I do think that the variation between computer and workbooks is a good thing. It just helps to keep things different. He does enjoy being able to have a say in some of the work that he has to do, but yes, it can cause problems sometimes. ) My son (8 yrs old) hates to write, so needless to say the The Complete Book of Handwriting does not get pulled out as often as The Complete book of Science, lol. ) Although there are times when I need to make him do the handwriting, the other books seem to get rotated pretty nicely.

Last year, for spelling we did SpellingTime.com, which is a great program! We may still continue to use it, but recently it changed from a free program to a fee based one, so my husband and I are discussing it. In the interim, we are just giving him words based on grade appropriate words we are finding on other web sites like abcteach.com and edhelper.com. )

As for Arts and Crafts, we do a bunch! ) I do a monthly training meeting for Cub Scout leaders and my boys help me with that all the time. Also, we like to just pull out materials and start making things, especially on rainy days. I have several books on craft projects with my favorite one being “Dozens of Things You Can Make Using Household Items.” It is a big binder book with different sections; boxes, tubes (tissue and paper towel tubes), paper plates, paper bags, plastic bottles, egg cartons, craft sticks and more. We have gotten several fun ideas from that book. And I can see how concepts from Time4Learning can be tied in..when he needs to cut things into a certain size, he uses math skills in determining how many he can cut from one sheet, as not to waste materials. ) A big tie in is reading…he enjoys being able to read the instructions in the books to make his own project. )

We do “try” to implement weekly spelling tests and we get our words from online. It does not always work out the best but we try at least. My boys get a lot of spelling from their on line gaming where they have to actually “talk” to other players so as not to be embarrassed, they tend to spell very well, (when they actually think about it..)

My husband and I work with the boys in their actual schooling but our family is split in teaching. As far as you asking about the arts and crafts: My mother takes care of the boys arts and crafts projects as well as baking. She has taught them to sew and what ever material they want to use to “make something” she drags out what she has and they “create” what ever is in their minds. She buys kits on occasion or just uses tin cans to make pen holders… When they bake with her she has all the ingredients ready so they each have to read and measure their own stuff.

My father works with them in anything they want to do with their hands. What ever wood working project, welding project, machine project that they want to do he makes it possible. He is always ready and willing to drop anything so that they can “build, design, or engineer” something…. It is really amazing at the things they have learned….. Kati’s kids will soon be included in some of the projects and my boys have already talked about them helping with “Nana’s Christmas cookies” and working with “Grandpa’s tools”….

I would love to hear more about how you set up spelling? While Time4Learning teaches spelling rules and conventions, many parents like to give a weekly spelling quiz. Is this something that you implement? If so, where do you get your spelling words from?

Can you tell us all more about arts and crafts too. I love hearing about fun project ideas for kids. Do you think there is a way to tie in some of the concepts learned through Time4Learning with some of the arts and crafts projects?