I have the 2004 edition of TWTM, and in the science portion for 1st grade it suggests using this book as well as "The Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia" and "Green Thumbs." My first question is has anyone used these as their science curriculum for first grade? If so, how did you like it? My second question is have any of these books gone out of print? I know I haven't been able to find the human body one so I'm assuming it's out of print so I'm wondering if the newer edition has different books listed for 1st grade?

I 100% agree with the other posters. I have a 5 year old who I actually do formal lessons with, but I have a 4 year old who doesn't even know the sounds that letters make. She is not all that interested in doing "school," and I'm OK with that. Usually what happens is she says "Mommy, I'm just so tired" so I quit. My son wasn't like that at all so it has definitely been different. I don't worry because I know it will happen. It does not have to happen now at only 4 years old.

Thanks ladies. I know that I can't and shouldn't compare my kids to someone else's kids, but I mainly wonder for purposes of trying to figure out where he is compared to other kindergartners. He can definitely read 3 letter words. Right now in his ETC book he's reading words like stuck, black, twig, stick, still, etc. He loves to read, and I'd love to find a book that he can read all on his own because he gets so excited when he can read words on the page of a book I'm reading to him. We usually get through 2-3 lessons a week in his ETC book so I don't think he's going through it slowly really. How can you find out what level your child is reading on? Is there a comprehensive test for that?

Yes, I did know this much at least, but I thought that was a term mainly used with Charlotte Mason? That might not be the case, but I thought it was which is why I didn't use it. Thanks! So what are you favorites? TOG, Sonlight, Veritas Press, etc?

My 5 year old son has been going through ETC for phonics this year. When he started this year he didn't even know the sounds that the letters made so we had to begin with the primer books A, B, and C. We are now over halfway through book 2, and it's going great. I'm so proud of him! Naturally, friends of mine and I have chatted about what our kids are using for curriculum. Two of them went through "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." Now that they're finished with it their child is just reading books now. Now I don't know what books they're reading (they could be Bob books or something similar for all I know), and I know you should NEVER compare your child to someone else's child, but, let's face it, that's so hard sometimes. It's especially hard when you're homeschooling your first child for the first year, and you worry about whether you're where you should be. So my question is, as a general rule, what book should a kindergartner complete by the end of the year in ETC? Also, what books are good books for a very beginner reader to read on his own? We don't really have any right now so I am planning on shopping tomorrow.

Maybe there's an actual term for this, but let's just call it the Classical/Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. :) Whatever it may be, please tell me, what is your favorite one? I'm exploring what is out there. Also, if you don't mind, tell me what you like about it. TIA!

Hey everyone! I'm new to the board, and I thought I'd jump right in with some questions. I have 3 kids ages 5, 4, and 20 months. My 5 year old has been doing kinder work this year with Horizons math, Explode the Code, Little Pilgrims in God's World for social studies, Handwriting Without Tears, and Exploring Science. I got our science and social studies choices from a someone at Rainbow, but I haven't been very happy with them. The social studies one has pretty much been teaching him things he learns during his Bible work and nothing more, and the science one seems more for preschool so he hasn't learned anything from it. We switched to Nature Readers by Christian Liberty Press and reading living books for science and are getting our feet wet SOTW for now. A friend of mine is VP of Lampstand Press, owns Bookshelf Central, and writes some curriculum for TOG. I recently started talking to her about TOG to possibly use next year. I really like the idea behind it. We love using living books, but we also like classical education. TOG provides a good balance between both, I think. If we did it we'd probably continue with Horizons and Explode the Code, but we'd also need something for science and probably grammar and spelling so I was thinking maybe First Language Lessons and Spelling Workout, but I'm so undecided about science. Maybe Answers in Genesis? Does anyone have input on this one? Or suggestions otherwise? Also, I'd love suggestions in general for curriculum if you have other ideas. I want my kids to read as much as possible for school and living books are perfect for that. I like the idea of Sonlight as well, but I feel like I heard some really split reviews of it. I don't want something that is weak particularly for my almost 6 year old. He's extremely bright and needs something to challenge him, but I also don't want to overdo it since he'll only be in 1st grade. I do want to make sure that if we switch curriculums later he won't be behind. TIA for suggestions or advice!