You don't need to buy everything. I did and didn't end up using some of the extras. You need: Core Kit (SWR, WISE guide, phonogram cards, spelling rule cards, phonogram cd) 1 learning log for each dc 1 learning log for you Nice to haves: Phonogram fun packet (I highly recommend this regardless of which program you choose!) Cursive First (if you want to teach cursive) McCall-Crabbs (if you want reading comprehension...only for 2-3rd grade and up...same as Spalding.) Alpha list (I don't even have this yet. Honestly, I haven't needed it but it would be nice going forward) The only consumable is the learning log. Each dc will need a new one each year. You only need to do yours once. They range from $3-$5 depending on which one you get. I bought several from RR last year to cut down on shipping costs. My dh convinced me to try SWR because it was going to be cheaper than Spalding with the package I thought I needed. His idea was that I could always sell SWR if it didn't work out and buy the package from Spalding. He's practical like that.

Bob books, Fun Tales, and I Can Read It are all phonetically controlled. We started SL Readers 1 with The Best Trick (but he wanted to read Green Eggs and Ham first:001_smile:. We own all of those readers I mentioned and ds5 read them all voluntarily a couple of years ago. Ds7 thought they were "dumb." He just wanted to read real books. SWR instructs you to start assigned reading at a certain point in the program (after List I-1) when beginning with a non-reader. If the dc is already reading, you'd just continue with what you're doing. My ds5 will begin SWR in June but will be using SL Readers 2 since he's been reading for awhile. Ds7 was a beginning reader when he started SWR. He could read Bob books and I Can Read It at the beginning but not real books.

I use SWR for phonics, spelling, and reading comprehension. It includes grammar and writing in the enrichments and we do a lot of those but prefer FLL and WWE as our main sources right now. The reason I added FLL and WWE was because I didn't feel confident teaching writing and grammar so scripted was good for me. I didn't learn any (really, not a bit) grammar in school. I am a good writer but lack the skills to teach it. The grammar/writing enrichments are good complements to FLL/WWE and tie our spelling words in nicely. A good example of this is we categorized our spelling words last week into verbs and nouns per a SWR enrichment. That exercise allowed us to review our spelling words that day and review the verb and noun concepts we've been learing in FLL1. Now that I've learned so much teaching my first ds, I would feel comfortable using only SWR with my ds5 but have come to like FLL and WWE so much that I'll probably end up using them with him too. We also add SL readers but we'd have to add readers to any of the programs you're considering. I loved that ds7 never had to read any phonetically controlled readers as Ellie mentioned. He hated them when I tried to add them to our schedule (other kids we knew were reading them...) so I took the advice in SWR and dropped them. The first book he read by himself was Green Eggs and Ham. He loved reading it and has had a book in his hand ever since.

Great synopsis! OhE hit the nail on the head that they are all good programs. My dc are advanced linguistically so AAS wouldn't have been for us. Neither PR nor WRTR would have been right for me as the teacher. You need to examine your needs and budget to find the right one. I'm glad there are so many options.

I first was introduced to Spalding when my oldest was 6mo. I knew that it was the method I wanted to use with my dc. However, I read WRTR several times and got the idea but couldn't figure out how to implement it in my home. After a lot of research, I went with Spell to Write and Read. It's predessor (Teaching Reading at Home) was a supplement to WRTR but it eventually became its own program based on Spaldiing. IMHO, it is an easier-to-use Spalding program created for homeschoolers. There are a few changes in SWR (like the order of the Ayers List) but it stays true to the method. I usually recommend that you use WRTR if you can because it is the original and can be cheaper (depending on what you think you need to buy...TMs are expensive) but if you can't SWR might be the program for you. I love it. It is easy to implement and flexible. It does require the teacher to invest time at the beginning to read the manuals and create a teacher log but that time was valuable to me in learning the method. The author now has a video out which would be very helpful. It wasn't out when I started. I create a schedule at the beginning of each year based on the SWR steps and WISE guide enrichments which makes it open-and-go for the year. Now that I've been doing this for a couple of years, it doesn't take me long to create that schedule at all. Teaching SWR has become second nature. If you choose SWR, I'd be happy to share my schedules. A huge benefit to Spalding is its ability to be customized but the schedule could give you a place to start.

Hmmmm, it does seem like a lot to me but I don't think hsing is the reason. My dc have been sick once in the recent past...maybe 2 years. We all got a 24ish hr stomach bug last September. It ran through the entire family starting with the 2yo. My youngest two got the sniffles a few times when ds#3 was 6-12 months but that's it. Ds#2 is attending preschool 3x/week and I expected them to be sick more often because of that but his whole class has been healthy all year. Now, I've been sick an unusual amount of times (for me) in the last 18 mos. Ds#1's best friend gave me strep twice and I somehow picked up a mild flu 2 weeks ago that lasted 3 days. No one else in the house got sick. I blame a weakened immune system from a miscarriage and then pg for the strep. The flu is a mystery. Could you all just be more susceptible because of the allergies? We don't have any problems with them in our family but I know how TX pollen can wreak havoc.

First, I think 2 cores is totally doable but we read for 1-2 hrs each day whether doing SL or not. Sometimes more because we like to read aloud. I think I do less work keeping the boys separate because the books scheduled are age-appropriate for them. If I combined at this point I would have to do a lot of work adding/subtracting books because the maturity difference between my two oldest boys is big. Second, I wouldn't call doing Core B and P4/5 two full cores. My youngest also does P3/4 but I'd read age-appropriate stories to him anyway. I won't consider Core C and Core A (our plan for next year) two full cores either. The demand will be greater as they get older. You should definitely combine your younger boys if you choose SL. Core A would be a good choice for 1st and 2nd graders. I don't think Core B is a bad choice for those ages but it might be better to go easier your first year. It's also a lighter core so it would be a better pairing with the load of a higher core. A good way to decide is to get some of the books from the library. Core A has a wide range of difficulty in the read alouds. My Father's Dragon and Boxcar Children are two of the easiest while Apple and the Arrow, Twenty and Ten, and Mary on Horseback are some of the harder titles. It was a good mix for my 1st grader this year. Core B (14 weeks in) has seemed more even so far.

Yes, it would. You would just administer the diagnotic test to place the 9yo. I'd probably combine the 7 and 6yos starting at the very beginning of the program. I use SL readers alongside it. It's a great combo.

Then I would just share...kind of like being lab partners. My plan is that we'll do the experiments together and each one writes up the experiments in an age appropriate way. That's basically what we're doing now. My pre-Ker doesn't do any of the notebooking but listens to the reading and participates in the experiments. Because mine are so young, I'm very involved in the experiments. :D

Do you mean more than one child at a time? We haven't done that (technically, ds5 does voluntarily hang out with us during experiments) yet but based on our experience I wouldn't. We'll just do the experiments cooperatively. If you mean reusing it again with a younger child, I think there are a few kits that I can just replace some consumables in Chem 1 but I'll evaluate that when I'm ready to reuse it. I have a couple of years to decide whether or not to rebuy whole kits.

It does sound like SL would help you with this. Using Core A (old K) would be great for your 1st grader because you could read the books at your own pace and still feel like your getting a lot of value out of it but not feel overwhelmed. I'll be adding my 2nd core next month but won't really count myself as doing two full cores until we get to Core B (old 1) and Core E (old 4). Even then, most of the RAs are not connected to history in Core 1 so we could drop a few the second time around and not miss anything.

:iagree: I would still use SL if I had an only child. I don't feel boxed in at all with SL. I still use an eclectic mix of LA, math, and other subjects. I love the SL books selections and it allows me more time to customize the already great program. The biggest downside is that it would be more expensive/child because I wouldn't be reusing it with another dc.

I agree with the pps. We didn't spend more than 60 mins on seat work during Kindergarten. We could easily read aloud for an hour or more each day but much of that was voluntary. I really ramped up the academics for 1st grade this year and seat work still only takes 2 hrs at the most. I'll be shooting for 60 mins or less for my guy who starts K next month.

I use Singapore as my main math and Horizons as a supplement. I don't know how well it will work for you (since I don't know much about dyslexia) but we do one lesson of each everyday. We use Horizons as review and apply Singapore methods to the Horizons exercises. I don't line anything up; it usually works out that Horizons is slightly behind the concepts in Singapore. Horizons does include more topics than Singapore (like measuring, solids, etc.) but it's easy enough to teach those on the fly. I use the TB, WB, HIG, and CWP for Singapore but only the workbooks for Horizons. Using both (plus other supplements) also helps us slow down only doing 1.5 levels this school year instead of 2-3 levels. I do cross out problems liberally once my ds has mastered concepts. For instance, he only has to do 2-3 subtraction, addition, or clock problems but he has to do all of the multiplication problems. Once I'm satisfied with his recall of his multiplication tables, I'll start crossing some of those out. He just got to that point with Roman numerals. He doesn't do any Horizons word problems because they're so easy compared to Singapore's. It's a great pairing and I plan to continue it with my next ds once he starts PM 1A and Horizons 1.

:bigear: I had so much fun with K for my oldest but now I'm folding in my 2nd K'er and am not sure how to make it fun for him while still keeping the 2nd grader in check. Add a 3yo and baby to the mix and I'm not sure how we'll get anything done.

These 3 sum it up for us. My ds flies through math curricula which is why we use 3 whole programs plus supplements for him. After doing this for the last 2 years, I can see the benefits of using a spiral math alongside SM and will do so for my up-and-coming students. Plus, I really like math so it's a fun part of our day :D

:iagree: this worked really well for us with my 2nd ds.

I've really liked it for my 1st grader. We're moving onto Prima Latina for 2nd grade. I didn't think it was expensive at all since I just bought the student workbook. ETA: evidently, they're currently writing SSL2.

Thanks. My younger one is just starting K next month but is already reading chapter books so that won't be a problem a year from now. I don't plan on using the writing, either. The 1st grader will use WWE and I *think* the 3rd grader will be using WT1. We'll see about that...I have a year to decide :001_smile:

How did you group your dc? I am planning on starting Shurley sometime in the next year or so and would love to combine my oldest two. I am planning on doing levels 2, 4, 6, and 7. Could I combine a 1st and 3rd grader into Shurley 2?

I was only referring to the LA that comes with it if you don't choose LA K. The rest would be great for a 6.5yo. My 7yo is planning on sitting in on it this comong year even though he's already done the core once and reread all of the books on his own at least once. The P4/5 LA only consists of 2 books, anyway.

Answers on this run the gamut. I can only tell you what we're doing. My 5yo also started reading before 3. We've chosen not to do anything in the way of formal schooling. He's still learning a lot and having a great time. He now reads chapter books without having any instruction. We'll start SWR next month when he officially starts K to teach spelling and fill in any phonics gaps. He has some math workbooks (Singapore EM) that he does when he wants (mostly to hang out with his big brother during school). He listens in on big brother's school read alouds and gets a big dose of his own each day. We also have a lot of learning-type activities and games like Rush Hour, Mighty Mind, Contraptions, pattern blocks etc. that he plays daily. I know a lot of people on this board have gone the opposite route but this works for us. We did the same thing for my oldest and I was really happy with how it's gone. Despite not using any formal curriculum with him (not even the math workbooks), he's a 1st grader reading at a 5th-6th grade level and doing Songapore 3A (only because I've slowed him down quite a bit). I couldn't keep them from learning during those preschool years and am glad we focused on other things rather than formal curricula. As usual, YMMV.

Honestly, the books you have are great books but they are the easiest ones in Core A. The books mentioned as dry were some of our favorite books in the core because they sparked great discussions. While we enjoyed My Father's Dragon and Dolphin Adventure (and read all of the sequels) they aren't books to discuss and appeal more to the younger set than the tougher books. For that reason, I'm glad we waited until my ds was 6 to tackle Core A. He wouldn't have been as capable of dicussions about Nazis (Twenty and Ten), government and oppression (Apple and the Arrow) and charity/poverty/healthcare (Mary on Horseback) at 5yo. A lot of maturing took place that year. Overall, we loved the core and it was worth the money I spent.

We loved P4/5 for my oldest's K year. It was the perfect complement to SWR and Singapore math for us. My only complaint is that there weren't enough science books. The ones they include are so good that we could have used twice as many. Ds7 has been rereading a lot of the books on his own this year and we are all excited to start it again for ds5's K year next month. We didn't use the P4/5 LA since we used SWR. I agree that it would be too immature for most K'ers. My 2yo loves those books, though. I ordered P4/5 with K LA originally (didn't use it) but bought 1000 First Words later for the littles.

I got your PM and will have time to reply tomorrow :001_smile: today was a little busy with the kids.