Just wanted to add... in general, Jews are uneasy with this, as many thoughtful Christian denominations have become. Perhaps a Jewish leader could come in and teach your congregation about Passover and its observances? Because when Christians put together their own seder, it tends (naturally) to reflect their own Christian beliefs and a pretty inauthentic view of both historical and modern Judaism. The seder has changed significantly in the last 2000 years, so to take today's Jewish rituals and superimpose them on the lives of the early Christians is both anachronistic and disrespectful. It would sort of be like Jews re-enacting critical Christian sacraments or observances, badly, while completely misunderstanding their meaning to Christians - like putting up a Christmas tree and saying it commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, for instance (of course it doesn't, but neither do the 3 matzahs on the seder plate represent the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, which some Christians claim). Far better (as some Jewish groups do) to invite in a real Christian to demonstrate and talk about what those sacraments mean to him/her.

Some might try (recommending with caution) books by Lauren Winner, particularly Mudhouse Sabbath. I recommend this with caution, as I know she is controversial in some Christian circles (as well as being a professor, she's now an ordained - Methodist? - minister), but her experience with Judaism, though fairly brief, seems to have been authentic, and this book is a reflection on those disciplines within Judaism that she feels may still be relevant for today's Christians. There's a lot of personal writing in all her books, so not everybody enjoys them, but I did. :-)

Wow - best?!? From my dd7's perspective, it's probably got to be FLL, though I don't even know if she realizes that she smiles every time I bring out the book. It's hokey, and you can probably find several old threads of me complaining about it, but we have grown into the swing of it and it's an important part of our homeschool day. I am loving watching HWOT turning my ds5 into a writer - he's only 5 but I feel like, "at last." He has so much thought inside him; now he can get it out, legibly. Dd7 (when she tries!) also has handwriting people exclaim over. I love that smug feeling of "yeah, they're homeschooled and yeah, her handwriting is better than her 17-year-old sister's..." There are other curricula that have made me smile, but I'll keep it simple for now.

Great! I think I'll cap it here - ie all who have replied up to this point until I have some feedback. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I'm not sure what the reading level is of this short eBook; that's one of the things I'd like help with, in addition to spotting typos (it's pretty clean) and evaluating the content. Maybe 5-6 testers would be ideal to download it free and let me know what they think. I wrote this book because in a weird patriotic moment, I decided to teach my kids to sing The Maple Leaf Forever, a song my mother grew up singing in school every day, and couldn't find much information about the song - or about why it's no longer sung... and why it was passed over for O Canada as our official national anthem. Here's a short description of the book (which is itself rather short): At one time, Canada's most famous "national anthem," this patriotic song has all but vanished from today's schools and public performances. What was it about, and if it was so beloved, why does nobody sing it anymore? Through the song's lyrics, this approachable, short living history of Canada explores our British, French and First Nations heritage from the 1700s to the present. Please reply or PM me if you're interested! :-)

@cjgrubbs - link to your fave(s)???

Bit the bullet and, based on a friend's recommendation, bought the MP3 of "A Plan for Teaching Writing: Focus on the Elementary Grades" from the PHP store. I was very, VERY impressed. Even if you're not using her writing materials (we are starting WWE soon), I think this gives a really good overview of a very sound philosophy of teaching writing. She also offers lots of practical tips - definitely worth the $3.99 price! And then, for free, there's about schooling through the high school years. I think it should be required listening even if you don't have high schoolers yet (I do). As an experienced homeschooler, she talks about practical realities like the appeal of school, the gap year, mommy burnout and so many other important topics. Just thought I'd spontaneously share these because they're awesome! :thumbup1: What are your favourite SWB resources (free and otherwise) that have helped you implement WTM philosophies in your schooling, parenting and elsewhere in your family's life???

We've used Handwriting Without Tears all along and I'd recommend it highly even for kids who already write. There is zero lesson planning and strong reinforcement of the basics, designed (among other things) to prevent reversals while creating a good, natural progression. If you feel he's already writing well enough and his upper- and lowercase letters are nice and clear (surprising but not unheard-of at 6), you could start with short copywork selections: you pick a sentence from one of your other subjects' reading and write it out very neatly on a lined page. Then ask him to copy it. Start short, like "the cat sat" kind of basic and work your way up. That's the Grade 1 recommendation from SWB, but it would work for a K'er who writes well already. If he's NOT writing well, focus on the basics first using a strong program like HWOT. ETA: Just to make it a bit more specific, say you're reading about King Tut in history, so you pull out a very simple sentence - "Tut was a rich king." Or from science - "Mammals have hair." Or whatever: if you're doing Bible stuff, Biblical selections are great, even if the language is above him a bit. Just get him reading and writing these things and seeing that he can use handwriting to create print sentences that are legible and meaningful. Dictating phonograms and the alphabet is a good start, but it's not the end-point, so you need to keep moving towards that goal. :-)

They've just come out with workbooks to go along with Child's History of the World. It involves readings in the book itself, a workbook, and a teacher's manual, for not a terrible price. Haven't seen the workbook or TM but we read through the book; it's definitely - um - sweeping. :-) Not for everybody, but it does give a quick & concise overview of many of the highlights: people, places and ideas. The workbook looks very straightforward, with additional enrichment ideas in the TM. It's from Calvert, but Rainbow has all the materials.

Expensive, yes. I got them at HSBC on sale (but it's over now). And I am annoyed because I bought a second one for my older dd and although she loves the fact that it's colourful, it's totally wrong for her AND it drives me crazy. So I got one for the price of two. :-( Which just goes to prove how different kids can be SO different. No idea how schools cope. Oh, wait - yes, I do have an idea, and that's why I homeschool. :-)))

For us, history is mostly cuddle-up-and-read. We read CHOW, but our main book is SOTW. We read it, we go to the museum, I tie it in where I can, but honestly, we do very few of the projects. There's a free lapbook here that might be helpful, though it's keyed to SOTW, so you'll have to figure out how it fits. I also found some of the History Pockets useful (we have a TeacherFileBox membership I bought through HSBC, and those are all included). The Figures in Motion Ancients have been helpful as well - my 5yo adores them and runs around teaming up unlikely warriors like Sargon and Hannibal when we pull them out. But mainly, my rule is the same as for our chapter books - keep reading, even if one bit or another seems over their heads. In terms of Babel to Ur, you'll want to find lots to do with the Tower, and then Abraham. The stories of how he found God as a child, surrounded by idol-worshippers. Show them pictures of the modern-day Tigris and Euphrates; my kids are always awed if we read a Biblical story and we can "still see what it looks like today." True, the landscape has probably changed enormously, but we definitely still know where many of these events took place, and if your kids see how that inspires you, it will move them as well. Return to the stories again and again throughout the year, and you may be surprised what sticks.

Another vote for Around the World in 80 Tales. :-) We also have the Favourite Stories book to go along with UNICEF's Children Just Like Me. I like the idea of this because, rather than teaching stories superimposed on geographical locations, as the Around the World book does, it shows the children who live in those areas (you can get to know them better in the main book) and tells THEIR favourite stories. (edited to add: but the Favourite Stories book has fewer stories than the Around the World one...)

I think the point of it is that it's FREEHAND and you're not aiming for perfection, at least the first few times. Here are the steps I did to get the lines on the page more or less evenly. I made this up on my own; we're not doing CC but I thought this was a worthwhile practice. We started with a hot-dog fold, then a hamburger fold, to create the basic crease. Then, we drew the Tropics straight across, freehand. We folded the paper hot-dog style again, this time between from the top of the page to the “Cancer†line and from the bottom to the “Capricorn†line, to create the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. Finally, we drew straight lines in all the fold lines for emphasis. Here's the full blog post with pics: http://ronypony.blogspot.ca/2011/03/geography-by-heart-great-circles-and.html Wish we could get around to doing this again! Can't believe it's been almost 2 years already...

Here's the other thread. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/445520-beyond-the-code/ ;-)

I've found that it depends so much on their handwriting ability. Both my dd (now 7) and my ds were not at the point where they could do much math (even if they understood the concepts) because of illegibility with numbers. For my ds (5) I have settled on a workbook called Mathematical Reasoning (Beginning 2, but it's one of a series). I didn't like this book for my dd7, but for him, it's perfect. I just open it and we go, and there's very little writing required. Instead, there are many pages where I point and he identifies things, or colours in a shape, or we count things together. He loves it because it's pure one-on-one time with me, and I love it because there's no prep at all - just do the next thing. ;-) This level of this volume is very basic since he's not too far ahead with math yet, so you'd want to look at a lot of previews to see which level is most appropriate and if the one that works, math-wise, is the right level for him, writing-wise.

Hosting a giveaway for this game on my blog right now and I'd love to get a few more entries. Not specifically homeschooling-related, but I thought some of us might have kids who'd be interested in it, particularly because it seems like a good game for big kids and little kids (reading) to play together. Because I have many Jewish readers, I do mention that a "Jewish Fluxx" expansion pack is available; if you win, you can choose whether or not you want to receive that. Without it, it's just the regular game. :-) Click here to enter between now and Friday, Dec 21!

Just ordered Singapore (Primary Math, 2A) from Rainbow Resource and waiting eagerly for it to arrive. I chose Primary Math over Math in Focus after some deliberation; it looked simpler, less cluttered, more basic. I chose US as opposed to Standards because it was slightly cheaper. Other people may have different criteria, but those were mine. There are some good explanations of the differences, along with other information, here. p.s. I still have no idea how people on here automatically know you're talking about PM rather than MiF when someone mentions "Singapore" because they're both based on the same country's scope, sequence, methods, etc. But I believe here someone last year suggested I was being stupid for suggesting the term "Singapore math" was ambiguous in light of these two product lines available.

Sorry if this has been posted here already, but I wanted to share this link to the annual 50% off sale for Mr. Q. Science: http://www.eequalsmcq.com/HolidaySale2013.htm?utm_source=December+2012+LabNotes&utm_campaign=LabNotes+Nov+2012&utm_medium=email Of course, Life Science is free all the time, so you can preview it to your heart's content. But if you want to go on, 50% off certainly sweetens the deal. NOTE: all curriculum is in PDF form only, so you'll have to decide what to print yourself. I combed through the downloads, then used a free program called PDFill Tools to extract the pages I wanted to print into separate PDF documents, which I then printed (relatively) cheaply at Staples. Enjoy!

I use Dropbox for my own personal stuff - kind of as a backup. I also use it to share with my husband, but not with the whole wide world. For sharing with other people, I originally used Google Docs (now Google Drive) for a while but it is very complicated with sharing settings and had a ton of problems not letting people download stuff. So I switched to 4shared, and I don't love the 20-second delay, but it seems to work and gives me a lot of space (15gb right now) for all kinds of files... I have to say here - I LOVE Dropbox. We use the software both for Windows and Ubuntu, and it is literally the most stable program on either computer. I know I sound like an ad, but the software makes backups seamless and instant - every time I change a file, it's updated in the "cloud" and my husband can grab it from his computer OR I can access it anywhere in the world. Plus, there are these snazzy Windows icons that show you when it's updating your files, with little checkmarks to show each file that is happily backed up. It takes very little space in the background and can save you a ton of heartbreak. That said, I don't use it for widespread file sharing; I don't want others having access to my more personal files.

We've just started using a book called Mathematical Reasoning, Beginning 2 from Critical Thinking Press. HSBC has a special free shipping offer for these right now. He didn't click with Miquon - he likes being told EXACTLY what to do and is not comfortable with freeform exploration. Also, he's not great at math and doesn't have terrific writing skills. This book seems challenging enough math-wise but right now, it's mostly just pointing, or saying his answers aloud, which is PERFECT. ETA: I like Miquon very much, and already have the materials here for him, so I may try to reintroduce at some point, but for now the writing and free-form nature of the program are too much of a hurdle.

Just curious... what do you consider a "Hebrew world view"? I mean, we're Jewish, and I don't know if I have one. ;-) To me, Hebrew is a language; Judaism and Christianity are religions. Culturally, I am Jewish, but more significantly, Ashkenazi, meaning my customs and views are heavily influenced by the pre-WW2 diaspora cultures of Eastern Europe. In any event, I clicked on the thread because I bought this book for my Kobo and like it very much. We are NOT Christian but find the materials helpful. The idea of a values-centred [correct spelling - I'm Canadian! ;-)] curriculum with a Biblical backbone is very important. I also admire her simplicity and "no-nonsense" approach and have recommended her "3 R's" book to just about everybody for that reason. I do want to say that I find some of her "proofs" for Biblical literalism somewhat strained, but wouldn't let that stop me from buying any of her books. Wish there were more!

The post has a link to my printables page. When you get there, scroll down or search for FIAR. ;-)

We don't have time or headspace to do FIAR, but I really love the reading lists. We covered the FIAR1 books last summer (2011) and I've just put together a nice PDF reading list for FIAR2 with a chart of all the titles, and mini full-colour book covers you can use as "stickers" on the main chart of books, plus flags of all the countries featured in the stories. It says Winter Reading List there, but there are printable titles that let you use it for any season: ;-) http://ronypony.blog...ading-list.html Here's the previous one I did for FIAR1 (which similarly works for any season): http://ronypony.blog...ading-list.html There are tons of other printables there as well, though many are of limited interest if you don't read Hebrew. ;-) Enjoy! (p.s. First time using the new forum.... weird; it feels very formal. I wonder if it will ever seem "cozy" like the old one?)

Thanks! These are all terrific responses. I am sort of, slowly, narrowing our trips down to Mondays, when we don't have other programs... but there are several free concert series in town here that take place on other days, but perhaps those will prove to be "just say no" events after all. Here's the other piece of the puzzle, which I didn't mention initially: we're moving next summer. We currently live in the big city where I grew up, where I know and love absolutely everything about its big-city culture: theatres, ballet, opera, etc. Plus, the natural settings all around the city provide a wealth of opportunities for every kind of outdoor learning. And we're moving to Israel - not exactly nowhere, culturally speaking, but when we land, I'll be as much a stranger as my kids are, in a totally foreign environment. So I kind of feel an even greater responsibility, this year, to show them around and give them a wealth of experiences they'll remember. But right now, I'm worried they'll just remember being run ragged - and how tired and sad their mama was trying to hold onto it all while it lasted. :-( (No, we're not being FORCED to move - we're going by choice, and happy about it! But, like Abraham, I'm leaving from the city where I grew up and I will still have many ties here...) Anyway, I know all that doesn't change anything, but maybe adds a bit of context for why this year in particular is going so wrong...

Advice, please??? I have had so much fun organizing field trip groups, and we are having so many wonderful enriching experiences, but aaaaaaah. We are turning into unschoolers, and I don't like it! I have pared our academics down to the bare essentials: math, grammar, phonics, and touching on history/science when we have more than 2 days in a row at home. But really, I am very overwhelmed. How do you-all manage to balance field trips with the rest of your homeschooling lives??? I've noticed we're losing a lot of half-days due to travelling to and from field trips, so each day we do something *else* is basically a write-off, school-wise. I don't want to be a slave to the curriculum, and I realize we are learning lots on our trips (in the last week, we've been to an organ concert, a major ballet/theatre studio and an agricultural fair). Do I really have to start saying no to some of the great stuff I want us to do together outside the home just because there's curriculum here that needs to get done...? Advice pleeeeease? Head spinning - almost literally. :lol: (ballet is good for that :D)