I finally found the answer. If you are looking for the correlating lesson list, see this cross-post: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/529300-introductory-logic-nance-dvds/?p=5942115

Well, I found that if I watched the beginning of each video, the instructor stated which lessons that session was discussing. Tedious and unnecessary, yes, but at least I got my answer. :-) I thought I'd share with the rest of the class, in case someone else was searching for the same thing. --Pamela Session 1 - Introduction Session 2 - Lesson 1 Session 3 - Lessons 2-3 Session 4 - Lessons 4-5 Session 5 - Lessons 6-8 Session 6 - Lessons 9-10 Session 7 - Lessons 11-12 Session 8 - Lessons 13-18 Session 9 - Lessons 19-20 Session 10 - Lessons 21-22 Session 11 - Lessons 23-24 Session 12 - Lessons 25-26 Session 13 - Lesson 27 Session 14 - Lessons 28-29 Session 15 - Lesson 30 Session 16 - Lesson 31 Session 17 - Bonus material (practical application of Lesson 31) Session 18 - Lesson 32 Session 19 - Lessons 33-35 Session 20 - Lesson 36

I'm cross-posting from the K-8 forum, because my original post has gotten no traffic. It occurred to me that even though Introductory Logic is marketed for middle school, it may be more often used in high school. Hopefully someone here can help me! I just got a new (5th edition) Introductory Logic set for use this year. I also got a set of the DVDs, used, without realizing that they were not made to go with the current edition of the textbooks. Regardless of the issue with different editions, I cannot find any information on how to use the (older set of) DVDs. Can anyone give me some insight on when/how to expect to use the DVDs? There are two very nice schedule options in the teacher's guide, but the DVDs aren't mentioned. (Perhaps the new DVDs are written to mirror the lesson numbers?) Nonetheless, I'm stymied. Short of sitting down and watching the series, I'm not sure how to plan.this out. Right now what I see is 20some "sessions" that are somehow supposed to mesh with 36 lessons. I use software to manage our lesson plans, and I wasn't expecting this much work to plan out the lessons. Help! :confused1: Thanks in advance, Pamela

I just got a new (5th edition) Introductory Logic set for use this year. I also got a set of the DVDs, used, without realizing that they were not made to go with the current edition of the textbooks. Regardless of the issue with different editions, I cannot find any information on how to use the (older set of) DVDs. Can anyone give me some insight on when/how to expect to use the DVDs? There are two very nice schedule options in the teacher's guide, but the DVDs aren't mentioned. (Perhaps the new DVDs are written to mirror the lesson numbers?) Nonetheless, I'm stymied. Short of sitting down and watching the series, I'm not sure how to plan.this out. Right now what I see is 20some "sessions" that are somehow supposed to mesh with 36 lessons. I use software to manage our lesson plans, and I wasn't expecting this much work to plan out the lessons. Help! :confused1: Thanks in advance, Pamela

Thanks for the help. Honestly, if I'm adding in meal prep and whatnot, it sounds like I'm not really far from the norm. It's a big shock from last year, because it seems like we really jumped in the amount of time school takes, but I suppose it makes sense. Last year the kindergartener was mostly doing fun stuff and at her own pace -- at age 4, some days she'd want to do school with us, and some days she'd just want to play. I was fine with that. There was little actual work to check, and her "schoolwork" with me was mostly structured playtime or talking and reading about different topics. Grade 2 is a bit more intense than first grade, and I think we're feeling a little of that. There are also more complex math topics (math is not her strong suit), and Thing 2 just plain has to work. (Work is not her strong suit either... :lol: It's like a dirty word to her.) It's not too difficult for her, it's just that she wants everything to be easy and effortless. Then, with a new baby in the house last year, I was happy to let subjects that were less crucial slide. Reading, writing, and 'rithmatic always got done, but sacrificing my sanity for Ancient Greece was not worth it. (And I used to be a history teacher! :001_smile:) This year I'm actually keeping to my lesson plans. Altogether, I think it just came as a shock how all-consuming this school year is. And, of course, some days are better than others. I think I will try devoting the first part of the day to Thing 2. We'll try that for a week or two and see where we are. I also hadn't considered breaking up meal times and feeding people at different times. I'm not sure if that would work for us, but I'll think about that, too. One thing that has fallen by the wayside was that I used to have a set time to go over yesterday's work at the beginning of each person's school day, but I (obviously) can't be reviewing three people's work simultaneously. On the other hand, school goes more smoothly when everyone starts first thing in the morning. The alternative we've been using is for me to sit down sometime in the afternoon with each person and review what they've done that day, but that brings back the "not school again!" issue. Maybe if I schedule an afternoon "review" time with the oldest and the kindergartener (who aren't as sensitive to interruptions and who appreciate schedules), that would work. Then I could sit down in the morning with the 2nd grader, review her work from the previous day, and do that day's instruction all at once. No breaks. Thanks again for the help and for lending an ear. I find "thinking out loud" to be very beneficial to me. (I like to call it "thinking out loud" and not "talking to myself!" :lol:) --Pamela

Sorry, one more thing. :) What is your 2 yo doing while you're doing school, or are there just enough other kids around that there's always someone to play with? Beyond that, I'm starting to think that maybe it's not so unreasonable for me to just expect an eight hour day for myself, once I figure in making meals and things like that. And of course I know that things will change as the little one gets older. Honestly, if he weren't in the mix this year would probably be industrious, but relatively pleasant. (Although I am pleased as punch to have him!) --Pamela

I'm sorry. Let me clarify: Each of the kids is spending 2 hours or less completing individual schoolwork (K about 30-45 minutes; 4th about 1 1/2 hours; 2nd could be anything, depending on her motivation and distraction level! I'm shooting for about an hour's worth of work for her.) Then we usually do 30 minutes to 1 hour as a group in science, social studies or art/other fun subjects each day. That is super flexible, depending on whether we're doing an experiment or crafts with history and how much fun we're having. The kids are doing 2-3 hours of school, tops. It's me who is trying to "do school for 8+ hours a day;" I need help managing myself. In no way do I underestimate the value of playing. These kids do not need to be sitting at a desk for 8 hours to accomplish a day's schoolwork, and I agree that they'll learn as much or more through play at this age. And now my son is old enough to have hobbies, like learning to write computer code and doing electronic stuff with Snap Circuits, that are indistinguishable from education anyway. When the kids are "doing school" all day long, it's because I can't find time to sit down with anyone for an hour straight. The big problem I'm having with playing is that my 7 yo, for example, will be "done" with her schoolwork, at 10 a.m., but we haven't done math or English yet, and I'm in the middle of something else. Then at 10:45, say, I have time to do those subjects with her, but she balks because now she's playing and she was "done" with school. Then after lunch, we have time while the little one is sleeping to work on history, which she loves, but she balks because she's playing again. It's not the length of time she's actually working, it's the starting and stopping that's killing her. Maybe if I just called it recess it'd be easier... Hope that clarifies things. This is a "mommy stress" issue, not a kid one. Our kids are anything but! --Pamela

I need help in trying to manage my daily work flow for our homeschool. This year I have three in school -- a kindergartener, a 2nd grader, and a 4th grader. The oldest has been identified as gifted (not that I needed anyone to tell me) and is fairly self-motivated, and the kindergartener is following in his footsteps. The 2nd grader is bright, but her talents are more in being creative and an excellent reader rather than in strictly measurable math/science/spelling skills. She does learn quickly, but she is very easily distracted from her work and needs quite a bit of hand-holding and one-on-one instruction compared to the other two. We also have an 18 month old toddler who naps for about 1.75-2.5 hours at some random time each day. So far, all of them have separate core subjects, but we do science, art, and history together. I am able to differentiate activities fairly well so that they are all engaged in those subjects, and with three bright kids who are only four years apart, I don't think I'm doing anyone a disservice. We usually do those subjects while the toddler is sleeping. My problem has been in my getting everything done each day. The kids are getting their work done (for the most part), and I have the entire week laid out for them on a checklist so that I do not need to direct them constantly. But there just doesn't seem to be enough of me to go around. Each day, Math, English, and to some extent spelling need to be taught in a very hands-on fashion to my 2nd grader. I need to review math, with occasional deeper instruction, and do a couple of longer reading/composition lessons each week with my 4th grader. I have a daily (fairly short, Charlotte Mason-style) lesson with my kindergartener. Most of the rest of their work is self-guided or can be done just by asking me an occasional question. It really doesn't seem like it should be a Herculean task, but once I add checking all of their work and reviewing it each day, group lessons, and all of the "regular life" -- like breakfast, lunch, putting the little one down for a nap, checking that the kids are doing their chores, etc., -- we're regularly doing school from before 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. And I'm regularly checking papers and other things either late at night or early in the morning. The worst part is that, for them, things just drag on. They finish the work that they can do alone, go and play, and then I call them back when I'm free to do instruction. I know it feels like a yo-yo some days, especially for the second grader. Once she starts to play, she doesn't want to keep being interrupted, and she feels like school never ends. So what am I doing wrong? Or is this just life with three school-aged kids and a toddler? (We've done this before with toddlers, and I know life changes drastically at age 3 or so.) Should we be trying to do our work at one large table, instead of spread out at desks, so that I can be in a central location? Should I pick a different child to focus on each day, so that everyone is at least getting more of my attention twice a week? Should I just be getting up an hour earlier than the kids because life frequently goes more smoothly that way? And how do I keep up with all of the checking of work? Most importantly, how can I afford to hire an assistant who will make sure the kids have done their chores, make the meals that always seem to suck the time out of the day, and keep an eye on the toddler? I'm a mom in need of a wife! ;) I am posting here because I suspect that the first response I would get on the general boards would be to cut back on the kids' workload, but I really don't want to do that. These are bright kids who need to be challenged, and we are homeschooling primarily because this way they can move at their own pace. I have actually been holding back my kindergartener, who is already doing first grade math and reading, and my 9 year old is almost ready to start Pre-Algebra. Other than general complaints about school -- because they'd all rather be playing or watching TV -- no one is complaining about the difficulty of the lessons or about the work load. (Except me! :lol:) I'd love some suggestions or just moral support! Thanks, Pamela

Thanks! I'll try those on her the next time we're at Penney's. I don't mind her wearing boys' jeans, and I'm happy to embellish them, but I didn't like the fit her brother's jeans had. --Pamela

I was looking at their website right now, and it looks like Sonoma only makes girls clothes in sizes 4-7. I don't see anything in older girls sizes. (I thought I'd mention it because I know other people are looking for suggestions, too.) --Pamela

Penney's has Arizona bootcut jeans that they say have "a comfortable relaxed fit and classic, easygoing style". They also have an adjustable waist and a bit of spandex added to the cotton. I don't think they look particularly like a relaxed fit, but for $10/pair they're probably worth a short. http://tinyurl.com/8nhbmkk --Pamela

You guys are the greatest. Even if I couldn't find anything, it's nice to have someone to commiserate with! Plus you've come up with a few brands I haven't heard of before, which is what I was hoping for. Land's End and Hanna Anderson both look promising, and I never would've thought to look there. I can't say I'm keen on the prices, but I may just have to live with it. Has anyone ever tried a brand called La Galleria? I saw their line of colored twill jeans while looking for a different brand, and they look promising, fit-wise. They're also on sale for $19, which is a step up from $30-50. They come in a number of bright colors. Here's a link for the blue: http://www.drjays.com/shop/G2-V61984-R404-P1364044/sizes-7-16-big-kids/colored-twill-jeans-7-16.html Oddly, the purple ones seem to be cut narrower in the seat than the blue and red. --Pamela

This may sound dumb, but I am totally at the end of my rope with this "skinny, skinnier, skinniest" jeans thing. I have a little girl whom I am trying to dress modestly. I don't want her to look shapeless, but I also don't want her to look like pedophile bait. This child has yet to wear a pair of jeans that haven't belonged to her brother. The problem is that she has always had a bit of a figure. She is not overweight or a "plus/half" size. Those sizes just fit all wrong. I have a picture of her when she was 3, and she already had curves where a woman's natural waistline would be. She's lean on top, but she's inherited my husband's not-insubstantial butt and thighs. If I put her into any pair of girls' jeans that I have ever seen, she is going to look like, well, a working girl. I sew, and I know from experience that any pair of jeans that I see for sale that lays flat in the front and back will not accommodate her rear end. She needs something that, when laying flat, will "bunch up" at the seat. I also am totally uninterested in anything that is low-rise. So far the only luck I've had has been a 1950's solution: Put her in her brother's loose fit pants. On her, the loose fit still looks a little curvy. She fills the jeans differently from my son. Unfortunately, they just don't look like girls' jeans. The pockets sit too low on the seat, and the legs are cut too wide for girls' jeans. She wears them at home, but I don't really send her out in them. They just look wrong. Certainly I can't be the only mother with this problem. I assume that if you live on a ranch, your girls aren't dressing in jeggings! Right now she's mostly wearing knit pants, but she really needs to have the durability and versatility of a decent pair of jeans. I am seriously missing the jeans of my youth. Dressing her in the late-'80s or early '90s would have been a cinch. If anyone has any suggestions for brands/styles, I'd love to hear them. I am hoping that, now that she is firmly in girls' sizes, there is some option out there that I'm unaware of. (She's probably in a size 7 or 8.) --Pamela

I was raised in church and have a fairly traditional background. I also never heard of the evolution or YE/OE debates (in any serious way) until I was in my 9th grade Biology class. As I recall, the teacher said about evolution, "You don't have to agree with this or believe this, but you do have to know it for the test." What we did cover was a fairly basic and straightforward explanation of the history and theory of evolution that spanned about 1/4 of a chapter of the textbook. Then we went on to something else. (I later found out that my Bio teacher was very much a Creationist.) There was no pressure to believe any particular thing. Fast forward almost 25 years, and I would say that it is a totally different world we are living in. You can't watch PBS without having some evolutionary education leeching into your kids' entertainment. Animals' traits aren't "specialization" anymore, they're "adaptation". People who who devoutly hold to YE/Creationist views need to push harder and earlier to get those views to their kids before they're old enough to watch Dinosaur Train. The funny thing is, even though I'm not firmly committed to one camp (OE/YE or Creationist/Evolutionist), I'm incredibly frustrated by the push to involve these theories in science lessons for pre-schoolers. I'm with the PP who said that she enjoyed discussing this when her children were older and better able to have deeper discussions on the issues. I agree. Unfortunately, it's hard to stave that off, and you're right in trying to figure out what you believe so that you can figure out what/how to teach. For example, the summer dinosaur class at the Pittsburgh Museum of Natural History has changed immensely in the over the last four years since Thing 1 took it. Now, rather than stressing basic scientific observation with the 4-5 year olds (relative sizes of dinos, identifying different types of dinos, herbivores vs. carnivores, etc.), they are strongly focused on how dinosaurs evolved and became extinct and how you can see dinosaurs alive today when you see a chicken. Why is this important to pre-schoolers? Frankly, all of the death they talked about in the new class was pretty depressing. Thing 3 came home with a poster that had to explain the origins of a juvenile fossil footprint. Her answer? It came from a baby dinosaur getting trapped in a lava flow when her mommy couldn't come and save her; illustrations were included. Thing 1 came home from the same class knowing the difference between a pteradactyl and a pteranadon and having made a pteranadon that flapped its wings when you pulled a string. (BTW, Thing 3 doesn't know the difference.) Like you, my jury is still out on what to believe. I know that I am shaping my kids' worldviews by everything I do (or don't!) say, but I am not comfortable advocating in one direction. And as it has been pointed out before, this is not a salvation issue. Instead, I have tried my best to explain that we really don't know for sure, because God is God, and we are not. We weren't there, and there is no way to prove what happened. We've talked about Genesis 1 and the fact that, because He is God, there's no reason to think that the world couldn't have been created in six days (24 hour days). But because that chapter is poetry, it may have been symbolic and pointing out that there is a Creator, and He created absolutely everything. We've also discussed the references in other parts of the Bible that suggest that God's "day" is not necessarily a 24-hour period, so maybe he created it in that way, but not in 144 hours. I approach it as a wonderful and fascinating mystery, because that's what the act of Creation was. As for evolution (the "man descending from the apes" parts, not the observable fluctuations in populations part), we've discussed that God created man, but we don't know how he did it. The Bible is quite clear that God intentionally created man to be set apart from the animals and to bear His image, so I'm unrelenting on that point, but how is a different question. I do have a devoutly Catholic friend who is comfortable with the fact that, no matter at what point God placed His image in/upon man, it was at that point that man became man. Whether that was while his monkey cousins were swinging in trees or as a totally new and different created being in the Garden, bearing the Image of God is what sets men apart from the animals. I am becoming increasingly drawn to that position. The one thing I do frequently try to drive home to the kids (where their worldviews really are being shaped by me, I think) is that -- however this happened -- none of this came about without God. My major beef with all of the evolutionary teaching for kids is that it comes primarily from an atheistic viewpoint. I make sure to impress that theories change over the centuries, but no matter how we currently believe it happened, God did it. I would urge you to send that message also and to set aside troublesome materials until/unless you feel a clearer answer for yourself. I am happy that my kiddos seem to be getting the "God Did It" message loud and clear, and in another five years or so, when we can have well-informed arguments about the pros and cons of various theories, it should be a rollicking good time around here. Until then, I'll spend my time teaching them "boring" stuff, like how atoms work, what cell structures look like under a microscope, and the physics behind a see-saw. It's not like science has a shortage of interesting topics! --Pamela

In general, Primarily (and Lollipop) Logic introduce concepts at very basic levels, and the pages within the topic get increasingly complex. I think you could just go on to the next topic if your kiddo is "maxed out" on analogies, for example. You can always come back to those pages sometime in the future when he's older or his logic skills have increased. Or you may find that the increasing complexity builds his logic skills right along with it. The book Primarily Thinking is also by Prufrock, and you may or may not like it. It's themes are compare/contrast, classification, fact/opinion, cause/effect, patterns, and sequencing. I was a little disappointed by it, because it wasn't exactly what I was looking for -- it seemed a little more like work, not quite as "fun" as the Lollipop/Primarily Logics. But it would be a good introduction if you're looking to work on any of those skills. If you want to know more about Primarily Thinking let me know. I didn't think that the samples online gave a good idea of the book. --Pamela

I second Primarily Logic and others from Prufrock Press. Use your own discretion more than the age suggestions. My 8yo (last year) was flying through Primarily Logic, but he was doing logic puzzles and playing chess at age 5. My 6yo -- no logician -- enjoyed doing Lollipop Logic and found it challenging. If your 8yo is new to logic that might work, too. You can find the whole line of logic books at prufrock.com, but the prices are sometimes better at Amazon. --Pamela

You are describing, almost to a T, a series of DVDs called What's in the Bible with Buck Denver by Phil Vischer, one of the creators of Veggie Tales. I would almost never advocate DVDs over books, so this tells you what I think of the resource! My daughter won the first DVD from the What's in the Bible with Buck Denver series a few years ago. I had heard about it, but I wasn't interested in another DVD series at the time, and frankly, I'm not big on puppets. :) I was bowled over by the quality of the videos' content from the beginning. They are puppets, but they aren't juvenile--the quirky style of humor appeals to all ages and keeps you engaged. In fact, my Mom and I spent an enjoyable afternoon watching one of them without the kids! As a high school Sunday School teacher for almost ten years now, I am routinely horrified by the lack of Biblical knowledge in kids (and adults, for that matter). In most cases, kids are taught through a series of high-interest stories that, depending on the curriculum used (if any) may or may not tie well to each other. Rarely do they get to reading anything like the epistles or some of the more "boring" parts of the Pentateuch until middle or high school. And it's a really rare teacher or curriculum that teaches the kids to ask questions and to think (Biblically) for him or herself. The entire WITB series is based on the premise that the Bible is God's redemption plan. The first video has what I would say is the best introduction to salvation and redemption that I've seen, particularly for kids. (Although my husband has suggested that it should be required viewing for adults as well!) It is directly linked to why we need to be redeemed and saved, which kicks off Genesis/Creation/sin in the Garden of Eden. The subject matter is serious, and sin is treated as no laughing matter, but introducing it with the promise of salvation keeps things from becoming depressing. They are not preaching an angry, vengeful God, but a God who loved us enough to provide that plan of salvation. Basically, the series is planned as a walk through each of the books of the Bible; they are currently up to Jonah. (And if you want a challenge, try teaching Song of Solomon to kids without totally sidestepping its meaning or overexposing young children to sexual themes! I think they navigated it quite nicely.) The series also tackles other issues, especially in its occasional spots called "Tricky Bits with Phil". I am completely with you about your concerns on whether or not things have to be "unlearned" later and about having a curriculum that presents a particular denominational/creedal standpoint (that you don't share). I think the series does a great job of acknowledging and explaining that there are "in-house" debates among Christians--how Creation came about and the age of the earth come immediately to mind--and examining the positions without taking sides. That has led to some great discussions at home about what we believe. Some of the other "Tricky Bits" deal with things things that your kids will be confronted with in the world, like whether you can be a good scientist without being an atheist. Those, unsurprisingly, come out with a decidedly Christian stance. I appreciate that those issues are brought up, because it's an introduction to apologetics and also an inoculation of sorts -- my kids will already be prepared to hear about those challenges to Christianity; they won't be caught on the chin when they hit secondary school. Oh, and the discussion on why we don't have to follow all of the Old Testament commands, even though God never changes, was excellent. I'm betting that my kids now have a better handle on that issue than many Christian adults. But I've totally digressed. The Tricky Bits are a fairly minor part of the series. It is primarily an introduction to the Bible and to orthodox (with a "little o") Christian theology. I can say that we are Baptist and our kids' guardians are Catholic, and both of our families are enjoying the series greatly. From the basic understanding of the Bible and Biblical tenets, you can add your own family/denominational beliefs and add to their Biblical overview by reading more about the Biblical book or characters' stories, or you could choose use the DVD as an introduction to that book of the Bible, then read a children's paraphrase Bible to read the book yourselves. Anyhow, I can't say how happy I've been with these videos. They are a good, solid introduction to Biblical literacy. Plus, they're just plain fun to watch! The only real downside is, possibly, the price. They aren't expensive videos, but there are already nine of them, I believe. I think they're aiming for the complete set to be in the 13-15 video range (Genesis to Revelation). For video samples, including the first five minutes of the first video, you can go to http://www.jellytelly.com/show/whats-in-the-bible/ Good luck! Pamela

We just did our online tests on Friday. I tested both my 1st and 3rd grader, although PA law only requires results for 3rd grade. My experiences were mixed. As far as administering the test, CLP was the way to go. I didn't need to have a proctor, because the computer did it for me. (In PA, a parent cannot proctor the standardized test.) I thought that the test was challenging, so I have no complaints about the 1970 edition. My oldest is gifted, and while he scored quite well, there were parts of the test where he ran out of time. You may want to warn your child about this. Because he still scored well on that section, I assume that the timed nature of the test is checking for mastery, rather than just understanding, of the subject matter. Nevertheless, simple test taking skills -- like answering all of the questions you know and skipping difficult ones -- could make a difference. The online test does allow you to return to previous questions. Also, if you have a child who has to work at using a mouse easily, the timed nature could be a problem. I did have a complaint about the reading section, in that there were no spaces between paragraphs in the story my son was reading. He was getting quite frustrated trying to search for answers in a large block of oddly formatted text. My main complaint was about the test results. The good news is that they were immediately available, which is nice, especially if you're in a time crunch. Also, the kids still remembered which sections were which because we reviewed the tests on the same day they took them. The results also include all of the important elements to meet state requirements (stanine, percentile, raw score, and grade level equivalent). However, there was no further information available. Because I was testing for my own reasons as well, I was disappointed in the lack of more specific information. Compared to the test score report on the CATforms website (also for the 1970 CAT), this one was totally bare bones. If you are testing for your own reasons, you may want to know where your child is struggling specifically -- "Reading Comprehension" is a pretty broad subject. That said, I will probably use CLP again. At $25 a test, the price is certainly right, and I'm willing to settle for the broader results to avoid finding a proctor. I just wish that they'd invest in expanding their database to analyze the subtopics on the test. As for which grade to choose, I would follow the advice on the website. If you are simply unsure about which grade your child would be in at school, keep in mind that if she turned 9 after September 30, many states would place her in the third grade this year. Also, if she turned 9 on or after June 1, you may have had the option of holding her back and beginning school a year later at the beginning of kindergarten/first grade. If you have never done anything other than homeschooling, which is fairly fluid as far as grade level is concerned, I'd suggest taking some time to think about what grade you would have chosen and choose a grade level now, then stick with it from here on out. My oldest is "in third grade" and is doing work on a third to sixth grade level, depending on the subject. I have a 4yo who is able to do most of her sister's first grade work already (but I don't like that much structure at that young an age), but she won't be "in first grade" for another year and a half, regardless of the work she's doing. My first grader is awful with phonics and spelling, through the roof with reading, and trying to hold her own with addition and subtraction. She's still "in first grade" in our house, we're just moving slowly with lessons and we probably won't take a huge summer break with her. It just seems simpler to me to pick a grade and stick with it for formality's sake while providing individualized instruction, although I can understand why some people would disagree. Happy testing! Pamela

Hooray! We're all able to go with my husband on his business trip to DC next week -- which makes for a cheap vacation and easy school next week! :party: I have a fair idea of an itinerary (although any suggestions of off-the-beaten path things your kids love in D.C. are appreciated). What I'm looking for is suggestions for something to listen to in the car. Our kids love listening to the radio and to short radio shows, but we've never tried books on CD/mp3 before. We'll have a roughly 5 hour drive each way, but I don't want the whole thing to be one story. What did your kids like at the 4-8 age range? They're all fairly sophisticated verbally, so it doesn't have to be simplistic. We'll have a roughly 5 hour drive each way, but I don't expect to spend the whole time on one story. (We'll need music and baby-is-crying breaks!) Bonus points for anything that is remotely related to Washington (D.C. or the person), American history, or the states. :D Thanks! --Pamela

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This year we're using Gombrich's A Little History of the World, and I really like it. I think that the level would be good for your son, and, like other recommendations, it is written in a conversational style. I particularly enjoy that it is written from a European (Germanic) perspective. I've learned new and different things from the author, and I am a high school Social Studies teacher. Religiously, we are in the same boat as you. Gombrich does assume a Christian background and general worldview, but also an old Earth and a fairly impartial view of other world religions. This book is an overview of history to present day, however, so you would be doing more than just Ancients. But for our first year, I figured it would give a good overview and a springboard for deeper study later. I'm using it as a spine and adding activities to draw out the more important/interesting chapters. I also can't recommend Evan-Moore's history pockets highly enough for this type of child. Good luck! --Pamela

I found that, even though my son was able to do the work in R&S 4, things like diagramming sentences are introduced in level 3. Because of that (and just so I haven't missed anything) I decided to start with level 3. We can always go through it at our own pace. --Pamela

I suspect that the problem of feeling like you're "homeschooling all day" may stem from the ages in question, not the volume of schoolwork (although you may want to reevaluate that as others have suggested). The 2/4/6 year was very stressful to me, in a way that this year (infant/4/6/8) won't even measure up to. The problem is that you could not homeschool with this age group, and you'd still have a full day. In retrospect, I can't remember how I survived from my 4yo's birth to age three. It's full-on, constant parenting. If it helps, the end is in sight -- when the youngest is three, things will get much easier because (s)he will want to "do school" too. That means you have a "Teacher's Helper" (mine had her own tag at the beginning of the school year) sitting along with the middle child and sometimes getting a copy of what you're doing. Age three also means that the child is capable of going off and playing alone in a self-entertaining way, rather than in an, "Oh no -- what is she into?" kind of way. So hang on there, mama. Just one more year. I empathize with the hubby situation. Mine works regular hours, but can't seem to get out of the office. In an effort to leave early (ever the optimist!), he tries to go in early and take advantage of the company's flex time option. The problem is that he often gets held up by the people coming in late (due to the aforementioned "flex time" policy). Our result? A man who leaves for work at 6 a.m. and gets home at 6:30 or 7:00 at night, totally exhausted. It is taxing for everyone involved. One thing that helped me at that stage was doing everything I could possibly do while my husband was home (after dinner) or after the kids were in bed. One big problem was that we would still be finishing school when it was time to cook dinner. Then, when hubby finally got home, it would be 6:30 and I'd be looking for something to make for supper while he was in charge of the kiddos. Preparing the night before made a big difference. I would look at the next evening's dinner (the main meal for you might be lunch), and as soon as we finished cleaning up supper I would prepare what I could for the next day. That might mean pre-cooking ground beef, taking frozen foods out to thaw, cutting vegetables, etc. -- anything that would make the next day's cooking faster. The other problem was getting going in the morning. I really wasn't into the whole "4yo picks her own wardrobe" thing, so I started laying the kids' clothes out as/after they went to bed. In the morning, the older two could get dressed (for the most part) before they came downstairs. I'd help dress the youngest, although it inspired her to want to dress herself as well. (SCORE!) There was no hassle in getting them to go back upstairs to dress, and the only major hurdle was breakfast. I know some women who set the table for breakfast before they go to bed, although I never did that. This year I've taken to making multiples of cooked breakfasts that can be frozen. For the last few weeks, when I make baked goods for breakfast, I double or triple the batch and freeze the leftovers. Ditto for an amazing baked oatmeal casserole that we make. I think that will get rid of some of the guilt I have over serving lots of cereal and bagels -- plus, with a family of six, we can go through a bag of bagels in one breakfast. Scratch cooking is cheaper! Of course, that assumes you have a freezer at your disposal. (I asked for one a used one as a birthday gift a few years back -- it was cheap and a great gift.) I admit that I've fallen away from almost all of these tricks in the past years, because I really have to struggle to be organized in my housekeeping. Also, it really did make me feel like I never had any down time. On the other hand, I already kind of felt like that in an out of control way. The routine and the structure from being more organized really gave me some peace of mind. I highly recommend it. As for paring down on what you're teaching, you know your kiddos best. I was in a position where I had two kids who were way ahead of schedule (reading, doing math, etc., by 4yo), and that's why I was homeschooling in the first place. I wouldn't have been comfortable with school that wasn't challenging them, especially at the first grade level, and challenging small children means lots of individual attention. You can't just sit them down with a textbook and say, "Go!" On the other hand, I did try to keep pre-school to 60-120 minutes for everything, depending on what we were doing. During that time, I gave my 6yo any of the work he could do alone so that I bought myself one-on-one time with the middle child (with constant interruptions from the 2yo). Usually we did school in chunks -- morning was pre-school and independent work for the older one, then lunch, then afternoon was free time for the middle child (with constant interruptions from the 2yo and 4yo fighting)and "first grade time". Something like that might work for you as well, depending on the attention span of your oldest. As your kiddos get older, you'll likely have to keep experimenting with what to do and when, but I can honestly say that it will probably never be this difficult again. Feel free to PM me if you want to rant. ;) Good luck! --Pamela

Good advice. At this point, I think it's good to be able to be able to answer the following questions: 1) Why are we doing this? For some people, the reasons are religious. For others they're educational (a bad local school district, a child with needs that wouldn't be addressed at a school, a desire to give a child a different style of education than would otherwise be available, etc.). Other people disagree with the entire approach of contemporary education and like more freedom in their children's educational experiences. To some extent, figuring out why you're homeschooling will help to direct you to the types of materials you'll want to use. It will also give you the driving motivation to stick with homeschooling on a bad day. Or month. ;) 2) What kind of teacher am I? If you have already taught on some level you may have some idea of the answer already. If not, look at the way you parent and at the types of parents you emulate. If you were to teach about earthworms, which would you do first: get some great books and charts/pictures to study worms and their environments, or just grab some shovels and head outside to find and experience the worms? Being able to answer this question will give you an idea of what types of materials you may prefer. Some of us like more traditional school materials, others like a more hands-on approach. A mix of the two is probably best for our kiddos, but it's good to know what your approach is beforehand. 3) What are my goals for my children? Obviously all of us want educated children, but try to go beyond that to decide what a "good education" means to you. Does it require a foreign language? Latin? Apologetics? Do you need higher level math, or no? There are also the "extras" to consider -- sports, musical instruments, fine arts. Don't freak out, just make a wish list. The person who wants a child who has high exposure to classics, Latin, and fine arts will likely make different choices from the person who wants a child with high exposure to math and sciences. Neither of these, in my opinion, is wrong. It's just what makes us all different. (By the way, don't get too set in your own goals. Over time, your kiddos will start to set the direction based on their goals and aptitudes as well.) Good luck! If you want to talk, feel free to PM me. --Pamela

My kids love these books. A lot. So I used them. To study fragmented sentences. Okay, it hurts my brain to write like that any longer. Here's what you do: Photocopy any two pages of a book, give the child a highlighter, and have him/her find all of the sentence fragments. We reinforced fragments and also discovered the difference between good and poor writing styles, even though both can provide enjoyable reading. ;) --Pamela