I asked the same question on a new thread yesterday because my 5.5 yo son has not picked a hand yet. He colors with his right. But sometimes writes with his left. Sometimes writes with his right. Kicking and throwing he switches. Bottom line answer. Still too early to tell. Let him pick. He WILL pick. You can look for my thread yesterday (or the day before). I think I called it Assessing lefthandedness... Might be in the K-8 Curriculum Forum. I've been going back and forth between this forum and that one. Good luck and don't sweat it!:001_smile:

:iagree: Love Bill Peet and Jan Brett. Get ALL you can of these authors.

We LOVE Kevin O'Malley. He is HILLARIOUS! Not sure I would call him sensitive though. Get "Once Upon a Motorcycle Dude" and you will be ROFL. Humpty Dumpty Eggspodes is an all time favorite too. My 2 cents: Pull books from "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up." Divided in age cataegories. Classic books. I just go through it sequentially and order all the books the library has (not at once! :lol:) Great classics, readers, read-alouds, picture books, etc. that I had forgotten about or never heard of. My library has a copy. "Honey For A Child's Heart" is a similar book that is also good. (Not as many classics though. Some twaddle in there I think.) There is another poem I am trying to find "Hush Little Monster Don't You Cry" to the tune of Hush Little Baby. Along the lines of Kevin O'Malley. Will get back to you on that one.

Are they not meant to stir up those types of feelings? (I truly do not have answer to this question.) How can we know the artist's intent? Or impact even if there was no intent? I've known grown men who struggled with "acceptable" nude art as teenagers. While I know all homeschoolers do not agree with my Christian worldview and using the Bible as the source of truth, it is MY yardstick or plumbline, so everything gets filtered through that filter in me. Honestly, I would love to set me children free in the world of nude art, I just don't feel peace about doing so, so I wait. :confused: Your comment about Italy made me laugh because I have been to Italy and I have been to Pompeii!:001_smile: I know what mural you are referring to and I felt awkward when I saw it. I was single at the time and on a trip with 5 married couples. (Another friend and I joined their family vacation.) If I had been with just women we would have had some giggles and it would have been over quickly. However, it felt awkward listening to the tour guide discuss this body part in great detail while in the company of 5 husbands (NOT mine!) I do not mean to criticize your point of view. I simply ask the question, "How do we view such things and simultaneously stay focused on sexual purity?" I've also been to Greece and THAT was even worse!:lol: By then I WAS married and on my honeymoon. But PLEASE are orgy statues really necessary? Still struggling with the issues. While the nude art does not cause ME to sin, it is my job to protect my children and not put anything in their path that would cause THEM (or my husband) to sin. I've loved this discussion, so please keep sharing!:001_smile:

Wow! I wish I could be that organized! You inspire me!

What do folks think of Rosetta Stone to teach Spanish? My 3rd grade 8 yo son wants to learn Spanish and Rosetta Stone is the direction I am headed. Any other suggestions? Do folks like Rosetta Stone for teaching languages?

I've had the same questions as gBeth13. I love art history and we integrate it into our curriculum regularly. While I know little on the subject, I am learning along with ds. I took my son (7) and daughter (12) to a Matisse exhibit at a Museum and turned around and walked out. There were breasts everywhere in every painting/drawing. My pre-pubescent daughter was embarrassed/self-conscious and I did not feel comfortable bringing my son in there without giving it some thought and discussion BEFORE seeing the exhibit. While a breast or nude here and there in the museum did not bother me or my children, this exhibit felt overwhelming and stirred up questions in me like: What does God think of this type of art? How does this art make each of my children feel? What is the difference between p*rn and art? Where does the line get drawn? Could this art stir up sexual feelings in my son (as he nears puberty) that I am not aware of because I am not a male? I have no answers to these questions. I've been asking friends and processing it before I attempt nude art again. If my children ask me why this nudity is ok and other nudity is not, I want to have an answer. As I teach my now 13 yo dd about modesty and other sex education topics like dating and purity issues I want to be consistent. So, I am still ambivalent... but open to all thoughts that might bring clarity.

:iagree: I am leaning toward waiting until 4th grade. He shows no interest in writing, although I see signs that he could be...LATER. I feel I would be rushing things if I start in 3rd. Today he told me he really wants to learn Spanish, so my hubby and I say, "go for it." Going to the For Sale Forum to look for Rosetta Stone! :lol:

:iagree: I decided to drop WWE (dropped it midyear last school year which was 2nd gr) and do IEW in 3rd or 4th grade for my son. Just preferred IEW and doing both seems too much.

HOD: Not familiar with HWT: I loved HWOT with first son. Plan to use in fall with next son (5.5 yo) LA: I use OPGTTR and ETC. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE OPGTTR! I cannot say enough good things about it. SO parent/user friendly. Both my boys learned to read easily with it. My 5.5 yo is about a 1/3 of the way through it now. It is very comprehensive and I feel I have covered most of the "rules". I approached ETC as spelling and writing practice. ETC also gave my son exposure to some phonics rules. It does not teach your child to read the way OPGTTR does though. Pick OPGTTR if you have to choose. Math: Not familiar with the ones you chose, but I've heard good things. I use and love Singapore. Read Alouds: READ, READ, READ to your son. Have your baby. Put the workbooks and curriculum plans away for awhile and just read, read, read while you are enjoying baby and surviving transition. When you re-surface, then you can go back to your plans. So "no" it won't hurt to take a few weeks off and if I were you, I would plan on it. I use "Honey for A Child's Heart" and "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up." I got them both from the library. Order some books from these books from the library and cuddle up with your babies and READ! : ) (I think I'll take some of my own advise and do that too this year! lol) Enjoy your first year teaching and be gentile with yourself. It's hard to "mess it up."

What perspective is "Lies My Teacher Told Me" from? Left again? That review someone posted on Zinn was helpful. Not my cup of tea. At least for now, gonna stick with my US Hx Core 3 Sonlight plan for next year.

Last year I used WWE 1 with FLL grades 1 and 2 with my 2nd grader and thought they complimented each other well. Copywork + Narration + Reading good books + a little grammar = great LA program. And inexpensive too.

Wow! SWEET! I'll have to try Timberdoodle. I'm STILL waiting for a bunch of stuff from elsewhere.

What is Ziinn about? Is this the book? "A people's history of the United States : 1492-present"

I am doing Singapore Math with my 5.5 y/o who is on Earlybird B. (He just finished Earlybird A.) He starts grade K in the fall and he will probably begin 1A in the spring. 1A is considered end of grade 1. 1B is beginning of grade 2. So if 1A is too big a leap in the spring, I will supplement with some lower key "fun" math until he is ready. Hard to advise you, since I don't know your child, but I can at least pass along what I am doing and what the expected "average" grade levels are for Singapore Math. My 8 yo almost 3rd grader just finished 2A. 2B is right on target for the beginning of 3rd grade which we will soon begin!

All this is so helpful, as I have always lived in a right handed world! I did not even think about the shoe tying thing!:001_smile: It was hard enough to teach my 8 yo who still cannot seem to KEEP his laces tied!:tongue_smilie:

I'm honestly not that worried about the practical instruction of lefties. I'm sure it will go well (or as well as any HWT instruction can possibly go! lol ) As a former child psychologist, I truly am interested in some of the possible brain differences or just knowing more because I like information! For example, I did not know that the last three presidents were lefties and I discovered that in one of my threads!

:iagree: I am discovering that I may have a lefty (5.5 yo son), so I understand the temptation to "force" his right handedness, BUT I am letting HIM decide, even if that makes MY life a little more challenging. I am willing to work a little harder to get the lefty school supplies, if that is going to make my son's life easier. And, I would never want to be responsible for developmental delays! My opinion = It is NOT worth the risk! But I do understand your struggle. It was an adjustment for me at first too.

Anybody have any good reading material, they could recommend on lefties? My 5.5 y/o son may be one and I want to learn more. I would like some practical advice for instruction, but would also especially appreciate some books summarizing research (brain research, lefty studies, etc,). Off to check my library resources!!:tongue_smilie:

I am having similar issues with my 5.5 y/o son. I don't have any answers (yet ;)) but reading your post has been helpful. I am going to look for some good reading material on lefties (but I like to read research! ) :tongue_smilie: Good luck and I agree with the others. Set HWT aside for now and be patient. I am trying to be!

Chandler Mom, Is there anything you would recommend that I could read to learn more about lefties?

THAT is all VERY fascinating to me. I will have to do some research on lefties just for my own knowledge and just in case he is a lefty. As a former child psychologist this topic interests me, but it is something I never learned in grad school. (or forgot! ;)) And I guess I can stop worrying about lefties being "successful". :lol: Thanks so much for taking the time to share what you know about lefties.

Forgot to add: Today he colored a beautiful picture (in a coloring book) with his RIGHT hand in many colors (about 1/2 hour of coloring) and then when I asked him to write a "10" he wrote it with his LEFT hand! When I asked him to write a ten with his RIGHT hand it was much more sloppy. Do I encourage him to pick a hand a some point?

Thank you both. I had not considered PAL. Still undecided, but I guess I can always start slowly and assess as I go along. It will always be there to "pick up" again later! : )