I'm saving this book to read to my son around Halloween. http://www.amazon.com/Nightmares-Jason-Segel/dp/0385744269/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1443630799&sr=8-5&keywords=nightmare

Our library catalog has a My Lists feature. I make a list of books I want to check out for each unit/time period throughout the year. Then several weeks before we'll be wanting those books I go to My List, select all, and put them on hold. Then I just pick up the holds. Ours is a 5 county library system, I'd never expect the book I want to be in the particular building I'm visiting so I always search online and put on hold first. Our library is also really good about purchase requests, as long as the item is in print they usually buy them.

I have a notebook for our memory work. So far I've written in some poems, nursery rhymes, songs, historical quotes that I thought we'd be working on for the first half of the year. I'm going to put a sticky flag or a tab from washi tape as we memorize something and a ribbon bookmark on our current selection. Then as we work on it we'd do the current selection and go back and choose a couple of the memorized ones to do too.

My son is 6. He has a list of morning chores that he has to complete before any video game/tv time. This is new, because he was being really slow about getting through the list. To be fair I made a list of my morning chores that I need to do before I turn on my computer too. :) Hopefully both our mornings will be more productive now. All electronics are off an hour before bed and I also make him stop at least a half hour before school. He needs to get out energy after watching tv or playing video games so that he can focus on school. Seriously, he needs to run, jump, dance to get all that stored up energy out. He'll often pause games and shows just to take an energy release break. Other than those rules there are no limits. As long as we don't have other commitments (places to go, school work to do) he can play games or watch shows as he pleases. Sometimes he marathons cartoons (Scooby Doo, My Little Pony, & Ninjago are current faves), sometimes he spends hours at the computer building his town in Minecraft. I only stop it if he is getting cranky and usually all I have to do is suggest a break. While he does have marathon sessions he is really good about self regulating, still loves to play with toys, and plays outside almost every day. Losing video games is usually the punishment for bad behavior. He loses them for a set amount of time and then has to complete a Mom made To Do list to get them back (example of things on list: read 5 books with Mom, draw a picture for Grandma, spend 15 minutes picking up bedroom, help clean living room).

Just received my order from Rainbow Resources with the first one (Mr. Tardy Goes From Here To There) for my first grader, it looks like fun.

For my K, going into 1st, we are watching Liberty Kids as an intro to American history. We watch an episode, read a couple picture books about the event/person in the episode, and if I can find one we like we'll do a craft. It's been fun and easy and he's really learning. For awhile he went around striking a pose and calling out, "give me liberty or give me death!"

No advice but maybe next year I'll have some. :) This upcoming year we will be having another family come to our house and do RSO Life level 1. It'll (hopefully) be great in that we have no transportation during the week and live way out so them coming here means that my son has more time around other kids. I'm stressed about having 4 extra kids in my little house, and trying to keep grumpy old dog separated from kids. I'm a plan and schedule kind of person and they seem to be more go with the flow and right now that is stressing me. What days are we going to meet, who is bringing what supplies? I really need to just start asking and getting an answer even if it makes me feel like a nag. Deep breath. Fun, it's going to be fun!

I get dressed every day, but for me that's jeans and a t-shirt, hair in a pony tail-- no makeup or jewelry. That's all the same if I'm staying home or going out. No shoes though, barefoot or slippers in the house. Invariably if I stay in pj's that's when my inlaws unexpectedly stop by or we get a package I wasn't expecting, so I prefer to be dressed every day. :) My son gets dressed every day and for him that's a t-shirt and sweat pants. He can't stand pj's and sleeps in a t-shirt.

Theory of gravity-- fact, theory of plate tectonics--- fact. The word theory has a different meaning in science than it does in common usage. I'd be disappointed in a science curriculum that didn't understand scientific language and definitions. http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/howscienceworks_19

Thank you Silver, I did not see that thread when I searched before.

Thanks! Eek, that posted just as another response came in. Hmm, anyone here who actually used Level 1?

I'm looking at Wordly Wise 3000 Level 1 for my 1st grader next year. Rainbow Resources has a Student Book, an Answer Key, and a Teacher Pack. Do I need all of these or can you just do the student book and answer key?

We are starting our Kindergarten year at the end of September. My son turned 5 last January and we had a very relaxed mostly play based K4 year. Language Arts: Ready2Read by the Moffat Girls, I like that I can buy a unit at a time so if it doesn't fit him it's not a huge financial loss. Progressive Phonics Poetry Teas Lots of picture books and chapter books based on what we're learning about and also my son's interests. Handwriting Without Tears K A mommy and son journal Math: Right Start A lots of games Art: Home Art Studio Kindergarten A lot of Pinterest projects (making art is my son's favorite activity) Studying famous artist in conjunction with our geography units. Science: Young Scientist science kits plus a few other companies kits: a physics kit, butterfly house. Units I've created about specific subjects, usually animal based. Music: SQUILT Geography: Every couple of weeks I'm doing a geography unit loosely based on Confession of a Homeschooler's Expedition Earth but without the praying and we're visiting different countries than just the ones covered and I tend to focus more on important artists. I try to include an art project, a fun food dish, and a lot of picture books. History: I'm hoping to start SOTW Ancients mid year, waiting to see how my son's reading and writing is coming along first. I've also bought some theme units from Teachers pay Teachers, a unit study from Build Your Library, a fall bundle from the Moffat Girls with Math & Literacy printouts, Lollipop Logic, Dr. DooRiddles, First Time Analogies. I've got units/themes planned and loosely scheduled through Christmas. Then I plan to reevaluate how it's going, what is working and not working, if I'm trying to do too much or not enough, and then plan for the next semester.

I don't think I'm the one who told you about but I'd be thrilled to get the credit. http://www.kiwicrate.com/Refer?i=KathleenAW

Before trying to go the "traditional" publishing route I highly recommend your daughter educate herself on agents, publishers, and contracts. Read Kristine Kathryn Rusch's and Dean Wesley Smith's articles on the subject. http://kriswrites.com/business-rusch-publishing-articles/ http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?page_id=860 Good luck to your daughter!

DH is a whopping 6 weeks older than me.

Warning: It's a very DANGEROUS program! Lol, my son has nearly fallen off his chair during every lesson because of giggling and playing with Ziggy. :lol: (Our zebra is a rare carnivorous zebra who likes to nibble on fingers.) So be careful, use your puppet with caution! I highly recommend it, my son LOVES it! I think he has finally figured out what rhyming is, thanks to all the games.

oops, double post

They're very high quality supplies with well done instructions but they were too complex for my 4 year old to do. He could help but mainly it was Mommy doing the project and then him playing with the end result. I suspended my subscription (love that you can do that) and will try it again when I feel that he'll be able to actually do them. While we have a lot of art and craft supplies and do a quite a few projects, I really liked having a project that I didn't have to plan and has all the supplies together. Plus my son LOVED getting a box in the mail. They also have a referral program, where new users can get a kit for $10 off and you can earn free kits if people use your link. http://www.kiwicrate.com/Refer?i=KathleenAW

I think your dh's feelings in this matter are less important than the new parent's feelings. How do the new parents feel? Do they want visitors or do they want to just be by themselves. I know lots of new parents want everyone to visit at the hospital, personally I didn't want that. I felt overwhelmed with just being a Mom, being sociable at the same time would have been more than I could handle. I'd ask your inlaws which they'd prefer, a visit in the hospital or a visit in a few weeks.

My son is only 4 so I'm not there yet but I can't imagine ever pre-reading books for him. I'd hope that we have an open communication going and that if he had questions or concerns about anything he'd read we would be able to talk about it. If it's a book I know is going to have issues (like racial slurs in Huckleberry Finn), from reviews, or having read it myself; I'd talk about it with him as he reads it.

Our library system does have a homeschooler card, not sure if it is the same as the teacher card, and sorry, but I couldn't find anything on their website about it. The only benefit I know of is that your checkout and hold limit is higher, I'll have to ask if your checkout time is longer. I don't have one yet, you need to bring in your letter of intent and my son is only 4 so we're not there yet. My dh works for the library system, goes to a library 5 days a week so he can return books all the time, and yet I still always owe money. I'm getting better, remembering to check my account at least twice a week so I can renew or book hunt. I wouldn't want to be able to check out books for a year, not pay fines, or even check out tons of books at once. What I really want is to be able to put lots of things on hold but the limit on a regular card is I think 25 holds and I'm always maxing it out. Gee, if they let me do lots of holds and then sort them by group so I could easily activate all my holds on dinosaurs all at once that would be wonderful!

My son's birthday is in January so according to the public school schedule he wouldn't be starting Kindergarten until fall 2014. I think I'll be calling next year his K4 year and it depends on how he progresses whether 2014/15 will be K5 or 1st. We school year round but at a slow and relaxed pace. Writing: HWOT Kindergarten Reading: we're using OPGTTR and Bob Books, hopefully starting AAR-1 in the fall. Math: Right Start 2nd Edition Level A (thank you Nana!) Science & History: Going to be doing a year long (or more) study of prehistory-- big bang through early hominids. Undecided whether to do a separate science program but looking at BFSU and Elemental Science. Really want to find a science program that discusses the age of the earth and evolution all the way through, not just a brief paragraph in the high school years! Literature: Lots of books from the library. Right now I pick a theme every few weeks and we read, read, read. Hoping to add more chapter book read alouds, so far he loses interest in them so we're stuck with picture books. Arts and Crafts: No specific program at this point, just letting him experience different mediums-- doing his own open ended art. We also do a lot of crafts that I find on the internet to tie into what we're reading at the moment. Logic: Lollipop Logic