:bigear: I need to know this too. Thanks for posting! Blessings, Lucinda

I would use TOG for my family because that is part of the beauty of it and why it was created in the first place. As the younger children ride along at the LG level and are exposed to the cycle of history and literature, they will be that much more ready for UG and D levels later on (which you will have hopefully saved books for so they can move on up to the deeper studies when they repeat the cycle of year plans.) Oh, and I would also include the alternate readings in SOTW, which is what we do at our house. Blessings, Lucinda

We used SE during our first two years of hs'ing because it is used at the private classical school where I teach part time. I really did like SE, and my daughter did learn a lot by memorizing those cute little jingles, but I eventually chose to go to another program because I felt that SE was a bit more teacher intensive than I wanted at that time. We next tried EG, and I learned the hard way that although dd loved the ease of it, she did not retain what she had learned as she had previously done with SE. Now we are going back to the basics with 5th Grade R & S grammar because it is so highly recommended by TWTM. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have either stayed with SE and made it work -- OR -- I would have just taken TWTM recommendation to use R & S and stayed put!! They are both really good programs. So I guess my encouragement to you is to pick a solid grammar program (like SE truly is) and try to stay with it long term, even if you do take 2 years for a one year level or skip a level now and then. Hopping around with various curriculum choices really isn't the best way to get grammar facts instilled into our dc. :~p Blessings, Lucinda

There also Music Ace Deluxe software that teaches music for beginners and also has some really fun music games. Here is a link to check it out. While it isn't free, it is much less expensive than music lessons. Blessings, Lucinda

I just noticed that I missed adding a link on the section with brush recommendations in my previous (much longer) post. If you are interested in a good quality, but not too expensive paintbrush series, take another look at it. Blessings, Lucinda

I've shared these recommendations in other threads, but it's been awhile. My list is based on extensive use in the classroom and my own personal use. (I currently teach elementary and secondary art at a private classical Christian school, and also have private students. My background and education is in the fine arts with a concentration in painting, so I LOVE to talk art and art supplies!!) Oil pastels - This is an excellent medium for students in elementary through middle school! You can achieve the look of painting without the mess and chemicals. (Note there will be some residue "crumbs" that will need special care, but it can be kept contained and controlled.) I would recommend Sakura brand, which is affordable and good quality. We use these at the school where I teach. Tempera Paints - I do not have a favorite brand or recommendation for these, as I have found most to be acceptable, except for the washable kind which behaves very strangely and I really hate. (What point is it to the child if it is washable but the paint performs poorly?) We use tempera mostly for primary grades to teach basic painting skills and color mixing, or perhaps for theater backgrounds. If you use them for color mixing, be sure to choose "pure" primary colors that are, for instance, a true red, a true blue and a pure yellow. If you are not careful about this, the colors will not mix well and you will end up with strange versions of secondary and tertiary colors. If choosing tempera paints for these purposes, you can actually save money by purchasing red, blue, yellow, black and white and mixing them to achieve the colors and shades you desire. Water Color Paint - Watercolor is a great medium for middle schoolers and primary grades as well. I can't recommend Yarka watercolor paints enough! We use them at school and they are excellent. They are a stickier, moist pan paint. These sets come with a little paintbrush, however, that is simply worthless. Throw away the brush and replace it with a nice round brush, a one-inch flat brush and a thin liner brush. My second choice for primary students would be Crayola brand watercolors. Brushes and Paper for Watercolor: There are so many types of paint brushes to choose from that I have a hard time narrowing it down for a recommendation. Just try to stay away from brushes that have loose hairs and are cheaply made. It is not fun to use a brush that leaves hairs behind when making brushstrokes! As much as I like Crayola brand supplies, they do NOT make good paint brushes. Synthetic hair is absolutely fine for students, so don't feel that sable or kolinsky brushes are required. The best thing to do is choose brushes in person and get some assistance from a store clerk if possible. Otherwise, I really like Da Vinci Junior synthetic brushes. Any of these would work well for at least a couple of school years - maybe even longer if it is taken care of - for a student that is, say, 12 years old and up. You will also need to have watercolor paper for this medium, and I would recommend Strathmore. A 9" x 12" pad is a really good size. You may want to order a couple of pads at a time because they only contain 12 sheets per pad. Chalk/Pastels - There are pastels and there are pastels. I am very choosy about these materials, probably because I used them a lot in college. (I even did my senior thesis in pastels.) I do not encourage students to use what is referred to as "chalk", or even what most stores carry that is labled "pastels". Most of these versions of pastels have mostly chalk filler and little to no color pigment at all. If your dc would like to explore the amazing, colorful world of pastel painting, then I would recommend another Yarka product: Yarka soft pastels. These sets are affordable and although I have not used them myself, I plan to purchase them this fall for my students based on the quality of Yarka watercolor paints. My suggestion would be to purchase an set of 12 or 24 of the assorted colors -- not the portrait or landscape sets. Pastel and Oil Pastel Papers - Canson Mi Teintes papers are the standard "toothy" paper used for these mediums. They are meant to hold in the color and keep it there longer than smooth papers. You might consider buying one pad of this larger size, then cut the sheets into quarters. We use the fine art color assortment for students and they seem to really enjoy that selection. Drawing Papers - I use this line of Strathmore paper for my students and it is very good. We have a standard size for all papers and that is 9" x 12", and these pads come in that size. You might also buy some of the Bristol paper we brought up in another thread (very smooth surface in a nice, heavy weight) in the same size. And I always like to have newsprint on hand for drawing, sketching or simply as a "placemat" under painting projects. I like to get this in a bigger size such as 11" x 17" for that reason. Markers - Color markers are really more for the primary grades, unless you are into cartooning. If you want to give your dc more of a fine arts education, forgo the use of color markers. If you do purchase markers for little ones, Crayola brand is the very best around. Every art supply cabinet should contain thin and medium tipped Sharpie pens in black. They are great drawing tools and come in handy for many projects. Pencils - In my humble opinion, you don't need to get fancy sets of pencils for children. If anything, you might consider buying a couple of these Turquoise pencils - but most young students only need a couple of the 2B's and a couple of 6B's for the whole year. If you want to save money, just use #2 school pencils with the eraser cut off (don't ever use pink erasers for drawing) and then purchase the 6B's or what we call ebony pencils. These are very soft leaded pencils that work wonderfully for filling in dark, dark areas in a drawing and also for tracing and transferring. NOTE: Also purchase a white plastic eraser for drawing use only. Never use caramel or pink erasers for art! Colored Pencils - This is a very good medium for primary and secondary grades. I would recommend Prisma Color pencils or even Crayola brand water color colored pencils, which can also be used with water and a paint brush. (Just be sure to use paper that will support water if you add water with a brush.) I've also used Lyra brand colored pencils, as well as Koh-I-Noor Woodless Colored Pencil and like them too. BTW… Anytime colored pencils break, it is caused by being dropped in shipping, rolling off desks to the floor or by being sharpened in electric rather than manual pencil sharpeners. So you can see, you can be as careful as possible, but still have bad luck if they were broken before you even got them. Have I forgotten anything? Blessings, Lucinda

I'm an art teacher to elementary and secondary students, and I honestly feel that you may have a rough time handling frequent weekly changes. Would you consider maybe staying with one artist for two weeks? This may really help you out and would also give your students more time to absorb what the artists brought to art history. I am not aware of anything other than the Kohl book mentioned. You may have to customize your own lesson plans. One thought would be to check out the National Gallery website and see what resources might be helpful to you. Here is a link to the page for homeschoolers. Blessings, Lucinda

Boy, you really had me going there!! TT is the common acronym for Teaching Textbooks math!! Until you clarified the curriculum, I thought you were crazy to be printing anything off!! :lol: Blessings, Lucinda

I use these exact ingredients, BUT I use salt and more than a bit of fresh minced garlic, and I also add Cumin and red chili pepper flakes (or Cayenne, Tobasco sauce, or whatever I have on hand) to give it a kick. The level of spiciness is totally optional. BTW, this combination of ingredients is the authentic version of Guacamole. I learned it from a Mexican chef in a homestyle restaurant many years ago. My kids have been raised on the stuff. Enjoy! Lucinda

This one's easy, and a very sweet poem for kids to memorize. I did myself when I was a wee one and still recite it to myself on occasion. I KNOW YOU LITTLE I know you little, I love you lots, my love for you could fill ten pots, fifteen buckets, sixteen cans, three teacups, and four dishpans. Shel Silverstein

Good heavens -- think nothing of it! I was a freshman at 34 and graduated at 38, exactly 20 years to the day from my high school graduation. I went on to work for a large corporation for four years before becoming a small business owner. At 46, I became a mother again (late in life surprise!) and decided to be a stay-at-home mom. Eventually I ended up becoming a part-time teacher, which is where I am now and where I'll stay for the rest of my working life (a good fit since the subject I teach is directly related to my major in college). I'm currently 56 years old and am seriously considering going for a master's degree within the next couple of years. I love the subject that I teach so much that I'd really like to build on that. Don't worry about your age when it comes to education. Most of the people I met in school were women in my age bracket and older. It is not an uncommon thing for women to re-enter school after their children are older. Actually, that's true for men too. My brother is 61 years old and is getting his bachelor's degree this year. Go for it!! Blessings, Lucinda

I nearly always buy them at either Costco or Office Depot. I'm curious to know if Amazon.com might be a good source too, but I have not looked. Blessings, Lucinda

I am not by any means a wealthy person, but even so, $800 per year still does not sound over the top to me. Our family spends roughly between $1000-1200 per year on our one hs student, but she is older and it varies depending on whether or not I am able to find used books or even mooch books in advance to save us money. Whatever the case, we feel that it is a worthy investment and want to give our dd the best education we can possibly provide. We have found curriculum choices that work very well for our child, so it has become a priority to make sure she has what is needed. If I had to cut back on something else, I would do it for the sake of getting my dd's books for her. In our case, I turn around and sell many of the books and recoup some of what we spend each year, then I put the money back into new books for the upcoming school year. You may have younger children that will use the books again though, and in that case it is even better because you will get double (or more) duty from the text and resource books. Every family is different, and there are a number of ways to cut costs down to make it all work. Yes, I agree with the other poster who stated that compared to the cost of a private education, these amounts are more than reasonable. I believe you are going to get a number of varied responses on this board in answer to the question you've posed. Some will strongly agree and others disagree. You and only you can decide whether or not this amount is right for your income and for what your child needs. It just all depends on your personal priorities and what you can possibly afford. I'd say just choose the curriculum that you feel will provide the best education for your child and give it a go. Blessings, Lucinda

I know it's hard to go against family traditions and ways of doing things, but you have the right to raise your children however you see fit -- no matter what. I understand a lot of how you feel because my own best friend of 35 years is a ps teacher with a Master's in Education. Her response was not very positive at all when I broke the news to her, but I stuck to my guns and did what I knew was best for my child. Now, four years later, the proof is in the pudding. My bff is amazed at how well my dd is doing and she hasn't made a negative comment in ages. I think that time is the answer to this dilemma whenever it comes up. Blessings, Lucinda

Well, we took that trip to see Apologia books in person and it helped so much to come up with our plan for the science group this year. As it turns out, we did not go to the Kingfisher store after all because Exodus had such a great selection that we just didn't feel a need to drive further into the city. Sometime I'll have to head over there just to see the store and browse around, but for now I'm going to stick with Exodus when I need a homeschool specialty store. What a great store! And Eli, the owner, was so helpful. My friend and I were able to talk to him in-depth about using Apologia and he took a lot of time to help us out. Okay, I'll stop rambling now. Thank you all for the input in this thread. :~) Blessings, Lucinda

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My children are much older than your little one, but as a mom, grandmother and art teacher I would like to encourage you. I'd suggest that you keep it very simple, even up to the age of 4-5. More advanced and involved, projects are not always what is best for kids. And some projects require skill and ability that little just aren't ready for, such as cutting with scissors. The development of motor skills required for successful cutting only comes along around the age of 6-7. When very young children are participating in art activities, it should be all about learning to hold the tools correctly, how to dip and rinse, make marks on paper as well as learn to create shapes and use colors. Finger paints, tempera and watercolor painting are good as long as they don't eat the paint. Washable markers are good, as are crayons and fat pencils. Another idea is sponges and q-tips as an alternate to brushes with paint. Using some play dough is fun for them too, as it is very tactile and little ones just love that. One other idea is stamping with rubberized stamp blocks or cut potatoes that you provide. All of these things should be done only with direct supervision of course. (My own dd got into the Playdough once when I wasn't looking and put some up her nose! We ended up in emergency that day and it was not fun.) So, to sum it up, I'd say keep it simple. Most of the kindergarten age students I work with are by then pretty comfortable with paints, pencils, crayons, and markers. Most of them have trouble cutting with scissors, and are just beginning to be able to use tape and glue successfully. I hope this helps. Have lots of fun with your little one! Blessings, Lucinda P.S. I use newsprint "placemats" for art projects for students k-8. It really helps with cleanup. Keep everything contained in one place and do not compromise on that. :~)

Have any of you TOG users used the Greenleaf study guides that go along with the Famous Men of Rome and Famous Men of the Middle Ages books? Do you think it would be helpful to use the guides in combination with TOG? I had not paid too much attention to this and just have the two Famous Men books on the shelf ready to go for YR1 Unit 4 and also YR2, but yesterday I was reading a thread on this board regarding the guides and got to wondering about it. I'd love to hear your thoughts, experiences or suggestions. Blessings, Lucinda

I remember well the excitement of that first TOG package. Congratulations!!! Yes, do print the SAP's from your Loom disc. That is one of the reasons for having the Loom. :) As to content, even though it seems like a whole lot at first, just keep plugging away. My dd read, and read and read during the first unit of YR1 last year, but she learned sooooooooo much and I have been completely impressed by how much she's retained and understands. Blessings, Lucida

I just found out today that I will be working more hours as a part-time teacher this coming year. I have been teaching 4th-8th grade art at a private classical Christian school, which means I've been gone from home one full day each week. I now have the opportunity to teach K-3rd as well, which means I will be at the school two full days per week. I also teach an art class on Friday afternoons to hs students, but my dd is in that class and so I'm not going to be away from her those days. We've managed to make this work because my mother lives with us and she is able to be an adult presence while my (now) 6th grade dd works independently on the assignments I give her. Also, my dh has an on-call job during the week and usually ends up working 4 long days instead of 5. His current job is a new one, but he seems to be home on either a Tuesday or Wednesday each week most of the time -- which is great because both days are my teaching days at the school. So, considering these things I do think I've got things covered on the home front. I'm sad to be away from my dd an added day during the week, but we are not in a position for me to turn down the added income. Dh had let me know recently that an increase of pay for me would take a lot of stress off him and I know that we do need the money. I was already thinking it was time to step up and find opportunities to help more when the opportunity at school came up. I've also been advertising for more students in my Friday hs art class, and it would help us so much if there is a good turnout. This is all going to take a lot of planning and prepping, staying organized and making time to go over the day's lessons with my dd in the evenings. We will have three very full days of school together during the week, then she'll have time to do reading and assignments while I'm at school. I know it will be challenging, but I believe we can do it -- at least I think so now at this moment. The best part of all is that I will have three months off every summer, and I can give my dd lots of attention then and have some downtime for my own self. Have you ever had to spread yourself this way as a hs mom? I know many of you work outside the home while also hs'ing...what types of things help you to stay organized and on top of things, keep yourself from burning out and stay motivated? I'd love to hear from others about these things, and I really could use some encouragement. Thank goodness I only have one child at home or I don't think this would work for me at all. Blessings, Lucinda

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My dear mother is going to be 80 in October and I am truly blessed that I not only see her everyday, she lives with me. Blessings, Lucinda

Someone gave me an older model laminating machine today and I am trying to find the right type of sheets or pouches it might take. Finding answers online hasn't offered much help so far. Even the Royal website doesn't offer much at all. I don't have a product guide of any type and there were no sheets or pouches with it, so don't know where to begin. This is an older 1994 Royal machine and the model number says: Super Guard2. Has anyone used this type of machine before? I don't even know if it needs a carrier or not. :confused: Help? Blessings, Lucinda

We use this same curriculum and love it a lot! This will be our third year with the Explorer's series and my dd has retained an impressive amount of what she's learned. I'm sure the others listed are also good, but I just thought I'd chime in with agreement to what Amber's saying. Blessings, Lucinda

Technically, I bought a used copy, but most of it was still in shrink wrap and had not been used so I did not answer your pole. But if I *were* eligible to take part of the survey, I would have chosen the latter one on the list. I much, MUCH prefer hard copy than digital for reasons that I've stated here before on previous threads. Blessings, Lucinda