bumping this because I have been wondering the same thing. A regular fire is $49 (without case) and kids is $99 with case and "extras". Not sure the extras are worth the money if I can get them of the non-kid fire. Anyone?

listening in... Really need Veritas Press to put their self paced history on sale!

Christmas is going to be here before we know it and honestly I don't feel like buying anything for anyone. I have ds 11 and 7 and dd 9, 6, 5, 2. What is everyone else getting there kids and family?

I am in a spot where I have delayed starting my 6 yr old so not to overwhelm her or me. She knows very little! I am looking at LoE and really want to get it. I have AAR, phonics road, and a lot of other things but wanting to really try this. I also want to get Christian Light Publications Kindergarten II to do with her. Is this going to be overkill? Does anyone have any experience with either of these curriculums. Also any suggestions what to add for math? Thanks!

If you are involved in CC Essentials what other items need to be added to it to make it a full language arts program? Spelling, Vocab, Comprehension? I know it includes writing and grammar, trying to figure out whatelse would have to be added. Thanks

I oldest ds is a 6th grader. I often feel I am not doing enough with him. Wondering what everyone else is doing and using with their 6th grader?

What if my student is not a good speller (ds 11-6th grade). Rod and Staff looks good but where should I start? Would beginning with 2nd grade be ok to make sure we get the main concepts down?

My 11 year old feels he needs to be a better speller. I would like something very easy and open and go that I could include my other kids in. Any suggestions? Thanks

I am currently using AAR level 2 with my son. I was wondering if anyone using AAR uses something different besides AAS. Wondering if there was another spelling program that worked well with it. Thanks

I am currently in a co-op group that meets every week. We have decided each week one of the moms has the opportunity to send a little token of encouragement to the others in the form of gift, scripture, quote etc. Wondering if anyone has any great sayings, inexpensive ideas they would like to share with me. Thanks!

This is the exact situation we are facing. We have had hsing families in our community try to go to the school board to let their child play sports while still being homeschooled and they want nothing to do with it! No one has been willing to take it to court though. But due to the recent cuts the school has now made it where you have to pay to play. I am hoping in the next few years that they will be in such need for money that they will allow anyone willing to pay, play sports!

I feel for you! I sometimes wish I could send them to PS for one day and then they might appreciate it more. I understand that kids want to be around their friends but I really want their brothers and sisters to be their best friends! I even wonder about my older child when it comes to the routine of ps. Not sure he understands you really aren't around your friends all day. You have to sit in your seat during class, there is no recess in high school, you can't just go to the bathroom and stay in there as long as you want. I suspect just like some people say I can't homeschool, I feel like I can't public school.

Thanks for the input. I know he is only 6th grade but when I started him in K I thought I had all the time in the world to think about his future and here we are with a 6th grader. It went fast! I just want to make sure if he does end up going that he is ready, not only emotionally, but mentally.

Well our school system is not the best right now. Our district has had to make some very big cuts recently so in a few years I'm not sure there will be a high school. I just want to start thinking it thru now b/c time sure goes by fast. What I really want is our public school system to let homeschoolers play sports, but the school board is very against it!

I have a ds 11 who is asking to go to public school starting in high school. Where we live you can play football out of school until 8th grade and then you must be enrolled in public school to continue. His very best friend (currently homeschooled) will start ps freshmen yr for the main purpose of playing sports. He asks me almost daily if he will be able to go as well and his father and I just do not see it happening. Telling him that upsets him every time. He is good at sports but I don't see athletics being a main goal in his future. I hate to see him upset and the thought of not seeing his bf anymore really upsets him. Has anyone ever dealt with this? If they asked and begged and you didn't let them go, did they end up hating you for it? I homeschool b/c I feel responsible for my child's education. We are also Christians and want him to have a Christ centered education. I do shelter my children to a certain extent but my oldest is 11 so I don't see that as a problem. I just don't want our decision to backfire and he rebels against us b/c he isn't getting his way. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

mamajag How long is it taking you to do a full day? Are you able to do everything they have listed for you to do? Thanks

mamajag How long is it taking you to do a full day? Are you able to do everything they have listed for you to do? Thanks

Does it have lesson plans with it? Also what approach did they use for phonics?

loowit of abeka and MFW which one do you feel had the better Phonics program? Also couldn't really tell what was used for math with MFW.

I have been homeschooling for almost 7 years. I will have a ds 11, dd 8, ds 7, dd 5, dd 4, dd 2. I have been piecing curriculum together for years. Did use sonlight starting out though, but even that seemed like too much and I only had one child. I am looking for something to use with my dd 5, dd 4. I haven't worked with either of them hardly at all :( The older 3 take a lot of time and the youngers just play most the day. I am getting tired of trying to piece things together but I have a good grasp on what I want to olders to do. I am at the point where I know I will not like everything in a boxed curriculum but I am needing the structure to keep my youngers on pace. So my question, as far as boxed curriculum goes, what is out there that would hit the basic subjects really good. It needs to be open and go, and not take a lot of time to get through. Both girls like workbooks and I am ok with that. Of course I hope to do read alouds too. I have tried many pieces of curriculum (MP, VP, sonlight, abeka). Which do you think would meet all the above requirements? I have looked at abeka, MFW, and MP any other suggestions or is one mentioned your favorite?

I see on facebook all of these public school kids having end of the year parties and I am wanting to do something fun for my kids and some of their homeschool friends. I want to have it at our house which is wooded. Also try to make some of the activities educational but them not know it :) There is a possibility of having 30 to 40 kids so I'm going to need to be pretty organized. Any great ideas? I have thought about scavenger hunts and races but not sure how to make those really fun.

Thanks! Hoping my dd is just having the same issue as yours! I really don't feel there is any underlying problem, just not sure if it is a heart, lack of confidence, hate school issue :) and in that case what to do about it, maybe backing off is a good option! ( for awhile at least)

No, I just assumed if there were any vision problems my eye dr. would recognize it and send us to a specialist, Besides reading would I see issues with this in any other areas of schooling? She loves to write, even though she can't really spell any words correctly, and loves to draw.

We have AAR, The Phonics Road, Ordinary Guide, Sonlight, Memoria Press, ETC, and maybe a few others. After looking over the signs of being dyslexic, she is not. We go to the eye doctor every 6 months, no vision problems. If it is a medical thing I think it will be hard for a Dr. to find. I think it is hard for her and her confidence is not only low, but she has given up. I am going to look into having her evaluated but until then I guess keep on pushing. AAR is the most recent purchase so maybe this will be the winner! I am having my 7 yr old use it too and he is already on lesson 26, which makes her upset(we are trying to do phonics seperately so she doesn't know he's ahead of her). Thanks for all the input.

What is an O-G based reading program? Sorry if dumb question