We're using WWE1 as well. I've given up reminding 'please answer in a complete sentence' after every single question. I require the more involved answers to be phrased as complete sentences but for questions where most every adult would give a one or two word answer I let it go.

This makes a lot of sense. I've been thinking about it all day. Even after finding this chart I might still use sonlight. I need something with books, a schedule, discussion questions, etc. already done and sonlight is literally the only program I've found that fits. If we use it I'll definitely question and look into anything that seems incorrect but maybe it's worth that small hassle. I've always written my own schedule using books and resources that I've picked individually but I need something ready to go. For some families if there is no 'open and go' option the kids will be in school.

Does anyone who has used core d know if this chart (or others like it) are a big part of the curriculum? I can't tell from the sample if it's just that one chart in one place or if it's something that is used again or has quizzes based on it.

It's from a section of the instructor's guide giving dates and events in a chart form for parents to see. Even with the disclaimer it still seems strange. Even if the 69 AD 'fact' is discounted as refutable there are still quite a few oddball things that are claimed to be factual with 'well established dates'. Rethinkng the whole year....

I had all but decided on using sonlight next year until I read these statements in the sample instructor guide. These refer to AMERICAN history: 325-250 BC - carthaginian trade; exports: lumbar, gold, and furs 250-100 BC - coins issues, north america mapped 100 BC- 400 AD - Roman traders active in America, Roman currency adopted 69 AD - Jews settle Kentucky and Tennessee 132 AD - second wave of Hebrew refugee 450 AD - flight of north African christians to America 500 AD - Libyan science and mathematics flourish in west North America -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have there been a whole bunch of discoveries or theories that are now accepted as fact? I'm honestly asking because I'm not one to keep up on things like this and am going by what I learned as a child in school as well as college (as a history and anthropology major). I haven't been in college for nearly a decade and it's possible understandings of things have changed and what were theories before are now considered facts.

We have the miller one. Not sure how many pages, maybe 80, the paper is very thick.

I have to disagree that people who are thrifty will spend less and those with big budgets in other areas will spend more. I know plenty of people who scrimp and save in order to have a large education budget and many others who live in big houses and drive expensive cars but homeschool very frugally. What I did was to start out without any kind of budget. I looked at materials I might like to use and made lists of possible costs. Then I added in reasonable amounts for basic supplies, field trips, etc. and added it all up. It turned out to be less than I thought it would be. If it had been more than we could spend I would have looked at individual subjects and tried to find less expensive options.

Could anyone explain sonlight grade level equivalents? Everything I see says something different. Do most people have their kids on the younger side of the age range (as in having an eight year old do a core that is for 8/9/10/11 year olds) or do people err on the side of being on the higher end of the age range (having an eleven year old do that same 8/9/10/11 core)? Did they recently change things? So many websites/blogs say cores that are now, say, 6th grade are 8th grade while using a slightly different numbering/lettering system. I'm so confused on which level(s) to pick! Any advice? Thanks!

I have to agree that, while the problem seems simple, it really is rather advanced for an average second grade student. I just asked my 3rd grader (who, in this state, would be in 2nd grade by age) to do it and the concept was understood, the math seemed simple, but keeping track of everything and picking out several different parts of the problem to work through on their own required some help. FWIW, we're using teaching textbooks 3 this year with this child.

Saying a review is not helpful has nothing to do with 'punishing' the person who wrote it. Amazon's website asks, after every review, 'was this review helpful to you?. Next to the question there are two options - yes or no. I answer honestly by clicking 'no' since that particular review was not helpful to me. All reviews by people who were given the item are rated 'not helpful' by me as I don't think any of them are helpful. It's not my intent but I do think it would be great if amazon sees vine reviews as consistently 'not helpful' and stops the program. I like amazon for it's customer reviews - those who were given an item in exchange for reviewing it are not customers (a customer, by definition, is someone who has purchased goods or services and is not simply a recipient of goods or services).

Are you talking about amazon vine type reviews where people are given things in exchange for their review? To be honest, when I see a vine review it is automatically 'not helpful' because I, personally, don't feel I can trust what someone who was given something for free says about it.

Can I make another request?? No reviews of things that were sent to the blogger for free. I can't count the number of times I've read a review of a book or product only to then see the little 'the company was sooooo nice to send us all these expensive things so we could write a completely unbiased review' disclaimer. I'm sure many people do write honest reviews but some might say good things about anything they get for free, even if they're trying to be impartial.

I hear you! I've never subscribed to a homeschool magazine because they're either very religious or give lifestyle advice. Families can homeschool and do things like eat store bought frozen pizza!

Does anyone use, or keep around for reference, regular school textbooks? I know my kids are learning but sometimes I think it would be nice to give them a textbook to look at where everything is right there to go over. I'm thinking history/social studies textbooks would be nice to have on hand but maybe science as well. If you use them or have looked at them - any tips on where to find them? The few I've looked at have prices similar to college textbooks!

Rightstart math didn't work for us and it was pretty expensive. We have used some of the manipulatives for other things and the card games are nice. SOTW wasn't our favorite either. All about spelling hasn't been working well but I'm still undecided. I really want it to work. The problem I have is having to get the big whiteboard out and arranging the tiles while trying to keep the little ones away from it. I don't think it's a good program for a family with little kids around grabbing at things and making noise during lessons. If I had time to teach it where the kids can hear the sounds and not have to worry about keeping the board neat when siblings want to play with it I might like it better. Real science 4 kids has been so so. The textbook is fantastic and we will collect the whole set at all the levels but the experiments have been a pain. They assume you have lots of things on hand so I have to read the lesson, make a shopping list, bring all the kids out to several stores..... If they made a kit with all the materials (except things like fresh lemons) it would be great.

At least $1000 per child for curriculum, books, and supplies. This year: dozens and dozens of books, the biggest expense (our library doesn't have many children's books) 2 teaching textbooks sets several reference books 2 wwe books 4 ETC books 2 FLL books 2 AAS sets 2 subjects of real science 4 kids memoria press astronomy a book of art curriculum plus supplies as well as extra art supplies for general use around $100 of basic supplies and laminating pouches religion curriculum a bunch of random workbooks on topics like logic history books and workbooks music books lots of audio books rightstart math (which we didn't use) a snap circuits kit lots of math and some phonics manipulatives, including a big knex math set a dry erase board that was required for AAS math games a globe and wall maps

All I can think when I see prices close to the new price is that the person selling is assuming buyers will try and negotiate so they set the price high to start with to give some room to bring it down. I understand the reasoning. So many times I've tried to sell something for a fair price of 40-70%, depending on condition, how easy it is to find, and the shipping costs (I always include shipping in the price) only to have someone agree to buy it then ask for a lower price when it's time to pay. The only time almost new prices seem fair is when the company only sells on their own website and has high shipping costs. Some places charge $10 to ship a $15 book so if someone asks $15 with shipping included it might be a fair price.

Thanks for the quick replies! I keep switching from being ok with it to being really disappointed. The house is the same layout with the exception of one corner which has a slightly different shape. The porches, windows, fireplaces, roof shape/lines, garage style and placement, driveway, stairs, etc. are all exactly the same. The idea to ask if they can change a few things is a good one. I'm going to call the hoa to see if they will say anything to them about making a few changes so it's not quite so similar (it's a different construction company than ours). Hopefully they can get them to change a few things. If just a couple windows were moved, the brick colors were different, and the shape of the porches were changed it would make a big difference if coupled with very different colors. The neighborhood has many different builders. There are a few houses that are very similar but they are on different streets and it's not noticeable. This was the big reason why we liked that neighborhood rather than one with one builder and houses that all have a similar look. The houses have been built gradually over the past 20-ish years. They don't release many lots at one time and each builder is limited to just a couple houses per year.

I just need to get some quick advice and/or reassurance. Thanks in advance! We have always lived in military housing. Every place has been neighborhoods where the same few floor plans repeat over and over. When we started looking to buy a house off base several months ago we focused our search to one particular neighborhood for no reason besides the fact that it is the only nearby area that is not just cookie cutter houses. We contracted for a house that was almost complete and we will be moving fairly soon. I went to check on how things are going and when I drove up I realized the house next door had been framed with some of the walls and the shape of the roof in place. This house is exactly the same as ours! The bricks were there and they are a slightly different color but that looks like the only visible difference. We're really disappointed. The house was just right for us and we really like the neighborhood but after years of living next door to houses that are the same as ours we really don't want to do it again. I feel like we paid a premium for this neighborhood with nothing to show for it (we could have bought a larger house in a cookie cutter neighborhood for significantly less). I'm trying to find the HOA paperwork to see if this should have been allowed since most HOAs prohibit it - not sure what, if anything, they could do; maybe require the builder to make a few superficial changes so the houses won't look so similar from the street? I keep trying to tell myself it's ok and not a big deal but I can't get over how disappointing it is. We're only going to be living there for a few years but had planned to rent it out with the possibility of coming back to it in the future. The neighborhood is otherwise really nice. The lots are over an acre so the houses aren't overly close together (maybe 40' in-between). I'm disappointed in the otherwise really nice builder for not being upfront and letting us know they were planning on the house next door being the same (no one has bought the house yet so I know it's not that someone picked that floor plan). My biggest concern is that this will decrease the value of our house. I can't imagine anyone paying extra to live in that neighborhood when the house they're looking at is the same as the one next door. The one next door is being listed for about 20% more than ours, someone might not want to live in the 'cheap' version of that house/floor plan.

Um, I've been to the huge convention in Cincinnati and had the same problem. Thanks for taking the time to reply but stating that 'the problem' must be the conventions themselves is rather presumptuous. Maybe the problem is that the big conventions are religious and a smaller convention with families who share our beliefs would be better. I've gone to two small conventions but didn't have a lot of time to spend there so I'm not sure if it would make a difference. I will say that the shopping at big conventions is great. Perhaps just getting a shopping pass would make more sense for me but it seems silly to drive hundreds of miles just to go shopping.

Thanks for the reply! I'd like practical information on ways to teach but all the sessions like that are put on by curriculum companies. I'm concerned it will be more like an infomercial than practical information. Many of the lectures are religious in nature or sound like they might have a religious bent.

I've been to several conferences/conventions and am planning a trip to another. I don't feel like I get much out of it besides the ability to look over materials. I never seem to pick the right workshops or lectures and tend to spend most of my time in the vendor hall just because nothing else seems interesting. Any tips on how to make the most of a convention?

We decided against CC when we learned some of the assignments involve copying and/or memorizing bible verses. I'm generally ok with the kids attending programs that call themselves Christian but, as Catholics, we were not ok with this particular group.

A decent recorder is around $10 new, a pretty nice one will be more in the $25 range. It's relatively easy to learn fingering and/or pick out a tune. The only problem might be a young child, their hands might not be large enough to play frustration free. If the piano isn't an issue the recorder shouldn't be.

Thanks for all the replies! We've tried spelling workout but we need something beyond just a workbook with a weekly list and pages of work using those words. Something with activities and/or manipulatives but that does not involve lots of little paper squares and bringing out a big whiteboard for every lesson (can you tell what is driving me nuts right now?). Lots of ideas for how to teach but that does not require following a script. Maybe we just need to order a bunch of books to see in person?