That sounds great! Especially if she likes to write. Have fun!

Italics is pretty easy. I really like the look of it with a calligraphy pen, especially when they learn the cursive Capitals. Its neat and dresses up really nicely! I would suggest using Book C with her. My 1st grade son has started it. 2/3 of the book is italic print an the rest is cursive. This would give her a good introduction before jumping into the cursive. I have my son do 4 lines per day, which is half a page. He'll get to the cursive sometime next year.

I would suggest finding a used TOG (with a loom CD of course!) and going through it yourself. I think having it in print and being able to resell it totally if you don't like it or can't see it working for your family is important. TOG is one of those curriculum which really seems like a workhorse for many families and they can appreciate that. Others really don't want that much involvement with a curriculum and that's OK too. I'm sure some do just use it as a booklist also. If money is not problem, I'd buy it, reserve some books from the library and flesh it out. Better to do it now than when your kids are older and the stakes are higher. :001_smile:

Hey Katrina, Just wanted to pass this website along to you. I order from them sometimes and they are actually pretty close to you. You may feel comfortable getting more pieces if you buy used. BTW, if I were you I would just buy all the reading stuff minus the flash/vocab cards and the penmanship. I know I would be curious and want to have "everything" in front of me.

I'm bumping for a few more answers...:bigear: :D

Thanks for your replies. They have been very helpful. :001_smile:

Thanks for your reply Jennifer! So would you say it includes things like learning about compass rose, latitude and longitude, map symbols, landforms, etc. or more just geography as in people and places? Hope I'm being clear. :001_smile:

Phonics Road Rightstart Math WTM Science

Thank you this is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. You don't hear much about these gems in TOG. The state and president cards sound fun, and I could see the daVinci book being a hit! Thanks again, and have fun with that bridge project.

Do they do they include map skills, or special studies like for states or presidents? Anything like these? I'm working through my history plans for next year and just wondering about the things that are hard to see from the samples. For example, I "think" they include a semester of applied arts in Y2. Any info that can't be seen by just the samples but is so great about Tapestry, I am asking for it now! :D This could tilt the scale for me. :001_smile:

:iagree: Having you available the WHOLE time is definitely a kink they need to work on! I could really see that being a problem for others across the country doing this also. Wat a bumma. :glare:

Well...I haven't duplicated myself, but I'm still working on it. :D Seriously, we need to be more involved in things like music (piano) and organized sports. We are in our last semester of a master's degree and anticipate a move soon. It's hard to get involved when you know your leaving. :tongue_smilie:

I've used Getty-Dubay Italics from the beginning, and still using it with my 3 kiddos. I just like the way it looks and have been happy with the results. If you are going to use GD, I wouldn't hesitate to skip a book or two. My daughter is in k and is doing book A. My 1st grade son did Book A, half of B, and we are starting now in book C. My 2nd grader used book B and is skipping to book D. The books are 64 pages each and I just don't think you need that much practice, especially if your doing PR. My recommendations for starting GD with PR would be: Use Book A when you start PR in K/1st. It's a fun intro to handwriting. I also made a copy of the handwriting chart in the front and laminated it so we could use our dry erase markers on it. Book B is the one I would highly recommend skipping because its just more of Book A and a sentence each time, which you would be doing in PR. I like Book C because the size of the lines are smaller (but not too small). They get plenty of letter practice and copy plenty of words and sentences. I like that they copy months, days, seasons, places, etc. Book B didn't have anything of tremendous value in it like Book C has. Most importantly, Book C teaches cursive, but it is at the end (kinda like PR2). I'm moving my 2nd grade son to Book D as we speak because it is MOSTLY cursive, while C is mostly print still. It has a brief print practice, then moves into cursive. We only do a few lines (3-4) a few times a week. And if it takes more than a year to finish a book, thats OK too. I also like GD because it looks really good when used with a calligraphy pen. My kids won't have to learn a fancy writing to make a note look special, and since most people don't write in italics, it looks different and a little artistic anyway. :001_smile: I didn't look at the ages of your kiddos, if they are older, then never-mind. :001_huh: HTH!

Thank you ladies for all your comments and recomendations. I'm glad I asked because I had only seen the Brainquest in person, so I was leaning towards that. I have been using the Early Learner series with my Kindergartener, but since we started PR we stopped. Now, I will definitely order some more of those for my 4yo daughter. I'm still open to more comments, especially those on Critical Thinking Co. I've ruled Brainquest out, my thanks to you!

Yep, I remember that week!

We do a ton of reading, playdoh, puzzles, being outside, etc. But I need a WORKBOOK for my daughter who is 4yo. Next year is her official Preschool year. I want to do just 1-2 pages a day with her and we may only do this 3-4 times a week. We might start now and we might just wait till the fall. Any of you ladies used Brainquest or Critical Thinking Company? I've only seen Brainquest in person and it looks fun. By other kids did Rod and Staff Workbooks, but I think I want something different. I've heard a lot of people petering out on the Critical Thinking Books. So I would need some good recommendations for her. I'm really just looking for something to put in front of her so she feels like she's doing "school" and is fun. We plan to use Righstart A and Phonics Road Level 1 closer to Kindergarten. Thanks Ladies!

Satori, Have you thought about just using the AL Abacus book with Singapore. You could still add in the math games, but all the Righstart abacus greatness could be drawn out of the AL book. If you would like to skip over the things in RS like clock, money, geometry, etc. and just use the add/sub and mul/div methodology, you wouldn't miss out my just using the AL Abacus book, it goes through each strategy with the abacus and gives worksheets for them too. Anyways, just a thought! :001_smile:

Thanks for answering my questions! I gotcha now. I've come more close this year than ever to getting TOG, but I just keep holding off because I like VP's products so well. I think you will enjoy them. And "Moon" did a much better job of answering your questions than I did. They really are basically comp questions. The other worksheets in the week sometimes make more connections and give detailed readings. There is something for all kids, especially 2nd-6th. We also sampled the VP online history class, and it really well put together and has readings for younger and older students. I would second Elizabeth's rec on that too. If you get on their email list, you'll know when they offer a 30-day trial. Last one they did was in the fall. I'm glad the link helped too. Thanks again. :001_smile:

I'm using VP and I would suggest going here. When you get there put in the students and it will give you the options for them. You will have to put in your address or abbreviate if you want (something just has to be in that field), then press [Review Order Details]. It will bring up EXACTLY what VP has "put together" for that grade level. They divide the lower history into 2 sections and assign different readings for them. This is under the scholars plans, but you don't have to purchase the scholars to read the books themselves. It may give you an idea of what they will expect from them reading wise. I hope all that makes sense. I wish I could tell you more. We are using the first year Old Testament and Ancient Egypt for just 2nd grade and my little ones, but I have been reading the upper level books. I noticed you are using TOG Y1, may I ask why the change. I find that I keep looking at TOG, but I always to stay with VP. I have ordered "All through the Ages" by Christine Miller to help me sort out and add books. TOG always looks nice because the books are all listed out for you. I have to go we are walking out the door...I'll check back later. :auto:

:lurk5:

Love the binder idea. Being organized helps a lot. I probably spend too much time trying to be organized. :tongue_smilie: I too love PHP's products! I found when I added AAS it was just a lot for me. I was flipping through 3 different curriculums for 2 difference children and it was hard for me. I am really starting to see WTM methodology in PR and that has helped me a lot, because I can have a very efficent program and still keep my same methodology. Especially the copywork and dictation. I do see a lack of narration, but we do that with literature, science, and history, so were covered. I think if you are using PHP, you are getting a great education. And if it's working well for your family, I would definitely continue to use it. I felt much the same last year when I was trying different things out, and I still love them! I just realized with 3 now doing Language arts, that I had to tighten up my time. Phonics Road accomplishes all that I want now and in the future for my kids. For example, I really like WWE and CW and I think that PR lays a great foundation for both, so whichever way we choose, we'll be fine. Also, I want my kids learning Latin, but instead of having to add yet another subject, it will be integrated into PR, saving me time. We'll be able to move into Latin Road, getting a 2 year HS Latin equivalent before HS. They can continue with Latin by doing some translating courses, etc. or we can move on to Greek/Hebrew with Dad. I don't want to come across like PR is the only option for people, there are so many great things out there. I hope I am helpful by explaining the WHYS of how its working for us, that way someone can be discerning in deciding if PR is a good it now or for the future.

:iagree: We are doing this too, except I require narration from each child. I find it to be freeing and fun. We pick up books to go along with our subject for some weeks.

Righstart A has 77 lessons and you can skip 20 lessons in B (out of 107) if you finish RS A. That would leave you with about 87 lessons for Level B. My recommendation would be to either 1. Start with RS A NOW if you have the time and plan to use RS with your younger child. You'll only have 87 lessons to do next year. Some of these lessons are several days long and one is for a whole week, it will still spread out nicely. 2. Start RS B and just do small chunks and slowly build up. Sometimes we still don't get a whole lesson done each day. :001_smile:

Well...I quit twice. But started it 3 times. :D I'm a happy user now. I have three kiddos in Phonics Road right now, 1 in PR2 and 2 working through level 1. They are all in different places. My K'er just started a few weeks ago and my 1st grader is halfway through Level 1. The reasons I quit were largely because I thought I could do Language Arts better by separating it. I really adore WTM methodology so I took a few detours to check it out. I used FLL, WWE, and AAS and sampled other things. I found they were MORE work for me. The more I look at our long term sequence, I find that PR will be a great time saver. I've tried many times to find a simplier way, but I can't find one. For example, after PR1-4 I plan on doing Latin Road and will only have to add writing. I really like CW and if I can't get my head around it, I'll go with WTM writing. I think PR is set up to prepare for traditional writing also. I love that PR uses the first year to focus on reading and spelling year two to introduce writing and grammar year three to introduce latin and year four to solidify these, all with real literature. I have struggled to find anything that could match the efficiency and strength that PR has given our homeschool. I just want to encourage you, the first times I used it it seemed to d-r-a-g, but the third time something clicked and we have been much more efficient. Some of the things I have changed are: 1) We dropped using the clipboard. I have one of these for me and for my student. He writes and I write behind him. I have lines on a piece of construction paper for slipped down into the pocket for him. Then he copies the words onto his final paper (copywork :D). 2) I watch the videos once and make my own notebook, so its open and go after that. These are simple things, but just using and getting used to PR helps a lot too. I hope I have encouraged you. I think its great that in year 3 it gets more independent. I hope I have encouraged you and been helpful.

I have the Activity Guide (for me) and the PDF's. I don't regret it one bit!