Ditto. ;) Four days a week: CW Primer (copywork, dictation, narration, grammar/spelling, nature study, picture study) Singapore 1 math and/or drill SWO A/B Poetry read-aloud Golden Children's Bible CC memory work Rotating: Adventures in America Nature stories (AO yr 1) Geography stories (ditto) In the afternoon after our CC morning, we are finishing OPGTR (we only have a few lessons left!), and we do our Song School Latin Lesson. She's also finishing the HWT cursive book whenever we have some extra time. Every day she has 30 min - 1 hr of independent reading, and we read chapter books at bedtime. ETA: As far as scheduling, we generally try and get the Primer lesson done in the morning after our Bible reading. I generally have her and the 4 yr old take turns playing with the baby while I do school with each of them. Then we have a break until after lunch. She usually works on SWO while I'm putting the baby/preschooler down for nap/rest time, and then she and I do History/Geography/Nature, math, and read a poem or two together. Then she reads independently while I try and get a break! CC memory work has been our wildcard. It's been difficult to find a good time to work on that (when the 4 yr old can participate and the 1 yr old is cooperative). We've really been happy with everything we're doing this year. It's been a good combination for us. CW Primer has been rich. For a kid who doesn't need something as incremental as WWE/FLL, it's been a great program. I think we'll move on to CW Aesop next year. No extracurriculars right now because of finances. We hope to start back up with maybe a soccer class after Christmas.

Thanks for your response. I am familiar with the trivium. ;) I'm not saying that I'm going to let her keep counting on her fingers forever. I'm just saying that maybe we can continue on in learning new concepts as we drill the facts. The Singapore HIG says to not move into the next unit until all of the addition/subtraction facts to 10 are mastered. I think that could be torture for a lot of kids... would have been for me. I happened to be one of those kids who had a hard time learning my math facts (ask my mother about multiplication rap!). I also got a BS in math in college and worked in microprocessor design at IBM. I did ok. That Two Plus Two is Not Five book is intriguing. Have people had good success with that?

Thank you for all of your responses! I think you're right about not halting forward progress while we work on the facts. Thanks for affirming that for me. I'm looking into all of your suggestions. I might just have to break down and get the RS games. My 2nd will be in kinder next year, and I think those will be a good fit for her too.

My first grader is using Singapore 1A and we've gotten through the chapters on addition and subtraction up to 10. The next chapter (which is addition to 20, I think) says that the student should have mastered facts to 10 before beginning this chapter. I made flashcards of all of the addition/subtraction facts to 10, and it is a THICK stack. We've been going through them a few times a week for a few weeks, and she and I both hate it. I think she's improved some, but she still has a long way to go for them to be automatic. She's a bright kid with an incredible memory, so this has me a bit stumped. She certainly understands the concepts. We're doing CC this year, and she seems to hear something once and have it forever in that context. She's done some of the math facts games on the Shepperd Software web page, but it seems like that's been more an exercise in how to use the mouse than in learning the math (we don't do much on the computer at this age). Today I printed out the mental math pages from the back of the IG. We've worked through them already, but I thought she'd be motivated by a timed exercise. I thought I might try going through the same ones over and over until they become more automatic. This is a long post for a pretty simple problem. LOL Any suggestions? :tongue_smilie:

I'm not reading through the whole thread, but I agree with this. ACNA or Anglican Mission in the Americas. We are a part of an Anglican church plant with an priest who comes from an Anglican Mission church. We're still deciding whether we will formally affiliate with AMiA or ACNA. I grew up in a Bible church, and since the time I finished college, I've been pretty unsatisfied with the evangelical tradition. The Anglican church has been incredibly refreshing. I'd also recommend: Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail by Robert Webber Ancient Future Faith by Robbert Webber Surprised by Hope by NT Wright

I think it really depends on the tutor. Some do a great job with pacing the subjects, others don't. I agree with Snicklefritz, in that I wish there was more to the science and fine arts time. For my 4 and 6 year olds, I count CC as science and fine arts (and memory work), but it's not much. To be fair, though, the drawing lessons have been really beneficial to my 6 year old, and have really sparked her interest in drawing. The presentations really are beneficial, I think, and my girls love recess. :lol: It suits our needs for this year, but I'm not sure we'll do it again.

I'm using Primer with my 6 year old who is comfortably reading and writing. It's been a great fit for us. Sometimes the copywork is a bit long, and I let her stop when she gets tired. Otherwise, we really like the variety of narration, picture study, and nature study. We're using Adv. in America for our history, and my dd does a lot of the extra reading on her own (including most of the scheduled read-alouds). I've added some nature and geography read-alouds. We're also always working on a novel read-aloud at bedtime. I would think all of that would be about equivalent to a Sonlight Core, so it seems like that should work well! Oh, and she's also doing a workbook spelling program to round out her LA.

Just curious if anyone else has used CW Primer?

Thanks. Anyone else have experience moving to WWE after CW Primer? What about FLL? Would be weird to start at FLL2, or should I just do FLL1 and 2 in one year? Could a 2nd grader be ready to start FLL3?

Sweet! Thank you for this!

I'm using CW Primer as our LA program for 1st. I would like to go to WWE/FLL afterward. Has anyone done this, and which level of WWE and FLL would be appropriate? She's very natural at narrating, and her handwriting is excellent. We are doing the dictation exercises in Primer as well, taken from a portion of the copywork.

Exactly my thinking for my 6 yr old.

Let us know what you find out!

Thank you both. I looked at the FB page, and they're saying no earlier than Spring '12. I got tired of looking through the history... does anyone know if it will be essentially the same as SSL 1 with more vocab, or will it be a step up in difficulty? Mostly I'm wondering if it will aid in the transition to LfC.

I've seen on here that there is to be a second level of SSL, and that it will come out at the end of this year? I'm not seeing anything about it on the CAP website... could anyone confirm?

I have researched this a lot and keep coming back to just telling Bible stories/reading straight from the Bible. We have loved using these notebooking pages this year as we've read: http://holdthatthought.com/kindergarten.php

Erin! Good to see you here! :D Family Math for Young Children is a good one. Or Games for Math by Peggy Kaye. I think I've checked both out from the library, but I can't remember which was more appropriate for preschoolers. ps Are you in NOLA already?

So, your young ones are able to listen to and understand this? I keep seeing it recommended for older kids.

I'm reading Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail right now, and it is giving me an entirely different perspective on these things. I think the Evangelical church has made faith too much about doctrine and too little about worship.

I agree with you. And cool that you're Anglican. I think we're heading that way ourselves. And I just looked at your blog and saw that you're a black belt. Me too. Can we be BFF? :lol:

I'm a leader of a women's core group at a local CBS class. We have a homeschool ministry, and I've seen the primary (1st-3rd) books. Do you have any specific questions about them? It's definitely a good bit of homework - 20 min/5 days a week is about right. It would probably take the place of Awanas and other Bible study in our house, but my kids are still young. We are studying Daniel this year. The author of the commentary is definitely pre-mill. He briefly addresses what he calls the preterist viewpoint, but pretty much writes from the pre-mill perspective. Some teaching directors who disagree with the commentary might present a different viewpoint (I've heard of it happening in the past). It depends. Most of the commentators are from Dallas Seminary or write from a similar perspective. My Dad went to DTS - so it's not a bad thing - but, definitely a specific perspective. Discussion, however, is open, and there is no "wrong answer". I've found a lot of openness in our class, and even in leadership, to discussing different viewpoints. I agree with the recommendation to visit a class and check it out. I've found it to be a helpful way to study the Bible, even though I don't completely agree with the commentary or the way questions might be presented or worded. I'm not totally sure how these issues are handled with the homeschool curriculum. I bet you'd be able to look at a kid's book if you visited, though. Of course, you'll be studying the same passage as your kids each week, so you'll have opportunity to discuss the issues. HTH!

I'm pretty sure I have a friend who went there herself, and felt it was overly controlling and cult-like. I know nothing firsthand and may be confusing it with something else!

I'm sorry, but that whole Henry VIII thing is a lame excuse! And no other church/denom was begun by people with very personal and political agendas?

Have you tried Anglican? I find myself in the post-evangelical camp, and it seems that many like-minded types are becoming Anglican. They have a pretty broad definition of orthodoxy, while holding to a few convictions for themselves. There's the value of beauty, the affirmation of the whole person, not just the mind, the traditional liturgy and practice of the rhythms of the church calendar, telling the story of redemption. Committed to the three streams (From http://www.allsaintschurchdallas.org/three-streams): Scripture which is God’s inspired word and is our authoritative guide for faith and life. The Holy Spirit, who is at work in the church and the world manifesting God’s power and releasing God’s gifts. The Sacraments which we embrace as part of a participatory liturgical worship.

Sort-of off topic, but I wondered if those who are attracted to the RC church, but can't quite embrace all of the doctrine, would be interested in Anglicanism? It's known as the Via Media for a reason, I think. The more I've explored, the more I find that fills in for many of the weaknesses of evangelical/independent churches in America (I grew up in a Bible Church). The Anglican Mission has an interesting story, and you can find local congregations in your area on their website.