I'm about to purchase Year 1 of Tapestry of Grace. I'm wanting to purchase the books that go with the lower grade level (kindergarten-3rd) I am so confused!!!! Can someone supply me with the needed books for year 1, kindergarten level? I'm wanting to purchase them instead of using the library, so we have these on hand whenever needed.

Can someone supply me with a list of what a kindergartner/1st grader should cover using the well trained mind suggestions? I keep trying to make a list but I get overwhelmed and never finish. Help!!

I'm probably the worst help ever, but I was right where you are. My problem on top of what you listed is that I actually purchase(d) everything I could in hopes of de-stressing myself. My kids are 14 months, 2 1/2, 5 and #4 is on the way. These ages really don't require curriculum, and everyone told me that, including my husband. But I needed curriculum, mainly for me. I would spend hours and hours searching for our lessons each week to where I was on overload and completely worn out. So, I felt a purchased curriculum would help. I can't tell you how much money I've spent on various curriculums.....it far exceeds what I even realize. The problem is (was)..,,I am the teacher and I so desperately want them to learn what they're supposed to, plus more. I made the decision to homeschool them, it's my duty to make sure everything is covered. I haven't found an actual checklist showing me exactly what they need to know so I desperately buy this and that in hopes that it will teach them what the other won't. Luckily, they love school. But I'm burnt out. I need a list stating what to cover because I haven't found the perfect fit yet. Just to give you an idea of what has been purchased...if I can even remember it all...here goes: Beautiful feet primary jumbo set plus character set Sonlight 3/4 Sonlight 4/5 Sonlight k multi-set Horizons preschool Horizons K math and LA Lifepac K math and LA Lifepac 1st grade -all 5 subjects AAS preK AAS K (both reading and spelling) Story of the world set 1 Mudpies and magnets, plus every other book suggested in the well trained mind book(seriously...) Singapore math Everything available to purchase at confessions of a homeschooler Everything available to purchase at 1+1+1=1 Grapevine bible studies Various kumon books Loads of games and educational supplies from lakeshore learning Before five in a row complete set Five in a row vol. 1 complete set Everything available to purchase at the Moffatt Girls The list seriously goes on and on...I just decided to quit listing....don't make the same mistake I have...I've been sucked into the pressure of being the perfect homeschooling teacher.....the pressure had caused me to cave. We have so much school stuff and its too overwhelming to be enjoyed. These are just for K and below.......there's absolutely no way everything will be used.... The shocking thing is, I'm not a huge pencil pusher. You would think with everything we have, I'd be making them sit for hours learning. But the problem is, we do 1 or 2 lessons and realize its not a good fit so we try something else the next day. So frustrating!

I'm on homeschool burnout. I have a 5 year old, 2 1/2 year old, 1 year old and pregnant with #4. I need a concrete list of things a kindergartner needs to know (topics). I have searched high and low and every list is different. I'd love to have a checklist that I can mark off as we go so I know he's learning everything he should be. Any ideas where this awesome list may be? He can read, write, spell, does addition and subtraction up to 10, etc. But what about mapskills, science, animals, geography, etc? A list for each subject would help but I just can't find one. Thanks in advance!!

Wow! That was very helpful, I really appreciate your help. I've heard so many different sides of this curriculum and what appealed to me was that it's all lined out. Not that I don't want to be involved in their school, it's just I want to make sure that even on days I'm struggling, they'll still be able to learn! Haha! I'm mainly looking for lessons for my 5 year old. He's advanced in his learning so I'm constantly having to surf the web for new things. The 2 1/2 year old is using puzzles, board books, iBooks, coloring, etc and confessions of a homeschoolers letter of the week lessons. The baby of course, toys, being read to and chewing on everything! Haha! I'll look into the two other curriculums you suggested. Thanks for your help!!

I'm on homeschool burnout. I have a 5 year old, 2 1/2 year old, 1 year old and one of the way. My oldest 2 love doing school and I love being able to search the web for fun lessons. But this pregnancy has been difficult. (I'm suddenly allergic to everything and now dehydrated and losing weight instead of gaining.....frustrating!!) I've been reading about ACE PACEs or aka "School of Tomorrow". Anybody using it? What's your thoughts? I want a grab and go curriculum but I don't want it to be so easy for my oldest that he's bored. I've heard mixed reviews so I'd love to hear from anyone who has used it, loved it, hates it, etc!

I'm debating a big issue. I have a 5 year old, 2 1/2 year old and 13 month old, plus one on the way. They love books!! But little hands are quickly ripping and ruining our collection. They love iBooks and kindle books. What are your thoughts on going mostly digital for children's books? I'm tired of throwing real ones away!

I'm needing the following: Sonlight K Beautiful Feet (books and manuals) for primary and teaching character. Moving Beyong the Page (teacher manuals, student manuals and needed books and manipukatived) ages 5-7 Peak with Books (just literature)

Preschool and kindergarten. Preferably Christian based but not absolute. My kindergartner loves to read, write, spell, he is a sponge. My preschooler loves alphabet, numbers and shapes. I love literature based programs. Basically, I just want something that says "today do this page, that page, this book, that project" and everything is ready.

I've got 3 little ones and one more on the way. I usually use the Internet and plan my lessons (preschool and kindergarten) but I'm so drained. I just need a curriculum all layed out for me, with very little planning. Suggestions? I'd like to purchase in the next few days so we can start the new year off easy!

Have any of you used the K set? To me, it looks like the books used in that set might not be as sensitive. They've updated it this year, which I'm excited about, we love Curious George so I was excited to see him added in!

I agree with what you all are saying...dark and mature are great words that I couldn't think up at the moment! Haha! The part about the bird's tail is in the book "Stories from Around the World" in the story "The Little Sparrow" (page 118-122) it says the wife "was so angry that she grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped off the sparrow's tail. Then she threw it out the door, shouting, "Go away you filthy bird, and never come back." A little too intense for my kids at this age!

I've started using the 3/4 and 4/5 preschool sets and maybe it's just me, but the books seem a little negative. I really, REALLY want to like this curriculum and so many people do, but I've been a little confused on some book choices. For instance, I opened the stories from Africa book and read it before doing our assigned reading, I just couldn't believe a Christian book choice would be about a bird getting his tail cut off, or the nursery rhyme book extending the jack and Jill poem about Jill hitting jack on the head...I don't know...several books I've opened to read to them just seem a little hard to read to such young children. I know there's lessons to learn in the end with the books...but the delivery just seems off. Again, I really want to use this curriculum and am about to purchase the K multi-core set but I'm hoping the books get better???

Okay, I will get that info from my husband tonight and give directions on how to do it. Don't give up! It really is awesome once you get it...but I'm not computer savvy enough to remember how he did it! haha. I will try to get it all typed out tonight for you all! :)

YES! My husband figured out about a month ago to use the dropbox program, then put it into the notability program and there ya go.....teacherfilebox worksheets right there on the ipad!!! I LOVE it!!

I agree with you all so far. I see myself just continuing the iPad as just a supplement to our schooling. The idea of less clutter is appealing though! Haha! I'm guessing as they get older they'll lean more into the computer learning. I love curriculum, hands on, worksheets, etc so when my husband suggested iPad use as our main source of schooling, I did like the idea of everything being right at our fingertips, but.....preschool/kindergarten/toddler learning is, at least in my opinion, hands on.

Throwing an idea out here to see what others think. We have 4 iPads in our house and 2 are used by our kids (ages 4 and 2...with limited time and we are actively involved..aka...no they are not in their rooms alone playing forever!) They are only allowed to play with educational games (no angry birds allowed in this house!!) there are so many great apps available that we were considering homeschooling with just our iPads and parting with the endless supply of books, educational supplies, curriculum, etc that is taking up so much space in our house. So much of our stuff is never played with. We want to travel so the idea of just worrying about grabbing the iPad instead of math, books, phonics, states, Bible, etc supplies sounds so much more appealing to me. They both have the stylus pens and have writing, coloring, etc programs along with math, geography, flashcards, etc. everything is at their fingertips! My main concern is obviously eyestrain, and then I'm torn because, is having manipulative, puzzles, books, etc in real life form better than just having it on a touch screen? They can carry an endless supply of books on the iPads, pages won't tear, puzzle pieces won't be lost or broken, etc. Apps are so much cheaper, and we've spent so much money on "real" curriculum and games. How does one decide?! I asked my 4 year old (will be 5 in october) which way he would rather do school (just curious) and he of course said iPad...and it takes so much planning time off of me and endless printing but if the old way is a better way I'm dedicated to do it however these kids need. So, what are your thoughts, pros and cons?

What are your thoughts on the use of iPads in place of workbooks and reading books? With the iPad you can have tons of educational games and interactive books that can easily travel with you, takes up less space,etc. but is it a good thing to just buy reading books for kids in digital form instead of paper form? Real books tear easily with young kids, but do they get more out of a real book? I'm torn between the two.

I'm looking for books to add to our home library....any suggestions? I have a 4 1/2 year old son, 2 year old daughter and 4 1/2 month old baby boy! What are some of your favorites?

I hope I've not come across as a mother who pushes education hardcore on my kids, or feels one is smarter than the othrer, or that we don't have fun with our days. We fill our days with books to read, toys to play with, tons of outdoor time and when the kids request "school" we do it. I just wanted something grab and go so when we do sit down and learn, it's ready and I'm not stressed beause I wasn't able to find anything the night before or it's not been laminated or printed because the baby had a rough night...or I'm just too plain tired to mess with it. My mother in law came over yesterday and I told her unlike students in a school setting, we've been outside every day, pretty much all day for the last 2 weeks enjoying the unusual heat wave (87 degree at from march 23rd until yesterday! In Kansas!! Crazy!) my son wanted to do math so we grabbed out the singapore math book and sat at the picnic table did a few pages, then it was off to the climbing rock wall until lunch. My daughter brought over flashcards to do her numbers and abc's, and again, we just did it outside. I mentioned she does things on "her terms" because thats exactly how it is. If I pull out flashcards and she isn't in the mood, she simply won't even try to tell me the correct letter,...everything is "s" and every color is "orange" unless it's a time she wants to do it. And that's perfectly fine. She's just as advanced as her brother, but she's got a lot of me in her....she's hands on, earthy, explores, can't sit still very long, but has a great imagination, loves baby dolls, can climb and conquer anything in her path, and that is just her. We don't favor one child over the next, each has their style, each has their interests, and one learns one way while the other learns a different way. Thats where I get burnt out...is trying to find easily accessible materials for the two different learning styles without having to spend an insane amount of time doing it, I just haven't found anything that meshes the two styles yet. I was hoping Sonlight offered that. I've got the manuals for Bfiar and peek with books and our library just stinks at having anything on hand from the list. So, just like someone mentioned, I like to build our library here at home so they may be a purchase I make as well.

I love all these replies! Thanks for taking time to chat with me. I was debating getting the three cores because my son (will be 5 in October) has always loved school. I'm not sure what level would work best because he is advanced in certain areas and wasn't sure which would fit him best. My daughter (you know...the gold medal acrobatic gymnast, haha!) is 2 so I thought she'd love the 3/4 set, which would def. be too young for my son. It's a challenge to keep things interesting for my son. He just soaks up learning, as does my daughter. We have several different curriculums I use just to keep things new for them or they get bored. RS4K, Language lessons for little ones, etc. of course several blogs that have printables (1+1+1=1, confessions of a homeschoolers, etc). My son has mastered addition already and is starting subtraction, can read bob books without help, is writing, etc so the age appropriate stuff us appealing to him, just super easy. My daughter just turned 2 last week and counts to 15, know the abc's and their sounds, and we are close to mastering shapes and colors but she's stubborn and it's going to be on her terms haha! I'm hoping between all the advice given I can come up with something to help me out.....like I mentioned before, free time with this 4 month old is just not happening so I'm not as creative as I was with lessons! My kids both beg to do school, they really are sponges at this age and soak up so much...I just hope I can deliver for them!

I'm getting ready to make a big purchase and wanted to discuss this with all you sonlight users (those of you who both hate or love the program, please chime in!) I'll be purchasing 3 multi-core sets. The P3/4, P4/5 and the Kindergarten. Hefty chunk of change..which I don't mind as long as it will really be valuable for my homeschooling journey. I don't have much planning time right with a cranky 4 month old and a 2 year old who believes she is an amazing acrobat and olympic gold medalist at climbing and gymnastics (bless her heart...) I want grab and go, easy on my part but challenging and very educational for them. (selfish, yes...but between the nonstop cleaning, feeding, cooking, re-cleaning, burping....etc...not much free time around this neck of the woods). I have been using a few blogs with wonderful printables for lessons but by the time I figure out what to do for the week, print the lessons, cut out what needs cutting, laminate what needs laminating, and purchasing extra required materials in order to do the before mentioned lessons, it ends up being a 20 hour process for 3 hours of learning......a tad bit of overkill it seems. My husband wants cheap and feels I can grab from free resources all over the net...which is what I've been doing. I want it all laid out for me, whatever the cost, if it will make my life easier and my children get a wonderful education from it, sign me up! So...all you sonlight users, what are your thoughts?

I was wondering about "moving beyond the page"! I haven't heard too many use it, so I'm happy to hear someone favoring them! I better look into that too....

I have a gifted 4 1/2 year old son and a 2 year old daughter who is also showing signs of being ahead...and a clingy 4 month old baby boy who makes planning and preparing anything pretty much impossible. I'm considering Sonlight....how are the lessons laid out? How much prep and planning would be required from me? I need a "grab and go" challenging curriculum. Any suggestions?

I've been getting my curriculum list ready (we school all year, but ya can't beat those curriculum sales offered at the end of each regular school year!) I'm wanting to purchase Horizons, Before Five In A Row (needed books), Peak with Books (needed books), RS4K pre-levels, Sonlight and a few other items. Horizons will be offering 20% off in April and it has me wondering if Sonlight ever offers big discounts like this? Anyone have any insider information?