Thank you for the feedback, and for the reference to Charlotte Mason Help. Time for more contemplation.

Cons? If you used it but stopped, why? What are the reasons I shouldn't use this? I'm seeing a lot of good, positive things; so now I need to hear the cons as well.

I am very interested in this as well. Can we start a list of books that could be used as overviews for K thru 4th grade?

I mean time spent reading to me. There is phonics instruction, which is generally going over a new word family and a few sentences to read. It just seems to me, at least for DD5, that she would make more progress if she was also practicing more, ie reading an early reader to me (BOB books, ALS readers, McGuffey, etc...

When teaching a child to read, how much time each day should they spend practicing. I feel like we are not doing enough practice, but am not sure how much is enough. Yes, I know, not to the point of frustration, but I really need some kind of time to aim for - like 15 mins two times a day or something... Thanks!

Also downstate central IL. I can drive to another state faster than I can drive to Chicago... Now I'm wondering who the fellow downstate central IL people are and if I know you in real life... If you home school through high school the only thing to keep in mind is the Constitution test that is required for graduation in this state. I have no idea how that is handled with home school, as my oldest was pulled from PS after she had already taken it, and my other is not even close to that point yet.

Sounds beautiful. Maybe a thank-you note for whoever is running the sound system? List of photos to be taken for the photographer? Knife to cut cake with? Snacks and water for wherever the girls are getting ready?

Trust your gut, and check on your parents. Maybe what you are feeling is their fear, but they cannot say it outright due to abuse?

I've been doing a lot of reading and pondering on this very topic since hearing Perrin, Cothran, Kern and Pudewea at convention as well. One thing to know is that they come at this from a Christian perspective in which truth = knowing God / the Bible. For me this means a few things: 1. To teach dds to discern truth, they need to be grounded in the Truth. Also, that truth is a part of every subject - it exists in history, science and math, not just the 20 minutes spent on a Bible lesson. 2. Beauty is everywhere, including science and math. It may take time and a higher level to find it in math, but it is there (this is a radical concept for me, as math is SO not my thing). For me this translates into a few things: for my youngest dump the science curriculum and just truly spend time exploring and observing the beauty in the world (this means attentive perception, not just a passing glance), also incorporate music as that is the easiest place to find beauty in math. 3. Incorporate more beauty in the form of art, music and poetry. Those can easily be neglected, but she needs a solid base in these for the future. 4. Good literature feeds the moral imagination, so spend time on it. Also, use good literature, not current lit or historical fiction - fairy tales, tall tales, legends, myths, and of course the Bible. My reading list has changed dramatically. I'm not going to read any historical fiction to her until she is at least fourth grade level, so that there is no confusion about what is real literature or real history. Hopefully that is coherent, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about this and reading various blogs and literature.

shameless bump...

After attending conference and reading many threads on teaching to find truth, beauty and virtue, I am sold on this method. It speaks to my soul, and I firmly believe in teaching literature with good books - not just historical fiction. Now my question is this: how do I teach history? If you follow this method, what do you use to teach history? Is there a curriculum you use that doesn't overwhelm you with historical fiction? I refuse to use a textbook. If you use SOTW for 1 - 4, then what do you use for 5 - 8? Tapestry of Grace? I love both literature and history, and I can easily see myself bogging down in historical fiction if I am not careful...

Is this the thread you were thinking about? http://forums.welltr...-if-you-had-to/ If you have access to internet I might plan on doing high school level with online classes. For literature there is a resource that I can't remember the name of. It teaches you how to lead discussions about literature. I would use that, and apply it to any books that I wanted. You can then get a lot of classical books for free on the Kindle. ETA: It's Center for Literature Teaching the Classics.

How did you adapt this for a first grader?

The title says it all. What is the best one out there that includes the Bible as history and in the timeline? Is it Biblioplan? Or what?

My oldest used AG - I am a fan of sentence diagramming, much to her chagrin. Her writing improved by leaps and bounds, and she tested very high in language/grammar on the ACTs. I will use it for my youngest, when she gets older as well.

Let's assume no printing, except maybe twice a year. We're headed off the beaten path (obviously), but I'm not going to give an exact location right now, as this proposition is still somewhat precarious and I don't want to endanger it.

Thank you for the input, this is definitely food for thought. I just snagged a first edition of WTM, and will be working on compiling my list. I think it might be easier for me to figure this out than for my husband to figure out his tools... can't take all of them with (can't even take most of them with).

I have a few anthologies already that will work for upper grade literature. Due to my own background, that is an area that I am very confident. It's the rest (especially math and science) that I am most worried about, and more input on history is always helpful.

What are good elementary controlled readers?

Money is somewhat a concern, a few hundred dollars. Let's call the boxes the size of a box of paper each.

OK, lets add in a Kindle, I will assume I can power it through solar. No need to list all the free lit books, as there are a lot, but what about History and Science books on the Kindle?

I don't know if we'll have room for a solar charger. I need to prep for fairly rugged - structure with a dirt floor or house type structure but with no running water or electricity. No way to ship packages in.

We are potentially doing this, we will not have electricity for part of the time. I am not completely sure how long, so I am assuming no electricity, and if / when we have electricity again then I can add in things, although even with electricity I have to plan on no internet.

To answer a few questions - Assume paper and pencils can be re purchased each year. No cable tv, no netflix, no amazon prime - dvds you own (or would purchase are fine). Literally, two boxes for everything 1st thru 8th with no options to purchase more, think minimalist to the extreme, but wanting a strong education. For me - literature is easy, history is medium, it's the rest I'm having a hard time filling in.

prepare to home school your child 1st thru 8th grade with minimal resources what would you buy? By minimal resources I mean limited to two boxes of books, no internet, no library. Please cover the main topics and keep costs to a low amount (say a few hundred). Math: Language Arts: Science: History: Art: Music: ETA: To answer a few questions - Assume paper and pencils can be re purchased each year. No cable tv, no netflix, no amazon prime - dvds you own (or would purchase are fine). Literally, two boxes for everything 1st thru 8th with no options to purchase more, think minimalist to the extreme, but wanting a strong education. For me - literature is easy, history is medium, it's the rest I'm having a hard time filling in. ETA2: Assume a Kindle with solar recharger. No need to list literature, but go ahead and list history and science that you would put on the kindle.