Thank you for all the input! I was convinced I had seen a printed sample page somewhere on the PR website, but I can't seem to find one now. Am I confusing PR with something else I was considering? :confused: I did download the sample DVD instruction. Thank you again to everyone! :)

Thank you for taking the time to post these links - I had managed to miss a few of those threads!

My background is similar to yours in that I spent part of my elementary years overseas and have gaps in grammar as a result. Even so, I have always been strong in languages (including things like SAT scores, etc), so I wonder about pushing my own children to drill the rules if they do well with a more gentle approach in that regard. I should have said in my original post - I've spent the last week going through PR threads. I didn't seem to find more than one person who switched to something else. I hate to beat the PR topic to death, but I still had questions! :blushing: Thank you for sharing your perspective! :)

Thank you for all the replies! It looks like it's not just my imagination that most everyone loves PR (and very few dislike it). Hmmmm. What about the writing part of it? I've heard raves about CW, WWE, CQLA in the writing dept. Also, for a soon to be first grader that devoured Charlotte's Web over the weekend on her own and makes few spelling mistakes (when writing at an age appropriate level), would I likely quickly progress through PR1?

Inspired by a current thread asking the same question about MM... and feeling sucked into all the PR hoopla I've been seeing lately ;) ... I have to ask - is there anyone who hasn't found PR to be a good fit? I think I saw one person comment that they found something that worked better. Is that it? Is everyone else in love? I'm very PR curious - there are several things holding me back. One is that watching the DVD's is going to be a serious problem - our TV is very near our children's bedrooms, and they are incredibly light sleepers. I can't see getting it done during their waking hours. And we have a new baby due soon, so time will be an even greater commodity. Like many have mentioned, I, too, do much better with paper instructions... Also, I've found LA programs I like and have looked into using at different stages of the elementary education (no, not all at once in first grade, and not all of them - I'm just choosing from this list!:D): CQLA, thinking about AAS, I'm reading through the textbook of WWE, CW, JAG. Finally, I obviously can't know until I actually try it, but my DD seems like she does better with patterns and thinking things through, rather than memorizing a bunch of rules - correct me if I'm wrong, but I've gotten the impression that PR is more rule based? After all that - my main question remains the same: I'm curious to hear from those that didn't find PR to be a good fit, and why it didn't work (and what did!). Thank you! :)

Out of curiosity, what was your approach with your son? Did you go through phonics (I'm assuming probably not) or spelling with him?

:lurk5: I've been very curious about this as well - though it does seem like quite a bit of money...(especially over all the HS'ing years with multiple kiddos).

This is exactly the problem I'm having - these all look good! :lol: Thank you for sharing - this helps narrow it down a little!

Do you have a favorite dictionary for the elementary ages? I'm looking for something with substance, not just cute and kiddie; something age appropriate that's also a real reference book they can use. I've looked at various reviews on Amazon - I'm wondering if anyone here can weigh in.:)

Thank you very much!

Ooo... good idea - thanks for sharing this! :)

anyone? :o

:iagree:

I don't know the answer to this, but maybe someone else will - is Math On the Level something that would be along those lines? It may be more "life based" curricululm than ideas to incorporate math into real life, I'm not sure. It's something I've heard/read about but not used myself.

:lurk5: :bigear:

We'll be moving to PA, which requires standardized testing in LA and math in certain grades (3, 5, 8). I know there are many tests to choose from, so it probably may vary somewhat. Can anyone share from their experience - do they test grammar (and/or spelling) rules or, rather, correct rule application?

:grouphug: How exciting! Most major changes in life or plans for life can be bittersweet, I think (we'll be following in your footsteps this fall; I'm over the moon excited and totally scared :D). Enjoy time with your sweet boy!

I'm just barely starting down the homeschooling road, so I'm not an expert in this area by any stretch of the imagination - our 5 1/2 yr. old is in K half day and will be at home starting this fall. I have been working with her "part-time" all year, though, and I have noticed some trends. I'm sure every child is different, just by being an individual person. Things that I've noticed that make things go more smoothly - - she is a sensitive child that needs a certain number of hours of sleep. If shes sleeps even 30 min less, she's much less able to control her behavior (this part she gets from me ;) ) - I agree with the person who said that a lot of it has been helping her find acceptable ways to deal with/express intense emotions, rather than addressing whether she *should* be feeling those emotions (or with that intensity) - I have to stay calm myself (emphasis on TRY) if I expect her to try to be calm - I have been trying to listen to her cues, and take a break or switch to something else when her circuits are close to being overloaded (easier to do, obviously, with a kindergartener than it will be with an older child - I don't really have to get through any material) - it's helped me to remind myself that, even though she's a very bright kid, and very intelligent, she's still only 5 (i.e. I need to make sure I'm expecting developmentally appropriate behavior/control) - I talk to her about expectations when she's calm, and remind/reinforce when she's not - consistency (ha! Easier said than done...) I'm afraid I'm not much help as far as the learning aspect goes - I've just tried to apply what has worked in other spheres of life to her learning as well. I will also say that a year has made a lot of difference. She was an angel during the "terrible twos", then turned into a "threenager", was very intense at 3 1/2 - 4, and now, at 5 1/2 has really grown emotionally as far as learning to act more appropriately. Regardless - you're not alone, hang in there!

:bigear:

The very strange thing about all this is that I am, in general, a rather quiet, tactful and non-confrontational person. I have been learning to spin (yarn), and recently posted a few questions on a spinning forum. I was very surprised to get a bunch of responses saying "well, with your initials, one would expect...." :001_huh: Now this. I guess I have me some *special* initials! (Off to go look for a goatee :D) And sorry for the inadvertent mini-hijack of this post!

Thank you for clarifying - I was starting to feel a little weird...:)

You have a valid point here. I still hate the fact that, in *many* cases, a SOF ends up being a point of exclusion rather than inclusion...

OK, I'm obviously missing something here.....:confused:

:iagree:

OK, I can't get my message to "multi-quote", but all you PR followers really must be pushing something....:blink: (what? There's no "suspicious" smiley...) :lol: OK, OK, I'll go look at it! In all seriousness, Is PR DVD based or am I misunderstanding something? Boscopup - I'll also look at R&S - thank you for that thought; we're also Christian, but good to know what the curriculum is all about ahead of time! :grouphug: to you all!