The D'Aulieres series are wonderful, but quite long. I also like this series of biographies; http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Christopher-Columbus-Biographies-Biography/dp/082340949X Seconding the Adventures in America - we just started this with my 5yo and 3.5yo, and I think the teacher's and student's manuals together were less than $30. Good supplemental reading (including chapter books if you wish), coloring page, narration, copywork (optional) - nicely done for this age group. It also has a state study component, but I'm not looking for that right now, so I just skip that component.

Can anyone point me in the direction of ideas for using our abacus (5yo and 3yo, but I'm interested in applications for all ages)? Other than grouping, counting, making 10s/up to 100, I'm at a standstill, but I'm sure I'm missing a lot and Google is failing me here. Thanks!

This is not new, although I shudder to think it is becoming more common. My 7th grade pre-algebra class (so, approx 1992 - was that "New Math?") divided us into groups of 4, with our desks pushed together in a square. Each group had one A student, one D/F student, and two in the middle. We all "worked together" and got the same grade. So, basically I did all the work, and was somehow responsible for teaching it to the others.

My husband and I are both doctors, and we would strongly discourage our children from doing the same. Obviously, all careers have pros and cons, but I can only think of one or two of the hundreds of doctors we know who actually encourage their children to go into medicine. I understand your underlying point about perception of different careers, but really, have your son do a lot of shadowing and research before embarking on a medical track. If you can get into med school, you have a lot of other options that are worth considering.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I think I will start some occasional phonics lessons soon, as I think he would really enjoy that.

I'm new here, so forgive me if I misstep, but I didn't find any threads that talked about this question. My oldest is a very verbal 3 1/2 yo, who seems to be teaching himself to read. Although it's hard to tell what is reading and what is memorizing with the usual books, tonight he finished a few of my sentences on a new-to-him library book this evening that I'm fairly certain he'd never seen before. I had been planning to start the OPGTR with him in January when he turns 4, but now I'm wondering if I should start earlier so that he learns correctly from the beginning? He knows all his letters and letter sounds, and is very reliable at distinguishing between his name and his brother's name wherever they are written. For what it's worth, he has a good attention span for his age (I think? he'll sit for 30-40 min while I read to him), and does a lot of "reading" on his own (instead of napping, sigh). Given that this is our first child, I'd really appreciate anyone who can share their advice or experiences, good or bad, with young readers.