Here's the link to Route 66- you can get it as an e-book or a printed book. I got e-book so I can print copies of the worksheets for all 3 kids. http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/CarsonDellosa/PID-204063.aspx

Allison, disgusted? What was it?

Would love to hear feedback about my tentative plan for the fall! I may be overdoing it or missing something! I'll have a 4th grade girl and 2 little 1st grade guys. Core: -Expedition Earth (cultures/geography) for all -Story of the World 1 (history) with activity book for all Bible: -Route 66: A Trip Through the 66 Books of the Bible -memory verses and hymns Math: -Teaching Textbooks 4 -Math Mammoth Grade 1 -Daily Word Problems- Math for each grade level Language Arts: -WinterPromise LA 1 -WinterPromise LA 4 Science: -God's Design for Heaven & Earth for all Art: -Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book 2 -Abeka art workbooks for each Music: -Classical Kids Collection Thanks in advance for any comments! :)

How about just going through the Sonlight catalog and picking out titles that coordinate with your time period? I've been working off and on on a list for my book blog that would pair each year of the history cycle with a list of the titles for that period from the big curric companies....SL, MFW, VP, etc.

Just have to say, I was considering using WP, but hesitant after seeing threads like this one and various similar negative blog posts across the web. I called them, spoke to the owner, Don- I told him I was concerned about what I had been reading and wanted to ask him directly. He was very appreciative that I took the time to do that, and he didn't make excuses or get defensive. He freely admitted they had mightily struggled with getting their shipping straightened out, and admitted they had hired an inept editor, which caused them a lot of problems. I found him to be very pleasant, easy to talk to, and was impressed that he was willing to give me a direct answer for everything I ask. I really was impressed when he said, "As the homeschooling dad in this family, and the leader of this company, I really take it to heart that these things have hurt our reputation." They're only human. It sounds like they have the vast majority of their issues worked out. Sometimes on the Internet we do things we would never try to get away with in a "real" relationship. No one likes to be gossiped about behind their back. I would suggest that people call Winter Promise directly, and see if you are comfortable with their responses to your questions, or not. Everyone deserves a fair shake.

I love the idea behind a lot of their products, but as someone who used to work editing/designing reports and documents, I think their printed materials are terribly cheap-looking/amateurish. I think with some beefed up content and a good graphic designer they'd really have something.

I had the best of intentions with the 4-year chronological history cycle..... When DD was in 1st, we ended up doing Adventures from MFW, which is actually an overview of early American history.....we liked MFW, so we moved on from there to MFW ECC, which is a geography year, and loved it. This year, (DD in 3rd, DS in K) we did Sonlight Core B, which is the 1st history year, ancient history. But nowwww I'm leaning towards using the Expedition Earth curriculum next year (another geography/world cultures year....kids will be in 4th and 1st.) And I'd also like to do WP Children Around the World soon......meanwhile DD is getting older and I'm NOT doing history much! I LOVE history....I'm just realizing that geography/understanding world cultures is very important to me. How do I rectify this? We've been reading SOTW 1 and they are loving it.....Can I just add SOTW and the SOTW activity guide to whatever we happen to be doing as a core and use that as our history? Help! I feel like I have NO long term plan at ALL.....I feel like I'm messing up.

I'm just going to order the study book, parent guide, and memory cards from their online store.....I'm going to get last year's study. That way I'm not paying for their "special" Bible and T-shirt and all the competition related stuff I don't need.

Bumping this- I never did anything with it last time, but I find myself looking at it AGAIN..... anyone use these materials?

Just a peek at the long-term.....my mom was much more focused on keeping the house up than spending time with us. She'd come home from a long day at work, and when I ran to hug her, she'd put her hand out to stop me and say something like, "What are these shoes doing here? Get these things put away first!" Those things have stuck with me to this day, as a grown woman in my 30s. I made up my mind long ago that if anything had to fall by the wayside, it was going to be my house and not my relationships with my kids and family. Something WILL have to give if you try to do it all- and if he thinks the kids won't suffer any consequences when the house gets more of your energy than they do, he's kidding himself.

I saw the OP's response midway through the thread, and the gist of it was, well, today he helped out more, yay! You have got to change your way of thinking, girl.....he didn't help out anybody but himself, it's HIS family too. It's one thing to be appreciative of him being part of the team, but sometimes we tend to fall all over ourselves patting our husbands on the back when they do something that a trained monkey could do (and any decent partner SHOULD do.) I'm all for being thankful and appreciative, but get it clear in your head that he is NOT doing you a favor. This is a family that belongs to you both. I would HIGHLY recommend that he spend a lot more time alone with the kids trying to keep up the house. Nothing will give him a reality check quicker. And I don't mean just "hanging out" with the kids watching cartoons. You need to find somewhere to go for a day or two so he has to do school and the whole nine yards. If he walks a mile in your shoes, he might see things differently.

I have to say, the majority of the blogs/posts I've read have been relatively negative.....people complaining about errors, slow shipping, etc. I was contemplating WP for fall, but was concerned enough about those things that today I called the owner, Don, and spoke to him on the phone. He didn't deny any of those things- he said they had hired an editor who turned out to be inept; they have since addressed that. He also agreed that shipping has been a nightmare for them, and that trying to deal with inventory has been a challenge for a small family company. He was very straightforward. He says he feels like everything has been revamped that had errors, and that this year they are finally confident they are getting their shipping problems put behind them. I was very pleased with his responses, and I think I may give it a try. I think their LA especially looks fantastic.

bumping

If you Google, there are a bunch. I've been doing a lot of WP research myself lately.

The Penny Gardner e-book "Italic Handwriting" is my favorite thing I've ever bought for handwriting, not to mention the cheapest. ($10!) It covers both print and cursive, and you can print as many pages as you need for your family. It's simple and straightforward. I'm using it for my K'ers and my 3rd grader. My older is FINALLY getting cursive thanks to this book. I would have saved myself a lot of headaches if I had gotten it sooner! Can't recommend enough. http://www.pennygardner.com/italicsbk.html

Has anyone used language arts from Winter Promise? I think they look really good, from the samples....I'm SO hesitant though, because after much Googling, it seems their reviews trend to the negative.....slow shipping, bad customer service, and errors in the materials. Those reviews turned me off to ordering one of their themed programs, but I'm still enticed by their LA. Would love any feedback on WP and/or their LA! Thanks all! :)

I have a special needs child as well. What about their resources have you found helpful in this area?

Been looking at the Timberdoodle all in one curric packages.....I've always been very WTM, but some of their elements are really appealing to me....the little bite sized doses of writing, geography, etc. http://www.timberdoodle.com/Complete_Homeschool_Curriculum_Packages_s/363.htm Any opinions?

I've been looking at...... Vocabulary From Classical Roots Wordly Wise Vocabulary Workshop Who has opinions on any of these?

I don't it's too young....geography is something that everyone needs to know eventually.....it looks like a great curriculum to me, and something that could easily be fleshed out for an older child. Just require their reports to be more detailed. It looks like something that the whole family could enjoy, with the food/crafts, etc. We're planning to start it in the fall.

We just started Sonlight and aren't really using the markable map- it's just too cumbersome unwieldy. The poster who said you use notebook sized maps instead- I'd love to hear more about that! Did you get them from a certain place or do it a certain way?

Training5, I've looked at those and been intrigued....would love to hear more about what you like about them!

We've been using the Joy of Handwriting stuff for both manuscript and cursive, and it's great!

We have been having a lot of fun with Grammarland! :)

Lynn, if you're using the LA currently, I'd love to know what you like and dislike about it.