I think you will be very pleased. I started CLE LA at the beginning of this school year. I love that it is spiral in review, that it teaches children how to prepare/study for quizzes, that it is very thorough, and that it combines spelling and handwriting with grammar. I was actually so impressed with it that I added the reading program into our schedule as well. If we weren't completely satisfied with BJU Math we would consider CLE based on all the positive reviews.

I like the looks of Memoria Press' new phonics program. It's not colorful or snazzy (is that a word? :001_smile: ), but it is very similar to how we taught at the preschool I worked at. It includes handwriting. I think when ds is older, I will at least purchase these to check them out more closely (there is a sample at the site). eta: They have changed the sample to only samples of book A. There are stories later in the series as well as word family pages and word lists.

I have been using the CW Primers alongside CLE LA 3. I have no familiarity with WWE, so I can't compare the two. But, I absolutely love using the Primers. They have correlated well with what we are doing in spelling and grammar, but not with so much as to overload those subjects. The addition of copywork, narration, picture study and nature study has made our LA much richer. That being said, I think if you enjoy what you're doing and it is working for you, there is no reason to change. Others who have the experience of going from WWE into CW will chime in and say if it is not a good transition, but from all I have heard of it I would think it would be more than fine.

I'm assuming she stays in all the time? We let our cat out for most of the time and he comes in to eat, play with the kids and sleep (during the day). We put him out at night because he is so frisky and loves to be in the same room with the kids. We made him a little bed in the garage, and we have him in on colder nights (we live in the South, so we don't have too many freezing nights) or when there is a storm. If she is accustomed to being indoors, that probably wouldn't work since she's older. We got our cat from a rescue shelter when he was an young cat. He had been kept strictly indoors. When he got acclimated to our home, we began letting him go out for longer and longer time periods. He loves the outdoors and has become a great hunter. We don't even have to keep the litter box out (unless we have to keep him in longer than normal) as he uses the bathroom outdoors.

There are a lot of different thoughts about this, so I'm sure you'll receive a variety of opinions. My dd was an early reader, and we stopped having a formal phonics program and opted for having a reading basket. I stocked it with the readers from Sonlight. Just this year I, like you, began to wonder if I was perhaps missing something not having a formal reading program. Dd was reading very well and above grade level, but I still was unsure if all the bases were being covered. Since I was very impressed with our CLE LA, I looked at samples of CLE reading. Based on the samples and reviews I read here, I decided to add it. I do think it has been a good addition, and I plan to continue it. Whether or not it is essential...probably not, but I think it is beneficial.

Math: BJU LA: CLE and CW Primers

Dd is in 2nd. I just purchased the Harmony Fine Arts program and am looking to incorporate it into our studies. I purchased Atelier, which I think is a wonderful program, but still I was having trouble organizing it and making it happen. I have enrolled her in an after-school art program. She will get the hands-on art experience there and we will continue doing art and music appreciation with the help of Harmony Fine Arts. We also have many books from the series "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists" and the author also has a series on the composers.

For a toddler: 1) Pink tower 2) Brown stair 3) Child size pitchers for pouring practice 4) A child size broom, painter's tape to make a small square on the floor, rice or beans to sweep into the square 5) Strawberry huller to practice pincher grip while moving pom-poms from one bowl to another Hainstock's book is great. I haven't finished reading Raising an Amazing Child... but it is a very attractive book and gets great reviews. I also like Basic Montessori since it gives the directions for the activities as they are listed in Montessori training guides. I also just purchased Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius. She truly was a genius and every movement had purpose. One of the concepts I would like to pass on to my boy is that of the work cycle. There is a beginning (choose an activity and take it to your workspace) a middle (working with the activity) and an END (put the activity back as it was, where it was). This is a big concept in the classroom as order is huge in the Montessori environment. I have had a hard time encouraging this discipline at home....but I hope to do better.

Classical Writing Primers

Thanks for the info and advice! I don't know when we'll get to this program...but I'm very excited to know it's out there. I really want to get it in my hands and look through it. I'm thinking of doing as you suggest, Abbey, and using it in a variety of ways over several years. And, Oh Elizabeth, I've been looking into Sonlight a lot more this year than ever, though that catalog has always drawn me in. :001_smile:

I'm curious to know from others who have used this what history program/material you used at the same time. Did you try to correlate it with something or did you use it as is without worrying over connecting the two? I know that it has some history included, but I'm assuming it was not meant to be a stand alone history material.

We are using CLE LA 3. I am also using CW Primers. I got the Primer prior to getting CLE, so it wasn't something I added because I felt CLE was lacking. However, I like the idea of incorporating picture study, nature study, copy work and memory work into our LA program so I continued using them. The primers also have a small portion of grammar and spelling which has complemented well with our CLE lessons. I think CLE could definitely stand alone. I was concerned at first that the spelling and handwriting sections would not be enough for us; however, that has not been the case. Dd had very little introduction to cursive prior to this year and learned to write it beautifully with CLE. We are only in 303, but so far I am very impressed with CLE. I think the review is excellent. I also like that they have quizzes each week and that the lightunit instructs them on how to prepare for each quiz.

We went through this with dd and it was agonizing, for all of us. She has an extremely strong will, so when she became determined not to hurt that way again, she withheld for as long as she could. Of course, she couldn't understand how detrimental it was. I'm afraid I don't have much advice...you've rectified the constipation issue. We never got the pull-ups out, and dd eventually worked through it with a lot of affirmations and encouragement. We prayed for her when she felt the urge to go, and I held her hands while she went. She finally became comfortable going again, and then we just had to keep her diet so that it didn't become an issue again. I'm sorry I can't offer more advice. It was just one of those tough things we had to walk through. I hope someone else can offer you more wisdom or advice. :grouphug: You will all make it.

She sounds a lot like my own dd who will be 8 in March. Dd is an extremely bright child. My dd is also going through a defiant stage with me, so I'm thinking it could be a developmental stage as well. She also has perfectionist tendencies: "Oh this is awful! I'm no good at this at all!" We learned early on that we shouldn't praise her for being "smart", but for being a hard-worker. We try to help her see that messing up is just a part of learning. She's getting better about that, but still at times takes it very personally when I have to have her make corrections. My own dd does better having some control over school. I started this week giving her a checklist with all of her requirements for the day at the start of the school day. This has helped with the flow of the day so much, and attitude has not been the issue that it was. I allow her to do as much as she can independently (I'm close by always) and I help whenever she asks for help. We also just started 1.2.3 Magic. I know a lot of people disagree with the counting aspect, but for us it is helpful. It gives her the opportunity to get control of her emotions. It is helping her train her own will. Of course, there are times when she immediately gets a time-out (hitting her brother, willful disobedience, etc.) but for the habits she has built with talking back and whining, this method works well. Consistency is the key. Isn't it with everything? :) It is so hard, but I do think they will pass through this stage. The sensory thing is something to keep in mind, and possibly look into. My dd is also very sensitive--emotionally and physically. She has a heightened sense of smell and can't tolerate clothes that are itchy in anyway. I think some children, particularly academically gifted ones, have sensory issues that are not necessarily indicative of a disorder. However, if the sensory issues are the primary problem, or are causing the arguments, I would check into it further.

The Time Traveler's cds have a ton of great lapbooking, notebooking and craft/activity ideas. You might consider the American Revolution cd if you haven't checked those out yet.

You're welcome! :001_smile: I think we've both bought from and sold to each other in the past. I'm still here...just more of a lurker than a poster. I hope you find what you're looking for. There are some curriculum guides out there, but they're mainly geared towards classrooms.

Basic Montessori and Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Preschool Years will give you a lot of information and ideas to put into practice at home. I think Charlotte Mason (which is the philosophy MFW leans towards) has a lot of similarities with Montessori's philosophies. Montessori thought of "teachers" as guides, igniting a spark then stepping aside to allow the child to fan the flame. Even if you are unable to have a community, Montessori still has a lot to offer a child. Two more books that would be of help are: How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way and Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius. Montessori was a Catholic herself and believed in the spiritual education of children. In the states, however, most of the Montessori materials (and by that I mean curriculum and books, not manipulatives, of course) have a bit of a New Age slant in regards to spirituality.

My favorite was a handmade Moby-type I purchased from someone at ebay. I loved it! I agree that it would not be difficult to replicate and make for yourself.

I've been looking into purchasing some of the kits here: Corps of Re-Discovery

For my 2nd grader we are using CLE LA along with the CW Primers. It's a very nice blend. We use CLE for reading, although dd also reads the Sonlight readers independently. Dd did GWG 2 last year, and, while I really like the program, I prefer the review of CLE.

Oh, I'm so, so, so happy for your dd. We have our own beloved cat, so I was sharing your story with my dd the other night. She prayed for Oscar's return as well. I can't wait to tell her that he finally did make it home!

Also, copy and paste the error message into google and see what results you get. I'm sure you already tried this, but wanted to mention it just in case. That's what we do with all of the error messages we get and people usually have great advice on how to proceed.

I'm going to try for 30 days straight...though I may give myself Sundays off. :001_smile: It is an excellent workout, and like the previous poster mentioned, the kids love it too. I wasn't faithful with it the first go around, but I am ready to try again after all my holiday eating.

Well, the good thing about Wal-Mart is that their exchange/return policy is hassle-free as long as the item is in stock. The problem is a Nintendo one, not a Wal-Mart one, so don't be afraid to try again. Sorry this happened.

My oldest was an early reader, and we started the "read, read, read" concept once I felt she was ready. I bought Sonlight readers (whole books) and let her go through them. This year I added CLE Reading 2 after being very impressed with our CLE LA. After researching the reading material, I just felt, as Mich elle mentioned in her post, that CLE reading provides an excellent foundation. My daughter still has a lot of independent reading time, but this has been a valuable addition. I like the fact that CLE 4+ will be half a year to allow for our own whole book studies.