Thank you both! Off to look .... :auto:

Another resource question... I've recently been directed to consult a "writer's handbook". Will any title do the job comparatively well, or is there a particular one that y'all would recommend? Thank you! :grouphug:

Thank you! (And thank you for taking the time to link as well!) Off to check them out. :auto: / :D

Anyone? Hopeful bump... ;)

Is there a good grammar resource/reference book? I've got ABC and all their tricks for spelling & phonics- anything along those lines? Thank you! :)

Just to add a tiny bit of controversy to the discussion (:D), we ended up getting the Electrolux and love love love it...

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

:iagree: Exactly this. Um, all of it. :D Definitely something integrating the disciplines. Engaging, solid, and with good resources for further reading and experiments/demonstrations. An option to buy a kit with all necessary materials. And available by no later than this Christmas sounds good! :)

Lots of good suggestions already given... I agree with a PP that preparation means a lot, but I think mindset is also important in that it can make things much easier or harder. I read about Bradley and Hypnobirthing, but used neither as I had way too much on my plate with all three pregnancies. I had three hospital births, no jacuzzi or birthing ball, just on your back hooked up to an IV births. #1: induced with pitocin, spit of an epidural #2: no pitocin, no epidural #3: pitocin, no epidural Of the three "flavors" I had, no pitocin (no duh :) ) and no epidural was the easiest. It helps to keep it all in perspective (and I say this having experienced my last and most difficult birth only 5 months ago - I'm not exactly far removed). Yes, it's hard and intense, but it does end, and is oh so worth it! Good luck and congratulations - I hope you end up having a really good experience this time! :grouphug:

:iagree:

Thank you so much for all the replies! Sounds like the general consensus is convincing enough for us to give PL a try. :001_smile:

We're finishing up SSL, and I'm up in the air about what to do next. I think something like Lively Latin may have grammar that is too sophisticated at this point, so I am leaning towards leaving that (or LfC) for next year. Any first hand opinions on Prima Latina and/or/vs GSWL? I haven't found any threads comparing the two...:blush:

Another vote for Growing with Grammar. It's our DD's favorite thing to do - she chooses to start her day with it :). I find it does a good job of explaining concepts, and also mixes up the type of questions it asks.

:lurk5:

:iagree: This is the advice I got when I posed the question. We've got Spelling Wisdom (to make me feel more secure ;) )

This I did not see when I looked at the site on my phone - that does alter the painting. This is the link: http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/ Overall, I will reiterate that I posted my subjective impression. I am not making generalizations, even as my own study the black plague. :001_smile:

I'm on my phone and nAK; I will try to come back and link when I have more than a single thumb - the link is on the polka dot pub page - I thin it's stanleyschmidt.com? Sorry!

Sorry! It's not that terrible - I clicked on "paintings" and got lots of black with some red, titled "Death turns the page". There seems to be a lot of death overtones in general... Yes, death is a natural and inevitable part of life (I've worked in an ICU in a past life). Yet it seems he's got some unresolved issues haunting him. That's the impression I get, anyway. Sylvia Plath comes to mind. I don't know him at all and have no right to judge or make any declarations about him one way or another. This is my subjective impression, which could be totally off base. I do reserve the right to make a choice in using his material or not. Honestly, I somehow feel creeped out enough that I doubt I'll be using anymore LOF to teach my young children. Too bad - the math really is good.

As much as we are loving Apples.... Has anyone seen his "personal website"? I don't doubt that he's a terrific mathemetician, nor that he presents information in a nontraditional, engaging way. It does seem, however, that there's also something disturbing going on inside :001_huh:.

Deerforest, Thank you for posting this. We just started Apples, and are really enjoying LOF so far. I feel it's my job to discuss potentially sensitive topics with my kids when and how I feel appropriate. While it may very well be appropriate in the context of LOF, I would want that to be a decision I make, and not one that is made for me without my knowledge. Without your post, the latter might have happened, as my DD reads a lot on her own. I do make well researched purchases, and don't just hand her stuff, but I also don't preread every math word problem... Echoing what some others have said - regardless of whether or not we decide to use it, I totally appreciate the heads up!

Like many, I've yet to find a groove with science. The recent threads have me thinking (like many others)... We own all three RSO books - I'd been accumulating curricula in small pieces in anticipation of starring HS'ing this fall. I like RSO, but it does seem a bit dry and staged - the demonstrations vs real science argument. I love the idea of BFSU, but I need more of a spine at this point, with a three month old and a three yr old that need a lot of my time attention (nights, too :) ). I have funds from something I didn't buy. I've heard great things about MPH. What if I were to combine RSO and MPH across subject matter a la BFSU? Or is that going to be way too complicated/non economical/nonsensical, etc? :tongue_smilie:

Once again, wow. I appreciated the support, reassurance, and thought encouraging commentary! I have only started to read Ma's book, but I am having trouble getting into a groove with the writing, as one person has commented. Languages and science are my strong points, math is not. I trust that I will be able to get through the book and learn from it - I bet trying to read it sometime before 11pm would help, or some time other than while trying to get a squirmy infant down for a nap in a rocker...:glare: Incidentally, I hope it didn't sound like I thought a degree of some sort would be necessary to learn to teach SM, I only wondered aloud at some point how I possibly was able to get through presumably more complex texts than Ma's book....:tongue_smilie: As far as my own lack of mathiness, I think that my education may be partly the culprit, but also that I just don't have that "chip". My Mom has a terrible sense of direction - north is whichever way she's facing, she says. My DH isn't able to visualize things in 3D - say, imagine what a home's layout would be from looking at a floor plan. My Achilles heel is arithmetic. Of course, I'm also math phobic... I've got goals to work toward ;)

Wow - lots of food for thought here, thank you! ( And I'm off to check out Kahn as well. )

The brief version is - I'm starting to panic, and wonder if my doctorate degree was had from a Cracker Jacks box... I should probably actually read Ma's book first :blushing:

Thank you!