But you have to show him that he needs to use it when he wants something. When he screams to get out of the high chair, for instance, go over to him and say: Don't scream. Say 'down' (and sign it for him), THEN, take his hands and help him make the sign, THEN let him down. It may take a few days, but he'll get it. Be consistent! This is what worked for us, and a speech therapist taught me the technique.

Another vote for everyday minerals! Good prices, too, and last time I checked, you can get a sample pack with 3 foundation shades, a concealer, and a blush for just the cost of shipping.

Are they color illustrations, or black-and-white line drawing type? There *are* 2 different paperback editions; the mass-market and the regular. I was leaning toward the hc editions anyway, but you all have convinced me :D

We really like BFSU. I was unsure about the whole integrated science thing, but I had an ex-scientist friend of the family look it over and he thought it was FABULOUS and that any kid who started with it would be more knowledgeable than typical public-school kids and have an excellent base to work from. The title really fits! The author is working on the next volume now :) I'd also be happy to answer any questions (we are a little over 1/3 of the way through the book). ~Jen

Buy the mass-market paperbacks or splurge for hardcover? Are the illustrations worth the extra $8? Thanks!!

Have you looked into that? Our day (keeping in mind that my son is a very fluent reader and doesn't have pencil-phobia) goes as follows: wake up, play for a while, eat breakfast at 9 or 9:30 school starts at 10: Memory Work (about 10 min/day) Math (about 20-30 min) Latin (about 15-20 min) Composition (or copywork) (about 15-30 min, depending on where in the sequence we are) Grammar (15 min, tops, usually less) Penmanship (10 min if he isn't dawdling) Spelling (10 min) Piano Practice (15 min, maybe as much as 30 if we're learning something new) and our daily elective, which for us rotates among literature, science, history, geography, art, and religion (time here varies widely...we often get carried away with any of these subjects and can spend up to an hour...everything except art, science, and geography...consists of reading together).

They're basically narration pages for the history pages you read...you could certainly write her narrations for her and just let her do the illustrations.

LCC is the Latin-Centered Curriculum, by Andrew Cambell. I don't know what ECC is, either. *shrug*

For us, the most expensive things are math (RightStart) and writing (CW cores, workbooks, and teacher guides). But I have to say that they are OH SO WORTH IT! I wouldn't say that anything we do is really time-consuming; if it weren't for my son's dawdling, we'd be done in 2.5 hours or less, including piano practice. If you put all language arts stuff together, though, that would be the most time-consuming thing in our day.

Here's mine: http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/members_books.php?m=WENXdmlEYW80NWM9 Don't have much on it right now, but I have some more to add!

We pretty much follow LCC, but I'm not planning on getting rid of my WTM book any time soon!

We haven't started it yet, but I plan to begin when we finish Lively Latin 1. I think a lot depends on your particular child. If you feel your child can handle both, by all means, go for it. But it may be easier to focus on the basics of pronunciation of 1 language at a time to avoid confusion. My son has a long list of languages that he wants to learn, and already speaks English and quite a bit of Spanish. He loves our latin study, so I figure as long as I start each 1-2 years after the former, we'll be fine :)

We do history once a week, but stretch our cycle to 6 years. The book will be handled at least 216 times. If you use it 3x a week, a la WTM or HO, that's at least 424 times. If you have kids, like I do, who enjoy browsing through the book for fun outside of school usage, I would absolutely go for the hardback. My book's dustjacket likely won't survive, but at least the book itself will! I don't know anything about the font size in the pb version.

My son really likes CHOW, and we don't supplement at all :001_smile:

This was a message I really needed to hear today.

We went through Phonics Pathways, and it really helped him to hear each sound in isolation. He eventually got to the point where he could correctly pronounce things while reading that he didn't correctly pronounce in regular speech, then he finally integrated the two. He also later told me that he didn't like to pronounce "th," even though he could, because he felt like he was spitting. He pronounced it as "f" instead. Now, at 6, the only thing he can't pronounce properly is the Spanish "rr," which usually comes out sounding like a combination between "th" and "d," but sometimes like an "l," so he'll say "pedo" (fart) or "pelo" (hair) instead of "perro" (dog). Please try to make sure that no one is teasing or pressuring your child to "try again" (and again and again and again)...mine got frustrated with the neighbor girl who laughed at his Spanish and stopped even trying to speak it for quite some time, and he refuses to speak Spanish around my DH because DH pressures him to say the word over and over again. :thumbdown: FWIW, we did do speech therapy when he was 2ish because he was VERY frustrated that we couldn't understand what he wanted. Our speech therapist said that the most important thing was to model proper speech, so make sure you enunciate! It also doesn't hurt to rephrase what they say, just like you do to correct their grammar...just don't make your DC repeat after you. ~Jen

And decided to go with Lively Latin. My son really enjoys it. I find everything to be taught thoroughly. There are a few minor typos in the online version, but nothing that isn't easily spotted, and so far I haven't come across any incorrect answers. We print off a lesson or two at a time, and go through a lesson in about 2 weeks. You may choose to move faster or slower, as needed. We'll definitely be moving on to Lively Latin 2 when we finish :)

I have just 1. He constantly talks about "When I have a brother and a sister," and it just breaks my heart. I never wanted to have an only child. My husband and I agreed that 3 was a good number before we got married, and he does want more kids, but not now. I'm afraid that "now" will never come. I envy pregnant women and sometimes get really angry when I see women with young babies who won't even pick them up when they cry while I would do just about anything to have another. I've often wished that a condom would break. I've contemplated poking pin holes in the packages (I wouldn't. I couldn't live with myself if I got pregnant that way. I don't, and won't, deceive my husband. But I have thought about it.). I don't have an answer, and I often think it would be easier if it was a firm "no" rather than "it's not the right time," because then at least there wouldn't be any uncertainty and I could try to move forward.

I would recommend that you try T-tapp. It's pretty amazing! There are success stories and forums on the website, and there is a try before you buy section, which has video clips. I use it because it's the only thing that has helped with my back and hip pain (due to scoliosis), but a friend of mine used it and it totally changed her body. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I'm just about finished with fractions (which I somehow missed entirely during my p.s. education...I moved a lot). I plan to go through the whole series. I adored algebra and geometry in school, but I got my GED before finishing alg. 2. I'm can't WAIT to learn calculus!

LA: Growing with Grammar 2 Italic Handwriting C Spelling Power CW Aesop (at a very slow crawl, and only because he wants to...if it turns out to be too much, we'll go back to straight copywork) Math: Rightstart C Latin: Lively Latin (4 days) Minimus Secundus (5th day) History: 2nd half of CHOW Science: BFSU and maybe some Science in a Nutshell kits Literature: Fairy Tales and Tall Tales Art/Music: finish Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book 1 My First Piano Adventures Geography: Rand McNally Geography & Map Activities - Beginner Religion: Baha'i Core Curriculum

We follow LCC and use Rightstart. We only rarely go over 20 min, and when we do, it's usually because we're playing a game :) We are definitely progressing at a good clip!

I was reading the CW Aesop core a few days ago and my son asked me about it, and now he wants to start. He's almost 6. He's definitely bright, maybe gifted (I have people telling me he absolutely is, but I'm not positive). Anyway, he meets the prerequisites for starting Aesop, but the CW authors recommend NOT starting early because other levels are much harder. Soo...what would you do? Would you do as your child asked and go ahead and get started? Ds likes to write and illustrate comic books, if that helps. He has a whole series, called "Adam the Hero," starring himself :) He's working on a 2nd grade level in math and grammar, higher in spelling. He is a bookworm, and his favorite book is his encyclopedia. Advice appreciated! ~Jen

:iagree: I teach my son oneness of religion; I believe that the core message of all the world's religious writings is the same: ethical integrity, honesty, sincerity, compassion, tolerance and non-violence; and that all of these paths lead to the same God. And yes, it does drive me nuts when people get their panties in a twist when someone says Allah...Allah is the Arabic word for God, just as Dios is the Spanish word for God.

First Grade: Daily: Math: RightStart C and Singapore's Challenging Word Problems (he requested these) Foreign Language: Lively Latin and Rosetta Stone Spanish English: Growing With Grammar 2, Spelling Power, copywork (*maybe* the new CW primers...we choose our own for now), Italic book C Music: My First Piano Adventures book B and possibly C Weekly: Literature: from LCC (Fairy tales, tall tales, and Bre'r Rabbit) Religion: Baha'i Core Curriculum History: Child's History of the World Geography: Rand McNally's Beginner's Geography workbook Art: Artistic Pursuits K-3 book 1 (last 1/3 or so) and book 2 Science: BFSU/Singapore Science; probably some other stuff too; I have a science-lover!