I was unfamiliar with Scholastic Dollar Deals so I'm trying to find out more about it. It sounds like it's at teacherexpress.scholastic.com? I'm having a hard time accessing that site. Looks like it's down. Anyway, I'll follow the boards and hope I find out when the next deal days are! Thanks for the heads up. Maybe I'll get the site working at some point too...

This looks very nice. That's a great idea! I do have a great library so if I was coordinated enough I could put the books in a logical order and use what the library has....

Thanks, sailmom! And I linked to the school Pearson site: here is the homeschool MyWorld Site

I am looking for general social studies for my ds for us to use this year before we start SOTW...I don't think he's ready to jump in to history yet. This year we have been doing general geography: maps, globes, countries and continents. I'm hoping to find a curriculum that is written out for me, something the teaches about general American civics, some basic American history/legends, community needs and wants (basic economics), and other things like that. I like the content of commpletecurriculum.com's 1st grade but am so unimpressed with the typos and writing of the curriculum that I hesitate to use it. I also found Pearson's MyWorld, and I like the professional look of it. But it is very new so I can't find reviews of it. Has anyone tried it for K or 1st grade? My son loves to check off the box, likes worksheets, and loves working on the computer/using media. I'm willing to supplement with library books, online videos, etc. But I'd really like a curriculum that is written out for me since this is my first year homeschooling. Any other suggestions?

double post

I looked at that. I also was disappointed as I'm looking for lower grades.

yes, I think they are having issues. I sent a note to customer service. They said I needed to enter my credit card info again because I had also never been charged. So I entered my info again, then cancelled the auto renew. I still haven't been charged the $4.95. In general, I find this site very unprofessional. I wonder if I'll be able to keep access to my custom-made textbook for a whole school year or if it's going to be causing problems...Just not feeling very confident.

.... and I can't do the Cosmeo free trial without a credit card so :glare:

My son loves Mo Willems too! Even though he can read above that level, we always return to Elephant and Piggie. Unfortunately, there is nothing quite like him. He's one of a kind. But there are other books you dc may like. Try Jan Thomas (Rhyming Dust Bunnies or The Doghouse or What Will the Fat Cat Sit On? are a few of them). My son also really loved the Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold. Fly Guy may be a little more challenging than E&P.

*Consistend b/d confusion* hmmmm. To me, it looks like you have t/d confusion going on.

See this thread from a few weeks ago: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=399117 My son still loves Salsa Spanish. Perfect for the preschool/K crowd. I think First Step Spanish would probably be great for lower elementary (live action instead of the puppets).

no still not responding when I try to confirm the cancel auto-renewal. I sent a note to customer service. After trying on two different computers. Very weird that no one else on here reported that problem.

Hmmm. the site is not accepting my "cancel automatic renewal." Anyone else having this problem? It asks "Really?" I click "yes" and then nothing happens...and auto renewal still is there....

There was another thread about this a few weeks ago and I bought it then. I posted my thoughts on the first four lessons for first grade social studies but I'll say it again. My DS is a 4 year old (reading at a high level and we're going to be doing K4 this year), but I wanted some general public-school like civics/community/etc curriculum before we jump into history with Story of the World or something else. I really like how it is all online. My son loves working on the computer, learning to type, and so forth. I add a few links -- games or videos -- to every lesson. I asked him to do those then we read the lesson and do the worksheet together. The lesson part takes less than 5 minutes. We haven't printed out ANYTHING and I don't intend to. Each lesson can be read online and then the worksheet allows you to type in your answers. I print the worksheet page as a PDF because my son likes to "keep" things and that way he can go back and remember which lessons he's finished. I cannot answer for grade level but lessons are VERY short and sweet. I like that. The 1st grade level SS is just right for my son (again, age 4). The big problem I have with it is that it is so horribly written. I used to be an editor so maybe that's why I see it, but in the four lessons I've read, I've come across at least that many grammatical errors and typos. One lesson, about George Washington and the cherry tree legend spelled cherry "cheery" at least three times! I certainly don't want to use a language arts curriculum if the producers of the curriculum cannot at least proofread. It seems very unprofessional in that regard. And thanks for the heads up on the auto renewal....must make sure to turn that off.

thank you! I've been eying these for a while. My DS just announced today that he's ready to learn about Europe now. Seriously good timing!

I have not much idea. I googled Office of Comptroller General and found this: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/rg4.htm. It looks likes a transcription from something from one of those sites -- maybe the militia absentee. I'd guess it's related to him being in the hospital maybe. But doesn't look like he OWED money. Also, seems incomplete. Maybe the original's handwriting was unreadable. Cool find!

Oooo I love discussing literature! We read Metamorphosis in my reading group last year (We only read/discuss classics). I think there are many ways to interpret his transformation. I read it based on my experience, which is a history of depression. What if Gregor turning into an insect was a symbol of him dealing with depression? He went every day to a boring job, and his family took advantage of his position as sole supporter. Suppose he awoke one morning and no longer got out of bed? I’ve gone through my share of depression and I can relate to the desire to hide away, and the feeling that it’s impossible to get up, no matter what I try. Viewing the story in a metaphorical light, the parent’s reactions seem to make sense (although of course his family is still unsupportive/unappreciative, unlike mine!), and the entire story enters a new context. Anyway, that's my take on it. I suspect Kafka had some serious mental illness going on...

I second Salsa, but my son is 4. He's been telling me yes, no, hello, goodbye, counting to six in Spanish and we've only watched a few episodes. If Salsa is too childish for your kids, I haven't tried it but Instant Replay at knowitall.org has a few different programs. First Step Spanish: http://www.knowitall.org/instantreplay/content/program.cfm?SeriesIDpassed=43 First Step Again: http://www.knowitall.org/instantreplay/content/program.cfm?SeriesIDpassed=57 Next Step Spanish: http://www.knowitall.org/instantreplay/content/program.cfm?SeriesIDpassed=52 Next Step Spanish Again: http://www.knowitall.org/instantreplay/content/program.cfm?SeriesIDpassed=87 These were longer and live action instead of puppets so I couldn't get my young son interested but I didn't try that hard since I found Salsa and he loved it!

We loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Pinocchio (who suddenly appeared as an imaginary friend in our family...).

I went ahead and got this for $5 and I thought I'd come back and weigh in, in case anyone else was wondering about it. It provides textbooks for 1st grade through high school in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. I have been looking at the kindergarten, first and second grade materials to piece something together for my son. I have done about four lessons in the Social Studies 1st grade only, although I may work with one of the other subjects as well. First, I love how the curriculum fits in with state standards and that it's pretty general. It also has the organization I was looking for with fillable worksheets for my young son to enter his thoughts in to (with my help). No printing things out (perfect for me)! I was looking for something to focus on general citizenship/USA concepts for my accelerated 4 year old and I think this will work well. I also really like that I can add (up to three) links to other sites/videos/worksheets for each lesson. I read the lesson with him, we watch a video or do an online game, and then we fill out the worksheet. Five minutes. Done. I don't like that it's so hard to navigate when setting up the class. And I hate that I cannot delete the lessons he's already finished: they still show up on the list of lessons for him. (At least, if there is a way to delete them, I cannot figure it out.) In addition, and this is the part I can't believe, it is awfully written. I've done four lessons with my son and found at least that many typos. Things like "cheery" tree when talking about the legend from George Washington's childhood. It's as if there was no spell check. So I find I'm hesitant to keep relying on a curriculum of such low quality. I don't really want to do language arts, for example, with a curriculum company that has typos and grammatical errors in the Social Studies lessons! In short, sure, it's worth $5. I like the outlines and I'll may keep using the worksheets, and so forth. But I'd never pay the $75. It is badly in need of basic proofreading and editing, and doesn't have a professional or polished feel to it for that reason.

I've been doing a gentle China unit with my son. He's only 4 so he actually hasn't had much interest and we didn't do a ton of things. Not sure how old your others are so not sure which of these would work for them. Here are some of the things we did...or would have done had he not got bored too soon. *Label a China map. *Learn about Mt Everest and some of the people who climbed it. We found a cool video (I thought it was cool at least) about a blind man who climbed mt Everest. I found a "choose your own adventure" story for older kids that seemed fun. And my son loved the very silly picture book "Pog Climbs Mt Everest." *Great Wall: watch a video about the Great Wall (I found a few on discovery education, maybe there is something on YouTube), find it on Google Earth and then make a "great wall" out of legos. *Learn about inventions that came out of China (Look What Came From China! by Miles Harvey or do a Google search) and make your own compass or kite (http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/who-invented-the-kite/) *Learn to count to ten in Chinese and learn about the art of calligraphy. Then get out the paints and paint your name or a word or two in Chinese (google search your name and you can find Chinese characters to copy). Great picture books about writing in Chinese are In the Park and In the Snow by Huy Von Lee. National Geographic (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/) has some lesson plans for China but they are all a bit too high level for my son so we didn't actually do any of them. They look fantastic, though. Also, http://asiasociety.org/ is a good resource.

:iagree: I tried the others but never could figure them out. I'm new to hs but so far so good with Scholaric helping me keep track of what we're doing! I find simpler is better for me since my son is so young.

Thank you all for sharing your personal experiences, ideas, and encouragement. It means a lot. thescrappyhomeschooler, I've tried to regulate w/o meds but have found medication is a blessing for me! 1pageatatime, that was a very helpful and inspiring post, thanks for linking to it! vontinney, my husband is very understanding too, I think it makes a big difference in my life that he can tell how I'm doing! Amber in SJ, I know exercise would make a big difference! I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym, as soon as my daughter is old enough to leave at the childcare!! (Although summer weather helps get me out and moving too and that's been good)

We've decided to homeschool my son starting now (K4 -- he turns five in October) and I'm quite excited! He just finished two years a local private preschool but now he's going to stay home. He loves our "school time" together and he loves reading and learning in general. I LOVE looking for curricula that will help us -- and I have a wonderful library close by that will be our regular stop for learning resources. I even got my son in a homeschool co-op for one day three times a month that I think will give him a social group to meet up with that will help him thrive socially. I'm looking forward to lots of outings together. I also have a newborn daughter, and for the past months my clinical depression (part of it is probably PPD as well) has been making life rather difficult. I've been in and out of depressive episodes for years and for the most part I'm coping very well. I don't know when a down turn will come but I know I will get through it. That's the blessing of perspective after years of struggling with it. However, as I start out homeschooling, I'm considering just what this means and feeling a bit concerned with how it's all going to play out. Can I *really* lead my brilliant young son (he's accelerated in reading and math already) through school while I struggle with this? Does anyone else out there homeschool with depression? What are your survival techniques? How to keep your kids on track when you're going through a rough time? I guess I'm hoping for ideas but also encouragement. I'm hoping someone can tell me that I'm not insane for deciding to homeschool when already dealing with a personal issue like depression. Thanks! Rebecca BTW, I plan on year round schooling, although more play time during summer...