This! You need this! Raining Cats and Dogs by Vocabulary Power. It's like a desk calendar, but not dated, with a spiral top. It gives the saying with an illustration of the literal translation, then tells you what it really means. I'm not sure it has all the ones you mention but is a fun, easy way to learn these. http://www.amazon.com/Vocabulary-Power-Raining-Cats-Dogs/dp/B008D77PQ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368668006&sr=8-1&keywords=Raining+cats+and+dogs+vocabulary+power

I was also going to recommend the Delightful Learning blog, it is the first place I go for FIAR. Just FYI, Homeschool Share has taken down their FIAR links, but has put up some new downloads on some of the books.

Thank you all for the advice! I turns six in July. I will try some of the things mentioned here and just keep going. :)

We will be starting it the second half of third grade, DS is 8.5 We are doing Grammar-land the first half of third grade. Looking forward to it! Maybe I should mention we don't actually own it yet...I'm looking forward to clicking that 'Order' button!

DS is 5.5yo. He knows his letter sounds, I can put a word in front of him like 'bat'. He can tell me each individual sound, he can tell me what the first sound is, what the last sound is. Then when he tries to put it together he guesses. I'll help him with ba... and he'll say bag. What letter makes the /g/ sound? G. Right, is there a g in this word? No. So we can't have the /g/ sound. What sound does the word end with? /t/ Okay, let's try again...ba.... And he'll guess again, bam. What letter makes the /m/ sound? M. Is there an m in this word? No. Okay tell me these sounds again (pointing to each letter in turn) /b/ /a/ /t/ Now let's put them together. ba...bad? What sound does t say? /t/ It's at the end of the word, so what does this word end with? /t/ Right! Let's read it again. And he'll guess again. Eventually he gets it right, but it's more from guessing than actually reading the word. Happy moment, then repeat it all with the next word. As we sound out each letter we slide a finger across, or pull the letter down. I use different things, like letter tiles, magnetic letters, writing them on a whiteboard. But this kiddo has been stuck here for awhile. I'm not sure how to help him get it. I remember my older son going through this but it was not long before he caught on. But my 5yo is just...stuck. I'm careful to be patient and encouraging, but he gets frustrated with it. We have AAR Level 1, but have only got a few lessons in because he can't read the fluency pages or the first story in the reader (too long). I've printed out the beginning I See Sam readers and he can do some of those (with help). I stopped working with him for awhile hoping it just needed some time to germinate, I realise it might just click one day. He plays Reading Eggs but has figured out how to progress without really knowing the material, he can beat the games. Any tips to help him get past this? I'm not sensing any learning difficulties, but happy for any suggestions. He's trying, he's constantly sounding out words that he hears...he'll ask me 'Does jump end with /p/'? Or he'll say 'Swim starts with s'! He's got all those reading readiness signs, just stuck. I'm thinking of letting dh work with him to see if just having someone else do it could help. I can be patient, all kids learn at a different pace, just wondering what tips and tricks are out there to help him over this hump.

We use the jr notebooking journals and the lapbooks from A Journey Through Learning. Each lesson in the notebook has a 'mini-book' (they are at the back of the notebook, you tear them out, assemble them, then glue them to the appropriate page in the notebook). We do that first, and then I print out a few pages from the AJTL lapbook that the mini-book didn't cover. We glue them right into our notebook along with the mini-book. To me it is the best of both worlds, we get to do the notebook activities and a bit of lapbooking to review each section, and it is all contained right in the notebook. Since I don't use every page of the lapbooks it wouldn't make sense for me to buy the pre-printed version, and this way I can print again when my younger kiddos are ready for it. Can't help you with testing...although be aware that there is a Chem/Physics book scheduled to be released next month, and a Geology/Earth Science book scheduled down the road (no date yet). Many recommend starting with Astronomy, I'm glad we started there, it seems to be the easiest for the younger crowd to follow. The Human Anatomy book and the new Chem/Physics book are best for upper elementary, all the others can be used for any elementary age.

nm.

I use her daily lesson plans as a checklist rather than following her schedule. We spend 2-3 weeks per country. The lesson plans print on one side of a sheet, so it is really easy to see it all at a glance. I add my own things, cross some of hers off and make it work for me. I always look at her blog posts about that country when planning, and I also look at Homeschool Creations. For EE she recommends creating your own binder with dividers for each country, you can store the lesson plans and all the printables in there before you start. (Eta: I mean a teacher binder, your kids will have binders too.) That really helped me. Have you downloaded the free sample? I think it gives you everything for one country, Brazil? And the free animal supplement. That will help you get a feel for it. Also have a look at other books that you might want to add, like Around the World in 80 Tales, Global Art (can't remember if that's on her list already), What the World Eats, a flag book, etc. Mama Jenn has free notebooking pages for Geography A to Z. The amount of time per day has varied for us, some days it's just learning about the flag and colouring it, other days it might be an art project. If you use her plans as is, it would probably be about 30-45 minutes most days, projects would take longer.

RS C often takes a year and a half, though many do manage it in a year. I think if B took forever then C really will. There is a long drawing section in the middle, other than that it doesn't jump around too much. We are enjoying C but opinions on it really vary on this board. There are more pratice sheets, plenty of games, and there are review lessons which I really wish had been in B.

We've just read through It's Not the Stork (mentioned upthread). We are having a baby so it was perfect timing for us. It's very good, clear, correct names, matter of fact, with a bit of humour. I'd recommend having it ready to read through when the time is right. I think you can see samples on Amazon.

I'd say as is it fits lower elementary, then you could add to it for upper. So your kids are the perfect age for it. I'd also suggest having a look at Expedition Earth from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I started out with GTG then bought EE during a sale. I found myself using EE more and more. I like that she's got the lesson plans all laid out, but I use it more as a checklist and spend 2-3 weeks on a country instead of the 5-day plan she uses. It's easy to cross off the things we don't want to do and add things to the list that I want to do. Even if you don't use EE, download the free animals supplement and use that along with GTG. A geography year sounds like a great plan. Don't feel like you have to do every country, you could do it for half a year and then see if your kids are ready for SOTW.

When I had a crib I used one of those mesh, breathable crib bumpers. (Turned out to be unnecessary since we ended up co-sleeping.). Like these, it appears they come in patterns now. http://www.amazon.com/BreathableBaby-Breathable-Mesh-Liner-White/dp/B0013FGWD0/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1367828721&sr=1-1&keywords=breathable+crib+bumper An Ergo baby carrier is a must, (seriously, you need one!) but you can't use it until about four months old unless you get an infant insert. Reviews are mixed on whether people like the insert, I haven't tried it before but am planning to try it with this baby. I love a ring sling for my newborns.

I also was introduced to homeschooling through friends in LLL. I was involved in a great group when my oldest was born. We had a monthly official meeting, then a weekly playgroup and such. They were wonderful ladies and I still keep in contact with several through fb even though I've moved to the other side of the world. In fact when we moved here, LLL was one if the first things I looked up. Australia has it's own version. It really will vary by group though. The one in the next town over didn't have the right vibe for me, and when we moved across the country I never was comfortable in that group. I hope you'll find one that is right for you.

Shoe cubby? http://www.amazon.com/ClosetMaid-15-Cubby-Shoe-Organizer-White/dp/B002IT6E6A/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1367798779&sr=8-7&keywords=Wooden+shoe+rack Shoe rack? http://www.amazon.com/Winsome-Wood-Foldable-4-Tier-Natural/dp/B000NPTVES/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367798779&sr=8-2&keywords=Wooden+shoe+rack Cheap shoe rack? http://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-6026-3562-Natural-Household-Shelves/dp/B004BDP656/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1367798779&sr=8-3&keywords=Wooden+shoe+rack All of these are quite narrow and should fit into a hallway. Get enough so that each person has their own shelf. You could make it prettier by using baskets on the shelves. I'd rather have the Ikea ones too!

Here's a recent thread with some info on the revised editions, it might help. I haven't seen the old versions, looks like the biggest changes were to the student pages. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/468971-sotw-1-need-the-revised-ag-or-not/page__hl__+revised#entry4907982

Every package I have ever ordered from CBD has had something damaged in it. Every single one. I've assumed it's something to do with their international shipping because I'd never heard anyone else mention a problem with them. I even emailed them about it once and they said they'd flag my account to take more care in packaging mine, but it didn't help. The next time I order from them I will make a note on the order itself to see if that makes a difference. I only order huge orders from RR (to save on intl shipping) but have never had a problem with them. Nothing damaged. We had a game that was missing something out of it, we didn't discover until about six months later since it was a new game still in shrinkwrap that we hadn't gotten around to opening. Obviously just a manufacturing error that the piece got left out. I contacted them and they sent a replacement immediately. I realised I had moved since my last order, and because of time zone lag I couldn't notify them in time so it went to my old address. They quickly sent /another/ replacement to my new address. Great customer service.

I'd start with Expedition Earth from Confessions of a Homeschooler. She's got the animals supplement to go with it (actually I think that part is a free download), then just go more in depth with the animals. FWIW, I've not followed her lesson plan to do it all in a week, instead I use it as a checklist and spend 2-3 weeks on a country.

:grouphug: This will be me in a couple of months. I'm planning to take a month off school after baby is born. If I were you I'd start back with only the basics. Pick one or two subjects and just do those for a week or two until you feel good about those, then add another. Forget the schoolroom and do school on the couch, the bed, the floor, wherever you need to be with baby so you can feed during lessons. Keep a basket with diapers and a changing pad nearby so that you can change the baby right there and don't have to stop everything. Send kiddos to gather the things you inevitably forget from the other room. You shouldn't have to plan or get materials ready for writing or math, right? At least not as much as other subjects. So start there, or whatever subjects require the least prep. Then slowly add back others when you feel capable of planning again. Aim for a few days a week for now. You have all summer to catch up! I do baby-wearing, so I'll have mine in a sling on me most of the time, but mine have all gone through phases where they cry when I sit down (not usually as newborns, a bit older). That's the part I'm not looking forward to, trying to do school while standing all day! I saw this great picture recently where a mum used a laundry basket with a blanket in the bottom as a bed for her little one, the baby was all swaddled and asleep inside. Potrable bed, move baby as needed! You can do this! Just not all at once. I'm wondering how much our routine will slide during that last month of pregnancy...

Yeah, none of these are showing up on my PC. They are showing up on my iPad, even on the regular version (not Mobile), and I don't have the emoji keyboard installed. Weird.

If this is your first year homeschooling, I'd say the geography in SOTW is plenty. You do not need to worry about geography as a separate subject on top of everything else you have to worry about. Give yourself this year to get into your routine and discover what will work for you, then you can decide if you want to add more later. Use the maps in SOTW and keep a wall map or placemat map nearby so you can point out locations as they come up in other subjects. That's plenty for now. Good luck with your first year!

Hmmm, I had ads pop up on my PC but on the iPad I'm not having ads. But, 4shared does seem to require account login now where they didn't before. We are only on Vol 1, pinning your link for later use! Thanks!

Well, I don't have Perplexors, so I only have the information you've given. I'm assuming one can't be both a car racer and a karate expert? If so, then this seems to me that Betty is the karate expert and we still don't know who the car racer is. It does somewhat imply that Bill was probably not first on stage (and thus wouldn't be the car racer) but does not rule it out. So given the wording, Bill could be the other one first on stage. I'm guessing that wasn't their intent though.

From reading the boards, I'd say the most popular are: following the method outlined in WTM, Elemental Science, Real Science Odyssey, Apologia & Sonlight (both Christian), and Nancy Larson (I'd probably try this if I was in the US and didn't have to pay int'l shipping for their kits!). I'm sure I've left something off, but these are the ones I see here the most often for younger grades. For K, I like Elemental Science's Intro to Science. I'm going to use that with my K'er later this year. I tried it when my oldest was in 1st but dropped it because it was too simple, but I think it will be perfect for my 5yo.

My copy of BFSU looks very nice sitting on my shelf. :D

We also started WWE 1 partway through 1st, it overlapped into second. We've just finished WWE 2 and we are about a third of the year into third grade. I felt behind for awhile, but now I like the overlap, it works for us.