I used this program but gave it up as I was finding it really teacher intensive/time consuming and the lessons moved really slow for my little guy. I am probably one of the few who didn't love the program. We are still using the readers but with a different phonics program.

Uh oh, the new versions are workbooky? That won't work for my guy at all. Would you say they are VERY workbooky? A bit of workbook is fine, but if it is heavily workbook oriented my ds will revolt! Lol :)

I'm thinking ahead to next year and want our year to be fun! :)

I'm interested in hearing your responses, you've just described my 7 y/o ds. I'm leaning t/w LLATL for him but am still undecided.

Thanks for all the feedback. LLATL is a curriculum that I want to try sometime or in our homeschool journey and from the sounds of things, yellow may be a good place to start.

This is fantastic feedback! Thank you. I am going to try to get my hands on that book.

I love RightStart. Love it, love it, love it! It is a spiral approach, lots of games, few work sheets, easy to teach and everyone has fun. It expensive though.

I am thinking of yellow or orange for my oldest and maybe blue for my younger ds but I have a phonics program that is working so I migh carry on with that and start him in llatl later if I like it. It sounds like LLATL might be well suited for us. My oldest ds is workbook phobic, I don't feel a lot of rigour is necessary in these early years, I love literature and want something that is all in one and isn't going to take up our whole day. Is LLATL teacher intensive?

It seems people either love or hate LLATL. I like the looks of it but wonder how it would suit our family. What type of teacher and student is this curriculum best suited for?

My son is similar in that it is painful getting a sentance out of him. However, he doesn't mind copywork and he loves to write on his own so we started WWE1 mid year in 1st grade and gave him lots of opportunity to write on his own. I saw a lot of improvement in his free writing.

If i go ahead w/ this, I would want to keep the group small. For those in smaller groups, where do you meet? Do you rent space? What do you do about younger siblings? Has anyone oranized a co-op before, where do you start?

Hi, I am back w/ 2 hands :) Originally, I had some pretty big aspirations for this year's homeschool, but once baby came (and came early) all my beautiful plans were shot. Thus, I decided I needed to focus my attention on the areas that really need it. Since my time is very limited I figured if we are going to do school, the limited time I have should be focused on the areas where my kids need it the most. My 7 y/o needs to really work on his handwriting. I want my k-er to learn to read and I want them both to have a solid foundation in math. This is what I am basing my year around as these are the skills my kids need to work on. I outsourced the rest of LA with online subscriptions so that they are still getting their bases covered. I am using literature that covers socials and science this year for our read alouds and we do experiments as time allows.

I'm in the same situation, my older 2 are in k and second, I have a toddler and a 2 month old preemie. We took some time off after the baby was born then eased back in gradually to our"school". I'll post what we are doing later when I am not nursing and posting f from my phone - lol

I was a part of a co-op last year, but found it to be a bit disorganized. I am considering starting one up next year but I am still a homeschooling newbie so I would really love feedback about how yours works. I was thinking of having something for primary aged children focussing on one area/or curriculum. The co-op I was a part of did not have a focus, I figure if I'm going to put in the effort I want something that counts! Please tell me about yours; how many children/families are in the group, how do you balance the teaching how much time does it take up, do you study a particuar subject or area, what works, what doesn't and anything else I should know. :) TIA!!!

How long does it take to complete a day of mct? Does it include all areas of LA or are there areas that need supplementing?

I am thinking of MCT for next year and was also wondering how this book is used. So basically you just read it?

I am loving RightStart math w/ my Ker (and my 2nd grader too ;)). It's very hands on, heavy on games and light on worksheets. Math is our favorite subject. It is a bit pricey, but if you use it w/ multiple kids it's really not too bad - and well worth it IMHO.

My 7 y/o is really enjoying time4learning :)

You could probably start w/ B and move slow. RS A assumes that the child knows basically no math so it may be redunant for a child who has alread completed a math program.

This one intrigues me also, is it suitable for 3rd grade or is it more for older kids?

Is there a lot of writing in Arrow? Just trying to decide if Wand would be a better fit for my 2nd grader (we would be using it for 3rd). my ds can write for hours if left to his own devices but if I try to structure it I can barely get a sentence. Is there any need to supplement BW or does it cover all the bases?

Thanks for this! If I were to buy Wand or Arrow, is it pretty open and go then? I'm feeling I still need hand holding at this stage of the game :)

Ooh, I really like the idea of Bravewriter! Is it more a methodology then it is a curriculum? I'm a bit confused how to use it

I'm tired of having separate curriculum for grammar, spelling, writing, handwriting, etc.. Next year I want something all-in-one. I know about LLATL which I think I will use with my rising 1st grader, but I might want to try something different with my rising 3rd grader. What options are there and what are their strengths/weaknesses? TIA!!

Thanks for the suggestions! I will look into SOTW, I am not pleased w/ our history program this year so it was something I was considering anyways. Audio CDs would be perfect!! I think I'll stick with RS math, I know it's teacher intensive but it is such a great fit w/ my boys, especially my oldest. :)