Is anyone using this program? How do you like it? Where do you buy it? I got to see it for a little bit and was intrigued but I can't find it online. Thanks!

Hopefully, MommyJen will come back to check on this thread. I don't want to hijack the thread, but maybe this will be helpful to the op as well. I did the HOD vs MFW struggle this year, although I'm enjoying HOD, I am thinking that I might want to try MFW as well (maybe with my next kid). Just a couple of questions based upon that 1st week of MFW K that MommyJen listed: It's hard for me to tell...are the days equal in amount of stuff to do? In other words, does it take about the same amount of time each day? Thanks.

I just went to a conference this weekend by Answers in Genesis. Ken Ham (the main apologetics guy and founder of the Creation Institute) was there. One thing he said, which I had never thought about, was to use a Bible with realistic pictures. I don't know that it is necessary at 5 years old, but maybe at 6 or 7? He said that it helps the kids understand that the Bible is true, not just a bunch of made up nice stories. Just something to think about. All that to say, we have enjoyed The Benginners Bible (like the pp said). We have just started using The Family Time Bible (like another pp suggested) and the kids are enjoying it. The Family Time Bible has realistic pictures but I agree that some that might be scary for sensitive kids: Noah's flood, Abraham sacrificing Isaac, etc. HTH

This looks great! Thanks for sharing. I do want to figure out if you have to be at your computer at the particular air time or if you can record or access the videos at other times. Thanks!

Thanks for the replies! This is fun! I wanted to post a pic of the other half of the room, but I just went in there and it's a wreck! :tongue_smilie: It's more our sitting area, with a couch, for reading and stuff. There is a wall on the other side of the room that would be perfect for a map mural. There might even be another location that would be a good fit for the family tree (over a mahogany bookcase). I was going to paint the room green because that red faux wall is hard to maintain. There are holes that I can't patch because I can't match the paint. So should I leave it as is (and try to hide the holes) or paint it green? So many great ideas! I'm lovin this. It's going to be so hard to choose. More suggestions welcomed! :bigear:

Need some help getting the creative juices flowing! Here's a pic of our playroom...the school room side of it. (I tidied up just for y'all!) We school all over our house, but I try to keep the supplies in this area, and this is where any writing occurs. The problem is that I don't know what to put on top of the IKEA Trofast bins (that are filled with toys)? :confused: A couple things I've thought of are: a map (but we have a globe already), shelving (who couldn't use more shelving), or a whiteboard &/or corkboard (we normally use little whiteboards at the table). A mural? Some of those colorful public school posters? Any creative ideas? :bigear: I really want to make the room fun for my 4 boys and I think that wall will make the fun-ness of the room. Maybe I need a fun light fixture over the table as well? NOTE: I think I am going to repaint the whole room in a lite green. (There is a green stripe in the valance that I would match.) Something cheery. We received these colors when we moved in the house. Thanks for any suggestions!!!

I'm in Florida and 180 days seems to mean 180 days of actual school. So if you do school M, W, F, and Saturday then you have 4 days of school under your belt. HTH

We are about 1/2 way through Primer and Alpha (ds5 and ds6.5) and we only have 1 set. At this point we have not run into any complications with only having one set. It sounds like a second set might be necessary or nice in the future. Maybe this will buy you a little time to find them used and save a little money. HTH.

Heart of Dakota uses that as their science book for grade 1. Lines right up with what the previous poster said. HTH.

We're using LHFHG for my K and 1st grader. (The first grader is using some of Beyond for the basics, though.) We love it! It is especially awesome for this first time homeschooling mom. I am an engineer by nature and the guide is laid out just how my brain thinks. We have a great time and there is no complaining when I say it's time to do school. I too thought the rhymes were kind of goofy, but it's one of my kids' favorite parts! I am going to supplement science with God's Design...mainly for fun...kids have an interest in Astronomy. ;)

We have had a similar problem with our first born perfectionist, ds6.5. No games are fun. Can't play dodge ball...if he gets out he flops on the floor like he's hurt and cries. Board games, he cries. Memory verses, if he doesn't get it right the first time, he cries. (This is John 3:16, not "Jesus wept".) Well, he has actually improved greatly in the past 6 months or so. I have been telling him prior to trying something that it is going to take 10 tries to get this. We need to try our best and have a happy heart all 10 tries. For example he went aquaboarding this summer. Picture of aquaboarding (zip sledding) behind a boat: http://media.photobucket.com/image/zip%20sled/brainard_bucket_bucket/zipsled.jpg Prior to his first attempt, I managed his expectations by telling him it was going to take him 10 tries. (Underlying message: don't expect to get it right the first try.) When he got it in 4, he was ecstatic. He was so proud of himself for getting it prior to try number 10! I was just so proud of him for trying with a happy heart and not freaking out after the 3 falls. (Of course I was crazy encouraging after each time he fell, saying what a great job he did and how he was almost there and I knew he could do it.) It seems like it crops up again with each new thing. Like if we were to try a new game, I'd have to do the reminding and encouraging all over again. Hopefully this will diminish and he will learn to have self control when he is frustrated/disappointed. (As a side note, he's a very gracious winner...because that's the way it's supposed to work! ;) ) HTH

I bought "The Pencil Grip" http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Crossover-Ergonomic-Metallic/dp/B001SN8HPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1283370896&sr=8-1 and the writing claw http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Classics-Writing-Assorted-TPG-21106/dp/B003BNJB94/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1283370896&sr=8-5 so that the boys could have a choice. (When they choose they tend to be more inclined to use.) My "righty" son prefers to use the claw. He thinks it is fun and seems to be just fine with using it. Today was our first day. That is a great suggestion to turn the paper slowly and tape it down. I'll start doing that. My "lefty" son is more resistant to the pencil grip but he did it. He chose the claw as well (probably because his brother did). I guess I'll start him more slowly. Part of the problem seems to be getting them to write out in front of them. They don't have really bad hooks, but they like to stick their elbow out. Have I heard that you can let kids lie down on the floor and prop their work up on a binder to get them to write correctly? I guess to prevent hooking? Does that ring a bell? I thought I read it in another post but now I can't find it. :confused: Thanks for the help. Any other ideas welcome!

It's odd. I've been encouraging my lefty to turn his paper and he isn't resistive. It's my righty that is resistive to turning the paper. :confused: I wish his Kindergarten teacher would have addressed this at least some. I guess there are too many kids in a class to pay attention to the details like I'm trying to do. Will the pencil grips help with the paper turning? I have decided that I need to rip pages out of their books instead of leaving them in. That might help too.

So I ordered the pencil grips and hope they will be here in the next couple of days. My son is tentatively excited about the grips, although I'm sure our work is cut out for us. I have tried to encourage my son to turn his paper to match his arm. He is very resistant to this. Any suggestions? How important is turning the paper? Will turning the paper become easier once the grip is being worked on? Do I only require the paper to be turned during handwriting class? Or is it something that I need to be reiterating during all subjects? Thanks for your help.

Ooo! Can open-up-the-child-proofed-cabinet-and-dump-out-all-of-our-board-games come play with your girls? He'd have so much fun with y'all! :smash:

Wow! Thanks! Lots of good info here. Thanks so much for your help! I am definitely interested in Apologia and longterm think it's absolutely great. I know that HOD uses their astronomy book in RTR. I don't know for sure that we will stick with HOD, but I'd really like to and we're enjoying it thus far. So expect we'll get to do Apologia Astronomy when we're a little older. (I'm not very confident in my ability to shift it down a notch since I'm new to this.) Drooling over the Stratton House stuff. :drool: That is really neat! Book wise, I think I like the God's Design, Our Universe. Thanks so much nestof3 for the list of books that can go with it, that's great! Maybe I can find a way to work the Stratton House together with the God's Design book? Hmm. Have to take a look at that! Thanks again. Ya'll have been so helpful. I knew I could depend on you! :thumbup:

I have a hard time too, but mostly in person, not on the boards. :001_unsure: Like a previous poster, I have a spreadsheet for curriculum that looks interesting with a tab for each subject. Whenever I find something new (like LoF for example), I jot it down. I might research it a little and put some extra information (what grade range is applicable, how much it costs, the learning style from Cathy Duffy, what people like about it). That helps me feel like I won't "loose" the info and I can choose to use it in the future if I want. Kind of empowering. IMO, try to stick with what you have for this year unless it just isn't working. Then you can pick from your list of goodies for next year. :001_smile:

We are doing Alpha for ds5 kindergarten. He is really enjoying it. DH is teaching him. We decided he had to do 2 pages a day. Many days, however, he wants to do and does more than that on concepts that are easier for him. I think it's a great compliment to kindergarten. We started at the end of June (just to do a little school over the summer) and he will probably finish by December and start Alpha in January.

Awesome! Thanks so much. You're the best. Yay! I will work on paper alignment and buy a few triangle grips. :D

I don't think my boys have a major problem but it seems like their 3rd finger might not be in the right place. Do you think they have a problem? If so, what type of grip do I need? I don't know much about this at all.

Thanks! I had forgotten all about them. Forgotten that their books were divided into different subjects like that. I looked at them quite a while ago but I'll have to look at them again. :) Any other ideas out there?

I've been browsing around the internet trying to find a study on space for science for my K & 1st graders. Basically, I'd like to study Astronomy with a Christian world view. But that is all I want as I have a full curriculum to cover my other subjects. I want it to last about a semester. I could probably use Apologia as a spine...but I feel they are a little much for Kindergarten and I want something with activities and experiments and such all built in. Please make it easy on me! I saw Amanda Bennett Unit Study on space and Cindy Downes (Oklahoma Homeschool). Has anyone ever used these? Your thoughts on these? Others? Thanks for your help!

My kids love these books. We haven't started school yet, but they ask to do them quite frequently (so I let them). DS5 just finished book 1 today and he just turned five 2 weeks ago but he is definitely reading bob books already. Almost all CVC words but also "doll" and "rock" at the very end of the book. Here are the lessons: 1: short a with final t 2: short a with final n, m, d, t 3: short a with final consonants 4: short i 5: review short a, i 6: short u 7: review short a, i, u 8: short e 9: review short a, i , u, e 10: short o 11: review all short vowels DS6.5 will start first grade. I started him in book 3 which has to do with the silent e on the end. Here are those lessons: 1: 1 syllable words ending in long vowel 2: silent e 3: silent e 4: silent e with consonant blends 5: digraph sh 6: digraph th, wh 7: digraph ch, trigraph tch 8: digraphs ng, ck 9: digraphs with silent e (review) 10: vowel digraphs ee, ea 11: vowel digraphs ai, ay 12: vowel digraphs oa, ow 13: vowel digraphs review Hope that helps you decide!

I paid ~$75 per kid for qty 8 - 30 minute lessons this summer. Class size was 3-4 kids. This was a lady who does swim lessons at her house. So I think you're doing pretty good. Our Seal swim school was more as was our YMCA (since we are not members). This is the most they have learned, though. She was great. My 2.5 year old can "dive" under to get things off the bottom of the pool (with a little push).

This will be our first year homeschooling and we are excited to be doing LHFHG with ds6.5 and ds5. DS6.5 is going to do Math/LA/Reading from Beyond. Can't wait to get started. Just 1.5 more weeks!