I love the workbook. Only downside would be doing narrations from works that you are not currently studying!

We are using Grammar Island along with FLL. I can't say enough good things about Grammar Island. That would be a good choice in my opinion!! Good Luck

We have used FLL and WWE. THis fall I purchased MCT for my DS 7 and DD 6. They both LOVE it. I think it is a perfect way to develop a love for language,grammar and poetry. I don't think it requires more time than other programs. If you are a box checker you will not like it. However, I think it is perfect for gifted children who are able to learn advanced topics but may not want be ready for a great deal of writing activities. (sorry for any typing/grammar errors...this mom is tired!!) Thought I should mention that since this is a post on english!!!

We also sponsor a child in Zambia with the assistance of World Vision. They are an incredible organization. They send us updates and keep us informed about our child and his village. I am EXTREMELY confident that the money I am sending is being used to help these people in every way they need help. From food to education. I would not hesitate to go through World Vision to send a Christmas gift. You will not be disappointed. As far as it being a Christian organization... I don't think that matters if you are looking to help a family get a goat or a cow or whatever animal. They will get the animal and you will have used a company that got the most for them from what you donated! Good Luck.

Elemental science is it!!! Thanks to all!!! I feel so much better!! THanks again! Kim

I had looked up a science curriculum that some had mentioned on this forum. I did not save the search or anything. Now I can't seem to find it. Maybe I am just having one of those days. It was a science program that you downloaded and it had intro elementary courses that seemed to be hands-on. I know that this is not a great description. But, you did download the curriculum. If anyone has ideas of what this mystery program is .. please let this brain-dead mom know!! Someone hacked into our checking account this week and I have no brain cells left after trying to put our financial life in order!!! Thanks for any help in advance!! Kim

We love it here! We are on the Island level. I can't say enough good things about it!!

My dd and ds do much better with these books. They can read very complex words. However, they tend to get frustrated with too many words on a page. So, we have been reading some classic picture books. We are all enjoying it! Good luck.

I needed this! Thanks to all! Now, to get that organized. That may be where I am most challenged!

I am typically a "never say never" person. But, in this case.... NEVER!!! You would have to run over me to drag them to a government school no matter how "good" it is. Good to see there are so many responses!

Northeast, GA. Specifically Hall County,GA. Lake Lanier is there. It is close to mountains and other lakes. Lots of land in the Northern part. But, you are close enough to the Buford,GA for shopping, Dawsonville,Ga for a very nice outlet mall. You are also close to SC. Greenville,SC is nice to visit. I also have friends who love Birmingham,AL. Good Luck!

So, thanks to all for your input. We have had a full evaluation completed by a professional that is well trained in both asperger's and gifted. So, I am very confident in the evaluation and our plans moving forward. In fact, one week since we had our conference to discuss results and strategies I feel like we have finally helped this child!! The psychologist concluded that our ds "definitely does not meet any criteria for asperger's". The diagnosis is gifted with significant ADHD. He spent hours with our ds doing formal testing and playing games and talking. He attributed many of the "symptoms" that were seen as abnormal as overexcitabilities in a child who is gifted. We have been implementing different strategies with ds and he has responded so well. I highly recommend the book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of gifted children and Adults. It is a great resource! Thanks again to all!

If it makes you feel better we have a "school room" and we end up all over the house! I LOVE the idea of the flip through maps. Any idea where to get the flip poster holder????

Be careful with the diagnosis. It tends to be thrown around too much (IMHO). We just went through a year of wondering about our ds 6 . I am a speech pathologist and in my gut did not feel that he met the criteria. So, my mommy hunch led me to continue to question the diagnosis we had received from a well respected pediatrician. None of the therapists (OT,psych,etc) seemed to agree with the diagnosis either. So, a year later after a full psych and lots of $$ we have learned that he is extremely gifted with ADHD. He just does not fit the "core characteristics" of asperger's in that he is extremely social and able to maintain topic, have meaningful relationships, make eye contact in conversation, etc. I am saying all of this to help you trust your own gut about your child. You don't want your mommy glasses to fog the view. But, you do want to trust what you know about your child. If you have some close friends that you \trust to give you outside "Views" on your child that may help. Just make sure it is someone you trust who will be honest and make sure you are ready for honest feedback regarding your child. We later learned that the "respected pediatrician" that we saw (and paid out of pocket) is fast to give that diagnosis because he is looking for it. Like when you take your car to the mechanic...they will find a problem most of the time. There is a book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis by Webb, Amend, and others that may really help you look at the differential diagnosis between many developmental issues. I highly recommend it. I would also really look at the DSM-IV criteria. He either fits it or he doesn't . Don't try to put a round peg in a square hole. Be VERY careful who does your evaluation. Make sure they are WELL trained in all of the "possible" issues that you feel you are looking at. If I can help you not make the same mistakes we did, I would love to be of assistance. Good Luck. Remember, he is still your sweet boy no matter what the "diagnosis" is. So, relax and enjoy your time with him. I wish I had not become so concerned with his "diagnosis". Not to say you shouldn't move forward. Just don't let it take over!!

I say gallbladder. I have "IBS" as well. Although a gluten free diet has fixed that. Can we say misdiagnosis?? Anyway, I had my gallbladder out after my first child. My symptoms or side effects from the surgery pale in comparison to the pain/complications that would have arisen if I had continued without the surgery. THe hydascan will show the MD objectively what needs to be done. See a doctor you trust and then trust that them. Not all surgeons just want to make money. It is sad that a few bad apples can spoil the reputation of others. So, make sure you go to someone you trust! Good Luck!

We have just started our school year. I am trying to use a list of daily tasks for my ds (6.5) to help him see what all has to be accomplished each day. I liked the idea of workboxes. But, I am so ADD myself that the thought of being that organized is just too much of a fairy tale. It couldn't have a happy ending around here. So, I made a basic list of tasks that I know are daily and left blank lines to add to it each night when I am looking to see what the next day holds. I hope that in a few weeks I will have a better idea of how things are going to flow. All of that being said, the lists are actually working for him (as best as one could expect). He and his sister have a thin folder and the first page is thier list for the day followed by any work that should be independent. The things that should need my help clearly say "with mom" beside them. So, they know that the faster they do the independent work in the am (after chores and while I am cleaning kitchen/starting laundry) the faster it will be time to play. He does take breaks after each subject that is "with mom" to help get the wiggles out. I read somewhere that someone had made "need help" cards but controlled the number of cards that they had. So, when the cards were used up the child couldn't ask for mom all day long. That gave the child a sense that they could ask for help but they better not just ask for the sake of getting attention. Hope some of these ideas help. Goodness knows I need all the advice I can get here!!

Thanks again to all. Everyone has such insight in their own way. That is what I love about being able to ask everyone their thoughts!! I think we are going to just stick with Rightstart math b/c for now. I am going to add some extra supplement (maybe math mammoth) just so I know he can handle info being presented "traditionally". I am going to focus on math, read-alouds and reading/spelling during instruction time and use history and science for "fun" projects . We can breeze through MCT with no meltdowns. So, we will continue that as well. I have come to the conclusion that we can take things on our own time schedule. Every fall I feel that we must "do school". Then, I realize that one of the reasons we are home is so that we don't have to "do school". Maybe on day I won't be so wishy washy about that part of homeschooling. I just get paranoid that we are going too slow. Then, I realize that his PS peers are waiting in the line to go to the bathroom, playing in centers, etc., etc. They aren't having instruction time all day either. And they are definitely not studying ancients. So, we will keep trucking ahead as best as I can manage with 4 munchkins at my feet!! Thanks again to all!!

If you don't mind me asking, what did you not like about C? I was already starting to worry that this may be the wrong path. They are getting the concepts. But, the s&s seems to be so different that I am scared we are missing out on stuff. I just scanned b and c and only see 4 -6 days on subtraction??? Am I right/or should I stick with it? They seem to be getting it conceptually which is why I thought I loved rightstart. Thanks for any input! I appreciate it so much!

So, I had previously posted about my ds who is 6.5 regarding asperger's /gifted or just gifted with lots of overexcitabilities. We have followed advice of several here and on the davidson website and had him evaluated by someone familiar with gifted kiddos. So, turns out he does not fit into the asperger's diagnosis at all (as this mommy thought). He is most definitely gifted (we are waiting on all details) but his achievement scores are not "living up" to his ability scores. Not sure if I worded that right. His achievement scores, although above average, are below his ability as far as percentile goes. So, of course this homeschool mom (who took a hands off approach to K since he was already reading) is feeling like I have not done enough with him. So, that is where the new question begins.... WHAT do I do now??? Keep in mind he has a 5 year old sister who is pretty much able to keep up with him . Also, we have a 4 and 2 year old at home. I will be doing early reading and math with the 4 year old. I had planned on doing VP OTAE/gen-joshua, finishing Rightstart math B and starting into C, WWE, MCT Island,apologia astronomy, IEW , and phonetic zoo. BUT, he tested low on math because we have never done "real" subtraction problems. He can do it conceptually and in word problems. But when he saw it on paper in standard format he said "I don't know". Do I need to add a supplement to math? He tries to escape from anything he sees as "school" work. He gets very emotional and says he can't do anything and that it is all too hard. Even though if he stops his fussing and does it he can always do it quickly and accurately. We feel that he is quite a perfectionist. He won't try anything he does not think he can do easily and perfectly. So, I am wondering if I should find something that engages him more. I have looked at dropping everything but math and spelling/phonics and adding Moving beyond the page since it appears to be more engaging . We looked at a sample online about inventions and ever since he has been wanting to "make" his invention. I really want to do a classical approach and start history in ancients. But, I have not been able to pull off doing ancient history in a fun and creative way with four children 6 and under. Any thoughts?? Also, as far as spelling/phonics goes... he is reading at a 2nd grade level. But, he does get stuck on complicated words. He is finishing Discovering Intensive Phonics which is an orton-gillingham approach. We switched from SSRW to this when I noticed he was just constantly guessing when he was trying to read. This did slow him down and make him look at the word. But, I am thinking of switching to Phonics Road and zipping through level 1 and into level 2 so that we can drop phonetic zoo and iew for now. However, we have never really formally worked on writing. He has just done copywork. I get to feeling that we will be behind because we haven't "practiced" writing sent. or paragraphs. Any thoughts?? If I did do Phonics Road could I just do phonics road and math with MBTP for awhile to "catch" him up to his "ability" in math and phonics. I feel guilty dropping my classical stuff for history , language and science!! Also, I have spent way too much on all this stuff!!! Oh, one more question, is MCT enough for LA or do I need to add Shurley English? Some friends have made me feel like MCT would not be enough. We tried FLL and it just wasn't a good fit. He likes MCT as much as he can like something he sees as "school". Thanks for any input/feedback. I appreciate any advice anyone has to offer! I just don;t want to get to this time next year and feel like I have not helped him live up to his potential.

Anyone out there who can convince me NOT to buy this ????? It seems everyone loves it. I am going to pray about it and wait to see if anyone has anything less than positive to say. So, if anyone out there has anything negative please speak up!!! I am really bad about buying too much!! Once again, I would have to start at level 1 with kiddos who are already reading at 2-3rd grade level. Thanks again to all who have replied. I have been looking at the website and stuff all day!! Thanks again!

Thanks to all who have replied. I will check the social group and start convincing my husband to spend more money!! We are still coming in less than sending one to private school! LOL!!! Thanks again! Kim

Ok. I searched to see if I could get a feel for thoughts on this. But, I did not seem to get answers. So, I am trying to get opinions on the Phonics Road program. I saw this at a convention and thought it looked like it was well planned and may be a good program for the long haul. But, my oldest two are already reading well. We used SSRW and Discovering Intensive Phonics. The author of phonics road and her husband insisted that you MUST start at level 1 and work forward. Even if you do level 1 really fast. The program is not cheap though. So, I would basically be buying 2 levels within months of each other. The only reason I would be buying it is because I think it looks like you would truly have a great foundation when you finished the 4 levels. Has anyone used this??? Honest thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated. I tend to over purchase curriculum. I have already purchased Phonetic Zoo A. We haven't started it yet.

We are starting 1st as well. With my dd 5 and ds 6. I have been stewing over curriculum decisions (or lack thereof) for weeks. So, seeing your selections has encouraged me. At the moment, this is our plan: Read-alouds currently Little House on the Prairie WWE MCT Island level finishing up Discovering Intensive Phonics (mainly for spelling rules) They are both reading at 2-3rd grade level Finishing up ( 2nd half) of RightStart math B Veritas Press OTAE / Genesis-Joshua Trying to decide btwn Gods Design and Apologia for science Wondering if we need to do art (I have purchased Artistic Pursuits but never seem to get around to it) For all of you 1st grade moms with wiggly boys.... How do you ever fit it all your "planned" activities in each day???? Do you feel like you HAVE to do electives like art and latin??? I always seem to have things left over that we didn't get to. Which leaves me feeling like we are failing! (i have a 4 and 2 yr. old as well so that complicates the day somewhat )

WOW!! My DS would LOVE to experience that!! He loves anything lego!

I am an SLP by training. I think if she is just using a linguisystem book and role-playing situations then you could definitely do as well at home if your child will do it with you. That being said, I would be honest with the therapist and see if there are other goals she is working towards that are not as easily targeted by a simple workbook program. If it is 1:1 therapy, I feel you would do just as well to educate yourself and do the program at home. Once again, this is assuming your child would work well with you. There are probaly therapists out there that will want to shoot me or have different opinions than that. But, if it is financially a burden, look at the big picture. Hope this helps!!