Any suggestions for a good history curriculum for a visual learner -- like Story of the world or A child's story of the world (Calvert)-- but with lots of pictures ? I am concerned that my 6 yrs old would be bored with SOTW without pictures to stimulate his interest. Thanks for any inputs .

with a 1st grader and a 3rd grader

Also , anyone knows how does A Beka compares to MCP Phonics B (Modern Curriculum Press ). MCP seems far less teacher intensive .

I am still trying to decide for a phonics and LA curriculum. My son is only 5 but he read very well (about 3rd grade) and spell simple words . He likes color and independent work. He hates when I am trying to explain him anything ! I need something that is not too much teacher intensive as I have 4 kids under 5 . So far , I thought Modern Curriculum Press Phonics B (MCP) would be good for him , but I wonder if it is not too easy . I 've looked at MCP C and it seems ok for him but too much writing for his little hand . Also , I thought about Abeka Letters and Sounds and Spelling but I wonder if I need the TM for that and if it is too much intensive for me?

I really need help from more experienced homeschoolers. I decided to keep my son home and home school him. I would like to know if I chose the right curriculum for him. He likes workbooks and is a visual learner . He only likes pictures books , so I think curriculums like "First language lessons" or Story of the world wouldn't work for him. He does not like me to explain him things , just to "do it" . He is reading at about 3rd-4th grade level but still needs a phonics&spelling program as he does not know any rules for that. Also because I have a newborn and two other preschoolers , I need something that is not teacher intensive. Finally , since I am not sure I will be homeschooling , I want him to be at least at the same level with the public school children so that if he goes back to school , he would not be behind . Please let me know what you think ? :001_smile: Math -Horizons 1 + Family Math (to help me explain concepts since I heard Horizon's TM is weak) LA Evan Moor Grammar and Punctuation grade 1 + Daily Language Review Grade 1 http://www.amazon.com/Grammar-Punctuation-Grade-1-Evan-Moor/dp/1557998450 Spelling Building Spelling Skills or Spelling Workout (any ideas ?) Penmanship A Reason For Handwriting A Bible Rod&Staff Bible Stories to read and when we finish it , Leading Little ones to God Social St/Geography MCP Maps, Charts, Graphs B History History for little pilgrims CLP Science Science by the Grade: Grade 1 Steck-Vaughn +Evan Moor Read and understand science http://www.amazon.com/Read-Understand-Science-Grades-1-2/dp/155799854X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237308131&sr=1-4 +tons of books Is it too much ? Something missing ? I appreciate any suggestion ! THANK you and God bless you in your homeschooling journey!!!

I can't decide which one to buy for my son who will be in 1st grade . He is reading well but he still needs a spelling program. I want something that it is easy for me as I have a newborn and two preschoolers , and from what I've been reading these two are the least teacher intensive. He loves workbooks but does get bored if it is too much writing. He is a visual learner . Which one of these programs require more writing ? How long does it take (average) to complete one lesson? Did your child like it ? I read reviews about Spelling Workout . Many complains about learning the words for test but not remembering them after ... What about Building Spelling Skills , how does it compare with Spelling Workout ?

Thank you all for your helpful and informative replies ! I would like to thank especially to Laurie4b for her reply . I realize I am not fit to teach my child at home and for him it would be best to go to Public school. Unfortunately I don't have patience with him ...it's sad but I feel very stressed out especially that I am pregnant and with three other children under five it's not easy. Right now he does receive speech therapy at school and he was evaluated . His language is at about 3 1/2 yo and he is 4 1/2 . Also he does have some obsessions . So maybe when he will be older , he will be dg with Aspergers but from what I read Aspergers don't have language delay.

I am not sure if I can do it or if I should do it. I have a 4 1/2 yo and sometimes I am very frustrated with him. He is very different than his siblings ( 5 1/2 yo and 3 yo) . I know they are all different but I mean he is really the most different of any child I know. We still don't know if he has a mild autism , Dyspraxia or other learning disabilities. The developmental pediatrician said he does not have any of these but only mild language delay and social anxiety. I doubt . From what I've been reading on the internet , it seems he might have very high functioning autism or Dyspraxia or both . His eye contact ispoor and he never joins a group of children at church or school to play with them. His fine motor skills are delayed , he still cannot copy well a letter .He is not able to put on a shirt. Very messy eater. Poor listening / comprehension skills. Doesn't seem to understand stories from books or answer questions .He is like a 2 or 3 year old in behaviour . I would like to help him but I don't know how. It does not work in the traditional way. I have a 5 yo who is reading at 3rd grade level and almost a 3 yo who started to learn letters sounds . So even though I am not a teacher by training (I am a RN) and am not an English native (I moved to US 6 yrs ago but my English is still not perfect) , my ability to effectivelly teach my children is not that poor. So why it doesn't work with him? I've tried games, workbooks , computer games, Bob Books for reading... nothing seems to be effective to teach him the letters sounds. He cannot focus well but he is not hyperactive at all. In fact he is the most quiet of all my kids . He loves to sit for a longtime with books studying the pictures but cannot bear me reading to him for more than a few minutes. Also , I've tried for months to teach him the phone N&address . Sometimes he doesn't even answer correctly to "What is your name?" .He says 3 . First his name is Jake and he is not 3 he is 4 , but he forgets that. However , he seems to be smart in some areas:knows all shapes,colors, count to 20 , letters names, all this for over one year but since then he di n't progress almost at all except a little more language. So for you who have a child like mine does homeschooling work and what do you or have you used ? Or is it better to put him in a special program with special teachers that know better than me how to help him ? Please share ! Frustrated !

I am looking for comparisons, pros & cons, anything on these two math programs. I thought I had settled on CLE, but I happened upon Singapore and it peaked my interest. For Singapore users, please tell me more about how it is taught, how the lessons are laid out, etc. Do you supplement with another Math program or is Singapore complete ? ALso, would it be a good fit for a very visual learner that does not like much explanation ? He loves pictures and I am concerned that he would be bored with CLE. What level would you advice for a 5 1/2 yr old ? I did the placement test and he could do almost all (about 95% ) of 1A but with manipulatives only. TIA everyone!

Hi, This is my 1st year of HS and I am overwheled with all the curriculums. After alot of research , I tend to choose CLE for Math and possibly LA. Can someone tell me if this is appropiate in my situatin? I have 4 kids under five , including a newborn o I need something that is not teacher intnsive. I would no like to spend more thant 30 min/day on each subject for 1st grade . My lder son is 5right now and we did some Kidergarten workbooks . Hecan count to 100 , place value knows clock to 1h &30 min. He still has problems counting backwards from 100. I need a Math program that "teaches" me how to teach math since I am not too good at explaining concepts . I heard MAth u See is better at that. Also , he is very visual. Is CLE Math good for visual learners ? Can someone tell me if this program is better that CLE Math and which one you&your child likes better? My son who is 5 reads very good (chapter books) but I feel he still needs some phonics instruction and a spelling program. He can spell simple words like cat , stop, take, God,you , love, etc. Would CLE LA 1st grade would be a good fit for him or would he need 2nd grade? We love to read a lot of books (I read a loud and he reads to me) so in this case , would he still need to do the CLE reading program as well? I wonder f thiswuld not b too muchwritng for his little hand. He likes wokbooks ut only if there is nottoo much writing involved. Alo , I am concerned that he will be bored with workbooks that don't have colors . He is very visual an likes pictures. How do your children do with CLE materials , do theylike them ? In my opinion , is not enough if the curriculum is great academically if it does not appeal to my son. Thank you for any advice&suggestion God bless you !

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has used this intensive phonics program.. Previously I had been leaning toward Modern Curriculum Press Phonics because it is cheap&complete and my son likes workbooks . But after reading about intensive phonics....I thought maybe that was a better way to go. It is even cheaper in the long run , especially that I have 3 other children. However , because I have a newborn , a toddler and a preschooler in addition to my 5 yrs old , I was wondering if this program would take too much time from me ? How long does it take for a 1st grade child to use it ? My son is 5 but he reads very well (chapter books ) and can spell simple words. He still needs to learn some phonics rules. HE seems very interested in spelling and he often asks me "how do you spell..." . This will be my first year homeschooling so I feel like I need a lot of guidance. I am also looking at First Language Lessons or Spelling Power . Which one is the best in your opinion? Thanks for any help :-)

I need a reading&phonics curriculum for a very busy mom (I have 4 kids under 5 ! ) I heard Rod &Staff is very complete and does not take too long for the parent. Anyone uses it and what is your opinion on it? Do I have to buy the complete set (Bible Nurture and Reader Series) or phonics and workbooks only ? . Is it a lot of writing ? My son hates writing but likes simple workbooks and he reads at about 3rd grade level . However I feel he still needs some phonics &spelling rules . Thanks for any advice !

My almost 4 year old ( In Oct) has some speech delay . He has 4-5 words sentence but many words are unclear . If I ask him to repeat a sentence , most of it is unclear . Also he does not ask many questions about the story in the book and is not able to answer my questions ( "Why is the boy sad ?" ) Could you recommend any good books for me that would teach me how to improve his speech and comprehension ? Also any children books that can help ? I have tons of kids books and we read a lot but I am not sure which one would be recommended for this problem. He is a smart boy and academically seems to be above average . He was tested for many conditions , including autism and the Dr. said he does not have anything but speech delay . Our insurance does not cover speech so I have to do most I can for him. He is eligible for a special needs pre-K but the speech therapist does not meet his needs . She does speech with 3-4 other kids at the same time . Any suggestion of books &material that can help?

The diagnostic testing was made by the developmental pediatrician , speech therapist and psychologist and also he was tested at school by a team of psychologist and speech therapist. All of them said they don't think it is autism , only speech delay . I think for this year I will homeschool him and maybe do the speech therapy they offer at school . They should still provide ST even if I homeschool , but I am not sure , I will learn about that on Monday when the school starts. He was attending pre-k special needs from Jan-May but he hasn't improved much . In addition, he picked up some habits from other severe mentally delayed children , like sticking the tongue out and covering ears at loud noise , but fortunately since the school holiday he doesn't do anymore . I feel that he will improve better at home where he has an older sibling and a younger one- which are actually his best therapists ! In school he is extremely introverted and I don't think he can concentrate in academics or even social skills there. The problem with homeschooling is that I have three children under 5 and I am pregnant again. I don't know if I can do it! So I have to experiment it for a few months and if it will not work , I will send him to school .

I read The Out-of-Sync Child but it does not seem my son has sensory problems or most of symptoms mentioned in the book .

Thanks for all the resources you mentioned , I will research all of them. Jacqui, here are more details about my son . I suspected him of being in the autism spectrum since he also displays a few other symptoms like :monotone voice , has social difficulties , at school or church doesn't get involved with other children but likes watching them , lines up cars and his eye contact is poor sometimes . He has food allergies which can cause "brain allergy" from what I've read but his Dr. doesn't agree . He had many ear infections in the past and probably that's why his speech is delayed . This is my guess as our pediatrician doesn't discuss anything in details with us , instead he says we have to go to a specialist (I know , I have to change this pediatrician) . In the last year he did not have any ear infection though . Last year , we went to a developmental pediatrician and after some clinical tests like EEG,blood tests , psychological tests, speech tests , he said he is not in the autism spectrum but he only has speech delayed . His IQ was a little above normal but at 36 months he was like a 23 month in expressive speech and 28 month in receptive . Now I guess he is a little more since he is 46 months. I still feel he is in the autism spectrum , very mildly affected but I am not concerned about the label but how to help him. The insurance does not cover any kind of speech delay , unless caused by a stroke or something like that. In my knowledge there are not any speech clinics that would charge us in a sliding scale and I cannot afford $90 / 3o min .

My almost 4 year old ( In Oct) has some speech delay . He has 4-5 words sentence but many words are unclear . If I ask him to repeat a sentence , most of it is unclear . Also he does not ask many questions about the story in the book and is not able to answer my questions ( "Why is the boy sad ?" ) Could you recommend any good books for me that would teach me how to improve his speech and comprehension ? Also any children books that can help ? I have tons of kids books and we read a lot but I am not sure which one would be recommended for this problem. He is a smart boy and academically seems to be above average . He can count to 25 , count about 13 one to one objects , knows many letters , some letter sounds , all shapes . His fine motor skills are delayed too . He is not able to draw or write / copy anything yet, except a circle . I am not sure what he has . He was tested for many conditions , including autism and the dr said he does not have anything but speech delay . Our insurance does not cover speech so I have to do most I can for him. He is eligible for a special needs pre-K but the speech therapist does not meet his needs . She does speech with 3-4 other kids at the same time . Any suggestion of books &material that can help?

Hi all , Thanks for your words of encouragement and suggestions. I did "school" with my oldest for about one year since he was interested in reading. He can read now very well , does addition and subtraction to 10 , counts to 50... but I feel wrong that I am not able to do as well with the younger ones or even continue at the same rate with him . Also the standards for K in USA seem high , a child must know so much , in my opinion too soon and since I am not sure I want to continue HS , I want to make sure my son is at the public school level at least so he would not be behind . By the way I am from Romania . I guess I must slow down and do what I can , when I can...

I would like to homeschool my children. They are ages almost 5 (in Sept.), 4, 2.5 and one on the way ! . I am 6 weeks pregnant . My days are already packed and I collapse in exhaustion at 11 pm. After taking a shower (the only time is at night ) , I can't sleep without reading so I go to bed at about 12 . I just can't see how I am going to fit in any kind of homeschooling. I have noticed that in the days when we do "school" , I am not able to do any significant house work . Looking for advice from someone who has multiple children close in age and how they managed homeschooling in addition to regular household chore . Or should I just send them to public school? Cannot afford private.

+ and - of each ? I would not mind to combine two of these for a complete math curriculum . Which one would you recommend ? My child is a visual learner and likes workbooks . Anyone has tried Horizons and it did not work?

I am new and very confused with so many choices. Please help me choose a curriculum. If you cannot give me an advice , please tell me what you have used or use and + or - of your curriculum . My 6 yr old(will be next month) is advanced in reading --could easily read Green eggs and ham since he was 4 . He likes workbooks and reading aloud. I also have a 5 year old starting K , he has a mild form of autism and he struggles to understand books but he is advanced in math and has a high IQ . I have a 3.5 yr old girl , very active . As you see I am very busy and need a curriculum that is easy for me . I looked into Sonlight but I am not sure it would work with my middle autistic child . I need something that does not require too much hands on and crafts. I am not a crafty person. Prefer Christian curriculum. Thanks for any advice!

Looking for ideas. For K I used Adventures in Phonics from Christian Liberty Press and I thought it was excellent and complete but too much repetition (slow ) and too much writing . Is there a better program ? I am looking for something similar , that teaches spelling at the same time and it is easy to use .