My second grader LOVES Growing with Grammar. I wouldn't think of it as 'fun' necessarily, but it's been her favorite subject this year.

Welcome! I'm not on these forums a lot and just happened to search on "Roanoke." I will send you a PM with an e-mail I put together a few months ago for someone else new to the city - it lists various resources for getting connected to other homeschoolers. Also, you might want to sign up for GRHE (Greater Roanoke Home Educators). Their Web site is not much to look at, but their weekly e-mails list most of the homeschool-related activities taking place in the area. Lisa

The answers are recorded IN the book itself. We are in VA and I ordered from Seton testing - they are in VA and even though I tested in May, I got the results within two weeks. You do not need to test additional subjects; the HEAV Web site has details.

How old is your son? And is this the first assignment you've tried? I haven't even tried IEW with my kids yet, and I've watched just the first two DVDs (with a group - no $$ spent!) But if it's the first assignment you've tried, my impression is that you are maybe going a little too fast. I don't have the SWI-A but I did get the All Things Fun & Fascinating for our first year just to see how lessons and a week/semester/year are structured. I agree with others - the Yahoo group seems like the place to get good advice & the moderator seems to be some sort of IEW employee or contractor. Good luck.

Do you have WWE 2 or 3? My DS9 would read an excerpt for a lesson then be interested in getting the book from the library. Lots of good titles. I also search on private classical schools' reading lists for ideas.

We are doing WWE3 after doing most of WWE2 last year & the dictation is tough. I agree with the others - take it back a notch. Find your own 4 to 5 word sentences from your other reading or pick your own from the WWE3 passage. Work on that for a month, then go to 6 to 8 word sentences, etc. I think it's more important to build success and have the child not dread writing. Who knows - by the end of the year, you may be up to the long passages in WWE3. But they are HARD, esp. if the child hasn't done dictation before (or for the entire summer) so just take it slowly.

Great suggestions - thank you!

I'm looking for some good, economical ideas for our "art box" - the box that gets pulled out when I don't have a specific craft/art project in mind and the box that gets pulled out to make the History, Science, etc. pages that WTM recommends. (I've searched but haven't found a similar thread - feel free to point me to one if it exists!) What's in your box? What can't you live without and what did you wish you left at the store?

We do CC and are Christian, not secular. But, we do fall to the 'left' politically of where our CC group is and it has been at times a challenge but pros outweigh cons, etc. That being said, I think you need to ask the director what THEY think about you joining as a non-Christian and be open with them about where you are and your homeschooling goals. You should be able to get a pretty quick read on whether you and your family would feel at home in the group. Also, I think that maybe CC corporately requires all forms to be signed to be officially enrolled, so ask about that, too.

I think your answer depends on a few things, and I hope you will get wisdom from your prayer. 1. What are you hoping to get out of CC? If it's mostly social and you want to connect with other moms who are trying to do classical education, then it might be worth the time and $$. Just lighten up on expectations at home. And, this assumes your DC won't be upset by the fact that they don't know everything during review. If it kills their joy of learning and confidence to sit in there week after week not remembering stuff and if they say they don't want to go in the AM, then you may need a different group. 2. What is the personality of the potential tutor? I had two kids in CC this past year and we are signed up for next year (though I continue to wonder and pray if it's the right thing). Both of their tutors (Abecedarian and Apprentice) were VERY appropriate in their expectations of the children at that age level, focusing more on classroom behavior (getting up to do a presentation, being quiet during others') and joy of learning, hands-on type presentation rather than relentless drill. Hope that helps you think about it a bit...though maybe you've already thought through that and are still stuck! I think the hardest thing about this homeschooling journey is that no one else knows what's best for your family - only you - and sometimes the only way to figure that out is to just try something.

I think we have to give CC a bit of a break on some of the organizational stuff. (I'm not sure if I'm a fan or not, so this is a non-biased opinion.) They are an organization founded by one mom who was an aerospace engineer by training, who came up with an idea that other moms found helpful, useful and supportive. It sounds like they are probably growing WAY too quickly, with all of the 'growing pains' that entails, whether it's a church, Fortune 500 company, non-profit, etc. And they are only human. So, they are still acting like a family in some ways at the corporate level but considering how large they are, they really need to act more like a business on some of this stuff. But they are probably all/mostly homeschooling moms, just trying to do their best, who don't have time to think about that! IMHO, they've probably gotten too big too fast. It doesn't excuse things like how Heather in VA was treated, but it also makes me think they are not doing some of these things on purpose. And, if they become more like a company, the true value and presentation of classical, Christian ed will probably get lost in the shuffle.

Just curious...when you say it doesn't match how you think you should homeschool, can you elaborate? I ask b/c this is our first year of homeschooling and of CC and I've debated about going back next year. The kids seem to really like it, though, which just confuses me more. And, I can't seem to quite articulate what I don't like about it (other than some nit-picky things that I think are probably more about the area of the country we are living it at the moment than CC itself.) Thanks!

We are doing CC for the first time this year and will probably do it again next year - not so much for the curriculum but b/c my kids like it and the benefit is in the group interaction - doing presentations, just being around other kids once/week, etc. It's a financial stretch but works for us right now. To be honest, I wouldn't try to do it at home. You could...but for less $, you could make up your own stuff (i.e. Google 'skip counting songs' or 'history songs') to match what you are already doing, for far less money and it would integrate into your curriculum better. Of course, that's with almost a full year of hindsight built in. To me, the benefit is the interaction and community, not the material itself. But you certainly could do it at home using all the ideas mentioned by others. BTW, our group has free childcare for younger siblings - the moms rotate on a nursery schedule. Doesn't always work with nap time, etc., but it's only once/week for 24 weeks. Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice, ladies! I thought I was the only one who said, "would you talk to Mrs. ABC like that?" Glad that it's not just me! I appreciate your encouragement.

I'm thinking of my DS8 (2nd grade). Very intelligent boy who went to a classical Christian school for K and 1st. He misses pizza & ice cream on Fridays and being in the classroom. (I can fix the pizza & ice cream issue.) He enjoyed being the smart kid in the class and excelling at school. Never any behavior problems at school yet I get some attitude at home (too 'tired' to do work, not being respectful). I'm wondering...do some kids need to be in the classroom to excel - to respond to that peer pressure? At the same time, I'm not sure it's good for him to see himself as superior to everyone else when he 'does/behaves better' than them. We're definitely homeschooling for the next couple of years, so how can I give him what he needs/enjoys at home? And, I want him to like homeschooling. Of course he has to do it b/c we said so, but I would also like to make these years fun. Anyone been there/done that and have some wisdom or advice?

I'd love what you describe. It's the pure sitting (with the exception of the science that is sometimes done in a different room and one class gets one two-minute potty break) for the whole time that doesn't work for me. I'm glad to know others have worked movement, etc. into their program w/o sacrificing quality. I'll speak to the tutors (and come with some ideas) and see what happens. Thanks!

Thanks for all the comments on this - I really thought the no break was a CC thing. Glad to hear the rest of the country does it in a way that I find more appealing! They do get a snack, but Abecedarians do presentations during snack (meaning the rest sit & listen) and Apprentices do art/music during snack, which is kind of funny & a little ridiculous - how are you supposed to play tin whistle while eating a snack?!

I'll try to be brief... We're commited to classical education. I love the presentation aspect of CC - provides something that I can't at home. I hate that my kids (5 and 7) sit in a chair from 9:30 to Noon without a recess or any kind of break - it seems the law of diminishing returns in definitely in effect for what they learn. (BTW, their tutors are wonderful and age-appropriate in how they present material and agree with this, but can't do anything about it.) My questions: I understand the memory aspect of the grammar stage and my kids memorize everything every week; however, it keeps nagging at me that there is no context provided for any of the memory work. We could read more on the subjects at home, but to me the history moves 'too fast' to really do that. Not to mention we went from Hinduism to India & the Age of Imperialism to Confucius...not exactly timeline-friendly. And even if we did, there isn't time to 'linger' on something they are interested in. Is this a valid concern for grammar stage learners? Wouldn't it be more effective to create memory work from our history curriculum (SOTW)? My kids get upset when they can't memorize everything exactly and very quickly. To me, it totally takes the fun out of learning. Yes, it's cute that my 5-year-old can skip count to the 15s and she LOVES doing it...yet she's upset when she can't remember it all right away. She joyfully learns new things in math and language arts - I'm wondering if CC is just overload - it seems to drain them - anyone else and what did you do about it? Thanks for any thoughts, advice, etc.

I had not seen those before - thanks much!

That was the main thing I learned our first week. There aren't the natural breaks that come in a school day, i.e. waiting for the class to finish a worksheet if you finish early, lining up to go to art, PE, recess, lunch, group trips to the bathroom...you get the idea. I didn't think about how much more intense the learning would be at home, one-on-one, and had to build in more breaks for us, whether that's 30 min. recess or 5 min. stretch break.

We are blessed to have a 10' x 20' playroom that we've turned into our schoolroom/playroom (first year of homeschooling, one month in), thinking that would keep the papers, mess, etc. in a contained area. Yes, I know...go ahead and laugh, then keep reading. I thought I would love that set up, but I'm considering moving school to the kitchen table (upstairs in a split-level, while playroom is downstairs) for a few reasons: When I'm working with one child & the other wants to play, it's a distraction. The dog thinks the playroom is hers so she's always defending her territory and bugging us. There's nowhere comfy to sit for reading (thought about bean bag chairs) but upstairs we have a sofa, loveseat. And the biggest thing is probably that school feels somehow 'separate' from life when it's mostly in a different room. I think the kids like having their little desks and a school room, but it feels kind of weird to me. For example, why do I have crayons, markers, paper, etc. in two different places? (Upstairs for 'regular' life, downstairs for school.) And it feels like we kind of rush through and are more regimented rather than lingering over our learning and seeing where it goes. Does that make any sense? Anyone with a simliar experience or ideas/pros & cons? Thanks!

with DS7, second-grader, v. good speller. I found (and this is my first year of homeschooling, so I'm no expert) that SWO and R&S were simliar in the level and grouping of words in each lesson. We started with R&S 2nd grade, lesson 1 and it was way too easy. Played around with WRTR and SWR a bit, went to back SWO (we did a couple of lessons in the summer) and skipped ahead to lesson 15. We're averaging 2 days/lesson which seems about the right pace for now while the words are still 'easy' and am adding trouble words (as suggested in WTM) which is very helpful. Also, the SWO bonus words are great & follow the rule for that lesson. (BTW, I got a used teacher's guide for $1 and there are good suggestions in there, too.) I looked at Spelling Power and thought it was fabulous - loved the pace and that the lists of words were introduced in a logical manner following phonics & spelling rules but didn't shell out the $65 until we are sure that we'll be homeschooling for a few years.

I only ordered once and some things were damaged in shipping - they were very, super nice on the phone. Just call them - I bet if you explain the situation they will offer to send first-class or media mail for less.