I plan on doing the 3R's daily, and Bible daily. Everything else will be once or twice per week. For 1st grade, history and science are just going to be an extension of read-alouds with extra's if we have time/interest. I will use history and science readings for copywork and narrations. History - MON, WED Science - TUES, THR Art - FRI I am going to work in a FL too. I plan on using RS, and doing it in the evenings when dh can "play" too.;)

Does your nearly 13 year old DD have the following items? 1. Her own cell phone When she pays for it:lol:, until then she can borrow a family cell on the occasion that she needs one. 2. A t.v. in her bedroom NO 3. A computer in her bedroom NO 4. Hair that has been dyed blonde or any other color When she pays for it and Daddy approves......which is really NO b/c I can't imagine Daddy approving that one;) 5. Ears pierced with 2 or more holes each (DD has one hole per ear) NO 6. Clothes of her selection from the mall When she pays for it and Daddy approves. I actually think it's good for teens to have a clothing allowance to spend as long as their selections line up with the modesty values of your family. Two rules: mommy won't buy you socks when you spend all your $ on a single pair of jeans and mommy won't give you more $ b/c you spent all your $ on clothes that Daddy doesn't approve. 7. Makeup -- all kinds (not just lip gloss) At 13, I might allow cover-up for zits:tongue_smilie:, and a powder. I think I would hold off on eye make, etc. until she was older. Again, she has to pay for it. Disclaimer: I do not have a 13yo dd of my own, yet. I have been a youth ministers wife for several years, and so I speak from that perspective. It sounds like she is ready to start learning the lessons of where her true value lies, and she is blessed to have a mother to walk her through this rather than letting her do as she wishes and filling her youth with regrets!

We use them, and ds loves them. We are going to start Miquon sometime in the next year...whenever I feel he's ready. Right now, we are doing free play and games with them. He is associating the colors with bigger than/smaller than...twice as big/half of...etc. I think when we start "official math" work, it's going to be a matter of simply putting the symbol to what he is now learning. I vote for trying them!:001_smile: They aren't terribly expensive...and if you decide to sell them on the FSOT, I might buy them to have extra:lol: j/k

I think SOTW and CHOW would be redundant.

I am teaching both, but focusing on small letters for writing. My ds has fine motor delay too (glad we aren't the only ones:tongue_smilie:). I am just taking the writing slow and working more on technique than a perfectly formed letter. Strangely, he has been spontaneously writing CAP letters for FUN:001_huh: There must be some truth to the CAPS being easier. Still, I want my ds to focus on the small case letter for the reasons mentioned in previous posts. My dh still writes all CAPS.

Here is a link that might help you. http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/SOTWmenu.htm I have just researched myself into circles on the same topic:lol: My grand plan is SOTW1 for history and Greenleaf Guide to OT for Bible. The two will not match up perfectly, but will compliment each other (I hope:tongue_smilie:). I chose Greenleaf Guide to OT b/c the actual Bible is the text. I chose SOTW b/c it can stand alone for 1st grade, but the AG has plenty of recommended readings and activities when we have the time/interest. Plus, I have noticed that just about every curriculum uses SOTW in their booklist. I can't speak from experience, but I get the idea that the Guerber books might be better suited for older dc, and are geared for a 6yr rotation through history. SOTW is a 4yr rotation. hth

I am just starting too, really. I will agree with pp, and say don't buy too much too far ahead. I bought SWR on the Kindergarten budget, even though we won't "officially" begin the program for a while. I am glad I did...now I can spend more on history in 1st grade:lol: I didn't buy any kindergarten curriculum. We are just doing the prep activities from SWR and Miquon Math. I did go a bit crazy buying manipulatives, but they are well-loved! How much you budget depends on what curriculum you want to buy. One way to ease HS into your budget is to start packing away $25 per month, and then if that isn't going to fit your wishlist, start increasing your HS budget.

My oldest ds has life-threatening food allergies. It isn't my first or only reason to HS, but HSing certainly takes a lot of stress off of my shoulders regarding his health.

rocks and sticks and mud: basic physics:lol: cuisenaire rods My 5yo LOVES a little sandbox I made from a Glad ware baking dish. Personal set of measuring cups/spoons, a balance and a ton of lentils.

I have a dear friend who still can't read well enough to take simple college courses. She's a smart girl, but is a victim of "whole language" mixed with a bit of dislexia. I have babysat chilren reading chapter books to me, stumbling over the simple words.....not the memorized multi-syllable words. That still confounds me:confused: I know they did whole language in that district - btw. I know b/c I was an ED major at the college there. Phonics are the "nuts and bolts" of our language. I think phonics critics often have memories of boring readers and drill, but it's not an accurate picture, esp in my HS. If a child knows his phonics he can read any book you give him. In phonics, dc need to memorize about 70 phonograms. In whole language.....1000's of words just to get by. I do drill, but I don't do boring readers. I let my ds discover the words he can now read. We read a variety of books, but I never force him to sit and read to me. Reading comes as a natural response to learning. Read alouds with mom are never phonics drill. The irony in "whole language" from my point of view is that MANY dc will NEVER READ anything, let alone in context of a "whole language" without the proper tools handed to them and explained in a simple manner. That is phonics. Most kids who master phonics at a young age, read like they ride a bike (second nature), and w/o overthinking the words they actually grasp the "whole language." No doubt, kids learn in different ways, but they should all be taught the phonetic pattern of the language. jm.02

I woudln't put your dc together for reading, even if they are at the same point. I recommend The Writing Road to Reading too. We use SWR, which is made from the WRR concept. It is complete phonics, and not age-graded at all. I found WRR at my library;)

Thanks Sahamama!:001_smile: I just copied that for my ds.

I've had great experiences with RR, but I've never had anything on backorder either.

How strange! I am looking at doing Korean and Latin too, but I'm still trying to decide when/how. My mil is Korean, and we have family that only speaks Korean (like great-grandma), and I would like my dc to be able to communicate with them. I also want to do Latin fairly early.....so I'm watching this thread:lurk5:

I am right now teaching my 1st to read, so take my advice with a grain of salt;) I would introduce new sounds as fast as he can go, whether he is applying that info at the time or not. We play "superflash" - it's a superhero way to drill to phonics sounds flashcard style (sneaky momma:tongue_smilie:). While we are doing handwriting practice I have him say the sound outloud EACH time, and my ds has fm delay so I am there with you on that one too. When "superflash" is done for the day I minimize the amount of pure drill we do. At the same time (a different part of the day), play oral games that cause him to think about the sounds in the words he uses. We "glue" words (thanks to SWR) I'll say "guess the word I'm thinking" /c/ /a/ /t/ speaking the sounds clearly and seperately, and ds shouts out "cat". Then, when we are looking at the word "cat" on a page, the work of putting together sounds has been done and now the work at hand is putting the visual symbol to the sound. Another incentive for putting sounds together is s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g verbally to your dh about things in front of ds. I knew ds was coming along when I told a friend that we could get together to p-a-i-n-t and ds blurted out "Hey, we get to paint!!!":lol: Reading is a complex skill. Break up the individual components and give him the tools (sounds) as quickly as possible. He may be bored with only short vowel sounds...or confused b/c not all words use short vowel sounds and he doesn't have the tool to figure out words with long sounds - kwim. Give those tool as fast as possible in faith that ds will use them soon. Don't wait for ds to "master" short vowels, just move on....it's not like it's the last chance to learn the material. What I have done for handwriting is make my own pages with writing paper and a highlighter. I write a row of a number, a row of his name, a few letters, and a few words. He says the sounds as he writes, so he sounds out the word as he writes (traces over my highlighter marking). This working very well for us. If phonics pathways isn't jiving with your ds, switch. In the last 6mo, I've learned that my ds is very much an auditory learner. Even with handwriting, I need to verbally tell ds HOW to form the letters. He still isn't skilled with the pencil, but he atleast verbally says HOW to form the letter and can trace accurately. All that to say...most of the phonics/handwriting stuff out there just doesn't jive for my ds. I am using SWR, but modifying by letting him trace the words and use letter magnets for now. The Writing Road to Reading by Spalding is a good read and is probably at your library. hth

We have the Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia, and it's nice but doesn't give enough info for my ds who isn't even 1st grade yet. I think finding books at the library on specific animals would be just as good if not better than the Kingfisher - imho. I have found good animal books at the thrift store and at library sales. We found a set of National Geographic animal books for kids and those are by far the favorite:001_smile:, and my ds is a conneissour of animal books LOL! Just adding my .02

It sounds to me like what you are doing is working;) Don't change it, just keep giving her little brain food to chew on. More read-alouds, fun games with letters/sounds, games with numbers...but keep it natural and fun and child-led. Make sure she has plenty of time outside to explore nature, pulling apart plants and chasing insects. 2yo need to learn discipline, but not in the area of academics. Teach her how to dress herself, simple chores for the family, etc...

I put vinegar in a squirt bottle, and use that for tons of cleaning jobs. It's the best thing for windows and mirrors;) The smell evaporates in a few minutes, and keeps ants at bay. I buy Bac-out and dilute it in a squirt bottle. It's non-toxic and smells better than vinegar - LOL!

I don't do well with scripted lessons, so it didn't sit on my shelf for long.

Thanks for all the replies! I especially love reading those who have done 1st grade with more than one dc, and hearing what has worked and what has changed.:001_smile: OK - I'm feeling better about my 1st grade choices - LOL! SWR - we are modifying this right now in K for ds's fm delay, but I hope to start it "the right way" sometime in 1st grade Miquon math, maybe adding calculadders SOTW1 AO Literature readings Apologia Astronomy I Can Do All Things - art Mommy's crazy experiments for a book :lol:- music Ds LOVES listening to me read so science and history will just be low-key reading and narration. I'm intrigued by those that start Latin in 1st grade. I want to add in Korean b/c we have family that speaks only Korean, and I want my dc to start it young. I think both languages would be way too much, but maybe when dd is in 1st (ds will be in 3rd) we can do it together???

My ds (5yo) has a quiet time everyday while my lo's nap. He is required to rest on the couch for 30min. I tell him he can get up when the big hand reaches the 6 because that's 1:30, and he is good about following that independantly. Then he usually does some kind of craft or activity that he can't do with the lo's awake -LOL. (cut&paste, play-doh, kinex, etc...) I usually rest for 30 min too, and then do housework while he's doing his activity. When mine are bigger and I have more than one child awake at rest time, I think I will make them have atleast 30min alone and quiet.

:thumbup: Thanks for the links and the info! I think I might just throw a party when the books ship:lol:

I plan on doing AO and a 4yr cycle too. I am just planning yr 1 right now, and I cut out the AO history and added SOTW1 and cut out the Burgess Birds book and added Apologia Astronomy. We'll do the Trial and Triumph stories that apply to the ancients as well as the 50 Famous Stories that apply. I'm not sure how it will pan out over the course of all 4 years, but it's where we are going to start.hth

See, hearing this is why I'm trying to be patient:tongue_smilie:

A question for the veteran HSers: What stuff did you use? (and was it good/bad) What was your schedule like? What would you do differently if you could? enquiring minds want to know:lol: tia:001_smile: