:iagree: This is precisely how we use it and my son has started to love writing again. :hurray:

I just got this list from someone on here, sorry I cannot credit as I cannot remember. Also, if it is not allowed I will delete this entry as I cannot give credit where it is due. Here is what I have...https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&key=0AumgWD14ZCPSdGNRQVVjeVotbjcwVlByV3pPS2xJRlE&hl=en_US&gid=0 .

I have browsed Bravewriter and the philosophy behind if for a bit but I feel overwhelmed with where to begin. I have one child who seems to be a natural writer and one for whom writing is not natural. I would like to know the best place to begin so that I could perhaps read something over our Christmas break to change some things up. Thoughts? Tips? Advice?

My DS was 8-9 when he read the whole series independently. He loved it and started reading back through it all over again. I think it just depends on the child.

Thanks for bringing this up, I just reserved it from the library. Hoping it will provide me with strategies to help my son more.

I have used Spalding, especially with my DS10 who had lots of spelling/reading woes when we first began homeschooling. It works. I use Phonics Pathways now with my DD6, and it is working beautifully. I plan to start with my DD5 in January.

I have friends who jokingly call me a "classical unschooler" I prefer for my children to have large amounts of time to explore and do their own thing which is what makes it difficult being here and being unsure of how it all looks fleshed out. I think I *might* be over thinking it a tad. :) Thanks for your input.

The problem for me arises in the formal definition. For instance, what does 180 days of school look like? Exact set of subjects, exact time spent on said subjects, etc. I mean we do science and history but we are more free with our learning during some weeks/days/months, so I am not quite certain how to calculate all of that. Or, if I can even calculate that into our days. For instance, we do nature study -- just studying leaves and doing coloring them, does that count? Maybe, again, I am being too legalistic with the whole thing. It's just been tough going from NO regulations to having regulations (even be them light laws). I just want to make sure all my i's are dotted and t's crossed so to speak. Thanks for your help.

I am new to SC and new to homeschooling laws in general, we lived overseas within a US governed territory but had no regulations with homeschooling so I had much more flexibility. I am concerned now being in SC with different criteria I need to maintain. Here's my question and maybe some of you who have held to SC homeschooling laws longer than myself can help me out. We do not do english/science/history every single days, sometimes it's every other day and/or a lesson a week type thing but not something everyday. We do mathematics, reading, writing, everyday but elective type things we had always done differently. So, I read I have to do science and history everyday for 180, what does that look like for you? For instance, one day we read a nature reader. May I count that as science? Is there flexibility in what constitutes science, history and even grammar (for instance we do about 3 grammar lessons a week) so 2 days of the week we have no "official english course". Or if we watch the History Channel one of the days of the week and look at the picture books from the library and then "do" history the other days, does that fulfill the requirement for 180 of history/science/english instruction? Thoughts? Am I being too legalistic with the whole thing? I just want to make sure I am following the laws (yes, I am apart of an association and filed under option 3). Thank you. ETA: spelling is also covered everyday and reading can include some history readers and/or read alouds. We followed the WTM rec's for history for the logic stage so we read SOTW for the younger kids and then he goes off on encyclopedias and additional books to write outlines and summaries. We use Elemental Science for science but follow rabbit trails at our leisure.

My kids love the audiobook and ask for it regularly. Sorry, I know that is not an actual book but we really like the audible version with Jim Dale narrating.

I gave up on Essentials B, my daughter went quickly through A and B was mind numbingly boring and dull for me. We went to Miquon exclusively. She loves it and I have Singapore 1A ready in the wings. I don't see it being too much of a jump for her without having completed B. HTH.

I am homeschooling in Japan, no rules, no laws, my son was initially in the DOD school when we took him out all I did was go and sign him out of school. That was it. :) It's easy.

Nice, I was just discussing keyboarding with my husband. Thanks for sharing. This looks like it might do the trick.

I was homeschooled for K went to PS for 1st and 2nd and was homeschooled on and off 3rd/4th through 6th, I went back to PS in 7th grade, my mother had graduated my oldest brother at this point and we moved again and went to the local school. I was there through middle and high school. She was textbook/unschooler, she used what she had Bob Jones, ACE, and some ABeka with a mix of outdoor fun and letting us just learn from natural play, there were 6 of us total. :-) Honestly, some of the best and brightest memories of my childhood come from the time when we had each other, mom and dad and our little homeschool days. It was a special time in my life. ETA: This was 23 years ago.

I haven't read all of the replies but my oldest went to preschool at 4.5 years old because he was going into Kindergarten PS but once we took him out of PS we didn't put the girls in PreK nor did I "do" Pre-K with them. Sometimes I have felt bad but then I see my now 6 year old right on par or above her peers and honestly, even if she weren't oh well. I don't want to have a stress monster for a 4 year old. There's so much pressure, I want my kids to be kids. But that even goes more with my homeschooling philosophy, get outside, play, explore, learn.

Completely agree. We are also moving back to the States this summer and are feeling very ready to be done but must keep pressing on because this summer we will be unable to just keep sailing. I agree, it's tough. I prefer to go to view the trees and pack a picnic and read and catch tadpoles but I suppose we should finish up a few things. :)

I used Phonics Pathways with my daughter starting in about K and she likes it, it's efficient and I like the straight forward approach. We have started using the WRTR manual for her now too, to help with spelling and reading. It's great and she likes both actually so we use both. I use the WRTR for handwriting instruction as well. ETA: It should be noted that when we pulled our son out of PS he was in the middle of second and had only been taught by sight how to read. It was painful bringing him home as I thought he would be taught phonics at school. Maybe I was clueless? I corresponded with Ellie (she's a lifesaver with Spalding techniques and using the WRTR) and we started about the mid year of third. WOW, what an improvement, he has been through the spelling lists, he reads better than he already did, he is more confident and now he does spelling through dictation and just corrects what he misspells. It works. I suppose when I see what good the program can do, I trust it. It's very thorough. My daughter was a little overwhelmed in the beginning so because I had Phonics Pathways, we did that to start. Now, she seems much more "ready" for Spalding, so that is why we are incorporating it now, she likes both.

We do the same as some of the other posters, *I* cannot stand busywork and/or workbooks. So, we use Phonics Pathways and Spalding and read McGuffey readers, BOB books, etc. It seems to be working. This is my first time teaching a child to read...it has been effective.

Ha! I was just reading through the replies, I, too, am just now reading Anne of Green Gables and working through the series. I love them. :)

Yes, I completely understand. I even went to a very reputable and well respected high school and still was not exposed to some of the greats or just overall enjoyable classics. I have now read Anne of Green Gables and I really like them, The Hobbit started as a read aloud for my DS but I ended up getting really into it. I loved 5 Children and It when we read that last year and even Mary Poppins. Sometimes I think their read alouds are more for me. ;) ETA: One of my favorites this winter was Jane Eyre. My next goal is Little Women and/or some Jane Austen, never read anything by either author. Good Topic, thanks for posting.

I would do studied dictation/copywork, we use Spelling Wisdom from Simply Charlotte Mason, for prepared dictation exercises, but you could come up with your own. We went through Spalding and now use this and will break down the words for each sentence every Wednesday and talk about the phonograms and then he writes it each day with a test on Friday and a cumulative test each month, so far he's doing great.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I completely agree with your last sentence. I would rather spend our time differently, so I think I will stick with 5. He seems to enjoy grammar and it's a pretty painless subject.

Anyone?

We use Phonics Pathways with WRTR (The Writing Road to Reading 4th edition), it has been working beautifully. I am a firm believer in phonics in teaching reading and this has been inexpensive and very effective.

My son has done all of the FLL and we did R&S for a stint and liked it but decided to finish up the FLL series since I had it on hand. He has a firm grasp on the concepts in FLL and can apply them, we do not do the chanting as memorizing all of these things aren't as important to me as him understanding and applying the principles taught. My question is I ordered R&S 5 and was looking through it and thought he might be okay already going into R&S 6. Has anyone seen both to compare for me? Thanks in advance.