I don't think I would have known what my daughter is capable of learning if I hadn't joined the co op. I would have looked at all that information and just assumed it was too much for her. She's very motivated to learn so that she can review the memory work with her friends at school, so I've been able to see just how much she can handle.

Are there any similar games to play on a regular computer or laptop- nonapple versions? This looks great! It makes me wish I had an Ipad!

You can get 20% off now at the Math Mammoth site with a coupon code. I forgot what the code is but I saw it listed on the board recently.

The y is different in Phonics Road. They separate it into a vowel card and a consonant card. That's the only difference I can think of off the top of my head...

We are doing CC this year, but since it's kindergarten I haven't tried to do much history. It's enough to get her to sit still for math and reading ;). But I have seen how fast it moves and wonder if it's even worth it to try to keep up. It sounds like, from the opinions on this thread, at least doing the American History would be worth it for sanity reasons. So I guess I will try that- I'll try to adapt Guesthollow or something. It just makes me antsy to not have a spine and a schedule. I'll have to print out Guesthollow and have a go out at it... The other stuff we've decided on are: Math: Rightstart B, possibly Math Mammoth added in and some Miquon Language Arts: Phonics Road Level 1 Handwriting: she's got the letter formation down so we'll continue with plain copywork Science: BFSU and/or Guesthollow, depending on the week and how things fit together Song School Latin History: still looking... Art: outsourced

That's another thought I had- maybe I should just do a quick run through CHOW before we start up next year? If I started now I could probably get through it before the end of the summer. But I don't have any lesson plans or anything set up for it. Just the book. So I would just read it to her and hope for the best, LOL. Thanks so much for the tip about CC cycles. I am glad to hear from someone who has been there and done that. Maybe the SOTW 1 idea isn't as logical as I was starting to think it was...:confused:

OK, I have everything settled for next year except history. I keep going back and forth over what to do for history. We are in Classical Conversations, and they are going to be doing American History (although it's a very fast pace). I have SOTW 1 with the Activity Guide, and I recently purchased CHOW. I am trying to decide between doing first grade Ancients or first grade American History. Pros of doing SOTW 1: It's already set up for me. All I need to do if follow the guide and add in library extras. It's meant for her age group. The following year in CC all the history sentences will have meaning for Grace and help her recall her learning from first grade. Pros of doing American History for 1: It will mesh with what she's learning at CC as long as I can keep up the same pace, and American history is fun. CONS of American History: I'm a new homeschool mom and I'll have to adapt something meant for older homeschoolers. I'm not sure it's worth the effort just so that her history sentences match up to her curriculum. I'm kind of leaning toward just doing SOTW 1 and adding in library books about some of the history topics from CC here and there... Any thoughts? I've heard lots of moms talking about what to do and I'm wondering if anyone else is considering just doing Ancients for first grade despite the CC schedule. Sorry this is so long- my husband says I always write so much that no one will read it. :lol: Thanks! Hailey

:bigear: I'm trying to figure this out too.

We might be interested in this- I have no idea what to do with Grace for Geography, and the artist/composer series sounds great.

Nevermind- just found the k-5 reference. Sorry!

What are the age ranges you are looking for?

Yeah, they usually have employees around to make sure nothing gets touched or damaged. They do have displays every once in a while that are for children to touch and play with, so I think they do the best they can under the circumstances. They've probably had an instance of an child crashing a stroller into something. After watching my daughter try to push a grocery cart in the store I can definitely see the possiblity there ;)

OK, I just scanned it... If you need a copy let me know and I will email it to you. Hailey

http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/Default.aspx Just in case no one has mentioned it, they're doing a Picasso exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA from Feb 19-May 15... Hailey

The 2nd edition will be fine if you are OK with a few penciled in changes. No one in my co op bought new guides- they just handed the sheets out and penciled in the differences.

OK, it's a one page sheet of minor differences. It's too much for me to type out though... If no one has a computer copy to share tonight I will scan it into the computer tomorrow and email it to you. Just let me know :)

I have a sheet on it. Let me go see if I can locate it. Our director handed it out this week...

Thanks so much for the advice. It's good to know that veering from the typical path won't hurt us in the long run... Separating the handwriting from the subject, or making it "optional," has really helped Grace start to enjoy PR. So I'm glad that doing it this way is fine... Hopefully by the fall she'll be writing on paper better and we can start logging into the book. Thanks so much for the tips!

Thanks, that answers my question!

I read somewhere that SOTW 3 is a little more dry and not something the younger ones would enjoy... Is this correct or could the SOTW 3 be a helpful resource in planning out next year with CC? My daughter will be in first grade and I know we're supposed to start with the ancients, but I just don't feel like doing two different time periods at once. Anyway, the pp who mentioned that they listen to SOTW 3 in the car made me wonder if that is something we could do as well. We live in an area where we end up on longer car rides somewhat frequently. But I don't want to spend the money on it if it's not something Grace would be drawn into...

Thanks! That does help!:)

We're on week 8... The first few weeks were a little overwhelming, especially when I had to get Grace to write in the first building codes (she hates handwriting), but now that we're in the lists it seems very doable. I still do a little Webster's but PR is moving into the "main program" spotlight. I do have a question for the mom's of younger ones: we are splitting the lists in half since Grace is younger, and so far I do "review day" instead of test day. She writes the review words on the whiteboard (or uses AAS letter tiles and marks them) instead of in the workbook, because it's just easier for her. I help her if she writes them incorrectly, and I just write down which ones she misses and go over them again the next week. Is it OK to do the program this way? I want to be more gentle with it because she's younger.

Which SWB lecture did you purchase? I've been thinking of listening to some but I don't know which ones are most informative...

Thanks guys, I think I will go with the exercise ball. She just needs something to let her wiggle during school. I agree that short lessons are good, and we do keep them short, but she's just a wiggly person-it's in her nature... She just needs something to do with her hands or her body at all times, and I'm afraid she's going to kill herself on that indoor swing bar one day if I let her keep climbing on it. It's nice as long as she's not going to try to throw her knees over the bar and hang upside down, but she's getting a little too creative with it for my comfort level. So I think we'll try out the ball. I'm glad you let me know about the kids wanting to bounce in the room if it had a handle. I was thinking about that and trying to decide, LOL...

My daughter has some sensory issues and I've been letting her use an indoor swing during school, but it's getting to be an issue because she's doing acrobatic feats on it instead of paying attention. There's a bar at the top that she's using to climb up the swing. Has anyone used a stability ball or a hop ball for school? I need something to help her stay moving but still pay attention. I saw the smaller exercise balls, but I also saw these balls with a handle that they can use for jumping around as well. If I got her a jumping ball could she use this for a sitting ball for school as well, or should I stick with an exercise ball? Does anyone else have tips for something they use for sensory kids that works well? :) Thanks so much for any tips!!! Hailey