[I think I got a steal....]

You can sometimes find some K12 books on paperback swap. I've also seen quite a few used on amazon. HTH

[ISO inexpensive phonics readers]

These are cheap books with pull-out phonics stories. This is the 1st grade level one, and I think it has somewhere between 60-90 black and white books (that can be colored if your child likes that sort of thing).

 

http://www.amazon.com/Houghton-Mifflin-Reading-Blackline-Take-Home/dp/0618067205/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1307289163&sr=8-7

[What do you think of not using any curriculum at all?]

oops old thread

[I was all set on using SL D next year]

 

I'm making my own schedule (Using Complete Book of United States History as a spine, & building in PoAG, some Sonlight books, & hands-on music/art/crafts because I couldn't find one I liked. But, I'm weird that way. :-)

 

Good luck!

 

If you're looking for secular, I'd second this book as a basic spine. It's listed as aimed at 3-5 graders and is easy/pleasant to read.

 

ETA: I was actually able to find this on PBS, so you might check there if you're a member.

[Reading questions]

Here's my story as maybe it will put your mind at ease a little.

 

My oldest had no desire to read. We read to her constantly, and that's what she preferred. She'd even tell us that reading was too hard and that she just wanted us to do it for her. I kept plugging away with having her read a little to me every day, but trying to take it easy and not push too much. When I'd read easy chapter books, I'd have her read the first sentence or two of every chapter to me before I'd continue with the chapter. Even when she was capable of reading chapter books, she seemed afraid to try. One day everything just changed, and she took off, a little bit before she turned 7. From that time she has loved to read, reads above her grade level, and can't seem to get enough of books. It's sounds to me like your daughter is doing just fine for her age. :grouphug:

[History & Science for K?]

We did Elemental Science Intro. to Science this year for K and my DD really enjoyed it. I don't feel that science and history are "necessary" for K or anything, though.

[s/o of s/o amazon and groceries]

I just did my 1st Subscribe and Save thanks to this thread. :tongue_smilie: We like Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran cereal, but it's difficult to find in stock and is usually about $4/box here. I just paid a little over $2.50/box, so I'm happy.

[There's a new Penderwicks book!]

My DD loves these books too. She took the 3rd one on a trip recently and read it twice while we were driving, then reread the first 2 when we returned home. Is there a 4th book now, or are you referring to the 3rd book as the new one? I have no idea when it came out, but we just bought it a few weeks ago.

[Can we make a new rule?]

Updated. :001_smile:

[Do you lend out curriculum? Would you ask to borrow from a friend?]

I have no problem lending curricula that I am not currently using to others. If I plan to use something in a set period of time, I just tell the person that I'll need it back by ____ date. I know that curriculum can be expensive, so I'm happy to help someone else save some money. I love curricula/books, so I have more than enough to go around. :tongue_smilie:

 

I have borrowed from others, but mostly to check out something before buying. I can't think of a time when I just used someone else's for an extended period of time, but it's possible that I have I suppose.

[old]

I'm mostly done. I still need to pick up some materials for Elemental Science Logic Stage Biology, but otherwise I think I'm pretty set. There might still be a few books here and there that I "need" though. :lol:

[Do you do 2nd grade grammar?]

We didn't do formal grammar with my oldest until 3rd grade, and even that was pretty light. She's doing great and I don't regret not doing grammar at all.

 

I am going to try FLL next year when my next child is in 1st, but mostly just because I'm curious. I personally don't think it's necessary at that age, and if we get too busy or we don't like it, we'll just drop grammar until 3rd.

[Do you and your husband save for retirement?]

We put the max. into our 401K every year and will have a pension as well. Hopefully this year we'll be able to start saving for college as well, but the retirement is a higher priority than college savings for us. However, we do hope to be able to pay for undergrad. for all of our kids (community college and then 2 years in state), but I don't know if we'll meet that goal.

[What do you like/dislike about RS4K?]

Well, we tried RS4K Chemistry level 1 here earlier this year and it was a flop. My 4th grader's eyes (and those of her friend) would glaze over when going over the book. I also personally think it is way overpriced for what you get. I do like the actual textbook (but DD didn't) and saved it, but we dropped the program. We switched to RSO Chemistry which is a full year program with experiments galore and everyone has been much happier.

[2nd Grade MM please]

I don't supplement MM at all (except with math games, etc... which I would do with any program).

[teaching healthy eating habits]

I dunno if this is quite what you are looking for, but I use a menu planning service called Menu-Mailer - www.savingdinner.com I use it because I just don't have TIME to THINK about fixing anything healthy & if I have to plan everything myself, we usually end up going out to eat or eating fish sticks three nights a week :(

 

 

 

Thank you for this. I just subscribed as I NEED HELP in this area, and a year subscription is currently on sale for $20 off. I figured $27 for a year's worth of menus was worth a try because I need to do something.

 

ETA: I was also happy to see that POINTS values are included (for WW people).

[What would you use?]

Math Mammoth without a doubt.

[Do you reevaluate homeschooling year by year....]

We're lifers. I SAY that we can always change our minds and we take it year by year, but the reality is that we don't discuss it every year and we love our lifestyle. However, I suppose I am open slightly to other possibilities for the future, but it would take something huge for me to decide to send the kids to school.

[s/o Curricula that didn't work for you this year?]

Currently, we are being tortured by an Intellego unit study on New Jersey. I can't really say what the problem is, just that I.hate.doing.it. DS10, is also not loving it....doesn't complain, but just sits there, glassy eyed and asking when we will be done :confused:

 

 

 

We tried an Intelligo unit study on Astronomy, and I kind of feel the same way. I guess I just don't like having it all on the computer and going from one web site to another all of the time. We tried it for awhile and it just didn't click for us (and I've been avoiding it ever since). I thought maybe I just wasn't getting it because people rave about Intelligo, and it seems very thorough, but it's definitely not my "style" at this point in time. I may try another someday though as I like the "idea" behind them, and they really are pretty thorough, etc...

[Curricula you've been happy with this year...let's start a list]

We've had a pretty good year, but our top winners are:

 

Math Mammoth

RSO Chemistry

ES Intro. to Science (for my Ker)

[s/o Curricula that didn't work for you this year?]

This year it was RS4K Chemistry level 1. The text is decent, but the program itself was a bust for us. We much prefer RSO Chemistry.

 

I think that was the only thing that we actually tried and then switched due to disliking it. I bought some other used curricula to check out that we never used, but I don't consider it a bust as we never even started.

[Novel Thinking lesson guide]

http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Stories-Guides-Childrens-Literature/dp/1593630808/ref=pd_sim_b_1

 

You can search inside this one on amazon to see what it's like. I think each book has 10 stories, but you may have to search around to find these at a decent price.

[What is the most fun, hands-on science program?]

RSO from Pandia Press

 

:iagree:

[GWG or FLL for first grader?]

Just chiming in to say I agree with what a pp said. My older DD does GWG, but my middle child will start with FLL in 1st as a gentle introduction with less writing (and I even struggled with whether or not to even do FLL in 1st as I don't think it's necessary at that young of an age). Anyway, I won't switch to GWG until 3rd or 4th grade.

[If you/DH disagree on a major issue, how do you decide who gets the deciding vote?]

I can't think of a time during our marriage, so the past 8.5 years, when we either didn't agree or couldn't reach a compromise. I do not, however, defer to my dh out of a sense of religious duty. Nope. That's not how we roll. :tongue_smilie:

 

:iagree: Except for us, it's been almost 12 years of marriage. We pretty much agree on most major life issues. If there are things we disagree about, usually one of us feels very strongly and the other doesn't, so that makes it easy. We have some different views on certain things, but those things don't have anything to do with decisions we've had to make. I feel pretty darn lucky.