I have the child teach the lesson to me. If s/he can tell me how to work the problem and answer any questions I have, then I know s/he understands the lesson and we move on.

:iagree: I learned to read early and never learned how to decode words. I struggle to this day to sound out new words and am actually learning along with my son. My two oldest are natural readers and never learned phonics (the were in public school). They also struggle with new words. My son (6) has a reading history like your son's - it all clicked around Christmas-time. He's still working through his phonics book because I want him to be able to know the rules to decode words.

My husband has to get one (he's a Marine) but the kids and I won't. In the past, it seemed that we all got quite sick if we'd gotten the flu shot (not immediately, but later in the season). We didn't get the shot last year and no one got sick.

Listerine, floss, brush. I use a prescription toothpaste that needs to stay on my teeth for at least 30 minutes, so I brush last.

Going to Steak and Shake when we visited our grandparents in St. Louis was the highlight of our trip. We could sit at the counter and watch the cooks grind the patty meat, peel the potatoes and mix the shakes. I'm guessing it was one of the earliest ones built as my mom and uncles remember eating there during their later high school years. The closest one to us now is in WV. Culver's is another favorite - we would stop on our way to northern WI every summer.

We love Dr. Who, too. We happened to watch the Shakespeare episode while studying Shakespeare last spring and dd really enjoyed seeing some of her history lesson on her favorite show. My kids spent an afternoon making a TARDIS out of a big cardboard box we had and my son wants to be The Doctor for Halloween (where I'm going to find a size 7 pin-stripe suit and trench coat is beyond me).

My 4th grader would spend 5 - 6 hours each day on school work. There was quite a bit of foot-dragging and goofing off when it came to science and math, though, so actual work time was more on the order of 4 - 4.5 hours a day. We're going to be doing things a bit differently this year, so I think we'll have shorter school days and have more time for fun stuff.

Thanks, Moira! That worked. :) I'm excited about these books! I've been looking at them for a while and this was a great opportunity to pick them up. Thank you, Shalynn!

Ugh! I can't get my order to go through. The site auto-filled all the info except Course and Enrollment, and it won't let me finalize the order without the blocks being filled in. Anyone know how to get around this?

We used MUS and ETC and loved both of them. My son liked all the aspects of MUS (he did both Primer and Alpha in one year), from the video to the manipulative blocks. Being able to see how the numbers "fit" together really helped him understand adding and subtracting. He liked Explode the Code because he thought the sentences were silly. The directions were simple and he could open the book and do the work on his own by the middle of the year. Games were a big hit here, too. We played Uno, war, Bananagrams, Zingo, Zoologic, Gobblit, and Equate (without the *advanced* tiles). One of his favorite games was Math Bingo, an app for iphone; it really helped strengthen his adding and subtracting skills - and it was a great distraction for him so that his sister and I could get through Grammar without any interruptions. :D

The oldest (20) is folding laundry and watching a movie. Elle (10) is sleeping - she had an allergic reaction to a new toothpaste(!) and is pumped full of Benadryl and steroids. Mac (6) is trying to read "How to Train Your Dragon" by himself.

My list is so short! :tongue_smilie: Phonics: ETC 5 & 6 Math: MUS Beta supplemented with CWP 1 History: SOTW 1 Handwriting: Zaner Bloser, Grade 1 Science: BFSU or Elemental Science PE: tennis and swimming Music: Piano Art: Atlier Fun: Chess club

Our oldest made a Potato, Onion and Roquefort soup. It wasn't what I would have chosen to serve on such a warm and humid day, but I didn't have to make dinner, so I'm not going to complain. :)

My heart still goes pitter-patter when my husband dons his dress blues for the Marine Corps Ball (and he's been wearing them for 23 years). :D

I buy most of our books from Amazon; the 4-for-3 deals, sale prices and free shipping are the biggest reasons. I like CBD for our phonics and logic books, but order from the publishers for everything else.

Thank you so much for posting this! I've been struggling to figure out how to put a history program together using limited materials and a limited budget. This is wonderful.

There are a number of lefties on both sides of the family, but only one is first-born. My son is a lefty, but he's number 3.

We're starting piano lessons with our 1st grader (6yo) this year. Our next door neighbor is a retired music/piano teacher and offers lessons to homeschoolers. She won't take them any younger than 6, though. I started typing lessons with our youngest when he was 5. I used BBC's Dancing Mat typing and he's now doing very well. I started our daughter her first year home (3rd grade).

Congratulations! We paid off our debt over a year ago and I'm still thrilled not to have to write any more checks to Visa.

I had to figure out the second one before I got the first one.

This is good to know. I haven't started my school shopping yet, but now I'll be on the lookout for substandard stuff.

I make a roasted garlic and red pepper dip I found on Food Network. It's the first thing to go at parties and potluck dinners.

I don't do filing. I write our schedule each week, ideally on Sunday night after the kids are in bed (in reality, I'm usually hunched, bleary-eyed, over the table Monday morning with a cup of coffee, scribbling like mad while letting the kids take their morning break a little early).

Our kids have a few set chores, but are expected to help out whenever asked. Elle cleans the upstairs bathroom and helps to set and clear the dinner table. Mac dusts and helps to set and clear the dinner table. Our college student does the dishes, sweeps/mops the floors and cleans the downstairs bathroom. They all keep their rooms clean and their things picked up around the house. And they all help with the laundry and the yard work.

Our first year was expensive. I bought the entire WP American Story boxed set and none of it worked for us. I ended up buying different history, spelling and LA programs. I bought most of them used - I learned my lesson pretty quickly, :tongue_smilie:. It would have helped if I had been able to resell AS1, but it didn't sell and so I ended up spending way too much our first year. My son is starting 1st grade this year and we're recycling and re-using as much as we can. I won't be spending much more than last year on curriculum. This year (#3) is proving to be expensive, but not because of extra materials. I've signed Elle up for classes at a homeschool studio. They're more than I'd hoped to spend, but they're subjects I'm not comfortable with, so it's worth the money. They're taking more lessons (piano, tennis, and swimming), too, so I need to be extra vigilant with our budget and really plan ahead.