I'm Tara from Monarch Room :) I wrote about the changes I made here: http://www.monarchroom.com/2015/09/beautiful-feet-and-freedom-to-readjust.html?m=1 I realized very quickly that there was no way we would be able to read that amount in one year. We had covered all of the history in the Columbus and Smith books last year, so I decided to skip them. We also skipped Carry On Mr. Bowditch because we had already read it. At first glance BF looks so simple, but it actually has far more depth than I was expecting. We are now heading into our 12th week, and we just started George Washinhton's World. I split up all the readings. For instance today the first lesson was supposed to have 34 pages of reading. No way Jose! I think what you have to realize is that one lesson doesn't necessarily mean one day. We will break up this lesson over 3 or even 4 days. Sometimes instead of having him answer the questions on the guide I will have him do a written narration. Today I let him illustrate what he read. Use the guide loosely, and don't feel bound to it. My son is a 13 year old 7th grader. Some of the questions take more maturity than he has right now, and I'm totally ok with that. We are actually really enjoying the slower pace this year. We came from a more scheduled program before, and not being bound to a guide has been really refreshing. You just have to give yourself permission to use it the way it works best for you and the level of your kid.

I'm glad you asked this :) I've only used HOD from Beyond through RtR, so I don't have experience yet with the high school guides. I have the same concerns as you. No matter how much I look at the HS guides I can't get around feeling it might not be for us when we get there. I've got to make some changes by next year if I'm going to change course. I've actually been taking a hard look at Veritas Press (gasp.) There is a severe lack of classics (imo) in the HOD HS guides (and the middle guides as well.) I think my early classical brainwashing won't let me sleep at night until I address this. I love many of the HOD selections, but there are many books not scheduled that should not be missed. This is something that would be very difficult to amend in an already (very) full schedule. I'm curious what others have to say too :)

We have have used HOD for 3 years now and absolutely love it. We have used Beyond, Bigger, CtC and RtR. It works really well for my family, so my plan is to continue with it long term unless something changes. We have added, subtracted, and/or supplemented HOD plans. There have been times I realized I was messing with a good thing and went back to HOD suggestions. You can sub out grammar and math easily if you already have a program that you love. You can follow it fully or loosely. It really is up to you :) So much of it is woven together though, and that's what I love about it. If you want to see how a week in CtC would look I have chronicled each unit here. CtC was a really great year of growth for my son. I love reading through his books before each year begins and love learning alongside him.

We read a chapter 4x a week :) We started Apples in K and are in Honey in 3rd. There were times we took long breaks from it. My son insists we read it daily. I plan to finish Jelly Beans this year. We do it in addition to our daily math.

Woops. Tried to attach an image, but it wouldn't let me!

There were a few things that I had first three hole punched, that I then bound with the ProClick. It worked out just fine :)

My Side of the Mountain over and over :) These are all excellent suggestions. We've read many of them, but there are so many more we have yet to enjoy. You all have given me some great ideas!

What are your can't miss books for an imaginative 12 year old boy? There are just too many to choose from! What have been your kids' favorites?

It sounds like you are in a similar situation that I was in last year. I had combined my 1st and 4th graders in Bigger. It was a great year, but I realized that I didn't want my 2 kids in the same guide. There was no way my youngest could compete with the skill and speed of his brother who was a full 3 years older. I backed the youngest into Beyond, and moved the oldest into CtC for the this year. I thought it would be difficult to separate them into their own guides, but it has actually been so much easier. They still participate in each others' activities, so I feel like they still have shared learning experiences, but without the competition. This year my oldest will move into RtR, and I will do ECC with my youngest. That has me in your option #2, but that wouldn't be my first choice if my son were your youngest's age. My youngest will only be in 3rd, and I think Preparing is will be far more suited for my youngest in 4th. I think option #1 would be my first choice in your situation. Preparing is apparently not to be missed :) You could work with your youngest on the teacher dependent things in Preparing while your oldest does his independent work in RtR. That's what we did this year with Beyond and CtC. It was totally doable. I'm looking forward to our little detour into MFW, but HOD is my first love :)

What guide are you doing with MFW? I ordered from them on a Tuesday Morning, and got it on Thursday. Fastest non-prime shipping ever!

I'm doing R&S 5 Spelling with my 5th grader. I don't think he got one wrong all year. He almost never misspells words in written assignments. As I'm planning next year I'm dreading R&S 6 because it's in a textbook format. Should I continue spelling for 6th? I'm just wondering how long people typically teach spelling if a kid does really well with it in general :)

I totally helped him. I was even having a hard time coming up with what they were looking for though. Like I said, I know IEW works well for many families. It just wasn't for this one.

We dumped it, and I am one who typically will work through programs that aren't my favorite because I hate the waste of buying something that goes unused. I was using it this year with my 2nd grader. It just seems too early to me to be using this method. There were tears, and at this age I don't want any anxiety associated with writing. I know IEW is a great fit for many families. It was just definitely not a good fit for us. The games and vocabulary were fun though :) I think we may just be too right brained for IEW.

Thanks for your input ladies :) I'm really hoping that they come out with Faltering Ownership as well before the fall. I just wrote them to ask if they are releasing it soon. Bravewriter is the only thing that comes close to what I want for my very right brained kids. It looks so fun. I haven't bought PW yet, but I plan to this week. I plan to sit down with it to see how the thing works. If I put something on my schedule I'll do it. I'm so glad BW is putting out these helps to put TWJ into practice.

Is anyone using Partnership Writing this year? I mean actually using it :) I own The Writer's Jungle and read it every now and again really hoping to implement it. I have a lot of respect for the author. I think if I could just put all her wisdom into practice we would be golden. Are you using The Arrow along side of Partnership Writing? How long are you in each book for The Arrow? Is it considered a read aloud? Please tell me this is workable. Tea Times and Friday Freewrites sound lovely. I just need to actually do it.