Wow...exciting. I've lived in Wisconsin most of my life and around Milwaukee. PM me if you like. There's great homeschool groups near Milwaukee. Let me know what you're looking for and I can recommend some groups. Are you looking for religious affiliation or more liberal groups? THere are a ton of suburbs close to Milwaukee. In my humble opinion, it totally depends on what your're looking for but here's my list of good suburbs: Wauwatosa (hip & trendy, lots of parks, close to everything but lots are smaller and not a lot of yard) White Fish Bay or Shorewood (very close to Milwaukee but kind of cliquey/snobby) Lake Country (Pewaukee, Hartland, Oconomowoc, Delafield) - about 25 miles West of Milwaukee but offers to much outdoor activity and tons of homeschoolers) Brookfield (tons of homeschoolers, close to everything but traffic can be a beast) Others - Franklin, Menomonee Falls, Mequon, Mukwonago, New Berlin, the list is endless! PM me privately if you want more of my opinion....

Love all the comments. I find it so hard to find curriculum for my non-traditional learner but have made some progress after much research. Here are some others: http://www.lyricallearning.com/ - on rainbow resource http://www.audiomemory.com/ - on rainbow resource I've heard of the following....anyone use either of the ones below? http://www.linguisystems.com/products/product/topicsearch http://www.adaptivecurriculum.com/us/index.html I didn't see any recommendations for math. I'm sure a lot of people use Math U See or Teaching Textbooks but I'm not a big fan of either of them. I've heard of Touch Math but mostly for younger kids. Anyone use it for 3-5th grade? Anything else for math that I've missed? Thanks, Wendy

I just gathered materials for a friend on the Ancients and thought I'd post it here as well. Feel free to add to the list any materials that helped you teach this time period. These are in no particular order. Living Long Ago Houses and Homes Usborne book of World History or Kingfisher History of Encyclopedia Peoples of the World Usborne Time Traveler Tut's Mummy Archaeologists Dig for Clues Great Wall of China Castle (D.M) Cathedral (D. M) Seeker of Knowledge Greek News DK Tales of the Dead Ancient Greece DK Ancient Greece Highlights Top Secret Guide to egypt Stories In Stone Cave People How to dig a hole to the other side of the world Pyramid by David Macaulay Mrs Frizzles Adventures - Ancient Egypt Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt Magic School House - A book about archaeology The 5000 Year old Puzzle Gilgamesh the King Pepi and the Secret Names The Great Pyramid The Nile River (rookie books) You Wouldn't Want to be a Pyramid Builder Possible Read Alouds: The Door in the Wall, Twenty One Balloons, The Egypt Game, Tales of Ancient Egypt, Little Pear

You could check out the following: athenasacademy currclick (pretty affordable) Khan (online math) with MEP math worksheets Lexia or reading plus ixl math Wordly wise (go through homeschoolbuyerscoop) - vocabulary Pearson Interactive APEX learning courses Geometers sketchbook (sp) Hope that helps!

We love Athena's Academy as well and if you think they're pricey, remember most of them go all year. Wonderful classes! We've taken a few on currclick and love them but I've had to hand hold the process. I sat with my DD and taught her how to listen (seems simple right?), take notes, comment, etc. and then follow up with daily homework so she's ready for the next class. You get what you put into it no matter where you take your class. I'm interested to see what other classes people have taken.

Check out http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/ Their curriculum is made for even the most reluctant reader and gets great reviews. My DD was the same, just turned 6 and I felt way behind. Since we started using it, she's made great progress. Shocking really. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

Have you heard of the Sound Foundation? They make the Dancing Bears and Apple & Pears curriculum for struggling readers. We've made great strides over here and I've heard lots of great reviews from others. http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/ Good luck!

We had the same issue over here but thankfully we've made HUGE progress. Gradual gentle exposure from PP is the best. Not feeding the fear is important too (avoiding dogs, telling her the dog is far away, etc). Instead you need to expose her and build her up. We kept telling her that she will overcome the fear. We went to a friends house and then to a farm where we knew the dogs were mellow, not jumping, and friendly. I started telling her and others we saw that she was overcoming her fear, congratulating her on being around dogs (really building her up) and not mentioning any negative behavior (her avoiding a dog, standing on a chair, her staring at a dog at the park). This worked wonders and she really started to enjoy seeing the dogs and then we did the unimaginable.....we got our own dog. It's been a wonderful experience. She still is hesitant about going to someones house who has a dog she's unfamiliar with but that will come with time and her getting older. Good luck!

Some great books to teach phonics....Spelling Through Phonics by McCracken and A Sound Track to Reading. Gives the information and you teach it. Great resource to have. A Sound Foundation publishes the Dancing Bears and Apples and Pears and they're excellent too. For independent practice you could use Merrill Phonics, Phonics We Use, or Phonics Plus. I found an old SRA copy of books but AAR and AAS was my close second. I was trained as a reading teaching and phonics was my specialty so ask any question you like!

The reason AAS works so well for a lot of folks is because it teaches the PHONICS RULES! This is often overlooked and should be a key subject area for our kiddos. They need to refer back to the rules and use them to decipher words they read and spell. Two good books to get are Spelling Through Phonics and A Sound Track to Reading. And don't wait! Start as early as you can. Some good reinforcement for independent practice could be Merrill Phonics, Phonics Plus, or Phonics We Use. Each child collects their phonics rules on index cards and keeps them in a cute box, 4x5 photo book or ring them together after hole punching them. Good luck!

Don't forget to focus on the phonics rules....can't become a good speller if you don't know the rules. This is an often overlooked area of homeschooling/schooling. AAS does a good job of teaching the phonics rules but you could also get Spelling Through Phonics by McCracken or A Sound Track to Reading. Great books to have on hand. We keep our phonics rules in a recipe box and in a small 4x6 photo book with the rules written on index cards. Each child reviews and references the rules when I stop them and ask "what's the rule?". Good luck!

Just saw the Yesterday's Classics have been on sale for $49.....it ends today, Aug 20th for anyone interested. http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/o/hsf.php Looks like a great selection.....anyone want to chime in on these books.....yay or nay?

I posted this in General as well. What do you do with your young dc while the others are working? My eldest doesn't handle distractions well. Last year my young dc was in preschool but I'll have all 3 at home with me and I'm a bit nervous about it. I have some activity bags, some crates with toys, and some work of course but she likes someone to be playing with her. I don't want to resort to videos and ipad too much either. Thanks! Wendy

I will have 3 little ones at home this year and I'm nervous about the youngest one. She was in a K4 program last year so I was able to really get in a groove with my 10 dc and 7 dc. Does anyone have suggestions on what I should have available for her when she's done with her small amount of work and then bugs me incessently to watch videos, go on the ipad, or go outside. My eldest doesn't handle distractions well. I have to turn off phones, no computer, etc and we really dive into our work when we're at it. Gulp....help! Wendy

I agree with the headphones - they work over here. Can you get out and be creative? Go to a church, coffee shop, library, etc.? Hope you can figure something out....but ultimately I think we are more resislient than given credit for so you can do it if you have to! Good luck!

Hi all! I'm trying to find a more interactive writing tool for my 5th grader (who is at a 4th grade level). I've had my eye on Editor in Chief or Wordsmith Apprentice. Can anyone give me warnings or suggestions for either, especially if you're familiar with both. If there is another tool or curriculum you'd like to recommend, please do so! Thanks in advance, Wendy

Reading great books is important and wonderful but I'd add there needs to be some guidance or teaching if not from a book then from the parent, the teacher. There are all the elements of literature to consider (plot, theme, moral, setting) along with concepts like main idea, inference, character development, etc. A particular reading program will guide you down this path. Some that are good: Junior Great books (can find used and are good with a co-op), sonlight, mcguffey, beautiful feet (mixes history with literature), Also you can get literature guides to guide you: glencoe literature library http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/, memoria press, and many others (most charge though). Another resource: http://www.academybookstore.org/GBAStore/StoreFront.bok go to their study guides for each grade level. For higher level thinking, go with junior great books, great books academy or read classics off the glencoe site. Anyone else have other sites for literature guides?

Mr. Q has free Life Science (you have to print out the whole thing so there is a cost to you) but my kids LOVED it. We used it with two families and got together once a week, the kids were 1st-4th. I can't recommend it enough. Experiments were manageable and cheap.

Can you buy the CD and check out the book at the library? Our library has them all. We love the CD personally and you can always use other books to back up the history, something from DK, Usborne or Kingfisher.

Home Art Studio is good too. http://www.officialhomeartstudio.com/ You can get it cheaper through homeschoolbuyersco-op. Good luck!

I have a strong phonics background and was a first grade teacher before homeschooling. Apples and Pears will provide a strong foundation for your child. If you want to include some fun curriculum, just combine it with Confessions of a Homeschoolers K4 program (which should be labeled K4/K5). Excellent combination and reasonably priced.

I'd love a copy. Thanks! I'm in a co-op and we used the life science this past year. It was great and the kids loved it.

What a great idea! I found some You Tube videos that you could use....some about kitchen safety and others about cooking. You'd have to pick and choose though. Good luck!

I'm looking at it as well. Hope others reply.

Just happened upon this old post....such good resources. Thought I'd bump it and add http://www.hodgepodge.me/category/hmscl/pttl/ - great art lessons. Anyone else?