I'm thinking about using the literature, but I wasn't sure whether it would go better with the Island or Town level. Aly, that's good to know that it went well with Island... has anyone used it with Town??

I love that book, and Mireille Guiliano. And between the walking and the fresh market eating habits, they're obviously onto something. I so dearly wish we lived in a place where it would be practical to walk everywhere.

Cat, that was going to be my exact response as well!! Lemon curd is sheer lemony deliciousness. And since I try to be helpful in addition to snarky, I've seen it at Trader Joe's if you have one. Although if you have a large grocery store it's entirely possible they'll have it as well. :D

Whatever you do, don't replace it with an equal amount of regular dish soap. I tried that as a teenager, thinking I was incredibly resourceful. Uh-huh...

Okay, based on the reviews, I don't think I'll be reading Life of Pi anytime soon, LOL!! The Aunt Dimity series sounds fun, I also love cozies!! JennW, little Cujo is BEAUTIFUL!! :)

Hmm... I was at Costco a couple days ago and didn't see these. (And we comb the entire book section when we're there, LOL!) My store must have skipped them. We're starting Singapore Math as soon as it arrives, and I could see using these books for additional practice or summer skills!!

Yes, much more! It has a grammar book that is the starting point, but they reinforce grammar all the way through. There is also a vocabulary book and poetry book, both are great enrichment tools. A sentence book that talks more about grammar, and more. And a practice book that combines all that has been taught... parts of speech, phrases and clauses, subjects and predicates. So it's grammar plus!! What I describe above is the first (Island) level and I believe the second level follows the same pattern. Not sure what the upper levels are like. HTH. :)

That's what I did too. Make a Twitter account - you don't ever have to use it again. (I'm not on Facebook.) Quick and easy!!

Another Dowager Countess here. But judging by some of my responses, I think Lady Mary may have been a close second!!

That's the one I immediately thought of too... and now that one is stuck in my head, LOL!! But oddly enough, I was also singing Home Sweet Home earlier today too.

I'm newer here to the boards, so I won't qualify for any crowns, thread killer or otherwise, LOL... We used to attend non-denominational churches as well, but have, in the past year, become part of a Lutheran church... going back to my roots, so to speak, all the ancestors on my dad's side were Lutheran (and very German!!). So Lent is something we're thinking about for the first time this year. I'll have to go back and read the other thread. I'm not sure I'll give anything up this year... I'm still trying to figure it all out. Although if pressed for a decision, I think I could comfortably give up cruciferous vegetables. :lol: (You know, for the once or twice I might come across them during the Lenten period...) My DS is taking his first communion class at the church though, and will receive his first communion during Holy Week, so we're looking forward to that!

We usually set the temp at 68F in the winter, and 76F or 77F in the summer. We used to try to conserve even more, but life is too short to shiver or sweat excessively, LOL!!

Oooh, a reading thread!! Can I join you?? I just joined the Hive a week or two ago, and just found this. I'm a huge reader and have a pretty big goal for this year. Today I finished my 12th book of the year... I've been on a "cozy" mystery kick and have been reading JoAnna Carl's Chocoholic mystery series. My three favorites of the year: The Language of Flowers, What Alice Forgot, and The Lightning Thief (first Percy Jackson).

One thing you could consider: The Ma book, "Knowing and Teaching..." is available as a Kindle book on Amazon. Better yet, if you want to try it out, you can *rent* this Kindle book for 30 days for half the price of buying it. (I think a 30 day rental was about $9.50, and you can extend it to a purchase within that period if you decide you want to keep it.) This book was suggested to me, so this was the route I took. If you don't have a Kindle device, you can download an app and read it right on your computer. Just a suggestion if you're looking to go the most economical route!!

Well, it's ordered!! I'm glad we finally decided to go with it, I think DS will really enjoy it. And, I just remembered that we may have the opportunity to do IEW with a homeschool class next year... that would cover that extra writing nicely. :) Thanks again.

Great, thank you all. I appreciate the feedback. I think we'll just get it and see how it goes!! :)

I know many of you use MCT for LA. I'm seriously considering it for my son. MCT uses the four level analysis rather than traditional diagramming. If a student learns that way, does he also need to learn how to diagram sentences in a more traditional manner? And if so, does knowing the four level analysis help with that, or is it just more confusing? He may eventually return to public or private school, so I wonder if he at least needs to be familiar with how to actually diagram. Or do they even teach that anymore? Also... in the Island and Town levels, I've heard some of you say the writing is fairly minimal. Does it need to be supplemented? If so, is another formal program needed, or can I just toss out a few extra assignments here and there? Thanks much! :)

I wasn't impressed either. I did ask a question online at AOP, and asked for an e-mail response. (It was a simple question that would have been quick to answer.) They called twice in two days, AND sent two e-mails... WITHOUT answering my question. At that point I lost interest. But yes, try CBD.com, I've had good luck with their customer service and feel their online samples are helpful.

This is a program that my son used in his G/T program in school last year: http://www.perfectionlearning.com/vocabu-lit-program They're from a small company and not very well known, but my son loved them and it's a good language workout. I think we're going to use them again at home.

We used LLATL a grade ahead this year, and it's a good program. But for some reason, it just didn't click for us. Plus, we had to add in spelling, cursive, and such anyway.

We supplement with LOF, and we started at the beginning. The math in the first 3-4 books has been very easy for my son, but he still loves the stories, and it gives him a new way to think about some concepts. They are pricey, but he's loving them so much it's hard to complain.

Such great ideas! We are loving the original Ticket to Ride, as well as 10 Days in the USA. (Amy, we must shop at the same places, LOL.) Both are great for US Geography. Another good US one is Sequence States and Capitals. We like the original Sequence game too.

It doesn't go over terribly well here either. I love the idea of WWE, but the dictation may be a deal breaker. So, what would be a good alternative? A strong writing (or comprehensive LA) program that isn't heavy on the dictation??

Thank you both, I've already printed out the placement test, and we'll definitely go through that. Oh, and we love Life of Fred here, we'll be going through that as well, although my son just counts that as reading for fun!

This thread is helpful, I'm watching for recommendations. It seems like it's more difficult to find something that is at all Christian but not Young Earth Creationist, KWIM?? Secular with added notes seems to be workable!