Do you mean Jessie Wise?

Thank you so much. I thought I would check before I bought anything. I hate spending money on something that won't get used.

Are the Miquon Annotations necessary if using the Miquon books? Thanks!

Having my co-op definitely helps with getting memory done around here. This is a good lecture by Andrew Pudewa that can help motivate and provide good memory strategies: http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/ml-e

I will say that overall it has been a good experience for us so far. And it is probably my son's favorite subject. I have been using the recommendation of having him keep a geography notebook and this has been a huge hit. I use it for copywork and have him draw pictures. In fact, maps that were small enough to fit in his notebook would probably be better for him, but he does enjoy getting out the maps, too.

We're using BF Geography right now and I agree that it would help if there were examples of the maps in the guide. You should email them about this. I know that they're in the process of redoing and updating all of their guides and they are asking for people to tell them what changes they would like to see.

That would be helpful. I think one of my problems is that I'm not always using the cards, since the words are listed in the book. I also wish they were put to song or written in a catchy way that were easier to remember. I suppose I could do this myself. Has anyone else tried doing that with AAS? I know that's what PR does, which is why I think it's so effective. A friend of mine who uses PR says that even her younger kiddos know the rules because of this.

I guess if what you mean by teacher intensive as having to sit and go through it with them, then yes. But, once everything is set up, it is very open and go--one of the things that is so great about it. I would also add that it is very simple to follow. I feel like spelling is one of those subjects that seems to move very quickly around here.

Thanks, Kristen! I think for a while I wasn't doing a lot of review because everything seemed to be coming quite easily for him, but now, as things are becoming a bit more complicated, I can see that he needs it.

Thanks for the ideas. I think maybe we haven't been reviewing them enough. I don't always do all the recommended reviews at the beginning. That was probably okay early on, but more necessary now that things are getting more complicated.

I'm getting to the end of AAS Level 1 with my 6 yo and he seems to have trouble remembering the rules. In fact, I'm having trouble remembering the rules ;-) Have any of you who have used the program had this problem? Does it get better in the next level? Thanks for any input you may have!!

They are really inexpensive at Wal-Mart. I think I paid $6 for mine. I should also mention that I started off with one the size they recommend (I think it's 2 ft x 3 ft., right?) and you don't need one nearly that large. Although, I have to say that I'm seriously digging Merry's idea with the folders!

We're using this little book from TPR World and so far we are having so much fun: http://www.tpr-world.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=1000-10-07 I do recommend watching this video to get an idea of how TPR works: http://www.tpr-world.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=1000-10-08

I saw Rea Berg do a walk through her California history guide last year at the convention. I never thought I would want to do a thorough study of California history until I saw her presentation. There's one book that I remember that really stood out at me that I thought would be really good, if I only used one, and it was The Cruise of the Arctic Star by Scott O'Dell. The Arctic Star is a boat and as it sails down the coast of California, important historical events are recounted. It sounded really interesting. Hope this helps!

What's the "Charlotte Mason Scripture idea"? I love the 3x5 card idea, btw.

I think Minimus makes a great "reader" in addition that teaches the forms more formally, like Prima Latina or Latina Christiana. To see if you need the TM, get the book and see how much of it you can figure out on your own. It does include vocabulary lists. But it doesn't have a glossary--which is annoying.

I listened to this lecture a few months ago. And I've heard SWB talk about it, too. Honestly, I never took the "delay grammar" arguments very seriously because mostly they had more to do with the fact that it's easier for a child to learn grammar when they are 10 than when they are 6 or 7. Well, you could say that about just about everything. In this lecture, I think Andrew P. offers the best argument for the delay-formal-grammar idea than anyone I've heard. But, the key component of his argument is studying a foreign language, in which the child is studying grammar in a much more natural setting. He talks about how most people who say they understand grammar will admit that they never understood grammar until they studied a foreign language. This was definitely the case for me. I never understood grammar until I studied Greek and Latin in college. I know if you get Prima Latina by Memoria Press that it does incorporate the teaching of English grammar with the Latin. To make a long story short, I may now be a convert.

Not only is it a good booklist, but also a good read. He does such a good job of making the case for reading aloud (even after the child can read). It really changed the way I thought about reading to kids. I think it's worth owning. I often take it with me to the library to help my kids pick out decent books. Honey for a Child's Heart and Books Children Love are also good. I guess I just have a think for books about books.

As someone who didn't learn Latin and Greek until college, I remember the one thing that I wished I had going into it was a stronger background in grammar that I did not receive from my public school education. As nice as an idea it is to skip English Grammar if you are learning Latin, I don't think it is a reality.

Was FLL better?

I have a lot of friends in OC that are part of charter schools. I can get the names for you, if you want. We also have our own classical co-op, but we meet in Pomona. And it looks like your kids are older than most of ours.

Thank you for all of your amazing responses. I was hoping for at least 1 or 2 thoughtful responses, but instead I got four pages of great responses. I think I'm going to stick with PR and supplement some of the things that I also like about AAS. I do think PR is a fine curriculum (and I use the word "fine" as in a "fine cigar"). I actually did use AAS a little bit last year and do see where it has it's benefits, as well. I'm just wishing I hadn't already sold it. I did find this great article on the AAS website on Developing Phonemic Awareness that gives instructions on how to teach this to the kiddos. I remember doing this last year with my DS, but for some reason could not remember how it was done. Pretty simple, really. Thanks for the advice on honing in my general philosophy. I feel like that is happening a lot this year. I spent a lot of time listening to others, but this year I've been doing more reading on my own. I've discovered Charlotte Mason this year, a philosophy I only blew off in the past because I really didn't understand it. But there's so much richness there yet to explored. Although, my roots will always be classical. I realized that I'm forgetting the maxim from my very own mother, who was a teacher for years, that every curriculum needs to be supplemented. Katrina, I feel like you could be my clone. You have articulated exactly how I feel more than once. It does help to not feel so alone. How exactly do you use both? I like the idea, but I don't want to overwhelm my DS. Tina, Thanks for the explanations of PRs literary study. It definitely sounds better than I had understood. It's people like you that make me want to use PR, especially when you use pie analogies. Oh, Elizabeth, Thanks for the reminder that what I do is not set in stone. My only fear is making too many changes that result in confusing my kiddos. Although, I do have a question--if AAS had been more established back when you chose PR, do you think you still would have gone with PR? I'm just curious what you would have done in retrospect.

Thanks. I will check out your posts.

I think the main reason I'm rethinking my spelling curriculum is because I haven't started spelling, yet. And I would like to stick with whatever I start with, and I'm wondering if I'm going to want to spend the money on PR after I finish PR1. My DS is 5 1/2. We've been working on penmanship and reading so far and I'm planning to start spelling after the holidays. He's gotten very comfortable writing, so I thought I could start him on spelling soon. We have been using the phonograms for writing and I have incorporated a few extra sounds that AAS uses because I think it makes more sense. I am probably way over thinking this and I know they are both great curricula, but I do appreciate the input. Thank you so much.

Katrina, I feel like I could have written this. It's exactly how I feel. I also want the WTM/CM style writing. It's the word analysis/marking that draws me to PR and I'm trying to figure out if AAS does similar analysis. I read through the discussion you linked to, which was very helpful. I have a close friend who works at one of the top private schools is Southern California and specializes in teaching reading and she was recently telling me that teaching segmenting is crucial for reading, which is something AAS incorporates. Although, I'm guessing this could be incorporated with PR as well. Someone mentioned that AAS teaches "syllabification", but PR doesn't. Do you (or anyone else) know what this is and why it's important? Thanks for the input.