This has been all over the news here in CA last night and today. Front page of the newspaper in my large city. I'm not sure what to think. My instinct says that this is a test case and that the teacher's association has a hand in it somewhere because this family's story sheds about the worst possible light on home schooling. I'm worried but I don't want to overreact. That said, I've already decided that if the ruling were to stand we would move. Not because I'm *that* dedicated to homeschooling (though I think I am) but because I'm that dedicated to not living somewhere where I'm forced to turn my children over to the government for 8 hours a day.

My 8yo dd liked "The Cat of Bubastes" (we listened to the Greathall CDs). I'd give it a whirl. The characters may help Ancient Egypt seem less creepy and might humanize the whole period for him.

That is my problem too! How to do it w/o algebra.

Yeah. We've had the same issues with CWP3...CWP2 is on the way.

We are using SWO and will continue to do so. The sequence makes sense to me and my daughter's spelling, which was pretty good to begin, has improved across all subjects. It is a workbook approach but any mistakes allow for discussion of those things that need to be discussed.

Agreed. My daughter read the Sutcliffe books also and liked them. I liked them more than she did.

Good grief, Karen! What kind of unmentionable things are your children building? :eek: ;)

Yes. My 8yo dd read them this year. She enjoyed them a great deal. There are 6 and they are numbered at Amazon.

Yes, I've been happy with the service although sometimes they haven't gotten back right away...but I think they are a small company.

Ours is also ready! In my signature. Cheers!

We're up!

Squeeee! These are so great. Thank you!

Better late than never? In my signature!

I would order the Core book. Read it and see if you think you "get it". If you do and you want to pick your own models then you won't need the other two books. If you want more instruction get the instructors guide. Having that can help you decide if you need the workbook. I'm assuming that this is for the fall in which case you will have time to do all of this. I found all three helpful for Aesop A but now that we get it I might not need the IG/WB for Aesop B. In my case, the initial investment in all three was helpful but looking back I think it might have been more prudent to buy them one at a time, review them and then decide what else I needed.

Daily copywork or dictation but no separate penmanship work.

Makes perfect sense! You'll find many comrades here. Welcome, from another newbie!

We are using it this year and we love it. I'm also using FLL 1/2 with another child. FLL3 is different. There is writing. There is a workbook. But the lessons are nice and short and my daughter looks forward to them (not like she looks forward to Saturday but you know what I mean). I will be continuing with FLL4 next year. I can't compare it to anything for you though.

We use it nearly everyday...it reminds me a lot of film strips. Is it necessary? No. But it is a nice diversion with an educational bent and a little multimedia is fun for everyone. Plus, there's so much right there at your fingertips.

Am I too late? We're up!

Thank you! Its on its way!

I think so much depends upon how much more phonics work you think your child needs. I'm using them with a proficient reader so that's all we do...kind of as a pre-spelling lesson. I don't think you need a teacher's manual. These are just workbook pages. Maybe the teacher's manual has additional teaching exercises, I don't know. I really like these books and will continue through Book 4 at least.

That's a very good point about being a solid reader first. I would definitely establish reading before I brought in much in the way of grammar.

I haven't used anything else but we are very happy with FLL3 and plan to move onto FLL4 after this year. I'm using FLL1&2 right now as well.

Another one for FLL in K/1. Its a gentle introduction to grammar with nice short lessons.

Hey, it might not be what you meant but I prefer to discuss math under those exact parameters...it makes math make a lot more sense to me. Which probably explains why I keep hopping back and forth between Saxon and Singapore. My kids prefer Singapore but I like Saxon. However, I have started skipping many of the lessons in Saxon. We still do the drill sheets but we might do 3 or 4 of them a day in between introducing new concepts from either Saxon or Singapore. Right now we are on a Singapore break to get caught up in Saxon. Its serving as a review/reinforcement period. Maybe next year I will be more organized in my approach. This is our first year and there's quite a learning curve to this homeschool business. But, I think the ultimate program would be a combination of Singapore and Saxon in a comprehensive structure. That's my goal for next year. My concern, of course, is that the whole thing is a huge mess. I will be watching this thread closely.