Check out Better Chinese. We did the pre-K/K one with the online subscription. Kids loved it. http://www.betterchinese.com

I got a Carolina kid table and chairs at the Pottery Barn outlet. I got them when they have an additional 20% to the outlet price. My son who is 3.5 yr. is growing into it now. My friend's kids are using it up to age 8. It is a nice "library" style table with plenty of room. You can find them on Craigslist from time to time if you don't live near a Pottery Barn outlet.

I love this! I am trying to implement some of these ideas. The only thing that I dislike is that my son loves to scoop out whatever that is in the bin and pour it all over the ground. If I use sand or other small items that I cannot just refresh and reuse, I feel like throwing money away. I want to buy some small plastic animals but have not found the right ones yet. I don't want to spend $15-20 for a good collection. Any stores - online or national chain - where I can get some for a good price?

I went to my local Lakeshore Learning Store (Austin) yesterday and they had this great deal on paperback picture books. They books were sold in a bundle for $40. The 15 titles included: The Carrot Seed Corduroy Alexander the Terrible... Stone Soup George and Martha Jump, Frog, Jump Caps for Sale Is Your Mama a Llama The Runaway Bunny Goodnight Moon Curiour George I Went Walking The Grouchy Ladybug Quick as a Cricket Making Way for Ducklings With a $5 off $25 coupon, you walk out paying only $35 for all of these titles. I have seen these books used with Peek with Books, Before Five in a Row, etc. I was surprised when the store clerk told me they had a hard time selling these books. You may want to check with your local store and see if they have similar deals. (I am new to this forum and am not sure if this is the board to pass along deals but hope some of you will find it useful.)

I was going to buy an ink jet (HP 110A for $72) since I am not printing a whole lot. But it seems like the laser printers mentioned here are all reasonably priced and get good mileage from the ink. I think that is worth looking into. Thanks ladies for the good tips.

Bob Books (I believe Vol. 1 only at this point) is available as an app on iPad for $3.99. Not a bad price!

Do you have the model number? There are so many out there.

thank you so much for your thorough response. i will definitely look into your suggestions!

Please share your favorite educational iPad Apps for toddlers and preschoolers. Also, does anyone know of any website that does a good job reviewing children apps? There are so many new ones every day and some websites I have found are pretty dated.

I noticed that there are "titles" next to our user names on this board (e.g. hive been worker, queen bee, etc.). Just curious about how one gets promoted to the next level? I check out this board everyday but barely post because I haven't really started homeschooling formally. Am I going to be a visitor forever?

Has anyone used all three of these (Phonic Pathways, Explore/Explode the Code and Bob Books) together? What is your experience - what worked well and what not? I am thinking about using these materials over the next couple of years with my 3 year old who already knows the alphabets and their sounds.

My son will turn 3 this summer and he is very interested in reading. He already knows his alphabets and the short vowel sounds. He has been going to mother's day out/preschool 2 mornings a week. But my heart is on homeschooling him eventually. Group "schooling" is currently helping him with his attention span, find motor skills, etc. I want to give homeschooling a mini-trial run this summer. I want to work on phonics in addition to reading together(using Peak with Books or BFIAR), doing arts and crafts and music activities. Here is my question - * His school will be using Abeka phonics. I like WinterPromise's Basic Phonics program (e.g. activities, colorful workbook like explore the code) but it uses a different phonic method. Will this confuse my son? He is absorbing everything like a sponge these days. What other options do I have? I want something with little preparation but not like a script that I have to follow word for word. I also like to incorporate visual aids. Thanks for your input.