I am having a very hard time dealing with it, but the fact is, I am needing an open-and-go, independent workbook style curriculum, at least for a while. Life is changing again, and our time factor has gone to almost zilch. My 8-yr-old dd can read really well independently, and follow written directions, and I'm looking for something for her (2nd-3rd grade levels) that she can do on her own. The only curriculum I can think of off the top of my head is AO Lifepacs. Are there any others? THANKS!!! mousebandit

I'm learning more about spiral vs mastery in math curriculums, and wondering which side of things Rays Arithmetic and Right Start math fall on? THANKS! MouseBandit

Thank you to everyone who replied and tried to help me sort out my thinking on this! Hunter - you have always been someone on here I feel I can relate to very well - I sure appreciate your thoughts!! For the others who also had conflicted feelings on this topic, I found a book that I'm reading and it's really giving me a lot to think about. It's unabashedly Christian - and it's called "Teaching the Trivium" by Bluedorn. I highly recommend it for Christian parents. :-) Hope you all have an awesome week! MouseBandit

My husband went through it when he was homeschooled, and we call him the human calculator, LOL. He can literally do complex trig and volume stuff in his head faster than the guys on his construction crew can plug it into their calculators. I am a believer, and we will be utilizing it at some point with our kids. :-) Mouse Bandit

Thank you all for the additional replies. I'll address a couple of things: Umsami - I didn't say that I was raised pagan. I was raised LDS, and as a young adult turned to paganism, therefore I came to Christianity from a pagan background. I am acutely aware of what the LDS beliefs are and how they would describe themselves. I was very careful to NOT say anything against their beliefs, nor paganism for that matter, except that I am no longer in that camp of thinking, and that I now describe myself as a born-again Christian. :-) I didn't speak dismissively about anyone. I was very intentionally circumspect in my statements to avoid offending anyone. For those who took my question to mean simply that I fear my children will read "something" - whether that be pagan mythology or anything else - and *become* a follower of that belief system - that wasn't what I was intending to convey. My concern is that it can be the first step on a very enticing and slippery slope. I can definitively say that in my own life, it happened just that way. Without getting into it all, one book led to another, one study led to another, and by the time I was 7 or 8, I was quite the little expert on most things "paranormal." I had a "fascination" with all such things, and once my faith in the religion that I was raised in began to crumble, it was a very short jump over to paganism, and new age teachings. Again, just to re-iterate, I am not afraid of my children reading or being exposed to one thing, and "losing their religion". :-) I'm afraid of exposing them to teachings and concepts that directly oppose my beliefs, before they've had a sufficient foundation in what we *do* believe to readily recognize the difference. Ms Ivy - there is SO much truth in what you said!! YES! 4blessingmom - those are some excellent points, and I will be considering them carefully! Hadn't thought about any of that, but yes, I can see exactly what you're saying! For those who take this to mean that I don't allow my children to read anything other than Bible, or non-christian authors or whatever, that is not at all what I'm saying, nor what I practice. :-) I'm not attempting to "indoctrinate" my children with only the facts and information that I deem necessary to replicate in them my own worldview. However, as their parent, and as a Christian parent, I do fully believe it is my responsibility to teach them truth, obviously as I know it, and to direct them back to their Creator. I think there is a great responsibility on me as a parent to use discernment in what information and knowledge my children ingest, especially at a young age, the same as I hold the responsibility to supervise what they ingest as food and nutrition. They have not yet developed discernment for healthy foods vs unhealthy foods any more than they have for healthy and *building* knowledge and information vs *unhealthy* or *dangerous*. Many non-Christians will likely scoff at the idea that any knowledge or information could be dangerous, and that is fine - it's your belief. :-) But for my worldview, there is absolutely knowledge out there that can ultimately be detrimental to their lifelong and eternal well-being. I wish to use discernment as to when the best time to introduce such information to kids will be. :-) I will continue to ponder on this matter. I truly am torn. I do appreciate the input and commentary you're all providing! THANK YOU! MouseBandit

Thank you! FYI, I was raised LDS. (I am no longer LDS, I am a born-again Christian.) I was, actually, very worried that skipping them until 5th grade would cause gaps, so your reassurance that it wouldn't was exactly what I needed! I think I just feel like we need some more time to build our foundation of what is true, what is lovely, what is praiseworthy, etc, before we start to study and immerse ourselves in what is completely contrary to God's Word. So, I will just skip them for now, and stop stressing over it, LOL! THANK YOU! MouseBandit

I love the WTM method of going through history chronologically, starting with the Ancients. However, I'm concerned about exposing my children so young to the paganism and witchcraft that permeates mythology and fairy tales. I'm torn - I agree that they need to learn it to be able to join "the great conversation" and understand so much that stems from these, but I can see how easy it is to develop a "fascination" with these topics, especially so young. I am a Christian who came from a paganism background, and it's very easy to trace my involvement back to early reading and "fascination" as a child. How do other Christian parents prepare their children for this exposure? Have any of you skipped it in large part of altogether in the Grammar stage? What are your thoughts? Thanks! MouseBandit

Hey everyone! I'm re-reading WTM, and have a revised edition; I know there's newer ones now. In this edition, they recommend FLL as the initial grammar text, switching into Rod & Staff in 4th grade. Are these still considered the clearest and (at least for R&S) most rigorous available? Also, in this edition, FLL seems to be a single book. Looking on the classifieds here and amazon, it seems to now be available as multiple books of various levels. Did they just re-print, breaking it into different "grade levels"? Thank you!! MouseBandit

I am sure Elle will respond soon - she knows all things Spalding! I am very curious, though, what prompted your switch from SWR to WRTR? :-) MouseBandit

TY for sharing this!! :-)

I would check out Azure Standard co-op. www.azurestandard.com They have awesome stuff and drops / ship pretty much all over the country. :-) Mouse Bandit

Wash with an exfoliating Olay face wash, then Nerium AD night cream. I usually it morning and evening, unless I"m going somewhere and putting on makeup, then I'll use the day cream under makeup. LOVE IT so much, I became a brand partner. All natural botanical, gives incredible results. I also use their body cream - Nerium FIRM. It rocks on cellulite and loose skin. :-) Mouse Bandit

I never was a face cream kind of girl, but a few girls that I grew up with started using and marketing a new botanical product and raved about it. I ignored it for a while, but then i could see, just from fb photos over a few months, that they were looking WAY AMAZING. So, I got on board, and got some and it's phenomenal. I ended up being a brand partner for the company too, LOL. THey have a patented botanical super anti-oxidant that boosts up the collagen production. It's all natural, seriously good stuff. They also have a body cream that is stronger and has more skin-firming ingredients, and it gives results that are nearly unbelievable. It's Nerium Age-Defying. If anyone wants to see my personal before/after photos (3 weeks) or some of the other before/afters that people have submitted, msg me. Like I said, I was never a skin cream girl, until I saw what this stuff did. I would NEVER be without it now. I'm 43, my sister is 62 and loves it too, our mom is 86 and she loves it too, LOL. Mouse Bandit

Hi! Been absent for quite a while with more health drama, but I think we're on the upswing now, and we're FINALLY starting school on the 8th. Still planning to use the Principle Approach, which means with K, we're doing WRTR (or more likely SWR) and Right Start for math. After I get through a couple of months staying on track, and with no more health drama, we'll start to add in other subjects. :-) Just checking to see who else is on here doing PA or the Noah Plan, or some derivative of it this year. Mouse Bandit

Wow - I was just like OP - totally overthinking! That is brilliant the way they do it!