I watch it and really enjoy it. Really interested to see where it is heading with the new ep's.

Wow, JustGin, that was a wonderful post! Thanks for the receipe too! :) ~Tin

Thanks so much for the response and the details on that one ladies schedule. That is helpful! I will have 2 I am using this with next year. I think we will really enjoy it. I like having 1 prong binder for each book, too. I was finally approved today! WAHOO! took a while, but it finally happened! I will mark this thread. I just may take you up on that offer if I am "stuck". Thanks again! ~Tina

Thanks for the link. I saw her blog last night and it is amazing! Looks like she plans a LOT of her own notebooks/lapbook things too. I am definately going to look at her blog a little more. ~Tina

Thanks so much for sharing (both blogs and advice)! I have all 3 vol. of beyond and I am really stewing on using it with 2 of my children next year. I really want to see pictures of the lapbook folder things too. I just don't know if they are worth the money. I have tried a couple times to joing the FAIR forum to ask quesitons, but for some reason I am never approved. Starting to wonder if I am on a "do not accept list" or something. LOL Just kidding. But I do go through the process and get to the point where it says waiting approval, but no luck yet. Hoping 3rd time is a charm (even emailed the moderators, but no luck still). I did search the particular area for beyond FIAR, but I couldn't find any blogs... I am a wee bit frustrated with that group/site, so I decided to come ask my tried and true WTM'ers posters. :-) Thanks again for your help! ~Tina

If you use or have used Beyond Five in a Row (FIAR), I would love to see your blog! :-) Thanks in advance for sharing! ~Tina

Awe. Makes sense. :-) Thanks!

"We did Pirates and Explorers last year with an 7.5 yo and a 5.5 yo. " What did you use for Pirates? ~Tina

Questions: - If I'm going to use those two CDs for our study this year and no other books (may be I'll read to them Mara Pratt's book, may be not), are they enough ? I'm assuming they should be enough since my children are small. I would recommed having some sort of read aloud instead of just relying on the material you read in the study(perhaps the one you suggested). Amy offers lots of book suggestions. There are many activities to keep you busy for sure and I do think it is plenty; other than I do think read alouds should be done here and there. - I'm pretty certain that the Colonial CD will not be over their head. But, how easy is it for this age group to follow and understand the Revolutionary War study ? Do you recommend Time Traveler Revolutionary War study for this age group, or do you think I'll be better off with History Pocket's Revolutionary War book ? I think they would be fine. You may just have to do a bit of the prep but other than that, go for it! :-) Have fun! We sure did!

HOAC's Website has many samples too. And they have $5 e-book lapbook special each week. This week it is a literature based lapbook called Blueberry Sale, a pk-3 grade lapbook.

KBC= Knowledge Box Central L&L= Live and Learn Press HITW= HOmeschooling in the Woods I wouldn't recommend KBC, but is my own personal preference... L&L is good, but it is all color and since I don't have a color printer, I don't purchase theirs.

I LOVE HOAC!!! I have used KBC, L&L, and HITW. HITW is a very close second, but really they are in a league of their own. They are lapbooks, but do have more to them. They are way more project orientated and do take more time than a typical "lapbook". With HOAC, you can get many different versions of the lapbooks. My Jr High dd loves the type-it-in feature. This also gives her keyboard practice. I like that all the answers are right there in the guide, but for mom's that want to hand and go (for older kids), it is great to get the answer key. One thing to remember about lapbooking though is that the answers is supposed to be the child's interpretation. For me, the AK is a just key to make sure my children understood the questions/topic. Something else I do for my older children is that we just cardstock and binders, or cardstock and those 3 pronged folders, instead of file folders. I am sure that is more information than you wanted, but all in all, we LOVE HOAC and we find the ones they have offered for the past few years to be very complete (yes, the older versions that required a second research guides were... well... cumbersome to use). They have made great improvements and thought of all different options for parents, and kids, different learning styles.

I totally agree, you are going to find many opinons on different companies, etc. There are some really neat free ones too. :-) Personally, I don't care for the color versions. I don't have a colored printer and have a hard time paying for colored lapbooks (or even using the free one).

We like the one that is illustrated by Fritz Kredel

No, I am only doing vol. 1 next year. In order to do it justice and do what I want her to do (readings, assignments/projects), I am not going to try to do 2 books in 1 year. And she will be doing it with younger siblings and I don't want to rush them either. For us, that is just to much for our family. My other plans aren't set in stone yet. I do know she will do Apologia Chemistry, TT math, a writing course through co-op, Analyitcal grammar, drawing and design at co-op, and not sure what else. How about you? :-)

I haven't done it yet, but plan to next year. I feel that if I have my 10th grader do the selected extra's (reading, assignments/projects) it will be more than enough for her. Also check out the yahoo group. They are a wealth of information.

We use Spelling Wisdom. We have tried several things over the years and so far, this has been something that has "clicked" with my kids. And it is real life living passages. Good things I want my kids to work on and remember. LOVE IT! ~Tina

We use Spelling Wisdom and find it successful and enjoyable. ~Tina

"And I believe Barb at Harmony Fine Arts publishes challenges/lesson plans that go right along with the Handbook, though I haven't delved very far into everything yet. http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ " Yes, this book is what Barb uses in her challenges. Barb breaks this book (handbook of nature study) down for you in simple/easy understanding portions. The book itself is HUGE, and I really appreicate all of Barb's efforts to create challenges to help me not be afraid of this book. :-)

Thank you for those great replies. Those are GREAT ideas. We have mom's that want to teach next year, but need that extra hand in using curriculum that is already laid out for them. I have a friend that uses TOG. it has been a dream that she would teach a part of it at our co-op, but so far, not yet. ;) (she might read this here! LOL ) Thanks again for your help! ~Tina

Thank you so much! That is helpful. We have a group of mom's at co-op that would like to teach next year, but just need that extra helping hand to use curriculum that is already laid out for them. Thank you again! ~Tina

I know Writing Tales, Apologia elementary science, & State History from a Christian Perspective, has co-op lesson plans, but what other ones do? We are starting to "gear up" for classes next year and my mind is drawing a blank. I thought I would ask you all for help. Thanks in advance for your help. ~Tina __________________

I know Writing Tales, Apologia elementary science, & State History from a Christian Perspective, has co-op lesson plans, but what other ones do? We are starting to "gear up" for classes next year and my mind is drawing a blank. I thought I would ask you all for help. :001_smile: Thanks in advance for your help. ~Tina

found it! OPen Texture! YEE-HAW! http://www.opentexture.com/products/littlebird/shakespeare.aspx

Hello There! Quite a while ago I came across Shakespeare Cd Curr. Set that was talked about on the boards. It was on my "wants" list, but I can't find my wants list any more... (probably a good thing). Does anyone know of a Shakespeare Curriculum with cd (I think it was blue) out there? It wasn't inexpensive (I think that is why I held off on purchasing it). Thanks for any and all help! ~Tina