We enjoyed Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, which you can watch in its entirety on Youtube. My 6yo enjoyed it very much, but I do think the audience is probably intended a bit older. YMMV, but we found it very entertaining.

I found that Essentials moved too quickly for my 6yo DD, and I moved her to Foundations. We are moving a quick pace through Foundations (1 lesson, 4x/week) and I may try moving her back to Essentials if D isn't out by the summer. Language arts is not her favorite, and I've found the slower pace of Foundations more forgiving for her. I think it ultimately depends how engaged the child is with Essentials material. I would think Essentials would be fine if your child has enough engagement with just the phonogram card games, but can do without the colorful workbook pictures and readers.

Logic of English is working exceedingly well for us too, but it is an investment for sure. I find it particularly easy to implement with my 6yo (with an 18mo and 3yo underfoot). She enjoys it very much, and rarely seems bored or disengaged with the material.

I like the Savvy Homeschool Moms Podcast.

Thanks for linking everything up! You're my lifesaver, because I would have procrastinated it until I missed the sale all together!

Yeah, at my state homeschool convention, the rep encouraged me to switch to B 2nd edition unless I had a specific reason not to, because she felt it was much more robust. We just did work with MM over the summer to keep skills sharp. We were still doing RS games and trying to think about problems the RS way. I've heard so much good about B I feel like I should give it a go, but I have to admit, the ease of MM has been a treat these summer months. Plus, I got the whole kit 'n kaboodle last year from HSBC, so having that whole elementary curriculum already is compelling.

I was all set to switch to MM1A from RS-A for my DD6, since RS-B 2nd edition wasn't available when we wrapped up A this summer. I saw the preview, and prefer the new format quite a bit. I'm now questioning my decision to leave RS, especially since I was doing it mostly for cost reasons (and a little bit convenience). My DD loves RS so I'm feeling a little guilty, like I should just bite the bullet and get RS-B.

I don't know if this helps, but we're finishing up with Level A (1st ed.) and didn't use all of the manipulatives that heavily. Most relied upon for us were the abacus (of course!), place value cards, tally sticks, and the basic card deck. I could see someone making their own place value cards with card stock and using craft sticks from the dollar store without losing anything. I know there is more in B (and we'll be buying those manipulatives later this year when 2nd ed. B comes out), but I think you could get away with minimal manipulatives in A -- or even skip the geoboards and tiles pieces of the lessons as they'll be revisited in B. (Many people say they skip level A all together!) Just my thoughts on the subject!

I know the author posts here, so I'm sure she'll chime in. I was under the impression that you're using SOTW concurrently for history and that the activities are found in the corresponding SOTW Activity Book...I think?

We are using Right Start A here, too, as well as topics from Miquon and we do select lessons from MEP (I read through the teacher's part and select items that don't come up elsewhere in our math studies). I don't expect to juggle 3 maths at once forever, or anything, but I'm still trying to get a handle on DD's learning style. She finds all three programs engaging and fun, and I make liberal use of the AL-abacus and the C-rods. I have heard elsewhere on the boards that A was too gentle for their child and they went directly to B, for what it is worth. I have a young K-er, though and I didn't see the point of rushing things. It may make a difference to some budget-wise, though?

I have the TM, workbook, phonics games, and three decks of cards for games (no phonogram cards, as I already had a SWR set, and just made ones for the extra phonograms LOE uses out of index cards). I'm using it now only for phonogram games with my K4, which works well and she enjoys. I will start doing 1 lesson per 2-week period (as recommended by Eide), interspersed with OPGTR in the fall. Did you have specific questions you want addressed? (In case you want to know where I am coming from: I chose to buy LOE after leaning heavily toward PR, because I liked the simplicity and flexibility of the program. I'm a first-time homeschooler with a soon-to-be newborn, 2yo, and another little boy I watch, so scripted and efficient is good for me. I like the idea of being able to cycle through the lessons for several years, while integrating other LA materials like FLL, and then transitioning to Latin Road or similar. PR was tempting, but I wanted a little more flexibility in LA because I plan to use CHOLL for literature in first grade.)

I will say that, to be fair, the book was never intended to be a handbook to help parents and teachers learn how to teach math; it was a research study for her doctorate, if I remember correctly. I found the book a good primer into why Asian math methods are considered superior by many, but wouldn't recommend it to parents as the book you need to learn how to teach your kids. It seems to be an investigation into the relative weaknesses and strengths of math educators. I recognized where most (if not all) of my elementary teachers were clearly solely depending on rote methods to communicate math concepts after reading the book. I've recommended it to several of my friends who teach elementary math, none of whom had heard of it.

I review the Lesson Plan ahead of time, and only print out copymasters that require writing (tracing, coloring, etc) to save ink. There are a fair amount of Reception activities that don't require printing out if you have a tablet or your kids don't mind viewing the .pdf on the computer. One recommendation is to print out the games you'll encounter on A4-sized paper, if possible. (I do not think it necessary to print any other of the Reception materials on A4 paper -- the intended size.) My 4yo DD doesn't find the game pieces all that easy to handle when resized down to 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

For math, we're using Rightstart A, MEP-R, and Miquon (trying to find a good balance -- my K'er is young, but nearly finished with Reception; I don't want to rush her into MEP 1, though, and we only just started RS-A). For language arts, we're using Click 'N Read Phonics, OPGTR, and I'll ease her into Logic of English as she is ready (for now we're just playing phonogram games). Everything else is just as we feel like it. We'll probably do some light science using Usborne First Encyclopedia of Science, and social studies/geography readings from the Core Knowledge - Kindergarten book.

Wow, Light Blue Series Download hit 50% at just about the last minute! I just saw my e-mail notification come through, and it is 9pm Pacific Time. :lol:

We're doing Reception, so it is really early on. But, that said, I usually look ahead and only print out the pages I need. Sometimes the stuff can be done orally, which suits my DD's learning style. We also use a white board or drawing app on one of our devices. At that level, it's a lot of color, some cutting and such. The lesson plans I keep on a nook, and just access it paperless. I read the night before to be sure there isn't any prep I need to do. Tomorrow we're getting our new iPad (yay!), so I anticipate figuring out how to transition to paperless as much as possible, using a stylus. Since my student is so young, I'm hoping she will develop a preference for paper-free work to minimize cost. We shall see! I feel like there have been a lot of MEP threads lately, so definitely do a search and you'll get lots of great input. I know that's how I settled on using the curriculum for my little one. Edited to add a bit more detail.

Pandora has many instrumental stations if you can listen via the Internet. We like solo piano, jazz, and easy listening. You can create your own stations based on artists you like, as well. We have a Dave Brubeck station, which is jazzy and upbeat, with irregular rhythms.

Thanks so much for this thread! I really needed it. My almost-5 year old often asks why she won't be going to school next year, since she has observed that no one we know homeschools. I haven't gotten too far into the weeds with her on why we're doing it, but I'm glad to have a starting point from the wise words here! Many thanks to all.

Ikea has a $15 chalk board/white board combo that folds flat for under a bed, behind a door, etc. It also has a spot for a roll of butcher paper for painting. Very handy!

If you download it on bn.com, using your b&n account, it'll go to your nook Library. It will stay there indefinitely, and when you have a nook, it will automatically sync to your device. Good luck!

Our co-op uses and loves Mother Goose Time. It might be too expensive for what you're looking for, but they ship the complete package with all materials needed (minus crayons, glue, etc) for a full preschool day. It makes it very easy, and split between 5 moms, it is very affordable.

I'd recommend reading up on Zinn critiques before using in a curriculum. As mentioned, Zinn wrote from a certain political viewpoint (Marxist), and it comes across in how he chooses to present US history. This is fine if this is how you want to educate your children, but it is far from a "balanced" perspective. Zinn himself asserted that “There is no such thing as pure fact." In his world, teachers are not imparting facts, they are fostering social struggle, and he encouraged collectivist movements utilizing “the role of working people, women, people of color, and organized social movements.†Here is one example of a cogent critique: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=385 I don't fault those who would choose to teach this perspective, but it is not some "what your teacher never taught you!" presentation of history.