Wow that seems like a lot. I know from my own experience (and at least two of my friends) that Winter Promise programs take a LOT of time. I haven't used ATW, although I own an older copy.. but I have used American Story 1 and Children Around the World. What Geography study are you wanting to put it beside?? My friend Andrea did Expedition Earth last year and blogged about it here .. http://thehomeschoolingjourney.blogspot.com/search/label/Expedition%20Earth It seemed to include a lot of animals. I wonder if that might be something you could look at to combine and condense. If you wanted more.. you could always get The Complete Book of Animals, the one small square books and/or the DK Animal Encyclopedia mentioned above to look at or notebook from. Scholastic's Easy Make and Learn Animal Habitats e-book is on sale for $1 right now too.. http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/easy-make-learn-projects-animal-habitats-mkt11260 Good luck in whatever you decide to do..

You might look at Studies Weekly for the History and Science. I found them last year when I was looking for a state history for my dd for this year's 4th grade. Not rigorous.. lol but your dd can read them herself and you can check a box. Usually less than $10 for the year (including shipping). And I did assign library books, etc for each weeks topic.. and took an extra week here and there to have dd research something a little farther if sje wanted to. https://www.studiesweekly.com/

((HUGS)) I think as your friend, she *should* understand that when you committed to tutoring, you didn't have the full dollar amounts and that the extra source of income that was going to be used to pay for it is not happening now and that makes it impossible for you to still be a part of it. As far as your children being disappointed.. there are blogs everywhere about how to do CC at home. I do not know your family but are they disappointed at not being able to say they attend "Classical Conversations" in particular? or just disappointed that they won't be out and about with peers/friends??? The latter is easily remedied by setting up field trips or other interactions.. can you host a weekly science or literature analysis group at your house?

I think the most important lesson to be learned from all these posts is to ignore other people and listen to your own child. =D

((( Rosie ))) I have no words. Sending love to you both.

Following. Trying to decide for my K-er also. My friend uses Abeka and says it's a very solid program. She used it all through herself and is very math-y.

I am not a current user but we loved it when we did it. It's been revised since then though so I can't speak to how it is now. A little about our experience We have the 2006 IG which uses The Kid's Science Book as a spine http://www.amazon.com/The-Kids-Science-Book-Experiences/dp/0913589888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397260768&sr=8-1&keywords=the+kids+science+book It also used.. More Fun with Nature (4 books in one) The Wonder in Water (Diane Swanson) Solids, Liquids and Gases (Ontario Science Center) The Night Sky Exploring Light and Color (Heidi Gold-Dworkin - Little Scientist Series) Energy Makes Things Happen Forces Make Things Move We used it in 1st grade and really loved it. You would read in The Kid's Science Book and one of the other books as applicable. there were a LOT of hands on experiments or investigations and you recorded stuff in a Science Notebook. We did nearly all the experiments/investigations and to this day (4th grade) most science programs have just been all the experiments we had already done that first year! I do plan on doing it with my second child in first grade when he gets to first grade. That being said, I think a couple of the books went out of print and they have changed the program. So I hope you get some feedback from someone who has a revised IG. One thing I especially appreciated about the program was that it wasn't just one thing all year long. It covered Observation Skills, Plant Life, Animal Life, Water, Air, Space, Rocks and the Earth, Light and Color and Energy and Forces. I did add in movies like Magic School Bus and books from the library on each topic. Nancy Larson does this but it's very expensive. Studies Weekly does it and it's cheap but not very in-depth. Hope that helps and you get a response from someone with a current IG!

Tagging to read later. Approaching the end of the elementary years of MUS and was wondering what to move on too myself.

All the above books.. and one that hasn't been mentioned yet. The American Story: 100 True Tales From History. Disclaimer, we borrowed it from the library since it is expensive but it was good. http://www.christianbook.com/american-story-true-tales-from-history/jennifer-armstrong/9780375812569/pd/812563

Thank you all for your input and experiences!. I've had a long day so I'll have to re-read these all tomorrow when my brain is clear. :)

Aha! I notice you have some art history in the family.. perhaps a lapbook on Medieval artists, techniques or the like? I'm more of a project girl myself so I would think of things like this blog. http://www.halfahundredacrewood.com/2011/02/medieval-unit.html and skip the lapbooks but that's my house. :) And this looked interesting too.. Might find a gem in here. http://homeschoolgiveaways.com/2013/09/the-middle-ages-themed-resources-and-freebies/ Happy Medieval times to you.. (I loved that period when we did it)

Not sure if it's what you are referring to but Medieval mom did one by grade and subject that is awesome! Here it is in thread form.. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/153829-i-have-been-asked-to-share-my-book-lists/ And there is a link to it in .pdf in this thread http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/345347-medival-moms-book-list-in-pdf/ Listening in if it was another awesome list! You can never have to many awesome book lists :)

http://brendajohnston.blogspot.com/2013/01/story-of-world-volume-2-lapbook.html SOTW3 also. =D

We've been doing Math U See AND Teaching Textbooks for three years now. I like the mastery approach and yet we test each year so I started TT for all those little topics MUS doesn't get to or doesn't get to in time. I also supplement even those with word problems and mental math from Scholastic workbooks (keep me away from those $1 sales! lol) Anyway, adding in another child cuts back on the time I have to teach and also.. I don' really want to repeat this mega math with another child!! I would really like 1 program (or at the most 2 :lol: ) that is thorough and rigorous and covers it all. Does it even exist? I have considered the possibility that I just need to pick one and convince myself that it is enough and my child will be fine. lol What curriculum are you using that you feel covers it all?? And can you say a little bit about why you feel that way? TIA

I use TT as our supplemental program so take this with a grain of salt. I have dd watch (and participate in) the lessons and then take the quiz. If she passes the quiz, she moves on. If she misses any, she goes back, re-watches the appropriate lesson and then does just those types of problems in the lesson practice. It is rare that she misses any though.. I think there was one concept last year where she actually had to go back and re-learn it. As a disclaimer, we are borrowing TT, not purchasing it each year.

My kids are HUGE Popular Mechanics for Kids fans.. even the not quite 2 year old who brings them to me and says.. "Kids?" It's so darn cute. They also love Mythbusters, American Pickers(although I pre-watch for content and language due to the littles), Animated Hero Classics, Carmen Sandiego, Wishbone, etc.

The following is from this website .. adding the link to comply with the new rules.. http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/diversity/asian_am/japanese_am/nihon_immigration.html SONG OF THE STRANGER by Angela Tung (Roxbury, 1999). Karen Nomura, 13, is a talented young artist who thinks she knows "her Japanese self." What she doesn't know is how Obasan (Grandmother) from Hokkaido can be so unfriendly. The two don't know each other at the beginning of the story because Obasan was born and raised in California, went to the camps, and then moved to Japan. Now because of a death bed promise, Obasan takes Karen to Japan to learn more about her cultural heritage. But Karen doesn't want to go and is unhappy to be in Obasan's house in part because of Obasan's very negative attitude toward Karen's art. But perhaps there is a reason for Obasan's feelings and it traces all the way back to the United States and to WWII. Ages 9-up. This .pdf looks to have some good info http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/resources/content/2/9/4/9/documents/Children%20Literature.pdf

Second and third jobs! =D Ours is a very tiny gym and is really cheap compared to the bigger gyms in the cities "around" us. That comes with trades though. We only have 1 coach, we don't train near as many hours and our scores show it. Even if we did get the super good scores, very few levels have enough girls to even compete for team awards. My dd is the only level 5, for instance. Makes for lonely meets. :( She is so excited that this next meet, she gets to compete with the L4's. She won't be eligible for medals but her scores will count. She is thrilled to be having someone to talk to besides the coach while she waits between rotations.. lol

Hi! I'm sorry your dd has issues with her past that make it difficult for her. I would just like to encourage you to be upfront with the gym about your religious convictions before you join the team. I don't know how it is where you live but out here .. session times for meets can be anywhere from Friday evening through Saturday and Sunday. Meets are paid for well in advance but session times don't come out until just a week or two before the meet and you can't get a refund. If your session time conflicts with your services, even if you are willing to forfeit the money, the gym may not allow you to "skip" meets for which you are already registered. I'm sorry to be a downer, I just wanted you to be aware if you weren't already. I'm glad your gym has rec opportunities for advanced gymnasts though.. just in case your gym is not willing to work with you!

^^^ Loved UILE. Never seen a Kingfisher.

Another vote for Getting Started with Spanish. It's cheap and thorough.

:party: It was just what I needed to hear right now. Thank you for the great article and Congratulations!!

Not to hijack but I also have an iPad mini.. do you mind my asking what app you use to view your .pdf's on the mini? Thank you

She's a level 5 this year and will be for the foreseeable future. ;) She wasn't ready to move up when the levels changed but her coach kept her as a "5" anyway. She really stepped up this summer/fall and finally has all the skills pretty consistently but landing it and it being pretty are different.. lol She actually hates competing and so her scores don't bother her all that much. She makes goals based on .. "This meet, I won't fall on beam and I'll land my front tuck" etc. Your daughter is great and looks like she really loves it! How many days/hours a week are they required at your gym. (I'm sidetracking my own thread.. lol)

Wow.. what a great list Lori!! Thanks