I've used these with my oldest two and will start the third next spring. I really like them and so did my boys. Like the PP said, it helped me identify many of their strengths and weaknesses. You will be fine starting in book 1 with a 5yo, but I'd have the 2nd book ready as he'll likely finish the 1st quickly. My oldest started at 5, but I've (and am) starting the others at 4.5.

:iagree: I like FLL's scripts even though I'm not a script girl because they are easy to paraphrase or change to suit us. I think it is easy to tell at a glance parts that shouldn't be changed or cut out.

Mine are also very nice. I've had them for 4 years and they still look nice (no chips at all) despite my dc's best efforts. I, too, think you got a bad batch.

That's where I got our set of wall maps. I think I got a set of four maps for $15.99 (if I'm recalling correctly). I only have space for the world and US maps, but that's enough for now. I got them 4 years ago and they've put up with quite a bit abuse and markings.

We've been pretty geography heavy because it interests my dc and SL has encouraged that. Probably the most useful thing has been the world map at their level on the wall. They are constantly looking up countries and asking questions relating to history and the literature books we read. I've used quite a few geography programs, but Geography Songs is quickly becoming my favorite. I have them color the countries as we learn them in their workbook and we talk about language and culture as we do it. I'm pretty knowledgeable because of my former job, but any of it could quickly be looked up online. We just started a world map puzzle (The Global Puzzle) to start off the Olympics and listening to Geography Songs (included with our SL core) while we're putting it together and it has really improved their geography knowledge. I've heard that geopuzzles are good too.

LOF made a huge difference here. It gave my ds8 his love for math back. He not only devoured the elementary series, he busted through Fractions and Decimals in a couple of weeks and is waiting not-so-patiently for Elementary Physics. It's been an expensive semester, but worth every penny. The fact that they are non-consummable takes the sting out of it. They've also been good for my ds6. He's a language arts guy and is doing well with Singapore, but it isn't his favorite thing to do. LOF is one of his favorite parts of the day. I do agree with the advice to buy 1 and see. My kids love them, but I can see how others could be less-than-thrilled with it. Unfortunately, BA wouldn't work for us...ds8 was too far beyond the levels out. I'm not sure which I had chosen if they'd had more levels out. I'd probably be more tempted to give up one of my other programs in favor of BA instead of LOF.

This is what we do. I still buy the workbook (PDF version) because creating the selections on my own was taking too much time. I just use the comp book instead of printing out the student pages.

Here's a link to the other one: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=368354

:iagree: and also with the Nate the Great. You might also check out Cam Jansen. Ds1 also read a lot of Dr. Seuss type books at that stage. If Magic Treehouse is too hard, Boxcar Children probably will be as well.

Dh and I got married on the 17th that year :D. We love having our anniversary during Christmas season. We also had a cousin get married on the 23rd. It was great as we have to travel from all over the country and had fun celebrating Christmas together that year. With that said, the 24th would be tough for me because that is when we start our 48 hour Christmas celebration. Even with the wedding on the 23rd, we were able to celebrate Christmas on the 24th & 25th. We would probably attend a destination wedding at Christmas for a close relative, but no one else.

That had me laughing this morning. Great article, though, and accurate! I think she put forth a good challenge. I'm going to show that to dh, he'll get a kick out of it. He might even make me buy that spelling curriculum. He values shiny floors more than new tires on the dirt bike.

My kids wake me up between 7 and 7:30. I usually have to wake my oldest so we can get the schoolday started around 8:30.

Looks like those of us in the US will be able to see them later this year. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9333893/The-BBCs-The-Hollow-Crown-set-visit.html They look great. I can't wait.

I wasn't planning to start formal writing until 3rd grade, but I ended up starting WWE 1 halfway through first grade. I was fearful that my reluctant writer would be behind developing what might be natural skills for other dc. I'm glad I did. He's now halfway through WWE2 and going into 3rd grade. I've really seen his writing and narration skills grow this year exceeding my expectations. I'll be starting future dc in WWE 1 at the beginning of 1st (depending on readiness) from now on.

No. I am so annoyed by that show that I can't even say if I object to the content. Thankfully, my dc agree so it isn't an issue. We feel the same way about Sponge Bob.

I'd still recommend Wee Sing if you don't have it. It is a different take on Nursery rhymes woven into a story. My 6yo, in particular, loves it. And if you're looking for Christian selections, I second the veggie tales suggestion. They have a few Silly Song albums out that our whole family enjoys and are funny. The silly songs aren't Christian, but they come from the Bible-themed movies.

My boys and I really enjoyed George Mueller and are getting ready to read Gladys Aylward (both from the Christian Heroes series). While it isn't a biography, I do recommend Missionary Stories with the Millers. It is a good intro to missionaries and contains many great stories. I also enjoyed Hero Tales, but haven't gotten around to reading it to my dc. I might have to put it on the list this year. It is more like mini-biographies IMS. ETA: I missed that you were looking for readers. I'd read these aloud as they contain content you'd want to discuss with him...people dying, questioning their faith, etc. My ds recently enjoyed reading A Question of Yams. It should be close to the right level.

:iagree: My ds8 is about halfway through this collection. He hasn't complained about a single book so far. I was prepared to have a discussion about the Betsy and Tacy book, but he told me he liked it after he finished. Since I'm of the opinion that we don't read schoolbooks only for enjoyment at this age (it was different when he was developing his reading skills and working on fluency), I wouldn't let him drop one without a good reason. He also reads about 5 books a week for fun on his own time. Of course, he blew through Encyclopedia Brown, Henry and Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse plus many of the sequels. He is a boy after his momma's own heart :D. ETA: He was very excited about the Grandma's Attic sequel. We read the first one aloud several years ago and it was a hit. We still chuckle when we think about the hoop skirt in church.

I was surprised by mine for my birthday a couple of years ago and thought it would just be a glorified gadget. Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong. It is much more useful than my laptop. The uses for school alone are worth the cost for me. The biggest downsides are that it didn't replace my laptop (although I seldom use it, I still need it for a few things) and it is easier to waste time...like right now. Back to work:auto:!

I'm using Safari on my iPad and my last sentence is "I've witnessed firsthand..."

:iagree: My oldest just isn't much of a manipulatives guy. He got a lot out of Miquon anyway. In fact, he calls it his fun math. I do use rods to demonstrate things too him in both Miquon and Singapore, but he rarely pulls them out on his own. In the beginning, I would also demonstrate problems he had already solved with rods just so he could physically see what was happening. When he is stuck on something, I will encourage him to use them and he has no trouble figuring out what to do.

SWR advocates cursive from the beginning. It has an inexpensive handwriting program called Cursive First. No bells and whistles but it worked great for my boys.

I avoided it for years because I had the same idea. The few books I'd read were syrupy. A couple of months ago, a friend loaned me the first book of Ted Dekker's Circle series (Green). It was a great book for this sci-fi-loving girl and I quickly bought the other three.

Ha, I just had a long conversation with my mom about ds6 also. He reminds me a lot of my little sister at that age and I needed advice. I am firm with him and that works to a certain extent but he has such a sweet/meek spirit that I need to strike a balance. If he gets out of his chair during sit down subjects, I lose him. I think the Discosit might work with him. I have an exercise ball, but like the PP, he would just fall over (probably on purpose to make us laugh).

Thanks! I got both books recently but we haven't started them yet. They look fun. I'm planning on taking them on vacation in case we have any rainy days. I think even the little boys (not the 1yo of course) will be able to get into it with lots of help.