I knew I was forgetting one! The Prodigal God by Tim Keller I love this one because it's a fresh perspective on the parable of the prodigal son (and shows that most interpretations of it miss a really important point!) and it's a powerful message on God's grace toward us and our living out that grace to others.

The best place to start in being gracious and forbearing toward others is to understand more and more deeply God's love and grace toward YOU!! Read and re-read the book of Galatians. :) Here are some resources I'd recommend: Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus. It's an excellent book about parenting in the gospel instead of focusing on outward conformity and how to show grace to your kids while training their hearts to obey and follow Jesus. The author, Elyse Fitzpatrick, does interviews and whatnot, but I'm not into videos much so I can't recommend any particular ones. A google search will turn up some of her stuff. Check out Paul Tripp's stuff. http://paultripp.com/ I also really like The Grace Awakening by Chuck Swindoll. God used it to get me out of a critical, judgmental, legalistic mindset over 20 years ago, and it really changed my life. I haven't read this one, but it's along the same lines and it comes highly recommended by many people I know: What's So Amazing about Grace? I may come up with more later, but that's a start. HTH!!

Yet another vote for the RightStart abacus and place value cards.

This. Exactly.

This past year for SOTW1 we pretty much just read the stories, did some basic oral narration, and did the maps. DD loves to color so she did the coloring page on her own time if she wanted. Occasionally I would find one of the supplemental books at the library, but we didn't buy any. We did no crafts and maybe 3-4 activities total. It was no-frills, but we both loved it and learned a lot. We love to discuss, and we enjoyed discussing the stories together in an informal way. This year for SOTW2 I plan to apply WWE to history narration, so the summaries in the AG will be a helpful guide, and I'd like to add more supplemental reading, mainly for DD to do on her own, if possible. We'll definitely do the maps, but we'll probably continue to skip the crafts and activities unless something comes up that I think would be really special. That said, I think SOTW is so well written that the stories stand on their own, in terms of being interesting and engaging. It depends on what your goals are for history study, I guess, and whether or not just reading from the book will meet them. I'm sure it does for many people. YMMV.

This is what I was thinking, especially the bolded. We just moved to our town three months ago and even though we don't need a co-op to supplement our homeschool, I have been wanting to connect with some other homeschoolers (we do have friends who use PS, but their schedules are such that getting together regularly is hard). But I discovered that the closest group to us is 30 minutes away. I decided to join - I think it will be worth it for us partly because there are a few families there who live in our town that we will hopefully get to know, and it meets every other Friday for 3 hours (we go purely for the social aspect - the learning is all gravy). I can manage that, but anything more in time or distance and it wouldn't be worth it for us. And that's only 30 minutes each way. In any case, unless I were in the middle of nowhere with literally no other options for social interaction, I would not sign up for anything that required a weekly drive like that. No way.

Looks like you've made your decision, but I'll chime in to say that we also loved SOTW1. We are just finishing it up, and DD said it's her favorite subject. And that's with pretty much just reading the stories and doing the maps, and an occasional extra reading and/or simple activity (we didn't do anything at all on the scale of mummifying a chicken - maybe next time through). I will say that I enjoy other periods of history a lot more but SOTW is so well done that I found it very engaging and enjoyable, even for some subject matter that I wouldn't normally be interested in. Also, for those who are Jewish or Christian, the connections you can make to Biblical history are fun, too. My girls were fascinated to see how what they already know of the Bible (which they have been exposed to since they were 2) fits in with the rest of history.

Starting tomorrow morning! We're starting off slowly, with just ELTL (reading/grammar/copywork), math and history this week. We'll add in the other stuff in the next two or three weeks and will have our full curriculum going after Labor Day. I'm excited to get started, and so are my girls.

My girls are 2nd and K also. I saw God's Great Covenant in person at a HS convention and I definitely want to use it, but I figured my kids would get more out of it a bit later - perhaps next year for my oldest. I'm excited to use it then. We are a devout Christian family and we do a lot of scripture memory, catechism and informal teaching about God, but formal Bible study is not on my agenda quite yet. That said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Telling God's Story. It puts the emphasis on what I consider to be the most important things for kids to learn about Jesus and the Bible at this age - who he is and what he came to do. As much as I love the teacher guide, I'm not thrilled with the activity guide - there's nothing wrong with it, but I just think they could have beefed up the extras with more content-based learning. So, maybe that's not your speed, but the lessons themselves get my highest recommendation. We're also big SOTW fans. We're finishing up Year 1, and we have enjoyed it immensely and learned a lot.

This, exactly. If you want open-and-go, get the workbook. It's really great for that and will get the job done. If you don't mind finding your own selections, or you'd rather use whole works of literature rather than excerpts, the instructor text is excellent. I like lorisuewho's point about exposing children to different works of literature via the workbook, but at the same time, DD and I both felt dissatisfied with just excerpts each time, so we abandoned the Level 1 workbook mid-year and started using ELTL for lit/grammar/copywork and I just kept up with WWE-style narration with other things we were reading, especially history. We're going to continue with ELTL this year, and I will be using WWE along with SOTW, per the guidelines in the WWE instructor text.

This is just what I was thinking. Did he say each sound aloud as he was writing the word? If he didn't, I'd have him do that and see if he's able to at least come up with a spelling that makes sense and matches the sounds he says, even if it's not the correct spelling. If he did enunciate each sound, then I'd try to figure out why he used those particular letters and go from there.

Yes, I realize this is an issue. Not sure how I'm going to get around that, as we will have to use the library extensively. Up until this past May, we lived on a college campus and had easy access to an academic library with excellent and fast ILL, but not anymore. Gotta figure out something else if this is going to work. Buying lots of science books is NOT in the budget!

This is a very good point that didn't occur to me. I love leading my kids to discover things via asking them questions, and I can see that it's especially important with science. I just don't think I can pull it off in a thorough and consistent way with the science knowledge and time I have. I will try to incorporate it as much as possible, though. Too bad the BFSU TM doesn't lay it out better for those of us who need the hand holding. Sigh...

I have no experience with other programs, but DD7 and I both find RightStart to be fun - fun enough at least. I am totally sold on the method. We are getting toward the end of Level B, and it has been much, much better than Level A all around. If you like RightStart at all, and it's working for you, I'd suggest sticking with it through Level B at least. DD loves the games, which really ramp up in Level B, and even more so in Level C, from what I understand. And like a pp suggested, you can always supplement with other fun things here and there if RS isn't enough fun for you and your DC.

Thanks for the replies! I am convinced, and I'm ready to make the switch. Now to buy the workbooks! Hmmm...I think you're onto something, Hunter! Reading and spelling are different skills, and it seems to me that some aspects of phonogram instruction simply don't apply to spelling at all, which is probably why HTTS doesn't teach the phonograms the way LOE/Spalding/SWR do. Hmmm....I'll have to think about that further as I get familiar with HTTS.

I love the BFSU approach to science education. LOVE IT. I have the K-2 book and used it last year with DD7 and DD5, though we really didn't get through much of it. I don't mind putting in some prep work, but my own science education was so abysmal that I have a hard time knowing how to explain things and structure the lessons - it feels SO burdensome because first I have to wrap my head around the concepts myself (many of which are new to me, sadly), and then try to put it succinctly into words for my kids. Double whammy for me as a science illiterate person. I do love making connections among the disciplines and connecting what we've learned to everyday life. That's my favorite thing about this program, and I think I do THAT part of it very well. And it's the main reason why I want to continue, despite the challenges. Anyway, what I have discovered so far is that when we read the supplemental books, they often explain the lesson concepts a lot better than I would (or did). So, my main question is this: Is exploring the BFSU scope and sequence through living books, with experiments thrown in, enough to get the benefit of this approach? I would certainly read through each lesson in the TM so I can understand it as best I can as the teacher, but starting with and focusing on the living books (and/or other supplemental resources) might relieve the burden I feel in preparing my own lesson script each time. I really want this program to work for us. I also saw that a BFSU website is coming with an option to subscribe, but based on what I've heard about it so far I'm not very hopeful that it will help with actual lesson planning. If only... Thoughts?

Thanks for the input! That's funny about tempting you to switch. ;) Is there anything you like better about LOE's spelling approach/method? If there's anything significant, I could try to incorporate it into HTTS, if possible. I do feel like the training I've gotten from teaching LOE has prepared me well for doing another program, which is really great. Also, do you use the LOE phonogram cards with HTTS? I saw that HTTS has its own set of cards, but they are $45 and there is no way I would pay for that. It looks like I could use the ones I have (and modify them if necessary) or make my own.

All I need is a thorough, phonograms-and-rules-based spelling program. DD7 is a fluent reader (we used OPGTR to teach reading), and we've got all the other LA areas covered as well. I have been using LOE Essentials for a while to teach DD7 spelling and I think it's a great program. We're not having any problems with it, but one thing I don't like is that it teaches reading and spelling skills at the same time (which I knew when I bought it). As it's written, it is overkill for what I need at this point, and since I find myself editing it on the fly quite a bit, I would really prefer something that is designed just for spelling, and is more streamlined. I don't need the detailed script of LOE either, since I am a linguistics buff and find spelling VERY easy to understand and teach with the right tools and some guidance. But I also don't want to reinvent the wheel, so I prefer a somewhat open-and-go approach in terms of actually teaching the lessons (I guess I'm saying that I want the lesson structure to be clear). Anyway, I picked up a copy of How to Teach Spelling for a dollar at a used curriculum sale, because I had been curious about that program initially, and I figured I could throw away a dollar just to see what it was like. Now that I've looked at it in person and have done some research on it here on the forum, I'm thinking that it might be more my speed. Especially after becoming very familiar with LOE's methods, I think it would be easy for me to work with. Plus, it will last for many years and there are only a handful of workbooks to buy. And another plus is that DD7 LOVES worksheets. With two other little ones, any part of a lesson that DD7 can do independently at this point is a big deal to me. How does HTTS compare with LOE in terms of spelling instruction? Are there weaknesses in HTTS that I should be aware of? Is it as easy to use as it seems? I'm all ears if anyone wants to try to talk me into it or out of it. Still very much on the fence for now... [And by the way, switching to another program altogether is probably not an option. For now, at least, it's either LOE or HTTS, since I own them both already and would be fine sticking with LOE if HTTS isn't a fit.]

For my 7-year-old, who has started spelling instruction, I help her figure it out if I know she has the tools to do so, and if she doesn't, I just tell her. For example, this morning she asked me how to spell "ocean" and "wave". She would have no idea how to even begin to spell ocean at this point, so I spelled that out for her. With wave, I had her say each sound, and when she had to figure out which phonogram to use for long A, I asked her first if the v could be by itself at the end of the word. She said no (because English words do not end in I, U, V or J), so it needed a silent e. Then she figured out that the silent e could also function to make the single-A phonogram say its long sound, and that gave her the correct spelling. [if she had happened to be referring to the word "waive", which she wouldn't at her age, I would have explained to her that we use the AI phonogram for that word and that the silent e is there for the v.] Anyway, just thought I'd share that detailed example because it just came up this morning and was fresh in my mind. I apply that process to pretty much any word she asks me to spell, regardless of what kind of writing she's doing. If she is writing for fun and I am simply too busy to take the time to help her, I often will ask her to tell me what she wants to say and then I write down the words she doesn't know for her to copy. ETA: I also think it's important to not bog down the creative writing process with too much drudgery, and the process I use could become very laborious after a while if it happened all the time. Almost all of the "original" writing DD does is just for fun, and most of the time she tries to figure out the spellings on her own and doesn't ask me. But the few times she does ask, I like to help her figure it out herself.

I just checked these out and they are all free right now except the first one!

I have two faves: Hope Is Like A Harebell Trembling From Its Birth by Christina Rossetti Hope is like a harebell trembling from its birth, Love is like a rose the joy of all the earth; Faith is like a lily lifted high and white, Love is like a lovely rose the world's delight; Harebells and sweet lilies show a thornless growth, But the rose with all its thorns excels them both. Sonnet 14 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning If thou must love me, let it be for nought Except for love's sake only. Do not say 'I love her for her smile—her look—her way Of speaking gently,—for a trick of thought That falls in well with mine, and certes brought A sense of pleasant ease on such a day'— For these things in themselves, Beloved, may Be changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought, May be unwrought so. Neither love me for Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,— A creature might forget to weep, who bore Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby! But love me for love's sake, that evermore Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.

Great! I was thinking I would need to allot more time than that. And it's helpful to know that the reading can be done at the beginning of our read-aloud time without taking over most of it. Thanks for the input!

Chelli, how much time do you spend on the lesson, then? I'd really like to try that this next year, since I found that reading the story often took most of the lesson time and I'd like to streamline the actual lesson. We'll be using Level 2, btw.

I really like TGS. So far we've only bought and used Year 1. The teacher notes and children's lesson are very well done - Peter Enns is brilliant, and he does a great job of getting to the heart of a story and giving thought-provoking insights. I also appreciate the approach of introducing children to Jesus in the way he does. That said, this not our children's only exposure to the Bible, and if it were it wouldn't be enough (and Peter Enns himself says in the intro that he assumes that children in a Christian family will have exposure to scripture in various other ways, so I don't see that as a deficiency at all). My girls memorize scripture daily and we have read to them from The Jesus Storybook Bible almost every day since DD7 was 2. So this is really supplemental, and we don't actually use it as part of "school" per se. As much as I like the teacher book, I'm not crazy about the activity guide, because it is too light on content for our family. Especially for one lesson per week, I find that the stuff in the AG just isn't substantial enough - it really should have included discussion questions and scripture memory, at the very least. Of course I can (and do) figure out and add that stuff on my own, but I see that as a deficiency in the curriculum. If you like coloring pages, simple crafts and games to help your dc remember the story then you might really enjoy the AG. For an introduction to the person of Jesus as he's found in the gospels, I think it's a fabulous curriculum and I highly recommend it.

I should also add that I did buy the games book and game cards but we haven't used them. I'm sure they work well for many kids, but DD just doesn't need that level of reinforcement. Doing math games is enough around here!