Hello! I have a 4-year-old who already seems to know some preschool things, but at the same time I don't want to push her into K material too fast. Wondering what advice or additions I need to make? I bought the Christian Liberty Preschool program, and I think it is great, but here's what happened the first day. First page instructions are to draw a line from a bear to a ball. Very cute. My daughter does this, and then while waiting for me to finish with my second grader, writes the following across the top of the page: "Name. Follow the birections." Yes, she copied all the letters, rather well except for the d/b mix, and is bored already. I think I will use some of the later parts of the program and save the rest for my next child. We have Get Ready for the Code and the Reading Lesson, and I plan to use those. I also have Before Five in a Row and some of the books. Would these work to piece together a program for her? Or should I buy something else? What about math? She really wants to learn and works well independently. Thanks for any thoughts!

- Natural Bridge area also has a zoo http://www.naturalbridgezoo.com/ - Luray Caverns would be neat - and nice and cool this time of year - In Wytheville, Skeeters World Famous Hot Dogs is a local institution - Depending on the weekend, there's the Green Valley Book Fair near Bridgewater - Bristol area (right on border) has Carter Music place and Bristol caverns http://www.bristolva.org/Brisdes01/index.html Enjoy your trip!

Just FYI -- the 1/2 books (1 1/2, 2 1/2, etc.) are for extra practice at that level. So, once your child finishes 1, she should move onto 2 unless she needs extra practice.

I think you've made a good choice to wait, given the CC cycle for this year and next. I made a SOTW2 schedule that goes somewhat with CC - PM me if you would like it. Love the other ideas you've been given. I've been wondering what American to do for next year, and I'll have to check these out!

No advice, just encouragement. My youngest has DS, and I can't wait to teach him history some day. Thanks for bravely blazing the trail!

You will want the HIG but not the Teacher's Guide -- the TG is for classroom use, HIG for homeschool. I found the HIG helpful as a framework for introducing lessons, game ideas, mental math pages, etc.

Love your blog post. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and detail. Thank you! Good luck in your new group! This will be our first year doing CC. I have worked up a schedule with SOTW2 and the God's Design Heaven and Earth series that somewhat aligns with the CC memory work for science and history (note that the memory work goes so quickly this cycle that exact alignment is tough). PM me if you want a draft of this schedule. Blessings!

A few thoughts: - The Door in the Wall - The Minstrel in the Tower (may be too easy) - Son of Charlemagne

I can answer some of your questions, though I'm hoping the Essentials tutor above will chime in as well! The Essentials of the English Language (EEL) guide has weekly editing exercises that focus on punctuation, capitalization, agreement, plurals, etc. Our Mother Tongue focuses on parts of speech, parts of a sentence (phrases, clauses), and diagramming. There are exercises in each chapter, and the answers are in a separate book (OMT Key - about $5 and definitely worth every penny). Each week in the EEL guide, there are suggested assignments from OMT. Many parents use these as part of their LA work the rest of the week, but I know some who do not. Hope this helps!

I've seen these cards in person, and they are beautiful. Pre-laminated, too. I think they would be a good resource. If my budget had allowed, I would have purchased them. Hopefully someone else here has them to give you a better perspective.

I am pretty new to CC as well, but this much I do know: -- For Essentials, the grammar is a complete program. Yes, you could add more, but there isn't a need, necessarily. Focus is on sentence structures, parts of speech, diagramming, and is quite in-depth. CC believes that the parent is the teacher, however, and so if you want to alter things, that is your choice. I recommend speaking with the tutor just to make sure he/she knows what your plans are. -- Writing in Essentials is from Institute for Excellence in Writing. The CC program goes through different writing structures and stylistic devices, so your child will do everything from research to creative word choices. -- CC for youngers (not in Essentials) will still require the parent to do math (as you said) and language arts. -- I know nothing about Challenge. Hopefully someone else will chime in. As a former high school English teacher, I have been very impressed with what I've seen so far of the Essentials program. Kids will be well prepared for future writing endeavors.

We use Usborne also to go along with SOTW (going into 2nd grade). Love the pictures and color. Check out these links for more ideas: Paula's archive http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/SOTWmenu.htm Hannah's HS Helps (Yahoo group you will need to join - check out the Files section) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hannah_hs_helps/

No advice specifically on MFW, since I haven't used it. I was on hospital bedrest at the end of my last pregnancy, and I still made sure to have lots of reading and snuggle time with the girls when they would come visit each day. Maybe lots of "book basket" time? Hope someone else has more helpful advice. Best wishes to you and your baby!

Great ideas! I was thinking of going to a planetarium when we do Galileo and Copernicus. Yes, a stretch, but we're also doing astronomy for science, and so I think it will work. Very exciting to the PP in Germany. What an awesome opportunity for learning!

Or do you have to have files? You could do a weekly "must do" spreadsheet or chart, complete with specific page numbers for each subject. I am doing a hybrid of the chart/file system. I did the spreadsheet first (which you are welcome to see if you PM me). I list SOTW chapters, CC memory work, R&S lessons, Bible verses, etc. Then, the things that do have single pages, such as Math Mammoth printouts and SOTW coloring pages, I will file. The main plan pages, for all 36 weeks, will be filed in the front. I'm not finished filing yet, but I've done the first 12 weeks, and it feels great! But even if this is all the filing I do, I have the entire year planned out, chapter, page, and verse. Sure, it can change. It most likely will. But right now I have the energy and vision to get so much done, and I know this work will bear fruit come fall and winter!

Have you looked at Heart of Dakota or My Father's World?

...and I don't, necessarily. But I do feel like my instincts were correct. About what, you ask? The background: We pulled my DD out of first grade at Christmas (private Christian school). She just wasn't learning. Something felt wrong. Later in the year, another parent pulled out her son from the same class. DD and I happily home schooled the rest of the year, despite having to re-do first grade starting in January, and we will continue to HS in the future. DD scored well on her testing at the end of June. I am proud of her and how hard she has worked to "catch up" from what she didn't learn before. The big news: I learned this week that the first grade teacher was fired a few weeks ago. Now, I don't wish unemployment on anyone. But there were serious red flags about this individual, and I'm glad that future children at this school will not have to suffer with sub-par education, from this person at least. I knew something wasn't right. At least I have evidence now that my instincts were right. You can bet I told my parents and in-laws about this development. All of them thought I was crazy to pull my child out of a "good school." Thanks for listening!

Very good post. I first read TWTM in its second edition, and while I like the 3rd ed in many ways, I still remember the many suggestions from the previous book. For our history, we are using a hybrid -- Usborne is a spine, especially for chronology. My kids love to see the pictures and ask questions. But I also have SOTW2 -- we will listen to the audio CD on a particular chapter while kids color a page from the student pages. Since my oldest is in 2nd grade, we can do this without any pressure other than to explore and learn and have fun. But I don't do much of the rest w/SOTW2. We read, we color, we talk, we write a little, we think, and then we move on. Whereas the kids always love it when Usborne comes out, and we end up flipping around and making connections. I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this topic.

Thank you! Glad to know I'm not alone in the moving/file folder world. Best wishes to all!

If you want to know why you should home school or do classical education, plus a few ideas, read "The Core." If you want to know what books would help you know HOW to do so, year after year, read "The Well Trained Mind." They are different, and each adds something to the field of home education. I liked them both, for each provides insight. TWTM made me want to homeschool when I read it several years ago, and I used it as my roadmap when I first began. Fast forward to a month ago. The Core helped me realize, this summer as I was wondering if it were all worth it, that yes, it can be done, and here are some new things to discover.

If she is looking for open-and-go, I would recommend Heart of Dakota or MFW. HOD is what we used last year with two different age levels, and easily adapted as needed.

Thanks again. I've printed out the first twelve weeks of history and geography and it didn't take long (and toddler actually watched his video!). Even if we just do basics for a few weeks in Starbucks or the library, I feel like we will be accomplishing a lot!

Thank you both! You are right, I will be happy if this is done already. And the tip on portability is huge -- I will want to get out and about! Thank you! Now if I could decide what colors for the folders...:)

Hi, ladies! I've been inspired by the ever-growing filing thread to help our school year run smoothly and make sure we accomplish what I'd like to finish. Then we just learned we will be moving! It is a quick move -- our house has a contract on it before the sign even went in the front yard! We had expected to be on the market for a while, and so we have yet to find a place to go, as the two houses we wanted nearby just got sold as well. So...what recommendations do folks have? I have 36 file folders -- should I just print as much as I can now? We'll likely be living at my in-laws until we find a place. Any thoughts on paring down and simplifying? I've already decided to nix science experiments (plus we do CC, that has experiments as well). My plan is mostly SOTW2, FLL -- mostly WTM stuff. Thanks in advance! Gwen

Another option would be to purchase the downloadable PDF version of the workbook. Print what you need, file, and go!