I read that book recently, too! I thought that list was very insightful; it could be used to identify other types of people who want to take control of my choices. I remember a certain car salesman, for example. :glare: Is the author the expert he claims to be? Or is that list of characteristics common knowledge in the police community, and he just explained it with sensational stories?

I made my 3.5yo daughter some homemade coloring sheets of the letters (upper and lower case) and showed her one a day. She quickly learned their names, and that was that. She also had some magnet sets of the alphabet. She started writing capital letters all the time for fun. Then one day she brought me a paper and said, "Look Mommy! "T", "O"!" She paused for a moment and said, "TOE!" So I began teaching her phonics because I don't want her to start spelling things incorrectly. I guess that is "readiness"! She may be a tad early, and has pretty neat handwriting already. She now knows all the sounds of the single letters and some double-letter combinations. She has not begun reading on her own yet. We'll see.

I got some great help here on the boards a few months ago. I decided to use what I believe is a WRTR off-shoot called Phonics for Reading and Spelling by Bonnie Dettmer. I was taught via the Spalding method, but for some reason couldn't make a plan based on WRTR - every time I read it, I didn't know where to start! To me, Phonics for Reading and Spelling is more organized. It has a very clear flow-chart of which phonograms to teach when, and when to start the spelling lists. I plan to find something else for writing and grammar later on. So far, my almost-5yo daughter is doing great. She's on the young side for the "writing" part, but she's pretty good at her fine motor control and we do no more than a line of writing a day.

:rofl: I'm crying! Hilarious!

That's how she'll treat your buyers. Go with someone else!!

Congratulations!

I plan to start with The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe first. I think the characters, esp. Aslan, are best introduced by that book.

What a man. May God bless and comfort both of you.

This thread makes me feel so much better about my 4yo! :tongue_smilie: I guess she's normal.

Hi! I'm Joy. I have a 4yo daughter and an 8 month old crawling son. We're just starting to ease into school work, one subject at a time, no pressure. I was home schooled for almost all of my grade school (private school for 2nd and 4th grade), and when I read these threads I mostly think, "Well, my mom did it this way..." We are a military family and will be homeschooling for academic reasons, at least for the first few years, though I'm wound up about high school literature, so we'll see! I hope my kids enjoy home schooling as much as I am enjoying planning it. I really appreciate the curriculum reviews here.

I'd like to raise some small food animals when "we" retire from the military and land somewhere. I'm not sure I'd have the nerve to butcher them myself, though. I remember having chickens as a kid that would just get old, quit laying, and keep eating! They were uncontrolled, pesky, dirty and LOUD! I'd like to do better than that.

I hate that! A new acquaintance called me up a few weeks ago to ask me if I'd "help her out" in meeting a "challenge". The pitch irritates me. I've learned to say, "Oh! No! That's so sweet of you to think of me!" in my best drawl. If I don't use the word "no" it just drags it out. If I go to the party I feel like I have to buy SOMETHING, so I'm learning to be bold in my own defense.

What part of the country do you live in? (I think northern states have dressier wedding trends, right?) You could use navy blue or cranberry red on the bottom and it would be pretty, too. And you should wear great jewelry! I like that dress. :)

I sort of know what you mean... I found out a dear friend was divorcing when her facebook last name changed! I was a bridesmaid for her. That is not quite the same as a family member, though. I wonder if people sometimes just can't make any more long, sad phone calls without breaking down, and use the splatter approach via facebook to avoid that. I'm so sorry your relative is ill.

I'm so sorry you are going through that. I can't imagine.

I'm praying for them. That's horrifying.

Wow. I think my brain just exploded. That was a great thread! I want to do science like THAT!

I've used recipes from the Joy of Cooking cookbook and they were fine. Just cut them in proportion to your batch! I did 3-4 jars at a time and processed the jars in a large soup pot (pickles, tomato sauce). Have you considered making fridge pickles? They don't need processing, last a long time in the fridge, and stay nice and crunchy. :001_smile:

I'm so sorry. I'm praying for you.

I'd like to use that kind of thing to teach my kids to think while they read, instead of just believing it all because it is in print! At a certain age, of course. Thinking about that reminds me of when my parents showed us Free Willy... as a study in propaganda! :lol: I was an adult when I found out everybody doesn't see that movie that way.

Years of training, multiple schools, and no. That would be a great time to leave that place and never go back. If they want to enforce some kind of contract, threaten them with a visit from CPS. Really.

Judge Benjamin, Superdog and sequels by Judith McInerney!

I read it first in early high school, and enjoyed the story line, but I didn't understand most of what is in those books until college. I believe he wrote the with adult readers in mind, not children. They are some of my favorite books now. They shaped my ideas of angels (I know that is a little weird). I re-read them every few years. "My name, too is Ransom..." Oh, man! And I bawled over the end of Perelandra. Last year I heard on NPR about some organization going by N.I.C.E. and got the creeps. :) If you haven't read them, read them for YOURSELF! But I think at 11 your child may not get most of it.

Thanks very much for the links and starting points. This is the kind of info I needed. The point about when to start the spelling list was key. Now to reread the spelling lesson chapter and make a bunch of cards....

Are there any forums or sites I should look at online? I (and four brothers and sisters) all were taught by Mom using Spalding. We all read very fast, and all but one of us can spell (!). I remember standing on a chair with Mom's arm behind my back, writing my phonograms on the blackboard in the kitchen. I can still recite the six sounds of "ough". But now, as I'm reading the WRTR she gave me, I'm drawing a blank on exactly HOW to conduct the lessons! Where do I start? What do I say? I can't believe I'm so stuck, but here I am. We're using OPGTR right now, and the next lesson will begin reading short vowel words, but I think I want Spalding's thoroughness, and my daughter has the fine motor skills to write. Thank you!