella. It's not required by the state. I was trying to see what other people get out of their PSC or umbrella...from what I can tell...a handwritten high school transcript. Hmmm. :confused: I also get to attend field trips with them if I want and help them raise money. :tongue_smilie: I was the one that turned in the grades and attendance, I just thought they'd enter it in some computer and then print it on an official report card. Basically, I just need to ask them what I get for my money. And choose not to go back if I can't get over it. (Even though my kids and I enjoy it immensely!) Maybe I just need a :chillpill:. :001_smile: Thanks for letting me rant!

I have found one or two other drop off ones. With those, you pick the classes you want to attend. So I could pick 3 classes in a row from 9 until noon. What concerns me is "do they have someone to watch over the kids and move them from room to room" or are my kids completely independent? My kids are K and 1 and they could easily get stuck in the bathroom because they can't button their pants or something and completely skip a class if someone isn't watching over them. Or get lost and sit crying in a corner. Since I found this e-Day right around the corner from my house, I went with it because they do have oversight that I'm completely comfortable with. Anyway, I guess my question, is what are the supposed benefits of a PSC or umbrella? Before I get angry at them, I want to know what my expectations should be. I need to get looking/researching for next year. :auto:

In order to send my kids to a drop-off enrichment day, I had to sign the kids up under a Private School Covering (PSC) which is basically an umbrella school. At least I think it is, right? I really didn't want to do PSC, but I really liked the e-day so I went for it. I had to pay for the PSC (~$450 for 2 kids) and then pay more for the e-Day. Anyway. I had to submit attendance and grades for the first quarter. I recently found out, however, that I don't get an "official" report card (like the kids that attend during the rest of the week). Is this they way your PSC or umbrella works? Why is that? For some reason this upsets me. What am I supposed to get for my $450 at the K and 1st grade level? All I can tell is that they hold my grades in a file folder...that's it...OH, and they want me to help with fund raising! Am I off base here? At the very least I think they should use a school stamp to stamp my grades and make them look more official. Thanks for your help/input/encouragement! :bigear:

Quick question, from the website sample it isn't obvious to me how MFW teaches to the multiple grade levels in their 3rd-8th grade cycles. Is it just that the math and english are separate or are there separate history questions for different levels? Separate additional readings for 5th graders over 3rd graders? How exactly does MFW teach to the different levels. Or is it that the material is presented and everyone gets out of it what they can at their level? (I am currently using and enjoying HOD, but I'm still very curious about MFW and may try it out at some point to combine multiple kiddos.) Thanks for your help!

Two hours for us, but I'm teaching a K & 1st together. I could move a little faster if I just had the 1st grader...probably 1.5 hours. HTH

I'm not sure but maybe Cindie answered your questions already (via pm). But just in case I (Cyndi) will answer what you wrote to me. My brain feels a little foggy tonight, so please excuse any rambling. :) I believe you said K and 1st which is exactly what I am doing. I think it's just right, meat-wise, but I am only familiar with LHFHG (5-7 year olds). The more I use the curriculum the more wisdom I see in it. She really uses the curriculum to develop skills in the child that will be used later and to develop more independence for future guides. It kind of seems easier than it is. Reading, writing, and math are all done at the level of your child and you can choose your own or go with her suggestions. You can make this part as meaty as you want! Having said all that, I do think the science is a light at our level (but I think that is a CM thing in general) so I am supplementing with astronomy for fun. The curriculum also leaves time for other interests or ideas you may have (Spanish, piano, and soccer in my house). It takes us about 2 hours to do all of HOD-LHFHG which is fantastic! :D She makes school fun. The boys love the rhymes (at first I thought they were kinda hokey, but they really do like them). She has them shooting baskets to memorize Bible verses. The music matches the Bible verses (most of the time) and is really helpful for memorizing. For Goliath, she had us draw his face and tape it to the wall, and the kids each got 5 "stones" (pairs of socks rolled up) and tried to hit Goliath. Easy, but fun for the kiddos. It brings me great comfort to know that she has 4 boys (as I do)...I'm sure there must be a hands-on learner in her bunch! There is also drama...most of the time we act out the storytime scene with our assortment of webkinz. I don't have to think about prepping for school. There is a list of supplies on the HOD Yahoo group in spreadsheet form. Most everything you will have around the house. We're on week 13 and the only thing I didn't have was barley (related to Ruth gleaning in the field). I have 2 younger children and HOD works well for us. I think the catalog is a better representation of the product than the website. (This may merely be that the layout/format of the information in the catalog was easier for me to digest.) Request one on their website. That helped me make the decision and see where she is going. Also on the HOD forums there is a sticky at the top about the reasons behind Carrie's (author) choices. That is really enlightening. I'm happy to answer any other questions you have, but I did want to let you know that the HOD forums (and the HOD Yahoo group) are full of knowledgeable/helpful ladies that have more experience than I. Hope this newbie's thoughts are helpful!

Well, someone has to say it, might as well be me! ;) We love Heart of Dakota...definitely open and go. Very CM-like. Check it out!

I have 4 boys as listed below. I am schooling 1st and K right now with HOD's Little Hearts for His Glory. They both do that together and then they read, write and do math at their own level. So, using HOD, both boys do History, Science, Art, Drama, Music, Bible, Rhymes and storytime all together. 1st grader does Alpha Math U See, Handwriting without Tears A, and HOD's Emerging Reader books (with questions). K did Primer Math U See (but finished and is now on Alpha), Handwriting without Tears K, and The Reading Lesson. HOD is so straight forward and easy on momma and the boys enjoy it too. Perfect fit for us! :D

So, what does it mean? I've never stopped to try to figure it out. Thanks!

Maybe everyone else knows about this, but I just found it: http://www.spanishtown.ca/spanishforkids/spanishforkids.htm :)

We're using The Reading Lesson. I like it because the pages are nice and clean. Font for the teacher is small and there isn't too much of it. Font for the child is large and bold. Very easy. Open and Go. HTH. :001_smile:

:bigear:

I have been following this thread closely as I want to do something with my almost 3 year old. Just fun stuff. He loves being read to and he knows almost all his letter sounds (due to LeapFrog Letter Factory). He just needs some dedicated mommy time like his brother's are getting. :grouphug: I am very interested in BFIAR, but I heard that many of the books are out of print. Is this true? :confused: Is it hard to get the books that go with it? I figured I would be able to just check something out of the library? Hope the answer helps the op as well!

I have a friend that prints out a calendar each month. Then, each day they put a penny on the day and count how many days they have this month. This kind of combines counting, money, and calendar...all in one! The next step would be to change out 5 pennies for a nickle, etc. Now she is doing what is one more (tomorrow) and what is one less (yesterday) rather than counting all the days. Obviously, she's not there yet, but I bet it won't take long. No stress!

Another vote for Heart of Dakota! This is my first year homeschooling and we are having a great time (ds6.5 and ds5). The teachers manual is simple, open and go, and laid out very cleanly...super easy to see what's up for the day. There are 9 boxes to do each day. Each box takes about 10 minutes (at this level). You can spread them out or do them all in one chunk. You can rearrange them in any order as you please. AND you still get to pick your own Math and Reading. (If you go with her suggestions, then it is scheduled out in the book for you.) Here's their sample for 5-7 year olds: http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/little-hearts-first-week.pdf It is very CM. They do have supplemental books for each lesson but those are not necessary. They have a gentle approach to grammar and science for the younger years and then they ramp up. Hope you find what you're looking for!

I read a thread and an article saying that Singapore was discontinuing it's Challenging Word Problems series. So I started looking around to see if I could find any. They are still there on the singapore website and it says that levels 5-8 will be out in late 2010. Is this a new series? Is this one as good as the old one that everyone loved? :confused: I did read that people were not impressed with the newer "70 word problems you should know" Someone else recommended Challenge Math by someone whose name starts with a Z. My boys are in Kindergarten so I like how CWP is split into smaller levels rather than K-4th grade. Thoughts? :bigear:

Hopefully you will get some input from other, more experienced, HSers, but here's my 2 cents. I chose The Reading Lesson because the pages were clean and uncluttered. The font size for mommy (which is minimal) is small and the font size for the reader is larger and obvious. We are really enjoying it. It's straight forward, easy, and open and go. I like how Reading Made Easy scripts things out for you, but it just seemed to make things overly complicated to me. But my kids have both picked up reading very easily. If I have someone that struggles, then I might have to look for something that is more verbose in the instructions. HTH...if not, at least I can bump you back up to the top! :001_smile:

I was just looking at this on homeschool buyers coop. They have packages for about 1/2 off. You can either get all three sets for the level you want or you can get one of each level as a set. Here's a link: https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=936 HTH. Sorry I can't answer your question. I was just thinking about buying it too! So I'm :bigear:

I have found, for us, that it is better to get everything done before lunch...otherwise school seems to drag out all day. If I am running late, however, the schedule shifts back far enough so that we do storytime during lunch (instead of using it for a snack). Letting them eat during reading helps them listen better. ;) It really doesn't feel like we're jumping around at all. We sit in the family room for history. Then we all stand up right there and throw a ball around or a kleenex or whatever with our Bible study verses. Then we move to our play room. I read with both of them on the couch back there, then we do the rhyme on the floor back there, then we sit down at the table back there to do handwriting/fine motor. Once fine motor is done, they are excited to run get a snack (which takes care of music and storytime). At the end all we have is the run rotating box which is also typically more fun/exciting. :) One thing to note, my boys aren't the type to get "lost" every time we get up and move around. I guess some children could get "out of school" mode and not want to get back in. At our house, all of school seems fun (except maybe handwriting) so there isn't an "out" or "in" school mode. It depends upon your kids. HTH.

atara - HOD is CM, WTM is classical. The two terms (CM and WTM) are not interchangeable. Try searching on CM vs. Classical or maybe someone else can pipe up on the primary differences. In addition to WTM boards, I also do the HOD boards: http://www.heartofdakota.com/board3/viewforum.php?f=6 and the HOD Yahoo Group. Lots of extra support to help you along your HOD journey! Glad you're enjoying it! :)

I am using LHFHG with 2 boys (K & 1st). I try to alternate between harder (sitting/listening/writing) and easier/funner tasks as well. 1. History 2. Bible 3. Reading (1st does Emerging Readers while K does starfall.com) 3. Reading (K does The Reading Lesson while 1st does starfall.com) 4. Rhymes 5. Fine Motor Skills 6 & 7. Music/Storytime/Snack/Break - I turn on the music while I prepare the snack. While we eat the snack, I read the story. Then I give them a short break if I need a little time to set up for art/science if necessary. 8. Math 9. Rotating box (art/science/drama) Since they play a little in the morning, we sit down for history. Bible is normally throwing a ball or a kleenex, so that's up and about again. Settle back down for reading. Back up for rhymes. Back down for fine motor. Snack time is a break & I let them have a few minutes to run around. Back down for math and then back up (mostly) for the rotating box. Hope that makes sense! It sounds tiring but it has worked really well for my two boys! :001_smile:

I am a first time homeschooler and I love it! It's open and go. Sometimes I even forget to look ahead at the materials needed for the week and end up okay. I love reading with my kids cuddling on the couch. I'm so glad that it follows CM so closely and ties the Bible into most of the subjects. I love that we have fun stuff included to intersperse between the not as fun stuff (handwriting). I'm not creative enough on my own...I'm an engineer! I don't have to schedule and lesson plan. I really like how the TM is laid out. It makes sense to my engineering mind. Best of all, I love that the kids enjoy it, it works very well for us! :001_smile: Referring to the link above, I have a K and a 1st grader. When I looked at the placement charts I would have had one in Beyond and one in LHFHG. I decided to combine them for History, Bible, Science, Rhymes, Storytime, and music. I knew, however, that my 1st grader would still need to follow LA, Reading, and Math from Beyond. So I bought 2 guides and I'm fine with that. Theoretically, we will use Beyond next year for History, Science, Bible, etc. and then I will buy Bigger for my oldest to do LA, Reading, Math. I can see how it is annoying to be in 2 manuals at once for 1 kid, but I think that happens because are kids are on different levels in different subjects. Just the nature of the game. One thing I'm not big on is the science. I think part of this is a CM thing...I think they wait a little longer with "science" and grammar and just focus on nature at this point. I am expecting (although I haven't started) supplementing with a little extra science. I think this is my only "issue" because the curriculum is such a good fit for us. I have a friend who is also using it, and she has a couple of hangups primarily because she tends to like to "do/compile/write" her own curriculum (she is pregnant and thought she wanted open and go but she is a tweeker at heart) and because her kid has a hard time sitting still :auto: (to listen to the stories). HTH, somehow.

Yay! That's it. The one at Rainbow Resource. Thanks Negin. I'm not sure how I missed it there, but somehow I did. I know 2 different ladies that use it with their homeschoolers and really like it. It looks really neat. Now that I have the whole name of it, here is a link to a sample if anyone else is interested: http://www.casamples.com/downloads/9221s.pdf Thanks again!