No, I am not asking for my four year old. We are currently reading Mr. Popper's Penguins, after having previously read the My Father's Dragon triology and Charlotte's Web. I am just looking for opinions on age appropriatness, as due to my teaching background I know that my normal meter is off. For example, the school district I used to work for had The Giver as required reading in high school (sophomore), and I know that most schools consider that a middle school level book.

I'm planning for the future, and just trying to get a feel for when to read those. I know when I taught in public school Wrinkle in Time was a 6th grade book. I remember reading Where the Red Fern Grows in 5th grade myself. It is one of my favorites, and I still have my old falling apart first copy of it.

The title says it all... Where the Red Fern Grows Call of the Wild Holes Wrinkle in Time Man O War Carry on Mr Bowditch TIA!

Thank you everyone for all the feedback!

Thank you. Unfortunately, the links in that thread don't seem to work.

The good? The bad? The ugly? Any thoughts? I was intially thinking Singapore, then I was contemplating Right Start, now I'm looking at Rod & Staff. I'm leaning towards Memroia Press, and that is what they use. I do not have to use what they use, but don't want to say no out of hand. I also want to ensure that math is strong, so that it does not hinder any future career aspirations.

What do you think about ____? Why do you think _____ did _____? A search for Bloom's Taxonomy will also give you a list of good, open ended questions that can be used across age groups.

Can you explain what this looks like? :bigear:

We memorize scripture, science facts and geography info right now. Eventually we will add in some history facts, poetry, math facts, parts of speech... I'm already seeing the benefits of having the oceans and continents memorized for the four-year-old. We will be reading / talking about / watching something and she will relate it to the continent, so she is already using her memorization as pegs and making connections.

That's what I like about it so much, and can easily envision using it multiple times. My oldest has written some essays from topics given that have been really good as far as information exposure and needing to think.

Me too! DH was like "a what from who?"

We have it. My oldest used it, and I was pleased with what she learned. We also did writing projects out of it. I plan on using it more than once with my youngest, as it does have the flexibility to be used with many grades.

Hmmm. I'll try answering this, and hope that someone with more experience will also anser. If you can only do one, start with K and modify the writing assignments. Since she is not reading yet, I don't think I would jump into 1st, but because she is writing well I would focus less on the writing in the K program and do more narration. Oh, and to answer your first question, jest it is more LCC.

If you're using Memoria Press for Phonics / Reading instruction get them. They are a nice component to have, help to reinforce the sound of the letters and the handwriting. I am very pleased with the program. My DD(4) is having great success with it.

I say curriculum hopper because I'm a bit of a junkie. I appreciate your descrition, and it sounds a lot like dd(4). She is actually working towards finishing K math right now, which is why I am wondering abot first.

What exactly do you want to know about it?

So if you use both with Singapore as the primary are you working a book or level behind in Horizons so that it is maintenance? Or do you work on level? Just workbooks?

Excellent points to ponder. Thank you. Does anyone else get the jumping around feel from Horizons?

This, although I would imagine it would be difficult, as emotions run high for the people visiting. When my sister put her child up for adoption, the baby went to a home like this for two weeks, then went home with her adoptive parents. It is a much needed service.

Pros / Cons of each? Can someone break this down for me? I want to chose one curriculum and stick to it (barring real reasons to switch, not just because I'm a curriculum jumper), and I have it narrowed down to these two.

To go to Boma I would either drive or take a cab. It can take a long time, as you will have to take a bus to either TTC or one of the parks, and then another bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I also recommend spending extra time there exploring the lodge and the animal trails. Other than that, use Disney Transportation. That's what we always use, we love it.

I would not consider this a college level class, way too much religion for a college level science class. If you are completing labs and bringing in external reading I would call it a high school level class. That's just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt...

My goals: enjoy science while young and build both interest and general background knowledge. Increase rigor starting in logic stage, with probable college intro level courses in high school. OK, this is all theoretical - as in this is what I plan but have no idea how it will work out. Up through second grade we will be doing more exploratory science. I have a list of topics to cover, and as long as we get through them before the end of second grade I will be happy. We will be reading books, and performing experiments and demonstrations. Starting in fifth grade will will begin to follow the WTM rotation subject wise, as well as using actual curriculum. That will give us two rotations through the classical method, and that final rotation will be during high school. During high school we will be using a combination of textbooks (possibly college intro course level) and classes at the local community college. You may notice the grades 3 and 4 gap - I will make a determination when we get there. We may continue more interest led or may increase rigor starting at that point.

My library has a series of books title Country Explorers that we are really enjoying. I talk about the pictures with the youngers, but there is lots of info for my oldest to use for country and culture info as well.

Spend time together - read, cook, play, read, work together. Read some more. When you are ready start a letter of the week type of activitiy, keep it fun! As for reading, use your child's pace to determine that. At 2 1/2 my dd(4) knew all her letters and sound. She was not ready to learn to read until now (4 1/2). I tried a few times in between, but it was a struggle so I put it away. This time around she is picking it up very easily, and enjoying it. I think one of the things that I like most is that "doing school" is already a normal part of the day for her, and when I tell her school time she comes running and is excited to do whatever we have for the day. That was accomplished just by doing simple crafts (she loves crafts) and calling it school when she was younger (she wanted to do school like her older sister), so now she associates school with fun, and she learned her letters and numbers that way.