I'm the same way. I get what the previous poster was saying but it seems like an insurmountable task to me without a curriculum. I chose WWE because it is gentle for my 1st grader but I can see where it's leading. I'll be making a decision between continuing with SWB's method or WT/CW in a few years so I'll be watching this thread with interest.

We are using everything in my siggy and starting FLL1 and SSL next week. We are using WWE1 for writing. I don't know how well he writes because I don't ask him to do anything beyond his copywork. I'm trusting in the method. He does do his copywork correctly. I think making sentences with his spelling words would a be good idea. We actually did that last year as an enrichment to practice his spelling words. I guess it was just good prep for WWE since it's been smooth sailing so far.

If he can read all of Readers 1 (mostly Dr. Suess), Readers 2 Reg will be the next step. Readers 2 Reg is very gentle so it should be good for him. You don't have to finish all the the Readers 2 programs to go into Readers 3. Readers 2 Advanced is actually harder than Readers 3. So no need to skip Readers 2 int unless you really want to. Technically, you should be able to go from Readers 2 Reg to Readers 3. Readers 3 is tied in with Core 3 unlike the earlier levels because it is part of the history curriculum.

We'll be doing core 1 next year with a 2nd grader also. It seems very common to use Core 1 with a 2nd grader. SL has several reader programs to go with the early cores for just that reason and because dc develop at different rates.. Like the others, we use the history/geography, read-alouds, and readers. Even though my ds is an accelerated reader the reader selections are great for him. We are doing Readers 2 this year and will do Readers 2 Intermediate next year (saving Readers 2 Advanced for Core 2). The books are easy for him but he's building reading-aloud skills and really learning to love reading. We also supplement readers from the library but the reader sets are a great foundation. The science looks good to me but we've chosen to use Noeo for now. We have bought several SL science books because they look good and my ds is a science nut.

I don't really remember much prior to Algebra. I do know that four of us finished our 6th grade math book before Christmas (we were sent to the library to work at our own pace) and didn't do any more math for the year. Nothing to do with the curriculum but definitely impacted my education. I was fortunate to have an amazing high school math teacher. Our curriculum didn't matter...he taught us the material. We must have had a text for Calculus since we did problem sets but we always referred to our lecture notes for help. I still have all of my notes. I was so proud of them. That said. I love SM for how it guides me as a teacher and what it expects of my ds. Pretty sure that I wasn't taught elementary math this way. Well and Miquon...that's just pure fun for us. We're kinda weird that way.

We also like Flashmaster and supplementig with Horizons has been good for my ds6 with regard to math facts. I recently started using Multiplication Rock and it's a huge hit. I think I'll look into that app, though. The boys seem to go for anything on my iPad.

If she likes writing so much, you could have her copy CVC words or whatever you're working on in reading. It might help reinforce the concept for her in an enjoyable way while sneakily teaching reading. She'll never know how mean you are!

Hi! :seeya:

I wouldn't. It would just seem like copying gobbly-gook if they can't read the words. We did do some copy work when my oldest was learning to read with SWR but I only used words he had already learned to spell and read. We didn't start WWE until he was reading fluently.

The two books they added in 2009 (Uncle Wiggily and Brer Rabbit) were two of our favorites so I think it would be worth getting those titles. I'm debating whether or not to upgrade the IG next year because of the new activities. I doubt I will in the end since we didn't miss them last year.

About 30 mins for my 1st grader for his official work. Sometimes he'll want to do more on his own (Flahmaster or Miquon) but since he can do it by himself I don't pay attention to time. However, it does minimize our formal drill time.

Since I was taught print first, I thought it was the way to go and taught my ds to print in K. He also had a lot of bad habits to break. It wasn't until he begged to learn cursive and seeing the effects that I decided to teach my other dc cursive first. Also, it only took my ds 3 weeks to switch over to cursive completely and independently. However, he was motivated since he refused to write in print anymore. Both of my older boys were reading well before they were ready to write so this hasn't been a factor for us. I would guess that the exposure dc have to print from a young age in books, on signs and toys, etc. would be more influential than writing instruction. I will say that after solely writing in cursive for the last 6 months, my ds still struggles with reading cursive. It is getting easier for him but it hasn't been automatic. I will make sure my dc are able to print at some point before they start filling out forms. However, I don't expect to spend much time on it.

:iagree: with the other posters. Neither develop or insanity have a schwa sound for me and the o sound in dog and hot sound the same. I grew up in the PNW, dh in NY (mostly) and now that my dc are growing up in TX, I can definitely hear the difference in regional pronunciations everyday in my own home. :tongue_smilie:.

Well said. This is why I'm by-passing printing with my littles. I've seen all of these benefits since starting cursive with ds6 and wish I'd started cursive with him last year.

I started my oldest this year in 1st. I'll be starting the rest in K (or whenever they're ready to start writing).

That was so funny!!

This is what we use. I don't allow popcorn until dc are 6 (choking hazard) so we just eat Pirate's Booty. It is all-natural cheese puffs that are shaped like popcorn. I buy it at Costco or Trader Joes.

He'd probably be too tall for it anyway. The Britax didn't make sense for us since my dc will probably be well into their teens before hitting 80 lbs. It is a pretty funny image though! LOL! One of my best friends is 4'9" and we joke that we need to put a Britax in the driver's seat of her minivan. :lol:

I'm 16 weeks pg now and we just told the boys two weeks ago. I had a miscarriage in April (and one 8 years ago) so we wanted to be sure before telling them. My first post-12 week appt was at 14 weeks so we told them after I got home. My oldest started asking questions right away about my tiredness and shakiness (when I don't eat every 2-3hours). He seemed pretty happy to have solved Mom's strange behavior.

You're in good company. My 6.5yo is still in a 5pt harness. He's tall but super skinny so we'll go with both the harness and booster till he gets too tall for them. My 4.5yo is light and short so I doubt he'll be out of a booster before middle school...I wonder how old he'll be when he outgrows the harness. 2yo is still rear-facing.

We're in 2B and it takes us less than 20 mins for everything--HIG, TB, WB. We're going to start CWP next week on Fridays so that'll add another 10 mins or so.

:iagree: That's what we used for Kinder last year and will use it again next year. My oldest was a mature K'er but my 4yo won't be. I expect P4/5 will still be a great fit for him...The only difference will be that I won't add as many enrichments.

Thanks everyone! I hadn't come across most of these looking around myself. Since wide-ruled is only a bit smaller than we're using now and so cheap, I'm going to try that first. If it doesn't work for him, I'll buy some 3/8" dotted middle line paper. He doesn't have any trouble writing without lines at all on a white board so maybe he doesn't need the middle line. He is writing in cursive so letter spacing isn't an issue. I'll be bookmarking these sites for the future.

My ds is ready for smaller-lined paper. He's currently using 3rd grade dotted middle line paper and has been since the beginning of last year when we started handwriting. What's the next step? Does he just go to wide-ruled? Is it a hard transition from having the middle line? He forms his letters very well but the big lines are annoying to him. I know that Donna Young has many types of paper to print but buying a ream is much more cost effective. I got the ream of third grade paper for less than $7 and it'll last me through all 4 dc. Any thoughts? TIA,

I'm adding SSL next week and hopefully art in the next month or so.