At that age my kids have loved play kitchens. I got one for my boys when they were toddlers and it got a lot of use. My daughter just got one for Christmas this year and she loves it.

Awesome, thanks for the tip!

We will be going from FLL 4 to JAG later this year. We tried JAG last year and it didn't work for my son. He needed more diagramming and parts of speech background before we moved on to JAG. (He's currently in 5th) Already at only 21 lessons in, he's got a much better foundation after FLL.

I run one business from home where I set my own hours (after school) and another during the summer. It's totally doable. Most things are when you make them a priority. :)

Thank you all for your great ideas! I've definitely got more of an idea what to do now. :)

My rising 5th's handwriting is awful as well. I wouldn't have him copy the word 100 times. Too punitive. If his cursive is nice I'd stick with that, and the copy work is a good idea. Agree on the vision check as well. How are his fine motor skills in general? Part of the problem with my son is that his fine motor skills are pretty poor. I'm going to be doing some things to help develop that a bit more this year with origami, hand sewing, and art.

Excellent, excellent, suggestions. They've cruised before but were in PS at the time and I didn't put much thought into what I would teach them before we went. I borrowed a unit study kit on oceans today and once we're through with that we can start on some of your other great ideas! :coolgleamA:

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? :ohmy:

I'm not "math-y" (though my oldest son is). Which side are Saxon and TT on?

I know this is a pretty specific question, but I'm hoping someone can help. We are taking a family cruise this fall that lasts a month and visits Tahiti, Samoa, (American and Western), as well as four of the Hawaiian Islands. Looking for ideas for books, unit studies, etc. that could make the experience more meaningful for the kids. Maybe even studies of authors and/or artists who have visited/lived in those areas? I'm excited they will be able to use some of the French they've learned in Tahiti as well.

That's really good to know. I listened to a talk by SWB where she suggested just making sure they have a strong math and reading background and a basic understanding of the scientific method during the middle grades. That's what I've been leaning toward doing myself, but it is always nice to hear other real world examples.

This is an old thread, but I found it when searching for an answer myself. I used RS French 1 for both of my boys this last year. There was a lot I liked about it and a little bit that I didn't. The reading, speaking, and listening parts were great for them and I feel like they picked up a lot. We also used the MP3 files in the car, and some of the written assignments from the CD. The writing assignments on the computer were much too difficult for them toward the end, however. I had a rule that they had to "try once, then move on". We'll probably go ahead and move on to Level 2 next year, but I'm still searching in case I find something that is a better fit. I'm thinking of Galore Park as a possibility for my rising 5th grader. It would be much too difficult for the younger, I believe. I tried DuoLingo myself, but I didn't like it. Maybe someone with more experience with it knows better. When I tried it, it seemed as though it was teaching literal word for word translations instead of teaching for meaning or how native speakers would say it. Example: the very first thing it taught me was "My name is (add name)" and it taught the French equivalent of how to say exactly that. My understanding is that native speakers would more typically introduce themselves with the wording "I am called (add name)". If it teaches the entire language that way you're in for trouble. It's more important to translate for meaning than for word to word comparisons.

I'm interested in other people's perspectives of Duolingo as well. I tried it out, but I wasn't crazy about it. In the tiny little bit that I did it seemed it was offering direct translations of French to English, rather than what Francophones would typically say. One example being, it taught how to say "my name is" rather than "I am called". I imagine Spanish would be structured in a similar manner. We're using RS for my gradeschoolers and I'd like to know more about High School level courses.

I used Rosetta Stone French for my (then) 2nd and 4th graders. The speaking, reading, and listening exercises were great for them. The written exercises became much too difficult for them toward the end of Level 1 so we had a rule "try it once, then move on". We did some written exercises from Enchanted Learning as well as from the Rosetta Stone supplemental CD. We also listen/dictate to the MP3 files in the car. While I wouldn't call it the perfect curriculum for gradeschool ages, it worked well for our family and situation. We also label various objects around the house. I haven't found a "perfect" program yet, and I've been looking. I do have a background in French but am not fluent by any means. We also do once-weekly French language movies (most of our Disney movies have French and Spanish tracks) and I bought a CD of French language songs on Amazon. http://www.amazon.co...ench songs kids We'll be starting Level 2 RS soon and we'll see how it goes from there. Once they get into High School I'll be looking for other High School Level courses or possibly dual enrollment. I don't know yet how I'll be teaching my daughter, because I don't think I'll try RS with her until 2nd grade or so. I'm excited that the GSWL folks are introducing a French program. I'm also looking into Little Pim. For now I sing the French ABC's to her at diaper changes, as well as a few other French songs from time to time. She sits in on the weekly French language movies. (As long as she gets to hold the popcorn, she's happy)

Combine subjects when I can (easy with Art, History, and Science) and always use nap time to get as much schoolwork done as possible.

I see that this is an old thread, but now that it's back I'll pipe in. Our local PS offers FL only in Sr. High and ONLY up to 2 years of Spanish. No other languages or levels are available. This was a key reason in my decision to homeschool in the first place. I wanted FL available beginning in elementary, and I wanted a choice of languages.

This was covered only very briefly in my PS growing up. We were taught, in essence, that the protagonist was the "good guy" and the antagonist was the "bad guy". An easy summary, but seems a bit incomplete. I like the Charlotte's Web explanation. The idea that they drive the plot forward makes the most sense.

Someone got our family a copy of the book "Everyone Poops". My toddler loves it and wants it read to her several times daily. I hate it.

What a great thread! We'd already decided to start Latin this fall, and now I'm even more certain it is a good move.

Yes! This is so true. And like another poster mentioned there has been a huge attitude shift in the last ten years. This was my first year homeschooling, and TBH when I first started out I was steeling myself for the (I thought) inevitable attacks on homeschooling, questions about socialization, etc. They didn't come. I had relatives homeschooling back when it was more "fringe" and they had to deal with it a lot. I just get people justifying to me why they would like to, but can't. (Not that I asked... it's not my business :closedeyes: )

Very much a list of they either liked it or hated it this year: Hits: SOTW Lego WeDo Robotics Rosetta Stone French 1 (EXCEPT "writing" lessons- much too hard at the end... may forgo those or do separate writing exercises next year) Chronicles of Narnia for my 4th grader Little House books for my 2nd grader TT- as good as I could have expected from a math program BrainPop- they loved the videos Atelier 3 Calvert Art History Books Misses: MUS- my son liked the manipulatives but hated the workbooks. We switched to TT and he was happier. Shurley English A lot of the other books they read- Smoky the Cowhorse, Cat of Bubastes, some others on the Great Books Academy grade lists. I'll be choosing our own Lit. for next year. Jr. AG- My 4th grader wasn't ready. We'll try again in 5th. Music Ace- It was a good intro but incredibly repetitive. We stopped about halfway through and just started on the actual piano. Not really worth the price for us.

Math - TT 6 then possibly part of 7 Logic - Building Thinking Skills 3 Science - Unit studies of Anatomy, Astronomy, then....? History - SOTW 2 with AG and Kingfisher Literature - A list of awesome books I'm still working on, starting with The Hobbit Spelling - Still not sure. Spelling workout, perhaps? Writing - WWE4 Grammar - FLL 4 then Jr. AG Art - Atelier 4 Music - Piano lessons Foreign Language- Rosetta Stone 2 French; GSWL

It wasn't our cuppa, either. We're trying FLL and Jr. AG next year.

I don't know if her child is left handed, but this wins her Mom of the Year for me. :closedeyes: Spiral bound notebooks were the bane of my existence growing up.... :cursing:

I loved the Frog and Toad books at that age. Amelia Bedelia is a good suggestion as well.