When in AAS do you think would have been an ideal time to start using Spelling Wisdom?

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this summary. I really appreciate it. I'm definitely leaning towards getting this for next year.

I'm not that excited about CLE Reading 1st grade. (I really like the math). We are jumping over to Memoria Press for reading next year. Maybe we should revisit CLE reading in the upper grammar years?

:001_smile: I'm looking at it AGAIN.

I'm going with Rightstart A & B! But next year when this question is asked I'm going to answer Handbook of Nature Study, because next year is my year to figure it out! :lol:

I think Climbling to Good English would give you workbook practice that includes some phonics, some spelling, some writing, and some grammar.

I'll let you know if I go. The first day I can go is Friday, and I doubt they will be open on Good Friday. If I do go, I would be happy to look for whatever you need.

This is very good to know! Thank you. If I get in my car and drive an hour, I can be at a mennonite homeschooling store. I think it would probably be worth it just to browse through CTGE and pathway in person.

I would do an opening routine, a short book, and then activities that they could choose from, rotate to etc. I think Before Five in a Row or Peak with Books would be a good jumping off point.

I have been looking at using the pathway readers and the CTGE workbooks, and skipping the pathway workbooks because I think it might just be too much to have a young child do all of that. I appreciate that they have samples up, but it is still hard to get a feel from samples. They are not that expensive. I don't know why I just don't take a chance and buy them.

I'm planning to use Truthquest and Beautiful Feet next year. I can tell you Truthquest is NOT open and go. One has to determine which topics to cover (too many listed for first grade) and then figure out which books to use for each topic. I am in the midst of planning right now. Beautiful Feet is much more open and go than Truthquest. Although I felt that BF was not going to cover all the topics I wanted to cover. I looked at HOD, but I really didn't need every subject planned, I just wanted grade 1 American history. This probably doesn't help you at all. Sorry.

All you have to do is start a new thread, on what is your favorite math curriculum or favorite science curriculum. Then lots of people will tell you how wonderful both of these are and you will be reassured in your choice!

:lol: This is my next step: admitting that I will never be CM. The first step is selling the Nature Handbook. At this time I can't even take the first step. I just KNOW that NEXT year will be the year for me! We are going to do the composer studies, and artist studies, and watercolor in our nature notebooks! And then, we will come inside and sit by the fire and do handiworks!

You could use 1, 2 or 3 or even Before Fiar. Any of them would work. They don't need to go in any particular order. Also, Peak with Books would work, and has more fun songs and activities in it. The two programs go together nicely.

But if I sell my Nature Study Handbook that I never use and probably never will use, I will never be CM. I WANT to be CM. By getting rid of the out-of-date handbook, I am admitting that I AM a nature study failure. If it remains on my shelf, there is the hope that one day I will take my children outside and they will come across something really interesting, we will look it up in the book, and watercolor a page about it and I will finally earn my CM badge.

I will start by saying I DO like a lot of what is listed on this thread. I like AAS and ETC. I even liked FIAR. Sonlight was a big mistake for me this year. When I got the materials, I was like. . .WHAT?? This huge binder just to give me a reading schedule? I sent Sonlight back. :iagree:HA! This was true for us too! I am just not Miquony.

I really like the plan presented by Higher Up Further In at www.charlottemasonhelp.com. We are starting with first grade. Her plan for both composer study and artist study for each grade level looks very do-able to me. Her composer study I am especially excited about. It is a different approach than that presented on Amblesideonline.

Thank you! That is what I was hoping. I don't want to add in one more thing, but don't want to miss anything important. Love love love you tagline, by the way. I'm trying to do LCC and WTM in a CMish way. . .and I don't even know what that means exactly let alone how it should look. :lol:

This book was the one that helped me the most to understand the CM approach. I also highly recommend Higher up and Further In free curriculum. It was much easier for me to understand than Ambleside online. I felt it spelled things out for me better. You can find her curriculum at www.charlottemasonhelp.com. Also if you join her yahoo group she has wonderful schedules you can just print out. She uses many of the same books as ambleside, but I really like her approach to composer study better, and her book selections seem more do-able to me.

I am strongly leaning towards using Memoria Press next year. My boys will be doing a K/1 mix and a 1/2 mix. We also do a lot of oral narration. The following year I plan to implement the ideas in TWSS from IEW. So if we are doing MP literature guides for first, MP copywork, and oral narrations from our history readings (Beautiful Feet Early American) and our fairy tales, fables, and other read aloud literature (from HUFI), then do I need to use WWE? or will WWE be redundant? I don't want to add in more work for it just being more work. I want to make sure our day is as streamlined as possible so they have time to be outdoors, play, do crafts, etc. Ofcourse, I don't want to miss important writing skills either. Any thoughts? Thank you.

Truthquest, Beautiful Feet, Heart of Dakota, and My Father's World are all Christian curriculums.

We're going with a combination of Truthquest and Beautiful Feet for next year.

Thank you.:)

So, for just this, is the 6th edition enough? I am looking simply for the two things you mentioned. ..handwriting instruction and a spelling reference list. And thank you for all the time you have taken to flesh all of this out.

I'm just pleased as punch with myself that I finally can read a thread title like that and know exactly what it means! And, yes, I believe you can.