We also tried doing it on our own first. It was harder than I thought to select passages and come up with questions and copywork. We love the workbook and wish we'd started it sooner. I just make copies of the student pages so I can use the books again. I wouldn't go with pdf student pages only though. I think having the narration passages and questions there for you is the best part of the workbooks.

Where did you guys purchase Barton? Is there a cheaper place than their website? I was also looking at S.P.I.R.E., but that also is out of financial range for us.

I have a ginormous binder for me that has 36 tabs. I have a checklist at the beginning of each week with a supply list and a list of activities that are not physical(like online videos, games, field trips). I keep all her worksheets in the binder. I also have a workbox system that we use to keep all the texts and workbooks together in order of how we use them. Mostly we use these for quick access, but in the future I hope to keep all her sheets in there so she can work independently. Here is our classroom last winter: http://dcuniversehs.blogspot.com/2010/10/workboxes-and-new-classroom.html I've since redone the room. The workboxes are now horizontal. The cubbies are from Target. I *think* they are closetmaid. And the boxes are from the Container Store. I really like them. They are sturdy and have handles so the kids can move them easily. I also like that they are clear so if a book gets put in the wrong bin I can locate it visually. I made the tags myself. We have a homemade responsibility/reward board that corresponds to the workboxes.

We will be hitting good ole Walmart. I'll be stocking up on dry erase markers and colored pencils. We also love their uniform polos so we just got 12 of those on sale.

How long should I be spending on phonics/reading each day with my 7yr old? We do school 4 days a week. Did you buy a multisensory curriculum or just come up with ideas on your own?

Technically we started back in June, but then I decided to change most of our curriculum plans and start over. So today we launched my homemade phonics program and will be starting R&S for math tomorrow. I haven't updated my siggy yet, but we will also be adding Latin, Spanish, music, and typing this yr for my 2nd grader. I like to get a lot done in the summer because it is way too hot here to be out and about. We really enjoy outdoor activities in the fall and spring.

I think a lot of the detailed information is over their head. We decided to do a combination of geography skill work (directions, map keys, etc.) and then a social studies overview. For social studies we are using the Abeka America series. Its a nice overview of important concepts, people, symbols, and places. It also gives an overview major contries/cultures. I looked through at least a dozen geography workbooks and found this one to be best suited to us: http://www.evan-moor.com/Product.aspx?CurriculumID=7&SeriesID=206&TitleID=727&

I looked at the booklists for other curriculums that use the classical books and selected the ones I like best. :001_smile: We will also be using SOTW2. I have a bunch of Veritas Press, TOG, Beautiful feet and I think Sonlight? Plus some others I saw other places. Here's our list: Kingfisher Atlas of the Midieval World Usborne History- Midieval World - Bingham Castle/City/Cathedral - MaCaulay Famous Men of the Middle Ages Mathematicians are People too Poetry for Young People - William Shakespear Joan of Arc - Poole Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Morpurgo Veritas Press Readers - Caught in Smiles - Jones, Alfred the King-Schlect, The Sailing Saint-Buscard The Door in the Wall - deAngeli Robinhood and Little John - Cohen D'aulaires - Columbus, Leif the Lucky, Pocahontas Yearling Biographies - Pocahontas, Squanto The Pilgrims of Plymouth - Sewall King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - Malory I think SOTW2 ends at the close of the 16th century.

Thanks for the links! I think we may go with the bare books for everyday and then I'll let her make one special hardcover at the end of the semester. She'll be so excited. She's made so many little books that she goes around to the neighbors and relatives selling them. :001_smile:

I put between $250-500, but honestly it isn't all for this year. I'm a thrift shopping junky so everytime I see curriculum at halfprice/ebay that we plan to use down the road I pick it up. I also buy a lot of things that can be reused by little sister and then again in the middle grades, especially for History and Science. In all I've spent around $600-700 this year and have most of what I need for both girls through 4th grade.

My DD loves writing and illustrating books. She saw a hardcover book that my neice wrote at school and the teacher sent them to a publishing company that turns them into real books for the kids. Does anyone know if there is a place that does this on a small scale? Or of any home publishing kits? She wants them to be hardcover with binding and all. Thanks!

My 7yr old DD is about halfway through Saxon 2. We've been doing Saxon from the beginning and she does okay with it. She is ADHD and we enjoy the hands on activities and that the workbooks aren't full of colors and distractions. Although DD needs the repition, we are both burnt out on the length of the lessons and how long it takes to get through the books. She started looking through Rod & Staff math 2 in the discount books at Mardel, and now she wants to switch. Should I let her switch mid-level? Would R & S be okay for our ADHD, no-frills approach? How is it on lesson and planning time? Does it use visuals or manipulatives?

I really struggled with imbalance last year. It seemed like we would be either doing only math/phonics or only history/science. Or we would get sidetracked by housework and do neither! So I came up with a plan to do 3days of classical school and 2 days of unschooling for fun stuff. We do our most important subjects in the morning. Our routine looks like this: MWF Math, phonics, reading, grammer, handwriting, writing, civics/geography, history spine TTH We do any combination of the following: science reading, experiments, nature study, gardening, lapbooking, history, bible or science movies, educational games...I do most of my housework on these days. M-F Every night we read at least a chapter from classic/popular literature and a chapter from history related literature(or a short book). Also, their bible learning at this stage is covered throughout the week, whenever we have time. I find now that my 7yr old knows she doesn't have to do seatwork everyday, she is happier about school and is much more efficient and independent. My 5yr old is only formally doing phonics at this point, but she enjoys being apart of the TTH activities and read-a-louds.

I agree that it won't hurt just start with ETC 1. I used to try and coordinate the ETC lessons to the OPGTR, but as we progressed the lessons became so far off. We are on ETC 4 which covers compound words and endings. The OPGTR doesn't cover those lessons until the end. So I just backed up and now keep both separate. If ETC goes beyond where we are in OPG, I will just add on lessons as needed.

We switched to workboxes, which is similar to your plastic bins and we really like this method. It makes clean up easier, and DD seems to have a better idea of what comes next and how long her day will be. Do you guys know where I can find out more about the Feingold diet without buying their kit? Do I really need it? I'm on a pretty strict diet because I also have fibromyalgia, PCOS, and diabetes. I'm doing the guaifenesin therapy, which has been wonderful, plus I eat gluten-free, low corn, aspartame free and MSG free(at least try to). But I admit I'm not great with the kids. DH eats total trash, extra processed junk. I tried not having it in the house, but DH said no way. Of course the kids would much eat daddy's Doritos and white bread PB&J than mom's homemade bread grilled cheese and veggies.

My DDs are 6 and 4. This fall we read: Alice in Wonderland Wizard of Oz Secret Garden The Christmas Carol (we decided it was too spooky and quit halfway) Journey to the Center of the Earth (reading now) Not chapter books, but we also enjoyed a collection of Raggedy Ann stories and Beatrix Potter.

Thank you all so much for your input! I think I need to make a running list of ideas so I can try them out in the spring.

Nothing too exciting here. This is our first week off of school, so we will be going to the movies before ps gets out for the holidays. We have a "feast" with our co-op this week. Other than that, probably just looking at christmas lights, baking, and shopping.

I haven't seen an organizational chart anywhere, but that is how our co-op handles the info. We break it down by culture and then teach everyting in the book about that culture before switching to the next. We would start out following the table of contents in order, and then skip over new chapters that were covered in a previous lesson. Not sure if that makes sense?

I'm way behind, but ours is finally up! http://dcuniversehs.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-weve-been-doing.html

Just curious if there are any others out there and how your family handles it? Things can get a little wonky at our house and we all struggle with sticking to our routine. I especially struggle with impulsivity and then get down when I see how behind we are because we took off to go [plug in any random activity] instead of following the days lesson plan. I guess I'm looking for more tools for myself and the kids. We are all unmedicated. I've been taking a lot of ideas from other posts that I hope to implement in the spring. I've listed those on my blog: http://dcuniversehs.blogspot.com/2010/12/spring-curriculum-and-schedule-changes.html But those don't really address our biggest issues which are Getting started. By the time we get back from the gym(I have diabetes so this is a must), get dressed, pickup, etc....it's usually at least 11am. If we get sidetracked while out of the house, it's sometimes afternoon. I know ppl without ADHD, that all probably sounds silly, but for me its a huge problem that I can't seem to get a handle on. Getting bored with school after about 2 weeks. That's all of us. Getting stressed out or disetracked by clutter/disorganization. I like my house tidy and clean, but we are like hurricanes. The house can go from spotless to disaster in like an hour...literally. And none of us seem to notice while its happening. To some ppl this would be a non-issue, but I can't focus like that. So I will start hyperfocusing on housework until I look up and its dinner time and the walls and baseboards have been washed. Can anybody help me?????:tongue_smilie: TIA!

My DDs are very hands-on. We use the games from Rocket Phonics. Here is a video of the go fish game that my girls LOVE. My 4yr old begs me to play everyday. http://www.rocketphonics.com/ I'm ADHD/dyslexic and suspect my 6yr old is too. My girls really like the hands-on activites of this program, but DD doesn't like the text readings. We just skip the reading only pages. We use OPGTR for our plain text reading. The bingo and go fish games you could make yourself and laminate.

This thread got me thinking about just how important a firm base in reading/writing mechanics and mathmatics is for scientists. The few I know with a PHD in the science field have outstanding math, reading, and writing skills. Think about all the technical journals they have to read and write. How handy Latin would be for the biology major. Engineers have to put together proposals or detailed plans. No matter what you do, the intense classical base would be an asset. What good is mechanical genius who can't explain what the heck they did or why it's important? Yes, that child would benefit from an evironment that feeds their natural ability, but not to the exclusion of those other vital skills.

:iagree: I think the content aspect of classical can be for everyone. When I look back at my own education in top ranked school district, I'm still terribly disappointed at all the massive gaps I have in history, logic, and philosophy. I think having a firm classical BASE is important. That doesn't limit where you can go from there. Just look at Leonardo DaVinci. I have ADHD and dyslexia and highly suspect my 6yr old has both as well. She is super kinetic. We just implement a lot of movement, games, experiments, and projects. When we started last spring she thought everything classical was "boring" and hated it, especially literature and history. Now she'll shove a history book in my lap and say "read, please!" When I was a teen I took apart computers and taught myself to repair them. That's a personality thing...I don't see how having a classical education would prevent that. Maybe the kids at MIT never had a chance to take things apart because they spent 12yrs in baby jail :)

Here are the titles in the series and the levels: First Star (K) - I haven't been able to find this one The Blue-Pillowed Sky (K) A Shiny Golden Path (1) Rainbow Bridge (1) 0812613155 Slide Down the Sky (2) 0812621158 From Sea to Shining Sea (2) 0812622154 Time for Dreams (3) 0812631153 Across the World (3) 081263215x I'm not 100% on the grade lvl of these: Over th Moon (4) Sound of the Sea (5) Promises to Keep (6)