Well I am sitting with literally piles of piano books and sheet music all around me as I sort through all my resources -- I needed a break and hopped on the boards here and here was this thread on the front page. What timing! lol I too like the Faber Piano Adventures series. Lesson, T&A for sure, plus I really like the new(er) sightreading books they have that go with the Primer, 1, 2A, and 2B levels. The sightreading books are set up to have 5 "days" of short little songs that correlate to many of the songs in the lesson book. The premise is that they learn to look at a piece before playing, looking for starting positions, patterns, dynamics, etc., then they play it through once, repeat, done. They don't go back to it. All 3 of those Faber books (lesson, t&a, sightreading) are all non-consumable. I actually rarely write in the books -- only if absolutely necessary to get them over a tough spot with timing or something, I do use little post-its though sometimes to draw attention to something, or as a reminder for the song in general. As for Faber theory, those are good too. I actually usually use a stand alone theory book after the primer or Level 1 book -- no pretty pictures, but solid theory. However, having the theory directly correlate to the lessons is certainly nice, and if the "prettiness" of Faber helps the student get it done, so much the better! lol Of course theory books are consumable since they typically depend upon a student writing in them. Extras: there is something about sheet music that all my students LOVE! I don't know why...although I was the same way growing up. ;) I think it just feels special. Books of music are more economical, of course, but working in some special sheet music once in a while can be very motivating. Although I will say that if you're not fairly into the piano to begin with it can be hard to "judge" what sheet music will be a good choice. But there are some sites that have one page excerpts...sometimes on the publisher sites, sometimes on music store websites...I've used that quite often with a little laptop screen set up within view so I can get a feel for the song before I buy it, see if the level is what I'm looking for (because that publisher interpretation of levels can vary between publishers), etc. One thing to keep in mind with more than one child in a family learning the same instrument.... Depending on circumstances and personality, you may need to consider using 2 different series. For example, in my family I had to do this because when the younger sibling got to a "new" song in her lesson book, she could remember what the song was supposed to sound like from hearing the older sib practicing that same piece ...so younger sib could play songs by ear without having to build up her note-reading skills as much. Playing by ear is a great thing, to be sure, but this was not what I wanted for her lesson books. I ended up bumping older sib into a different series that I thought would be a good fit for her, and kept younger sib in Faber. SO much better this way! Anyway, it's not always an issue, and spacing (of both age and ability) certainly play a role in that, but thought I'd mention it in case you notice that becoming a problem. Oh wait, one more thing! (sorry.) I also just love the Dozen-a-Day books for warm-ups. Such a great series! There are two books before Book One though - "mini" and "preparatory" -- if you decide to look into those.

We've been using MM for a few years, and I feel like it's very solid as well. Are you using the math minutes web site? Would you explain how you use it, and which level you feel like is a good match for where you guys are at in Math Mammoth? (And both Math Mammoth and Math Minutes have "MM" for their acronyms, I suppose -- confusing! lol)

I know this was in another thread at some point, but what's the consensus on buying/using BOTH the teacher and student books for CAP 1 & 2? Necessary? Maybe not necessary but makes life much easier? Unnecessary expense? Heading to a conference later this week and hoping to pick this up. Thanks!

I have 3 kids who do some of HAS together and you certainly do not need 3 sets. I guess it depends on what DVD level, but certain things like paint, pads of construction paper or watercolor paper or bristol board... that gets shared. Now having said that, we also modify things like choice of a color for paper -- maybe the DVD example uses a black background whereas my kids each pick a color that they think works. Otherwise we would run through the black paper faster than anything else. But I like that we do that -- it's still "cookie cutter"ish but those variations help. (FWIW, I was certainly one who balked at the "craftsy" aspect to HAS, but I do see the value in the principles being taught, and the instruction is very nice, and my kids like it -- yay!) When I bought supplies, I did buy some from Jerry's Artarama, but also factored in how accessible something would be at a local store if I needed it (and at what price). And then of course we had a number of art supplies already. HTH!

We already own it, but Stack the States is FREE today on the Amazon app store (so Android only). Love this app! Hope this helps someone.... http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Russell-Pinson-Stack-the-States/dp/B00DZYXTRY/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393943420&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=stackt+the+states

Oh, I so agree with you on this. Also Apologia's Elementary series -- I know so many people love it, but every time I see a sample at a friend's home I am just reminded! Why are there so many exclamation marks?! It is so exciting! And if we use frequent exclamation marks and TELL the reader that the God's creations are amazing then it will be more exciting and amazing!! (Or apparently, at least more exciting and amazing than we could conclude by just observing the real world around us and reading well-written books.) I think I'm just not meant for an elementary science "program" ...that's a big part of the problem.

This thread makes me laugh! It's funny that we all have so many of these. Now, I have been homeschooling for over 15 years so I have LOTS of mistakes, but here's a few..... Miquon Math -- why are there no divisions on the blocks?? MUS blocks make sense to me, these do not. (We don't use MUS.) RightStart Math -- way too labor intensive with me with multiple kiddos at different places. But at least it's got great resale value. Love the card games though. And still think the abacus is just way cool. ;) Drawing with Children - love the principles, but never could really get to substantive implementation of those principles. And then I see it just sooo highly recommended and feel guilty that we don't use. Like, if we USED this book then my children would be in touch with their true artist selves within. But no, I have failed them. Barry Stebbing I Can Do All Things Art -- went to an art workshop with him and the kids loved it. Bought the DVD/book. Sits on a shelf. The Easy Spanish -- oh my, the WORST for what I paid for it as a new release. (Maybe it's improved by now??) Well, the songs/CD was cute. The book had numerous errors, and it felt like it took forever to actually learn anything. Writing Strands -- just boring. Uninspiring. (for me....sorry! No offense!) **But the funny (sad!) thing is that I have shelves full of curriculum that we are not using. But I don't want to get rid of it because... well, what if I need it someday? What if it ends up being a good fit for a different child? What if all the furniture in my house needs to be leveled out and then need all those books? Or paperweights...what if we need like 200 paperweights all at once? Maybe this thread will inspire me to really LET GO of more curriculum!

Popular Mechanics for Kids is on Amazon Prime (not sure if it's on the others). Maybe Magic School Bus if your kids aren't too old for that?

Wow -- dissecting sharks, foster care for mama cat + kittens, my kids would love you guys. Those homemade science storybooks sound delightful and I just love some of those titles. This thread has just buoyed my spritis! Yesterday we had a the best day with science in as long as I can remember. And yes, it was one day, but it was a DAY!!! Yay! We ended up spending far more time with science than I planned because they were so happy. lol The 8 and 9yo picked their areas of study (with about a .2 second interval for pondering where their interests lie) and noted which books we already have that will be good for that. The one with the beloved Usborne Science Dictionary book found relevant parts to give her some direction, etc. The spent some time reading and telling me about it afterwards, with a joy in their eyes I haven't that, sadly, I haven't seen in a while. And then (I posted this part on my original RS4K woes thread), because we only had 3 chapters left in RS4K Chemistry I thought we'd just read through some that afternoon (not planning to do any labs). My kids for some reason had the idea to make a video about polymers -- they've never suggested we make a video for anything school related before. It was an absolute riot! After several outtakes, they came up with a way for all 3 of them to role-play how a polymer's properties change with a chemical reaction or heat. Our most memorable chem lesson, to be sure! Ah, ok, gotcha. This makes sense and would be more doable (for mine) then having them work from whole books that they are reading. So (and I feel like an idiot asking this, lol) where is a good place to find these types of articles for science or history. Or are you creating "articles" from passages in books?

lol -- your replies are so great! Makes me feel better somehow to know that there are others in the pile of people who have hit the science "wall" at least at some point. The chem labs don't bother me too bady, actually, as far as labs go. I'm just not a huge fan of labs at this stage, I think. And I actually gathered all the supplies we'd need for the entire book and kept them all in one place...it's just the actual carrying out of the lab that is unpleasant to me. But with 3 chapters left in chem, we just read through a couple yesterday (not planning to do any labs). My kids for some reason had the idea to make a video about polymers -- they've never suggested we make a video for anything school related before. It was an absolute riot! After several outtakes, they came up with a way for all 3 of them to role-play how a polymer's properties change with a chemical reaction or heat. Our most memorable chem lesson, to be sure! And SparklyUnicorn, that dancing bacon is just as cute as can be! Even as I type in this window, I can still see his happy little legs dancing from side to side from about his "knees" down. (Did I just say that the bacon has knees?? Yes. Yes, I did.) He makes me smile every time I see him. :)

I love all these replies! Thanks to everyone who has commented so far, and I love the specific examples of books, topics, etc. Very helpful. (Although I'm not sure if "middle school" to others means 5th-8th or 7th-8th, but I digress.) I realize I am the one who mentioned the Usborne Science Dictionary type of book and my daughter's lack of retention -- that was a bad example. lol She got that a year ago and enjoys looking through it in her leisure time, but it does not lend itself to depth or retention. To me it was meant to be a buffet of topics to then see where her interests take her. Obviously "real" books are going to work better as the next step. But even with those, I feel like my kids like to say they are studying a certain subject (and reading what most here would say are quality books), yet the retention doesn't seem to me what it should be...hence my question about output and such. Evanthe -- thank you for the real samples of your daughter's work! Very nice! so was that entry just one day's writing? And is that part of the 30-45 minutes of reading, or how does that work? soror -- I love the realistic look you offered about how the ebb and flow of certain times of the year don't' quite work up to the ideal. You said you have a writing program you are happy with...I remember reading some of your thoughts on another thread. Was it CAP? So your ds doesn't, at this point, incorporate any writing specifically on his science topics, right? 8FillTheHeart -- where to start?? lol I did read through that whole looooong post you shared. Wow! What a lot of info and food for thought. First of all: I love those 13 Moon books! Totally forgot about those! It's so helpful when people share real titles and links, thank you. I think I have a pretty good handle now on what you're saying. So for the writing, for example, your kids would start (when writing on science or history, for example) to write a paragraph, then work up to essays, etc. So when you said that your kids write "reports" on topics once every 2-3 weeks, how old are these kids? Maybe I've confusing other people and the long thread you posted, but I was thinking your kids wrote more frequently. Most of your kids' writing, though, comes from history and science, it seems. So might they write a paragraph a day (either science or history), then work up to multiple paragraphs then essays, etc. ?? Sorry, just processing here. Loving this thread, ladies! Keep those ideas and examples coming!

Yes, soror, I think what you were asking to clarify about "output" -- I know they are learning, of course, but how do I help them connect on a deeper level, go deeper into one subject, and retain and truly assimilate the knowledge and understanding. Some of that should come naturally, of course, because if it is truly an interest and their mind is focused on it then that should naturally happen. Just like narrating or telling back something helps to fix something in one's mind, what similar processes can be used here to do the same? I totally agree about observing the natural world! And this was really the focus when my older crew was in elementary -- but I feel like I've kind of missed the boat with the younger crew. The older ones had so much more of an interest in nature (or perhaps I had more of guiding hand in starting that than I remember), but the younger ones like science in a different way and I guess I was searching for something ... different... and ended up not doing much of anything because no "curriculum" has been a good fit either. <sigh> But they are young, they are resilient, and this will all be great! You ladies are inspiring me once again. Evanthe, I would love to bring my kids and come live at your house. Just saying. ;) I can see why your dd could continue on this path for high school with all that she is dong -- very cool! What does your 2nd one do for herpetology? I really want to ask to see a sample of what she might write for her paragraphs -- I don't really want to ask you to type that up, but I'm so curious to see! And soror, my 9yo has been doing more with astronomy so she can come by your place, ok? She would be in heaven! lol I am actually feeling excited about doing science again!! You have know no idea what a joy that is to me! Can't wait to talk to the kids!

This is a great thread! I do not wish to hijack it and the OP's questions (which have been quite interesting!), so I am starting a new thread to explore some of what regenetrude and soror have been speaking about here with interest-based science. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/504199-what-does-interest-based-science-look-like-in-your-home/ I've really enjoyed reading everyone's replies on the OP's questions -- much food for thought here. Thank you!

A previous thread I started and a few others that I've been reading have led me to wonder -- for those of you whose primary elementary (and possibly middle school) science is interest-based science -- what does that really look like in your home? Aside from randomly reading books and watching DVDs (although I'd love to hear specifics of favorite titles!), I'm particularly interested in hearing what sort of...processing goes on. I feel like I can't find the words. Basically, my kids enjoy science books, but I'm thinking of one child in particular who loves to look through, say, an Usborne Illustrated Science Encyclopdia type of book...but without her mind actually ACTING on that information, it often seems like she retains very little. Now I realize they might not do this with every book, every reading, every time, but do your kids have, say, a science notebook where they take notes on a book, write up a paragraph after reading through something (written narration), duplicate an explanatory drawing with labels, etc.? Or do they specifically sit down and talk with you each day about something they learned about? Basically, what kind of follow-through is happening, or do you just find all of that to be unnecessary? I am picturing them doing more of the reading on their own with this -- perhaps a DVD would be something we would do together, but otherwise each child might have their own topic of interest for several weeks/months. Is that how it works for you?

lol, Paradox5, now that sounds like a plan I could live with! Ugh, I just need a break from life. I think I am just burned out and dealing with too many underlying issues of fatigue and similar problems. I "should" be so good with all this after so many years of homeschooling. And I read your post and think, "sure, that's all good!" But I am so stuck in survival mode, that very little seems like an obvious choice...besides my all out desire (yet ever-elusive struggle) for sleep. For anyone who happens to be reading my "woe-is-me" thread here, I did find a lot of value in these two threads: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/499518-so-must-haves-for-my-home-science-library/?hl=%2Brs4k&do=findComment&comment=5394923 http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/504115-alternatives-to-classical-science-rotation/ (particularly regentrude's and soror's posts, which might not have been what the OP on that thread was going for, but it resonated with me and what worked well the first time around with my older kids) ETA: I just started a new thread to explore interest-based science as a primary form of science: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/504199-what-does-interest-based-science-look-like-in-your-home/

Just curious, but why don't you sell things? Is The Book Samaritan the place that helps hs-ers who have lost everything from disasters or people who are having exceedingly hard times? That would be a cool place to donate them to.

I am so frustrated with science!! I rather spontaneously bought RS4K elementary set last spring because my 2nd and 4th graders really love science. And they love RS4K but I can't stand how involved the labs are. Granted, my kids love it. They even have lab notebooks to record their findings (composition books, one for each -- because I wasn't going to buy multiple student manuals). Q#1: How much retention do you think an elementary student would get from just reading through the RS4K text? My philosophy with my older kids was to keep elementary science focused on nature studies, nature readings, nature notebooks, etc. And those older ones loved nature. These younger ones like it, but maybe because we have spent less time with it they don't feel as much of a connection. Or maybe they're just different. Q#2: So maybe I should just go back to just focusing on nature studies until they hit 7th grade?? I just feel like I've been so inconsistent with ANYTHING for this younger crew. OK, here's something funny (pathetic funny, not haha funny) -- when I bought RS4K, it was really the physics and astronomy stuff I wanted for my 4th grader because she loves that stuff. I found it at a homeschool conference and it caught my eye. I did not study this out in advance. :/ But then I thought, "Oh this is so easy/doable, why not buy biology and chemistry too and do those FIRST (the way the author intended) so she has that background." Well! Ya, the physics and astronomy books sit unopened because we are still STUCK in the 1st book of the series. Q#3: AARGH! Why am I like this?? (somewhat rhetorical, but I'm open to hearing the painful replies on this one) I also have Lyrical Life Science (all 3 volumes), 2 Tiner books (astronomy and planet earth), oodles of nature resources, and find myself eyeing Jay Wile's new science series (because Apologia/Fulbright's Exploring ____ series was not going to be a good match for us, but this looks like it might be...except the idea of even a little experiment for every single reading sounds so unpleasant to me) as well as SCM's 106 Days of Creation and Outdoor Secrets studies. And then I read about all the wonderful-sounding science curricula mentioned by so many here, and.... <sigh> Q#4: What should I do??? / What would you do in my situation? Q#5: The kids are strong readers, so they could really do much more reading on their own, but then what kind of follow-up would they do with any of these? Q#2-4 are not fair questions, I realize. But I am frustrated. And homeschool conference season is upon us once again so I definitely want to feel at peace with a plan for where we are going and not be tempted by various enticing baubles.

Thanks for the recomendations! We used to have Mango with our previous library, but I'm not sure if our new one has it -- I had forgotten about that. Thanks for the reminder. :thumbup:

I have it on a Kindle Fire with no problems. I think the red circle with the "!" means that it needs to be downloaded again? Sorry, that's not much help, I know. :/

One of my older daughters is going to be living in Thailand as a missionary for 1.5 years and I find myself wondering about learning Thai. She will be learning Thai -- a kickstart of a few weeks of direct instruction and then living there immersed in the people and culture. But we are looking forward to learning some as well -- obviously not like she will. lol Can anyone recommend resources for learning Thai? Speaking, listening, writing, culture, whatever. I know it will be a challenge! I was hoping to find something like DuoLingo (they don't offer Thai), but am open to anything at all, at this point. Thanks!

I've been in survival mode with lost of snow and sick kids, and haven't checked in for some days. So many great ideas -- thank you all! My MM4A child asked me the other day why we can't just do Life of Fred all the time and skip MM completely. <sigh> It's always something.... I haven't settled my mind on how we're going to proceed -- I really need to have a "go to" pattern of how I do things, otherwise it feels like I'm constantly having to reassess and make decisions. Thanks again for the fresh ideas and encouragement!

OK, so it's only a $2 app normally, but still I'm so excited to see Stack the Countries as the free app of the day on Amazon! Grab it if you've got an Android device! http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Russell-Pinson-Stack-the-Countries/dp/B00G4A6VZS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391776875&sr=8-1&keywords=stack+the+countries

If the IEW DVDs are annoying to both of you, what about some of the other IEW books that don't have DVDs? If you call and talk to them I'm sure they could make a suggestion if you're not sure of whicih options to consider or can't get to a curriculum fair to see things first hand. Although *you* may need to have a better understanding of IEW (with the teacher resources) if you don't go the SICC DVD route.

We've been using Math Mammoth for several years. I have one in 4A and one in 3A currently. I realize MM is a mastery program, not spiral, but I am feeling a bit irritated at the idea of doing a whole chapter on multiplication, then not really doing any substantial multiplication for months (if we did everything sequentially) while other topics of telling time, measuring, etc are once again covered, albeit in more depth than earlier years. I've really enjoyed MM, don't get me wrong. And maybe it's just the very nature of the mastery approach that is becoming a problem for me. But as I look at printing out the next chapter, I am wondering what I am doing?? Maybe I should print out a few of the "other" chapters (time, measuring, etc.) and intersperse those amidst the newer developing skills of multiplication (and division). I do have Primary Challenge Math, Life of Fred elem/intermediate series (which my kids love but I feel like they need more exposure to facts, repetition, than using LOF affords on its own), and could get some of the Singapore CWP books maybe to supplement? I also have Strayer-Upton's arithmetic series (from the early 1900s, but reprinted -- probably not a common choice, but my older kids used that and it's solid). Just trying to think through what to do, how to modify. Anyone BTDT? Did you just follow it from Page 1 to Page xxx? Any issues with that? Thanks!

It's been a little while since we used it, and they may have made some changes more recently, but part of how you "earn" more coins is by helping other people who are doing exercises for your fluent language. Live Mocha is based on the premise of real people helping real people. So for example, you might give feedback on a written or oral exercise for someone who is trying to learn English; in the meantime you are also asking for feedback on lessons you are doing in Croatian. We really enoyed reading over assignments from people learning English -- it made for some good grammar discussions with my elementary-age kids, in a way that wasn't criticizing their own work. lol They really enjoyed Live Mocha. I think for less common languages, it is really a neat interface.