We aren't aligning our art/ music appreciation with our history. We are doing ancients, and like someone else posted, we do talk about and study the art from the period, but that's different than our art/ music appreciation. We have only just started, but we have studied Bach and Mozart because I like them. :) So far, the kids have enjoyed them as well. For art, Picasso and Rousseau. I want the kids to enjoy art and music appreciation, so I am choosing people that we will have fun with for now.

We actually did math today in a fort on the back deck :) My ds spent his free time after breakfast building it, and so math class was held in the fort. We also did our read aloud in the fort. One of the reasons I am homeschooling is so that my kids can have fun and be kids and learn all at the same time. I want them to be able to learn in whatever way works for them. DS often does is daily reading work in a tent in the playroom.

oh, it looks like a great supplement. I have two kids doing level 1 (one doing a and one doing b). but the 1B will be moving on to level 2 soon. I'm not sure I want to spend $100 for grade 1...and another for grade 2. hmmmm....I'll have to check it out some more.

My two do about 4-5 pages in Singapore a day. The 6 yo is on 1A, and the 7 yo is on 1B. That's pretty mandatory. Then if they want they each can have some time on the ipad doing math games for fact practice. We also play Sum Swamp, Monopoly Jr, and other random math games just for fun. Those we don't schedule in or plan, they just happen every other day or so because we like them. I've also started reading math books for fun to the kids. We have been reading a fractions book each day for a week now, and the kids have been dabbling with fractions throughout the day since then (especially with their food!). So that is math, but it's not scheduled in, and the kids don't consider it math. :)

Our library has many of the Schlessinger media dvds meant to be used by classrooms, I think. We have watched a bunch. They have them on every topic I have wanted so far (from Ancient civilizations to magnetism to space topics to math...). they are about 23 min each. We recently watched one about telling time and another about the moon. :)

I have found that I can usually just say that I'm playing pretend, but I still do whatever I'm doing. So if the kids are playing Harry Potter, I'm usually Prof McGonagle who just happens to be doing the laundry or cooking. The kids don't care at all. They just want me to play along. And they want me nearby. So they play near me and I am a character.

Wow, what a great site! I can't wait to get a better look when I'm on my computer. :) You definitely tricked me into thinking you were from Boston :)

How old is your "wicked smart" daughter, and by chance, are you from New England ;) ? My ds isn't loving math books, so we have been playing a lot of games. He is first grade, a young 6, so addition and subtraction facts. We play Sum Swamp and Monopoly Jr daily. We will add in Pop for Addition and Subtraction. He loves these games. We also do games that I found online ( print out games with dice or dominos).

Is this ok? Or will I miss something important? I have the home teacher book for 1a, but I hardly use it for ds. I am doing 1b with dd, age 8, now, but it is mostly review. I will get the teacher book for 2a if that is a good idea. But can I do 1b without it ?

Does he calm down when he is held? Can you try putting him on your back while you work with other kids? Mine always wanted to be held at that age. I would use an ergo and keep them on my back if I needed to do something else.

Jim Weiss has a few audio books as well that are great.

We recently enjoyed ( for free on kindle) Rikki Tikki Tavi. What type of stories do your kids like?

Snap circuits Kapla blocks Magnatiles Age appropriate apps ( we use starfall and handwriting without tears) Brain pop jr Art supplies Playing in sand or water

Thanks. I just realized that there is enough content in the free section for a while. She will enjoy the myths :)

My ds is using the starfall app - learn to read, and he loves it. He's 6 and just at the right level for it. Dd is 8 and need something more challenging, but she likes the game and movie component of the starfall learn to read books. I was thinking of letting her use starfall the paid site while I work with him. She also reads chapter books, so I don't need it to be great reading or anything. But it would be nice for her to have sowmthing fun and educational while he is reading. Thoughts?

Mine went right to my kindle app on my iPad.

Thanks. My kids will enjoy these, especially the videos. :)

Ivy and Bean, Mercy Watson, Frog and Toad- we are just really starting with her reading on her own. I just bought a couple Cynthia Rylant books that look good. I can't remember the names, but they are series books, I think. They are beginner chapter books about a lighthouse and a couple little critters. I think she will love them.

Do they read yet? I am not starting spelling until my 6 year old can read. Until then we are focusing on phonics. My dd is almost 8 and can read. She did spelling at school last year with arbitrary lists and busy work. She hated it. This year at home we will do a list a week from Spelling Perfect, but I will tie it in with phonics a bit. She reads at age level, but she could still learn more about phonics. So she will get a list a week and she can choose how she learns them. I have many ideas for her, but she can choose. Some will be writing- sentences, stories, etc, some will be writing the words in different ways. But it really won't take more than five minutes a day for her, and the writing will be good for her anyways. She's actually excited for spelling because she really didn't like it last year. Each week it was the exact same thing- Monday sentences, Tuesday alphabetical order, etc. I like how Spelling Perfect has certain words grouped so that a phonics lesson can be taught along with it.

We live near Boston, so we have a ton of opportunities right near by. This year we will go to- Boston museum of science probably weekly for the free science experiments Children's Museum Museum of fine arts every other week for art classes Plimoth Plantation Brewster museum of natural history ( we went twice already and love it) Different Massachusetts parks (minuteman, cape cod national seashore, breakhart reservation) Boston orchestra ( we will try to go once) North shore music theater ( we usually go once or twice a year) Apple picking once a season Aquarium I am also trying to get a trip together to see a glass blower and to visit a new whole foods that opened nearby that has a 1000 ft roof top garden. They will all be educational, but not necessarily exactly relating to what we are learning at the time. My kids are little, so I think it's fine to do a lot of trips.

Thanks. I signed up, and my dd is watching him now while ds is in OT. :)

It's hard to tell from the website how many videos there are and for what ages they are appropriate. Anyone know a little about it? My kids are 6 and 8. They both love science and can follow and understand content that is a bit above their age range. Would this be appropriate for them or would it be too advanced? It would be used just for s fun supplement. It seems to be on sale for $10 for a year. We already have brainpop jr, which they both love. And we get discovery streaming through a school, so it is free. I don't use that much, as I find it difficult to navigate. Thoughts please? Thanks, Chelsea

Personally, I like the idea of just sort of winging it. We tend to pick a topic, read a ton of library books about it, maybe watch a movie or two about it, and do some activities. I can tell when my kids get it and/ or are done with it. Then we move on. I did buy REAL science odyssey life, and we also do that, but we are all so excited about science that we tend to do other topics as well. Magnets, energy, and matter are really fun. :) we just finished those. My kids are 6 and 8.

I've only read the first Hakim US history book, but it seemed good for my kids. I liked the short chapters. I feel like it was interesting for them. Of course, that was just the first book, and that covers some pretty interesting stuff abut Native people. My two are obsessed with anything to do with Native Americans.

This is my first year home schooling, so I need all the reminders I can get. Thanks!