First, let me say it won't be a problem to wait on SOTW. There are so many years ahead! But.... We are just finishing up 1st this year (DS is 7), and had done little geography up until this. SOTW has been a great start! First, Ancients is just so cool for kids - mummies, pyramids, Olympic games, the Great Wall of China, the Greek myths, etc. My DS absolutely loves history now, begs for more, and insists that "history isn't schoolwork." Second, the map work included in the SOTW AG had led to more in-depth discussions of continents, seas, oceans, cultures, etc. We are always pulling out the globe, or talking about people around the world, then and now. Even my 2nd DS (almost 5) casually points to maps now and says, "That's Africa. Egypt is one of the countries there. This is the Nile delta." (He is also out child Most Likely to Win at Trivial Pursuit.) I have no expectation that either boy will remember details about this year in a few years, but they will remember that civilizations grow and change and they will love history. Best wishes deciding!

from Pandia Press (not the Real Science for Children). We have been doing the Earth science set and have really enjoyed it. Lots of activities. Our other "find" is something basic - a new, reasonably good telescope. My DS love it!

nt

This book (and the rest in the series) was the basis for the Disney movie but is so-o-o much richer and more complex than that move. My DS love Miss Bianca and her friends who belong to a league that rescues people. They are older books but we have been fortunate to find them at our library. Enjoy!

I'm going to go ahead with EFTRU and get the flashcards. A nice little addition to our "circle time."

The Pillars of the Earth. Interesting from an historical standpoint, but not as well-written as I had hoped for. I guess Follet couldn't lose the "spy thriller" style. The Canon. Amazing. Really. Written by a science writer, the author tries to distill an enormous wealth of information on science as it applies to issues today. If you are Young Earth, you will want to skip the chapter on evolution, but there is so much more here. Magic By the Lake (our current readaloud). Love Edward Eager books, working through them. Next - the Nesbit books. Why didn't I know about these lovely books when I was a kid? Linders DS 7-1/2 and almost 5

Dear ladies, I have a confession to make. As much as I like the idea of a true classical education, I do not want to teach Latin. Not now, not ever. If my DS want to learn it in middle/high school, we can go to the local co-op or language house. We are doing Spanish at home and in outside classes now, and I'm happy with that and our English grammar program (FLL for now). So, if you are still reading and haven't given up on me...I do see great value in learning Greek and Latin roots. I've looked at English From the Roots Up and am thinking of just getting the flashcards and doing a couple roots a week next year as part of our language arts. (When I say just the flashcards, I mean no book. It looked like the book was really a compilation of the roots and examples with a bunch of verbiage around that. Am I wrong?) For background, my DS 7-1/2 reads well (3rd-4th grade level) and DS almost 5 is reading about 1st-2nd grade level and learning fast. Would this be valuable? Is there another roots program you would recommend instead? Thanks so much, especially to the people who are more diligent about Latin. Linders DS 7-1/2 and almost 5

"From Mudpies to Magnets" and its sequel have fun science experiments for that age. Add in some library books (those by Gail Gibbons and the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series have been particularly good) and you are set. Have fun! Linders

nt

I have a DS, 7-1/2 years old, who has been doing piano for a year and a half. I also found that piano was a struggle after a morning of schoolwork - and my DS did NOT have a good attitude about it at that point. What has worked really well lately, though, is doing a couple of academic subjects first (for us it's grammar, writing, spelling), then an "active" break (toss a ball, run up and down the sidewalk), then piano, then the rest of academics (math). Working piano in earlier has been great. Oh, and I have been informed that science and history are NOT schoolwork, they are just fun things we do in the afternoon.:) Learning an instrument is an important educational goal in our family, but I know I have had to work hard to make sure it gets the same priority as other subjects. It's way to easy for me to get the "3 Rs" done and let all the rest slide, especially on days when my DS is not cooperating. Linders 2 DS (almost 5 and 7-1/2)

One of our co-op classes used Great Science Adventures: Space. I was the aide in the class and watched all the cutting/gluing/paperwork suck the excitement out of learning about space. Even the teacher got discouraged and started doing a lot of that "busywork" at home prior to class, but that left very little "meat" for class - just read the info from the booklet and watch a couple of meager demonstrations. I finally started researching the topics online ahead of time and adding a bunch of material each class period. A science program we have love, on the other hand, is REAL science (Pandia Press). We're finishing up their Earth Science program and I plan to order the Life Science for next year. Lots of hands on, and the written material (which we read together then older DS re-reads) is nicely targeted for elementary ages. Hope that helps! Linders

Hi Jean, I'm an infrequent poster, but I wanted to let you know that you and your blog and your telescope had me telling my DH all about the little telescope I bought with my own money when I was just 8 years old. And for Christmas he surprised me with...a telescope! This is NOT the kind of gift he would usually think of. Now, I just need to learn how to use it - I can do the usual point-and-find, but it also has computer gizmos to track and find objects. Just waiting for warmer weather. Linders in Washington

This list got me thinking. It looks heavy on the "me" category, but part of the reason is a difference in philosophies. My DH makes enough that he would be quite happy to hire out lots of these tasks (e.g., get a housekeeper, yard person, etc.) In fact, that's what he did before we were married. When we got married, I said it was ridiculous for 2 adults who worked reasonable hours not to do these things themselves. As a consequence, I took on most, with DH rather reluctantly pitching in sometimes. When I became a SAHM, I ended up with all of it. I recently did some consulting work specifically with the idea of paying for a housekeeper for the year...and I can't make myself get one! Someone knock me up the side of the head, please.... Linders making money - mostly DH paying bills - me budgeting - me mortgage/loans - me home repair/maintenance - both banking/investments - me taxes - me car care - both health insurance - me scheduling (making/keeping track of) - me phone calls or correspondence re: all the above - me teaching/school work or homework - me discipline (planning and implementing) - mostly me spiritual guidance (who actually carries it out, not just the "head") - me kids mornings - me kids bedtimes - me transportation for kids - me grocery shopping - me laundry - me eating at home - me eating away (pack lunch, etc) - NA daily chores/cleaning (really need sub-categories!) - me lawn care/snow cleanup - lawn-DH, snow-me garden or bed maintenance - me planning holidays - me planning family events/vacations - me

Rather gruesome but descriptive phrase from a friend who was raised in the boonies of Texas. I love using it on my kids when they are insisting that I do something now. Linders

Hi! My DS is 7-1/2 and finishing up 1st in the next couple of months. He finished Phonics Pathways last year, to where he now reads books like Little House on the Prairie easily. He has been working through Explode the Code...books 1 through 5 were done by the end of K (last year). For 1st he is working through books 6-8 (we're almost done with 7). I really like ETC because it reinforces phonics, spelling, and writing, plus adds reading comprehension in the later books. Also inexpensive and can be done pretty independently. He is also doing Spelling Workout (finished A, halfway through B) - a bit of a hokey spelling program but for some reason he loves it - and First Language Lessons. I have really tried to like FLL but find it t-e-d-i-o-u-s and repetitive, and am thinking about switching to Primary Language Lessons which looks more interesting. I'm not really sure formal grammar is necessary at this stage, but knowing nouns, verbs, etc., has been a help with his Spanish lessons anyway. Best wishes! Linders

- Little House in the Big Woods (and Prairie) - Stuart Little - Thornton Burgess animal stories - the original Winnie the Pooh books - Mr. Popper's Penguins - Paddington Bear books (the originals) - Mrs. Piggle Wiggle - The Mouse and the Motorcycle (and sequels) - The Wizard of Oz These have all been favorites at our house over the past 2 years with DS 7 and 4. Happy reading! Linders

My dear FIL stayed in his house, down the street from us, as long as possible. In 2 short years he went from living independently to needing a little help (light housekeeping/cooking) to 24-hour care (dressing, bathing, incontinence). He went from being a gruff but fairly mannerly person to someone prone to abusive outbursts - I stopped taking my young DSs for our daily visits. At the end, he was violent whenever he needed bathing or medication, and he actually injured a caregiver. That pretty much necessitated a nursing home. It is never, ever, an easy decision. My heart goes out to you. Linders

My DS and I use and love RightStart for our core math. He finished A and B and is now in C. RS is great for conceptualizing math (my DS became quite fond of the abacus), but I threw in SM to get math "on paper" more. I guess as an engineer, "I" needed to see that. I had DS do a lot of SM PM1 and all of Challenging Word Problems 1. Now, RS throws in more work on paper starting with Level C, so we will probably back off to just adding SM's Challenging Word Problems. I love the word problems, they make math "real life" and I think DS appreciates that. Hope that helps. Linders