I prefer them for older four or closer to five. Mennonites don't have kindergarten so they are called preschool but they really mean five and six year olds. So if you use this with a 3-4 year old you're using it 2-3 years ahead of the age they were meant for... You can still enjoy them but I think it's better to wait till your four is 4.5 and not do them together with dc, and get your younger one Kumon, and use Kumon until your four is older. Not because of the concepts, but more the motor skills, though.

I knew as I was typing it that this would be quite funny so I decided to keep it. Sometimes we need a laugh on Wednesday. You could conceivably create a second account but then you'd have to use a different email address, and this is not nice for the admin because I guess if everyone did that it would be cumbersome for them to clean it out..?

my dh made my account and I hate that it's under my real name... How do I go about doing this?

http://pheidippidesacademy.blogspot.com/

is Total Language Plus but that is only for middle grade students 5-7th grade I think...just put it in for your research but I think LLATL is closer to what you're asking.

I am actually considering ordering direct from Peterson and getting a second book for my older son. THey are not that far apart (22 months) and he would enjoy working with her on something. I could re-teach him handwriting. He woulnd't be switching styles, just getting more direction for how to remember writing. Often I find him turning letters into pictures...this would help him. So maybe I'd kill two birds with one stone too!

Whoo hoo. Pigs fly. I decided to take the advice of the Hive Mind and do the eclectic workbook thing with my dd (preschooler) She'll be five in November of next year. This is for next year. Right now she flies through mazes but I think her fine motor skills are average to below average. I am buying the rest of R&S preschool (we already have Adventures with Books.), MCP K Phonics, Singapore Earlybird 1a and b, and Kumon numbers... Now all I need is handwriting! I can't decide between HWT K and Peterson Directed K. Any thoughts? The reason I like the idea of Peterson so much is that my older son exhibits more than the usual letter reversal issues. I think this may have been decreased by the method of memorizing the chant with each letter. But my dd is different and who's to say she will have the same issues. I have limited time and HWT looks a little easier to implement, and cheaper. I also hate it that HWT only does capital letters for two years. Why is this? Or am I wrong? Or is this a good idea b/c of motor skills? Maybe I shouldn't hate it. ONE last question: Has anyone gone from HWT to Ball and Stick? My dd will start with CHC in first grade and they use ball and stick. I wonder if it will be hard for her to work with the three-line system after using HWT? That's a biggie in the decision.

Option A: Covenant Home preschool- includes music, readiness skills, basic handwriting hands on math, phonics, flashards, daily planner, and ABC Bible Memory by Susan Hunt, as well as a daily planner which takes less than 45 minutes per day. Option B: Rod and Staff Preschool MCP Phonics K Singapore Earlybird 1a and 1b and Kumon Numbers Peterson Directed Handwriting K Judy Rogers CD The cost difference is not enough to be important. Either one would do.

Both my kids started reading before I taught them. My oldest had just been 4 for 2 days when he looked at a light switch and said: "oooon" and "ooffff" He had watched Leapfrog Letter Factory a lot. My second just turned four three months ago and last week she wrote a shaky P A T and said, "pat" and then did the same thing with "cat" and a few other words. She uses Leapster Letter Factory, Word Factory, and Letters on the Loose and watched Letter Factory a lot when she was younger. With my older son I got excited and put him right into ETC Primers and Phonics pathways at just-turned-four and Adventures in Phonics at 4.5. With my second child I am going to do a little phonics but not really push for or expect reading for another year, at 6. That's our story!

and I'm still up in the air after reading it. LOL. We have some of the fine motor skill things you mentioned, but not all. I liked those suggestions. I don't have a basket for her to do with me, but by herself. I'm sure she'd get a lot more use out of that stuff if I interacted with her on it! We have all the SL pre-K and K books and she's been there and done that with big bro. We read lots too. We'll re-read them many times I'm sure, but Yes she likes workbooks. She wants to do school! Opposite of my son who showed more of the readiness signs but lacked the interest. She is showing some readiness I guess...but you know you're never in such a rush as you are with your first child! Calvert K would be a great idea but it's too expensive for us. I need to keep her in the hundred dollar range for the next two years. And boy oh boy they really changed the program! It seems much longer and more complicated. Well I guess I'll just keep musing and praying over what to do with dd next year!

My dd will be an older preschooler (5 in November) but she will not be really ready for K. Her verbal abilities are very high and she learned like most younger kids do- by osmosis. She knows all her letters (but not perfectly) and counts to 15 or so, etc. But her motor skills still need work to be able to write well. She's on Book 3 Developing the Early Learner and really flying through that. I need something open-and-go. TO be honest I wont' even take the time to open the manual and highlight things to do or talk about. I'm just not really up to that. The most I will do is open the manual to find out the directions for the worksheets, and to tell me the Bible passage for Mondays- that's about it. I'm not about to go on Nature walks, get out crafts, prepare lessons. I really just want a little simple discussion, maybe a song, and a worksheet. Do you think it would fit this description.

My son was/is really past the phase where he wants the prescool-y books. If I am going to sit down with him he wants to do something new and clever, with new ideas. This may be because I allow him to get out play doh, watercolors on his own anytime - he doesn't need to ask. They both have a craft cabinet and can often be found using googly eyes, glue, construction paper, old boxes, pipe cleaner and watercolors to their hearts' content!!! This, in my mind, is the best way to go for K. Now that we are heading into first I got my hands on Discovering Great Artists and it's exactly what we needed. Last year we had artistic pursuits and it was a little intense for that age(for us anyway) What I love about Discovering Great Artists is that there is a simple lesson, look at the picture, then you give them an idea and let them run with it. It's a little simpler and easier to implement and a little less outcome-based than Artistic Pursuits. I hope to move into Artistic Pursuits in two years, when my youngest is first grade or second grade. Right now I am keeping art separate for my 4 and 6 (next year 5 and 7) because really they are just so different and I think art is very much dependent on motor skills, and visual readiness. So I suggest that you try out either just having a WELL stocked Craft Cabinet and letting your dd total freedom with it (but be sure not to allow anything really messy such as glitter or real tempera paints in there!) and if you're past that already try Discovering Great Artists- or maybe take a peek at it at the convention or bookstore. :o)

Yes for first grader, No for 5yo preschooler- First Grader - Covenant Home First Grade, Hey Andrew Levels 1 and 2 and Discovering Great Artists 5yo Preschooler (could be ready for some reading)- Can't decide between CHC pre-K, MFW K, or Horizons Pre-K. Ruled out LHTH, Abeka K4, and several other preschool/gentle K programs though!

Does anyone know where I can find some (even two would be great) educational computer games for MAC OS X...I don't have Classic running, and it would be a pain to install it (aside from the money it costs) It seems like all the educational games are really made for OS 9. DID they just stop making educational stuff for Mac when OS X came along or what? Or is the educational game market always a little slower? Then again I've had my computer for two years now...that's a LONG time in the computer world. OS 9 was like four years ago. Soon I hope to get an old PC from a friend for my son so we won't have this issue, but for now...

nt

You know I'm tired of being dumb lately. LOL. I was a brainy kid in high school. Lately I've been missing the intellectual challenges that result from doing Calculus, Advanced Physics and such. I wanted to take some college courses but I can't afford it and to be honest the only thing that challenges me is math and technology. The rest is just rote memorization, analysis and writing, at which I excel. I just wish I could go back to a time when I could stretch my brain like that. I think my IQ must be ten points lower. LOL. Now I am working through a math book, but I have to work through this mind numbingly boring pre-algebra before I could get anywhere. Pooh. Just thought I would ponder on this.

my dd will be five in November but next year is preschool, not K as far as I am concerned. But she loves a challenge. I considered putting her in a "gentle" K program but her brain is waaay ahead of her motor skills. She is doing fantastic with mazes and pencil grip and is beginning to draw, but she is not really ready for writing. I almost bought Little hands to Heaven for special time with Mommy, but she really loves a challenge. She is doing DEL Book 3 and it's a breeze for her, (though I DO highly recommend DEL!!! It has really helped to grow many skills for her.) And I do best with workbook formats. Oddly enough I am now considering ACE Kindergarten, Abeka K4, and CHC preschool. She wants challenge and I need ease of use. All of these are advanced pre-K programs, that focus on a narrow scope of skills. I like the looks of Horizons too... I think I'll never decide.

Abeka's K4 workbooks- if you just get the workbooks it's pretty affordable. They are definitely school-y. MCP Plaid Phonics K is good for preschoolers. It does require writing though, but not much writing. As far as AOP Horizons- Jessica's blog at Trivium Academy has a good in depth review with some pictures. http://www.triviumacademy.blogspot.com

Next year we're using Covenant Home and their Science is BJU... I've seen some BJU Science texts and I thought they were thorough, and not dumbed-down. I liked them. So we'll see.

the look of MCP and I thought ds would like its full color pictures, he much much prefers ETC, and we've used primers all the way through Book 3.

I say option 1 and 2, but don't do lapbooking with FIAR, just enjoy and discuss

it's in my sig.

I love your suggestion. That is what I believe and what I would recommend to someone else. But my church is very very small and the women are very very busy. There is also the issue that the prevalent notion in parenting even among my conservative Christian homeschool friends seems to be to send them outside to play...as much as possible. Do school, do chores, do devotions, then send them out to play. They would never actually watch their dc play to find out how they played. I guess if I really asked and begged I might get half an hour of them sitting outside watching my son interact with their kids. But how much can you notice in half an hour? Especially when all the kids are far, far older and are more like babysitters than friends. Chris is right, though the word normal is not really what I'm shooting for, my son is not completely off the charts. But he's not like other boys either. I watch other boys, and they do not just keep hitting someone in the face with a tree branch, and the other person is asking them to stop 3 times, and my son will keep going...he thinks it's funny...he actually thinks he's doing something cool. :oP I'm really excited about the book suggestion. I think that'll help. And I will remember to not address him on things that aren't important. I will pray that the Lord would allow me to reach out to one of the older moms at church...maybe one of them would be helpful. THey're all busy homeschooling six kids...who has time, ya know?

Chris, I edited my post before I thought anyone responded. I edited out because I felt that the particulars were completely sidetracking my question, and because I was very frustrated when I posted it and felt I sinned against my God and my son. I don't think it matters what the particulars are...I really just am wondering how parents train their less social kids to think for themselves. The book suggestion, and suggestions to practice are very good. Is this correct: You guys only step in when dc are hitting or injuring another child? Other than that you either let it go all together or address it later?

but I didn't address him. I only addressed him when he was making his sister cry and hitting his friend in the face with a tree branch. That's my question-- do you guys just stand by and watch your kids act mean, annoying or difficult to others...or do you step in right in the moment? And, how can I train my son to think a little more about acceptable behavior, and boundaries, and think for himself, so that in the long run he doesn't need to be addressed for specific behaviors. Whehter or not my son is normal, "normal" is not my goal. My goal is for him to be kind, and to adjust socially.