I wish we had more playtime! We just moved and we're still trying to find our niche with the homeschoolers of this new town, so interaction with other kids on a regular basis is not as much as I would like it to be. But, enough with my problems....what's your school schedule like? Are they usually done by the time the ps kids are back from school? Do the kids have neighbor friends that they can play with in the afternoon? That might be all the playtime they need. I think a scheduled Saturday playdates is also a great idea! -Mrs. F

When we got married, I wanted to have the "perfect" wedding invitation so I took a calligraphy class. It was a community education class that was put on and held in the evenings at local public schools. Unfortunately, I don't think that this is very common. (I know this because dh is military...we've lived in 5 different towns since then and none of them has had any sort of community education classes.) :( Have you thought of asking at a craft store (like Michaels) if they offer calligraphy classes? Another possibility is going to a hoity, toity stationary store (not like Hallmarks.) Lots of times the brides who go there to get their wedding invitations will want them addressed with calligraphy, and the store employees might know of someone willing to teach. Or, sometimes a calligrapher will leave a business card at a store like that. HTH! -Mrs. F

Hi, I've been using Math Mammoth this year. This is our first year homeschooling so I have nothing else to compare it to. I heard nothing but wonderful things about it before we decided to go with this program, but I don't know if we're going to use it next year. I have a first grader and a third grader using it. Pretty much all of first grade (so far) has been learning the addition and subraction facts. Third grade started off with a review of addition and subtraction of double digit numbers, then off to multiplication tables. We've also done time and he's starting the unit on money after Christmas. Good points first....its a very solid curriculum and the kids have learned a lot along the way. It's all work...there aren't any superfluous pictures or exciting fonts wasting valuable page space. What you see on the website is what you get. The author does not use any manipulatives, which, depending on your situation, might be a good or bad thing. This is pretty easy to solve...just use dry beans or buttons to show your point. She does use pictures to make the lesson more concrete...but they're pretty basic pictures. Such as, three circles and four circles makes how many circles? Again, the website has good examples of this. The author is very good at drilling the concept about why certain things are true. The example above with the circles is used over and over again for all the addition math facts. She wants the child to see why an answer is correct, not just that it is correct. She also uses word problems to apply the lesson being taught to real world situations. I really like the word problems, and they're very relatable to the kids. In my opinion, I don't think there is enough review included in the lessons. This is a mastery based program, so the lack of review doesn't surprise me, but I am surprised at how much it bothers me so much that it's missing. Does that make sense? I guess I didn't think it would be a such big deal. The author uses the same pattern to teach each new addition/subtraction/multiplication fact, but even though the pattern is the same, it's a whole page of new things every day. (there is some review naturally built in with the math facts...for example, you'll learn 2 + 3 =5 on one day, then the next 3 + 2 = 5...and she's show you how the two are related.) The author does provide lots of math website suggestions where the kids can review the the facts they've learned. OUR problem with this is that by the time the kids finish their math assignments, the last thing they want to do is more math, even if it is a "fun" game. Also, since the computer is not in the same room where we homeschool, the kids and I lose our momentum if we have to switch gears and get on the computer, look for the website, etc.... This probably sounds like a non-problem for most families, but it is an issue for us. We would be better off having a review section with each lesson. So it sounds like a spiraling approach would work better for us, and that's what I'm looking into for next year. There are also LOTS of problems on each page. Think "lots of drill" and that's what you get. Finally, I had read that the kids would be able to do a lot of their math independantly--that the instructions are pretty self-teaching. That has not turned out to be the case with us. I heard it was self teaching from lots of different reviewers, so this may just be my particular situation. I hope I don't turn you away from it, as I did hear only great things about it. I think maybe our family might be the exception. And, since this is our first year, I might be getting "the grass is greener" syndrome. On the website you can order just one unit for pretty cheap (I think it's a downloadable version for about $4.) Maybe you could try it out like this before you splurge on the whole program. If you do end up using this curriculum, I highly suggest getting the printed version with the CD that WP sells instead of just the CD. Otherwise, you'll have to print out the whole book and it will probably cost you more in the long run on toner and paper. Last thing...you don't get an actual book when you order the printed version. You get something similar to the a stack of math pagers that are 3 hole punched and you have to put all the pages into a binder. They're only printed on one side, so it looks like a lot more pages than your average math program. Sorry this is so long....I just wanted to be thorough because there isn't a lot of information about this program on line. I hope this helps! -Mrs. F

No, I haven't seen it in person...though that is a great idea and I will try to find someone who has it. I'll try once more....for those of you who hated it, what was so bad about it? I'd rather find out beforehand than make another curriculum mistake! I feel like this first year has been full of them! I think maybe my problem is that VIE is the type of book I was used to in school, and I would be more comfortable using it to teach my kids, even though it isn't the best book out there or even the best book for them. How do I break this spell? :confused: -Mrs. F

Have you tried homeschoolclassifieds.com? I think you may have to pay a fee if you list over x number of things...I'm not sure, but I do know a lot of hsers (including this one!) use it when trying to find used things. Good luck! -Mrs. F

So the majority think Easy Grammar is the way to go, right? No votes for Voyages in English? Come on...it looks so great! (Can you tell which one *I* want to use?) -Mrs. F

I have most of our materials picked out....now I'm just hanging around used curriculum boards to see if I can find them cheap! -Mrs. F

Thanks for your post..... We, too, are using FLL with a 3rd grader. I was surprised with the predicate nominative/predicate adjective/direct object at this age. And, to be honest, I'll probably do something different next year because this (plus all the diagramming) does seem like a lot. But, I just kept plugging along and we're on lesson 50. And as much as ds dreads this, he's learning a lot, and is actually quite good at the diagramming (which is REALLY dreads!) So maybe there's something to it. Hang in there....this is reviewed in later lessons, so maybe if you're stuck keep going and the light bulb might go off next time. -Mrs. F

I'm thinking of using this next year with my son, so thanks for all the insight! -Mrs. F

Thanks, that does help. According to ds, it's "boring" because there's no color or pictures. ITA with you....grammar is never going to be like a day at the fair, but it's one of those things that has to be learned. I think he also dreads FLL because of all the diagramming. This is another reason Easy Grammar is a contender...it doesn't have ANY diagramming, from what I'm told. BUT....VIE only has one chapter of diagramming, so I feel like at least he learns it, but it's not overwhelming. Decisions, decisions..... -Mrs. F

Hello, I'm new on these boards...I'm homeschooling a 3rd grade ds and 1st grade dd this year (with a 4yo and 2yo tagging along.) I've been using FLL for both older kids, and (FLL 1 & 2 for 1st grade, FLL 3 for 3rd) and we're just kind of sick of it. I think I'll use it until the end of this year, but we going to switch for next year. So, I'm pretty set on VIE for the (soon to be) 2nd grader. The leading contenders for my upcoming 4th grader are Easy Grammar 4 + Writing Strands 3 OR Voyages In English 4. I'm leaning towards VIE. It has mixed reviews on here, but it seems like a pretty solid curriculum for both grammar and writing. One of the things ds doesn't like about FLL3 is that it "looks" boring. (i.e. the pages are black and white, no pictures, etc...) and VIE doesn't have this problem. My concern about VIE is that since it's a hardback I'm assuming there's a lot of rewriting of sentences in the grammar portion of the book. (Obviously, I hope there's writing in the writing portion!) Rewriting sentences is not high on ds's "fun things to do" list, IYKWIM. Easy Grammar seems to get pretty positive reviews everywhere I've looked. But, just like FLL, it "looks" boring, and I'm afraid ds will get sick of the repetition and same looking pages just like he (and I) are getting sick of FLL3. On the other hand, there seems to be less writing. Rather than, "Write the noun in this sentence" it's more like, "Circle the noun." Do I have this correct? So, any thoughts? Opinions? I'd love any help! -Mrs. F

Lisa, Thanks for starting this thread. I am making math decisions myself and I'm leaning towards Saxon, but some of the negatives I've heard are holding me back. Just wanted you to know your question has helped many! -Mrs. F