You guys got me excited to try this out for myself. I have such a fear of math. Maybe I can literally have a do-over of my public schooling math experience. I'm nervous about how I will approach math with my daughters. Actually- maybe I will make a post asking for some advice on this subject. Love to hear your thoughts.

I've been meaning to pick up the Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of World History; but since I'm not planning on starting SOTW just yet I have put off ordering it. But today I went to Amazon and it looks like I can only get it through other sellers. Any ideas why this is? I could have sworn it was in Amazon's stock before....

Thank you everyone for your kind advice. Nice to get such a round consensus. I'll just take everyone's advice and keep modeling it during our readings. I'm sure she will pick it up later.

I've never heard of Lively Latin before. Anyone knows how that compares to Visual Latin? I won the first set of lessons on DVD. I highly enjoy them but my dd's aren't up to that level yet.

Do children eventually learn how to read flowingly on their own or is it something that you should try and instruct them how to do? I know my daughter is very young so I don't want to press her more than she can handle. But she has been reading for over a year now (she LOVES books) but is still very robotic. She isn't even 5 yet so I'm not really concerned but was wondering if the pace of reading should be a lesson on its own someday? Or is it something they just pick up automatically as comfort and familiarity grow?

I'm using SSL for my 4 year old right now and we love it. If your oldest is in 3rd grade I would use it as a supplement to something more instructional. SSL is really for getting their toes wet while they are young. I would recommend just getting the workbook and not wasting extra money on the flash cards or teachers guide. It's pretty self explanatory. It has some additional worksheets in it but if you are only supplementing with SSL I would save your money on the extras and apply it to something like Latin For Children. And someone mentioned the discount they would be offering through Facebook so now is the time. p.s Check out their website at headventureland.com They have lots of fun videos and free resources that compliment their programs. I am really satisfied with it and can't wait until my daughter is older and we can tackle Latin For Children.

I'm new to classically homeschooling so I may not be the best to chime in. However I have a almost 5 year old, a two year old, and a 9 month old, so I sympathize with your dilemma. I tried doing math in the morning with my daughter but my two year old was interested enough to become a distraction.. She wanted to grab things out of my older daughter's hands. Or tried being loud to get some attention. I finally decided to try and incorporate both of them in morning activities. Now we do things I used to do for my older daughter like singing the alphabet. This way my 2 year old is learning and doing "school" but I beefed it up for my oldest. Since she knows her alphabet I added a new step for her. She sings the abcs with us but is learning the alphabet in sign language. This way I am still utilizing my time with her but we are incorporating her younger sibling. We started Song School Latin this month and I have them both color the corresponding pages while replaying the songs. I was amazed at how my younger dd joins right in so willingly. We also made up little dance routines that go with the songs and I can't believe how willingly my two year old joins in and sings along. When my two year old naps after lunch I do the math and writing exercises with the 4 year old. I don't see a huge difference in her attention span. She seems to be learning just as well. Hopefully you'll find something that works for your kids.

After hearing so many wonderful reviews and experiences about All About Spelling I am determined to make that our home school's next purchase. How many of you feel the deluxe interactive kit is worth the additional price. Is the only difference the Spelling Review Box, Spelling Tote Bag, and bee stickers? If so I am thinking I can pass on a tote bag and stickers. Is this spelling review box worth it?

Thank you!

I am new to using the forum and I was just curious if there is an easier way to pull up the threads I posted on or questions I asked instead of scrolling through the first few most recent pages. Is a search of the forum the only other option? Or is there a tab or button somewhere to take me to some shortcut?

Here is a fun activity I did for my daughter to reinforce each site word and vowel team she learned. Reading Train Hope it helps.

I agree and it's important to note that this program isn't claiming to teach Latin comprehension. Their website states, "As an ideal introduction to the language, Song School Latin will prepare a student to begin a grammar school program such as Latin for Children." Sure it is by no means needed as a prerequisite to learning Latin. But my 4 year old (and amazingly enough my two year old) love the catchy songs. The songs are made so that as you sing them, you connect it to the English translation. Will this make learning Latin any easier? Probably not. But maybe slightly less intimidating and foreign. And- as an added plus- it helps grant ME some exposure to a language completely foreign before we start really tackling it. Here is a link to some of the workbook pages from SSL for anyone who hasn't seen this curriculum. As I stated before- I have not started my dd on the workbook yet because I think it is still a little over head at this point. We'll come back to it at a later date. We've literally just been doing the songs and the free coloring pages.

I have been pondering what to do as far as math curriculum goes and recently found a boxed set of Math 1 for less than $10. I have heard so many varying opinions on the program that I have hesitated trying it out before. But couldn't pass up trying it out so cheaply. So I'm sitting with the teacher's edition and wondering if I am missing something. What the heck is this calendar pattern? What purpose does it serve? I'm assuming it will eventually make sense to me??? Anyone have an explanation?

I too would love to see Phroggies' spreadsheet. Since I am a newbie myself I very may well be over thinking it. Please let me know if you get it set up on google docs.

Whatever you end up going with, you can always add some fun phonics fun online at Starfall My 4 year old likes it and my two year old loves the ABC's on there.

After researching options, I decided to pick up SOTW. I've flipped through the activity guide and am excited at the thought of starting it with my daughter. I really think it will be a subject we both get enjoyment out of. My oldest daughter will be 5 this summer. She has a wonderful attention span and loves to sit and do school work. She listens to me read aloud chapter books at night and pretty much comprehends everything. I feel she is probably ready to start but wonder if I should wait. I have a two year old and a 9 month old as well. I wonder how do those of you with multiple children *who are close in age* stagger these programs. Do you start and just repeat yourself as your younger children grow or do you hold off teaching the older ones certain subjects until you can teach them all at once? Right now, with my children being so young, I am doing fairly well integrating a multiage schoolroom. It's easy with things like abc's and math lessons. Maybe as I find myself there I will stumble upon what works for my family. But I would love some advice from those who have traveled this path before me.

Oh, one more thing. I recently starting looking into Minimus Mouse but haven't met anyone with any experience with it yet. I don't like spending money on something unless I know I will like it. So I called my local library and asked if they can get one of these books. They called me back earlier this week to say they have ordered two from the series. They should get them shortly and I will let you know what I think. Minimus Mouse Then again, if anyone on here is familiar with it I would love to know what they think.

I suggest Song School Latin for preschoolers. It's fun and the songs are very catchy. I was a bit nervous about tackling Latin with my children but this program is geared with young children in mind. My oldest daughter is 4 years old and although she can read and write I feel she isn't quite ready for the SSL workbook. It demands a smaller font that she is capable of managing just now. So what I have done is started teaching her the songs from the their cd. I introduce each song and we go over pronunciation. I print off the free coloring pages from their Headventure Land website. This website also offers a wide variety of free resources: games, printables, videos... Anyway, after I introduce the song and we listen to it together. Then we take the corresponding coloring pages and color them while I replay the song over and over. We've only done the first two lessons so far but my 4 year old loves it and 2 year old seems to be singing in Latin more clearly than she does in English...go figure. I feel that by the time we finish the cd and the coloring pages, my older daughter will be better able to tackle the workbooks. Then we will go over it all again but using the worksheets she'll gain even more out of it the second time around. Then when she is older we can advance to Latin for Children

I just recently received my copy of BFSU and flipped though and thought the same thing. I had read many great reviews on it and being that my husband and I hope to make science a big part of our children's education I figured I would go with BFSU. A preliminary look at the book a couple nights ago proved to me that this is going to be one of those programs I will have to do a decent amount of prep work for ahead of time. I think I am spoiled by some of the things like OPGTR where everything is literally spelled out for you. I'm not saying I mind this, but being that I am only now getting into a real homeschool routine I have put BFSU on the back burner. For now. I figure I will pick up again in a few weeks or months and see how I feel. My daughter isn't quite 5 yet so I don't feel like I am delaying anything too much. Also, members of my local homeschooling group recommended R.E.A.L Science Odyssey. They offer a free trial of their first few lessons. http://www.pandiapress.com/real_science.htm