Thanks! 11 books for $15.84 shipped, bargain :) Here's hoping I'll actually put them to use lol.

I'm really not the artsy type and art never got done until we started Atelier. It takes very little prep as you just play the DVD and put materials on the table (all the materials are kept simple & are easy/cheap to find). You can pretty much just leave the kiddos to it as the lessons are very well explained step by step. My kids have loved it this year :)

We loved level 2 so I placed a conditional order for level 3 - I hope it reaches 40% like last year :D

Have you looked at the I See Sam books? I've downloaded them and put them on my Kindle; my DD loves them. There are 52 free books on: http://marriottmd.com/sam/

I was sent this code a couple weeks ago (4 weeks free trial): UKCLIC

My DD's starting K this Summer, this is my current plan (subject to change). reading: OPGTR, Bob Books, I See Sam readers writing: PAL Writing (focusing on Part 1) grammar: FLL1 starting around spring math: RightStart Math Level A (I've just ordered the 2nd edition so I really hope it's good...!) art: Atelier science & history: she'll probably do the crafts & experiments along with her brother but I won't be doing anything formal with her 'til 1st grade. I'd love to do FIAR vol 1 too but I'm not sure if we'd manage time wise - we'll see how we do with the current plan first :)

We love it here! So far we've used grades 1-3 and just started 4 (Light Blue); we've also used a few of the Blue books too and they've all been great.

For those who have used SSL1 - is the Teacher Edition worth having too?

Do you mean instead of purchasing the 12mth subscription? They're available in kits on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=young+scientist+kit

Thanks for posting this, I had no idea they had a French site!

Yep, we'll be getting Level 3 hopefully :D

I agree it's a tough questions; here our favorites around that age have have been: Mind Benders, Can You Find Me?, and Mathematical Reasoning Beginning (this one is a Core though). If you "like" their facebook page you'll be able to download more samples. https://www.facebook.com/TheCriticalThinkingCo/app_134581186676413

After MM3 in my experience. We tried BA after MM2B, it didn't work out great. DS was learning the new concepts from the Guide book fine however the Practice book brought on too much frustration. He's now finishing MM3B and I think he'll be fine with BA now - we'll see in a couple weeks!

Last year we did 1-2hrs a day of a Moving Beyond the Page concept - it was a nice change & fun so I think we'll do that again this year.

The Basic Package is sufficient. The only add-on we purchased are the novels: http://www.rfwp.com/series/mct-literature-program

We tried BA when DS completed MM2B. He really enjoyed the reading/Guide book however the Practice book proved to be a bit too much. He understood the new concepts through the reading but he wasn't ready for these types of questions and would easily get frustrated. I don't think MM2 prepared him sufficiently for BA's level. We decided to put it on pause and complete MM3 A & B and CWP 2 first. He's currently on the last chapter of MM3B so we'll be giving BA a try again very soon.

I've never had an issue with customer service either - they've replied promptly. I'd say email again including the email you received when you placed the order. Hope it gets resolved quickly!

Probably a bit too late but for future reference: La Bonne Méthode de Dictée, they have the CE1 and CE2 levels: http://www.lalibrairiedesecoles.com/livre/la-bonne-methode-de-dictee-ce1,24 http://www.lalibrairiedesecoles.com/livre/la-bonne-methode-de-dictee-ce2,51

^as Meryl said Youtube & DVD are great options. We use both of these but we prefer watching shows through French TV channel's streaming websites. We mostly use TF1 Replay http://videos.tf1.fr/videos-en-integralite/ but there are loads of options such as: http://replay.fr/jeunesse The only downside is that they require a French IP address... to get around this we have a subscription through http://www.vpnvision.com/ It costs us 4 euros a month but it's been worth the money for us (they have a free trial too).

We've completed the CNED's full Grande Section Maternelle curriculum & we're currently doing CP but just in Francais. To sign up go to http://www.cned.fr/ Click on the green "Scolaire" button on the top left; then "Ecole". If you plan on doing the full curriculum then you'll be looking at "1er degré classes complètes". Keep in mind you can also just pick & choose which individual subjects you want to do too if you select "Premier degré cours par matières". Then you'll see the GSM & CM2, you'll have to fill out a bit of information then it will give you access to documentations & registration papers. Registration is pretty easy, just print out the paperwork, fill it and mail it back to them. If you're struggling at any point then contact them via email or phone. I'm not sure how payment works when done internationally (I just used my French bank account) but I'm sure they'll have plenty of experience with it. You'll receive everything you need for the whole year in one box around August. The lessons are divided up into what you should be doing daily. Every once in a while you will have to send them Evaluations (you receive those at the beginning of the year too)- this is how they keep an eye on your kids' abilities. The assigned teacher will grade them & send them back to you - they usually go into a lot of detail with recommendations etc. The CNED should qualify as a full curriculum but I am not familiar with the homeschooling regulations in California. If you are travelling by boat though you may be able to follow different regulations than California since you're out of the state anyway... I don't know any support groups for parents teaching the CNED. There's an online forum you can access once you're registered but it's aimed at kids - you might be able to find families in a similar situation to yours this way though. Since they'll be going back to their current French School - you should ask the school if they can help you with any of this - they may already have experience with the CNED.

I recommend starting at level 1. My DS was already reading chapter books when we started AAS 1 and he still benefited from it. We're now on Level 3 and still loving it.

Get a pack of spines (look at the capacity, the ones I bought are 1/2" and can hold 85 sheets). I got some black covers for the back and clear covers for the front - but those are totally optional, you could use construction paper.

Might be worth posting this on the Afterschooling Board? http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/forum/13-parents-forum-afterschooling-board/

We have a Ravensburger puzzle ball Globe and it's awesome - I highly recommend them. My kids were way more excited about looking at it than a traditional globe because they had put it together themselves. They also learned quite a bit as they were building it. We have: http://www.amazon.com/Ravensburger-The-Earth-Piece-puzzleball/dp/B000UEL05U/ But they also do easier ones like: http://www.amazon.com/Ravensburger-Childrens-Globe-Piece-Puzzleball/dp/B005688T5E/ and http://www.amazon.com/Ravensburger-Childrens-World-Piece-Puzzleball/dp/B005688RT2/ You can also find them on: http://www.timberdoodle.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=globe

I bought mine today :D It was $54.99 at my local Office Depot & I used the 30% off coupon (from their website), the total came to $38.49 before tax. I can't wait to try it :)