Planning for next year when dd will be in 3rd grade. Besides all of her books she chooses to read (she LOVES reading), I want to pick some for her to read during school (and have her journal some about them, ect). She's into all her American Girl books right now, but I'm looking for recommendations on some good books for me to add in for her. Her reading is very good, so I would say 3rd-4th grade reading level for her to read independently. We tried Boxcar Children for this year and she just wasn't into them. Since she loves reading so much, I don't want to turn it into a negative thing for her. I just bought from Costco today a 15 pack of Beverly Cleary books (only $24.99:) to possibly use next year....Most were the Ramona books and several were the Ralph books. I'm hoping they'll be the correct reading level for her. Any recommendations of some good books to introduce her too? I remember when I was in elementary school loving all the Beverly Cleary books and also Judy Blume. I know there's so much out there that I'm probably missing though!

For history next year (dd 3rd and ds 2nd) I am leaning towards using Beautiful Feet. I was looking at Early American History Primary and would be purchasing the Literature Jumbo Pack and the Study Guide. It's all somewhat costly, so wanted some input before I purchased it. Is there anything else that I would need to purchase to go along with it?

Would also love to hear input from others.....We used Nancy Larson this year with dd in 2nd and ds in 1st. I am trying to decide between using Science in the Beginning next year (with a 2nd and 3rd grader), or staying with Nancy Larson. I keep going back and forth :001_rolleyes: Of course there is a huge price difference between the two as well.

Thanks! I'm thinking that's what I may do....continue on with BJU English (using both the grammar and writing portion), and adding in CAP next school year to try out. Who knows....I/She may not even like CAP and I may want to drop it all together...or we may love it!

We use one of the boards below from Lakeshore Learning for our tiles (we use AAR and AAS). We use the 18x24 size and it sits one of our bookshelves (shorter one) when it's not used. When we need to use it for a lesson, I just move it right over to our school table (right next to it). I have a 2.5 yr old, so I also need the board up otherwise the tiles will be mixed all over within seconds lol. The whiteboard has the removable holders on the side so it's propped up too. I keep them on though...We have another one in the same size that is stored on the side part of our table (against the wall). When I need to use a whiteboard larger than our lap size ones, I simply pull it out and then put the side holders on. http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C895%2C814&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1397610551049

This year for DD (2nd grade) we used BJU English 2 and WWE 2. I had only planned on using the grammar portion of BJU, but we ended up using the writing portion as I really felt dd needed more than WWE. I have spent some time deciding what to use for writing next year as dd hates WWE (and I honestly felt like I wanted "more" for her). I finally decided on CAP W&R and ordered Fables and Narrative for next year (and planned to just go slowly). I then struggled with what to use for grammar....I was looking at Easy Grammar....but DD loves BJU, so I then considered still using BJU (but only using the grammar portion). I was talking to her today and she informed me that out of all of her items we're using, she does NOT want me to change her math (we switched over to BJU math this year from MUS last year after having many tears), and also her grammar (meaning BJU English). She informed me she also really likes the writing part in BJU and after talking with her more, she seems to enjoy the creative part that comes along with it (in her words, "being able to write a lot"). So...here I stand completely confused on what to do! I already purchased CAP W&R, so should I use it along with BJU English (grammar portion only)? Or should I use CAP W&R with BJU English (grammar AND writing...since dd really likes the writing component of it too)? Or should I use CAP W&R and try another grammar program (Such as Easy Grammar)? Or use BJU English only (for grammar and writing)? Or other ideas?? My head is spinning from decisions with DD I can't even start to really think about DS yet :wacko:

Thanks:) Does EG teach diagramming? Just curious....I don't have any strong feelings about teaching diagramming:)

If you use or have used Easy Grammar, how did you like it? We're currently using BJU English 2 for DD (2nd grade)....I'm trying to decide between continuing w/ BJU (dd really likes it) or switch over to EG....instead of WWE, we're moving on to try CAP W&R for writing. Hoping to get some feedback on EG to help me decide:)

Thanks! I found Easy Grammar, but am having a harder time finding Dancing Bears.....is there a company that makes it that I can look up (I just googled "Dancing Bears homeschool" and "dancing bears grammar") ETA: DD is a very good reader...she's above grade level most likely for her reading, so reading is no problem for her:) Would Dancing Bears still be something to check out? ds likes silliness and such, I wonder if that's something I should look at for him too?

Trying to decide what I want to do next year about grammar for dd (going into 3rd) and ds (going into 2nd). This year for dd I did BJU English (we also did WWE2).....ds did not do any writing or grammar. He struggles with his fine motor skills and so we're still working on good letter formation and such, so I decided to not worry about writing for him this year (I had purchased WWE1 ahead of time). Next year for writing I'm going to be using CAP W&R for dd...I'm not sure what to do about grammar with her yet. She really liked BJU English, but half of it is writing, which I'm thinking may not be necessary with CAP W&R? I know we could still do it and just have extra writing, or I could skip the writing portions...but I'm wondering if there's another grammar that may work out better. She's a get it done kind of girl. She hates any "fluffy" type stuff (if that makes sense). She wants to always grab her worksheet to do before I even teach her the lesson currently with BJU. So, I guess she prefers something that is straight to the point (for AAS, she HATES using the tiles, so we had to switch to the whiteboard....with AAR, she HATES any of the worksheets that require her to cut/glue, the games, ect). For DS, I'm not sure what I will be exactly doing for writing next year...also not sure what to do about grammar.... I was considering using BJU English 2 with him next year (Since I have the TM already and am familiar with it), but I don't know if there's something that would be a better fit for him. Again, his he still struggles with the physical part of writing.....he does do his sentence dictation with AAS, but he hates it (he's very compliant and will do it for me fine though, just doesn't enjoy it)...unlike dd he LOVES the AAS tiles (hates writing the words/sentences), he loves all the extra "fluffy" stuff (loves the games and worksheets in AAR), So....what's your favorite grammar curriculum for 2nd-3rd grade? What would you recommend I look at based on dd and ds?

Thanks so much everyone!!! :001_smile:

I'm heavily leaning towards using Science in the Beginning by Dr Jay Wile next year for our science....but I'm not sure where to purchase it from online? Can someone help direct me to the site? Thanks!

Thank you:) I didn't think they did...but I was confused on all the low shipping lol

I have some Math-u-See blocks listed and I'm wondering if they qualify for media mail postage? When I was looking on Ebay before, it seems a lot only charge $4-$6 shipping (for economy shipping...others are much higher for priority).....the blocks are pretty heavy so priority to go to east coast (I'm in Ca) is $13 easy...parcel select is not much cheaper:( So, I'm wondering how people are shipping them so low? Are they going media mail? Do they qualify for media mail?

Thank you!! :)

Can someone tell me what the difference is between ZB Handwriting 2c and 3? I've tried looking at all the samples and I still can't figure it out..I'm sure there's something I'm missing here LOL....anyone know what the difference between them is?

Thanks everyone!! I am going to go and place an order for CAP W&R I think for dd:)

I was looking at CAP W&R I was going to order for dd, then saw they have a spanish curriculum I was interested in.... I was wanting to add Spanish this year with them, as DH has been working with them informally at night on their tablets and they LOVE it! He's fluent with spanish by the way (from Puerto Rico), where as I know a few phrases lol. So, has anyone used CAP's Song School Spanish Program? Any input on it? Or what other programs have you used and any input on those? Thanks!

DD will be in 3rd next year and she will have WWE 1 and 2. We were wanting to try something new for writing and after researching I think I've narrowed it down to CAP w&r and EIW....I know some say they should have WWE 3 done prior to CAP, but I would just go slow if needed (even only use first book for whole year if needed)....I'm stuck between the two though:( Looking for any input! Thanks:)

I was looking at Zaner-Bloser handwriting for ds (level 1) and possibly for dd (either 2c or 3...not sure what the difference is?)....I saw the price of the Teacher editions ($110 each) and so I'm wondering how necessary they are? Would the student workbooks alone be fine? Is the TE necessary for the program? or would it be nice to have if I found the TE much cheaper somewhere?

We used Nancy Larson this year for the first time....I used it with a 1st and 2nd grader and with the one we used, it seemed fine to use the units out of order

DD is currently 2nd grade and DS 1st grade. I try to do as many of their subject together as possible (Bible, Science, Geography, ect), but reading and math take a big chunk of my time when I need to sit down and work one on one with them. They're not yet at an age where they're working independently, as they need to me obvously teach the material to them first (and monitor and guide them). I recently discovered Reflex for math, and signed the kids up for it. It's been working great, as I'll teach one kids' math lesson and the other gets to work on math facts on Reflex. Once one kid is done, they then switch. They LOVE Reflex as well! So, I am looking for recommendations on other sites/programs that are similiar for other subjects besides math. I don't mind at all paying for something either. You can see in my siggy what curriculum we currently use (there will be a few changes coming next school year) ;)

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions! I read them all over the past couple times and am going to spend some time looking into everything everyone suggested:) Ellie-quick question...I looked up Zaner Bloser really fast and saw they had the student book and the teacher book....the teacher book looked quite expensive....do you recommend having the teacher book too? Or is the student book enough?

Thanks everyone!! Since she LOVES reading, I don't want to "kill" that love of reading at all....After doing her AAR lessons, I do DS's AAR lessons and I usually send DD into the family room to read one of her chapter books of choice. I think for next year, I may continue having her read her chapter books, but I will have more of a say which book she reads during school (just to make sure it's level appropriate and not too easy for her). I think once AAR 4 comes out, I'll take a look at it and then decide if I want to purchase it and use it lightly with her (to make sure she's not missing anything), and as someone mentioned, I'd have it for ds when the time comes (since as of now he's one level behind DD).

I just went and reread my post....oh boy!I should NOT be typing this late at night lol...sorry for all the errors...if you read the post previously, I am honestly not that terrible at grammer and spelling lol....I'm too tired right now to even look it over anymore so and catch any others :/