I will be homeschooling my two sons for the remainder of the school year (actually, through the summer), starting in April. I have done quite a bit of research on different curriculum and have purchased most of what we will be using. My sons are in the 1st and 4th grades. I purchased R&S English 4 for my 4th grader and I am really excited about using it--it looks great. However, I bought FLL for my 1st grader, and I just am not liking the layout of it. I think what I want is a reader/text for my son to use like R&S provides, in addition to the TM. Since R&S doesn't have a 1st grade English book, and I already purchased our spelling, copywork/handwriting, and phonics books separately, I don't know what part of the 1st grade R&S curriculum I should order if I want it for my younger son. Please give me any advice you can. I can take the other materials back if it is worth it to get the whole 1st grade reading series. Also, would I need to start with unit 1 & 2, or should I start with units 3 & 4, or even 5 since he's already been in school since last August? Thanks for any help you can offer!!!

I will be homeschooling my two sons for the remainder of the school year (actually, through the summer), starting in April. I have done quite a bit of research on different curriculum and have purchased most of what we will be using. My sons are in the 1st and 4th grades. I purchased R&S English 4 for my 4th grader and I am really excited about using it--it looks great. However, I bought FLL for my 1st grader, and I just am not liking the layout of it. I think what I want is a reader/text for my son to use like R&S provides, in addition to the TM. Since R&S doesn't have a 1st grade English book, and I already purchased our spelling, copywork/handwriting, and phonics books separately, I don't know what part of the 1st grade R&S curriculum I should order if I want it for my younger son. Please give me any advice you can. I can take the other materils back if it is worth it to get the whole 1st grade reading series. Also, would I need to start with unit 1 & 2, or should I start with units 3 & 4, or even 5 since he's already been in school since last August? Thanks for any help you can offer!!!

Congratulations on making that first step. I started WW almost 6 years ago, after my second son was born. It took me about 9 months to lose all the baby weight, but after that I was able to get down to an even smaller and healthier weight. The "training" I got by going to WW has helped me to keep all of the weight off since I lost it. Of course, now I'm pregnant again, so I'm not keeping track of points, but I do eat a lot healthier because of the WW influence. I'll go back as soon as this baby is born. I can't say enough good things about WW. I love it!!!! I'll try to post some tips and my favorite cookbooks later. Good luck to you!

I roared like a steam engine when I was in labor with my second. We had him at home, and my midwife joked that the neighbors must have really wondered about my husband after seeing all of these women come into our house (my midwife and my doula), and then hear so much screaming coming out the windows. I don't remember screaming so much as really LOUD hollering for much of the 6 hours I was in labor.

I am currently trying to decide how best to homeschool my 2 sons. They are just finishing Kindergarten and 3rd grade. My Kindergartner is not reading yet, in fact, he's still working on identifying all the letters and what sound they make. My 3rd-grader is an excellent reader (after also being a bit slow, like his younger brother), but really struggles with "math facts". My questions concerns the expectation of having begun a Classical Education at birth, but jumping in mid-stream without having done so. Where should I begin as far as curriculum and grade-level with my kids? I don't want to jump in too deep, but I don't want to be too repetitive either. Do you have any experiences or suggestions you can share with me?

I'm inclined to go with a more Aristotelian view of Classical Education. I believe that in one of Bauer's earlier chapters she discusses (briefly) the virtue children gain from the discipline that comes with following a program like Classical Education. Aristotle emphasizes the importance of virtue much more than Plato. With regard to Plato, Socrates emphasizes in "The Republic" that the goal of education isn't necessarily in order to produce critical thinkers, but good citizens--thus his reasoning behind telling certain stories to children as they grow up, and covering up others which might lead them to defiance against the state. Along the lines of being a good citizen, I believe Aristotle, who says that humans are political creatures by nature and must participate actively in their society, would agree that reasoning produces the best thinking. Moreover, Aristotle introduced formal logic to the Western World, so he should definitely get some Classical Education credit for that. Anyway, that's what I would argue.