Ticonderoga! (made by Dixon)

Managers of Their Homes by Teri Maxwell http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Managers+of+Their+Homes/003890/1225968874-102074 I've had a long path toward learning to manage my home. Growing up with a working mom, I was lost after deciding to be a stay-at-home mom. FlyLady helped a lot! But, I needed a system that I could live with forever. Managers of Their Homes helped me to find solutions that would work for our family. I think her system is a bit overly-complicated (I do have several friends who use it to a tee and love it.) Yet, this book was huge in changing my aprroach to housework. Some of her ideas that inspired me..... Routines, routines, routines. (ex. laundry every day, at the same time.) Everyone has a chore & school routine (even I have a chart.... everyone knows what they should be doing & when) I have to teach the kids how to work Why should I expect them to know how to pick up a room or wipe the sink if I've never taken time to teach them step-by-step? I love this thread! :001_wub: Thanks everyone for the great ideas & motivating thoughts!

Can anyone recommend a teach-yourself-at-home type book or DVD? It was surprising how little I found when I searched this board! I'm hoping that some of your out there have some experience with this. :001_unsure: My 10 year old dd will be getting a guitar for Christmas. I'd like to give her some instructional resources to help her get started right away. She plays piano and can read music, mostly. ;) She has a fun personality and doesn't spend as much time practicing the piano as her siblings. I'm hoping that a guitar will be a better match for her personality! By the way, her father does play guitar a little and can help her.

:iagree: We've had the same experience: Getting dressed for the day helps kids focus. Uniforms are an interesting idea.... I quit letting my kids wear worn-out "play clothes," because of all the times we've unexpectedly had to rush out the door in them. Now they wear their "better" clothes every day and they do get worn out quickly. Hmm...

Heather, yes, your thread did scare me a little. ;) Thank you so much for your clarification. Since I'm starting from scratch, I would like to buy a program that doesn't need me to remember to review. Sometimes, I'm not that reliable. :001_rolleyes:

Does Chalkdust math have some kind of review built into their programs? My dd is ready to start Pre-Algebra. VideoText was one of our main contenders, but after reading that VT lacks much review I am leary of using it. A little review is necessary for my kids. They bombed with MUS, due to lack of review. But Singapore has been a great fit - not reviewing every day, but cycling through the different topics each year has been all they need.

I'm glad to read that! My dd has slowed down her pace a lot during 6B. I just know she is going to be thrilled to move on to something else! Just based on a gut instinct, I'm leaning toward Chalkdust Pre-Algebra. Reallly I think she could handle the Algebra I, but I don't want to push her. But, don't want to waste time either! :001_huh: Wish I had some folks around here who had walked the algebra road before me....

I just responded to similiar thread. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58618 Set your child up to succeed! You know how she thinks. Use whole-language for now if it gives her some self-confidence. Throw in a sprinkling of phonics until you see that she is ready to continue with more. :grouphug: With my son we have a brief phonics time: OPGTR, Explode the Code, etc... Later in the day we have a Reading time: Rod and Staff Reading (which has him really reading & succeeding)

We have two different teaching times per day: #1. Phonics I keep it brief, waiting for the day he "gets" it. My 7 year old is still tediously trying to sounding out 3 letter words. We're using OPGTR, Explode the Code, & Sonlight readers. #2. Reading. Rod & Staff Reading has saved the day. It is purely sight word based (we do not use their seperate phonics program.) He can learn this way! He can stay on grade-level even without phonics skills. Don't get me wrong - I'm hoping that sounding out a word will eventually "click," but it has been amazing to watch him blossom with self-confidence and pride.:seeya:

testing mine

My dd is finishing up Singapore 6B. Should she go into Chalkdust PreAlgbra or skip to their Algebra I? We have VideoText module 1 available to use, but I hear their pre-algebra section goes very quickly. I'm thinking about going straight to VideoText, if the Singapore has prepared her to do so. But, if she needs to start at Pre-Algebra, I'm considering buying Chalkdust for her. Oh, so many decisions! ;) (I know Chalkdust has a placement test that costs $16 that can be applied to the course. But, if we go with VideoText, then that money will be gone.)

We just decided to hold our son back a year, from 2nd to 1st, even with a January birthday! He is tall (my only tall one) but it was still a great decision. He now thinks that he is a pretty smart fella because he understands all his school work!

For the very beginning writer, HWOT is great! I would move to something else for cursive. Their cursive looks odd. ;)

I've been told by an experienced homeschool friend that TOG rhetoric level subjects are at AP level. Is this true?

It's time I choose an algebra program. My only criteria is that it be DVD based. Will the new WTM have updated reviews for algebra? If I know it will, then maybe I can stretch out my choice until it's release. If not, I need to pick something soon! :001_huh:

I don't see much about Video Text on this board. But, when there is a comment it is almost always seems positive. Why is it less popular than other DVD-based programs? My dd is finishing up Singapore 6B and the Key To series. I'm running out of time to choose algebra... :001_huh:

Hi, I can't answer all these Q's, :001_smile: but here are a few answers: The books listed as "History:Core" would be the spine books. Actually, a first grader will use LG now and then UG in 5th. Here is how TOG defines their levels (copied from the TOG website): Lower Grammar Non-fluent reader Approximately grades K-3 Enjoys learning basic facts Upper Grammar Independent reader Approximately grades 3-6 Enjoys memorizing concrete, sequential facts Dialectic Reads to learn Approximately grades 6-9 Enjoys making connections and learning to debate Rhetoric Reads the Great Books Approximately grades 9-12 Enjoys analyzing and synthesizing ideas and arguments The Dia reading assignments are challenging but doable for my 7th grader. There is no way that my 5th grader could handle all the Dia reading. Instead, my 5th grader reads mostly UG with 1 or 2 Dia assignments each week. Trivium Academy is correct! TOG has a great book list. As a matter of fact.... If you decide to use SOTW now but know that TOG is in your future, I highly recommend you start investing in those wonderful books now. Then when you start TOG full time, your younger children will get to benefit from the TOG books without you needing to buy more books for them! (Personally, I wish that we had started with TOG from the beginning, but agree with FlockOfSillies that it's hard to learn to pick-n-choose.)

Me too.

Also, you could go ahead and get the Lower Grammar books and use them twice. I am really enjoying their great selection of LG books and wished that my older children had used them also! Not to mention that it is very expensive for me now to buy the resources for several levels. I wished that I would have invested my curriculum money in TOG back then instead of using other things. Just my two cents. :cheers2:

Have you tried a sight word based program? After struggling through phonics for 2 years, we switched to Rod & Staff Reading. My son, who still can’t sound very many 3 letter words, can read whole books with sight words. He firmly knows his letter sounds but he just cannot put them together into words. He is in 2nd grade now and I do occasionally pull out the OPGTR or Explode the Code. One day I hope he will get it. But, until then he is having great success with R&S books. He has started recognizing & memorizing words from other books based upon the confidence he now has. Another sight word program is Pathway Reading. Here is the link to it on rainbow resource: http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1219171093-27226&subject=6&category=925 p.s. I’ve successfully taught two daughters to read with phonics and do believe phonics is best for most kids!

Okay, I saw this once on a post here, but never saw the correct translation. It means something like "to work is to pray." :001_huh: Maybe someone could help with the translation? laborare est orare

FLL (hands-down! In a few minutes per day my kids learned so much.)

Post-It Notes - How in the world can you home school without them?! FlashMaster - I kissed flashcards goodbye. ;) Ticonderoga pencils - After sharpening a truckload of cheap pencils I've become quite a pencil snob!

Okay, so now I see that I lied a little; I've read it in the early spring for the last 5 or 6 years, but only the Grammar & Dialectic levels. I still haven't read the whole Rhetoric section, probably will this year. Each time I reread the lower levels I see something new that will apply to our families current needs - they keep changing! ;)

siloam! You are a genius! :001_smile: I've seen that button on the bookshelf page and never thought to look at it. You just made my life so much easier.