Thanks for writing this. You've given me more to look into :) We have family living in Spain, so we'd love to take learning the language seriously.

I got an email saying that the author is writing a curriculum guide, but it isn't out yet. I'm looking forward to it, as I can't really figure out how to implement the program as it is written.

I was doing it three times, and wondered if that was a bit much to keep up with the vocabulary. Have you added in Homeschool Spanish to it all? I have seen your list. It is super helpful, as I don't find the search to be very accurate on Discovery. My son thinks that Satori is going to be famous someday :)

How many lessons per week do you watch? I love having the videos, so that ds can hear the proper pronunciation. I think we are probably working through it too quickly. Does anyone know at which pace the lessons were intended to go for the 1st/2nd grade level? We also have Homeschool Spanish, but haven't started adding it in yet because I'm waiting for the daily curriculum guide to come out for it.

Oh, and I kind of love the little tea cups that come in the 5 piece place setting as far as coffee mugs. I don't like huge cups because my coffee gets cold too quickly in them. You kind of have to cup them in your hands because they're small, but I think they're really cute: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=248364&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results

I use this as a salad bowl when I have company over. The shaker I use for powdered sugar for pancakes and other things: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=255155&trackingCat=28954&cmexplore=&PseudoMasterProdID=67465&PseudoCat=28954 http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=72827&trackingCat=28954&cmexplore=&PseudoMasterProdID=67465&PseudoCat=28954 This is the perfect size salad bowl for my family: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=2304&trackingCat=28954&cmexplore=&PseudoMasterProdID=67465&PseudoCat=28954 http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=255154&trackingCat=28954&cmexplore=&PseudoMasterProdID=67465&PseudoCat=28954 http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=2280&trackingCat=28954&cmexplore=&PseudoMasterProdID=67465&PseudoCat=28954 I use these for various things. When a friend comes over, I might use them for nuts, candy, or a butter bowl for the garlic butter I make: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=375928&trackingCat=28954&cmexplore=&PseudoMasterProdID=67465&PseudoCat=28954 We use these ALL the time for a handful of grapes, bowl or crackers or snacks for the kids: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=85398&CategoryID=28954&LinkType=#fn=sp%3D3%26spc%3D92 My favorite bowl for cereal if you want a reasonable portion: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=85443&CategoryID=28954&LinkType=#fn=sp%3D3%26spc%3D92 I use these as fruit bowls on trays to set on the coffee table for guests rather than as chili bowls. I only have 2: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=72307&trackingCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results&cmexplore=&PseudoMasterProdID=579767&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results I would still love to have the pitcher, the 13 X 9 and the square baking dish. Whoa, did I just overwhelm you? :o

I love my Fiesta! I used to have Mikasa Italian Countryside (http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=19971&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results) I have known others who had similar Mikasa dishes that had some of the same problems with it as well. We had lots of chips, and cracks that split through. It was nice having white dishes, but after 10 years I was bored. Macy's often has buy one get one sales on Fiesta serving pieces, or 50% off. I would recommend the 5 piece set rather than the four piece set. http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=248364&CategoryID=28954#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D92 I like the little plate that comes with that set. It is a nice snack plate for the kids. As another poster mentioned, the luncheon plate is awesome. It's the perfect lunch plate. I love to entertain, so I love a lot of the other pieces. If you buy a bulk of your pieces online, you can qualify for free shipping. The 5 piece set comes with a big cereal bowl that's great for my hubs. I love the small bowl, however, for me and my kids. http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=85443&trackingCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results&cmexplore=&PseudoMasterProdID=16497&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results Kohl's also has great deals on Fiesta at times. I have 12 sets (4 each of Peacock, Turquoise, and Ivory). I get SO many compliments on them, much more than my practical white. I think they're so cheery, and vintage-y cute :)

We love it too! I love that it uses different learning styles at the same time. Super awesome :)

Hits: RSO Life - He really, really loves this a ton :) SOTW (especially AG) - Ds says he's really "getting into" history. He loved the archaeological dig and flooding the Nile. I wish I had learned history this way. RSB - He loves math, and that is saying a lot! LOF Apples - Kiddo loves this one. While there is little practice, I think it's the perfect amount for a 6 y/o. He asks to do it. AAS - We both love this one a lot. Today we wrote our phonograms (for dictation) in rice. A nice break from handwriting. FLL - Super gentle. He has liked memorizing the poems. WWE - I love how narration is teaching him to pay attention, and the copywork is gentle. Perfect and just at his level. HWT - While ds doesn't love handwriting, I think it is a good program Elementary Spanish - I'm really excited to be working on Spanish as we have family newly living in Spain. BrainPop - I'm so thankful for the G3 deal. I love having these cute videos to reinforce our science lessons. On the fence: GWG 1 - Not really sure why I added this. A first grader isn't really spelling, and hates printing (or at least mine is still growing in those areas) which makes the pages kind of difficult. We're already doing FLL, so this isn't really necessary. I think it will eventually become much easier for him to do, so we'll keep it. AP - I like this, but as others have said, technique instruction is minimal. I like it ok, but will likely not use it next year. He actually says art is his favorite, but we're a super artsy family already, so he would love anything we did. Lollipop Logic - Cute, but too easy for a 6 y/o. ETC - Ds complains about this one, but I think it's mostly because he is still working on his fine motor skills. "I" like it though as it's really the only thing he does independently, and I take the opportunity to get the morning dishes done. I do think it is reinforcing what he learned in OPGTR though, so we'll keep it. Overall, we're having so much fun! I haven't felt like anything has been difficult to accomplish. Even with all the above, we never run over 2 1/2 to 3 hours tops. We have lovely and relaxing afternoons after we're done. Phew :)

Does anyone use the Enrichment packets or Activity books from Tin Man Press? I hear about them from time to time, and am wondering if they are interesting at all. Do your kids like them? https://www.tinmanpress.com/tinman-catalog/enrichment-packets https://www.tinmanpress.com/tinman-catalog/activity-books

Definitely King-ee. Saying Kin-ghe or Kin-jee tickles me a little like soda that has too much fizz :) Kingie is an interesting fellow though. It wouldn't surprise me if the author pronounces in his head differently than I do. My kiddos sing the Butter Fries song too!

I am "working" on using a planner :) I have a MWF, T/TH schedule that is pretty basic. I plan on putting things down on paper over the next few weeks. This is a basic thing that would certainly make it all so much easier huh? Thank you :)

I've been working through RSB with my ds, and it's been going well. So far he really enjoys math. The problem is that I have both RS and SM. I love both the approaches. I thought he would benefit from learning with a more hands on approach, but I also love the mastery offered in SM. I wanted to get through a significant portion of RS before beginning SM. We're almost on lesson 60 which is where I want for RS to wane and SM to increase. I think I'm going to do the rest of RS through the year maybe once a week, and finish it through the summer. I have the SM HIG, 1a, 1b workbooks, textbooks, CWP and EP. After doing RS, I'm wondering how you all juggle all the books? It seems clumsy to me to have all these books so separate. I am totally sold on them, but I'm wondering if you get the hang of it to where the lessons seem more fluid rather than choppy as you are switching from one book to the other. I feel I need to invest in a bunch of post-it bookmarks to make this work. I think I will probably not worry so much about the extra practice unless I feel he is struggling with a concept. I know tons of people love CWP, but it seems like a lot to add on top of it all. Or is it just me? Anyway, I'm I perceiving all these components to be more complicated to work with than they are in reality?

RSB SM 1a, 1b, CWP, EP MM LOF Apples, Butterflies, Cats, Dogs Lots and lots of manipulatives :)

Does anyone know if there is a deadline to sign up for the G3 discussion forum? I would love to sign up in a few weeks :) What a seriously awesome deal!

I was in your shoes too on this decision. I bought both RSB and SM because I just plain couldn't decide. On the suggestion of others here, I have been working on RSB over the last month with my kiddo. It was suggested that since I already had RS that I should go ahead and use it first for a while. I'm on lesson 27 now, and I'm glad we started with RS. I can already tell it's building a great mental math foundation. The abacus is really awesome. I wish I had been taught this way. I'm learning to love math just by virtue of learning about all the creative ways it can be taught :) I plan to get to about lesson 50-60 something in RS (which will take about 6 weeks), and then switch to SM. My kiddo is a little younger than yours, and the lack of worksheets is helping him build his confidence without the struggle of writing. I figure I can finish the rest of the lessons in RS very slowly as enrichment, and then maybe through next summer. My little guy is already learning a lot in the short time we've been using RS, so I think this was a great way to go. I also just got LOF elementary (which I LOVE) that I'll use 2 days a week throughout the year. I obviously have math curriculum addiction!

I would love to know this too. I ordered mine last week Thursday. Can't wait to get them :-)

We've been doing this for a few weeks now. I have 6 and 8 y/o boys. One is in school (though not for long) and the youngest will start 1st this month. Because the oldest is in school, I am scheduling 3 nights per week, so they both can be involved. They are loving it so far. It was hard to get a grasp of the program because there is SO much in it once you take the time to look through all the material. I copied all the drill work and map pages on card stock, so they're ready to pull out when we need them. We do both sides of the student pages instead of one side. I think it would be awkward to do half the pages, and do the same story again another day. We have the intermediate pages that are just only a tad over the 6 y/o head every once in a while, but I figure he'll be catching up quickly. We do the review questions, and drill stuff first. Then we read the story, and do the activity sheets. The thing my kids have enjoyed most is drawing a picture of the story. Both my kids are little artists, and enjoy making comics of the story :) They have been so fun for me and my dh see after they're done with them. My oldest had a really funny take on Potipher's wife's admiration of Joseph. While they're drawing, I play some of the songs from the CD. We don't have the timeline yet, though I would love to have it. If you do the whole lesson it does take a significant amount of time. Usually it takes 45 minutes. Our church only meets one day a week though, so for us the time spent is well worth it.

I just started Bible Study Guide for All Ages with my 5 and 8 year old boys. It is as involved as you want it to be. There is a cd you can also purchase that has songs that deal with each lesson. The first song we're working on helps us to remember the names of Jacob's sons. We also have the activity sheets. Both of my boys love to draw the story when we're finished. The teacher guide does include suggestions for other songs, and additional bible reading to go along with each lesson. We're doing it 3 days a week so far. If you do a full lesson it could take 30-45 minutes. You can split up the lessons if you like, but since they're enjoying it, we do the whole lesson. It's time well spent :)

We love brussel sprouts (rather my hubbie and I love them.) My favorite recipe used to involve bacon, but we gave it up last year. My favorite recipe comes from a friend of mine here: http://veganizingfun.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-new-favorite-veggie-brussel-sprouts.html I have never found sorghum, but rather use brown rice syrup and 2 T. of olive oil instead of 1/4 cup. They're so yummy. I still want to try them with sorghum. I bet they're even better that way. As far as freezing them, I'm guessing they would still be good. Of course, nothing is ever as good as fresh. When I roast them, I cut them in half, so maybe you could cut them up. I think they cook more evenly that way. I doubt they'd get mushy if you froze them though. They can get pricey. I did find them at Trader Joe's for 2.50 a lb which is the cheapest I have ever found them.

Your letter tiles were already separated? Lucky duck. That part took me forever. The cards were perforated, but not the letter tiles. Maybe rainbow resource has an older version.

I spent an evening cutting all the little tiles out with a scrapbook cutter (so they'd be nice and straight. I might be a perfectionist :).) Scissors just weren't doing a good enough job. Each lesson tells you which tiles are necessary. So to start, I have 2 sets of all the alphabet letters on the white board. All the others that will be introduced in the future are in a zip bag. I broke apart all the cards and filed them in an index card box. The only other 3 things left are the achievement charts. Those I keep in a bigger zip bag.

I just got mine last week :) I made all the necessary copies ahead of time on card stock. I laminated a few that I thought we would use more than once. Everything fits in the tote except the teacher manual and worksheet book which I store along with our other curriculum books. It took a while, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a75/saltvearth/rsb2.jpg

Ahh well :) I have loved it. At first I was really bummed because it is quite a hefty price. I was especially upset because we could have gotten it free because my husband is a student :O! I have enjoyed it, and have been able to watch a few streaming things because of prime that I couldn't find on Netflix.

24 :) I signed up for the amazon prime trial 2 months ago, and forgot to shut it off in time. Since I've been ordering a bunch. Amazon Prime could be a problem. I LOVE free 2 day shipping. I'm guessing that six months of prime will hurt my pocketbook significantly, but it is so fun being able to buy one small thing for less and get it so quickly.