It will probably take me a bit to figure out what is more cost and time efficient when it comes to this. I've always liked getting a hard copy for books, but that's probably just me being old-school. I think I'll be looking into ebooks more from now on

I might have to look into getting a small copy machine. Thanks again for the responses

I don't have a curriculum, but we read Janice VanCleave's book http://www.amazon.com/Janice-VanCleaves-Food-Nutrition-Every-ebook/dp/B0024NK5PG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390608012&sr=8-1&keywords=janice+vancleave+kids+book+of+nutrition But mostly we just talk about it.

Speaking of paper - there is a coupon for free paper in Staples that expires tomorrow!!!!

We are doing ETC on line, which I think in total will be cheaper. Yeah, HWOT is not even a question - they will each get their own. Although, I do regret buying Teacher's Guides. Now I have to sell it. OK, I need to start looking for Staples coupons and start stocking up on paper and ink :laugh:

Yeah, I think I am re-thinking my approach LOL. It's just I was looking at RSO book and couldn't believe how much I spent on something that I won't be able to reuse it unless I spend money on it via copying it.

Thanks for the ideas. For some stupid reason I haven't considered ebooks. I'll have to see how much ink is for my printer, right now I hardly ever use it, so haven't bought that in awhile. I really like RSO but might be going with Mr Q later just bc it seems more reasonable in price and I like him a lot too. I think I spend too much money on things we didn't use and feeling really guilty about it and trying to figure out how to do better and reduce cost in general.

I just got my RSO book for next year and it's 100% "usable", so if I let my kid write, draw, etc. I won't be able to use it with the next two. It wasn't a cheap book, so I am kind of wondering how is everyone else handling things like that. I know people make copies - do you do that at home and if so, can you share your expense involved in that -did you buy copy machine, how much do you spend for toners, paper, etc Do you just buy new "books" for each child? I am sitting here, looking at a really cool Even-Moor book that I would love to use next year that I got on sale 4.99, but regular price is 13.99 and I am starting to get a little worried about how expensive everything is going to be. So, I would love to hear suggestions and experiences from everyone. Thanks!!

Great question. Can't wait to see responses

I wonder if a moderator or admin would respond. I've never been successful in getting responses from them via email

huh....I guess I AM the only one.

It seems that I am not able to "follow" a thread, only the whole forum. anyone else is having similar problem? It's been happening for about a week now

How much work would involve doing History Pockets? I am talking about prep work for me.

It was too much work for me, I just couldn't do it. I really really liked the idea, but couldn't implement it. But I completely agree with you!

If you don't mind me asking - what did you use for pre-history? My kid loves everything dinosaurs related, so may be I'll try that. We are doing astronomy this year - RS4K. What did you use for geology? thanks

We looove it. My son is not doing timed tests bc I find them useless. I can adjust anything I want. I didn't put the "game" button, so he doesn't even know it exists. Sometimes the software skips some level for him, but I take him back. He was bored with book version bc it wasn't colorful and not fun for him and on-line thing is working great. And yes, they do have "match the sentence with the picture". They also started having "fill in the blank". Can't say enough good things about it!!

Yes, Elemental History.

I don't know, but my kid is not retaining anything. It might be bc we did it very infrequently or bc it was "school" vs just regular read-alouds. I don't know.... I am going to just read the books suggested in Adventures in America for our story time and see what happens. He is 5.5 now - not that it makes a difference LOL

Irishmommy - OMG that was soooo funny. I soooo loved the idea of FIAR but really didn't like the actual curriculum Tracy - yes, that would make sense to introduce geography. We were reading different books just during regular story time that had mention of various countries. Over and over and over and over again - he still has no clue about it. LOL Oh well, reading this thread really put my mind at ease, so thanks again

First of all, you have no idea how relieved I am to hear about "no recollection" part. It just seemed so odd to me that we would talk about something and then that same day he wouldn't be able to tell my husband what he learned. But somehow it only applied to certain things. Or books that we read over and over and over - and then - nothing. I always thought and was told it's the opposite - when they are that young, they are like sponges and will inhale all the information and it will stick with them for life. Once again, not going through US school system makes me always question myself and non-STEM subjects like LA, history, etc. I had no idea what "social studies" were for the longest time. And not to offend anyone, but when I found out, I thought it was the biggest fluff ever and really wasn't planning to include that at all. Both, my oldest and his 3.5 yr old brother love everything police and firefighters related, so we did a "community" project last year, but that's as far as I am going with social studies So, thank you for such detailed responses and information, it is so very helpful

Thank you!! This is really helpful. I'll have to see where he is mentally next year - interest wise and comprehension wise. He doesn't seem to retain information unless he finds it interesting. He knows sooooo much about astronomy without really "studying it", but can't remember "Mayflower" even though we've been talking about it for months!!! BTW, I've never gone to US schools - do they start history in K or 1st grade?

I had this big plan of doing American History this year with my 5 yr old and starting HO/SOTW next year for 1st grade. I thought that it would be easier for hm to "envision" it - just kind of doing stories about the same place where he is living, but a "few" years ago. Well, due to my complete lack of organization we haven't done much except reading a few books about American Indians and Christopher Columbus. I have Adventures in America and was trying to do that. So, now I don't know if I should continue with my plan of "starting" with US history and just push it to 1st grade and then do SOTW the following year. Or should I forget it and just do SOTW next year. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? For those who are following 4 yr rotations, when did you introduce US history? Thank you!!

my 5.5 yr old started ETC a few months ago and is now on book 4. We just started AAS last week and "I" think he is doing really well with that. We are on step 4 of AAS level 1. I think they compliment each other very well. And my almost 4 yr old is kinda-sorta doing ETC book 1. I keep restarting him bc he is still making errors. I won't do AAS with him for awhile BTW, we are doing ETC on line. My oldest didn't like actual books and I wanted to keep writing and reading separately. So.....to answer your question, I guess grade K is doing ETC book 4. I am hoping he'll be done in the next few months before our subscription runs out. I am too cheap to buy it for another year

Can't comment on reading, but both, my oldest when he was 3 and my now 3.5 really liked books from Critical Thinking company. We did their Math, Building thinking skills and Can you fine me. That was all the "official" schooling we did at that age

I haven't seen 3.5 on line. then again, I don't know how online books translate to actual books. I just know what lessons they cover on line. It's 8 books