bump....:lurk5:

How can I strengthen this area? What can I use? Thanks! Rebecca

Dear Hive, Do you think it is okay to wait until 5th grade to begin Latin Studies? This coming year I will have fourth, third, first, and K. My rising third grader will not be ready for Latin this year. If I wait until next year- I can teach it to both my fifth and fourth graders together... thus eliminating another level of individualized instruction. I might even be able to place the then second grader (late birthday) in the program as well. I really like to looks of Latin For Children. What do you think? We might be switching math programs for this coming year- and really need to focus on math. Thanks, Rebecca

We moved from Lehigh County before my son reached compulsory school age. I was told that some of the regulations depend upon your particular school district. If you look at the map on the HSLDA law page- you will see that PA is red- one of the most highly regulated states. That said, I was privelaged to know many wonderful homeschoolers in that state- particularly in Bucks County. The above poster did a much better job than I could regarding law... You can check HSLDA for more info too. Best wishes, Rebecca

where would I start a first grader- in Saxon 1 or Saxon 2? How can I find a placement test? Thank you so much for all this help! Rebecca

No flames here... :) Thank you. Rebecca

I am having to reevaluate our math for next year... I would like input and opinions on these two programs. Please tell me about them- what you like- what you don't- what works, etc. Are they similar? How are they different? Thank you for your help! This is for first grade, third grade, and fourth grade... but future third and future fourth graders are not that strong in math at this time... Rebecca

I like WWE. I like it the way it is. I like that it has copyright use allowed for families (of the workbook pages.) I appreciate that very much. I simply purchased composition notebooks for my boys and they do their "worksheet" work in there- this allows me to "pass" the guides on down thru my family. If I had a LOT of money- I would appreciate the convenience of having it all in one book (less books laying around) and use it as a consumable. However, since we can't spend like that a guide and a notebook is no big deal for my family. No worksheets floating around here. At all. Rebecca

The book A Landscape with Dragons deals with this issue. This book is in favor of fantasy- but also explores the genre carefully and sets limits on some of it- from a christian perspective. Wonderful book! Rebecca

This certainly does help! Thank you SO much! Rebecca

I am really interested in learning more about personality and temperaments- particularly as it applies to my family. I would love to hear any recommendations. I bought Tim LaHaye's Book on Temperament- but it is not quite what I am looking for and I am frustrated that after reading thru the whole book - it is STILL hard to figure out what is what- and then you have to pay to take a test if you want... I really enjoyed the online Meyers-Brigg thread that went thru here awhile ago and enjoyed taking that as well... Anyway, Please share your book ideas! Thanks, Rebecca

My nine year old son expressed an interest in learning the history of Englad. Where would I start? What resources? What are favorites? I thought of Yesterday's Classics: Our Island Story. I also thought of some biographies of the monarchy... I would really appreciate it if anyone could share ideas. Thanks so much, Rebecca

I would definitely do Bigger Hearts! Your son will love it. It is a wonderful overview. My two boys are THOROUGLY enjoying it. I would (jmho) put him in Bigger and not worry about it being only one year, etc. It is very rich, living, and skill focused. The best advice though would probably be to check out the placement chart at Heart of Dakota and see where your son falls. If he places better in Beyond- then I would put him there. Beyond is American History too. Finally- there is nothing wrong with the classical cycle!!! But it is okay to choose something else too. Hope this helps, Rebecca

Yes! MFW covers phonics extremely well. It is a truly excellent phonics program. Rebecca

Have you looked at Bigger Hearts for His Glory? I am using this this year with a third grade boy. He loves it. It is an American History Curriculum. It is definitely rich- with nice spines. http://www.heartofdakota.com Rebecca

I only used K and 1st of MFW. I have used eight weeks of Beyond, and am in process with Bigger and Little Hearts. For me, MFW was way more hands on. In fact, I felt it was a very kinesthetic program- and it overwhelmed me. HOD has hands on learning experiences scheduled every week. I am able to get them done. That is enough said in itself! :) I also enjoy doing them with my children- and feel that *they* are doing the activity/project, not me! I am not a craft/hands on person AT ALL and you will find me with my nose in a book or reading to my children before all else- yet the active learning really helps their retention and reinforces learning. HOD and MFW are both wonderful programs. Both have a special heart for the Lord and a focus for God. I don't have any experience with upper MFW- but I would assume that it promotes independent learning- and you could look at samples and check their forum. HOD takes you babystep by babystep into independent learning. This is a relief for me- teaching a housefull. I hope this helps. Rebecca

Beth- that threw me too! :D It is a Landmark picture book. http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Liberty%21/019751/1239673623-977694 (here it is at rainbow resource)- I ended up buying it because my kids loved it so much! It really helped us. My oldest son also read Yankee Doodle Boy (on his own, his request) the summer after his grade 2 year because LBC whetted his interest in history so much! I was also teaching grade one at the time- so we had the colonial time history learning happening thru that program. Hope this helps! If I had to do it again- I would not have attempted to teach grade one and grade two- just have chosen one level for both of them and then added in a spine like you are to give some background... but we sure did enjoy it. :) I am glad to hear you are enjoying your year. My oldest really took off with reading fluency- everything, during our LBC year. LBC is dear to my heart!:) Rebecca

One other thing I will say: You can always email LBC with any specific questions. Sheila Carroll is very, very helpful! And I highly recommend signing up for their Parent's Journal. The studies are nicely integrated and the literature very carefully and thoughtfully chosen. Hope this helps, Rebecca

This helps a great deal!! I am definitely looking for something more literature based and good quality is a big part of that. We are currently using purely secular materials. However, due to some issues at our church which are leading us to seek church elsewhere, we're finding that we want to include Bible in our school. I had looked at HOD, but my hubby and I didn't feel drawn to it. I thought I remembered reading that Bible was an option with Living Books. Can you tell me how what was given wasn't enough for you? Also, I have a wild almost 2 year old! And I'm looking to simplify things a bit. I am drawn to Sonlight--but wary for several reasons--and to Ambleside--but I'm afraid that it would be too hard to try and do all of the planning that seems to be associated with this. That's why when I found LBC, it seems almost too good to be true for me!!! Are there any downsides, other than searching for something more Christ centered for you, that you can think of to this curriculum? Thank you so much for your thoughtful post! I hope this reply helps! :) The Bible in Living Books is excellent. My son memorized several passages of scripture for recitation- he loved the materials used, etc. Children interact with the "real" Bible- which I loved. She follows CM's own principles very closely! It wasn't that it "wasn't enough" as much as I wasn't able to integrate Christian worldview when we encountered different issues in literature. One prime way that I realized this is that my six year old narrated from D'ulaires Leaf the Lucky and his entire narration consisted of a focus on the viking gods,etc. For our family- this was an indication that I wasn't reaching his heart in the way I wanted to be... It was mainly a personal family issue- rather than a curriculum issue. Living Books is written by christians and founded on a christian worldview. Grade Four uses Sower Biographies in it and they certainly do not shy away from spiritual matters at all! I don't have any complaints about the Bible as much as that we just needed a program truly Christ-centered... I hope this makes sense. I truly loved LBC. I can't think of any downsides at all- except that it is very flexible- and you have to be the "guide" -i.e lessons aren't scripted, if you find you need a stronger narrative (like we did in Grade 2) you have to take the initiative with it. It is such a rich curriculum. The other downside, for our family, were some of the literature choices. We just couldn't do them. The were fascinating, interesting books- but not for us-I hope you know what I mean... A prime example is Egyptology from Grade 2- not for us- but very, very interesting! I found LBC to be a very interesting, diverse curriculum. We incorporated more picture study and nature study while using it then we have this year- which makes me sad. The teacher's guides are chock full of wonderful CM articles and helps. It is written/created by solid educators and that caliber is very evident throughout. I hope this helps! If you have any other questions- I would be happy to help! (I can't check my spelling- and I am typing this fast- so sorry! :001_huh:) Sincerely, Rebecca

I used Living Books Curriculum for the 07/08 school year. I loved the curriculum. I still use their american and world history books (most, not all) as supplemental reading for my sons. I also have utilized some of their science recommendations this year in addition to what we are already doing. The quality of the literature is top-notch. The customer service is great. If you order thru them- you get email advice, etc. This year they just started something called the Family Circle- where there is even more support offered. I also subscribe to their Parent's Journal- which has been a WONDERFUL help over the years. It is a wonderful "CM program in a box"... I had no trouble tweaking the weekly plan to suit my family- and enriching it here and there as I felt necessary. I found it to be very "pure" charlotte mason- striving to apply her philosophy as close to possible as she wrote it. I loved this aspect of it and loved the thoughtfulness/thoroughness of Sheila Carroll and her articles/writings. I also loved the fact that their curriculum supports education in developing nations. The reason why we switched: We switched to Heart of Dakota because we needed a Christ- centered program- and were one step away from Christian textbooks due to that need... We are really enjoying our year with HOD and are planning on staying with their curriculum. Sometimes I am sad because I loved Living Books and the literature is a higher quality and level than some of what we are reading in HOD (this is why I still use it! :) ) I did find with LBC that I had to add in some things in grade two to help develop our understanding of the revolutionary war- due to my own history sketchiness- but I did that with one library book and it was great. My sons really enjoyed studying the history time periods the way they have them planned. We ran into trouble with Ancient Egypt and our priorities/heart for our school- again that is why we switched. I hope this helps. I imagine- if you search this board, you will find different replies about LBC and possibly some of my own posts. You can also visit their forum too! You can get to it from their website. I hope this helps, Rebecca

It is not confusing at all. There is a learning curve- as you adjust to the curriculum if you are new to it... and get in the groove as to how things flow. But confusing would be the last word I would use in relation to HOD. I would not start DITHOR right away. I would adjust to my program and then add that in later. Hope this helps, We are using Bigger this year, reading aloud some of the extensions, and using DITHOR three times a week (at least that is our goal). Rebecca

Have you seen Heart Of Dakota? http://www.heartofdakota.com That is our burden too and this is what we are using. History doesn't feel "tacked" on at all. It is easy to "up" the content. You can use a HOD program as your "core" and then branch out from there. Because the heart is Christ-centeredness- when you encounter other philosphies in reading it doesn't jar or "throw you for a loop" as you have already established your foundation. For example, I have utilized many living books in science for my boys this year who are using Bigger Hearts on top of the scheduled science. My children have personal reading that is very meaty and I delight in feeding them that way- but I also feel that using HOD allows me to make sure that the Lord is in the position that I want Him to be in our home school. The other day the art project for K had my little guy making hand prints. I have six children. I don't always remember to capture those precious moments as the days spin by. I am so blessed to have those precious prints from my six year old. They grow so fast! I know this is not your level- but it does showcase a smidgen of the preciousness of HOD. Another curriculum would be http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com. This also has a christian worldview- but it is not as Christ centered as Heart of Dakota is. LBC's books are very meaty and I supplement them for my sons- particularly my oldest. They use Sower biographies- I believe grade four uses quite a few of them. There is a focus on Christian heroes. I read back and saw the time period in history you are on... I don't know if either of these two curriculums will help with that aspect... I hope something in here helps! Blessings, Rebecca

This thread has been a little bit of a "balm" for me. I live in the same town as Geo! (Hi Geo!) But I have been here much less time than her. I have had more personality clashes/conflicts here than EVER in my life. It shocked me horribly. It has been very hard to adjust here. I had major culture shock which I still have at times... I never knew I was so "northeastern"- which I very much am! And I deeply miss the directness of my friends and family and the level of fellowship that I had in PA. I do feel like I "jar" people with my details and direct approach. I have found the niceness to be surfacy. I live in a very small town- and that has also been- whoa at times. At the same time- there is something very real about southern hospitality- I have experienced it and I appreciate it very much. Where I am from: you handle it yourself. Here- a meal truly is on your doorstep- just say the word... so that is a positive... but I am not singing the praises of the south- at least not where we live. My experience has been like others. Very interesting thread- and comforting too! Rebecca

Thank you very much! This is great advice! Rebecca

Can anyone recommend reputable seed and/or bulb catalogs? I am especially interested in bulbs. How do I know who to order from? Thanks! Rebecca