My son, who turned 7 in February, has been playing Sodoku for the past couple of days. We have a board like this one: Sudoku Wooden Board He has been systematically going through the puzzles and is getting them correct. Is this typical for a 7 year old who has just completed first grade? Or does this sound rather advanced?

Thanks. Used the code TOPSECRET for an additional 20% off - great deal :001_smile:

I like it. I like unusual names though. I have a daughter named Arwyn ;) I know a little girl named March. Nice name too Edited to add: I'd go for it and let her nickname be "Em" or "Ember"

My son who will be using this in 2nd, used CLE in 1st for Phonics/Reading. He actually only made it through CLE's Learning to Read. I find that most of the 3rd grade level was easily adaptable/on target for his skill level. CLE did so much with spelling that the first word set was a breeze for him. He had already learned "igh" was long /i/. So easy-peasy there. I'm continuing his phonics/reading for next year in addition to this program. I probably do the Dancing Bears Fast Track instead of CLE. I think it would be too much to do CLE and POE so I searched for an alternative. Edited to add: It would be too much for this child to do CLE and POE. Probably not for some, especially if CLE doesn't take them long.

Great thread! Secular homeschooling family here too :001_smile:

Yes, absolutely and without a doubt. Chronic debilitating pain suffocates joy - it keeps people in dark places. Any drug that can alleviate the agony should be utilized. No one should have to suffer so needlessly. *heart*

Yes, I think it could. Couple areas that you will have to tweak for 1st: 1. Copywork - This one is easy. I would just have the 1st grader copy only 1 of the sentences 2. Writing - Perhaps dictate to you more than actually write themselves. Or later, have them copy what you wrote down. 3. Spelling - A lot might be above your 1st grader. I'd leave it out and use whatever phonics program you are doing. 4. Read-Aloud - Doubtful your first grader can read-aloud from the reader (my 2nd grader can't). I just had my 2nd grader listen to his brother read. The passages are short. Since we are still doing phonics, his read-aloud is done with that. 5. Art Projects / Science / Geography - Probably all fine to do pretty much as is. 6. Grammar - This is fairly limited anyhow. I just tweaked it on the fly for my 2nd grader. If there was much writing, I would have him dictate to me. 7. Discussion - Expect age-appropriate answers or just mostly listening to you and your other child talk. Maybe ask some "easier" questions. 8. Reader - The reader that you will use will likely still interest him. I noticed my son who will be starting K this fall was listening to the battle scene closely in the Columbus book. I did notice that my boys need something to do with their hands while Im reading. I plan on printing out coloring pages for them to work on while I'm reading. We've done that with SOTW and it works well. 9. Narrations - I would use the 3rd grade level as a guide and perhaps not read the entire paragraph if your 1st grader isn't ready. I"m sure there is stuff I'm missing but suffice to say that I think it could be done. You will need to add phonics/reading for the 1st grader. Of course, this is all based on my very limited experience. Maybe you could print out the samples and grab the books from the library and give it a trial week. That is what I did to ensure the boys would work well together for all subjects (they have only done history/science together in the past).

I'm using it next year for my 2nd and 4th grade boys. I did the sample week with them to see how it would work - teaching them together. They loved it. And loved the activities. I'm excited to use it next year.

Perfect :) Thank you

I would like to use ZB Handwriting next year. Can you give me an idea of how big a book is? Lesson every day? Every other? One of my children started cursive with HWOT. I'd like for him to switch to ZB. Should I go back to the 3rd grade and have him do that one first or is there enough review for him to pick it up in 4th? (he will be in the 4th grade). Thanks!

go in the front yard without you? I'm in the country with no neighbors and a huge yard: 3 with siblings, 4-5 by themselves In town: 5ish with siblings, 7 alone stay home for a short period of time with you near by (like if I took the dog 7ish with older siblings, 9ish alone Stay home while I was at a shop or running a quick errand... -7 with older siblings, 10 alone Babysit younger sibs? 12/13 for quick stuff and watching ages 3+. Wouldn't leave the baby or under 3 until 15/16. Ride bikes close to home but without you right there? Never lived somewhere this is possible

:iagree: I had a stalker in high school / college. Honestly, I think I only lost him b/c I got married and moved everything out of my name. He stalked me for years and years. I never saw him. Only found notes or people that I worked with would say that he had been in asking about me. He also called and hung up or would leave messages with songs playing. I only went out with him one time and he latched on. If I googled him (which I've done before) and found that he was living 1 mile away, I'd be a basketcase. Wouldn't matter a bit that 12 years had passed since our last contact. Of course I'm in a very rural area and that would play into it. The coincidence would be slightly less concerning if we were in a major metropolitan area. But here? In the middle of nowhere? Um, yeah, I'd be in shock. :grouphug: I don't think you are being a stalker at all. I don't think you are acting in a "crazy" manner. I think you are appropriately shaken. Now that you know (aren't you glad you know!?!), I would definitely keep an eye out. I certainly hope it is nothing more than an coincidence.

We used most of the above mentioned. Hands down, this one got the states and where they are on the map into the long-term memory the best: The Little Man in the Map: http://www.schoolsidepress.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=279 Amazon Reviews (and cheaper): http://www.amazon.com/Little-Man-Map-Remember-States/dp/0978510046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277660087&sr=8-1

I have DGA and just bought Artistic Pursuits (first jr. high book). At a glance, there is one glaring difference. Artistic Pursuits includes copies of art pictures. There are actually studies of those pictures and some true art history to go along with it. DGA doesn't have that. I'll be able to give a more thorough review in a few months once I've used Artistic Pursuits rather than just glance through it ;)

Sonlight - Alt 7 Core It is what I would do. Even with a poorer reader. I'd just get as many on Audible and read-aloud some of the readers. Pick a handful of easier readers and spread them over a longer period of time for the studen. Learning to love the stories/reading inspires many kids to want to read more. Least it did with my daughter. FTR, on of the spines is CHOW which is a 4th grade reading level. :)

Depending on what they are... I might offer them free for shipping. Sometimes people want to get their hands on a copy to see if it would work them. Otherwise, I'd keep last year's and toss anything older than that.

Town

Glad you bumped this. I'm waiting to see if there are anymore reviews as well....

You might want to check the challenging series of lit for your 8th grader - they are a bit different though so make sure you check out the sample.

These are secular. I think they have what you are looking for. There is a sample for you to see: http://www.garlicpress.com/home/gar/smartlist_23/discovering_literature_series.html Sample: http://www.garlicpress.com/shop/images/Discovering_Lit.pdf

I used Building Poems this year with my 6th grader. It is not a bit below her - I agree that you will learn things with your kids. It is one of my daughter's favorite books. Here is an idea of what you will go over: 1. Building Poems - this section talks a lot about the sounds of our language. My daughter was blown away by the things she had never noticed. Like using t, g, st, and sk in words produces words with scratchy sounds - good for poems where there is scratching such as branches on a window. 2. Patterns of Sound - rhyme(internal, end, and eye), alliteration, consonance, assonance 3. Meter - iamb, trochee, dactyl, anapest, spondee, monometer-octameter 4. Stanza - couplet, triplet, quatrain, quintet, sestet, ballad, sonnet, rhyme royal, limerick, 5. Figures of Speech - simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, 6. Enjambed/End-stopped - end-stopped, enjambed, near/slant rhyme, 7. Poetry - Poems to analyze. The analysis is throughout all the chapters. This chapter has more in addition to those. Also some questions for review. The back of the book contains the Teacher Section which contains things like: Poetry Recipes Ideas for Discussion Writing Assignments example) Find a ballad stanza by Emily Dickinson and try to rewrite it in dactyls or anapests. Discuss what you learn by trying this. There is also a poetry pre and post test so you can gauge what has been learned. Lastly, there are a few more poems to analyze at the back. Hope that helps! We love the poetry books here. They are quite unique I think.

One to keep an eye on : http://classicaleducationresources.com/product.sc?productId=33&categoryId=6

I'm like Jean - it's part of my fibromyalgia. Hey Jean, I forget my numbers and address and birthdays and.... all.the.time. Drives me crazy and makes me feel like an idiot sometimes. *sigh* I have a Word file on my computer with all this info in it. If I'm making a call where I know they are going to ask any/all of the info, I make sure to have it open so I don't have to depend on my recall *blush* I also keep a file in my car that list directions to/from each place that I normally visit. Nothing is worse than not remembering how to get to/from some place that you have been a gazillion times.

Tennyson Hall Loved the poet Didn't want to be a school...

I'm both - that is super organized and I try to be super relaxed. Like today, school was just not going to happen despite my best efforts. The kids were just.... well, you know how it gets. We were just all burned out from a hectic week. So while I have a schedule; I have to remain flexible in order for my sanity to remain intact. My 3 year old destroying machine will often sleep until 9-10 am. My boys are early risers. Some of our best days capitalize on this. If I can manage to be doing school with the 1st and 3rd grader by 7 am then they are often done or about done when their sister gets up. Makes things much, much easier. The 3 year old does not nap :001_huh: I SO wish she would. The newest member - 7 weeks old isn't too hard to manage. I do have to hold him a lot to keep him quiet. I have the olders do specific activities with the youngers. ie. 3rd grader reading to the 3 yo (lots of picture books are actually challenging reading) 1st grader writes spelling words in chalk outside and 5 yo Pre-K copies his words.... I make sure to take breaks for the Pre-K crowd - read to them, sing a song. Give them time too yk? The oldest child - 12 - does much of her work independently. However, most of the kiddos are in bed by 8. If we haven't gotten to one of our "together subjects" during the day, we snuggle on the couch and catch up after all the youngers are in bed. My kids are 12, 9, 7, 5, 3, and 7 weeks.