Thanks for your input!

Specifically, if you have a strong reader, did you decide to go ahead with level 3. My almost 6 year old is about halfway through AAR Level 2. She is reading far beyond what she has been taught. Is there a good reason to go ahead with level 3 at that point? Or should we go into emerging readers and do AAS to reinforce phonics? I can't decide!

I am so glad to hear that this is not just my child! This is what I needed to hear! I guess I could find some more picture books to incorporate into our day. :)

Hi everyone! My daughter will be 6 in just a couple of weeks. We are about 14 units in with Little Hearts for His Glory. The Burgess books are not going well at all. I have tried everything, but she just completely zones out. I have tried keeping her hands busy, keeping them not busy, reading during meals/snacks, reading at different times of day, reading in different places... Nothing seems to help though. With other read alouds, (right now Wizard of Oz, Beatrix Potter and Winnie the Pooh) she definitely does better but still seems to have trouble really listening to comprehend. Is this Normal at this age?? My 4 year old can half listen and tell me everything that has happened in the Burgess book stories. Here's a little more background. My 6 year old is reading quite well. I would guess around an end of 1st grade to 2nd grade level. She retains what she reads herself much better than what I read to her. She can usually retell our Bible stories that have been scheduled so far in HOD. We used to have fears of ASD with her. I do sometimes still wonder, but since we homeschool I never continued to pursue diagnosis. We haven't felt a need...yet. She was pretty different for a while. She stopped advancing verbally a 18 months and would stare blankly when we talked a lot of times. Her hearing has been tested immensely. We went through speech for that and also receptive language issues. She was also in OT a while for fine motor skills. We were told she had retained primitive reflexes and low muscle tone-specifically in the core. I know it may all seem unrelated, but sometimes I question myself on not seeking out an NP evaluation. Just put me at ease or tell me to take her in. I really just want some solid advice from other parents. TIA

Thank you! Just downloaded this!

I am going to attempt to join in this year. I want to read The Wind Up Bird and will probably pick it up later is week. Until then, I'll start The Hobbit, continue Don Quixote, and maybe add in a Beth Moore book that I downloaded.

I looked at your profile when you mentioned schools closing for the cold. We must live kind of close. :) We are going ahead with school, but we started back p last week anyway. :)

Is it okay to use these out of order or is it best to start atthens beginning? We are using the preschool series and will do Intro to Science next year, but I am thinking about buying the anatomy set of this because my oldest is so interested in it. She will be a 6 1/2 year old 1st grader in the fall.

I think HOD could fit the bill for you. You can check their placement chart, but it sounds like Beyond might work. :)

I found a nice sketchbook at Walmart for about $5. It is bout 5x7 in size. The cover is hardback anf black. The pages are ivory.and blank. I think it will work nicely. We started the curriculum today and it went rather smoothly.

We use All About Reading and I love how thorough it is. It also comes with readers and they are fantastic.

We are about to start ES's first preschool series. I was reading through the first week's plans and it mentioned making a science notebook. What did you find worked best for your science notebook if you used this curriculum?

I would like to second this suggestion. You could even combine them in Little Hearts if you started now. We are about 1/3 of the way through Little Hearts and I love how well laid out it is. If needed, someone in the family could easily pick it up and do their work with them.

Wan't to help me shop? She loves to make believe and has been obsessed with puppets lately. Her birthday is next month, so I figured why not. I'm looking for something that goes on a tension rod and some really cute puppets to go with. Any ideas?

Some of your concerns are why I chose to go with a semi-box (I think that's what HOD is). I feel like I would be dragging my kids through so much in fear of not doing enough. It's freeing to be able to check off those boxes and call it done.

We will definitely be purchasing Elemental Science's pre-k/K program. We love science here and want something to do regularly. HOD is just not filling our science interests yet, so we are going to add it in ourselves. I'm toying with the idea of beginning spelling with my K'er. She is about halfway through AAR 2 and reading well beyOnd what we have covered thus far. Seeing these light bulbs in her eyes is just amazing! I can't decide if we will try HOD's spelling or buy AAS.

I was skeptical at first, but we are 10 units in with Little Hearts and we have found the love. My daughter is loving school right now. We used MFW K last year, so there was some adjusting to do. :) We, of course, love AAR. It' so thorough and I love it for that. I can't get over how my daughter is reading now!

I think it's the same with her. She knew all her letter sounds by 3. Well, I guess we might be looking to start Level 3 come January. I think I can stretch it long enough for that. Tis may mean at we just read during December. That's okay with me though. We have the ER set, so that will work out fine. I'm just amazed with her progress though. It just seems to get better and better. Teaching reading seemed scary when we first started, but now I have no worries at all. Will there be an AAR Level 4?

We just started Level 2 of AAR last week. We are now on Lesson 5. DD moved through Level 1 pretty quickly. We started sometime in March and completed it about two weeks ago (this is including at least a month long break). So far, she is doing a lesson each day. Her reading is growing so much every day and she really is taking off. I don't regret buying AAR at all. My you gets will use it too. We are also using HOD's ER's just because she is moving so quickly. Will she slow down soon? Doesn't get harder in this level? I did notice that the stories get lengthier. I am very happy that reading seems to be easy for her. I'm just wondering if we are going to need Level 3 before the end of the school year.

Thisis the one I ordered. :) I found a new copy on eBay for $9! I'm planning to order the second book soon!

Thank you! I just put these all on my wish list! This should keep us busy for a bit. I think I will order the first one today. :) She will probably get one for Christmas too.

Does anyone know if this one has pictures? http://www.alibris.com/Oz-the-Complete-Collection-Volume-1-The-Wonderful-Wizard-of-Oz-The-Marvelous-Land-of-Oz-Ozma-of-Oz-L-Frank-Baum/book/23746701?matches=35&cm_sp=works*listing*title

I am searching for a nice copy of this book. My dilemma is that there are so many different printings. Could anyone link me to a good copy/edition? My 5 1/2 year old is in love with this book after checking it out at the library, and she specifically asked for a copy of her own. Are the other books in the series just as good for this age?

I have not used OPG. I have thought about using it in the future to finish out phonics, but since seeing the samples of AAR 3 I don't think it will happen. :) AAR 3 looks wonderful and will be worth it for us in my opinion. I like having the hand holding though. The readers are also priceless. I tried 100 easy lessons first. Dd and I both hated it. We then used MFW K. it was great, gentle, and had her sounding out CVC words like a pro. She could also sound out CCVC and CVCC words at that point. She was ready for it though. Halfway through MFW K we started using AAR 1. She was so ready for it and has breezed through this level. I slowed her down over the summer (just to have a break). She is on Lesson 42 now and will start Level 2 soon. All this to say, phonics can take time. Either of these programs can work if your child is ready and your stay on a regular schedule. OPG is definitely cheaper, so if cost is an issue then you may want to go that route. If it's not, I would definitely swing for AAR. DD enjoys reading time and the work is paying off. :)

Realistically, how much time do you think this will add to our days? Really, our days are not very long right now. Some days are longer than others depending on how engaged the girls are.