:iagree::iagree: I love Telling God's Story as far as being a gentle introduction. They start with New Testament selections that emphasize God's love for us. I've always thought the stories about getting locked inside a whale or a cave with a lion were kind of scary introductions for kids. They're exciting, but I like talking about God's love first. When Grace was little she called the story about Jonah and the whale the "man who got the big time out" and she would always ask if that would happen to her. That wasn't really the point I was going for, KWIM?

I think it's just so you can remember particular people who have posts you enjoy or are using a particular curriculum. I've got a couple friends that use Phonics Road. Someone friended me once after a post I made that they liked I guess... Other than that I don't know what they do. But now I bet everyone who responds to this is going to friend you just to be funny, LOL.

:grouphug::grouphug: It's hard when it's your own family against homeschooling, and it's also hard when you have a child that doesn't fit into any particular box. :grouphug:

bump...

I've seen several people mention using WWE or IEW with Phonics Road. For those of you using the program, do you feel it is necessary to add either WWE, IEW or FLL to the program for Level 1,2 or 3?

What do you already own and what would you have to buy? Go with the cheapest plan (because, honestly, both of those look great) and use the money you saved for museum visits or something fun and educational.

Can anyone explain what the benefits are to grinding the wheat yourself? It it healthier? Thanks!

I didn't even think about it from this angle but it's a very good point. :iagree:

I think it might help Mexico if we made it somewhat legal here. It might shut down some of the drug cartels. There are so many people dying in order to supply the U.S. On the other hand, more people might die if it became legal due to traffic fatalities. There's no easy answer. I wish people just wouldn't do it. Getting high makes one a little bit responsible for all the deaths that brought that weed (or whatever other drug) to your door. But you still have to wonder how many more people would die in car accidents related to driving while high if they made it legal. That's just my personal opinion though. I'm not trying to make anyone mad... It's just what I think.

Thanks for all the links!

I'd love to hear what Spycar has to say about Math In Focus. How is it similar to Singapore and what are the major differences?

Funny you should mention that. A friend of ours couldn't make church this weekend because their dryer had a malfunction (not lint related) and caught on fire last week. In fifteen minutes the house was damaged to the point they can't stay there while it's repaired. They were outside in the yard when it happened.

We've got it. I'm planning on using it starting this fall, but we did do a preview lesson or two this summer. I really like the way it's set up. It seems to stress God's love for us through the lessons, and that is what my daughter needs. She is very prone to deciding she is "bad" if she breaks a rule in an all or nothing sort of way. I like that she is learning the lessons about God's love for us first. I think the curriculum is very doable and easy to add into a busy homeschool schedule. It doesn't feel like something we'll have to ditch if we get behind in math, KWIM? And the way it goes over one story/scripture per week allows my daughter to digest the information better. She has her whole life to learn about the bible. I don't mind her taking her time to really absorb it.

What level of Phonics Road would you be using? We're using Level One and I do not find that it takes an inordinate amount of time each day, although I do have to watch the DVDs on weekends (usually 20 minutes on Saturday). We always get the work done within one hour maximum, with 20 minutes being our average time (although we spread it between subjects because my dd is wiggly). We are only in level one though, so I am not sure if things get harder/longer as you go along. If you could commit to doing the Phonics Road with them could someone else help them out with the rest of it? Are they at an age where they can do some subjects more independently?

:lol::lol: It's funny that two brothers have such different reactions to cursive.

Thanks! We have Startwrite too so I will check out that font and let her take a go at it. It will be nice to do some handwriting she's actually excited about for a change, LOL!

I picked my DD up from science camp today and she had written all her papers in manuscript (when we taught cursive). She doesn't really know manuscript very well, so she still writes in all caps and some of the letters aren't quite right. We taught her using cursive but she has continuously requested to do manuscript. When we let her write in manuscript she used to write all her words backwards and leave huge spaces in between the letters, so we taught cursive to avoid that, but that was not the case today. I asked her about why she used manuscript and she said she's embarrassed to write in cursive when none of the other children do, and she just refuses to budge on the issue. Should I just teach her manuscript and let her do it as she likes until second or third grade? I could do D'nelian so it would be similar in style, just unconnected. I guess I just think if she's going to do it I should teach her to do it right? Sadly, I'm a bit worried that people might think I'm not teaching her, LOL. I know that's my issue and not hers but it's still there. :blush: I have to take her to swim lessons now so I won't be back until 1:30, but I'd love to hear from someone who may have been there and done that and can either tell me it's OK or talk me down from the ledge. Thanks! Hailey

How did they rule out the effect of reading books? Could the advancement of language skills in school children simply be related to reading? I've always thought that those with higher language skills tended to be avid readers.

:iagree: We love that one here! It's very doable and the projects turn out beautifully. Here's a post where you can see one of the projects we did... http://givingourbest.blogspot.com/2011/06/art-pictures.html

:grouphug: :grouphug::grouphug:

I think at this age the focus should be on getting the kids to be kind to each other, and then branch it out into the larger society. For example, sometimes if kids live in a highly sheltered world where people don't talk about things like homelessness, the kids won't know enough to think of it. I told my daughter so many times that she's lucky, that there are people out there with no homes, etc., but it wasn't real to her. However, in the past year we've gone back to attending our old church in the city. Now she sees me handing granola bars out the car window to the homeless on our way home from church. She sees the homeless standing in line for sandwiches and drinks on our way into the church building. Now she knows about it in a way she really understands. She thinks about them and wonders where they take a bath when she's in her nice warm tub. She wonders where they are sleeping when she gets in her bed at night. She makes bagged lunches to hand out. She draws pictures and writes encouraging notes to put in the bags for them. She is very giving in that way. HOWEVER- if you ask her to share her toys you've got a whole different ball game going on. Making sandwiches is a wonderful step toward awareness, and it's definitely altruistic, but she's not giving the shirt off her back. When she's got to share her favorite princess dress up with the kid from next door she's got her real challenge and it's very intense for her. But I know that helping her learn to share that dress is also helping her become a better person, KWIM? The dress is the real key to future altruism. This is why I think you have to start small and build up. I'm not trying to diminish what my daughter does for the homeless, but right now she does it with our money and her endless free time. I want her to keep building on it so that when it's her money and her very precious, rare free time she will still want to do it. I'm not sure any of that really made sense... I guess I'm saying that if you can get your kids to be kind to each other you've laid the foundation for the rest of it.

My DD really enjoys Rightstart because it's so hands on... I guess it depends on what your child is drawn to, because they are both great programs (from what I hear). I have been really happy with the progress my child made in RS Level A. Her comprehension of place value is very good and that was my goal for kindergarten. We're just starting B and I'm pretty excited about it so far, but I hear a lot of people leave Rightstart after this level. That is something to take into consideration as well.

I took about a week and went through the CC history sentence list and recommended books with a fine tooth comb. I made my own list for each week of all the age appropriate books from the list that are available at our library. I also came up with a book corresponding to each science topic from our library. You can usually look up the book descriptions on Amazon and see if you think it will work, then do a quick view of the ones that are questionable at the library. My library also had a bunch of books that were not on the list but looked great to help my DD understand the weekly topics. We'll do copywork that ties into the science or history topics for that week to reinforce the learning. So- as long as I do my book requests on time I should have what I need.... It's a lot of work, but I'm going into this year with peace of mind that our time will be well spent. Last year we didn't tie it in and retaining the information was a big issue. It takes up a whole day of our week, so it can't be just an extra for us. So, besides that, I got the Elemental History package for a spine, craft ideas, etc. We're also doing Phonics Road and Rightstart Math, and a little BFSU on the side. We've got flashcards and Scrambled States of America boardgame for learning the geography, as well as a capitals song to learn. I think that's it...

The only ones I know off hand are Phonics Road and I think MCT... and doesn't Sonlight have a language arts program?

This is a pretty random thing to day- but as for the concrete floor... They have concrete paint you can use on the floor and it looks nice enough. The floor stays cold and hard though. Good luck to you. My sister moved in with my parents for six years after her divorce. She just moved out recently, and I am proud to say all family members are still speaking, LOL.