Thank you all so much! I'm going to think over all the comments and might be back with more questions! I did forget the handwriting...he does Wring for a Reason...we do need more copy work...and looks like maybe less language work. When would you add a formal grammar if not now?

This is my second year homeschooling my kiddos and the first time I've had a 1st grader. I think we might be going overboard on all the curriculum we use and I'm hoping I get some great advice here. The subjects we are hitting are Reading (Abeka and other simple readers), English (Shurley), Spelling (switched from Abeka to AAS...Abeka was not working for him), Math (Saxon), Phonics (Abeka), and we are reading on composers as well as trying to get in History and Bible. With all this I am having a hard time finding the time & energy to snuggle and read great books to him. Where am I going wrong and what can I do? I'm wondering if I can drop the Abeka phonics since we are doing AAS. And does he really need English at this point? I also have a 4th and 5th grader at home. Thanks in advance!!!

I will check out Steve Spangler! Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement:-) I ended up asking the teacher for her upcoming topics and she sent me her 9 week plan. I looked though my 2nd grader's book (I'm doing the lab for 1st graders and I don't think they have books) and pulled out experiments that corresponded to the topics. I also found a great book by Robert Gardner. I'm going to look for more of his books at the library. I wrote up several labs sent them to the teacher and she picked a few. The kids and I had a great time in the lab. We talked about models, made a model of the earth with a hard-boiled egg, made a model of plates moving with books and colored water, and the made a volcano erupt with colored vinegar. Hopefully I can do more in the future. I have a passion for science and I think the kids enjoy touching, seeing, experiencing science more so than sitting and listening.

Thank you, I'll check that out:-) It has several lab tables, a teacher's table with water and an air supply. As for what materials it has, I have seen weights and scales, tons of globes, blocks, I'm sure there are incline planes. I haven't opened the cabinets to see what they house, but from just quickly looking around there is plenty of stuff to do some fun learning experiments.

My child's school has a wonderful science lab donated by parent volunteers. It really is a great lab area! But, I'm afraid the teachers are so busy teaching what "has" to be taught that this room is underutilized. I have a science background and think this could be a wonderful resource to get the kids excited about math and science at a young age. The teacher has given me the go ahead to find different lessons/experiments that I can teach or help her teach every other week. Does anyone know of any resources that would be good for 1st and 2nd graders? Thanks in advance!

Roadrunner-When I saw your post I wondered if your child was in 2nd grade because we are going through the exact same thing! Our school also uses enVision for Math. My 2nd grader's class is going over, and over, and over adding coins. Really? Also adding digits to 20. Everything he has already mastered. He can multiply and divide in his head, but has to sit and do sheet after sheet of 2 digit addition. I was told that second grade is just a review of first grade. It is a bit frustrating!

I know they do dictation in 1st grade. I'm afraid it is a test prep thing, and unfortunately I'm afraid it will be the norm and not rare:-( We have confrences next week, so I will address it then. Any ideas how to approach the subject? I don't like challenging authority!;-)

I have 2 in public school...1 in 1st and 1 in 2nd. It is a small country school that we have liked thus far. I have noticed my 2nd grader's spelling tests are multiple choice. Is this common for other schools? When I think spelling, I don't think multiple choice and I don't know how to address this with the teacher.