1st week of school summary

Tomorrow we will start our second week of school.   Last week went pretty well.   Hubby came home mid-week from being out-of-town, so interest in school obviously went out the window after that, lol.  But, we managed to not get completely and totally derailed.   One big topic around our house was Hurricane Irene, especially because we have family and friends all up and down the East Coast.   Hurricanes are pretty relevant conversation around here anyway.    So, this week, I plan to do a small unit study on hurricanes and preparedness.   I went to NOAA and printed out some information.

We also implemented our new TV/video game rules.   They are: NO TV until Friday, after school and chores, and on Saturday, also after chores.   45 minutes of video game/computer game time per day, after chores and school.    It worked for the most part. There was a lot of grumbling and complaining, but eventually their imaginations and creativity started to work again!  I did play a Jonathan Park cd one afternoon & they actually enjoyed listening to it.  They usually complain that it's not a tv show...  
We started our days with Bible time, then we do art or a craft about that.  Next, I give Xman his assignments and he starts independent work.  I tried to do the middles together, but had some trouble keeping Sister on-task.  She is only 2 1/2 so, I don't think I can expect too much attention span from her, but it was a little bit stressful.  I had them doing puzzles, etc. for a while so that Xman could do his work at the table.  Next, we moved on to Sister playing with Baby Z while I worked with Little Man on his letters.    That seemed to go okay, and she felt like she had a "job" to do.    We had lunch and then during Quiet Time, I had Xman finish his reading and Math, his hard subject.   Overall, it went well, and I know I can't always expect perfection!  

Well, time to go organize the school bookshelves some more!!  

This Season

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."  Ecclesiastes 3:1

I was reading one of my favorite Mommy blogs this afternoon and these words literally jumped out at me.

"I chose relatively simple goals, as I am in a very busy season of life, raising four precious gifts from the Lord."

Hello.  The first thing that rang true with me was the phrase, "a very busy season of life."   I am certainly in that season.  Not because of sports, extra-curricular activities, school projects or church activities.  Simply because I am Mom.  I am called upon at all hours of every day to make things right.  To nurse boo-boos, to settle disputes, to attend to the feeding, clothing and nurturing of these little ones.   Let's not forget the duties involved in also being Wife.   Finding lost paperwork, washing and rewashing work uniforms, having a meaningful adult conversation occasionally with this man who asked me to be his help-meet.   Sigh.  A very busy season indeed.  


The next part of that sentence held a lot of meaning for me too.   "Raising four precious gifts from the Lord."   Wait a minute!  We're not the only ones choosing to have a larger-than-2.5 children-to-parent-ratio?   There are others out there raising lots of littles and regarding them as precious gifts.   I often need to keep our busy, chaotic household in perspective.  There are other families out there who are wondering where their precocious toddler snuck off to during school time.  :-)  Other families might also be trying to figure out the logistics of grocery shopping with 4 children while Daddy is at work.    Other moms have also been awake at night, feeding, changing and soothing newborns.  This isn't a new thing, this motherhood.  It's been around since Eve had Cain.   I'm not the only mom to ever walk down this path, and I won't be the last.   I am so thankful for others who have gone before and can offer wisdom to those of us in the trenches.   

Has anything made you regain perspective on the calling of motherhood?   What has given you hope lately as you face each new challenge being a mom presents?  

Head to Foot Bible Memory Verses

Have you ever heard about Rick and Marilyn Boyer?   If you haven't you should totally hop on over to their blog and check out the wealth of parenting wisdom they have!   The Boyers have had 14 children, homeschooled them all, and are now helping teach and train the next generation of Boyers, their many grandchildren!   Marilyn posts about how they "do" school and they also offer a lot of resources at TheLearningParent.com.      Today I noticed that they have one of their resources as a free download! 
It's a list of "Head to Foot" Bible verses.   If you look at her link, you'll see a picture of one of their daughters, blown-up onto a large poster board.  They listed the verses at each body part and as she writes, 
"The idea behind this was to instruct our child that they were not here to make it a goal to amuse or please themselves necessarily, but to submit their body to God’s purposes and His ways."

How neat!  I think you might like it.  Here's the link:   Head to Foot Bible verses

The Coolest Father-Son Project ever!

Now, my Dad used to help me with science projects, and earning badges for Trailblazers, etc.  But, this is the coolest project I think I've ever seen!   Check out what 7 year old Luke Geissbuhler and his father made.


Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

BORing......

Wow, haven't blogged in a while, huh?   It's not because I don't have anything at all to say, I just haven't had anything of worth to say.  We honestly haven't done anything interesting here.    It's still smokin' hot outside, so we've been going out in spurts because Mommy can't stand being hot while pregnant.    We've been plugging away at school, using our new curriculum from Christian Liberty Press.   
I'm struggling with keeping Little Man and Little Sis out of the way/occupied/learning while XMan does his work.   He absolutely cannot will not focus while they're in the room.   Then, when I try to put him in a separate area, he constantly gets up and comes to ask me questions!  I'm also trying to use a timer with him a lot because he tends to dawdle quite a bit.   If anyone has any tips for overcoming these areas, feel free to share!  
So, other than being pregnant and trying to keep the house running with 3 children and a busy husband, it's been kind of boring around here...   I have been keeping up with all you interesting folks though!   

How do you know you're qualified to teach your children?

When you make a folder on your desktop an appropriately name it "Homeschoool Planner". 

Oh yeah, I did. 

In my defense, the word carried onto the next line and I didn't notice it until it was already saved... 

First Week of School Update

So, let's see.  I had great intentions of starting bright and early Monday morning, but as usual, when I have great intentions, thing seem to quickly go into a tailspin.  Sunday night, we were calling our Dr. friend to say, um, Baby Girl has a bright spotty rash all over her face, neck and arms, and has had a fever since we left South Padre Island.   It looked similar to measles to me, according to everything I could look up online, so he said, "Ok, be at my office right before 8 and we'll get you in."    Thankfully Monday started out slow for Hubby as far as work went, so we were able to go to the dr. and then go get bloodwork done.  (Wouldn't you know it, their lab girl had called in sick, so we had to go to a diagnostic office nearby.)   Anyway, after that, we ended up running all over town getting other errands done and by 1 o'clock when we got home I said, "School can wait until tomorrow!"  

Tuesday, we started after breakfast and Little Man threw a ton of fits, Baby Girl had no clue why we weren't paying attention solely to her, and Xman whined like crazy.

Wednesday, things went a little smoother and Xman complained less.  Little Man was a bit more agreeable and even practiced his alphabet for about 10 minutes.   Baby Girl played with puzzles and her dolls while we worked. 

Thursday, Xman did a lot better and read all his assignments without complaining.  Little Man played puzzles and games with Baby Girl while we worked and it was a good morning!

Friday, Xman got a lesson in horticulture/free enterprise while he and I helped Daddy do tree work all day.   Little Man and Baby Girl went to Nana's and got to visit while we worked our tails off dragging tree limbs off after Daddy cut them down.   He earned a whopping $20 at the end of the day and he couldn't have been happier!   They're finishing up hauling off the limbs today and then moving on to mowing yards.  Poor Daddy, he doesn't get a day off even on his days off!    I think Xman got a full appreciation for how hard his Dad works all the time.  


**Thankfully, nobody else got the rash Baby Girl had!  My bloodwork showed immunity to measles, which was our main concern with being pregnant and all. **

Hey!!

Whew!!!  I finally got a chance to jump off the roller coaster!    Our ceremony went beautifully, our vacation was awesome and S-I-L's wedding was great!   Little Man turned 4, and Hubby turned 31.  And we did all that within 2 weeks, crazy huh?  We only had one hiccup from vacation, and that was losing Hubby's cell phone.  We're sure we lost it in the hotel room, but nobody ever turned it in.  Ugh.  So, after paying a replacement fee, we got a new phone, but lost all 200 contacts he had.    Super. 
 
This week, I have *attempted* to start school back up.  Or, as one friend called it "Fun with Learning" time.    (Very funny, Tammy!)     Everyone knows how the beginning of the school year goes, lots of review, etc. etc, etc.   Actually, it's really made me reconsider taking a long summer break again next year.  I like one approach I read about in my Home Educating Family magazine,  the author called it "Sabbath Schooling."  They work for 6 weeks and take the 7th week off.   They still fit in 36 weeks of school, but don't have to cram them all into 9 1/2 months.  Very interesting...
 
Several of my friends never finished last year's work and their children have been doing a light schedule all summer.  Then there's me, who had to move in March, go to NC in May, have 2 weddings and a vacay in August...so our life has been non-stop chaos for several months now!     A modified school schedule is definitely something we could use.   I don't really like being bound to the public school system calendar anyway!   Why do it the same way they do when the whole point was to NOT do it the same way they do??

Anyway, just some thoughts in my head right now.    Everything pregnancy-wise is going well.   I feel great and the baby is growing right along.   We are trying to get an ultrasound scheduled so that we can see what this little peanut is going to be.  We have our names picked out, somehow we always seem to know the name long before the birth.    

More soon! 

Friends of Domenic Johansson

I read about this story briefly in the HSLDA magazine, and then I quickly forgot about it.   Shame on me for not remembering these people in constant prayer!    When I saw their FB page I joined and then noticed a blog link as well.  If you'd like to hear more about the story, you can find it here. 

"On June 25th of 2009, officials of Gotland, Sweden boarded a plane bound for India and removed Domenic Johansson from his parents’ custody without a warrant or reasonable cause to believe that he was being harmed. Their supposed crime? Choosing to home school Domenic and to delay or decline certain immunizations. Ironically, home schooling is legal in Sweden, and historically parents have always been given the option to legally delay or decline immunizations if they thought it in the best interest of their particular child or children..."

That was June 25th, and this little boy has still not been returned to his parents!  They have seem him once a month, for only an hour at a time!   Can you imagine having your child taken from you, and only seeing him for a hour once a month?   Please take a minute to read their story, and even sign the petition if you can.  Thanks!

4 Moms, 35 Kids! "Homeschool Methods Edition"

Hey, to follow what seems to be the theme of the week, the 4 Moms, 35 Kids forum has been busy blogging about their homeschooling methods!   You should go check out what these veteran moms (with way more kids than me) have to say!    Their posts might also be a more thought-out than mine right now, ha.  I am having a crazy week!     I'll send you to Kim C. first, and you can browse around from there!  

Why we do year-round schooling...

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the flexibility.   We have the ability to say when the school day starts, when it ends, where we learn, what we learn and what we don't want to teach.     With Hubby's schedule, having a different set of days-off each week, it's been a blessing and a challenge at times.    One of the perks of being in Texas is that we're blessed to not have Compulsory Attendance laws for homeschoolers.  Meaning, while the local public schools have to do 160 +/- days a year, we can double up on work, or take longer to fit the needs of our own children.   

Last year, we started Xman's 1st grade in early August, before most of the public school's around here started.  Then, we left at the end of August for our 2 1/2 week trip.    We were still able to finish his entire curriculum by March, which was the "technical" end of our school year.    So, when he finished his required subjects and we saw that a housing move was on the horizon, we decided to go ahead and stop the year.   We have been on our break during all of April and we will stay on break through May.  In June, he will be starting his 2nd grade year.   Then we'll take a break in August because that's a busy month for us!  It's our 10 year anniversary ceremony and trip, then Hubby's sister's wedding, then Little Man and Hubby have birthdays...whew!  I'm worn out just thinking about it.  

Next year, we're implementing a little bit more routine into our days, because we see that our boys need the structure.  When they know what's coming up next, they seem to focus better.   So, within our year-round schedule, we'll have steady days of learning and then days of errands or whatever is needed.    Overall, I really like to keep it flexible and relaxed, learning flows so much better that way!  

Library goodies...

While I've been busy with the bible reading, I have tried to keep the kids stocked up on good things to read and watch as well.    Here are some of the neat things we've found at our library...

"The Railway Children"   Heart-warming story about a family in England, the hard times they come upon, and how they hold together.   We watched the DVD, which was very cute.  It's based on a book, and also comes in an audiobook.     (The movie itself was cute, but it's presented by "ExxonMobile Theater" whatever that is.  Anyway, the little blurb at the end by the announcer is worth skipping.    Some mumbo jumbo about the author's life and the benefits of socialism. You were warned.)  

Also, these books are the coolest!!   Everyone, from Daddy down to the toddler, loved moving the pages back and forth to watch the animals move.  Very neat! 

Huck, Chuck and Mike, oh my!

First Grade?!

Sniff. My baby is already old enough for "first grade"? When did that happen? We started school yesterday for XMan. It took a whopping hour and a half to do the whole lesson plan. :-) I better enjoy these early years, once I have 2 or 3 kids in school, I am sure it will take a little bit longer. We are mainly using "My Father's World" curriculum, with a few extras added in. I seem to be too eclectic to just use one single boxed set of anything. But, that's what works for us.

A week or so ago, I had a wonderful Professional Organizer came to *assess* my situation,clutter,closets, you name it. I'm sure she walked away in absolute awe of my delicately balanced piles of paperwork and homeschool supplies. If not, well, at least I didn't scare her too much because she came back yesterday! (Money is such a big motivator, eh?) Anyway, we spent 2 whole hours working on a filing system. With our personal stuff, Hubby's business stuff, and homeschool resources, I was starting to get buried under all of it! I think we came up with something that will work, now it's just up to me to implement it.

This morning, I sent the kiddos outside before starting XMan's work. Maybe it will help get some wiggles out. Ha. Hahahahaha. I said maybe, right?!

TTFN!

Texas Legislation Update.....HSLDA

Here's the email we received from the HSLDA about recent Texas legislation... I am especially excited to see the Jury Duty one!

"The Texas Legislative Session adjourned on June 1. HSLDA focused a generous amount of time and effort into watching the legislature closely for any bills that would have negatively or positively
affected homeschool rights. Largely through the efforts of HSLDA Legislative Council, Tom Sanders, and HSLDA members, we are happy to report that many bad bills did not pass.

Tom Sanders worked tirelessly on our behalf going from office to office working to kill the bills that would have restricted our freedoms, including a Children's Bill of Rights bill, a daytime curfew
bill, and a mandatory kindergarten bill. In addition, he made sure the bill allowing homeschoolers an exemption from jury duty, passed.

A summary of the bills we worked on are below:

House Bill 319: Exemption from Jury Duty

This bill provides an exemption for homeschoolers from jury duty. HSLDA supported the bill and it passed!

House Bill 1886: Enforcement of Juvenile Curfew Ordinance

This bill would have authorized the sheriff of each county in which the municipality is located to enforce a juvenile curfew ordinance. HSLDA opposed this bill, and it did not pass!

House Bill 188: Rights for Children

This bill would have guaranteed certain rights for children and the education of parents regarding their duties as parents. The problem with the bill was in the vague language, which included giving
children the right to "quality education," and the "right to be free" from "any form of discipline that humiliates or demeans a child," which could be interpreted against homeschools or parents who spank
their children. HSLDA opposed this bill, and it did not pass!


Dallas City Daytime Curfew Ordinance

Despite our efforts, the curfew passed with a vote of 12-2. City officials have indicated that the curfew was scheduled to take effect May 18, but will not be enforced until the beginning of the 2009-2010
school year.

Thankfully, language was inserted at the last minute into the ordinance that will require the council to review the curfew by June 1, 2010. In addition, the curfew will be subject to council review
every three years.

Also, the latest version of the ordinance that passed on May 13 included several changes to lessen the severity of the ordinance by allowing for a few more defenses to prosecution, and requiring that a
police officer had to allow a business two warnings before the officer could ticket. The added defenses included in the ordinance were exemptions for medical appointments, work study, and school-sanctioned
functions.

House Bill 948: CPS Reform

This bill would have reformed CPS investigations by giving the parent more power through the investigation process. HSLDA supported this bill, but it died in committee.

Senate Bill 1064: Weakens Families' Rights During CPS Investigations

This bill would have authorized DFPS, without filing suit, to seek a court order in aid of investigation. Fortunately, this bill died in committee.

House Bill 316: Mandatory Kindergarten

This bill would have required mandatory attendance in kindergarten in the public schools. Fortunately, this bill died in committee.

House Resolution 1438: Requires Government Oversight on Homeschoolers

This resolution urged the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to implement in the state regulations a policy to require schools to use academic indicators to demonstrate adequate yearly progress. The policy would
have required the TEA to track all students, including students who withdrew from the public school in order to homeschool. Fortunately, this resolution died.

Senate Bill 466: Excluding a Child from the Immunization Registry

This bill would allow for a child to be excluded from the immunization registry. HSLDA supported this bill, but unfortunately, it did not
pass.

House Bill 351: Tuition Refund for Homeschoolers

This bill allowed for an exemption from or refund of tuition and fees for lower-division students enrolled in a general academic teaching institution who maintain a high grade-point average. HSLDA supported
this bill, but unfortunately, it did not pass.

House Bill 2084: Parental Rights Restoration Act

The bill would have modified the grandparent visitation law in favor of parental rights. The bill would prohibit a grandparent from suing a parent for access to the grandchild unless the grandparent provides
proof that the child's physical health will be endangered, and the child's emotional well-being and development will be impaired, if access is not granted. HSLDA supported this bill, but unfortunately,
the bill did not pass.

Thank you for your stand with us in fighting for homeschool freedoms!

Sincerely,

Christopher J. Klicka
HSLDA Senior Counsel"

Hello!

Kicking my freshly relaxed tootsies (Thank you, hot-tub!) up in the hotel, using their Wi-fi to bring you guys an update from Houston! It's been a long couple of days, filled with lots of walking around, lots of people in booths trying to sell us stuff, and also lots of fun. We have seen some really, really good speakers and some not-so-interesting speakers. We also bought our school books for next year, some great family dvds, and the cds of all the good speakers we heard. (We basically had to get the cds, because Baby Girl, who is usually a bit more cooperative, didn't sleep through anything! Not a single speaker, even the boring uninteresting ones! She reserved naps for riding in the car between the conference and the hotel. humph.)

Our two favorite speakers were Jenna Dee Martin, of Biblical Discipleship Ministries, and Norm Wakefield of Spirit of Elijah Ministries. AWESOME. We actually ran into Mrs. Martin and her daughters this morning, waiting for the elevator at our hotel. I had no idea who she was at that time, but she was so sweet to us and loved talking to Baby Girl. When I heard her speak later, I was so moved. She just talked about everything I needed to hear at that time.

This afternoon, after we had heard the last speaker, and spent our last dime exhausted the funds we had alloted to curriculum, we needed to find something to do in Houston to kill time until bed. Even though it's not really our thing, we decided to go to the big mall, The Galleria. About 30ft. into the mall, I confessed to Hubby that I would much rather be perusing Tractor Supply than looking at Jimmy Choo(Chu?) or Dolce and Gabanna (sp?). This is also not your typical small town strip mall. It has all the big name stores, the ones where you spend as much on a leather handbag as you could on a used minivan. Yeah. Not my kind of thing. Hubby and I laughed as we walked around. We totally did not fit in with the "crowd," with their latest shoes, sunglasses, purses, incredibly immodest clothing, etc. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

But, let me confess to you, there was a time when I DID want those things. I did want the latest clothes, the coolest car, the biggest house I could afford, etc. Hubby and I were once a part of multi-level marketing company and they preached and preached to "Dream Big." Ever heard people proclaim this mantra? Some so-called pastors tell their congregations that every Sunday. "Believe and You Can Achieve." I am so thankful that God has opened our eyes to that lifestyle. He has brought us out of a spiritual waste-land that revolved around health, wealth, and success. A lifestyle that had nothing to do with God getting the glory for our potential successes, and had everything to do with ME, MYSELF, and I.

We used to go to conferences that focused on how to make as much money as possible. Now, we go to learn how to educate our children in God's Word. We get excited about school books, phonics and baby slings! We rejoice that God is teaching us about providing for our family, about the joy in making the home a HOME. Looking forward to everything else He has to show us!

Homeschool Conference-bound

Well, the boys are heading to Nana's house tonight, so that Hubby and I can leave early tomorrow for the homeschool conference in Houston. We are looking forward to some semi-peace and quiet (almost) alone time. We'll have Baby Girl with us, but she doesn't interrupt a conversation too much :-). I'll tell you all about it when we return!

Summer Reading Program!

Check out this neat little Summer Reading Splash sponsored by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. They have created a program just for homeschoolers! It's great for my kids and I, because we have a hard time making it to the library for their reading program all summer long. Even better for those of you who don't live near a library, just sign up and print out your reading log! Then let the stories begin!!

Here's what they write about the Summer Splash program,

"It's hard to believe that so many months have passed and it's time to kick off our SECOND ANNUAL SUMMER READING SPLASH! We had so much fun last year and hope that you and your children did as well. We're looking forward to another summer filled with lots of reading and great books! (This reading program is open to ANY homeschooled student - you do not have to be a TOS magazine or E-newsletter subscriber in order for your children to participate.) As a matter of fact, we are so passionate about getting children to read, we'd love for you to share this information with EVERYONE you know! Please forward this e-mail to all your homeschooling friends and share the news about the Summer Reading Splash!"


I'm off to print out some reading logs!

Everything's all Caddywampus!

Huh? Caddy-what?? You know...

Caddywampus: The state of being grossly out of alignment, skewed, or uneven. A great Midwestern phrase; make sure to pronounce with a long 'E' for the full effect.

That's what I feel like lately! "Grossly out of alignment." My house has yet to recover from these projects, mainly because our house stuff got put on hold while the actual money-making projects got pushed front-row. Well, I can't really complain about that too much, can I?

Then, we went ahead and finished up with kindergarten. Applause, applause. Now I am trying to get a framework for next year's 1st grade curriculum put together. I know what I want to get, I am just nailing down the other details. (Like, where am I going to put everything if I don't get this house in order?!) We are going to a local home-school conference next weekend, where I hope to buy the curriculum sans-shipping costs. I must also try and not get lured in by all the bright, shiny packaging in the other booths!

In the meantime, we are adjusting to having other people over at our house this summer. Meaning, specifically, neighborhood children. I'm setting boundaries with that, and rules for XMan that he better if he knows what's good for him needs to adhere to. I.E. When there is a remote chance that Mommy might be nursing the baby on the couch, don't drag your little friends throught the house and ask to play Wii. Or even this one, don't take out the entire box of juice drinks and devour them within 2 hours of Mommy bringing them home from the store! Sigh...

I have also been taking this supplement lately, called 5HTP. I try to take one at nght, and one in the morning. It's pretty good stuff. It has really helped lower my Cranky Meter, which was getting a little bit out-of-control due to the stress of aforementioned Caddywampus-ness. Got all that?

Oh yeah, and remember when I tried to implement this schedule? (Let's all have a little chuckle. Go ahead, get it out of your system. Are you done yet?) Well, I absolutely must have some sort of routine in place! Maybe not down to the minute with each activity/chore, but I need something. I think that's one of my biggest struggles. When everything starts to spin out-of-control, I kind of shut down. Clutter, projects, managing the business, it seems so overwhelming! But, who else is going to do it if I don't? So, I really hope this summer we can get out of this perpetual state of Caddywampus-ness and get organized!

Kindergarten....it's driving us both crazy.

Well, I have struggled with posting anything related to our homeschooling lately. I think I was partly concerned with any sort of criticism, but I also didn't want to discourage anyone who might be considering it. Then, I thought about it, and realized, it's just not realistic to think that homeschooling is an easy-breezy laughable experience all the time! I have never heard of any teacher anywhere who had perfect, compliant students who never had struggles with learning or behavior. If you know of one, let me know!

So, that being said, I will honestly share with you that we have been having some attitude and "desire to learn" issues around here. XMan is the only one in "school." It takes me about an hour, MAX, to do his kindergarten lessons and to do our memorization/catechism stuff for church. This usually happens after he has played outside for an hour in the morning, done chores, and played with his brother. Not an incredibly tough schedule so far, right? Yet, when we sit down to go over his school, you would think the world was coming to an end! The whining, complaining, even TEARS over doing a simple lesson is driving me crazy!

When I talked to Hubby about it, he stated pretty confidently that XMan is probably bored to death with the work! He said that was his biggest problem in school, being bored & not being challenged enough. I could kind of see what he meant, X is a pretty smart kid. The kindergarten curriculum I have been using is very simple. It's also been mainly a review of what he already knows. He caught on to the addition in 3 days, and he was going around the house adding things up for the fun of it! After that, when I kept reviewing the basics, he complained that it was boring.

So, I guess I am kind of stuck. I don't know if we should go ahead and order the 1st grade stuff I was planning to use or what? It's almost March, but I was planning to do school until June because of the messed-up fall we had. That would give me plenty of time to get through a lot of the new curriculum. Does anyone have a suggestion for a challenging 1st grade level curriculum? Or an idea of things to just make this stage more challenging? He has all the basic phonics and letters down, but I don't want to buy any baby-ish "readers." I would like him to use real books to learn to read, but I am not sure what would be good to start him on? I honestly thought he would take all year to finish this kindergarten stuff, but apparently I was wrong! If you've been through this and have any suggestions, let me know!