*putting Sahamamama on list of favorite WTM posters*

Truscifi, what level of FLL had your son completed before beginning MCT?

Well, even if the fiancee came around and changed her mind about the relationship, I'd be changing the guardianship directions in my will asap. Your friend hasn't shown the maturity needed for raising someone else's children under difficult circumstances.

From following the OP's other posts, my guess is that she is looking for ideas for the boys to do while she is teaching older students.

So, what program has the most challenging reading list out there? Ambleside gets my vote, but I'd love to know your thoughts.

I have a lot of regrets about fighting my oldest so hard to try and make her be still and quiet in church. I was determined to make it happen, and nothing really worked. It just caused unnecessary conflict. Things finally clicked when she was close to 3 1/2, but she still has no interest in what's going on. She just reads the whole time. I didn't even try with my next daughter, and she went to the nursery until about 2 1/2. She has had an easier time in church, and actually seems interested in what's going on.

I think I've found something! http://www.pianomedia.com

Maybe some of you pianists can help me. Is there a traditional piano method out there that uses all classical music? We're doing Suzuki, but we're also using a traditional method because my daughter likes to use books. The traditional methods all drive me nuts though with their annoying pieces. Most of them aren't even worth learning except as reading or technical exercises, and they're certainly not worth performing.

I just signed my 3-year-old up for a Mothers' Day Out program for the fall, 2 days a week. I'm hoping she will benefit from being with other kids her age and having some time focused on doing 3-year-old things. She seems to always want to be a baby like her brother or get frustrated because she can't do what her sister does. It's not a preschool, so there's nothing academic about it.

and you have younger children, how do you schedule? I noticed in the 1st grade planning thread that many of you are planning a year similar to what I would like to do with dd. I just cannot figure out how to schedule it with my other two! My 3-year-old will not nap, and she can't be trusted alone for quiet time. This is what I want to do next year: Math -- Singapore 2B LA -- WWE1, FLL 2, HWT, AAS 4* Science -- BFSU, Handbook of Nature Study Lit/Hist/Geog -- Ambleside 1 Finish Song School Latin that we started this year Artistic Pursuits (*We're not doing the full AAS program, she spells the words and we go over the rule only if she has trouble with something.) On top of all that, dd is voluntarily spending 1-2 hours a day practicing piano and of course wants my help frequently. So where will the 3.5-year-old and the 2-year-old fit into all this?

It's the style of narration that I'm trying to decide. WWE emphasizes summaries, while CM emphasizes re-telling the story, letting the author's voice influence the student's.

My dd's first Writing Station assignment from All About Spelling. The target words were: dripping, ponds, rainy, melting, quickly. She chose to write a poem. The line divisions are hers, but I'll spare you her all-caps handwriting. Rainy days are fun but I love it even better when the sun dripping me dripping me dripping dripping dripping me ponds bugs melting me quickly I run.

After all this time, I'm still waffling on whether to use WWE next year or do CM-style oral narration. Dd will be in first grade and we will be using Ambleside Year 1. (If I go with WWE, I'll use selections from Ambleside.) Any thoughts?

Around here the "research papers" start in first grade. A very nice first-grade teacher (with 30+ years experience) told me about this proudly. Computer/typing skills start in K and the papers start in first grade. She was explaining all about her school system's special LA program that was custom designed for them by some expert.

I mostly keep my mouth shut.

My daughter is 5 this year, so she's in kindergarten. She'll remain a kindergartner till our new school year starts this summer. I think it's less tricky that way. As far as individual subjects go, I don't plan them year by year. Whenever she finishes one level, she starts on the next.

It's normal. How do I know? I made the mistake of trying to run a bingo game for a bunch of kindergartners, using regular bingo cards. I think only about two kids could find their numbers without help.

Well, after spending time around other parents IRL and on these boards, I would say that the 2nd birthday IS considered early for today's kids. My oldest, who is probably gifted (no testing to confirm it), started using the potty at 12 months. I set her on it just to see what would happen, and she figured it out on the second try. Now, she was not fully trained out of diapers until age 2. But I figure we saved a lot of diapers in that time by her using the potty consistently a few times a day!

1. What is the IP book like? What makes it so great? (In other words, do we need this?) 2. Are the new CWP books any good or should I pay inflated prices online for the old ones? Thanks.

My oldest daughter had about 1 1/2 years between the "knows letters and sounds" stage and the "ready to blend" stage. During that time, I read to her, she pretended to read herself, and we played rhyming games. I think the rhyming really helped her get ready to blend. We had this little set of cards I got at Toys-R-Us. The cards were pairs of rhyming words, and each pair fit together like a puzzle.

Dd has made huge gains in math and piano this month!

Just chiming in to say that Ellie's post on page 2 really belongs in a FAQ somewhere. I love this answer.

I was going to ask the same question! I'm determined to start Year 1 with dd next fall, she'll be 6 this summer. Otherwise I'm not sure what I would do with her. This is a kid who reads Story of the World independently for fun. She narrates (when she feels like it) and she's already read several of the books on the Year 1 free reading list. I figure she's as ready as she's going to be. Even so, it's reassuring to read success stories! I don't see the Year 4 thing as something to worry about now. Who can predict where a child will be 3 or 4 years down the road? I can't even predict how long it will take to finish a math book, LOL.

I'm looking for some Ambleside-related blogs to read. Any suggestions? (We're just 6 months away from starting Year 1! I am ridiculously excited.)

I have a friend whose daughter is in an expensive private school (alma mater to some celebrities). This school has an internship program, and my friend's daughter has had some amazing experiences working on Capitol Hill and for a news network in NYC. She's already had more real-life experience than a lot of college grads, while still in high school. So, what does it take for a homeschooler to get those kinds of opportunities? Do I need to spend the next 10 years starting up some sort of organization that coordinates prestigious internships for homeschoolers? :tongue_smilie: Or has someone else already done that?