We are using Growing with Grammar 3 for the first time this year. We tried R&S last year and it would literally bring tears to my ds's eyes. He still does not LIKE grammar - but he doesn't mind using GWG. It's secular and has lots of build in repetition. We are using it 3x a week and it never takes longer than 15 minutes. Best of all - my son REMEMBERS what he has learned! Sonja _______________________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

:iagree:I always love to receive homemade gifts. It comes from the heart - that's all what counts. :001_smile: Sonja ___________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

We love Sister Wendy's books at our house. Her books contain wonderful pictures and a wealth of information. However, I can't speak for her dvds. :blush: Sonja ___________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

We are in our third year of using Oak Meadow. We have used Oak Meadow for Kindergarten, 1st Grade and now 3rd Grade. We really like Oak Meadow. It is not as scripted as BJU - but it gives you an outline of what to cover for each subject. For us, it's the perfect curriculum. It's flexible enough to let ds further explore areas of his interest without loosing the big picture. In the upper grades (4th grade an up), kids are expected to work quite independently. The amount of independent work increases with each grade level. If your kids love to read, you can add some of Sonlight's books to further enhance each time area covered by OM. Sonja ________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

Since we are following a typical Waldorf tradition with celebrating the Advent season, I like to have my Christmas tree, as well as our holiday decoration (inside and outside) done before the Advent seasons starts. This Sunday is 1st of Advent - and we are ready. The house looks so neat, our little yard is nicely decorated and it is SNOWING!!!!! Glad to be done - now we can enjoy our surroundings. :D Sonja ______________________________________________ Homeschooling JUSTONE - ds 9

I don't know how old your kids are - but we are using Growing with Grammar with great success for the first time this year. We used R&S for 2nd Grade last year and my son would litterally :banghead: just at the plain sight of the book. GWG 3 has made English Grammar more enjoyable for my ds 9 - even though he still doesn't LOVE grammar. But who does? :) Growing with Grammar is available up to 6th Grade. Here is the link to the GWG website: http://www.growingwithgrammar.com. Maybe it's something that would work for you and your family. Sonja ___________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 0

My son has had a hard time remembering his facts. The drill cards almost brought him to tears everytime I picked them up. I bought the Right Start Math Game kit and what a huge relief. My son is learning his facts. We are working right now on our multiplication tables using these games. The game kit is not cheap - but maybe you could find one used. But I highly recommend Right Start Math games. It is really a great way to learn and reinforce facts. Sonja ________________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

We are using Right Start Math Games as well in our house. My son loves to play these games and it really helps him to learn his facts. We are working on the multiplication tables right now using Right Start Math games and it is really a fun way to learn those. :001_smile: Sonja __________________________________________________ Homeschoolung JUST ONE - ds 9

I just LOVE, LOVE, did I say LOVE books. :D Hence, I buy most (approx. 90%) of the books we need. At one time, I used the library extensively. Now, I prefer to have the books at hand (at home). This way we don't have to worry about the 3 weeks time frame, my son can read them more than once (if he prefers). I try to buy books used whenever I can. We have some great thrift shops around. So, I can find lots of bargains there! :001_smile: Sonja _________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

My ds 9 (3rd Grade) loves Song School Latin. :D We do Latin every day and it's his favorite subject. Sonja ___________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

Thanks Ruthie for your reply. Sonja

It's Music, Science, and Arts around here. I am trying really hard to incorporate these three but somehow it's not happening - at least not on a regular schedule. :glare: Sonja ___________________________________________________________- Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

Welcome to the board. This is a GREAT place to be. Honestly, I think it's the BEST place to be. :D Sonja _______________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

We are using PLL with the Teacher Guide (sold on Amazon). The TG is just wonderful with lots of additional information and practice. We used PLL last year for 2nd grade and I wished I've had the TG at this time as well. GWG 3 is another program that we use for grammar. However, we don't use this one on a daily basis. It's just used as a supplement (when my son needs some more practice in a specific area.) GWG complements PLL quite nicely. For foreign language we are using Song School Latin. My son really, really loves this Latin program. It is one of those HITS for this year! :D We are planning to use ILL for 4th Grade WITH the TG. Sonja ___________________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

This is our 3rd year using Saxon Math (now Saxon Math 3) and my ds 9 still has a hard time to understand math concepts (especially decimal system and mutliplication). I do use hands on material - but still - it just doesn't stick. It seems, he is math phoebic!!! Don't get me started with mental math.....:tongue_smilie: I have bought the Right Start Math game kit and ds really enjoys the games we are playing. Do you think, we just should switch to Right Start Math? Should we stay with Saxon Math and just try to add and use some more manipulatives and Right Start games? Or should we switch to Right Start Math now? If so, what level? To make things worse - Chalk Dust has a DVD program out called: Basic Math. I really like what I have seen. But the price tag..... :( AAAhhhhhhh - decisions, decisions :confused: Can anyone help us???? I just want ds to NOT HATE math anymore. Math is a real turn off at our house. Is there hope for us? Thanks for letting me rumble, and for reading my post. Sonja ___________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9 Oak Meadow 3, GWG 3, Saxon Math 3, R.E.A.L. Science 1, PLL

I'm right there with you. My son just HATES cursive:tongue_smilie: and we have changed our program just 4 weeks ago. We started with Italics and he just doesn't care for the slant writing at all. Now, we are trying HWOT - Grade 3. It is a little bit better - but still, he moans and groans each time I say: "Let's practice some cursive." It's just like hitting a wall :banghead: Maybe, it's a boy thing - I don't know. Sonja ____________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

Thanks for sharing this site. Looks great!:D Sonja ____________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

Oak Meadow is a great curriculum and teaches kids to work independently and think for themselves starting around Grade 5. The lower grades are pretty teacher intensive (at least in my opinion). This is our second year of using OM. We are using OM 3. I love the way OM is set up - but is does require some prep work. Since you have to work and your daughter needs to work more independently, maybe a textbook curriculum would be more beneficial for the two of you until your daughter is a little bit older. Just something to think about.:glare: Sonja __________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

My son uses Oak Meadow 3rd Grade. We are also implementing WTM ideas. I use Oak Meadow's syllabus as a spine - just as a guidline and substitute or implement where needed. We added Latin as a foreign language (Song School Latin), as well as Growing with Grammar, Saxon Math 3, and R.E.A.L. Science Level 1. We use the book Festivals, Families and Foods by Diane Carey and Judy Large to celebrate our " Waldorf Festivals." As mentioned, a little flower garden has wonderful waldorf guides - and best of all, they are affordable. I really like the CD's that come with each guide. AWASNA (http://www.awsna.org/catalog/default.php) has great publications. I highly recommend all the books by Dorothy Harrer. They are fairly inexpensive (about $12.00 - $14.00) and cover the grade years. Christopherus Homeschool (http://www.christopherushomeschool.org) has some wonderful articles about Waldorf homeschooling and publishes waldorf teaching guides as well. Another wonderful site would be Bob and Nancy's bookshop (http://www.waldorfbooks.com). They offer an abundance of waldorf teaching guides, books, etc. As you can see, Waldorf and WTM can go together - you just have to be creative. It is (at least in my opinion) a little bit more teacher intensive - but we really love our hs days around here! Hope this helps. Sonja ____________________________________________ Homeschooling JUSTE ONE - ds 9

Jessica, thanks for your wonderful blog for Math on the Level. I do have a ds who is borderline ADHD - and Math has always been a struggle in our house. I use the Waldorf teaching Method for him - but I was running out of ideas to implement math concepts. It seems that this program (after reading all your pros and cons) might be the one for us. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. I'll be taking a closer look (real close) at Math on the Level. Sonja __________________________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - DS 9 Oak Meadow 3rd Grade - GWG 3 - Saxon Math 3 - LLATL 3 - R.E.A.L Science Level 1

Do you like to be homeschooled? Ds 9 said: I love being homeschooled 'cause we read all those cool books together, and I just love being at home with you. Anything else? Yes, I love having no homework and shorter school days than in ps. :D Sonja ___________________________________________________ Homeschooling "JUST ONE" - ds 9

:grouphug: I'm sorry Doran! Sonja _____________________________________________ Homeschooling "JUST ONE" - DS 9

What a neat idea. :grouphug: Sonja _________________________________-- Homeschooling "JUST ONE" - DS 9

Grew up in Germany (Schweinfurt und Wuerzburg - lived there for 27 years) after that it was Kentucky Kansas (moved around in KS quite a bit for about 10 years) now it is Commerce City, CO Favorite part to live: EUROPE The funny part - we are not even military and had to move around that much. :001_huh: Sonja

My son's favorite subjects are Latin and German, as well as Arts. Sonja ___________________________________________ Homeschooling "JUST ONE" - ds 9