Jim Weiss also has a "Romeo and Juliet" CD and one that just came out last year "William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and the Story of Rome". I bought mine from www.allegro-music.com - good prices there!

:D It's actually our couch, with a slipcover which has since been replaced. I have a love/hate relationship with slipcovers - they're cheaper to replace than your furniture, but they don't stay in place (at least not with my crew:)), and the ties on that one gave out pretty quick. It was pretty, though.:) Sorry, I'm rambling here...:tongue_smilie:

Thank you, dh took that one and I thought it was pretty cute, too. It's little ds' sock monkey that I made him last Christmas "reading" one of ds' then favorite books (you know, the ones they get you to read 3 or 4 times a day).:)

Thanks, Michele. I think I'll keep plugging along with WWE now, but probably drop FLL and then maybe start Island in the spring/summer when dd is 8. Might have to get it to look at before then, though.:D

:lurk5: I've been wondering this, too. I've been floundering a bit with LA this year for dd, and am very intrigued by MCT - I think it might be a great fit for dd. I'd love to buy it now, but thought I should probably wait until she is in 3rd grade. We've done the first level of FLL and just started on the second, but I'm wondering if it would be redundant to do that and then start MCT, or if it helps to have that base first..:confused:

If you plan to keep going with Sonlight, you don't need to add any geography to Core 1 as Geography Songs and Window on the World are included in Core 2, and are a great intro to geography in my opinion.:) Also, you get a bit of geography/world cultures in the first few weeks of Core 1 with the Usborne Peoples of the World and Houses and Homes; and Sonlight integrates mapping with all (or most) of their readers, read-alouds and history. You could also use the SOTW maps from the activity guide if you don't really like Sonlight's maps - we are doing this along with Core 2 this year. We just look up some of the other places metioned in the IG on our big wall map. DD enjoyed doing History Pockets along with Core 1 last year, and we included them in her notebook along with history narrations and copywork. We don't do a reading program here. I just have dd read each day. I don't think reading programs are necessary at this age. Just have him read to you sometimes to catch any problems (I need to do more of this myself:)), and have him narrate from some of the books you read together or even the ones he reads independently (We use the Sonlight readers here, and sometimes I do this with dd to check her comprehension, instead of using the questions they provide.). HTH!:)

Neat! Just showed this to my sister who is a Sutcliff fan and she's excited, too. She got me started on her books and I've read 2 1/2 of them so far - this will be a great incentive to read Eagle of the Ninth which is sitting on my shelf.:D

I bought these for dd to read along with our history this year. She has read the Theodora and Ethelred books so far, and really enjoyed them. :)

This was encouraging to hear - thanks!:) We're a long way from the high school cores yet, but when I look at SL's catalogue, I think "I wish I could do those cores.:D" Good to know others are using SL successfully in the highschool years.

Interesting. In the case of IEW, I've heard Andrew Pudewa speak on the differences between boys and girls and how that affects their writing.

My kids enjoyed the Building Big DVD series done by David Macaulay (we got it from Netflix). You may want to preview them, especially if you have sensitive children. There are kids activities at the end of each episode, like building a dam from popsicle sticks (my kids tried this in the sandbox). I also found the Building Big book at Half Price Bookstore.

Hi! We enjoy Sonlight here - my dd is doing Core 2 (done K and 1) and ds5 is doing most of P4/5 this year. I think Core 3 would be a good choice for your oldest next year if you want a focus on American History. You could also do 1+2 if you wanted a quick trip though World History. If your youngest is listening well to chapter books, combining the younger two in Core K would probably work. My dd enjoyed Core K when she was 5, but she was listening to books like the Little House series before we started. Three Cores can be a challenge, I've heard, but can be done. I'm probably headed that way myself, as mine are too spread out to combine. Maybe someone with experience combining will chime in. HTH!:)

So far all have been enjoyed here, though I must admit I was a bit intimidated by the looks of Ginger Pye and got it on audio CD for dd to listen to.

Interesting...I just ordered SL LA for similar reasons. We had left it for WWE/FLL, and while I love the history narrations and notebook and plan to continue that, I'm not sure dd or I are ready for dictaion yet. SL delays dictation, has a great schedule (which I love - not so good at making or sticking to my own:)) and has creative writing, which is not for everyone, but which I think my dd would enjoy. I talked to her about it, and I think we'll give it a try again and see how it works out. I may add in the oral parts of FLL for extra grammer - SL doesn't have a lot, but I'm not totally sold on early grammer, so we'll see. Hope you find what works for you.:)

I knew from the beginning that unit studies would not be a regular part of our homeschool. I was homeschooled, and our family used a program in my highschool years that was basically a unit study, using a Bible verse as the center and basing all the other topics: history, science, character, even some math on that verse. While I understand wanting the Bible to be the center of your learning, I think the result, for me at least, was a very scattered, inchoherent view of history and science. We did supplement with another math program, and we all read lots (my sisters more that me, I think, and thus have probably a more well-rounded education.:)). There were'nt little crafts and such, but we did make some lapbook-type of things for our charater quality studies and science. I knew I wanted something more coherent and chronological for my kids, which is what drew me to WTM and Sonlight (which I do not believe is a unit study program in the way Charlotte Mason describes). My kids have wonderful imaginations and often make up their own activities and crafts of their own accord, and we have used some activities from Hands and Hearts and the SOTW Activity Guide. But I really agree with kids making their own connections and not having it all done for them.

My heart is aching too....praying!

Praying!

:iagree:

Interesting thread. My ds(4) hums a lot - especially when drawing or eating (which we are trying to discourage). I've wondered about sensory issues and/or ADHD, as well as Aspergers (although from my reading I don't think he has enough symptoms to make a diagnosis of that). I do find turning on some other music, like in the car or at lunch seems to help. Sometimes he just seems to zone out, and you really have to get "in his face" before he'll listen and stop humming - but then he'll start up again shortly and you have to remind him again...:001_huh:

Thank you - except my library doesn't seem to have it, so I'd have to buy it! Nothing like a good excuse to get another book! :)

:lol: Too true!

Thank you for this clarification - the idea that she would wean her babies in order to try for another was quite disturbing to me. But I know my periods come back at 6 or 7 months even when I was still nursing frequently and at night. And I've nursed through some pretty painful plugged ducts, so I feel her pain and admire her for persevering that long. :)

Very encouraging post - thank you!:)

Yes, mothering a strong-willed child (or two in my case) is very humbling.:grouphug:

I use the WWE text, not the workbook, so I have dd narrate from our SOTW chapter and write it down for her to copy. I often have her narrate her independent reading to me orally, so I know she is comprehending it, and sometime I write them down. I also draw copywork selection from FLL and some of the books we are reading. I periodically reread WTM and think I'm not doing enough:tongue_smilie:, but I also don't want to turn dd off reading and writing or extend our school day too long, so I try to find a good balance for us. :)