I'm using it for my ds14. We are also using Barton. (Yes, probably overkill, but I'm trying everything at this point.) It's going really well and has helped him alot. One of the things it encourages you to use is an index card with a cut out so you go sound by sound the same as their flashcards. So, for example, car would be c ar and you show him only the c and then the ar and he blends it together. It really forces them to slow down and focus on the sounds, not rules. This alone has been a huge help. If I can answer any other questions, just let me know. Good luck.

I'm waiting for our Hake 5 to arrive this week. We were going to do ALL but ..... since that won't work, I've had my eye on this for a while. I'd be happy to give more of a review once I receive it or if you have any specific questions on it, just let me know. I could even send a few samples your way.

Awesome idea. :) Wish they had that.....

Here are some ideas we do: Skip the Story of the USA - it's really not that important. We just go easy on the mapping - if we think to look it up, great; if not, we just do it later; and if we really don't get to it, I don't sweat it. I have to admit, I adore having all the books on hand - we bought used and were missing a few books but not many. It's cheaper for me than all the library fines. :) LA didn't work for us though I really like it. We just weren't on the right level. The way our day works with SL is to do the core history reading during our "history" time during the day. They have their own reader to take and read at their leisure so long as its done each day. We do (usually) the read-aloud every night after dinner. This has broke it up and made it not seem quite so scattered for us. I did try making up my own excel spreadsheet that put everything into a more chronological order with the core history readings and then the books that went along with it and we wouldn't move on to the next section until we were finished with whatever books we read. However, it wasn't getting done this way so I went back to the schedule/IG and I'm more comfortable with it now. One thing I'd recommend is using a timeline to tie events together too. That way if you read something out of "order" its not a problem to place it visually within the timeline. In addition to regular timeline figures, I make copies of the books on our scanner and then print it out and paste it on the timeline so they know when it took place. I think like others said, you need to let it work for you instead of you work for it. It's just guidelines. :)

I'd move on to 5 and only come back to 4.5 if you notice areas in which they could use more practice. Good luck,

Lori, Thank you for always taking the time to post such detailed notes about your experiences. I'm sure I'm not the only one who appreciates it. :)

Lori, Would you mind sharing what you used for both world geography/culture and comparitive religions/worldview? Thanks,

How much Henle do you think it would take in order to be able to read Harry Potter in latin like that? Just curious.

This thread is perfect timing for me. I've been super stressed out about this lately. It should be getting better, I have a ds14 and dd11 year old but now with a BUSY, CRABBY 10 month old in the mix, I'm losing my mind. My ds has delays and dyslexia, so most lessons need to be with me. My dd can do alot by herself but misses momma to help or she's taking the baby while I work with DS. Reading about Susan's days on her page was great as well as reading about everyone else's here. Thanks for the reminder that this IS a full-time but well rewarding job... Right? ;)

I wouldn't attempt to do both Sonlight LA and CW Writing. Well, at least not all of Sonlight LA. I guess we'll see how it goes this year. We are a bit late starting Aesop but not yet ready for Homer. I'm always trying to combine way too many curriculums and educational philosophies. :) Let us know what you decide on.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but we're doing core 3+4 (or whatever letter that is now) and just starting CW Aesop. Are you worried about it being too much?

I'll jump in... :) Currently we are reading Moccasin Trail and By the Great Horn Spoon. We also have been reading all of Grimm's Fairy Tales since my daughter loves the Sisters' Grimm series.

I'd go back to CLE also. One way to speed things up a bit, but not miss anything new is to do two lessons but on the first lesson, only do the new teaching not the "we remember" part. Then on the second lesson, do the entire lesson including the "we remember". I wouldn't do that all the time but it can speed you through a bit if you think she knows it already or can handle it. Good luck. CLE is a much bigger hit here at our house than Saxon.

My baby has severe reflux and has only just been able to start solids in the last few weeks and he's 9 months old. I don't know if its related or possibly an allergy type thing (which reflux can be) but he does the same thing you described. At first, around 6 months when we first tried solid food, any kind of food would cause the worst nights and a completely crabby, clingy baby until it culiminated about a week or two later with a literal ALL night screamfest. We tried off and on over the last few months with no success until just recently. Now he's doing much better with it. It hasn't been a problem at all to delay. Good luck and hopefully she'll be fine with other foods for you now. :)

http://www.aplusvideorentals.com/ Was that it?

I bought the one at CBD. It's wonderful. It comes with everything (well almost everything) in a bag for each lesson. It's so organized. It's soooo expensive but, for me, well worth it since I'd never take the time to gather these supplies and then no experiments would be done. Alot of it could be reusable too. Good luck,

For my dyslexic, he does like Teaching Textbooks but we couldn't use it as him main math program. It just moves too fast for him. It's a great way for him to do review though. We've finally settled on CLE math for him and its working very well. RightStart also worked fairly well for him until Level D and then it just wasn't quite sinking in. Good luck,

Well, I have to agree with RightStart. We began with MUS which uses their own sets of rods, but my daughter only memorized the colors and what number they should be. This did not help her visualize the amounts however and did not help her to see that she could manipulate the numbers. The RightStart abacus did just this and it really helped both her and my delayed son understand math better. Actually, it even helped me. :) JMO (just my opinion) of course.

My personal opinion is that each stage has different goals from a timeline. The grammar stage is all about putting it in order. They don't have to really grasp the time aspect, just see which came first, second, etc. as you move through the 4 years. Then, in Logic, when you restart the 4 year cycle all over again, they can really see how things fit together. Oh, I didn't realize Mozart was alive during the American Revolution. They start to fill in more information inbetween what they've already learned. And, I'm assuming since I'm not there yet, that Rhetoric is more of the same except there is even more connecting the dots and seeing the dates. I also think that each level needs it in a different medium; grammar needs a wall/fishing line order (think highly visual), a wall/book combo in Logic and you could just use a book for Rhetoric. So yes, do use a timeline, but think of it more as order rather than time (for 1st grade anyway).

Not sure what you've tried for math, but we've settled on CLE after unsuccessfully trying Saxon, MUS, Singapore, and Rod and Staff. RightStart was great, but not quite right and Teaching Textbooks was pretty good but fast. CLE gives my dyslexic exactly what he needs in small pieces and he knows exactly how the lesson will go and how long it will take. He likes that. Good luck,

I can only speak for what has worked for my ds14 dyslexic. I haven't tried Queens, though I do have it here and my try it. We are currently "trying" Rod and Staff but grammar is sooo confusing for my dyslexic. FLL was very good for him so I would high recommend it since it has so much repetition. I also would continue with Writing with Ease. If you really wanted to try Winning with Writing, I'd maybe add in a week here or there just to see how it goes. I agree with the pushing and bite-size pieces. If I push my son, we go nowhere; if we just take it one day at a time and get a little bit accomplished, we go miles. Oh, and diagramming..... well, I'm still out on that one. My son finds them extremely confusing and we are still only diagramming subjects and predicates. He's not at all visual though. I'm not sure if repetition with it will or help or if I should just cut my losses on it and run. I'll be happy if he just takes what he learns and applies it to his writing - forget the diagrams. :) However, I didn't learn diagramming either, so I may be biased. I'd stick to what is working for you and only add in something extra if you really need it. Less can be more. Good luck,

The nice thing about the kits (and we got ours at creation sensation I think) is that EVERYTHING came with it down to paper cups, paper clips, string, batteries, anything you could need unless its something you need fresh. If you really think you'll do all of the activities and you'll skip them if you don't have all of the items, then get it. Just my opinion of course. :) I've used Sonlight Science 3 (I think its called D now). We loved the books, my dd thought the worksheets were ok, my son hated the worksheets. Also you skip around frequently in the books. So 4 pages of this book, skip to 8 pages of these book, then another book, back to the original book, etc. We didn't like that. TOPS you should be able to find on the TOPS website. I'd also check all of these on homeschoolclassifieds.com - I've gotten some great deals there. I'll PM you as I'm actually going to sell our Sonlight Science D I think. Oh, and Zoology 2 would be fine here though not needed. You don't have to do the Zoology books in order. Hope this helps a little, don't hesitate to ask more questions,

This may be more detailed that you need but... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_world_history http://ehistory.osu.edu/world/timeline.cfm http://www.usefulcharts.com/history/timeline-of-world-history.html This one is printable. I have a bunch of links if you still want more. Good luck.

I think you've given alot of thought to this and have done a wonderful job of planning it out. IMO, Zoology gets old doing it all year long anyway, so doing something else to break the monotony would work well, but don't be surprised if you don't finish it all. I'd also recommend checking Sonlight Science but not buying it - it only adds a schedule and worksheets (unless you want or need those of course). You could see what books they recommend for each topic you need to cover and then just purchase those. Or maybe look at TOPS and a science encyclopedia as someone else mentioned. The science experiments in Zoology aren't really huge experiments. I'm not sure I'd even call them experiments, but more like activities. Some fun, some not so much. :) I, too, like having the kit. If you use Evan Moore Geography along with the same topics as A Child's Geography, it might reinforce each other, but again, don't be surprised if it takes longer than normally planned. I agree with others about the RS manipulatives. I think a few of them might work very well, but many of them I just don't think you'll need. I'd evaluate each one separately and make sure you think they'll need/use them. The Abacus is great and we've loved that but the rest are just ok and probably cheaper elsewhere. Check out Rainbow Resources or even Amazon for math kits - they might have a nice big box for cheaper. You'll realize some things you bought were great and others a waste and save a bit of money for things you didn't realize you might need/want. Have fun,

Oh, also, I'd recommend the actual book and not the downloadable pdf copy of it that they sell on their site. It's fine, there's nothing wrong with it, but I really wish I could just hold it and thumb through it sometimes.