We just started Doctor Dolittle and have been picking chapters from Our Island Story. We're also reading The Sailor Who Captured the Sea.

:001_huh: I kept reading the posts and wondering "What new forum?" Then I noticed the date. haha

Another Five in a Row fan here. The FIAR forum is a tremendous help as well.

I bought the printed version so I wouldn't have to make all those copies. The paper is high quality stuff.

Thanks. I think. :glare: My pocketbook is now $35 lighter, plus $10 for tax & shipping, but I got all this neat stuff: "How Much, How Many, How Far..." book magnetic coins magnetic attribute blocks magnetic bills, dollar overhead clock dial base 10 units 2 thermometers set of graph dry-erase boards dry-erase protractor & compass 4 pairs student safety glasses 2 tree cross-sections organic molecular model Reading Rods simple sentence Word Family Library

I was wondering, the same as Momma4, how you got those $$??

I'm a 3-hole-punch kinda gal. The kids detest doing workbook pages that are still in the workbook, especially on the back side of the page, so we rip and punch.

It doesn't matter what I have handy. I can never find it when I need it. :glare:

We intend to start on August 15. There will be a few special things: small back-to-school gifts, photos, All About Me posters including height & weight measurements, and then most of the regular, scheduled classes.

Whoopee!! Thank you!!

Thanks! Will you remind us in August, please?!

I used to buy lovely patterns from Folkwear (www.folkwear.com) but you can do a google search for period costumes and find lots of sources. Good luck!

Shoot, just when I thought I was finished buying stuff. . .

DGD turned 5 in June and will be starting K in August. I'm a little nervous about it because I've never actually "taught" a kid to read. My own 2 children and the older DGD just learned on their own somehow, but this little one is cut from a different cloth, so to speak. It will be an interesting year, to say the least!

This is what I have so far: D'Nealian handwriting PAL Reading and Writing McRuffy Math FIAR

Looks like fun. But phooey, I thought I was finished buying stuff until I saw your beanbag chairs. They reminded me that I wanted to find some for this year. Thanks a lot :glare: !

I see you've narrowed the search, but did you look at Auralog: Tell Me More ? We like that one the best, but we've used Rosetta Stone as well.

I see that your kids are still pretty young. Can you use the main floor room for now and move to the basement in 3-4 years? I would think that with your little ones, staying close to the main living area would be much easier. On you, especially.

Well, I just ordered PAL this afternoon. And it's been shipped already! I'm really anxious to look at it, up close and personal. I'd originally planned to use ETC and/or 100 EZ lessons, but this might be a better fit. I do intend to use D'Nealian handwriting though, so I'll have to tweak a bit.

You've received lots of excellent recommendations. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with a few for your study. We went to see Judy Moody this afternoon, and it turned out to be better than I expected. It was a cute, lightweight show that my 9- and 5-year-old girls enjoyed, and I think boys would like it as well.

I don't know about "ay" or "uh," but it's "thee" before a word starting with a vowel and "thuh" before a word starting with a consonant. At least it's that way when you're singing. That may have been where the confusion was on an earlier post.

We're on our second year receiving God's World News. We enjoy it but have a hard time fitting it into our schedule. We've used the biographies that are available online with the subscription. I'm trying to decide if I'll renew however.

That is the reaction of many who look at the book for the first time. We, too, did not always read the book 5 times. Sometimes 3 times were enough, or we might stretch a book out over 2 weeks. Make Way for Ducklings is a good book to start with, or The Story of Ping. Don't try to do everything that is listed under each category. The simplicity is deceptive, and the program is rich. We have done most of the books through all 4 volumes, and the experience has been quite rewarding. Just yesterday, we took all of the story disks off the maps to prepare for little sis's kindergarten next year. Big sis could remember all of the books we'd studied. Go to the FIAR forum, if you haven't already, and lurk there for a while. You will learn a ton about the program.

It looks like you get 3 years of access with the purchase. I'm very, very tempted to purchase.

Just be sure to buy a quality recorder, not one of those one- or two-dollar things that you see in the toy department. You will pay around $10 for a good instrument, but it will be playable and have decent tone quality, and you will be much happier. The cheap ones are nearly impossible to play!