Thank you...I appreciate it!! Do you think there would be a reason for DD to go back and do 1 or 1-1/2 too? While she still is in the sounding out stage for the most part, she does so pretty easily. I'm not sure they would be very challenging.

DD will be moving into HOP, First Grade next month and I would like to supplement with ETC. After examining the TOC of each, I think ETC 2 would be a good fit for the first half of HOP, First Grade. However, the blends are not presented in the same order. Would there be any reason I couldn't skip around in ETC 2? I've never seen an ETC book in person.

Absolutely! DH is soooo not handy. Shh!! Don't tell him I said so. ;)

I just long to find a secular homeschooling group around here. Every time I think I've found one, I get no response. Sigh. :sad:

How about $23,000 for a 15-minute helicopter ride?! :ohmy: At first, our insurance didn't want to cover it all...luckily, we won the appeal.

I'm with you. There was some Disney movie we watched the other day that has bathroom humor in it...totally wasn't impressed. Cars 2 maybe? I looked at DH and said, "Really?!" :blink:

I stay up way too late just to have time to myself. It catches up with me sometimes, so then I have to go to bed at a decent time for awhile. When I get into a mood, I take a weekend to do whatever I'm craving. I tell DH that DD is all his and I go sew or bake or whatever. If DD asks me for something during that time (if it's really going to interrupt me), I tell her to go ask Daddy. ;) Overall, I've pretty much just accepted that my life is all about DD for now. It can be exhausting, though. And, I do miss things from my old life.

Taco soup...mmm! What's even better about this meal is that DH makes it. :D Someone at work gave it to him and he's made it every time.

Vitamix is awesome! Love, love, love ours!!! This is our favorite smoothie recipe. I've had it bookmarked for some time. Just copy/pasting the original poster's post because I think it's funny. From Yahoo! Answers. -------------------------------- I used to work at a smoothie king. I can't give you the exact recipe, but I can tell you how to make something exactly the same. 1. About 1 large Banana...Maybe 1 and a half 2. Use about half a cup of Strawberries(you can buy frozen strawberries at the store in small containers. This is what SK uses.) 3. about 3 to 4 Tbsp. water 4. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. 5. 1/8 cup sugar 6. 1/8 cup milk or milk powder. they also add a little soy protein. Add about a cup or so of ice, and there you go...and Angel Food. Hope this helps Source(s): Used to work there in Glendale, Colorado.

Sweetpea. Named her before we actually got her. Totally the wrong name. Hah! ;)

LOL! I stick with the frozen bear-battered kind. ;) Gorton's to be exact. DD loves popcorn shrimp too. Well, any shrimp really.

Whatever we can find at reasonable prices. :001_smile: Right now, we have Cuties, bananas, grapes and apples. Really wanted some strawberries, but Sam's Club was all out last time we went. Can't really get any locally, as we're small and rural. They're all icky and super expensive. We buy kiwi too. DD loves cantaloupe, but I'm still shy about buying those due to the recall a couple of months ago.

I just discovered this book that I'm really excited about. (I've been searching for something decent and age-appropriate for awhile.) I'm not really into the first half of it, but I think the second half will be perfect for my DD. We're going to start as soon as I can get some of the recommended books rounded up. Nonfiction Literacy-Building Booklets & Activities Grades K–1 $21.99 You can view the entire contents at the link above. The TOC is descriptive enough that you don't have to scroll through the entire book to get a good idea of what's included.

I'd recommend some little workbooks, games, etc. that asks what sound pictures start and/or end with, etc. Also, some that practice rhyming, which will be helpful, if you plan on using phonics. You might check into Carson-Dellosa's Home Workbooks series. (I didn't sort them down to preschool reading or language arts books because it kicks some out that I think might be usable for you.) http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/SearchCatalog.aspx?k=home+workbooks&CM_VC=10001&rows=48 You can look inside most of them on their site and they are less than $5 each. Full color and fairly easy to come by too. We personally have used these two.

Not sure whether you're still looking, but I discovered this for my DD, who is 4.5 years old. I'm usually not a fan of Scholastic resources, but I think this one will be perfect for her. I'm eager to start it in a week or so. (Gotta collect some books.) Nonfiction Literacy-Building Booklets & Activities Grades K–1 $21.99 You can view the entire contents at the link above. I plan on skipping pretty much the first half of the table of contents, but there is still plenty left within the second half. Each lesson comes with a book recommendation or two (hope you have a good library), age-appropriate activity and more. I plan on doing a lesson or two per week, including lessons for specific holidays. :001_smile:

Thanks...bookmarked it! :001_smile:

Not to hijack, but I would love to find a list that breaks things down a bit. I would like to start with shorter books that have more (or some) pictures, then progress to longer books without pictures. My DD is not real good about wanting to stop after a chapter or two. We're tried this with some shorter chapter books, but we end up reading the whole thing at once. :tongue_smilie: We have tons of picture books, but I'm looking for classics.

DD is finishing up HOP: Kindergarten and will be starting HOP: First Grade next month. Is there an ETC that would fit well with HOP: First Grade? We originally avoided ETC since DD didn't yet know how to write. And, I couldn't figure out how to match it up with HOP: Kindergarten well enough. We used The Mailbox: Word Family Helpers as a supplement instead, but now she's more skilled and mature in her studies, so I think we're ready for something else. ETC would just be used to break up the monotony of HOP (not that DD doesn't like HOP, but I think variety is good) and for additional practice. HOP is our primary.

I came across the American Symbols picture book series while sniffing out a book about our flag last night. I can't find a good preview anywhere. We live in a small rural town, so I can't just run to the library or bookstore to take a peek. There are four or five of them I'm interested in, so at $8.95 a pop, I really don't want to make a mistake. Has anyone read any of these? PS - If anyone knows where to find them cheaper, I'm :bigear:.

The handwriting issue was one reason we didn't use the ETC books this year. DD is 4.5 years old and we are just finishing up the last few lowercase letters right now. So, I had to look for circle, underline, color, X-out kind of books when I started with her this past fall. Here are a couple that we use for letters/sounds. http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/CarsonDellosa/PID-104343.aspx?CM_VC=10001 - Color the letter, cut and paste. (I cut, DD colored and then pasted with a glue stick.) http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/CarsonDellosa/PID-104348.aspx?CM_VC=10001 You can view the guts of these two books by clicking on "View Inside". If they aren't quite what you're looking for, there are a ton more in the series. They retail for $4.49 each. If you have a Books-a-Million close, I saw some there for $2.49 over the weekend. We also used this one by Hooked on Phonics. Hooked On Phonics Pre-K Letter Sounds Workbook by Hooked on Phonics (Paperback - May 1, 2009) Buy new: $4.99 The Amazon preview is totally unhelpful. Christianbook.com has a better preview. - http://www.christianbook.com/hooked-on-phonics-letter-sounds/9781604991215/pd/020633?item_code=WW&netp_id=481249&event=ESRCG&view=details#curr Also, for minor handwriting, you can use letter stamps or letter stickers. We also use Scrabble tiles, thread letter beads onto pipe cleaners and/or magnetic letters on a cookie sheet off page to complete lessons.

LOL!! I've made this mistake a time or two before on another board. ;)

I can't help, but wanted to say thanks for posting the site. Totally bookmarked it! :001_smile:

I bought this one a couple of weeks ago when it was $2.99 on Amazon. I haven't checked it for accuracy. Instead of being painted/printed after it was in sphere form, it was assembled like a fabric ball would be sewn (orange peel method). Each section was printed before it was assembled, so a lot of the seams don't match up exactly, which bugs me a bit. Also, the latitude lines don't quite match up at the final seam. For whatever reason, they capped the north and south poles with blue water-colored circles. It appears that right in the middle of Antarctica there is a perfectly round body of water. It also isn't particularly detailed. For very general geography, I think it's fine. DD's still young, so it will work for our purposes for a couple of years. Eventually, we'll need to invest in something better. The plastic is nice enough, though. There is a loop on top of it so it's easy to hang. Overall, I'm glad to have it because it's better than nothing and was the right price. Learning Resources 12-Inch Inflatable Globe by Learning Resources Buy new: $9.99 $4.59

I love reading these! So fun!! I'm trying to hone in on DD interests to see whether there's anything she might really enjoy learning about. (She's at the age where she loves learning about everything.) We travel a couple of times a year and she LOVES the beach, ocean, sea birds, etc. Considering a unit study on that, but that's not real exotic. I wish I would have thought about doing a unit study about the North Pole during the holidays. She was all about that this year.

Do you know whether there are lessons/activities to go with these anywhere? Bookmarked the Intellego site too. Thank you!