Ok, I'm laughing at myself....now I want to check out the middle edition(s). That's not to say that the newest edition is not great. I just felt refreshed going back to the original recommendations(again, for us).

I just wanted to share.....I have shelves of curriculum and still manage to read about something new that I would love to add to my collection(1/2 of which is not even getting used!). Anyway, I purchased a used edition of TWTM c1999 and suddenly feel calm. It was obviously written many years ago....which means years before tons of new curriculum came out. The history recommendation is before SOTW The Science is before Apologia etc, etc. The 1999 recommendations are working so much better for us. It's just been a breath of fresh air for me...thought it might help someone else who is stuck in the curriculum swamp.

I have the 1999 edition of WTM (love this edition!). For the grammar stage they suggest Planet Earth and Stars and Planets from Visual Factfinder series...to use as your spine. HTH.

This is so sad. I just said a prayer for the family. It just breaks my heart.

Wanted to give you :grouphug: I could have written your post...just wanted you to know that I understand.

I think they look great. I was just thinking about looking for a new file box. Thanks. I say go for it.

Yes, I have a ds who has done the same thing with SOTW 1. Though, he does not do this with every book I read. If he is super interested he will be able to share what I read. Could it be that your dd is not interested (yet) in the content of that particular book?

We tried one of the 2nd grade light units for LA....wasn't a good fit for us. I was hoping for more instruction. I like CLE reading and math.

I'm considering CKE Earth & Space for my 8 yr olds, as well. I've been looking throught it and have thought the same thing....there is too much writing for my dc. I'm either going to save it for next year or just tweak it a bunch. I thought that they could do many of the sheets, but we would probably skip the "reading sheet". I'm trying to figure out a fun way to have them make a book w/ the map sheets etc. Again, I'm also thinking of waiting until next year. As crazy as it may sound, we are also going to do Nebel's BFSU. I just LOVE his science book. I thought I could weave the 2 books together?? Have you made any more decisions about CKE?

Wow, this post thread has been very encouraging. Thank you(OP) for starting it! I wanted to follow the WTM history cycle starting in 1st grade. Unfortunately, SOTW did not work well for us that year. I waited a few months and tried again....and failed again. We opened SOTW 1 again this summer and have been slowly reading it. I still notice that my dc(8) glaze over while reading, but I'm determined to finish it. I skip over some of the mythology stories because it seems to be hard for them to differentiate between real and pretend(in this book). After we read a short chapter, I grab my Usborne Ancient picture books and show them some colorful pictures about what we just read. We also look at the globe if applicable. I have a feeling that waiting until they are 10-12 to cycle through would work better for us.

We belonged to a co-op last year, but have chosed to take this year off. I'm doing the happy dance.....excited not to have the commitment and stress that was involved. We do belong to a homeschool yahoo group, but not anything that meets regularly. This is our fun and fancy free year:001_smile: I could possibly see us joing a co-op during our highschool years.

My boys would not have been emotionally ready for 1st grade at 6. Another thing to think about- We have lived in different states, with different cut off dates.....so the average age for each grade has changed from state to state. Regardless, I'm very glad that my dc started K at 6, which means that they started 2nd at 8.

:iagree:

:iagree: Thank you. This is so true.

You speak my language:lol:

I wrote stereotype because the families that we have come across in our homeschool path automatically assume that we are Lego lovers. Maybe stereotype is not the correct word. Really, I should have titled it "Why do so many people assume that- because we homeschool and have boys- we love to play with Legos?". After reading all of the responses, I've realized that NOT everybody assumes this.....for some reason, we keep meeting families who have different interests than ours. We just happen to meet Lego lovin' kids. It doesn't seem to bother my boys . I think it bothers me:lol:

Oh, I understand why a homeschool family/child would like them. Heck, I like them....I love all of their pretty colors. My children are just not that interested in them. I get that they are used to keep busy fingers occupied during lessons, but that would not work in our home. Give them a pile of rocks, marbles, Beanie Babies(etc) and they will have a blast. Legos, not so much.

Well, thank you. I really needed to hear from at least a few other families that sounded similar to us. I guess I needed some reassurance. Silly, isn't it.

:iagree: Yep, same thing in our house. Though, as I mentioned, they love the little Lego guys. As you mentioned, right now I can hear my boys acting out different characters and jumping on their mini trampoline...and then I'm reassured:001_smile:

:iagree: I could totally relate to your post. Thanks for sharing!!

I've always found this stereotype sort of interesting. My boys could take or leave Legos. They love the Lego guys and will make up all kinds of pretend stories around them, but building with Legos has never been their passion. In each homeschool circle that we have been it is assumed that my boys must love Legos. At our last homeschool co-op, the morning devotion was centered around Legos....we have been invited to Lego parties...playdates are focused around Legos. I'm fine with all that( I guess) but it's starting to feel like we are the only homeschooling family of boys who like to do a list of other things before playing with Legos. Really, unless I pull the bin out, they forget we even have them. Tell me, are we the only non-Lego loving family?

I used brown paper grocery bags. I cut them up, wrap with tape and then use the white paperback swap label. Really easy. Most of the books I receive seem to be wrapped the same way.

Karis-Thanks for clarifying. I think I used the word "girlfriend" too loosely. She's a person I met a few months ago...more than an acquintance. Anyway, no worries.....I think there was a bit of miscommunication throughout the post:001_smile: I did learn a lot through this post, thank you all! I'm guessing that they got a quiet divorce and will marry when this situation blows over. Wow.

I'm a Christian. I struggled for a while with my Christianity.....one day I realized that it was certain Christians, it was what man had turned Jesus and the Bible into, it was so many man-made Christian "habits", it was people that I needed healing from and not my faith, hope and love for Jesus. I believe that Christianity today is very different than Jesus had meant for it to be. Just MY thoughts , from my experiences.....please no one attack me. And with that being said....I'm re-learning who He is. Wishing you peace and clarity Joanne.

Any opinions of either? Has anyone used one and then switched to the other(and why)? Thank you! BTW-This is for the lower years(2 and 3rd to be exact)