Is there any website where I can find a list of spelling "rules" (like those found in All About Spelling), so I could create my own type of spelling program without purchasing a whole complicated, expensive curriculum?

Why don't you like REAL Science Odyssey? Was going to use that one this year with my 2nd & k'er and it sounds like I want all the same things as you...

Has anyone used this or formed any opinions on it? (Will be using Grade 2.) Looks a lot like what I want but haven't heard anything about it.

Hoping to start 2nd Grade soon with my dd6! First Language Lessons 2 Grammar of Spelling 2 Writing with Prayer (CLP) Cursive (only because it was free) Horizons Math 2 (still have a little left in 1, though) R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey: Earth & Space Story of the World 1 Ancient Times (literature, art, music & copywork from this time period) My own Myths & Fables unit study Abeka Health Reader 2 Classical Conversations Catechism & AWANA for Bible Memory Piano & Dance Lessons

This is my 2nd child -- older dd used Saxon, which I think equipped me with the use of manipulatives. I just flipped through the book & realized I'll need the Teacher Book, which I wasn't planning, but I was thinking of using their phonics anyway...

I was planning to use the Horizons K Math with my k'er next year but just got a free copy of Abeka's K5 Numbers book. It looks pretty thorough but is Abeka considered more on the easy side or more advanced? Only wondering because I like the Horizons Math for 1st grade but I know it is a little more challenging & don't want him to be behind when he gets there.

Xtramath.com might have what you're looking for, although I haven't tried it yet...

What is your favorite book/ curriculum for learning about plants in 1st grade? I like a lot of living books, experiments that have easy-to-find materials, and an open & go-type layout. Preferably inexpensive... Anyone used Usborne Science with Plants?

I am looking for an inexpensive workbook (or text or website, even) to teach things like sequencing, story elements, cause & effect, inferencing, etc.-- reading comprehension basics for a 1st grader who is reading well. I would love for it to use "real" stories both fiction & nonfiction, if such a thing exists. I know I don't "need" something like this but I like to have something to give me direction & make sure I'm doing enough.

If you have used either of these, why did you or did you not like it? I'm specifically thinking of Earth & Space for a 2nd grader. I love lots of outside reading mixed with experiments & projects. I'm open to other suggestions too...

I looked at MEP but don't think it's for me. I need something printed out, not online

Ok, so CLE looks good to me from the samples I see online. If you've used it, is it pretty much open & go, not a lot of prep?

I'm probably opening a can of worms here, but I'm looking for a new math program. We have used Saxon for 2 years now & I really like its approach, we just hate the worksheets & it's a little too teacher-intensive for me! Tell me your favorite spiral-type math program & why you like it! (We are doing 1st grade)

I would go crazy trying to match them up. This year we just so happen to be doing American history for our "core" but I think it would be so hard to match it up perfectly over 3 cycles. That would mean covering all of world history in just 3 years, which seems like too much to me! You can make as much or as little of CC as you want. We've only done it one year but we just used it for memory work-- didn't really build on it outside of class. However, if you look up a blog called "Half a Hundred Acre Wood", she has done a huge amount of research on how to add literature to expand on what they're learning in CC.

Ok, what about WWE? Does it expect my dd to have a good grasp on handwriting or could I start that now? We are working through FLL now & love it & would love to add more.

My 1st grade dd struggles a lot with writing. She is reading at what I would probably consider a 2nd or 3rd grade level, but her handwriting is not good at all! I have been searching around for different writing programs that will start at the beginning with letter formation or simple copywork (no more than one sentence at a time) for her, but not sure which direction to go. We have done Handwriting Without Tears, and I like it okay, but I want something beyond just "here's a letter, write it 10 times"-- she does better if she can write something with a purpose.

So, I really do like Saxon Math. Not so much the script, but the way it teaches the concepts & the spiral method. HOWEVER, dd & I both hate the worksheets (we are in Saxon 1 this year, btw). I don't really feel they are necessary, at least at this level, and they're too repetitive! However, dd does generally like worksheets & they help me asses how much she knows. So, I'm toying around with the idea of just getting the Teacher's Manual for Saxon 2 and some other workbook (1 idea is The Complete Book of Math or maybe Singapore Extra Practice workbook?). Has anyone else tried this or do you think it would be overkill? Any other fun, easy workbooks for 1st grade math?

That would still take me 4 years. I'm looking for something that only takes 1 year. I will start the 4-year thing in 2nd grade.

I don't know the answer to this, but I know we did Saxon Math K without any workbooks and IMO you don't need any. At that age, I think working with the manipulatives and playing math "games" is way more important than doing worksheets. We are on Saxon 1 now and my dd hates the worksheets, but I'm finding out that she can still learn all the necessary information without doing any workbooks. I might even stop doing them altogether and instead do some type of cheap Walmart workbook for math or something more interesting than those boring Saxon workbooks.

I really like the looks of Elemental History Adventures in America and I was thinking of doing that with my 1st grade dd next year, but I was thinking if there was something like that that was like an overview of all 4 years of the history cycle that would be really cool.

I saw there is a Teacher's Guide for this. Is it necessary??

Mine likes workbooks too & though I wasn't thinking that, I do want to teach "phonics for writing". I don't so much need spelling at this point, I guess, but I do think this book seems like a good fit.

Is the 1st grade book really that simple? That's what I was looking at getting, but we are already doing long vowels in OPGTR, so I wonder if the Plaid Phonics A would be too easy? That pdf file looks really cool, but I was really hoping to not have to print so much. Pre-printed stuff is just so much easier on my ink cartridges.

Who has used this for teaching early phonics (like K/ 1st grade), and what did you think of it? Is it good for teaching spelling, too? I would be using it as a supplement to OPGTR for my K'er.

Anyone have any good "health"-type texts they love for lower elementary? Maybe it's not even really necessary, but I like to have something to make sure I've covered everything (things like hygiene, dental care, food groups, fitness, etc.).