Thank you! The workbook it is, then. And I'll look for a chance to read the text too. Is the workbook easy to write in? Does it lay flat? I'm thinking about using the workbook as a TM and having him (and later all the siblings) work from the student notebook pages. Those are loose leaf, yes?

Thank you! I've browsed through the link, and it looks terrific!

Narration is brand new around here. I haven't done it, haven't heard it done, don't know what to require of my 1st grader. So I don't want to invent it for myself. So I think I need the WWE workbook, yes? And do I also use the WWE text with that, or is the text more for starting a teacher who will be assigning her own narration selections? I can't tell from the product samples if I'd need both together, or if the workbook is sufficient. Can someone set me straight on this, please? Thanks!

I read a post today where someone recommended mastering WWE before beginning CW. WWE isn't listed in the abreviations - what is it? And must it be completed prior to CW? Even before the CW Primer? I had a look at the CW Primer sample pages today, and it looks like something my oldest could do once he's a little more proficient with a pencil. Narration is pretty new to me. How exactly does one go about doing it? How long should narrations be? My oldest has blasted along learning to read this year (5yo, reads at the 3rd and 4th grade levels), but is still grade level with a pencil. When reading aloud he tends to be embarassed, and prefers to read very, very fast in a quiet monotone with little expression. So this is our current area of work. How would narration best be used in this scenario? Should it be introduced yet, or wait until read-aloud issues are resolved?

Our friends want their older kids to start on Spanish soon. They are 11yo and 14yo, and doing well with Latin, and would love something like an interactive CDrom. What programs are recommended? We hear alot about Rosetta Stone, but it is nearly $400 for Spanish 1 and 2, and thus out of budget. Any ideas?? Thanks!

I used it after high school when I was getting ready to go to a college that emphasized classical languages. It was not a good fit at all. But maybe just because of my age. I needed to see the grammar structure in order for any of it to make any sense, and that was completely absent. As I recall AL was mostly pictures and context, no explanation. I switched over to Jenny's Latin, and learned more in week of that than I had in all my work in my first program.

What about things like synonyms, antonyms, capitalization, etc.? AAS doesn't cover that; would we just pick that up in some other program later? I'm thinking of using the BJU selectively, since I already have it, and skipping all the unneeded phonics work, and just doing the english/grammar portion of the lesson when it comes up. But maybe that would be too hectic too. (We have the BJU TM's, the worktext, and the practice book. Once we started into the program he promptly launched himself another grade level or two in reading ability. Now we're on lesson 28, so it is too late to return/resell the books.)

My son will be 6 in the fall, and I just tested him at about a 4th grade reading level. But I know there are vowel combinations and blends he currently guesses at and reads based on context. So phonics is still important. He's currently on lesson 28 of the 1st grade BJU phonics/english curriculum, and that is where we're stopping for the summer. In the fall I plan to add in AAS spelling, starting with level 1, and I know that covers phonics too. Would the BJU just be busywork at this point? He is learning things doing it; i.e. syllables, beginning alphabetization, easy punctuation, etc. However, all the words he is writing and working with are waaaaaaay easy for him to read. I'm looking for opinions - drop BJU, or plug on through? Here's the rest of what he'll be working on in the fall: BJU Math 1 BJU Handwriting 1 AAS 1 SOTW 1/VP History Cards Artistic Pursuits Piano VP First Favorites Bible memory

Your first grader is doing Level 3? Wow! Was she already spelling pretty well when she started first grade? We're going to use it in the fall for my 6yo who is reading pretty well (reads through Curious George books for pleasure, follows along easily in a hymnal at church, etc) , but doesn't spell at all yet. You know, turtle is "trtl", etc... I'm trying to get an idea of how many levels we may need to budget for this year...

Well, he's reading pretty well, but isn't done learning his phonics, and can't spell at all yet. We did phonics instruction and got as far as short vowels and consonant blends, and he just exploded and started reading things far, far beyond anything I'd ever taught him. Seems to be doing it largely based on context and educated guesses. But if I were to ask him what sound "oo" makes, or have him tell me about "ough", or "ing" words, he'd be clueless. Put those same words in the middle of a paragraph, and he does pretty well. So we've kept the phonics and spelling instruction on the list for those reasons. And thank you for your critique of the VP First Favorites and History too. It is all very helpful. We actually do plan to go just halfway through SOTW in 1st, just get through Egypt and save the rest for 2nd grade. It isn't on the list, but we're reading the superb literature out loud every day - the classics, the fairy tales, etc. We usually have several books going at once, one we read at breakfast, one at lunch, one before bed, etc. I'm just not sure how to have him interact with them during our formal school time, hence the VP First Favorites. But all this discussion has been terrific and so helpful, particularly when I'm making those day-to-day decisions throughout the school year about which things will get done, which things to skip, which things to emphasize, and which things to scurry through. Thank you so much! Keep the good information coming!

We have Song School latin, which of course is followed up by Latin for Children. Is that considered a good resource by the LCC users? My husband and I each had 2 years of Latin at the classical liberal arts college we went to, and we had 2 years of Greek as well. I'm not fluent in either, but he's pretty good at Greek now and spends most of his day teaching it to high school students. So I guess I'm saying we aren't necessarily looking for a program that assumes zero Latin background from the teacher, but rather something that is easy for a busy mama to work with. Would the Latin for Children curriculum fit the bill do you think? Or is there something I'm missing about Prima Latina that makes it more appropriate for the goals of LCC?

Thanks! The Veritas First Favorites has the kiddos reading real books - Floss, Blaze and the Lost Quarry, Curious George, A Chair for My Mother, etc., then doing some copywork and then a bit of worksheet style activity.

We've very interested in LCC, but still in the learning phase, trying to understand how it will affect day-to-day curriculum choices, etc. The following is what we have planned for first grade, and I'm wondering what changes a LCC devotee would make to this list; how does it change methodology in the early grades? We had planned to add latin (Latin for Children) in second grade. Our first grader will be 6 in the fall, and is already reading fairly fluently. Math - BJU 1, finish Phonics/English - BJU 1, finish Literature - Veritas Press First Favorites Spelling - All About Spelling level 1 History - Story of the World vol 1 + Veritas Press cards (going as slow as is comfortable, with a heavy emphasis on enjoying the read alouds and activity pages) Art - Artistic Pursuits k-3 vol. 1 Bible - VP Bible cards, memorization. Science - wait till later, maybe some human body study during the summer Music - piano lessons (I'm a piano teacher)

Their Epistula newsletter just said to ask for the "April Shipping Special".

I taught 2nd grade Shurley in a classical school, and I do like it for a classroom setting. But now that I am home teaching my own kiddos, meh, not such a good fit! I don't like a TM that scripts every single word I'm supposed to say, and the organization of the materials seems like it could be better. We're using BJU for English, and I know there are other great programs too; I'm eager to hear what others recommend!

We just got our AAS level 1 kit. I had a little Rubbermaid 3 x 5 index card box to put all the cards in (3" deep), and got all the cards ready, but they really fill up the box. It seems tight. Really tight. Too hard to use tight. I just scanned a few office sites online, and I don't see anything that is a good size. There are the little dinky boxes like I have, and the super long boxes, but nothing in between. What do ya'll use? Will it actually work out with a dinky box? Or is there another product out there in office land that I'm just not seeing?

What manipulatives should I get? Unifix cubes? A base ten set?? Both? I just sold our MUS manipulatives as they didn't seem quite a good fit anymore, but I'm not sure what to replace it with. I'd rather work with real cubes and such rather than the paper cut-out things that can be purchased with the program. We have 4 kiddos, so I figure the investment will be worthwhile. Thanks!

We use the BJU Phonics/English 1 for our 5yo. Works great! The TM is pretty easy to work with. I can scan over the page and quickly pick out the main objective and decide what I need to review with my son. From there we just spend a few minutes going over the new english concepts, such as exclamation points, quotation marks, etc. Then he does the worksheets mostly on his own. I usually spend a couple minutes getting the workbook pages out, another minute or two scanning the TM, up to 5 minutes working with the new concept (he already reads pretty well, so no need to spend oodles of time going over the letter of the day, etc.), then he works on his own from 10 min to 30 min., depending on how well he stays on task. I'm certain there are oodles of other programs out there that accomplish the same thing, but overall we've been pleased, and we'll likely use it for his brother next year, and the younger sibs after that.

We'll have a 1st grader using it this year, but next year I'd anticipate two students. Not sure if that will evolve into two magnet boards or one bigger one. What size should I look for? What works well?

What recommendations do ya'll have for this age group? The 6yo is an advanced reader, but at age level with motor skills, the 5yo will be just learning his letters and sounds. We could... 1) do no formal art this year (I'll have a 1st grade, K, pre-school & toddler to keep up with) 2) use the Draw Write Now book for the 6yo and call that art for the year. 3) Splurge and give Atelier Art a try 4) Consider other art programs... I'm going to need something that is open and go. I'm not artistically trained myself, and I've been really hopping just keeping up with the things currently on my plate. It can't be a wonderful art program that requires me to come up with lesson plans or requires that I water down the curricula to make it reachable for the kiddos; in that case I'm just certain it wouldn't get done. On the other hand, I'm sure the boys would really look forward to art day and benefit from it if we can just find the right materials. Any suggestions??

Then maybe stick with what is working well for him? And keep the other options tucked away in the back of your mind for if they are needed down the road?

How do your kids like ETC so far? Are they doing well with it? My son did great for the first several books, then grew weary of the repetition. Now he uses BJU English/Phonics, and has really enjoyed the change. The colorful pics and the variety in the exercises are like candy to him. So much depends on the child!

Thanks! I'll check with them.

Will I be able to purchase once and use for all my children?

I utelize photobucket.com, which is a free site. Upload the pics there, then there is a list of codes that appears under the picture, each suitable for different things. I usually choose the jpg code, click on it, and past that into the post. I'm sure there are different ways to do it, but that is one way that works.