In response to your last question about who is and is not aligning, I found this site helpful. http://www.theeducationalfreedomcoalition.org/ I'll ad that I'm concerned as well. Many of my reasons are principle based and don't have as much to do with the standards themselves. I don't know everything there is to know about common core but I don't think nationalizing education is a good thing and this looks to me like a big step in that direction. But I know there are plenty of people who think nationalized education would be great. I guess it's just a matter of opinion.

Well, wouldn't it have been more civil to simply ask rather than stating something as fact that wasn't true? Maybe I do need to chill but Its not often I'm called a liar....

Here's another one that addresses privacy and educational testing, this guy seems to know his field well. He asks a lot of questions that should be answered. http://commoncorefacts.blogspot.com/2013/03/common-core-mental-health-professional.html?spref=fb For the record, I don't know him at all, even though we are from the same state.

Holy Toledo! Try not to make assumptions people! I did NOT blog this. I have never blogged ANYTHING before! It didn't cross your mind that there may be more than one Jenny in this world? Besides, it says written by Jennifer, not Jenny. My BIRTH CERTIFICATE says Jenny, not Jennifer. I can't believe that assumption was even made....I have NO IDEA who Autumn Foster Cook is either. Do you know how common the last name COOK is? It's SOOO common that I don't even worry putting my real full name as my username. I used to work at the bank before I got married and there were three pages of Jenny Cooks that banked there just in my area. But regardless, I didn't see a last name anywhere. Maybe I missed it. Some people are so close minded about this issue they feel the need to attack everything that is said by people who feel differently. All I wanted in starting this thread was to create a place where CC could be discussed. I haven't even piped in all that much. Because the theme seemed to keep reverting back to the standards which isn't my biggest concern. Can we at least try to be civil about things and respectfully state our feelings? If we are going to make assumptions...lets assume that people don't tell flat out lies in their posts. At that point I hadn't perused it yet. Which logically means I certainly didn't write it. I guess everyone in this world isn't honest, but I like to think most people are. It looks like the educational freedom coalition is a recently formed group. But it's specific to HOMESCHOOLERS who are concerned. I have no affiliation with them in anyway. I just happened upon this link in researching. I feel very outnumbered here on the way I view CC but I'm totally fine with that, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But there are a few it seems, who may be interested in the information on the sites and links I found. Everyone here doesn't love common core. http://www.theeducationalfreedomcoalition.org/ So, there ya have it. I'm smiling and moving on. :)

I thought this might interest a few of you. It has links to sites created in many states who oppose common core. If you scroll to the bottom there is a link from the educational freedom coalition that looks like has a good list of curriculum and who is aligned, who isn't and why etc. http://usagainstcommoncore.blogspot.com/ I haven't purused it a ton yet but it looks interesting. Oh, and I should state that I realize the CC standards have nothing to do with mandatory preschool. Maybe I shouldn't have even mentioned that. It was just on my mind. The standards themselves, though I don't like them, are not my biggest concern.

Here's a link to a few clips from the Glenn Beck show. If you want to watch the whole thing you have to have blaze or sign up for the free two week trial. http://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/glenn-beck-slams-common-core/

Did anyone see Glenn Beck on the blaze today? He discussed common core with some ex teachers, a political consultant, and a few others (I don't member their credentials). For the record, yes...most states have adopted CC already, but many are now trying to get out. There are grassroots movements all over the nation making a big difference. I really don't like the differences I've seen since CC was adopted as far as the standards go. Fuzzy math is now being taught at our PS. But putting the standards aside, I really do have a bigger problem with nationalizing education. Some don't see that as a problem. I just don't believe that this nation was meant to be run that way. What would our founding fathers think? I Admit, I'm very against the "big bad government" taking over. :). Mandatory preschool was mentioned earlier. Our legislature just tried to pass a bill about mandatory preschool as well. Seriously!?!?! That bugs me SOOO bad! The government can NOT do a better job with my kids than I can. I see it as (another) attack on the family. We should be trying to pull families together, not tear them apart. I'm not saying that schools are bad. They are neccesary. I realize that everyone can't homeschool. But when the government gets involved in things like this, it really does effect the amount of local control we have. If I were a PS teacher, I would be irritated by the amount of data collecting that needs to be done. SOOO much time is spent doing this. I'd feel like a "data drone." Can't we just let the teachers teach? Lets hire good principals and local leaders and let them hire and fire teachers based on if they are good teachers or not. (Yes, I know this brings new problems) Honestly there are so many things about PS that are frustrating, and many of them I can't devise a solution for. They do the best they can sometimes and really do want to give kids a good education. I'm just grateful I get to homeschool my kiddos. :)

I do hang clothes to dry occasionally when I can but for more than half the year it's not a possibility. I've never had a front loading washer but I don't think it would bug me. I like that they dont have the beater thing inside the drum so they are supposed to be easier on clothes. I do think part of the problem is my washer. I need a whole new set. What do u guys think, is it a bad idea to buy a newer, used set? Or should I just bite the bullet and head to Home Depot? ETA: I'm doing laundry for 7. Right now I can't get it all done in one day because my dryer takes so long. ANNOYING!

Is there such a thing as a dryer that keeps up with the washer? I'm in the market. Running every load through the dryer twice is really getting old. I need an electric dryer. Any one have suggestions for brand etc? Also, I'd love to still be able to use my homemade detergent. In the land where all my hopes and dreams come true....I'd get 2 sets and they'd be stackable so they'd fit....but, that's not super realistic. Especially since I need new flooring as well. Guess where my tax return is going. . Speaking of which, I'd love any suggestions on inexpensive but nice flooring. We need some carpet and laminate. We may try to do the laminate ourselves to save some $$. But we aren't super handy.

Go to boyscoutrail.com. You can download scout books for free and most have an achievement with bike safety rules etc in them.

I went to their site and found you can preview them. I'm gonna go ahead and get some. They look great. You may need to enter Salt Lake City as your city to see the deal. You can pay $19 and get $40 worth or pay $30 and get $80 worth of stuff. I sort of answered my own question. LOL....hopefully this deal helps someone else though. :)

There's a deal on groupon for rock and learn products and I'm just wondering if they are good. I hate to miss a good deal. :). But I also don't want to buy them if they aren't worth it. I dont typically like it when songs are done "rap" style. We actually like to sing. Would these be a good fit? Good? Too cheesy? Any thoughts?

Something else interesting for everyone to chew on....James Milgram was the ONLY mathematician on the validation committee for CC. He wouldn't sign off on the standards. What does that tell you? It tells me, there are things to worry about here other than federal government take over. They're both pretty frustrating to me though. James Milgram doesn't agree with the way math is being taught or the direction this will take things. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sooooo many red flags!

I'm new to homeschooling as well but I think I'm going to give teaching textbooks a try. I agree that all the options can be quite overwhelming. We are currently using Saxon math for my two oldest though and I'm going to continue with that because it's working great. I love that there is lots of review for previously learned concepts. Saxon isn't working as well for my almost 2nd grader though. It's too mom intensive at that stage and she wants to move faster than my time will allow. Anyway...hope that helps.

Does this mean that I can buy it now but choose to have my subscription start in July?

Apparently I need to apologize for the title of this thread. Yes, the video is biased. I was reading another thread on here and noticed there were people who didn't know what CC was, or why people didn't like it. It's always good to know both sides. I'm not asking you to agree. The federal government is necessary for many things but IMO Education is not one of them. Of course a curriculum is needed but this way of doing it doesn't seem right. The changes I've seen in our PS are driving me crazy. It's one of the reasons I'm a new homeschooler. Everyone always talks about how amazing the standards are and how convenient it will be for the families who move from state to state. From my experience, it's dumbing things down. But from what I've read on threads here....the CC standards aren't changing things a ton as far as our homeschooling curriculum goes. So if that's the case.....why are we even doing this? If we can still align with CC and only make a few subtle changes, is it really worth all the promises we have to make and the ties to the national government, not to mention the money that its taking to switch everything? Are we really doing this for the few students who move around from state to state? Is that really the BIGGEST problem we need to solve in public education? What if I don't like the things that are being taught? What if they start inserting things into the curriculum that I don't like or dont agree with for whatever reason? If everywhere is the same, I don't really have a chance to make any type of choice for my family. They'll get the same education everywhere. So, my choice is to homeschool. But even then, if they align the SAT test and ACT test with CC then I will STILL need to cover whatever it is they choose to put on there if I want my kids to go to college. I realize this is very doomsday ish sounding, and IMO it's not this bad. You can still get a great education in PUblic schools that have adopted CC. But do we really want people making education related choices for our kids who are clear across the country (well, for me) in Washington? They dont even KNOW my kids, or the types of things they face in our community. That's one reason why local control is important to me. Its a one size fits all approach. Good teachers can do a lot to fix this, BUT, their students will be tested and their jobs will be on the line. Of course the teachers are going to teach to the tests and follow CC standards. They can supplement with up to 15% of their own curriculum. I just wonder how many teachers actually WILL. I could be wrong. Just something to think about. Lastly, there's the data collection issue. CC is going to require a ton of data collecting. I'm totally fine with sharing my kids data with people who need to know and can make a difference at a local level, or even state level. But does the federal government really need to know the ins and outs of my children's education? What will be done with that information? Anyway, sorry if I misled anyone. And sorry for the typos. There are problem a ton. I'm on my iPad. I'm really not a crazy person. I've never really been involved or informed on political matters. This was just one that I could see making a difference in my kids schooling. When questions started getting asked, some of the answers weren't what I wanted to hear. So there ya have it. If it doesn't worry you....carry on:)

This presentation is very well put together. I helped a tiny bit in the preparations for this. The two moms are two of my closest friends. They have documented everything they have learned and gone TO THE SOURCE for their information spending incredible amounts of time and effort getting links from official government sites and documents. They have caused quite the stir with this grassroots effort to make a difference. In fact, the blonde in this video had an interesting experience with Governor Herbert at a political meeting held in our tiny little town. The fact that the Governor made an effort to attend, speaks volumes about the ligitimacy of the questions these woman are asking and the validity of their concerns. She was able to chat with him afterwards and was asking him tough questions about why he signed this and that and why he is making these choices for Utah. He denied signing the documents and had no recollection of it. So she pulled up the documents on her iPad and showed him his signature! LOL.....he felt pretty foolish. In his defense, I'm sure he signs grundles of documents every day but good gravy.....this stuff is important! Anyway, this is a MAJOR concern of mine for so many reasons. A lot of people are unaware of what it is and if, why, and when it will affect them. Well....here ya go! Common core in a nutshell. Now, I know we won't all agree. We don't have to agree. So if you disagree...that's fine. But a nice FRIENDLY discussion about education and how politics is influencing it is always interesting. :) http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Mk0D16mNbp4&feature=share&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DMk0D16mNbp4%26feature%3Dshare Hopefully that link works.

Well, CLE is looking more and more appealing, I'm worried about cost though. I have 5 kids and it would be nice to be able to reuse things. I can see how workbooks could really speed things up though. Right now my 9 year old is in Saxon 5/4 and my almost 11 year old is in Saxon 6/5. And I have no complaints for my older daughters. But my 7 year old needs something different at this stage. She's probably my brightest. I'm going to check out some of the others curriculums mentioned. I must say though, I still like the idea of TT. Any advice or more thoughts on going from TT to Saxon? Levels to do it etc?

Well, DD is wanting to go faster and she is sick of waiting for me. :). I'm homeschooling a 10, 9, and 7 year old plus I have a 4 and 3 year old. So I get busy with all the kids. I think she would love to be able to just jump on the computer or pop in a DVD and not have to wait for me to get to it with her. TT is my top choice but I was worried about the in between stage after Saxon 1 and before TT3. I'll have her take the placement test for sure but if she isn't ready for TT3 then what should I do in between? I could do another level of Saxon, but I don't think she'd love it. Thanks for the suggestions of using CLE. I've never heard of that, I'll look into it. Especially if its less teacher intensive than Saxon. Thanks for the info about FLL to RS as well. We are almost done with FLL1 and I love that it has poems etc for her to memorize as part of the lessons so I don't have to search through all the awesome stuff out there and choose. :). Does FLL continue to do that throughout the other levels?

I'm wanting to use FLL through the levels available then switch to Rod and Staff. What level of Rod and Staff would I start after completing FLL? Also, I'm at a loss on what to do with math. My 1st grader is almost done with Saxon 1. I'd like to switch to something else until she gets to level 5/4 in Saxon. I know it's not ideal to switch curriculum super often but I keep feeling like she needs a change. I really like TT but it doesn't start until level 3. Math U see is also appealing to me. Would I be completely crazy to switch to math U See (I'm thinkin beta when she's done with Saxon 1?) and then do TT til Saxon 5/4? Ugh....that's a lot of switching. Maybe I should stick with MUS till saxon 5/4. What level of MUS would she need to complete before starting Saxon 5/4? Same question for TT as well. Thanks in advance! I'm hoping someone clears this up for me! :)

Just bumping this....

Will you explain to me what living books are? I keep reading that and I'm not getting it. It's probably super logical, but....hey, I went to public school and didn't learn that. ;)

Well, I'm pretty new to homeschooling but we've been doing WWE and the spelling workout books. That along with keeping a list of all the words they spell wrong and creating our own spelling lists has been enough for us. WWE has been interesting. I started my 5th and 4 th grader in book 4 and it was WAY to hard for them. So I bought book 3. But now I'm thinking I should buy book 2 and start there.....ugh. Oh well, they'll all get used eventually I guess.

I'm currently doing Saxon math with my first grader. I think I want to try something different. For my fourth and fifth graders I'm sticking with Saxon. Teaching Textbooks and Math U See are standing out a bit to me. Are these good solid programs or will I need to supplement? What do you like/dislike about them?

Yay!! Thx so much!