:iagree: Very good advice...There are more than 10 reasons not to use anything, even the stuff we are currently using...In the end you have to go with what you feel is best at the moment...I use TOG and can think of plenty of reasons not to use it, but it is the best thing for us right now...I can also think of plenty of reasons not to use the alternatives...In the end, I decide based on what I feel will be best, not what is the most comfortable or the easiest...If I can not do it, then I make adjustments, but I always want to choose what I feel is best, even if it means more effort for me...Sometimes more effort in the beginning leads to future gain...Most of the time this is the case, but sometimes more effort is just more work, and that is where we all have to make a decision - is what I am being asked to do to use this curriculum worth it... That being said, if you don't want to use something, don't choose it because others think it is best, or it has a good reputation...Look at every choice for what it is and how it will help you...If you are really unsure due to lack of experience or knowledge about a curriculum, then of course asking opinions is fine...Just know that no one is really going to know how you will feel about a curriculum choice...It will also help if you know what you are looking for - whether it is just ease of use, strong on literature, etc....That will help you weed out the advice...If you don't care about teacher prep time and you get responses telling you that a curriculum didn't work because of the prep time involved, you can judge the advice accordingly...

We are just starting that :D

Spell to Write and Read...

I have a question - are you using classic or redesigned?...I ask because I am wondering if this was a problem that has been fixed now, or do I need to look forward to this next year...I have the DE version...

I print the entire thing plus an extra set of student pages for my oldest...I also print the maps for my son...I print about 500 pages per unit...The TOG plan per unit (for year 1, I am not sure about other years) is between 425-450 pages per unit...

:iagree: Praying for you Jean...:grouphug:

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I was asking this same question last year :tongue_smilie:...I decided to go with Prime, and I'll be renewing it when it runs out this year!...It is worth it to me ;)

:iagree: With all of it...

This is pretty much my answer...While I never liked girls in that way :tongue_smilie:, I have always been interested in boys...I remember my first crush "Little Tony" when I was 3 :D...My boys seem to be the same way...They have always talked about "their future wives" and such...They don't seem to think girls are "yucky" ;) ETA: My oldest is 11 and definitely has feelings for girls, one girl in particular that he has "liked from afar" for a few years now...I am glad that he can come to me and talk about it...I think these things are pretty normal...

This reminds me of Spell to Write and Read :tongue_smilie:...I am reading through that now and plan to start in two weeks... My suggestion is to read through it casually and if you don't understand, go back and look over sections you had a hard time with...Lots of times it will make more sense once you have more information (the info you get from reading ahead)...Don't try to take notes or anything like that the first time you read material that is confusing to you... This is working for me and SWR...When I first opened the book, I was like :001_huh:...But lots of the earlier sections of the manual make sense to me now that I have read later sections, and I am fine with it now (until it is time to implement, then I will be like :001_huh: again!)

:001_huh: Still doesn't make the people doing the conquering right or excused because others did it...Not sure how taking your own land back would apply though...I do understand what the pp was trying to say by using the analogy of the abusive husband...Not so much to bring up an image of someone being punched, but to bring up an image of someone being blamed for fighting back... Don't get me wrong...I am not saying that White people of today are resonsible for what happened in the past, but surely the people of the past are responsible for their actions...The problem comes in when people judge a particular set of people (White or Black people of today, but not limited to them) based on another set of people (White or Black people of the past or just plain old different people)...No, I do not blame ANY person who was not alive and involved for anything that has happened in the past, no race or people in particular...But I surely am able to look and say that the settlers of the past who had slaves and forced the Native Americans out of their homes were wrong, I don't care how many people throughout history have done the same...They were wrong too...

Have to :iagree: with this one...

All I can say is thank you so much, Hunter...Thank you so much...

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

I understand just what you are saying here... I remember clearly what it was like trying to break into Waldorf circles and watching others do the same...I remember clearly all the time I spent learning verses, learning how to make nature table dolls and all the rest of what goes along with Waldorf...I got pretty good at handcrafts and such, but at the expense of my oldest son's education...There was definitely an overemphasis on those skills... Again, what you are saying makes total sense to me...I will have to give more thought to that... Honestly, the main thing that attracted me to classical education was reading WTM and seeing how much it focused on education...I wasn't very focused on education when my oldest was younger, as I spent most of our time doing crafts and such (my oldest knitted a wonderful recorder case when he was 8, but couldn't read yet)...I was convicted about how little time I spent actually educating him...WTM was such a laid out plan that it inspired me to want to give him more than what I was offering him...Now we have been playing catch up for the past year...And yes, I do think I am letting the details distract me from enjoying educating him...And I also remember spending lots of time modelling beeswax and trying to draw pictures without outlines :tongue_smilie:...Buying all that stuff to create "the right Waldorf atmosphere" and spending so much time on crafts did distract me from what I was trying to accomplish - giving my boys an education... Thank you for your words...You have given me much to think about...

No, I don't believe you can use Live Ed or any pure Waldorf curriculum without the Anthroposophy...You may not actively pursue it, but the curriculum is based entirely on it...Anthroposophy is the reason why EVERYTHING is done the way it is, no matter how much sense it may make in another context...For example, early reading is discouraged not because of studies that show it to be harmful, but because of the anthroposophical view of what early learning will do to your body as you age... It is very hard for me to define Anthroposphy...It is said to be "the wisdom of the human being", but that is a very vague term...

Wow...Thanks Hunter :D

These questions are very interesting...My son seems to be a visual learner...He remembers many of his dreams in detail, not sure about the anxiety (doesn't seem like a problem but I am not very familar with anxiety), has problems with memory sometimes (unless it is something he saw - he can remember scenes and details in scenes that I would never remember and usually don't notice), and he does have white spots on his nails...He did not have ear infections as a child, none of my boys did though...

Just wanted you to know that I don't think you are being harsh at all ;)

:iagree:I never had a problem with my consultant at Live Ed (I had David Darcy and I actually love him) and have even had Rainbow over my house once, but you can definitely go with the books named above...

I have used both Oak Meadow and Live Education...Oak Meadow has a crafty feel to it, but it is not Waldorf in the true sense of the word...Live Education is a pure Waldorf curriculum...Now at the K level, there isn't any "work" to be done in a Waldorf school...The Live Education curriculum at the K level covers the things that would be done in a Waldorf K, which is mainly setting the home environment...In the Oak Meadow curriculum, letters and numbers are introduced at the K level... It really depends on what you want...If you truely want a Waldorf curriculum, then Live Education is the one...If you like some elements of Waldorf, but you are not an Anthroposophist and don't mind some early academics, fairy tales not being used, and other differences, then go with Oak Meadow...Oak Meadow is thought of in many circles as a Waldorf curriculum, but I have studied Waldorf intensely for over 5 years and even took Foundation Studies courses to become a Waldorf teacher, and it is my firm belief that Oak Meadow, while being a great curriculum, is not a Waldorf one... The question is - are you an Anthroposophist or do you agree with their views?...The answer to that can make the decision for you...

:iagree: I am not sure what I would do, but I definitely agree with this viewpoint... :grouphug:

I just wanted to thank everyone for their encouragement...I can feel the :grouphug:... We don't usually go out for lunch, but I took the boys out for lunch today...My oldest handed me a piece of paper where he tried to explain what the sentence from earlier meant...He was a little off, but not too bad...We had a chance to talk, and he really wants to homeschool and feels it is best for him...Since I feel the same (most of the time), we will continue and take things a little slower, with more of an emphasis on his basic skills...I am also going to look into getting him evaluated, but I didn't tell him that ;)...Poor DH will probably get an earful about my day tonight...I think I am going to go reread that Ryan Gosling thread for a few laughs! Thanks again hive...

Grammar Voyage and Caesar's English are his favorites...He BEGGED to use MCT because he said it makes more sense to him than R&S, so we made the switch...He does seem to retain the grammar and loves doing the 4 level analysis sentences...He also really likes TOG, so those are the two things we really can't drop, unless he starts doing really bad with them...