IEW is great - but a second option (just because there always has to be an option, IMO...) would be WRITING STRANDS. You could have her start with book 4 and finish with book 6 by the end of the year. TOG has a great writing guide called WRITING AIDS that you can use with any program. There are beginnings of some fun books on grammar (Grammar Girl) that you can find at the library and use sort of as "bathroom readers" (reading short sections randomly through the book).

I would proceed... I could be making a leap here, but I'll run with it... Seeing that you are homeschooling a 10yo, you probably already have your "bearings" down. It is sooo much easier to bring up the second child already knowing what to look for, and having experience with some (or many) resources. Your older child is an example too - and could be used to also teach the younger. (I have my 11 yo read SOTW to her younger brother. She does outlining and timelining while he enjoys the stories and works through some of the worksheets.) With experience, I feel it is easier to let go of pre-conceived age and developmental expec1tations (especially those set by PS). I say - run with it while he is "lit"! Just remember to keep the fun in all you do at that age. Remember, you can always make adujustments if the pressure becomes too much for your youngest.

Life of Fred Fractions then, Life of Fred Decimals and Percents. It seriously changed our lives...

oh, oh, oh! Liberty Kids has a website too, and you may want to watch the PBS series on the Revolutionary War so you can add to your discussions. It helped me to TRY to stay a step ahead... There is also a series of books (beyond American Girl) about young American girls (Hope's Revolutionary Diary comes to mind - but there are more in the series). Enjoy learning together!

Don't forget that much of what we are doing during the early/Grammar stage is building a foundation. I got caught up in the little stuff when I was doing Sonlight 3 with my third grader. While you CAN hone in on specific topics (taxation without representation), you honestly do not need to have tons of tiny objectives to meet your main goal (a broad overview of an era). It's good to enjoy the stories at this age, and not focus on the intricacies - you'll have tons of time and interest for that during the logic stage:) Also, what you think is interesting, may be boring or too above your child. For each goal that you have let your child find the sub-points. What helped us too, was to make a bubble map. For this, put your goal in a bubble in the center of a piece of paper (Revolutionary War). Lay out a variety of books about the topic (Paul Revere, King George, Red Coats, weapons, Boston Tea party, documents, etc.). Let your child look over the titles and materials and try to form some bubbles from this initial info. As you read, they can make more bubbles - which will be your cue to help them find resources and field trip opportunities.

We live barefoot none months of the year here. IMO, it's mandatory. Also mandatory, one of those metal grater things in your shower to get off those rough patches. Now, if I could... I'd love to have some of those Japanese flesh eating fish for the pool...

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: I want to help you connect, so I'm throwing out brainstorming ideas here. Use the website CARING BRIDGE to help you and your family connect? Computer/video hook up? Care package? Without knowing your circumstances, would it be feasible to pack up the car and make the trip if you could... Use grocery money for gas? Live off of a few loaves of bread and a jar of peanut butter? Refill water jugs and treat yourself\ves to kool-aid for drinks along the way? Car camp along the way when you need sleep? Treat the experience as school (or bring simple activities to complete)? I hope you can find a solution that you are comfortable with, and will not look back later and wonder. My best to you and your family!

Good news for you, the tall bald guy and your family! I love those "duh" moments:)

Anything from the Sonlight book lists, especially their early America (3) list. Little Britches by Ralph Moody Lonesome Gods by L'Amour The Walking Drum by L'Amour Beowulf by Nye Anything by Geraldine McCaughrean (start with her Greek Heros books) Abridged versions of: Les Mis Arabian Nights Marco Polo Knights of the Roundtable other WTM or GREAT BOOK listings Alexander the Great by Michael Palin (he walks the trail - photos, talks of the experience) Octavius Nothing (can't remember the author)

I need to balance this... We are far from perfect, but I love the compliments we hear about our children being responsible, full of manners, respectful, and mature for their age WHILE being silly and fun to be around. The best compliment to me, after knowing someone for months, is, "You homeschool? You can't tell! They are soooo, normal." From that feedback, I know we aren't socially inept, and to date, we have no delinquency record with the police, or neighbors:) Here is the balance: My children (dd11 and ds8) are allowed at any time during their free time, to: Watch TV with no restrictions (yet) on channels Surf the net without parental controls (except that I can look at their visited sites) Play Nintendo DS Play Wii at the home of a friend Play X-box at the home of a friend Make phone calls to friends Use our cellular phone and text when the go out with friends or chat from home See any movie they would like so long as it is PG-13 and under What I am getting at is that less than desired behaviors do not stem from the above activities. The key is to talk over those activities with the child (what you fear and why; what you expect could happen; what their thoughts are; what they should do when they are uncomfortable; that you love them but maybe not their choices, and so on). Children are able to self-monitor MANY of their activities if they are given the chance to participate in the decision making process and converse with an adult about their views. When you allow them to make poor choices, and then talk constructively about the experience, they will grow from that (Socratic) discussion at any age. Here is but two, of many, examples: 1) Our dd quickly learn that watching open heart surgery on the Discovery channel was not for her. From that, and talking about other shows that show and add far more to the imagination, she was able to self limit (actually she cut out ALL viewing) of other programs with graphic themes (CSI for example). She is able to verbally express her feelings to friends when such show are on in their homes, helping them make age appropriate choices as well. She even cut out ET for a while... after seeing ET's beaming heart on a commercial. We eventually helped her through that one:) 2) As a family, we watched one of those star "trash" reality shows showing how they live their daily life (our neighbor is the lead security/body guard for this family). Knowing more about the situation than most, we were able to add much to the program I will admit. However, overall, I know that almost every American family could easily see many similarities in their own family (hugs and kisses and tons of love; the parental stress in getting ready for travel; meal prep; balancing work and life; how to dress for different occassions; mundane evening activities; getting ready for pre-school and school and so on), and were able to many similarities that are not in our family (kids swearing, albeit not around parents; the rogue black sheep of the family and how others react to them; young adults in bars and how they carried themselves compared to others around them; making bad choices that will always be "on your record" through life; taking the stigma away from mental illness and addiction to move toward help and health and new relationship building, and so on). I have a feeling that recently, these are but a wee few changes you are seeing. Everything can seem so big at this time, and the future looms like a cliff in front of you when you feel discouragement with the little things. It's hard to see kids reach the stage where they can think for themselves, but do not have the experiences to back their choices. I guess that if all other advice you are drawn to does not work, you cuold try the above, and give your child complete freedom in choice making. You relationship will strengthen as you talk (and be real and honest as a parent - don't shelter them by self monitoring your own thoughts or behaviors when they ask for hard truths). Don't mop or cover up any messes for them, hold them accountable (and live through the short inconveniences of not having control over things like poop on the floor because a walk was missed, or a burned dinner because they chose to talk on the phone rather than watch the oven). Talk, talk, talk early and often. Start this process early on - you honestly won't have unruly, undisciplined kids running around! As you examine both sides (pros/cons; good/bad;and especially, their mission/purpose) your child will be able to recognize that middle ground and become centered with moral choices. Good luck!

We have a forbidden word list on our wall (it's borrowed from the book Heartbeat by Sharon Creech): very like ya know? uh well stuff yeah

A great secret is, that if you do all of the morning/daily exercises (calendar and lesson), you are also incorporating mental math, which is what Singapore is heavy on. Try to do all of the suggested daily work (eventually, if you are doing the calendar boxes/mental math boxes and lessons, you can cut the mixed practice down to odds or evens each day). Even though after 6/5 we switched to Life of Fred, the Saxon rewards for us have been amazing. I wish you continued success!

Fear not... I've poured though books a number of times, and bought the whole movie series from PBS. I'm a great fan - just pointin' out the facts...

Professional straighteners (PS) are like a flat iron (and a flat iron used with Str8t...) - only if you have frizzy hair (like mine) you can never achieve the totally flat effect, nor get the shine that comes with a PS. You probably know that frizzy hair actually has scales that pop up on the shaft. PS flatten the scales down and seal them into a smooth shaft. With a PS, your hair is coated with a solution and combed straight over and over. There is a waiting period, then it is rinsed. After the rinse a coating is put over the hair that seals each hair shaft so it is smooth. During the process, your hair dried and and further sealed with a professional hot iron (that gets up to 350 degrees for truly stubborn or ethnic hair). You will probably be told not to shampoo for three days so the seal can "harden". Your cut will probably be drastically different from what you've had done to tame your frizzies! I freaked when mine was cut because I was not use to layers of any sort (they popped out with frizz). I now love having long layers:) After it is done, you can style your hair with rollers, curling irons and you can use your favorite products. The reason for the expense is that two colors and numerous cuts can be done during the time of one PS. If you can, try to get someone on a really down day, someone that is new, or someone to do it outside a salon that may have stylists meet specific client or $$$ numbers per day. Once you get it done, you will be able to "realize" those that have also had it done. There is a "look" to it. It's a quietly shared secret...:)

You may find you have an easier time if you research "philosophy for children" rather than "character". Here is a site with books that help you through tough and sticky ethical childhood dilemnas: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/omc/kidsphil/stories.html There is a formal curriculum out there - the early books have a rabbit take you through various scenarios. I can't find it right now, and memory escapes me (it's been years). We enjoyed the formal program, but when it gets right down to it, you can do the same with library books and conversation.

I came to this conclusion with Jane Austin as well... The heroine always stumbles and hurts her ankle... Who rescues her? But of course! The man she currently cannot have...

I've never used pre-made study guides for the Grammar stage - not really for the early Logic stage either. For me, it would sap all the fun out of the reading to have to answer to a set of Q&A's that lead to specific answers. We're more organic - when necessary, we use TABLETOPICS BOOKCLUB for prompts. From there we usually end up having a great Socratic discussion. Here is a link: http://tabletopics.com/bookclub.html For your Logic/Rhetoric child, Cliff Notes are great - get the LARGE versions though - they will have vocab and many, extra side notes not found in the slim versions.

I'm anti preschool - even though I have a post grad degree in early childhood/child psych. So take this FWIW to you - it will be opinionated. When faced with the results of a myriad of studies on learning, I came to realize it is all in readiness. Don't fret - you are actually doing a GREAT service for your child if you spend the time OBSERVING, READING, and EXPLORING as much of your world as possible. It is absolutely wonderful to see their interests and talent naturally emerge! Once you "see" those, you can cater your chosen formal curriculum to meet those needs. If you want to follow a preschool program, a gentle one is Judith Oberly's SLOW AND STEADY, GET ME READY. You can supplement all you want around her simple, easy learning activities. If you do anything formally, do phonics when the child is 4. Buy a book from the grocery store and work though it. Get through the first group of Bob books too. You'll be prepared for K at home or school. If your child can count to 100, knows the 12 months in a song, and can sort of follow the days of the week, do simple addition and subtraction with manipulatives, he/she will be ready for first grade math in K. You can't force giftedness... and you will realize when it is truly there, and make adjustments then.The key is knowing readiness, and each child is different. Did you know that... You can spend 2 years doing reading flashcards with a toddler, but only two weeks with a 4 year old to get the same results? It takes 4 solid intensive months to teach a four year old the concepts of a calendar system (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years), but it takes two hours for an eight year old to grasp the concept? Readiness. Look for cues and meet those needs rather than trying to instill a curriculum or ps standards that someone else thinks you need.

5th grade here too! Learn the mechanics in 3rd, transition in 4th (we also learned block lettering for manuscript in 4th), and do it all in 5th.

I am familiar with R&S math. There is a lot of repetition, and he may be tired of the "same old, same old". The repetition in Saxon finally got to my DD - we switched to Life of Fred. Today, she made a plan to complete the Fractions book in six days, the Decimal book in two weeks and Beginning Algebra. Look into it... Many here also have made the switch to Teaching Textbooks. Worth a peek too... I hope you find something that gets him "lit". Its cool to see when it happens. Wishing you a smooth transition to whatever you choose!

In the beginning of WTM is a short section on what to check out at the library. We've adapted this and have followed it for the past 6 years with great success. I do not limit the items to books - magazines are okay, journals, Cliff's Notes, plays, pamphlets, practical books from the adult section, DVDs, anything goes if they can find and justify "it". We have ordered tons through inter and intra library loan too! Below is our guide. From your chosen WTM sequence for history and science choose a MINIMUM of: 1 biography 1 history 1 lit or poetry book from the era 1 science 1 art, architecture, sculpture, technique or book on an artist 1 music book, CD, or book on a composer 1 practical arts book (knitting, car repair, etc.) 1 book of your choice

We have a Latin curriculum like this. I feel your pain. I handed it over to our local Office Maxx to do. Kinko's and Staples can also do all the printing for you as well.

Another idea... You can take any photo from the web and with a good photo editing program, turn it into a coloring page. Photoshop works great.

When you get into higher math (algebra) you will be adding digit sums. The answers will tell you what numbers you can divide by - there are a number of "tricks" you will be introduced to later. For example, 27 2 + 7 = 9 27 can be divided by 9 It is also a way to help your child quickly look over a series of numbers in a higher math equation (especially with a division bar). They will be able to cancel, add and subtract back and forth in their head if they can see linear realtionships. I hope this makes sense - I'm more of a do'er in math rather than an explainer...

Composition in the Classical Tradition by Frank D'Angelo You'll be able to teach once you have a grasp of the sequence and what is involved within each area of writing. From there, you can look at almost any writing assignment, from any curriculum, and know what to furhter teach and how to assess student work.