I am so very, very sorry.

I think it's easier to just google it then searching through a list. Usually the abbreviation leads right to it but if not add homeschool to your search and you should find it. That's also true if you want to find a review of something too. Google whatever it is and well trained mind and you get a list of results from here.

AAR does have a sequence that makes it hard to do reading outside of their readers at first. I was frustrated with that at the beginning. Somewhere in AAR2 that gets better. When DS started AAR1 he couldn't read any CVC words even though he knew all of the letter sounds but he couldn't blend at all. I'm amazed at how well he is reading now thanks to AAR so I would recommended sticking with it, especially when level 2 will introduce more phonograms that will really open up reading. Have you seen MP First Start Reading? It begins with tracing and then writing words and builds up to reading comprehension of short passages. Similar to AAR there is an order that it introduces concepts and the lessons are sequential but I think it's more conventional, like I think it introduced silent e before AAR did. When DS was having trouble with blending I added FSR and it was really helpful for him. I think writing helped the concepts to click. Plus he gained confidence by reading the short passages and never noticed or complained as they got longer. The workbooks are cheap and you don't need the TM. Writing might help her with the B/D confusion. What about ETC to help with phonics and the letter reversals? Hooked on Phonics has an app that periodically is given away for free. It has levels so like AAR it introduces a concept, then has games to work on them and then reading little stories. For DS in the beginning we did a lot of things like that and The I See Sam books to build up his confidence and fluency. Usborne also has a great set of books that are meant to be read together. I think I dropped the extras after he finished FSR and somewhere in AAR2 when he was really clicking. You might be very pleasantly surprised how reading starts to take off with AAR2.

You can definitely drop the tiles if they are not helpful to your son. My DS was always trying to read the teacher's manual for AAR as I was trying to read the script to him. At first I fought it and insisted on doing it step by step as outlined but eventually I just had him read the bolded parts in my TM and didn't bother building the words with the tiles. You could try it that way and see if he gets it. You could always bring out the tiles if a phonogram is giving him trouble and breaking it up would be helpful. I think AAS is even better without the tiles because it's extra handwriting practice which was great when DS was younger and needed more practice. Instead of using the tiles I had him write everything. Given that he had never written much before he didn't have much stamina so we broke up each lesson over a few days depending on how many words there were. Since there were often a lot of similar words and DS is a natural speller I also let him spell a lot of them out loud too. Honestly it was great to drop the tiles. It saved a lot of time in the lessons and in the clean up.

For RSO Life there was an activity involving a series of exercises and DS could absolutely not do a sit up. Is that something a 7 year old should be able to do? DH thinks so. If so we need to work on his core strength. His exercise is just playing outside, we have a playset and he loves to race his best time from a set course. He's never wanted to do anything involving a ball and he goes through periods where he wants to get on his bike or scooter. We have a rowing machine that he does like to use for a few minutes. He did about a year of martial arts before he quit, and that was making him finish out the contract period we had signed up for. He's never wanted to do any organized sports. I've seen Family Time Fitness recommended, anything else I should look at? I don't understand from their website how FTF works. Is it a set schedule? Or just pick a video? Is it worth it?

It can be very overwhelming when you are getting started. I found all of the abbreviations really hard to follow myself when I was first starting. http://cathyduffyreviews.com Is a great place to get started. She breaks up a lot of curriculum choices by subjects so you can get a better idea what is available. http://www.rainbowresource.com Is perhaps the best website to browse and buy curriculum, they have reviews and their prices are often cheaper than the manufacturer. Don't feel like you have to do everything at once. Start small with the basics, like language arts, math, science and history in whatever combination suits you and your child. Or just start with math and language arts before you add in anything else. You have plenty of time to add more in as you feel more comfortable and have a better idea of what works for you both. There are a lot of all in one curriculums out there but of course the problem becomes that you can't tailor it to your student's needs or interests. It might be easier to start with your own choices and add in then getting stuck with something that won't suit. Once you've looked at the options for a subject you can then narrow down your favorites and google for reviews on them. If you add WTM Forum to your google search you can easily bring up threads about it here to help you sort it out. You might be surprised how quickly it starts to make sense to you. Will your child be a 2nd or 3rd grader next year? My son will be in 2nd so I know there is a current thread on what other people are planning that might help you get some ideas. Just google the abbreviations and you will find out what they mean and before you know it you will be able to follow what people are talking about. Good luck!

Hi Kathy, Since you are switching over to a secular program have you considered making the workbooks available to order from your website or Rainbow Resources? We use a virtual public charter so I'm excited about being able to order ELTL with my funds now that it could qualify but I'm not sure if they would allow workbook orders through Lulu.

No, I don't have the supply kit for it. We use a virtual charter and I've used funds to buy the kits for ES and RSO but they never seem to me to be worth the money. I just skim through upcoming lessons and make a list on my phone of what materials we will need. At least so far they have been pretty basic and much easier than with ES and RSO. I am very much a book person so we ge a ton of science and history books every week but so far I haven't found any reason to add on to SIB. Everything is just explained so well that I haven't found any reason to add more to SIB the way I did with ES and still do with RSO. It seems like it would be a very dry book since it looks so much like a textbook but it's been very discovery based as it mentions something briefly and then shows it with the experiment and explains it more. I really enjoy the format. I've read a lot of elementary science books aloud in the last couple of years and I really hate them. I know the read and find out books are very popular but I despise them! SIB is informative without driving me crazy. Have you started SIB? I think after a few lessons you'd have a good idea if you like it or not. At least for me I really like how well it flows and explains.

DS still keeps Peter Pan and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the top of his rotation.

Another vote for just letting the child do as much as they are interested in doing. Since the sections are grouped together some are really easy and some are harder. I never did any of the extras. You won't miss anything for the "Singapore Method." I was disappointed with Singapore Essentials, it seemed too much like a preschool type workbook. If you want a more discovery based math you could consider Miquon.

Are you going to drop AAR? I can't speak to Seton anything but with AAR they recommend starting AAS while still doing AAR. At first I was hesitant to start DS doing formal spelling so young but it was a great fit and helped cement the rules he had learned in AAR. For that reason I disagree with the advice to wait on spellling. For DS his handwriting practice is in writing for AAS, ELTL, FLL and WWE so I think you could easily drop handwriting as a subject or alternate it with a subject like WWE where there is writing.

AAR is really easy to use and it's fun. I was impressed that even in the last level of AAR4 they still had new and different activities that DS loved. There is no writing in AAR. If you want to add in a workbook check out Memoria Press First Start Reading. It's a great gentle introduction to blending. You don't need the teacher's guide and the workbooks are very reasonably priced.

Hi Kathy, Will you just be making some minor changes then? At least in ELTL1 there only seem to be a few Bible verses so you will just be making the copywork secular? I just bought ELTL2 so going forward there wouldn't be any problem in going from the "old" 2 to the "new" 3 and so on? Thanks!

I've used ES and RSO and we just started Science in the Beginning which I highly recommend. SIB is easy to use and very informative. DS has retained more information from SIB than with anything else we've tried. DS loves science but this is the first time he has wanted to tell DH about what he's learned. With ES and RSO I wasn't happy with the curriculum and kept looking for something better but with SIB I know I will definitely buy the next level.

I can't speeak to The Reading Lesson because we used AAR but I added in MP First Start Reading and I think it's great. You don't need the teacher's manual and the workbooks are very reasonably priced.

I am going to be starting SOTW1 with my 7 year old and wanted to add some fun extras to interest my 4.5 year old. Any fun coloring books? Other fun extras?

Check out Miquon, the first book is Orange. It is more discovery based and therefore really helps a child understand what they are doing in math. DS had done Singapore Essentials in K but I thought it was way too easy and not very informative.

Math in Focus is written to the student. DS reads all the instructions and explanations in the student book.

You could easily ge through FLL1 this summer. It is very gentle but informative.

Definitely see about requesting books ahead of time. It's also easy to browse on sites like Amazon where you can search for topics and see if your library has anything that looks good. We go every week and I pick up what I've ordered and the kids are free to choose what interests them which they love. Usborne has a lot of great books with explanations on different topics.

What about Miquon? Since it's a very different approach she might be willing to approach it with an open mind and it could build up her confidence.

FLL is really very gentle. It takes about 5 min. Don't be afraid to start it now. You can just begin whether or not you've started or will start a spelling program. For spelling check out All About Spelling (AAS). It's also a very gentle program. The first level went really quickly when DS started in K. It introduces concepts and rules very systematically. Then it works up to dictating sentences so it's a great introduction to writing. Another great option is English Lessons Through Literature (ELTL) which also does grammar very gently and has copywork.

MP Enrichment is great. There are some great questions that draw attention to different areas. It is meant to be read by the parent though so you'd pause the reading and ask the questions. You could always have the child read the book later or make the child's reading a Magic Tree House or another book that relates to the topic of the week. With MP there is a book, poem, art, music and science topic, sometimes more related than others so you'd have a lot of material to work with. It's a great option that you can expand if the topics interest the child. If you go with it start it in the fall because it will follow the calendar and have fun topics that relate seasonally and with the holidays, even groundhog's day.

Sorry not being at all science inclined I haven't felt comfortable doing it on my own without a curriculum. I have been loosely following the recommendations on what to study at what age but always with a spine. SIB covers more topics than the breakdown of different topics by age which I actually think we are going to prefer, especially given how much better the concepts have been presented than the other ones we've tried. Here's what Jay Wile said about the different topics: jlwile says: August 20, 2013 at 7:34 pm I think you could make that work, Literary Mom. Day 3 has some stuff about rocks and soil, and Day 4 is all space. Day 2 deals with water, which would fit in well when you are studying the oceans. Then, when you study biology, you can do the rest of Day 3 (plants) and Days 4 and 5. Then when you study light, you can do Day 1. http://blog.drwile.com/my-new-elementary-science-series/ I can only say that the ones we've tried before never really flowed. The reading wasn't great and neither were the experiments. With the other ones I've gotten a lot of books to supplement from the library. SIB actually integrates the experiment to show something in the reading which I've been really impressed by. It has so far explained the concept better than science books I've gotten before so I haven't supplemented it at all. It also has advice for students based on their age for notebooking.

Give Science in the Beginning a try. You might be surprised at how easy it is to use. I love how easy it is to use and how the reading flows so well and actually integrates the experiments. I'm not sciencey at all and I'm loving it. We usually do at least two lessons at a time since they are so short. The experiments are super easy and short and even my 4 year old likes to do them too. I just keep a list on my phone of things I may need to pick up, like for the first one I needed a candle and I still need to look for an old fashion flashlight. I've tried ES, RSO and Mystery Science and SIB is by far everyone's favorite.