We're currently using ETC (preschool), and like it. But my son needs to learn to write D'nealian style, and I'd love it if his workbooks modeled the print style he should be using. Any ideas?? (we're doing K at home, and for 1st he'll enter a private school that uses D'nealian)

My husband and I have decided to enroll our two oldest boys in a local Classical Christian private school. But we're struggling a bit with grade placement. Academically they seem prepared for grades 1 and 2, but maturity level is questionable. Our oldest just turned 7, and we did first grade here at home last year. He's completed CLE Math 1, and reads at a 5th grade level. However, he still struggles with staying on task, focus is poor, handwriting tends to be sloppy. He'd be at the young end of the class in 2nd grade. We think he can handle the academics, but we're a little concerned about the social/focus/maturity issues. Would it be better to place him in 1st? Seems like that would be frustrating for the little chap. Similarly with our next son. He'll turn 6 a few days before school starts. He's reading long vowel words, and doing fine in math. So, academically he is prepared for 1st grade. But in terms of maturity - he's still a snuggler, likes to suck his thumb (time to stop!), prefers to get up early and then take an afternoon nap. But to put him in kindergarten & have him do a year of cut and paste.... Any thoughts??

What age & grade is your child?

We purchased Level 1, module A. Just the module - no parent pack, no art prints, nothing else. It came with a DVD and a notebook w/an outline of the lessons & other helpful info. It was perfect for us. I don't think I'd get around to making any use of the other materials. We're getting ready to order for next year (via homeschool buyers coop, where there is a small discount), and we'll just get the modules.

Atelier is perfect for us. The instruction is just perfect for our kiddos. They are learning a ton, and it is no longer a struggle to "get to" art at our house.

We made a sticker chart. "Staying On Task". Anytime our 6yo gets his work done in an attentive manner he gets a sticker...every so often there is a reward on the chart which he really looks forward to. For our son this is not a cure, but certainly a help!

We are using CLE as our primary math curriculum; my son thrives on the steady review. Sprinkling in Math Mammoth is a terrific boost in conceptual understanding and higher level thinking. The two together work wonders for our son!

We use ETC + Primary Phonics readers + the Mac & Tab reading comprehension books that go along with the readers. We love the readers - they are so very good at keeping the vocab in the story incremental. My son is able to decode everything except the very few sight words. They are wonderful for building confidence & strengthening skills. My first son did level 1, 2, 3, & 4. My second son needs more practice, so we ordered the 1A, & 2A sets which each provide 10 additional books at the same level. He has extra time for the roots to go deep & I love it! We chose not to use the Primary Phonics workbooks because they do color words as sight words, which I don't prefer, and there is quite a bit of writing, which doesn't go over well here.

We switched to CLE a couple months ago, began with LU 105, and we're now almost done with LU 107. It was slow going at first, but now he's really catching on, and usually makes 90-100% on his tests and quizzes. I too want him to have a break this summer (but not too long!). So, I thought we'd double up on lessons a few times a week and see how that goes - two full lessons is a hefty bite for him, so I thought we'd cross out anything redundant in the two lessons, and make it a bit shorter that way. I think we'll end up with at least several weeks off that way. Also, isn't there a built in way to skip ahead a bit in the 200's?? I haven't done it yet, so I'm not positive, but I think the student takes a pretest, and if he scores well, then he skips ahead a bit, if the score isn't great he does the review work. I'm hoping we'll speed through the first bit of the second grade material that way.

Our 6yo is doing sooooo much better in math now that we've begun CLE! I have a question about the speed drills. They alternate - one day is all addition, the next day is all subtraction. I've been giving him two minutes for the drill. Addition he finishes with 15-30 seconds to spare, and the problems are generally all correct. Subtraction, though, is a different story. He gets 8-16 of those finished in two minutes. They are correct, but very sloooooooow. Is this pretty typical???

Thank you for all the replies, ladies! It sounds like we can just keep on keeping on. Thanks! ETA - for those of you who asked, he's finishing up book 2 in ETC, and we're using the Primary Phonics readers. We've done set 1, set 1 More, and we're working on set 2. He's also done the first box or two of Bob books.

We're finishing up our Kindergarten year with my 5.75yo son. I was hoping I could get some feedback on his reading progress & see if I need to be doing anything differently with him. He can read sentences of CVC words. Some words are fluid, but it isn't unusual for him to sound them out... ssssssssss-ad, or d-og. He regularly mixes up b and d, but it isn't every single time. We've begun long vowels, but that is still very much a work in progress. He seems to understand, but often tries to read the word as if the vowel is short, and after a reminder will say it again with a long vowel sound. All in all, I'm seeing steady, but very slow progress. Does this sound reasonable for his age/level? He is much, much slower to catch on to reading than DS1, who positively blasted through reading and reads at an insanely high level. I'm completely fine with DS2 moving along at a slower pace. But, I don't want to hurt him by overlooking some kind of learning issue and being blind some sort of dyslexia problem. Next year we were planning to continue with ETC, and add in AAS. But I'm wondering if it might be better for him to do a more comprehensive phonics program like R&S phonics/reading. What do you think?? Would a more comprehensive program be better for him?? Thanks!!

I have a friend interested in online tutorials. I can only think of two: VP Scholars & Memoria. Do ya'll have any others to recommend?? Oh...he's mostly interested in Greek & Great Books, perhaps some latin or church history. Thanks!

I really like Alfred's Basic Piano Library for my piano students. If my students are already in the middle of a different series when they come to me we'll generally continue to use that...but Alfred's, or Alfred's Prep are by far my favorites.

Don't forget to check out CLE math...(christian light education). Very clear layout, easy to teach, but the TM isn't packed with stuff that works best in a classroom setting.

Perfect! Thank you!

We got Artistic Pursuits to use this year with our boys ages 6, 5, and 4. It was a total flop this year, but I think it has potential down the road. It doesn't explain how to do techniques, or give specific starting points. Rather it's observe a picture, notice things about it, and then make up something of your own in a similar style. That is waaaaaay too big a jump. My kiddos don't even know how to handle a paint brush... We're currently experimenting with Atelier now, and it is just perfect for our kiddos. Very specific & clear. Concrete examples (this is how you dip your brush in the paint), time to practice the techniques, then a guided assignment with plenty of room for individual creativity & variation. I think that after a bit of time in Atelier my son will have some basic skills under his belt, and we can go back to Artistic Pursuits or alternate between the two. Both great programs, but AP isn't going to work with our gang until they have some very basic art skills to work with.

Does anyone know if there is a particular month where prices are reduced at Classical Academic Press? We need Song School Greek curricula, and I'm trying to figure out the best time to buy.

My 6yo loves the Christian Liberty Nature Readers, and we also have been given the Nature Friend magazine, which is a big hit as well. We're looking for more books similar to these. We love the informative, detailed content, and the absence of evolutionary theory is a big plus. Can anyone think of additional titles we could consider?

My 4yo finished the last page of his Kumon cutting book today. Very sad! He loved that book! Anyone know of anything similar? He loves to cut and paste. He's got another year of being preK, and I'm looking for more ideas! He loves to "do school" like his brothers, but being a 4yo boy, his motor skills aren't really up to too many writing pages. (he can do a page or two of R&S preschool, or ETC primer, then it is clearly time to move on) What are your favorite resources for this stage??

Song School Latin would be my first pick too. We've been doing it in first grade, and plan to do Song School Greek in second, and then probably keep going with both languages in Third.

Sounds like we can plan to keep the abacus in daily use for the time being! He'll be delighted. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't setting him up for problems later. And, while I didn't purchase the RS abacus, this one is very, very similar. 100 beads, 10 rows, two colors (five of each on each row), and on the back are the columns for ones, tens, hundreds place. Thanks for all the help! C

My 6yo wants to use the Abacus for his CLE Math lessons (currently working through lightunit 106). He can answer the facts without the abacus, but it takes him a looooooong time, and he is strongly tempted to do it via making dashes in the margins & counting them up to check his answers. Is abacus use a crutch? Or an important phase in mathematical development? Should he use the abacus for routine lessons?

This is what we've picked too...

I'd think MUS Alpha would be a nice, comfortable place to start. Then perhaps she could take the diagnostic tests for CLE and see where she places in that - that would give you a feel for her overall math level, and if you end up needing a spiral program later for review (my son can't do without that), you'd have something ready to pull in.