Thanks everybody. Completely fascinating. :) I think if my kids had a problem with comfort or chafing, I'd probably just have them wear a Speedo underneath. But then again, what do I know...I'm just a Mom. :)

My Math son has enjoyed Math Mammoth (do every other problem)... Math in Focus (Singapore-style)....Beast Academy (when older).... and Right Start A & B. He might enjoy Miquon too.

There are some great videos on youtube for the various time tables. You can go classic and find SchoolHouse Rock, or you can find more modern versions. My son started by using a Kumon multiplication book. He really liked it. We also did this Waldorf multiplication chart. I had him do one every few days (colors optional after the first time) to try and help him. If he didn't know....say 7 x 7....I'd say...what 7s do you know? So usually he'd say 7 x5 or 7 x 10. Then I'd say....OK...if 7 x 5 =35.... how many more 7s do you have to add to get to 7 x 7.... Two... so what is 2 x7.... 14.... so add them together.... 35 + 14=49. I always had him work out the answers so he could see how it worked. http://pinterest.com/pin/231794712042677253/ He also liked Times Tales and a few different apps on the iPad. It just takes time and practice.

So, we were at a water park recently, and I saw a lot of kids (boys) with visible underwear waist bands under their bathing suits. I had never seen this before. Is this a regional thing? A new trend? A boy thing? Honestly, I would think wet undies would feel very weird.

She could use MM1 as others have said. We tested Math in Focus over the summer (bought books used on Amazon)...and all the kids really liked it. Very colorful and well done. Is it worth the full price? No...but for used prices (and a new workbook from CBD), it is. DS2 used Saxon K-2, and really liked it. It worked well for him... the spiral approach, etc. Singapore Early Bird is great and affordable too. Of course, you could just play around with manipulatives (counting bears, popsicle sticks, etc.), work on the calendar, shapes, etc. and be pretty much fine. Counting to 100, counting by 10s, counting by 5s. Addition of basic numbers up to 10. Really basic subtraction. Everything is repeated in 1st grade math, just at a faster pace. Here's the scope and sequence for Saxon K-4. That will tell you what's typically covered in a Kindy program. http://saxonpublishers.hmhco.com/HA/correlations/pdf/s/SaxonIntScopenSequenceNEW.pdf

When DS1 was 5 (I think), we bought the complete HWT Kindy kit. Wooden letters, CD of songs, chalk board, little chalk bits, golf pencils, you name it. Teacher's guide...and book. I used some of the songs (they were cute and DS liked them.) I started using the letter shapes, but he wasn't interested. Same with the chalk board. What we used consistently was the workbook. I did actually like the teacher's guide because it gave me some good ideas when he was having trouble with holding his pencil correctly. For us, it was worth it. I also got to use it with two other kids (and still can use it for one more). None of my kids really needed/liked the shapes and chalk board. THey liked them for playing with, but not for school. But all of them knew their letters very well by Kindy, so that may play a part. Honestly, I think you can get by with just the workbook and a letter strip (or copy the page in the back of the workbook, and laminate it). If you find yourself or your DC struggling, go for the teacher's guide. For paper, it's nice to have the HWT paper, but you can use wide ruled paper too. You can also go with no lines which is popular in some Waldorf circles.

You had a lot of good ideas here. Because there is such a wonderful "Anne of Green Gables" movie/tv series.... you could also watch it with your DD after she reads it, and then ask her to compare it to the book. (Always good!) We did that a lot in high school. In general, I almost always liked the book better...and it was strange to see how it was cast differently than I imagined the characters. :) http://www.amazon.com/Anne-Green-Gables-Megan-Follows/dp/B00005YNTR

We got a bunch of great stuff from the Scholastic $1 sale. I'm sure another will be coming soon. :) Jokes, quotes, etc. http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/subject/writing/handwriting/cursive-writing-practice-jokes-riddles-mkt15100 http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/cursive-writing-practice-pages-with-a-twist-mkt1838 http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/cursive-writing-practice-inspiring-quotes-mkt14179

Thanks Calming Tea. I asked the speech pathologist about coverage if we homeschool and she told me it was only covered if we were under the virtual school. Of course, she just may not have had any "real" homeschoolers yet. I'm definitely going to be making a lot of calls today!

We are in FL...Lee County which has their own virtual school that uses Calvert rather than Connections. Seems to be more true Calvert, vs. what I saw back when I lived in Jacksonville. There it was Connections Academy at the time, which used Calvert...but then they replaced most of the stuff with traditional textbooks (Scott Foresman?), etc. DD's main problem with speech is pronouncing her "S"s. She substitutes some other letters and has a hard time being understood. She got teased a lot last year. They evaluated her at the beginning of the year, but didn't approve her for speech therapy until May. She did love working with the speech therapist, though. For her elder brothers, we'll probably just sign up with the umbrella school rather than be official homeschoolers. Weird thing is that my kids (who will be 4th and 3rd grade) want to take the FCAT. SIgh. At lest they won't have to go through months of hearing about it. THat's all they talked about when DS1 was in 3rd grade. He was so paranoid about the FCAT, he thought he wouldn't make it into 4th grade. IF he felt that way even though he aced the practice tests, how did they kids who didn't do as well think? Way too much pressure IMHO.

DD has some speech issues, and was approved for speech therapy 3x/week this year through the local school district. The only way I can get services through the school district is either to enroll her in a local public/charter school, or use the local virtual school. Our virtual school uses the Calvert curriculum, pretty much exclusively. I've had friends use Calvert IRL...and I've also known people who've used a virtual school. My Calvert IRL friends liked the school, but were looking for school-in-a-box. The people I know who've used the virtual school have liked it, but said it's a lot of work. I will be homeschooling her elder two brothers using Oak Meadow plus a variety of stuff. If you've used Calvert through a virtual school, how much "hoop jumping" will I have? I spoke to the teacher who handles Kindy/1st, and she said DD can go at her own pace, and that she can customize it for her based on her level. (I worry about her being bored with the phonics/reading because she reads at a 3rd grade level.) We can't afford speech therapy on our own, and our health insurance pays for only like 10 sessions, which is not enough. If I go with the virtual school, will I go crazy? I'm hoping it's not that bad at this level. :) Help! Other option is to put her back in the local charter school, which would be O.K.--but not my first choice.

Not sure if this helps, but 25 or so years ago, I took intensive Mandarin in University. (Back then, there was basically one book, put out by the PRC gov't...which was a hoot...everything was tongzhe this (Comrade...). :)) It was an entire year, two hours per day, four days per week... hours in the language lab each week...yet at the end, most of us (even those who came in with speaking Cantonese or what not), were no where near fluent. The only people who really gained any fluency were those who then went to live/study in Taiwan or the PRC. I guess what I"m trying to say is that it's very hard to really obtain fluency unless you are in an immersion setting. I would look at programs like Middlebury for when your kids are old enough if you truly want any sort of fluency. Biggest piece of advise I can give to anybody learning Chinese (either themselves or their kids), do not use pinyin. Too much of a crutch. Ditch it as fast as you can and start learning characters/radicals. (Same with Arabic, avoid the transliteration type stuff...learn the actual Arabic alphabet.) :)

There's a whole series that we used last year when we did a self-designed Waldorf thing on Native Americans (not history, but still really interesting.) Our library had the entire series save one. DS then made a model of his favorite one. http://www.amazon.com/Mounds-earth-shell-Native-Dwellings/dp/0887763529/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1375153765&sr=8-4&keywords=native+american+homes+shells http://www.amazon.com/Houses-snow-bones-Native-Dwellings/dp/0887763057/ref=pd_sim_b_2 etc. We have this book of Native American folk tales that we like: http://www.amazon.com/American-Legends-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394740181/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375153864&sr=1-3&keywords=native+american+tales There's "Children of the Longhouse" http://www.amazon.com/Children-Longhouse-Joseph-Bruchac/dp/0140385045/ref=pd_sim_b_17 We're supposed to read this, this year (but haven't yet) http://www.amazon.com/Om-Kas-Toe-Blackfeet-Captures-Amazing-Children/dp/1880114054/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375153962&sr=8-1&keywords=om-kas-toe My Dad has Lenape (Delaware) Indian in him, so we also picked up this. http://www.amazon.com/Grandfathers-Speak-Native-American-International/dp/1566561280/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375153988&sr=1-8&keywords=lenape+legends

I've never used teaching textbooks, but have used MM as a supplement. What was easiest was to just buy the pieces for the area where DS needed more work. This year, we're contemplating combing MM4 (just because it's worked so well for us) with Math in Focus (Singapore type approach). While the order/scope/sequence aren't exactly the same... it's pretty easy to look at the topics in MiF and then line them up (for the most part) with Math Mammoth. When doing MM, we often do every other problem, unless it's an area where there seems to be trouble. I also like to break it up....so do one math program in the morning...and then the other in the afternoon/evening. On a side note, the big MM sale should be starting on August 1st at HSBC. :)

Saw this as part of the Timberdoodle 4th grade curriculum package. Was wondering if you've used it, what did you think. TIA. :)

There are very few people who truly use a box curriculum without tweaking. Still, I know so many people who started their homeschooling journey with Calvert or Sonlight or Oak Meadow or whatever. I'd say Calvert is the most "box" curriculum of the three--as it truly is all contained, with one standard IG, and everything laid out. With Sonlight, you have some choices regarding math programs, handwriting, etc.... and still many people tweak it beyond that. Oak Meadow too is so gentle, that many parents supplement with other stuff. It takes time to figure out what works best for you, and what works best for your child. There is no "right" answer. Every single person on this board may love XYZ Curriculum, but if you have trouble implementing it, or it doesn't work for your kid, then it isn't for you. Even things that don't work are great learning opportunities for both you and your kids. With DS1, we started with Sonlight's Kindy program (I think it was called Exploring God's World)... but then added in Right Start math and HWT. Although I basically ended up ignoring the Sonlight IG completely (we just read the books when we wanted to), it was good for giving my confidence at first. I also discovered that I naturally liked to deal in blocks... so we'd do science for a month or so...then move on to major handwriting intensive...etc. Waldorf stuff is a lot like that, so I tweaked traditional Waldorf to include daily math. DS2 does not work well in blocks. He likes to do everything every single day....and check off a box. So, something like CLE or Calvert might work better for him. Now, can I do both myself? That will be the real question. Am trying to figure that out. :) Good thing is that DS1 is very independent...but...he tends to breeze through things so fast, that he can foget. DD is completely easy going, but at first grade, there's not a lot that needs to be done anyways. You don't have to get it all right the first time. :o) Or the second.... or the third.

What about something easy and nurturing like Oak Meadow? We bought a few years off of ebay and have enjoyed them.

Found this on the Guardian site. It's free, but you need to register. I glanced through it and didn't see any differences with American and British spelling, but there probably are a few. It's a 10 week curriculum. http://teachers.guardian.co.uk/teacher-resources/12017/100-Most-Common-Words-Spelling-Journa

If you know you have two years to go, I would either: 1) Enroll my kids in a virtual school--so that it's not as iffy (at least for the high schoolers). Does your state have K12 or something similar? Although not idea, NY is a far tougher state in terms of requirements, Regent's diploma, etc. 2) If that's not possible, I would at least be in contact with them now, rather than later. Can you share with them proposed curricula and see what they say? I'd much rather have them say "No, xyz would not be credited for 9th grade English" than find out two years later. You should gear your curriculum towards the Regent's standards. I don't think an umbrella school would do anything for you in regards to getting a NY district to accept work. If it's possible for your kids to take the High School Regent's exams, for the various topics, that would be the best in terms of getting credit. NY now requires kids to pass all five Regents exams to graduate. Here are some past examples: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/regentsexams.htm

Honestly, if your DS is in 6th grade, I think it's going to be hard to switch. Even those who do bash Saxon usually acknowledge that it's pretty good at the middle school on up level. Do you think your DS needs a different approach or is Saxon working for you? If you want to do a sort of hybrid approach then look at Math in Focus. It's put out by Saxon, but is a Singapore method...so there's a bit of both. You can find the textbooks used (sometimes cheaply) on Amazon, and then just buy a new workbook. They also have an amazing free preview deal...it's like every page of every level for 120 days or so. http://forms.hmhco.com/forms/index.php?form=vs&code=mathinfocus

Not sure if anybody addressed this, but having DOs and MDs in my family--there is no difference in the U.S. Med school classes are the same, post-graduate education is the same, etc. Only difference is the DOs also learn osteopathic manipulation, but most rarely use that in real life (a shame, IMHO). My Dad headed up an osteopathic radiology residency program, and his residents often went on to do fellowships at leading allopathic hospitals, such as those associated with Harvard, Yale, etc. The only difference I can imagine is that perhaps a DO program was willing to take a chance on her vs. an MD program. But Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (where she attended) is one of the most competitive (and largest) osteopathic programs out there.

My kids really like the fun-flap math books (multiplication)...which basically make cootie catchers. Also....the "Solve the code" math books and the cursive books which are jokes and quotes.

My first purchase from MM was just one topic. I think it was Addition, maybe Multiplication. (It's been awhile. :)) I was using it to supplement what we were already doing. Now, we tend to buy the grade level curricula. You can buy just 1 semester (so 3a), a whole year (3 a + 3b), or a range of grades (Light Blue is 1-6, but you can also buy 1-3 and 4-6). If you buy the digital copies, you get the answers and a worksheet maker. If you buy a printed copy, then I don't believe you get the answers. The placement tests are great. :)

On some other post a few weeks ago, somebody posted the Mensa Kids reading lists. (Note, IMHO your kids do not need to be anywhere near Mensa-level to enjoy these books. :)) I really liked the list a lot, so I'll share. :) For kids in Kindy-3rd grade http://www.mensaforkids.org/ReaderAward/k_3.pdf Kids 4th-6th http://www.mensaforkids.org/ReaderAward/4_6.pdf Kids 7th-8th http://www.mensaforkids.org/ReaderAward/7_8.pdf Kids 9th-12th grade http://www.mensaforkids.org/ReaderAward/9_12.pdf

We've had good luck with Internet based reading programs. Click-n-read phonics for DS1, and Reading Eggs for DS2. Right Start A or B (but not both..too repetitive.) HWOT Kindy. Sonlight book lists. Also, not a curriculum, but all of my kids have loved the "You Wouldn't Want to be a ....." series. (History)