If I buy a "Sunrise Ed 2" teachers manual on Ebay will it match the Light Units from CLE regardless of year? I'm trying to save some money but it's only a few bucks per subject so it's not worth it if I have to turn around and sell it if it doesn't match. Thanks in advance!

Thanks so much! So many great ideas!

That's a great idea. I downloaded their free lessons for phonics and math on long dead computer. Glad you reminded me of Funnix!

Thank you!

i think it means "spin off" :confused1:

Thanks so much for your feedback!!!

Thanks you so much for your response. My husband has not stayed home full-time before so I wanted to put the least amount of pressure on him as possible, but you are right he should be able to help them some. My 4th grader should also be able to help too. Great tip about checking the links the night before I will be sure to do that. The main reason for homeschooling is because of the substandard education our local public school is providing through Common Core. My main issue is the lack of teaching skills or lessons, at all really. My daughter is giving a 10 problem worksheet each week for math with problems that are like those on the end of grade test. There is no theme or link to any of them except that they are all math. The teacher goes over "testing strategies" or 15 different ways to get an answer for each of them and they check their work themselves or with a partner. Then the partner helps them with the right answer. There is no focus on a math skill or mastery of anything. Math facts are not taught or discussed. There are often typos that make the problem have no answer, sometimes the teacher forgets to tell them about it. Like my daughter got 4 wrong on a test because the teacher forgot to change "multiplication" to "addition" in 4 word problems. For LA they are given something similar, but it's 5 sentences that need to be corrected also there are multiple choice questions that sometimes have answers that all make sense but one is slightly better. The science program is all over the place and is basically just a bunch of different topics that have no link to one another. The Social Studies is ridiculous, it's just a weekly reader pamphlet in which they do some reading comprehension about a social studies type topic. They do no handwriting, they teach cursive "sort of." The teacher told me they will "go over some of the letters in cursive." For their reading, they are doing Accelerated Reader but they have to get books from certain genres. If they get a book in the same genre before they finished the rest it doesn't count. The genres are very specific, like sports or women inventors. I could go on and on. It's so difficult to watch them be taught this nonsense when they were previously being taught so well in the classical model. Additionally they have each picked up some bad habits behaviorally that I can't completely blame on PS, but it didn't help. Overall, I am not a fan. Thanks again! Mackenzie

Hi all, I home schooled my 3 from the beginning but had to put them into public school 2 years ago because I had to go back to work full time (8-5 type job). The first year they were in K and 2nd and it wasn't too bad, or maybe I was too busy to notice how bad it really was. Long story short, Common Core is not working and it is destroying my precious ones (maybe a little dramatic, but Common Core is not the discussion here). I am pregnant with number 4 due in July, for financial reasons and my sanity my husband is going to stay home with the baby in lieu of daycare. I am pulling my older 2 (3rd is still in preschool) either to go to one of the 3 local charter schools that don't use Common Core, or they will be homeschooled. We are on waiting lists for the charter schools and our odds are not good, so I am planning for HSing next year. What I need... I need something the older 2 (going into 2nd and 4th) can do independently during the day while I am at work. Something that they can get some benefit from that will be easy for them to do with minimal input and support from their dad. He will be there to trouble shoot and help them get set up but it really needs to be something they can do by themselves. Our background is using TWTM resources, SOTW history, FLL, WWE, Sonlight, and Math Mammoth, I was a Classical Conversations Foundations tutor (and campus director for a short time), and I am a curriculum junkie so if someone has mentioned it on this board chances are I've bought it tried it sold it possibly more than once :) Time 4 Learning... We have done Time 4 Learning before and it was ok. I know it is not comprehensive and not enough for a complete program, but it does track their progress somewhat and it is easy for them to navigate through. Cons: it's not Christian based, so the science will be more like public school, and the history will not go along with what we are doing with Story of the World and Sonlight in the evenings/weekends. Also I think it has Social Studies type nonsense like community helpers and such which I think is a waste of time. Easy Peasy... it looks fairly easy to navigate, though I know sometimes the links don't work and you need to get on the FB group to let the admins know etc. It's more comprehensive than T4L but you need to print out more things and you need to track progress on paper. NC is very easy reporting wise so I'm not super worried about this, I just will have to stay on top of it. Something else... SOS will not work on our Macs and I don't really like it anyway. I need something web based. Ideas? Piecing together a whole slew of websites will likely be too hard for my littles to navigate independently. Questions I'm not asking... not asking for opinions on if this situation will work, the decision is made and now we just have to figure out how to make it work. I am spending at least 2-3 hours each night after work with my kids reteaching them in a way they can understand in order to help them answer the question in the way Common Core wants them answered, so "not having enough time to do it all" is not a factor. Yes I know it will be hard and I will have no free time, but my children's well being is at stake that is more important. There is not an option for me to stay home, I make significantly more than my husband when benefits are factored it and my job has more opportunity for upward growth and flexibility. All this said I really do respect what you ladies (and few gentlemen) think. I just don't want to waste anyone's time bringing up issues that are not relevant or up for discussion. Thanks in advance for your input.

Thanks all!

That is in bullet 1- RC/A2/OFE. Thanks so much for responding!!! :hurray:

Hi All, I haven't been active on the boards in over almost 2 years. My husband left about 2 years ago and I had to go back to work full time. Before that I was starting a new Classical Conversations campus, and I had been a CC tutor (just to explain my HSing philosophy.) My kid first year of public school was Kindergarten and 2nd grade (I also have a 4 year old in preschool) and it was fairly painless. I couldn't see the Common Core influence in their classes and their teachers were fabulous. This year, not so great. Third grade is notoriously difficult around here and it is the first grade in which they receive letter grades. I will not go into a rant about my hatred for Common Core, but to put it simply, it is not working out . My oldest went from making mostly A's and B's to making D's and F's. This is with my mom (a certified teacher at a local Christian school) and me helping her. Other than Common Core being asinine, we are hitting a wall with her teacher. Seriously, like 2+ hour conferences where we have to end by "agreeing to disagree." I have resigned myself to the fact that PS is not going to work and I've put both kids in the lottery for the 3 charter schools that don't do Common Core in town. The problem with that is that the odds are are more likely that I will win the power ball then for them to get in (this is the analogy that one of the headmasters used). So my conundrum…. my husband and I are working it out and I am pregnant with number 4 (ah!). The cost of childcare for baby 4 will be almost as much as he makes so we discussed him staying home and working side jobs in the evenings and weekends (he paints cars, furniture, etc.) I brought up the possibility of the the other kids staying home with him too. I know this is far fetched but I have read about other moms that work full time and still HS, so I thought it may be possible. What I need curriculum wise… Something independent, maybe computer based. Side note we are back into out 900 square foot home so we will have hardly any space for lots of books and other "stuff." Both kids have Kindle Fires so they can read books on those. DS (7) is going into 2nd grade so I realize I will have to assist and teach him some. I mostly need things he can work on during the day with minimal help until I get home in the evenings. I know most of the online and CD based curricula do not start until 3rd, so wondering what would be best for him. We've done Time 4 Learning before, but I hear it's not comprehensive enough to be used on it's own. DD (9) is going into 4th, I've looked at SOS and Monarch, but she is likely in different grade levels and she is excelling in reading and behind in math (if she's learned anything at all in math ugh!). I've been thinking about the following, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything since I've been out of the HSing game for a bit. Also I can only spend about $1k on curricula total. A combo of RC/A2/OFE i.e. public domain books, possibly some AO titles (I've done AO before and it's too teacher intensive for us) SOS or Monarch for DD (but then the problem arises with the grade level issues in different subjects) ACE Paces - these look so boring to me but they work for other people so maybe they could work for us CLE looks like it could be done independently? What I don't want…. nothing Common Core based. I see that on a company's website and I immediately throw up in my mouth (TMI.) Anything that will take a lot of extra supplies we are down sizing so we need to take and buy only necessities. K12 and other free virtual schools are not available in my state (NC). Other tidbits about me and my fam: we are evangelical Christians, young earth, literal interpretation of the Bible. I have used CM and Classical Methods and lean towards those when choosing curricula. I work full time 8-5, 5 days a week outside the home. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

bump :)

Thank you sooooo much for all of your suggestions!!!:D

My DD 7 has dysgraphia and it's driving me and her nuts! Looking at Dianne Craft's materials, but they are SOOOO expensive. Any suggestions?

My DD 7 has dysgraphia and it's driving me and her nuts! Looking at Dianne Craft's materials, but they are SOOOO expensive. Any suggestions?