Plant Parts, The Life of Plants is the resource used for Elemental Science's Biology for Grammar Stage. I can't comment on it b/c we are not there yet. Hth

My plan is to work w/ my 2 boys (4 & 3 in Oct) 4 days a week. We'll be using AAR Pre-1 doing the language exercises w/ ds(4) and the letter sheets w/ both. Because both boys are solid in letter and sound identification, we will be moving quickly. I'll start AAR1 with ds(4) in January. I may then go back and do AAR Pre-1 language exercises with ds(3) if he is ready. Ds(4) will start HWoT Pre-k w/ ds(3) joining in on some of the gross motor/tactile skills (play dough, drawing in shaving cream, rice, etc) if he wants. For math, ds(4) will start RIghtstart A, taking it slowly and stretching it through K as he is interested. Together we're doing BFIAR and FIAR books. I'm planning on monthly "themes" and using books that tie to the theme. I'll pull additional resources for our theme from homeschool Creations, Confession of a Homeschooler, 2 Teaching Mommies, 1+1+1=1 and other sites. "Tot trays" and sensory bins will round out our monthly themes. This time is really the centerpiece of our "preschool time". We have a lot of fun, do lots of play-acting, building (&demolishing), cooking and messy art/crafts. The boys pretty much pick and choose the activities we do. Then we will do some science experiments using Elemental Science Exploring Science. I also "scheduled" 2 hours of outside play / informal nature walks a day. If it's school, it has to get done, right? (even in the winter). That sounds like a lot but I plan on limiting language/phonics lessons and math lessons to 10 minutes each. Everything else for as long as they are interested.

Here's the exploring science link.

I'm going to be starting it in Aug w/ my 2 ds (4&3). My eldest is really curious, I think it will be nice to have something laid out for me to feed that curiosity. I'm really looking forward to it.

It is fairly easy to separate out the phonemic awareness activities. Each lesson has 2 pages. The front page lists the letter activities. The UC activities are the same for each letter, the lc activities the same, and the sound activities the same. The Phonemic awareness activities are on the back of the page. This is what I do, take the worksheets out of the student book. But the UC A sheet on lesson 1 page in the teacher manual, lc a worksheet on lesson 2 page, sound a worksheet in lesson 3 page. Continue w/ UC B on lesson 4 page, lc b on lesson 5, sound b on lesson 6 and keep going. You will know when you see the UC page to: do that page, read The zig zag zebra for that letter, use the UC chart and do whatever other handwriting exercises you want to do for that letter. Then do the PA activities that are on the back of that page in the TM. When you have a lc letter you would do all of the above except you'll be reading out of Lizard Lou and using the lc chart. For the sound worksheet you will be finding objects that make that in the pictures of both the Zig Zag Zebra book and Lizard Lou book and using the sound cards. I hope that makes sense. If you don't want to put the worksheets in the TM, you can put a post-it in w/ a note: Lesson 1 UC A, lesson 2 lc a, lesson 3 sound a, etc a. And remember: UC = Zig Zag Zebra, lc= Lizard Lou, sound = both and going over cards. Hth

Confessions of a Homeschooler has all of her Lotw printables available for $10, which includes lesson plans.

I personally would love one. Sure there are a lot of preschool resources out there, a newbie googling would across many "teacher/ school" resources which to me have a feel to them that I didn't like as a Mom. Almost 2 years ago I discovered 1+1+1=1 from a post on this forum. From there I found Confessions of a Homeschooler, Counting Coconuts, Homeschool Creations, etc. They all have been invaluable to me. But the problems with blogs (for me) is that a don't really have a sense of community. Besides a comment thanking the person for the work and maybe sharing my experience, I wouldn't feel comfortable asking other/general questions directed at the blogger. Posting a question in a forum where any/multiple people who have no obligation to do so is much more comfy to me. I wouldn't feel as if I was pestering anyone. It can be a bit intimidating on the regular board. The couple of times I posted I have been treated well. I think that some homeschoolers of older kids have forgotten how nerve-wracking it can be for moms whose eldest is ps age. Whether or not someone engages in a formal curricum we are endeavoring to provide a good foundation for future learning. We can be full of doubts as to whether we are too much or not enough and trying to figure out our dc's personalities, strengths & weaknesses. It would be nice to have a place where we could go and lean on each other.

My guess is that geology would cover just the physical structure of the earth: core, mantle & crust. Including a study of rocks, minerals, soils, plus tectonic movement (earthquakes, volcanoes, etc). Earth science would add things like climate (atmosphere) and ecology (environmental science).

Pre-K (ds4) LA: AAR Pre-level 1 & HWoT Pre-K Math: Rightstart A (about 1-2 lessons/week) Music: My First Piano Adventure Preschool (ds 3) LA: AAR PL1 (letter activities only as he is interested) Math: manipulative free play Both BFIAR w/ preschool packs from Homeschool Creations plus corresponding unit studies as interested. Science: ES Exploring Science using Science Play! Art: free art time, painting, coloring, cutting, Play dough, crafts Music: informal composer study Various tot trays, gross & fine motor activities, lots of outdoor time and lots of read alouds.

When shopping at Target w/ my 2 yo ds we passed a display of hanging Chinese paper lanterns. DS: Look Mommy, p(l)anets! There's Jupter. Me: Oh, which one? DS The Biiiig One. And Satern, Neptune, Urnus, earf, Mecry, and Mars. Me: Where's Mars? DS: The red one. (Duh, mom) Teenager setting display up: Can he come with me to science class? :lol: As we are leaving the area, cue the 2yo tantrum. No! NO!, I want to watch panets!

My plan for K year (not there yet) is to use elemental science's Intro to Science mostly to give me structure. In addition to the mud pies and magnets, it schedules nature activities using the Handbook for Nature Studies as a reference. That being said you can use the DK or eyewitness books on a specific topic that strike their fancy. When they come to a picture they like you can explain to them some facts about it at their own level. There's no need to read the whole section with a bunch of info that's over their head. Although you might want to read it ahead of time for yourself. This past month we did a "space" theme for my almost 4 yo. I picked up a DK book on space at the library and books about rockets & astronauts. My ds absolutely loved the books. When he looked at the planets, I told him the names, then over the next few days he asked me the names ass he came to the pictures. By the end of the week he knew all the names and their proper order from the sun. Later we talked about how the planets revolved around the sun. We demonstrated by going around the pole in the basement. Then I explained how planets rotate/spin, around. It was real fun spinning around and walking/running around the pole. Then we talked about how some planets are hot and some cold based on how close to the sun they were. Looking at the space travel books led to discussions on us needing oxygen to breathe (why are they wearing helmets), how space does not have Oxygen but Earth has just the right amount for us to breathe. Gravity (throwing objects in the air), and how rockets get up into the air are other things we talked about. This was our first time doing this, and it went really well. Next week starts Ocean month, and I don't know if it will go so well. So I think it's possible to use DK books, just save the reading until they're older. Simply talk to them about what's in the pictures, answer any questions, and demonstrate/act out if possible (fun and silliness encouraged). Btw, returned the library books tonight, Ds cried. Looks like I need to buy them.

My plan for K year (not there yet) is to use elemental science's Intro to Science mostly to give me structure. In addition to the mud pies and magnets, it schedules nature activities using the Handbook for Nature Studies as a reference. That being said you can use the DK or eyewitness books on a specific topic that strike their fancy. When they come to a picture they like you can explain to them some facts about it at their own level. There's no need to read the whole section with a bunch of info that's over their head. Although you might want to read it ahead of time for yourself. This past month we did a "space" theme for my almost 4 yo. I picked up a DK book on space at the library and books about rockets & astronauts. My ds absolutely loved the books. When he looked at the planets, I told him the names, then over the next few days he asked me the names as he came to the pictures. By the end of the week he knew all the names and their proper order from the sun. Later we talked about how the planets revolved around the sun. We demonstrated by going around the pole in the basement. Then I explained how planets rotate/spin, around. It was real fun spinning around and walking/running around the pole. Then we talked about how some planets are hot and some cold based on how close to the sun they were. Looking at the space travel books led to discussions on us needing oxygen to breathe (why are they wearing helmets), how space does not have Oxygen but Earth has just the right amount for us to breathe. Gravity (throwing objects in the air), and how rockets get up into the air are other things we talked about. This was our first time doing this, and it went really well. Next week starts Ocean month, and I don't know if it will go so well. So I think it's possible to use DK books, just save the reading until they're older. Simply talk to them about what's in the pictures, answer any questions, and demonstrate/act out if possible (fun and silliness encouraged). Btw, returned the library books tonight, Ds cried. Looks like I need to buy them.

UI use COAH preschool printables and we love them. While my kids were away for a weekend, I did all my printing. I used 3 print cartridges of both black & color. It took a long time. I also laminated most everything b/c my 2 yr old will be doing it later. I also use printables of other sites. We do 3-4 week theme units. Here is my blog post for this years plans w/ links to sites that have preschool ideas. Sorry I don't have any in action posts. It simply became too difficult w/ 2 boys to be actively taking pics. Hope to get back to blogging next year. My ds(3.5) has grown a lot and enjoys most of what we do. Btw I love your blog, Lexi. Almost everything you do w/ your dd, I was planning on in the future.

Feels like a trunk of a tree rammed through your middle from the front and back. I got gallstones w/ my 1st pregnancy, though at the time I thought it was preg. Related gas pain. When it came back 4 months after giving birth, I knew it wasn't. I had a few more attacks then they went away for about 10 months didn't have them when I was pregnant w/my 2nd. Then came 2months of attacks at a rate of 1-2 a week. Sometimes 3 vicadin would hardly help. (it was worse than child birth w/ no epidural/pain medicine). I tried changing diet, etc. The attacks stopped again for awhile, came back again, stopped and came back. I couldn't eat many types of veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc) and citrus. I finally threw in the towel and got it removed roughly 4 years after my 1st attack. The surgeon said I was lucky to have finally done it. My gallbladder was severely diseased from the attacks and had built up scar tissue and was close to infecting my pancreas. A big reason I finally had it removed (besides the tremendous pain & diet restrictions) was that a friend's dad died from pancreatitis brought on by gallstones. If you have them, I highly recommend getting your gallbladder out and avoid the misery and possibly dire health consequences. Btw the most common way for women to get gallstones is pregnancy. Another one of those lovely body changes.

I've whittled my amazon reading wishlist of over 200 books to this. I couldn't help but through in a 4th alternate in the elementary years. My list does loosely follow the 4 year cycle. Considering that this is a Literature list for school, I've included more "classic" titles. I've tried to include a little of adventure stories, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction works. As I have two boys, my list leans that way. I've included links to some hardcover illustrated (usually abridged) editions of books. I really like the idea of having this kind of books that can be handed down. I believe a pp mentioned it. Some of them are available used only. My list (younger years as read alouds): Preschool 2 yrs: Complete Adventure of Curious George -Rey (original 6 stories) Mike Mulligan and More Burton Preschool 3 yrs: My Father's Dragon Trilogy The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter James Herriot's Treasury for Children Preschool 4 yrs Mr. Popper's Penguins A Bear CalledPaddington Winnie the Pooh Collection Kindergarten Wizard of Oz (I have this beautifully illustrated version from my childhood) Uncle Wiggily's Storybook Aesop's Fables 1st Grade Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales Jungle Book Note: the book linked does not contain Rikki Tikki Tavi D'aulaires Greek Myths Lighter alternate: Ralph and the Motorcycle 2nd Grade Peter and Wendy King Arthur Adventures of Robin Hood Lighter Alternate: Charlotte's Web 3rd Grade Call of the Wild or White Fang Wind in the Willows http://www.amazon.com/Story-Doctor-Dolittle-Books-Wonder/dp/0688140017/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I22UODFO9DVYKH&colid=34235ARZHO4Y9 Lighter Alternate: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh 4th grade The Railway Children Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Chronicles of Narnia Lighter Alternate: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 5th Grade Arabian Nights Black Ships Before Troy and Wanderings of Odysseus - Sutcliffe The Bronze Bow Lighter Alternate: A Wrinkle in Time 6th Grade Swiss Family Robinson Secret Garden Johnny Tremain Lighter Alternate: Island of the Blue Dolphins 7th Grade Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Red Badge of Courage Tom Sawyer 8th Grade The Time Machine A Separate Peace To Kill a Mockingbird 9th Grade Anthology of Greek Plays Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings 10th Grade Anthology of Shakespeare Pilgrim's Progress Moby Dick 11th Grade Les Miserables Crime and Punishment Great Expectations 12th Grade Grapes of Wrath Animal Farm Fahrenheit 451

The http://http://www.elementalscience.com/elemental science program uses Van Cleeve books for grammar stage biology, earth science and astronomy along w/ other books. I can't tell you much about b/c my ds is not there yet, but I'm leaning towards this program when he is.

:iagree: I bought AAR pre-1 when my ds already knew his letters and sounds down pat. I think those other exercises are what makes the program. IMO no one needs a program to teach letters/sounds: Starfall, Leapfrog DVD's, and alphabet books are the way to go for that. It is the rhyming, segmenting/syllables that provide an excellent basis for teaching phonics rules (I plan on using) coming up. I did not have a phonics based education, so I need all the help I can get in that area. In reading up on phonics/spelling rules, I saw how important knowing syllables and segmenting words are. I want my child to have a good understanding of that BEFORE we reach the "rule" stage. But AAR is pricey, I bought mine used, and I have another ds to use it with (who also mostly knows his letters/sounds) to help in justifying the cost. I have seen similar exercises on the internet, I just needed to have it laid out for me. AAR pre-1 will not get your child to reading, it is a foundation for reading - so that is the big difference (besides cost) to OPGTR - you will need to follow up with another program to begin reading. I was already planning on using WRTR or PR1 to teach reading. So when AAR pre-1 came out, it seemed the perfect way to get a good foundation.

I got it (used) for my 3.5 ds and will start using it soon. I haven't used it yet but in reading through it I found that it is the phonemic, rhyming, and syllable exercises that really make the curriculum. My ds knows his letters and primary sounds inside out; it is the other activities that I know will help prepare him for reading. I also look at it as a fun, gentle introduction to the more structured lessons coming up. You CAN find ideas for similar exercises on the internet, but it is so nice (for me) to have it all laid out. I'm a newbie to homeschooling and phonics based reading. I also have another ds right behind him (who also has knows his letters and sounds pretty well) so that helps in justifying the cost. I plan on him working on the letter sheets with us (as he wants) and then going back through with him later working on the other exercises. ETA: The phonemic awareness exercises are integrated throughout the whole curriculum, so it is not like you are spending so many weeks working on letters, sounds and then rhyming, syllables, etc. HTH Kerry

My library system has about 85% of the titles. Here is an Amazon list of the titles in Vol. 1&2. and Vol 3 List. I would look them up on your library's online catalog to see if the have them or are available for ILL. For The ones your library doesn't have you can easily see what used ones are going for on Amazon do give you a general idea of prices. Doing this research will give you the clearest picture of whether this is cost effective/worth it to you. I think that there are 4 books in all three volumes, that I won't do, b/c my library does not have and are OOP and extremely pricey. I've found that if the are pricey on Amazon they are going to be hard to get cheaply anywhere. But one can always get lucky. My library has a three week check out - so my plan is to put a hold on the books 2 weeks before I need them. As we go to the library every week, I just pick up the books put on hold when we go. My library also states in the online catalog if a book is unavailable and when it is supposed to be returned, so I can adjust books scheduled fairly easily. Since the books are not sequential it does not matter when you do them HTH

Target is sponsoring a Free family day at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. on Monday 2/20. This would be a great place to go if you live in MI, NW Ohio area. From the website: Join us for live music, dramatic presentations, make and take activities and much more in Henry Ford Museum. Thanks to the generosity of Target, admission to the Museum and parking are free during Target Family Days. Explore the greatest collection ever assembled documenting the American Experience. There is a great display on the evolution of the automobile, a Heros of the Sky exhibit with lots of planes, and a new "With Liberty and Justice for All" exhibit highlighting struggles for freedom in our history. There will also be other Family Free days Sept 3 and October 21st.

Target is sponsoring a Free family day at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. on Monday 2/20. This would be a great place to go if you live in MI, NW Ohio area. From the website: Join us for live music, dramatic presentations, make and take activities and much more in Henry Ford Museum. Thanks to the generosity of Target, admission to the Museum and parking are free during Target Family Days. Explore the greatest collection ever assembled documenting the American Experience. There is a great display on the evolution of the automobile, a Heros of the Sky exhibit with lots of planes, and a new "With Liberty and Justice for All" exhibit highlighting struggles for freedom in our history.

I use GV for my Sunday School class. The workbooks are helpful in that they provide headings and captions for your child sketches...keeping them somewhat neat and preventing kids from using LOTS of paper as some kids would, and minimizing some writing. The review questions and verse references are also listed for each lesson again minimizing additional writing for the kids. Some lessons also have "lists" (10 commandments, plagues, reasons, etc) in which some info/questions are listed and then the kids would write in the additional info. That being said the teacher's book is really a copy of the student with all the info filled out (plus other info) so you CAN give your children this info to write out in their own book. I guess it depends on your kids and how much additional writing they want to do and how neat/orderly you want it. HTH

I'm planning on using FIAR w/ my boys in the fall also. I LOVE the blog Delightful Learning. She has a drop down list for all her "rows" with wonderful ideas from hands on projects to cooking and printables. She also includes links to other outside resources, and a schedule that she mapped out grouping books by season and region of the world. She is still currently "rowing" books so not every book has ideas, but she has about 15 done so far plus BFIAR books. HTH

My ds is currently 3.5. My plans in regards to reading were to start AAR pre-1 with him in the fall at roughly 4.5 yo and then start Phonics Road w/ him the following fall when he is 5.5 Then I was going to proceed slowly with PR1 through K and 1st. I know that PR was designed w/ 1st graders in mind. However, he now can identify UC & LC letters and their initial sounds with ease. He also likes to tell me a word, have me give the individual sounds back to him while he gives me the correct letter to write down. He came up with this activity pretty much on his own. I can tell he is getting bored with just his letters and sounds. He also has gotten upset when a letter doesn't make the initial sound he knows. I.e. he wanted me to write Mommy and Daddy, when I wrote the "y" at the end, he wanted to correct me by saying the "Y says /y/". I told him that it doesn't in this case, after awhile he accepted it but I could tell he was not happy. So, I was thinking about starting him on AAR Pre-1 in January to work on his rhyming, syllabication, writing/forming the letters (he traces pretty well right now), and the concept of formal lessons (we are VERY informal). But I'm pretty sure we will be done with it by fall or winter. Then what? I'm definitely sold on a WRTR approach, and like w/ PR that I will be taught too. I really have limited phonics knowledge (was a natural reader in the look-say era) so I can't tell him when he questions a certain sound WHY it makes that sound instead of another sound. This is what really limits me in keeping it pretty informal w/ him. I need the formal lessons! So after all that, my questions/options are: 1. Should I just stay put where we are at and start AAR in Aug, stretch it out w/ some supplements until he's 5? then start PR1. 2. Start AAR now and start PR1 at about 4.5 yo? Has anyone else started PR this young? If so how did it go? 3. Do AAR pre-1 then use something else like OPGR, 100 EZ, AAR level 1)? before PR. I'm VERY hesitant about starting anything really formal before 5ish , but I can tell he wants to be learning more. Another question: Do I need something like HWoT before/during PR to teach/practice letter formation or is that taught in PR as you learn the phonograms? I'm also sweating the fact that I discovered my just turned 2 yo knows about 90% of his letters and sounds without really any direct teaching from me. Curse that Letter Factory DVD!:D Thankfully he's very content in playing at this level. If you've read all that, Thanks! from this just starting out homeschool mom. PS. I've known since before they were born that I wanted to homeschool but my plan was to send them to ps until 2nd or 3rd then hs. My thoughts: teaching calculus in high school - no sweat; teaching how to read - YIKES!

I think that MOST children have one or more traits in varying degrees that as adults we would consider "undesirable" or at least need to be tempered (i.e selfishness, impulsiveness, laziness, perfectionist, etc). This is FINE and perfectly normal...and why we teach them to share, etc. (These same children also have lots of positive traits that, as parents, we need to help them enhance). Not all need instruction in all areas and some areas need a lot MORE instruction than others. I think were it is seen a character "flaw" is in teens and adults who let this trait CONTROL their actions. (Again not in CHILDREN as they need the tools to deal w/ such things). I think for some these "negative" traits are basically outgrown but in others they could be a constant battle into adulthood. Again, nothing wrong in having these traits or having to "battle" them. Willingly letting them dominate your life, is another - hence the - lazy slob, etc. Having the tendency to be lazy is OK, sitting around in your PJs all day, every day while others take care of you when you are ABLE to, is not. I myself am lazy- and because I recognize that fact, I am able to structure my life to counteract that tendency. When I tell people that I'm lazy, they laugh and say - but you do such and such, etc.. Yes, but if I didn't have so much to do, I would do NOTHING! So even though I tend to laziness, I CHOOSE not to be a "good for nothing". So, to me when someone says a child is lazy - I just see it as a recognition of a perfectly normal trait that the child has that he/she may need help in learning to deal with - not that the child is a "good for nothing". Now when someone says it about an adult - I picture a 20 yr. old playing video games all day, while his mom cooks for him, does his laundry and gives him spending money :tongue_smilie:.