I used HWOT with my daughter. I really liked that it gave me a script for how to explain the letter formation. I needed that help so I could be clear with my daughter. I think your son will catch on regardless though. My little guy is 3 and uses the cave man grip too...when my daughter was 2 she already used the proper pencil grip....I haven't seen many adults writing with cave man grip though, so i'm thinking he'll grow out of it!! It is frustrating though. Hang in there!!

I just bought Thinking Kids Math...available on amazon and Rainbow Resource. Anyway, it's a bunch of placemat sized cards that have different activities on them. For example, in one, we rolled a dice and then put the corresponding number of counting bears on a ten frame... in another one, we dropped a handful of "cookies" onto a pic of a cookie jar and the ones that landed on the jar, we put on the ten frame to count them...my daughter likes them...they are quick.

we are using right start A and my daughter likes it...there are manipulatives though..

thanks!

we started with saxon K and quit...it was a waste of time because my daughter already knew pretty much everything in there. we are now doing right start A and it's so much better....

I'm just wondering if Bravewriter is always "on sale" at the Homeschool Buyer's Co op. I am considering it for next year, but don't want to purchase now if I don't have to. I don't see a closing date, so I'm just wondering if it's just always there...

This is crazy!! I am a former High School English teacher, and the amount of time I put in far exceeded the time for which I was paid. I spent numerous evenings, weekends, and holidays working (prepping, marking, training, etc). The line between "paid time" and "time off" is so blurred. How can a district say that something was developed on "paid time" or not?!

what about getting a subscription to the Magic Schoolbus science club? My daughter is 5, and we don't really do formal science, except we do the experiments. It's pretty exciting when they come in the mail!! I just try to focus on the idea that scientists observe the world and that if they have a question, the make a hypothesis and then try different things to test it out. The other day she was trying to make a paper airplane fly using a balloon, and it wasn't working. We tried all different ways (still didn't work!), but we just talked about that's what scientists do and sometimes it takes a long time to solve a problem. When her brother and Dad came home, she ran over and said, "I'm being a scientist!". Anyway, it's not really an answer to your question, but to me, the most important thing at this age is just exposure and enthusiasm...

right now on amazon.com, there citiblocs are $60 for 300 of the plain wood ones...I got those and some connectors from bionic blox....we'll see how the kids like them!

I don't have any, but apparently Bionic Blox makes connectors that can be used with citilbloc...so they hold the blocks together to make more stable and interesting structures. I just ordered some of the connectors today. bionicblox.com is the website...

reading eggs is fun...but you have to pay for it. I've also seen a site called "teach your monster to read" It's pretty cute. Reading bear is another one, but I have tried that one...

Thank you so much for your thorough responses! I have already ordered WRTR, 4 ed. I hope it gets here soon so I can read through it! Thank you so much, Rod, I will definitely check out your program. I will also check out the sample lessons for Yes Phonics. My daughter is only 5, so it's not super urgent, but I want to "get on" this as soon as I can...your responses will definitely help me in making a decision.

Hello! I've been reading a lot of posts on here about the Spalding method and have become intrigued. From what most people have been saying, it takes a lot of work! Others have mentioned Yes Phonics and the Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading. SO...I'm wondering about your experiences with these...especially Yes Phonics. I have been searching the internet and haven't been able to find many reviews. It's supposed to cover up to grade 3, so would in the end be cheaper than the Phonics Road, but $300 is still a lot to drop on something I haven't seen!! I would love to hear from users of any of these 3 programs to find out how you "do" it!

at our house, we do some organized crafts, but my kids like it best when I just open the cupboard and let them go crazy with the art supplies. It's easy for me and fun for them....but you have to be laid back about it. If I'm tired or grumpy, the cupboard stays shut!

What about the magic school bus science club? We got it for half off from the homeschool buyers co op. We just got our first kit today and the kids were so excited! We did a couple of the experiments, and they can't wait to do more!