This is what I bought for my daughter. We have used it for a year and it has held up wonderfully. These are the larger size drawers, which I like because even the larger hardcover books fit inside well. If the slightly smaller drawers would be okay for your use, my local Sam's Club has them on the shelf right now for about $25 each. I got one of the smaller ones for my son, mainly because I didn't want to spend $50 again. If you are looking for the traditional set up, Walmart sells the clear plastic shoe boxes for 96 cents each.

Mine started at about 7-8 months .. except the newest one who started at 5 months (bigger baby from birth, nursing every hour still at that point). We started all on veggies. We did do baby food - but only homemade baby food. Firsts were green beans, peas, spinach, broccoli, avocado, squash, carrots and sweet potatoes. After that we went to fruits. We did not do any meats until teeth were in (my kids get teeth very late) and nothing dairy until 12 months. My two older kids are excellent eaters - always eat all their veggies and usually ask for more. They drink only milk and water throughout the day with juice only allowed with lunch. They love cheese and yogurt as well. They always much on baby carrots, bell peppers and cucumbers for snacks. Don't know if it's due to the way we introduced their solids, but we will continue to do it this way.

Does anyone know if AAS is ever put on sale? I really need to get the next levels and I am having no luck finding them used, but the thought of buying them new hurts my wallet :(

We have been using this as well this year. DD has enjoyed .. in fact she recently claimed that history is her favorite subject :) We have not done a craft project every week only because sometimes we haven't had the time or I just didn't want to do it (like one on making your own dye), but I agree that the book choices have been great and I have been able to find almost all of them at our local library. We have also been watching Liberty's Kids videos when they match up just for some extra reinforcement. Plus I created our own simple little timeline so hopefully some of it will stick. I think it's a great introduction and for me personally it was important to at least expose dd to some U.S history before starting SOTW next year.

Oh no! We have been watching these, lining them up with our Adventures in America lessons!! So sad to hear this Does anyone know why they are being removed??

DD studies Tang Soo Do. We pay about $160/month. We have the option of up to 5 classes a week, but currently she only attends 3x a week. Classes are an hour long each. We paid $25 for her Dobok (uniform). We haven't paid anything for testing and dd has had 3 color belt advances and numerous testings for stripes.

Next year we will be using Biblioplan and SOTW 1 for History. I plan to use the free timeline picture pieces from Hannah's Helps to place on our timeline. However, I am not sure how to actually set up the timeline itself. This will be our first time using a timeline and I'm not sure what it should look like. Should I just use a long strip across a wall? Should I use a triangle shape like the timeline shown in Hannah's Helps? What has worked best for you as far as easy set up and ease of use? What has worked the best for your dc as far as being a good visual tool? Can you show me some pics?

I use the list option on our library's site. I make a different folder for each week of school and save all titles for all subjects that I will need in it. Then I go back and request everything in that folder 2 weeks before we need it. It has worked great this whole last year and I'm currently in the process of setting up my lists for the coming year.

We are using AAS as well. We just started on level 2. So far there is nothing in AAS that she can't handle - she is doing very well with that program. We are moving through it pretty quickly. But then again .. we have not reached any of the words/rules that I notice her struggling with in every day reading. We will surely slow down once we get to that point.

We have not used this yet, but this is what I plan to do for next year with dd. I plan to use both - the artist and the composer study. I love that the artists one is free, but I believe that the composer one is only about $5 so I think that's a good price for a curriculum. Plus all the suggested books are available at my local library.

Aha!! Thank you! That should make my search much easier .. didn't even think to look for an index..duh:tongue_smilie:

Oh ... wanted to add ... she has no problem with straight CVC words and no problem with words that have a silent-e. I only started noticing inconsistencies when we got to the different ways to make the long vowel sounds .. she often forgets and does not see them as a pair, but tries to sound out each letter individually.

I never thought of breaking up the ETC books .. that may be a good option if I want to start with OPGTR and still keep doing ETC ... I'm just not sure where to start in OPGTR .. I really don't want to start at the beginning :(

Thank you all for your opinions. This will be our first experience with SOTW so I was unsure but Iguess if we plan to do the map work from the AG (which we do), another geo. program is not necessary? That's fine by me!! :)

This year dd has been working through ETC books. We started at book one and she just completed book 3 1/2. Although I have the rest of the ETC books on hand, I hesitate to move forward at this point. She does well when completing the ETC pages, but I find her struggling with the same words when reading an actual book. We never used a formal phonics program before and now I am thinking I better do something before it's too late! I would like her decoding skills and fluency to improve before moving forward. I only recently purchased OPGTR for the first time and was thinking of holding off on ETC and completing lessons from OPGTR instead. So, I'd like opinions on what lesson I should start her on?? I really do not want to start at the beginning because she can read, I just want her to have a better foundation. Also, is there ever a point in OPGTR that ETC would line up well for her do both? Maybe one as the lesson and the other as reinforcement? If so, what ETC book lines up with what lesson in OPGTR? Thanks for the advice!!

I plan on using SOTW 1 with my dd for 2nd grade. This will obviously be our first time using this curriculum. I have the activity guide as well. I know that this is a history program, not a geography program so I am wondering what others use for world geography at this stage? Anything that corresponds well with SOTW? Thanks for any advice.

We are using B this year .. not quite done with it yet though. This is our first experience with RS. I agree with the previous posters that it is very teacher intensive, but for us personally I don't mind that - my dd needs that at this age. I like the way concepts are taught and I like that it teaches easy methods for mental math. So far the only thing I do not like about it is that there is not enough review. Even with playing the games, I feel like there is not enough review. It seems to me like a concept is introduced, you do a couple lessons on it and then move on to the next concept. I do plan on continuing with C next year, but I am adding in extra review with Math mammoth blue series as needed.

This is what I have planned for DD for second grade: RightStart C, supplementing with Math Mammoth Blue series First Language Lessons 2 Writing with Ease 1 All About Spelling 2 (Possibly 3 since we have already started 2 now) Explode the Code 5 to whatever we get to Cursive using Kumon books and self-made practice sheets Five in a Row Character supplement Biblioplan Ancients Story of the World 1 Elemental Science Biology Grammar Stage SALSA Spanish (Reviewing and Continuing) Dance Mat Typing (possibly) World's Greatest Artists Study World's Greatest Composers Study Plus lots of read alouds and independent reading planned Brownie Girl Scouts Martial Arts Still need to iron out some details, but that's the general plan which should be started in late August.

Yes, I have an older version (2001) and it is on p.22. It tells you how many of each shape you need as well.

Just a thought on the wood pieces for HWOT, I personally don't think you need to spend the money on these. In the TM there are templates for the wood pieces. I used this to make my own. I made two sets - one set out of regular craft foam to be used on the floor/table etc and one set made from felt to use on our felt board. I will be using them with my ds in the Fall when he turns 4.

I purchased the Blue Series for this very reason. We use Right Start and I wanted something to give more reinforcement. MM was recommended by a few people on this board, so I am giving it a try :)

Just checked my email and my download was waiting for me!! SO excited because I wanted to start using some of it this coming week so I have plenty of time to browse through and start printing now :) I hope you all get your links today too :)

Just checked my email, but nothing yet. I'm hoping by Friday so I can look it over and print a few things for Monday.

While not a full curriculum, my D enjoys Happy Phonics. We use it more for extra practice and reinforcement of lessons learned. They are simple games, but my dd enjoys them.

I have seen tons of variations on Sue Patrick's original set up for workboxes. I have seen people use magazine boxes, binders, folders etc. If you google you will find tons of blogs with pics of how they have tweaked the system to work for them.