The national anthem! :blushing: I'm in Australia but we are American and moved here about three years ago. The national anthem is one of those things they would probably learn in school. We recently had an Olympic-themed week at our swim lessons (a swim school) and they all received medals and then sang the national anthem together. I was so proud of my son for attempting to sing along (by listening intently to what his swim instructor was singing), even though he'd probably never heard it before! It's one of those things I wasn't planning to cover until we do Australian history. I guess it isn't that he isn't naturally picking it up, it's just something we haven't covered and would be very obvious if anyone asked. :)

I'm guessing she means that the summaries are mixed in with the detailed lesson plans, so you have to pick and choose what pages to print rather than having them all in one place to be able to just click print. HSBC also has a special on right now. I'm tempted to get the Platinum package that includes Core 1, all the workbooks K-5, and Core 2 coming out in Jan 2013, plus the Basketball module, all for $97. Looks like a good deal because it includes Core 2 which has another 260 lessons. I'm just afraid to spend so much when I've never used it. I think I'll try out the 2-day free trial. Anyone used the workbooks?

:lurk5:

This year we are memorising the (old?) CC world history timeline using the VP cards. In the future I'd like to do a Bible timeline. Anyone memorised just a Bible timeline? Perhaps using the VP Bible cards? Other sources? We love the VP cards but not the $$$. :bigear:

Here are some A-Z sheets from Homeschool Creations. Gorgeous colours, but you can always print in b&w.

This is what I was going to recommend. Cheap (assuming you can find related books at the library), easy, fun.

I used SL Science A, we made it about 8 weeks in before I couldn't continue. What bothered me the most was that the experiments were unrelated to the reading for the week. We'd spend several days focused on a topic and then...something else. And then because we were doing the 5-day option, the 5th day was again...something else. A few pages out of a book that we would only read on Fridays. It just didn't flow for us. On top of that, the worksheets felt like busywork. If I'd loved the rest of it I would have kept with it and just dropped the worksheets. That being said, I own all of the books and dvds for SL Science A, B, & C. Just not all the IGs. The books and the Discover & Do dvds are wonderful. We use the science books as our science read-alouds just for fun. We watch the dvds for fun. So we cover the same topics, just without the (unrelated) experiments, and on our own schedule. The books are picked up by my kids and read over and over again. And then we have our science curriculum (Apologia) where we are studying one topic in depth and doing related (hallelujah!) experiments. :tongue_smilie: If you love your SL Core then all of this may not be an issue for you. We tried Core A and it didn't work for us, due to the choppiness (to use everyone else's word!). If that is not an issue for you with the Core then their science may work great for you too! For anyone who decides against SL Science for the various reasons listed in this thread, I'd still recommend owning the books & dvds for your own personal library. :) I know of at least one dinosaur book...Dinosaurs Unleashed in Science C. Actually, I don't know if it is a young earth dinosaur book or just a creationist dinosaur book that doesn't address the YE topic, I can't find it at the moment to check (one of the boys has disappeared with it!).

I try to have a book we are "rowing" always going. These are aimed at my younger two but my older always wants to join us (at 7 he is still happy to join in!). So we might have a game or activity to go along with those. We just did Bear Hunt, so one day we played with fake snow, one day we made squelchy-squerchy mud to eat (pudding), another we had our own bear hunt, etc. Today we had our own Olympic games and we are going to be finishing up our lapbooks. Other days it might be a science activity/experiment, or an art project. I try to do something fun to break up the monotony of math/spelling/writing every day. But I don't always succeed. On those days we watch Magic School Bus which is fun for them and easy for me! :)

I've tried SL science and I'm one of those who doesn't like it...their schedule and the worksheets. But I do like (and own) the books and the D&Do Dvds. They're just for fun. I think this is what I'm going to have to do. It just requires more effort on my part. :tongue_smilie:

I remember reading here on the forums that if it is just a few tiles they will replace them for you for free. Hopefully someone who knows will chime in.

This was one of my concerns with Apologia...I am so over astronomy. I think we are halfway through the book. It's great to study it so in-depth, but we are burned out on it and I am just not wanting to pick it up again. Sigh. So this is what I am thinking...have several of the Apologia books ready to go and then when we get bored with one we can pick up one of the others and work in it until we get burned out on that one. Rotate through them at will. Anyone done this? I'm kind of over Apologia myself, but my son still loves it and loves the notebooking journal. He wants to complete all of them eventually, and wouldn't that be a cool collection to have at the end of elementary?

Well...I don't think it will ruin them forever to not do history. And your K'er will get more out of it if you start next year, I'm assuming you want them combined for history. That being said, I agree with others that have mentioned SOTW. It would be so, so easy to just read that or have it on audio. Even without any projects, etc. it would at least be something and would not take any planning. Maybe you could cover ancients that way and bulk it up next year for Middle Ages when you have more energy. Maybe you could do geography/social studies this year instead? Use something like Children Just Like Me or Around the World in 80 Tales for a spine, color a map & flag page for each country, watch a related youtube video for the country. Easy peasy.

I can see she chose wisely. Tim Tams yum, Vegemite not so much. Says this American now living in Australia. :tongue_smilie:

We are only in SOTW 1. I use SL books as a reading list. I went through the SOTW AG (there are book recs for each chapter) and also searched the forums and came up with a supplemental reading list. I've had to purchase many of those as they are not at my library, so I am not sure that I've saved any $ over SL, but that wasn't my reason for not using SL this year. So history still feels literature based to me, with the extra books. That with various activities/projects (we don't do one for every chapter) and some notebooking definitley feels like enough for history. If you are using Core A this year then you are in the perfect position for starting SOTW with Core B next year. You just have to decide if you love SL and want to stay with it. Here is a blogger who has combined the two for ancient history.

:lurk5:

At that age I'd start with ETC books A,B,C before looking at AAS. And you did mean AAS, right? Just looking at your abbreviation in the quote above...:lol:

The DVDs are included in this sale? So 15% off the $24.99? ETA: I looked at the fine print and the coupon is for orders of $99 or more. It does look like the DVDs would be included.

If I remember correctly Beyond the Code is supposed to be used concurrently with ETC starting at about Book 3. It tests reading comprehension and would most likely be very easy for your son. If you feel he needs any more practice you could go back and do some of the half books, otherwise be done! I don't plan to continue phonics instruction after ETC, except for what is a part of AAS. We will move into more vocabulary at that point.

We've only used AAS and love it. You'd have to start with Level 1 and you'd move through it quickly (assuming your DD is reading well). So most likely you would need Level 2 before the year is out. That $$ adds up quickly, but it's non-consumable and it looks like you've got another child who can use it later. It's easy to teach but is teacher-intensive, meaning you can't just give it to them to complete, you are involved in the whole lesson. That may figure in your decision as well.

This sounded great so I had a look and here is the link. Great free resource, thanks for posting about it!

:iagree:My 7yo works behind his reading level on these. I'm sure he could do the later levels, but I want these to be easy, fun reinforcement. Because we do it this way it is something he can do independently, which I love. He starts his day with this and a few other quick independent things. That gives me time to look through our math lesson and gather our other materials together. It's become a nice routine.

:iagree: Home Art Studio may be available through HSBC sometime soon. Sorry, can't help with Atelier.

For posters I would just use sticky tack/blu tac (whatever it's called!) and have a plan for storing them if needed. That way they could be removed in seconds, rolled up or placed behind a bookcase, in a closet, etc. Something framed (if it's something you don't want out for a showing) I'd probably just have on the floor leaning against a wall and move it into a closet during a showing. It's not ideal but it is the best you can do. Do you have a kids art easel? We haven't been using it lately so right now I've got our calendar hanging on it from clips at the top. On display but can easily be moved.

:lurk5:

There's going to be a Song School Spanish?????? :hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray: