I am using their Early American History program this year and we love it. I do tweak it to better suit us, but overall it is a really good program. I love the simplicity of their guide. I also use Sonlight and their guide is so cumbersome. Suzanne

Hi - My daughter is required to take the Stanford 10 for her umbrella school. Does anyone know if the second grade level requires them to use a separate answer sheet? I know a lot of tests let the younger ones record their answers in the test booklet, but I am not sure about this test. Thank you, Suzanne

Ann-Marie - I usually do the program 3 days a week. Each lesson is designed to last a week and that is usually how we schedule it. It is easily adaptable. The teacher's guide has suggestions for 3, 4, and 5 days per week. I probably would just start with the 2nd grade program. The first grade program was pretty good, but really easy for my daughter. She is somewhat advanced in reading. We have been more pleased with the second grade level. That said, I think you could easily cover both levels in a year if you did it daily. Suzanne

We are using the second grade version this year. Yes, you do need the teacher's guide. The guide contains stories, activities, quizzes and other items that you will find useful. You could probably use the student workbook alone, but it would not be the same at all. I got lucky this year and last year and purchased they used versions that they offer on their website. The used version is just a copy that someone has returned. Both of mine looked brand new. I just checked and they have some used versions available right now too. Suzanne

We bought my daughter a set a few years ago from "Back to Basic" toys and they have held up really well. She still loves them and plays with them often. Suzanne

I e-mailed them before ordering the first time. I was having trouble deciding which level I wanted to purchase. I asked them for a table of contents for each level I was considering. They promptly send me a detailed table of contents for all the levels they were selling. They were very helpful. I have ordered from them twice and been very pleased with their curriculum and their service. Suzanne

I am doing Song School Latin with my seven year old this year. It is simple, but she absolutely loves it. I wanted her first experience to be overwhelmingly positive and it is! Suzanne

We're using Beautiful Feet's Early American History and we learned good and bad things about Columbus.

Similar things used to happen to us all the time. My daughter started identifying alphabet letters when she was around 14 months old. We would be walking through the store and she would be happily calling out letters that she saw. People would be amazed and stop to ask how old she was. Then, it happened regularly when she started reading. She would be reading a sign or menu and people would stop and ask. Suzanne

We love our microscope that we purchased from Sonlight. My daughter is only 7 and we have been using it since she was 5 1/2. She loves science so my mom bought for her for Christmas. Last year, we added a stereo microscope and it is fun too. Suzanne

We have the second one and I would highly recommend it. We have had since my daughter was 3 or 4. She is now seven and she still sometimes plays with it. Suzanne

Hi - My daughter is required by her Umbrella School to take the Stanford 10 test for second grade this year. Can anyone tell me if she will be required to use a separate answer sheet? I am not familiar with this test, but I know some standardized tests start answer sheets later than second grade. Thank you, Suzanne

Paige at elemental science has a great one on her Elemental Science Yahoo Group. Suzanne

I looked at the guide included with the kit. The kit includes 30 experiments. The first section of the guide talks about: Advice for Parents and Supervisors Rules for Safe experimentation Hazardous Material Information What is Chemistry Your Equipment Effervescent Powder Then, the section on experiments begins. Each experiment includes a procedure section and a why section where they explain what happens. Overall, I think it looks pretty good for the price I paid for it. I found it a Hobby Lobby and used a coupon so it was relatively inexpensive. My seven year old loves science so we do a lot of experiments. Some examples of included experiments are: acids and bases acids and alkalis using a litmus solution invisible ink states of matter If you have more questions, please ask. Suzanne

We have this kit, but we haven't used it. I can't answer your question. But, I will be glad to open the kit and answer any specific questions you may have. Suzanne

My daughter started learning at 3 too. At first, I asked her to wait until she was older. But, she kept asking so I started. She was like a little sponge. She flew through all the easy books and was soon reading more difficult ones. Suzanne

My 7 year old loves horses too. There is a series of picture books - One is called Billy and Blaze, but there are several others. She also enjoyed a series called: Big Apple Barn - published by Scholastic They are very easy to read chapter books. Suzanne

I used the Beautiful Feet guide last year with my first grader. We loved it! Suzanne

Thank you all so much. I think I will go the no sew route. I have done that same thing for Bible times costumes. I'm surprised I didn't think of it for this. Suzanne

Does anyone have a SIMPLE pattern for a monks robe? I would like to make one for my daughter, but my sewing skills are very, very limited. Thank you, Suzanne

http://www.musicmart.com/John-Jacobson-DVDs-J-jump-to-the-Music-3-DVD-Set-P7462.aspx Suzanne

Wow! Hullabaloo looks great. I will put it on my wish list. My daughter is seven and I think she would love it. Suzanne

We have J Jump and we really like it. We use it when we don't get enough exercise another way. You can still get it from http://www.musicmart.com/John-Jacobson-DVDs. I have an extra set that I haven't opened. I have thought about selling it. Send me a pm if you are interested. Suzanne

Hi - I used three baskets under our coffee table for our things we read together. All of our current books we are reading go in them. Our workbooks are kept in plastic drawers in the kitchen since we do our written work in the kitchen. I have been slowly switching to modified workboxes and that has helped. She has a drawer unit where her daily work goes and I have a drawer unit where supplies and workbooks that we aren't using for that day are kept. It has really helped and now I don't have piles all over the kitchen. I like my materials to be ready for the next day too. Suzanne

Thank you so much! It was the ones at guest hollow that I used to have bookmarked. Suzanne