Jiminy Crispies!!!

[meggie]

I am insane. I must be insane. Apparently I have a need to buy multiple programs for each subject. I already posted about my desire for FIVE math programs here. Ya know, because 1 or even 2 programs aren't going to teach him enough math :smash:

 

Want to hear what I want to order now?

 

Math-still the five programs (MUS, Miquon, MEP, Singapore, LOF)

 

Science-Elemental Science (because we're using it now and it seems to be working so why fix it?), RSO (because it seems better than ES), and BFSU (because I love the explanations and demonstrations even if I'm an open and go type of person).

 

History-I have SOTW and the AG, but apparently it's not enough and I totally want History Odyssey. That way he'll learn everything in more depth.

 

Art-I have Drawing with Children and have never even done a lesson with it (see above about being an open and go type of person), yet I want Artistic Pursuits, Meet the Masters and Mark Kistler.

 

French-*grumbles grumbles grumbles*

 

Language Arts-I'm happy, for now, with what we've got: FLL1, WWE 1, Startwrite, and AAS1. But NOBODY talk about how wonderful WWW, GWG, and Apples & Pears are.

 

Music Appreciation-I have a lot of the Classical Kids CDs that my mom passed down to me. But I'm not even sure what to do with them. I need a program to tell me what to do with them!!!! :willy_nilly:

 

 

Have I mentioned he'll only be in the first grade next year? :svengo: Pretty sure he won't need 22 programs :glare:

 

Somebody please tell me how to get over this. (And if there are any others just as indecisive as me, please tell me all the things you want to get. Just so I don't get lonely here in Crazyville :toetap05:)

[SunnyDays]

Oh, but it's so nice here in Crazyville, LOL... :D

 

I have no advice but I feel for you. We're currently using 2 math programs. I was worried yesterday whether MCT (yes, MCT) was enough for grammar. And let's not even talk about history... right now I'm waffling between whether to do American or Ancients next year, and I have two programs picked out for each one, just in case!!

 

Feel better?? ;)

[meggie]

Oh, but it's so nice here in Crazyville, LOL... :D

 

I have no advice but I feel for you. We're currently using 2 math programs. I was worried yesterday whether MCT (yes, MCT) was enough for grammar. And let's not even talk about history... right now I'm waffling between whether to do American or Ancients next year, and I have two programs picked out for each one, just in case!!

 

Feel better?? ;)

 

Oh really? That sounds like fun. Which ones do you have picked out? Is this considered me enabling you? Nope? Good :auto:

[SunnyDays]

Oh, no... I need encouragement, LOL!! (And someone to share with besides DH, who looks like he wants to flee the room if I bring up curriculum these days... poor man. :D )

 

Let's see... for American, I was looking at either Abeka History and Geography, or Notgrass America the Beautiful... I think I'm definitely leaning toward the second one. (Actually, as of yesterday, I had firmly decided on Notgrass. But I have this little "overthinking" problem, perhaps you're familiar with the condition?)

 

If we go Ancients and start a chronological cycle... I was looking at the SCM Guides. But that's a six year cycle and not sure we want to commit to that, planning for 4th grade! So we would probably go with Mystery of History.

 

And part of the decision is whether we want to do American in 4th grade, 8th grade, or both. :D

 

Hmmm... I feel crazy, but when I type it out, it all sounds very reasonable!! ;)

[meggie]

Oh, no... I need encouragement, LOL!! (And someone to share with besides DH, who looks like he wants to flee the room if I bring up curriculum these days... poor man. :D )

 

Let's see... for American, I was looking at either Abeka History and Geography, or Notgrass America the Beautiful... I think I'm definitely leaning toward the second one. (Actually, as of yesterday, I had firmly decided on Notgrass. But I have this little "overthinking" problem, perhaps you're familiar with the condition?)

 

If we go Ancients and start a chronological cycle... I was looking at the SCM Guides. But that's a six year cycle and not sure we want to commit to that, planning for 4th grade! So we would probably go with Mystery of History.

 

And part of the decision is whether we want to do American in 4th grade, 8th grade, or both. :D

 

Hmmm... I feel crazy, but when I type it out, it all sounds very reasonable!! ;)

 

 

That is the exact reaction I get from my DH! Eyes start glossing over and I know he starts zoning out and not paying attention at all. Punk!

 

And yes, it all sounds so good and so easy on paper! We should not yet worry about what it means for real life :lol:

[fraidycat]

Howdy neighbour! Isn't Crazyville gorgeous? I love it here. :D

 

Wanna hear what I'm using for Grammar (with my 4th grader)?

 

MCT Island, supplemented with Brian P. Cleary Words are Categorical Books. And after that's done...just for the fun of it, we're going to do Grammarland. If, and only if, that's not enough (yeah right) we'll do Sentence Family, too. (most likely) Oh, and I forgot... Schoolhouse Rock songs, too.

 

Math? There's no such thing as too much math is there?

 

MM and BA *should* cover it, but just in case it doesn't we read LOF for bedtime stories and there's always MEP, too.

[Mandy in TN]

Let's see. I have SL Eastern Hemisphere from when my big boys used it years ago, but I knew I didn't want to use EH Explorer. Without this the program just didn't feel tied together, so I bought the IG on CD for Christian Cottage Unit Studies Vol2 Eastern Hemisphere. This actually covers everything except N and S America, so I decided that I wanted to cover world cultures instead of just the Eastern Hemisphere cultures. So, I bought the exclusives for WP's CAW. Now I plan to use CAW as a road map with CCUS Vol2 as a kind of spine with a good chunk of literature from SL EH.

 

I am in Crazyville surrounded by and neck deep in papers from three geography programs, but I think the Americas are getting shorted so does anyone know of a product for them? :D

 

Mandy

[Tress]

Somebody please tell me how to get over this.

 

I think the best way of getting over this, is moving to a (far away) different country. The international shipping will surely prevent you buying multiple programs :D.

 

And if even that doesn't work, you and your kids could pretend that you don't spreak English.....this will dramatically cut back on the programs you can buy. Only in my case, my kids are not pretending :glare:.

[KristenR]

I think about it this way- if I've got to have an addiction, homeschooling resources is a rather good one. Expensive, yes.:glare: Beneficial though. :D

[boscopup]

I am insane. I must be insane.

 

 

:lol:

 

Ok, I'll try to talk you a little bit out of crazyland... It's first grade, keep it simple. ;) You have plenty of time to use lots of different materials over the next several years. Plus you have another kid to use different things on, because I know you won't reuse everything. :D

 

So let's look at each one here, and I'll help you whittle it down. ;)

 

Math-still the five programs (MUS, Miquon, MEP, Singapore, LOF)

 

I'd suggest Singapore as your spine, with a little Miquon on the side. If you want to use LoF elementary, have it be a fun Friday thing or on the weekend or something. :)

 

Actually, since you say that you like open and go, Miquon may not be the best choice. I use the C-rods with Singapore EM K, and I'll continue to use them in Singapore 1A/1B next year with DS2. I had the Miquon program and just... never could figure out what to DO with it. I do much better just using the C-rods without the weird Miquon pages that require a separate book to figure out what to do on the page.

 

And if you're using C-rods, MUS blocks would be a bit redundant. Pick one, so you don't confuse the poor child. Aren't they different colors? So in one the child is learning that 5 is one color and in the other the 5 is another color. I wouldn't do both.

 

Or if you want MUS as your spine (just realized you're using it now), just add Singapore's CWP and skip the Miquon.

 

I've played with MEP in the past, but I found that once I had a good spine in place, I really didn't need MEP also. Plus the coolness of MEP is mostly in the lesson plans, from what I understand, and that takes more planning to use those (making sure you have the right resources and all that).

Science-Elemental Science (because we're using it now and it seems to be working so why fix it?), RSO (because it seems better than ES), and BFSU (because I love the explanations and demonstrations even if I'm an open and go type of person).

 

Stick with ES since you like it and it's working. Honestly, I tried out a sample of RSO and wasn't impressed. Have you used the sample yet? Give it a whirl and see what you think before buying it. You don't need ES *and* RSO. Pick one.

 

BFSU can certainly be added in as a reference for you if you're wanting to stick with the other programs. I had BFSU, purchased on sale. I ended up finally selling it back to Amazon (made $1.60! :D). I'm an open and go person, and it really wasn't open and go, nor was it my teaching style at all (even though I loved the IDEA of it).

 

History-I have SOTW and the AG, but apparently it's not enough and I totally want History Odyssey. That way he'll learn everything in more depth.

 

First graders don't need depth in history (unless they want more depth). Stick with SOTW. Sometimes less IS more. We used Biblioplan when I started homeschooling, and about a third of the way in, I finally dropped BP and went to straight SOTW+AG. So very simple and easier on me. Guess what happened? My son started to REALLY love history. He started to make MORE connections. He learned more. So I'd suggest keeping it simple in the history department. There is a LOT to SOTW anyway, if you utilize the book lists and activities in the AG (we actually don't really do the activities anymore, but I used the book lists a LOT).

 

Art-I have Drawing with Children and have never even done a lesson with it (see above about being an open and go type of person), yet I want Artistic Pursuits, Meet the Masters and Mark Kistler.

 

Does your son like art? Do you like art? I sometimes look at those programs, and then I realize that art doesn't get done around here because I don't really enjoy art, and DS isn't that interested in it either. For first grade, I kept it simple and did Draw Write Now, which was great for us! This year, we've used some of Evan Moor's How to Teach Art to Children. Very easy to use, simple, and thorough. I love the idea of Artistic Pursuits (the others really don't interest me that much), but I know that I wouldn't get it done.

 

French-*grumbles grumbles grumbles*

 

Save this for a little later (unless you have someone French in your life that you need to learn it for). You have YEARS to learn French.

 

Language Arts-I'm happy, for now, with what we've got: FLL1, WWE 1, Startwrite, and AAS1. But NOBODY talk about how wonderful WWW, GWG, and Apples & Pears are.

 

I'm using A&P now. :lol: No seriously, I think your lineup is great for this. DON'T CHANGE IT. Use AAS1, and if it turns out that your kid gets overwhelmed by learning rules, then you go to A&P.

 

I've looked at WWW and was not at all impressed with it. FLL is great. If FLL1 is too repetitive/easy, just go over to FLL2.

 

Music Appreciation-I have a lot of the Classical Kids CDs that my mom passed down to me. But I'm not even sure what to do with them. I need a program to tell me what to do with them!!!!

 

I'm not familiar with those CDs, but can you just stick them in the CD player and listen to them while you do other work? ;)

[Homemama2]

Well, considering I already have everything I need for math and science for next year, AND I either can get from the library, or have on my kindle all of the extra history and lit. books for next year, could someone please explain WHY I have about $800 worth of stuff in my Rainbow Resource cart right now. :toetap05: Couldn't have anything to do with the fact I have about 6 writing programs in it for my boys that both HATE to write!!! :tongue_smilie: Or a $100 worth of extra math.... OR.... :glare:

 

OK, off to delete a few things in that cart....

[Homemama2]

we read LOF for bedtime stories

 

 

:lol::lol: Now THAT is a good idea!!! I have those too, and had no idea how to fit them in! :D See how helpful these boards are????

[Wee Pip]

I personally cannot accept that one program has one right way to teach everything :lol: So, what that means for me is that I look at several different programs and learn their teaching strategy. Since my kids are schoolwork-phobic and multiple programs would drive them crazy, I really have to pare it down to one. I try to pick one decent program, and then I incorporate pieces of different strategies from the different currics that I looked at. I simply cannot be happy with one program, one alone. But at least *I'm* learning the material multiple ways and I'm getting an amazing education, here! No advice, just commiserating with you. I spend a lot of time looking at samples online, ordering books from the library to peruse, and finding odd friends that can show me their curric. Oh, and I buy a lot of stuff used, as cheaply as possible. Dh wouldn't allow me to buy so many multiple programs, sigh.

[warneral]

It's first grade! Don't forget you want to instill a love for learning. You, have your hands full with the littles. I think you should pick what you think is the best option (pick challenging curriculum if you want to challenge him.

 

I understand the feeling but in my experience it comes from insecurity.

 

I'm not judging b/c I've been there. Consider the joy in learning and teaching and realize that overkill could kill the joy.

[meggie]

I think the best way of getting over this, is moving to a (far away) different country. The international shipping will surely prevent you buying multiple programs .

 

And if even that doesn't work, you and your kids could pretend that you don't spreak English.....this will dramatically cut back on the programs you can buy. Only in my case, my kids are not pretending .

 

Brilliant idea, thank you! :lol:

 

I think about it this way- if I've got to have an addiction, homeschooling resources is a rather good one. Expensive, yes. Beneficial though.

 

Exactly! Why does DH not see it this way?!?! I told him, "You know, we could have a little genius on our hands if you just let me buy everything I want!" He wasn't buying :boxing_smiley:

 

 

Ok, I'll try to talk you a little bit out of crazyland... It's first grade, keep it simple. You have plenty of time to use lots of different materials over the next several years. Plus you have another kid to use different things on, because I know you won't reuse everything.

 

So let's look at each one here, and I'll help you whittle it down.

 

Thanks Boscopup, you always give such great advice. The things you suggested are what I will probably end up doing. I did download all of Pandia Press's Try Before You Buy samples and was reading through the History Odyssey one last night. I know there's nothing in it that I couldn't do myself if I wanted. Maybe I'm just a shopping addict and curricula fits the bill to give me a high :001_huh:

 

Well, considering I already have everything I need for math and science for next year, AND I either can get from the library, or have on my kindle all of the extra history and lit. books for next year, could someone please explain WHY I have about $800 worth of stuff in my Rainbow Resource cart right now. :toetap05: Couldn't have anything to do with the fact I have about 6 writing programs in it for my boys that both HATE to write!!! :tongue_smilie: Or a $100 worth of extra math.... OR.... :glare:

 

OK, off to delete a few things in that cart....

 

Hee, I had my RR wishlist at over $1200 and DH and I whittled it down to less than $200. I was feeling so good about myself that I went and started looking at other things. Now it's back up to who knows what.

[meggie]

It's first grade! Don't forget you want to instill a love for learning. You, have your hands full with the littles. I think you should pick what you think is the best option (pick challenging curriculum if you want to challenge him.

 

I understand the feeling but in my experience it comes from insecurity.

 

I'm not judging b/c I've been there. Consider the joy in learning and teaching and realize that overkill could kill the joy.

(I am just being mostly facetious. I wouldn't ever really buy all of these things :tongue_smilie::D Well at least, I wouldn't USE them all at once :lol:)

[warneral]

oh good! It is something I spin around with too so I understand that! I'm just learning that it is better to do less than more :)

[meggie]

oh good! It is something I spin around with too so I understand that! I'm just learning that it is better to do less than more :)

 

Yes, that's it. I see so many fun, shiny, new things and they all look fun to me, so I want them all. Whittling them down to the best options is sometimes hard when there's so much I wish I had when I was in school.

 

Plus last night when I posted, I had hit my tiredness limit about 20 minutes before. So I was a little slap happy and think how hilarious I was. After a night of sleep and then a nap, I'm feeling a little more calm about everything.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Art-I have Drawing with Children and have never even done a lesson with it (see above about being an open and go type of person), yet I want Artistic Pursuits, Meet the Masters and Mark Kistler.

 

 

DwC is a really tricky program to implement. If you are an open-and-go person, you should sell it and get Artistic Pursuits.

 

Alternatively, buy the lesson plans for it from Barb (Harmony Arts). She also sells plans for classical music. ;)