I need to hear about those of you who have used multiple levels and still love it. I need some long-term vision, LOL. We can't seem to move past steps 16 and 17 in level 1. DS will spell words correctly one day, then wrong the next, then correctly the next day. Ug.

Wow...that's awesome! I looked at a demo for a typing program for DS yesterday...now I'm inspired :) Thanks!

I looked at demos last night for read write type at talkingfingers.com. It looked fun for my 7 y.o. :)

Do your kids type with qwerty? Is it hard? LOL...I'm just imagining my DS trying to figure it out. funny.

Great ideas here! Thanks so much!!

I'm all ears :)

Here you go :) http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/how-to-solve-b-d-reversal-problems/

So very helpful! Thank you both! He can tell the difference when I point it out, and he self-corrects himself as well. We will keep plugging along. :) Today in general was a challenge. He was super tired and I'm sure it didn't help.

Some days I think this homeschooling stuff isn't at all what I signed up for...lol. Thanks for your reply and help :-). So, should I assume there is some sort of LD that he has or is all of this reading stuff just hard for some kids? Ideas?

P.s.s. I did the week long AAR b/d reversal method on the AAL blog....he is much improved but somedays only gets it right about 80% of the time....and he struggles with ch and ck...and sometimes calls cl ch. Sigh....I need a coke.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! Seriously??? Someone tell me they get over this eventually. Ug. P.s. He is 7.5 and just starting AAR 2. We used Spalding for handwriting/ and to learn the first 26 phonograms before startting AAR1 and AAS 1.

I love the new edition! The webnar on it was great.

This thread is so helpful....Thanks! Victoria... Did you make a final decision?

p.s...Hunter...Thanks a million for posting that link. Folded paper! Genius! LOL. I never would have thought of it on my own... :o I bought a couple of blank 8.5 x 11 spiral, hardbound artists sketchbooks from Walmart to use for notebooks. I love writing in them with colored pencils! I love the feel of the paper...and they are sturdy enough to glue things too as well. :)

Hey, nerdybird....you'll love this :) .... http://www.pinterest.com/plumcrazymomof3/educational-entertainment/

The Teacher's guides have all of the discussion questions. I'm not sure what the parent guide is? I don't have it. I do like the student books. The books for 1st and 2nd grade are individual, full color books with nearly no text on the books themselves. The text for the books is meant to be read aloud to the students and is in the Teacher Guide, along with the discussion questions, review questions, geography connections, ides for activities (more suited to a classroom...I'm using the SOTW activity guide and some ideas from PInterest instead...there are also a few worksheets and crossword puzzles called assessments at the back of the guide. The text is very much in line with the "What Your ____ Grader Needs to Know Books"...they are both edited by Hirsch. The student book for the levels 3-6 remind me somewhat of the "Complete Book of United States History" as far as the looks and feel of them. The Teacher Guides for them include all of the discussion questions, etc...but the text is for the student to read in the student book. I do like the books...I'm excited I've finally decided to use them, LOL.

*sigh* I love this forum.

P.s.....Sorry for the CK hijack, Hunter! Lol. I did spend some time on the BF website and I get what you are saying about "meaningful notebooks". I really liked the samples. I might buy the music :-)

Here you go :-) http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=2&category=10304 There really isn't a great preview online that I could ever find....I'm lucky that I ended up liking them, lol. If you want to pm me your phone number I can text a couple of pics of the books. Would it be against any copyright laws or forum rules to post them here?

Hi it's me again :o LOL. I'm *finally* feeling inspired for History! I just wanted to say thank you...again :) I bought the First Grade Core Knowledge History and Geography Bundle from Rainbow at the beginning of the school year and haven't gotten around to using it yet (I think I was feeling uninspired, wondering if I needed more "output" from history, etc,etc.). A bit ago I came across a used lot of the bundles for 1st-6th and bought them for a good deal. I've been looking over them and realized that *THIS* is how and why we want to study history at my house. I want to learn about different people, their lives, their struggles, their triumphs and failures and be inspired by their stories and learn from their actions. For some reason or other I sort of skipped the "discussion questions" in the CK H&G Teacher Guides but this thread has made me look more closely at them. THIS is what I want to notebook! My "history output" problem is solved! Here are some discussion question examples from the 1st grade "Early Explorers and Settlers" (Lost Colony, Jamestown, Plymouth, Puritans etc) Guide.: "Give examples of times when the student wanted something just because a friend had one"...talking about England being Jealous of Spain. "What should the colonists have done to start a more successful colony?"...this is a great life lesson...I love this...(befriend the Indians, build houses, and plant food before looking for gold) "Give examples of what John Smith did that made him a good leader." "What kind of qualities would a person need for......" (I dig this) So I pulled out the 3rd grade guide and student book which covers the 13 colonies and found: "Describe people you know who are leaders. Discuss why such people stand out from the crowd. What makes people follow them? How does a person develop such strong leadership qualities? Look back through the lesson (in the student book) and find examples of John's Smith's leadership qualities. Discuss why it was John Smith, and not one of the other settlers, who led the Virginia colony through its first hard years" Yes! This is what I want our history notebooks to contain! Thanks again!

I read a blog post about this the other day...I'll have to see if I can find it. I don't know anything about PA....but I like the idea of having notebook pages be meaningful. So, rather than just giving a who, what, where, when...maybe talk about what is inspiring about a person or event etc. Thanks for this thread, Hunter...it has me thinking :-)

Oh...sorry...you can't download via wifi....

Sansa Clip! :-) Cheap. Easy. Small. No Wifi. My DS has used his for hours.

Awesome! Thanks!

Ug..."floss" is killing us too. DS spelled "thiss" and "mis" today (among others ) :-/ I'm watching this thread :-)