I have the red one. I bought it a year ago from Amazon for about $30? I thought that was a lot, but when I received it in the mail, I then realized that it was worth every penny. I bought this one first, then bought Usbourne Internet-linked Encyclopedia of World History. I use both. My boys are very interested in history (thanks to SOTW) and love the color photos.

My son has a ds and would LOVE something like that. He is an artist--very good.

I love to look things up in the Harbrace handbook. It teaches all aspects of grammar, word usage, puncutation, developing thesis for essay, MLA format and more. It is geared for college level students, but the examples are quite easy to follow.

I really think it depends on the child. My ds8 hates to write, so he did very little writing in earlier grade levels, but my ds6 doesn't mind writing. He is an artist and is very particular about his handwriting. He will do HWT, spelling words, copy sentences, and 2 pages (front and back) of phoics worksheets with writing words. He sometimes does more than that and never grumbles. Even now my ds6 will and can write more than ds8.

There is a kit available that includes some (not all) of the more difficult to find materials for experiments. I found it on hometrainingtools.com. It costs $50 for the set and you can choose to add additional items, such as a butterfly garden, frog hatchery and other neat stuff. I plan to get the basic kit so that I have the items ready when it comes to experiment time (we live in the country, so I can't just run to the store). Thank you (everyone) for your guidance. I am so excited about our coming year in science.

I'm looking at latin programs to start with my son this coming year, in 4th grade. Has anyone tried Getting Started with Latin by William Linney? It is reasonably priced and has a free download for pronunciation, which is really swaying me. But I want to know if it would work for young children. I like the look of Minimus Pupil, but the teacher's manual costs a bit too much. For the teacher's manual, student book and CD, it comes out to about $100 at Amazon.com. Prima Latina is not my style. I have no background in latin, but learn languages easily. I know French, Italian and Spanish, but never learned latin in school. Any advice?

:lol: Momma said there would be days like this!

I don't really have to do it over the entire year, I just thought that would give us plenty of time to cover the material thoroughly. Thanks, A.

If you do the reading and lab, how long does it take? Do the lab worksheets have a lot of writing? (I'm thinking of having only my 4th grader do the worksheets, and my 2nd grader tag along for lessons/experiments). I have been doing biology this year, but the level 1 kicks it up a notch from what we've done, so I thought about covering it this summer and then doing physics and chemistry in fall and spring semesters.

I didn't think it was so pointless. It was fun! And I actually liked the hairdo by the drunk German guy.

I am planning on using Real Science 4-Kids this coming year for my 2nd and 4th graders. Can anyone tell me how you break up the lessons for an entire year of study (summer 09 to summer 10)? I was thinking about covering chemistry, physics and biology I. About how many lessons per week would that be? Do you do the lab work/experiments on the same day you read? About how long will it take to cover a chapter? Any other info you think would be handy. Also I was going to buy the teacher's manual, student text and lab workbook for each subject area, is there anything else I'm missing? I saw they have some literature connection books, are these necessary? Are there experiment kits, or do they use household items?

I would go for Saxon. It does have a lot of review, but you can chose to skip it if you need to. It covers a concept and keeps reinforcing the concept with worksheets for independent practice. The teacher's manual is scripted, so you can literally just read it and they learn. This is especially helpful for those days when you just can't think. And it shows answers to problems. I really like how they use the concepts over and over again, so you don't cover it once and move on--forever. My son loves measuring things and taking the temperature. He has a firm grasp on these things now.

:iagree: When my son was starting 2nd, I worked on print all year instead b/c his handwriting was terrible. I boughted lined paper that was smaller and worked with him on staying on those lines, forming letters properly, and spacing. He really improved. He's in 3rd this year and started cursive. He's doing very well, and I think it's because we waited and let his hand muscles develop and practiced more. I always demonstrate the words for him and have him repeat. It's helpful to watch the parent form the letters rather than copy from a workbook/sheet. It makes all the difference.

Funny, my boys think that writing in cursive is a privilege. My ds6 keeps asking me to show him how to write his name in cursive again. It's like a private club!

At such young ages, you could really stick with biological science or earth science another year. Or just do fun experiments that teach them basic stuff. Hands-on is more appropriate and beneficial at that age. Go with what interests them.

I don' t really know what I want to use. Last year we worked on summer bridge activities. I was hoping to find some way of covering the math they already know, but not having do to too much paperwork. YKWIM?

I am looking for math work for my sons for the summer. I will be finishing Saxon 1 and 3 with my sons in May, but I plan to continue with homeschooling this summer. I would prefer it it were something that they could do every day (five days) to continue practicing math problems and concepts. Or should I go ahead and start Saxon 2 and 54 (which I plan to use for next year)? Any suggestions? How do you schedule Saxon math to cover an entire year?

I didn't say it would be easy. If you want to improve his handwriting, then he will need to keep practicing at handwriting. It's tough work and it will only improve through more work. I can understand that if he has an essay to write, you can allow him to type it on the computer, but perhaps the rough drafts could be handwritten?

I'm so glad you are taking an interest in your children's handwriting. Too often, parents allow their children to develop bad habits and never try to correct them. Clear handwriting IS important. While I have no suggestions to a handwriting program, I would say--cut out the computer typing for a while and have them handwrite--in cursive--for all their work. If it's not done neatly, make them redo it. It will take your guidance and supervision to improve their handwriting, so don't think they will accomplish it on their own.

I just started cursive with my ds8 this year. We worked on print all last year b/c his handwriting was atrocious. He's a few pages from finishing HWT cursive, and he has really improved. His words are getting steady now. I plan to continue teaching him myself by modeling letter formation and letting him copy a few sentences per day on notebook paper. I like using notebooks for handwriting b/c they can page back toward the end of the year and see how much they've progressed:)

I highly recommend First language Lessons (3 or 4). My son is in 3rd and he is doing great with the way diagramming is introduced. I have a BA in English and learned to diagram in college! I never saw it before then (and neither did half the class). He actually REQUESTS to do his grammar work and says he loves it. Case closed;0)

Wordly Wise is a good vocab program. I would make sure that she looks up any unknown words (in the dicitonary--not the computer) that she reads. This is a skill that is very important and will increase her vocabulary. We also just randomly look up words. It's a great habit to teach your kids. Even in college, when I stumbled upon a word I didn't know, I looked them up. Comprehension is a skill that can be taught by asking questions about what she reads. What is the main idea of the story? Who are the characters? Identify what happened in the beginning, middle and end of the story. Ask details questions--who, what, when, where, how? Ask her to tell you the story in her own words. The idea is that she understands what she is reading.

We were using OPG last year for my son. It's a hard transition for some kids to go from single letter sounds to blending sounds to create words. Just keep practicing. Shorter, frequent lessons are better. I also added Modern Curriculum Press phonics workbook for extra practice and it helps also.

What are your goals in this Hobbit/LOTR study? I'd love to help. I was trained as HS English teacher and can probably answer your questions.

I am looking for some books for my 3rd grader. He is a slow reader and easily discouraged. He probably reads on a late 2nd grade early 3rd grade level. He has been reading Magic Tree House books for almost a year now (not exclusively) and that seems to keep his interest and it's the right level. Now I'm trying to plan for the next level or stage of his reading, but most books are too big/intimidating. Interests: magic, adventure, travel, animals, and other boys things. We lived in rural area and he and his brother spend a lot of time in the woods, climbing trees, finding treasure and building forts. Any suggestions?