Lol. I used to add fart, pee, poop, etc into AAR with the tiles to keep dd's interest. She would solemnly mark the syllable type, then sound out the word, then start giggling hysterically. She's the most disgusting princess-in-training I've ever met.

I think we are at $600 per yr for 2, well actually 1 with the younger reusing. So for us it is more like $600 for the first child and then much smaller after. Our most expensive thing right now is the ymca gym class, which is around $300 per year. I didn't include that though because our local ps has scant gym time so I would be enrolling Ds in a sports survey type class anyway. I have probably checked out around $5k in library books over the last 12-18 months. I can't even imagine what our total would be if I had to purchase all those things...well, I'd probably make more textbook choices I guess.

Ooh, I'm going to try that one. The first time I replaced I bought this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LO3SQO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage It jammed up repeatedly. After 100 pages or so I trashed it. I've bought the brother brand since, but I will try the eps next time.

I don't have the long term results, but the second book is going very well for my 6 year old. There are more books and documentaries available for that level as well. We are stretching it out a bit by adding some health topics that don't come up in conversation often. We are also spending more time identifying species in our area, as well as clouds and rocks. In a futile attempt to slow it down, I bought Ds a Thames and Kosmos weather kit (he's been obsessed since he was 2), but the majority of the kit dealt with concepts that are covered better in bfsu anyway.

You could use the sotw audio and all listen while you are cleaning up kitchen and feeding baby, folding laundry, etc. Corresponding sotw books could also serve as reading practice. Maybe the older two could take turns reading them aloud. I would switch to independent spelling for the oldest, and possibly the second oldest.

I also do what seven daisies does. If you are using the grade 3-5 book, there is a list of what should be recorded for each lesson. I also choose one of the discussion questions and have Ds write a paragraph about it. He keeps a table of contents in the front with page numbers, as in a real lab notebook.

Tranquility, how do you enter spelling rules? We use a rules-based program, and I'd like to add it to Anki. Are cloze cards best or a cue? I'm not sure how to approach it. For example: We often double ........., ..........., ............, and."............ at the end of a one syllable word.

we don't do it on weekends or holidays. On Monday, it will serve up Saturday's cards first, then Sunday, etc. sometimes we complete the piled up cards within 10 minutes. Other times it will exceed ten minutes, so I shut it off and those cards are popped first on Tuesday.

You could do xtra math for computation practice. For algebraic reasoning, dragon box is a good app.

2. I use Anki with cc memory. We spend 2 weeks for each set. On the first week we just work on the memory stuff together. Then I "enter" (un-suspend: see below) it into Anki and the second week is used for review. For map work, I enter the map number and the places to be located. I read the locations off the Anki card and Ds points them out on the actual physical map. I assess his answers and the click the appropriate button. 2a. I split our timeline into four parts. Beta timeline is the cue (or alpha, whatever), then that 1/4 of the timeline is the other side of the card. 3. I'm not sure if you can set up max review. I will cut it off after 10 minutes and just close the computer program even if there are cards in cue. They just readjust when you reopen the program. 4. I enter everything at once, then set them all to suspend. As we work through our material, I take them off suspend and they enter the active deck. The database is searchable, so I just enter a keyword to find the card I need. For example, "columbus" or "atomic weight". 5. For just cc memory I probably spend 2 minutes per week fussing with marking cards. This is after I've pre-entered everything. We spend 10 min per day reviewing Anki, max. Many days it is less than this. 7. You can record the audio, but I would probably just do it with him. I use Anki to manage the review spacing, but if I left Ds to do it independently, he would not catch errors on longer pieces of memory work. We have whole poems in there. if he substituted a for the in the poem, he would not realize it by the time he read the answer.

I think you should consider using AAR instead of pal reading because of the issues you describe with reluctance sounding things out and guessing. The sooner he gets in the habit of sounding words out, the better. AAR will do that, as well as build fluency. If that is more money than you want to spend, You might try dancing bears instead. You can use pal writing with other reading programs, so that wouldn't be an issue.

I don't think cwh is dry. It is very flexible, so it's whatever you make of it. The drawback, of course, is that it's flexible and you will have to make something of it. I started with CWH and never used tog, though I did look at it quite a bit before deciding. I really felt I needed to learn more history to be an effective teacher, which is why those two were top options for me. I figured I could learn at the rhetoric level while Ds was doing the beginner stuff. In that regard, CWH has been a wonderful resource for me. The syllabus has plenty of ideas for writing and activities. I am only using it at the beginner level, with ods doing some of the grammar level reading as well. I love the way the faith is integrated instead of being an add-on. What ages are you teaching? I have only used beginner level, but I have the first three syllabi so I might be able to answer questions on the higher levels if no other more-experienced users chime in.

It is Monica in Switzerland. The site is http://www.homeschoollaboratory.com I agree that her posts and info are great. Otoh, if I hadn't already done the research myself, I wouldn't realize how awesome her posts are; she might just be a yahoo on the Internet. 😛 J/k Monica-if you read this, please get busy on posting some more awesome reads for us.

I consult peer-reviewed literature to inform my homescholing (and other life choices) when I am able. There is not a lot of hard data available for many of my homeschooling questions. Like someone else upthread, I access it electronically through my library. I have found real data for synthetic phonics vs whole language and traditional grammar vs applied grammar. There's also compelling data on spaced recall. I'm a big Anki fan. Sometimes you might find a study that breaks down the groups in such a way that you can figure out how it might work for your individual child. For example, upper-middle class native English speakers might respond fabulously to a particular math method, but disadvantaged kids might do no better with it than the control. The well trained mind is a good, practical resource. E.d. Hirsch's, "Why Don't students like school," contains info based on actual research, which backs up some of the recommendations I twtm. Eta; oops, "why students don't like school" is by Willingham. Hirsch has multiple good books that are based on hard data too.

Yes, I'm aware that it is science. Most middle school and high school sciences involve some math. For example, density requires division. Calculating ph involves logarithms. Physics involves derivatives, etc. So my question stands: does anyone know the math requirement?

What is the math requirement for these modules?

Tog has a newish primer out, which I haven't used, but thought I'd mention since you are talking about a kindergarten kid. Not that you need a history curriculum for kindy, but some people are more comfortable with a plan that lays out activities. I like right start and all about reading for that level of math and phonics. I think the sotw series with the activity guide is really well done and would be a good choice for a sociable kid, either starting in kindy or first grade (after a year overview or geography or whatever). If you are wanting any science, bfsu is very discussion/activity oriented. It would be right up his alley.

We are using the 7-9 level of language arts, and the same thing applies. It would take well over an hour if we did everything as written. I leave any art extensions as a choice for Ds. I also scribe the pre-writing stage, but that might not save time for an older kid. When the child is told to draw a picture, we skip it unless it is directly relevant to the objective of the lesson. Depending on your child's attitude toward reading, you might consider removing the 45 minute silent reading block from school time. Instead, declare the 45 minutes before bedtime to be silent reading. It's a good way to relax and get the body ready for sleep anyway.

Yes, I agree with Jackie. Bfsu would be great for you. A wtm user created this booklist from bfsu. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AkexEHgzrq4k1YChRV6unnU3rTiugS_7vq2R860s53E/htmlview# You could just use the books, but I think bfsu is well worth the price even if you simply read through it for your own edification. My fave k-2 books are read and find out series and Gail gibbons. For 3-5 I like Seymour Simon and scientist in the field books.

If this is the case, he doesn't need manipulatives. He also doesn't need to draw dots, balls, or arrows. You can simply have him write the answers or do it orally without using the help or doing that extra writing.

I was just laying out tomorrow's things and figured I'd take some pics in case it makes things clearer. The first section is arrows. We will use rods with a ruler, and dd will write on blackboard. For the second section, she will use al abacus and write the numbers on the mm page. On the second page, she will fill in numbers for the 7 bonds. For the drill section she will use eraser caps to split into groups to find the missing number and tell me the answer out loud. I've never added pics on here, so sorry if they're huge or weird. This is mm1a pp42-43.

For the problems with drawing dots on dice, just use dice. For those where the child draws balls, stick, etc, use your favorite counters: pennies, beans, whatever. I wouldn't skip much unless the child already knows bonds to 10. The point of all that "overkill" is for the child to start internalizing the facts. You can use the rods instead of drawing the arrows on the number lines. You can easily replace drill with some went hiding or one of the million free games you can find online. I think scribing is fine, but it should be done so that you know the child knows which numeral is which. For numbers dd is not solid on formation I scribe and have her trace in her favorite color. It can also be a good change-up to write all the answers on a piece of paper, cut them apart and have the child glue them in their proper places.

The science is not set to music. The history and skip counting is set to music.

Are you in Newcastle in the UK or some other Newcastle? Just curious if these are UK or US public school kids.

I don't see the emphasis as history over science on the boards. Many people are content with, and even prefer, a living books approach to history. I don't see anyone going gaga over history textbooks. If there is a tendency to be more unschooly with science, I would say that it's because high school science is all introductory and dictated by the math. There is also the tendency of young children to pepper their parents with questions all day about things they observe. A few from my 4 yo this week: Why does my hair fly forward when I'm swinging back, and backward when I'm swinging forward? Why does it look like my arm is bent when I stick it in water? What is a rainbow made out of? Why are the clouds gray when it's about to rain? Why does water make the floor slippery? I do get peppered with social studies questions too, but again, they are about things that are directly observable or directly impact the child...voting, money, traffic laws, etc. I have never been asked in the midst of daily life about the fall of the Roman Empire, the impact of the Phoenicians, or the reasons for the Great Schism. Otoh, now that I'm writing this out, I suppose it may be that my math/science brain just isn't doing a good job of Socratic discussion when they ask social studies questions.