[Switching to BJU??]

I wouldn't try to add on a reading curriculum to AAR - especially if you have a newborn. You could have the child read in addition to AAR. Mine who had to work hard to learn to read read other books to me and then themselves in addition to AAR, but no workbooks or curriculum. Reading 2s readers would work for this. Also think what you want from English 2. Is it beginning grammar? Spelling? Writing? Can the child do it yet? Is his reading and writing good enough? Is there something more targeted that would be easier? My kids in lower elementary wouldn't have been able to do videos without me right there. Is that easier for you? It might be.

Sorry if this isn't helpful, I know I need to really clarify my goals for each child or I end up adding too much to their school time because I'm afraid of missing something.

ETA I had a newborn this last year.... it's alot to juggle;)

[Switching to BJU??]

Alli know is that BJUs phonics is not as thorough as AAR. You may want to consider that.... Maybe just switch older....

And cut LA for younger down to AAR, spelling and copywork for a year? Just a thought 

[How long have you been on twm forums?]

I also appreciate the older posters here!

[6th grade planning 2024-25]

34 minutes ago, LauraClark said:

I'd be curious what this looks like!

It is still in the planning phase. I have narration note cards from SCM for our history spine. These are basically paragraph responses to the reading. I will probably have each keep a journal of sorts where they write something that happened to them or some made up story each week.  I want them both to do at least one longer research? paper or other longer assignment. I will likely have each edit one thing a week with me.

I have Story Starts and an older WriteShop 1 or 1 and 2 I may pull from. I may buy the IEW book (teaching writing structure and style or something like that).....I can let you know when I have it more planned....

[8th grade planning 2024-25]

On 2/9/2024 at 10:58 PM, countrymum said:

Tentative plan ...  

Math finish RightStart H begin VideoText or maybe Foresters Algebra 1..... Leaning towards VideoText .....I have both 

Continue with Calculadders at least along side RightStart H

Science Berean Builders Earth Science definitely get the audio

History Heart of Dakota Resurrection to Revolution with my own read aloud picks and my tweaking as much as I see fit;)....hay it's a starting place with map work and some other output. I may or may not use her student pages;)

Art continue with Feed My Sheep

Language Arts

AAS 5 I hope if we finish 4... It's coming but slowly

Writing Skills 2 or Medieval Writing from IEW

Season 2 of Analytical Grammar

Read books 

Piano

I changed history back to Simply Charlotte Mason mostly. I am swapping some independent reads and adding in some of my own stuff, but mostly we will follow family history and Bible from the Middle Ages Renaissance and Reformation guide. This is instead of Heart of Dakota for everybody.

I think I'll do my own thing for writing not IEW.

[K planning 2024-25]

On 3/17/2024 at 4:24 PM, countrymum said:

Dd will be solidly 5 in September. She loves to be read to, knows her letter sounds can blend 3 letter words, understands 2 digit numbers, understands addition and subtraction and can do it with an abacus, can subitize to 7 (8,9, and 10 she tends to count on...). She generally likes school....I don't want to push though so we'll see.  Math and phonics are my stand by options.

 

Here is a tennitive plan

RightStart A and/or B (probably fast through parts of A then start B...but again not sure)

All About Reading 1 (just for practice reading 3 letter words)

Outdoor secrets maybe from SCM

Probably Little Hearts for His Glory for small moter, handwriting, Bible, history.....

Update

I think we won't do heat of Dakota. Instead she will probably listen to older brothers medieval picture books, listen to the Vos children's Bible, sit in on older brothers Simply Charlotte Mason USA geography picture books and then I'll pick a picture book a week just for her and little brother....maybe following Wee Folk art maybe a SCM preschool recommendation maybe just one I have. We will also try to do 1 nice craft a week with 2 littles who aren't babies.

I will do Outdoor Secrets with her she will like it.

 RightStart A not B

Still AAR 1 

I'm going for not pushy K year;)

Also I have a child's copybook reader as a pdf from SCM. I like it but lines are too big for my kids....I got this idea to shrink it so we're trying it.

Also Rod and Staff ABC series but the later ones as she wants.

[How long have you been on twm forums?]

I think I've been here for about 10 years or so, but my mother has a really old WTM book;)  I'm also a 2nd generation home schooler. We had support group then HSAP when I was young, but homeschooling seems really different now. So many people are doing it with out the thought out philosophy of those '90s homeschoolers. I miss the camaraderie of those days;)

[6th grade planning 2024-25]

I changed history back to Simply Charlotte Mason mostly. I am swapping some independent reads and adding in some of my own stuff, but mostly we will follow family history and Bible from the Middle Ages Renaissance and Reformation guide. This is instead of Heart of Dakota for everybody.

I think I'll do my own thing for writing not IEW.

Also she really wants to do Language lessons for today 6 not AG so we probably will.

On 2/13/2024 at 3:48 PM, countrymum said:

I'll play;)

Math finish RightStart F and Begin G also Calculadders for drill

Language Arts

AAS 4 and maybe 5

IEW Midieval Writing or continue with Writing Lessons for Today

ETA certainly IEW Midievel

Analytical Grammar Season 2

ETA Maybe go back and do Language lessons for today 6 instead then later finish AG

Reading good books I pick

Science Exploring What God has Made from Simply Charlotte Mason (I love this science course from them. Oldest did it a few years ago)

History and Geography Heart of Dakota Resurrection to Reformation history and geography only I'll mostly pick my own read alouds and tweak freely. This is a base;)

Bible read together and on own perhaps Heart of Dakota Bible also

Art continue with Feed My Sheep from Berry Stabbing

Continue Piano lessons

I'm sure she'll do something with her little siblings also. I'm not sure what though.

 

 

[3rd Grade Math??]

3 hours ago, TheReader said:

Likely I'll swap out; I can easily return the SM since this is a custom, come to their house 3x/week thing.  I hadn't realized Rod & Staff had math! I'll check  that - I think that will be what the dad wants. The closest I found so far was Abeka, but I am not a fan in general, so didn't want to do that. 

I would *love* to just supplement on top of Singapore, but I think the dad wants a whole separate "old school" style (so, nothing that screams "common core" which he feels Singapore does, even though it definitely does not, but.....).  He wants "how *we* were taught" something. 

Rod and staff IMHO is much better than Abeka generally. Abeka math is to jumpy and much of a spiral for many kids. 

[3rd Grade Math??]

Rod and Staff is old school with a focus on fact memorization. Kate Snow recommends it for kids who struggle or parents who need old school.

Facts that stick are a great supplement. I really like Calculadders and have added them into RightStart for my own kids.

[Books]

My daughter liked/ likes

the Happy Little Family series of 4 books by Rebecca Caudell. 

Misty of Chincoteague and the sequel

The Borrowers series

Little House series

Anything you can find by Elizabeth Enright... 4 story mistake, gone away lake, thimble summer (loved this particularly find it used or interlibrary loan), baby island....many stories

 

All these are nice peaceful interesting childhood stories

[YEC picture book based science?]

Simply Charlotte Mason has science courses that just use picture books. The picture books are not all YEC but they give heads up where they contradict a YEC point of view and they also pick books that are mostly neutral. They do have some from a YEC viewpoint too. I really like Exploring what God has made and Discovering what God has made.

 

[Kinder & 3rd grade planning]

I really like simply Charlotte Mason science. Discovering what God has Made would be perfect for your ages. 

https://simplycharlottemason.com/store/discovering-what-god-has-made/

 

I really would like doing American History of some kind with those ages. I've only had 1 first grader interested in ancient history. I've had 1 who didn't like history at all till I started reading interesting American History stories to him. I almost killed his interest in the subject early on. Not all families are like this though. Find out what your kids would like. I don't have a curriculum suggestion exactly. If you want a textbook Notgrass Our Star spangled Story is nice. You can just use 1 book each year so you have time to add in library books and documentaries. The student books are nice.

Simply Charlotte Mason has nature study ideas integrated into the science books some. They also have nature notebooks and articles about nature study so you can DIY it. If you want a program I like Exploring Nature with Children. It has interesting weekly prompts and going deeper ideas if you get interested. It is from England so some of the prompts are a bit off depending on your climate....it's ok for us as I never get to it weekly anyway and have other ideas on our own some weeks.

[Spring K-2 Chat]

Dd newly 5 just finished Letter Mastery from Little Seedlings Press. I do it between AAR pre and 1. This way kids are blending 3 letter short vowel words before beginning AAR 1. It seems to be a good bridge. Then AAR 1 hits fluency. She is really beginning to read and wanting to practice so this is great. She's excited to "read books" now for phonics time.

 

[6th grade planning 2024-25]

It's a fair amount of reading but my dyslexic did fine with it. It is a good ramp up into Wiles Atomic Age. It has a lot less vocabulary than atomic age and the readings are easier. The mineral book he found dull.  I thought it was a good overview of all elementary science and bridge to middle school science. 

"Too much reading" would depend on what your expectations for upper elementary science are. I think it's appropriate. Also most books are well illustrated and interesting. Science isn't always about stuff you love. Do you have any specific questions?

[Curriculum choices for a dyslexic child]

I am using Berean Builders audio with my dyslexic son for 7th grade science this year. I plan to continue with Earth Science from Berean Builders with audio for next year. It is experiment heavy which has been very good for my son. I will likely stick with this through highschool. He is supposed to write answers to the 1-2 questions after each reading and we do the chapter review orally together. He's learning and beginning to write for academic reading. ..I will gradually increase this to eventually do tests sometime in highschool.

We are also slowly and successfully using All About Spelling which has some writing in it.

I like the amount of reading and writing in Heart of Dakota a few grades behind his age....you may try a lower level of bookshark just for history so he can read it then read some harder books aloud. 

Writing I will try IEW Medieval next year.

I'd take some time to write out big goals for the next 6 years then write yearly steps to get there ...

[Phonics programs?]

Yes to blending sometimes "clicking" but I wouldn't stop working in it. My kids who got it easily got it at like age 4. My ones who struggled at 4-5 needed extra work ... I used Abeka blend ladders for 1 who couldn't blend 3 letters and CLE sound slider for another before AAR 1.

I don't find AAR overkill for a child who gets reading easily. I just skipped some parts of the fluency pages and used the "challenge word" sections. She still liked the games. I would pause after level 3 and not do level 4 until 3 rd grade though. My daughter flew through level 4 in early 2nd grade, but wasn't reading books "in the wild" with that hard of vocabulary. I think the derivation lessons would have stuck better a bit later. 

I will say I am a strong proponent of thorough phonics though.....to each his own;)

[6th grade planning 2024-25]

I tweaked my plans bit;)

[Phonics programs?]

I have used AAR with 2 kids...one learned easily one was dyslexic. I am using it for number 3 (likely dyslexic) and saving it for 3 more following. I did use Abeka some and can compare if you like. AAR spends way more time on short vowel words and is more explicit if the child needs that it's great. If they don't... just go faster. It isn't graded and all my kids have really liked the readers. I did have my 2 dyslexic kids do level 1 basically twice but they didn't mind and got it;) I  like the variety of practice but reading lists of words is hard and everybody who needs the practice does need it. It goes slower than Abeka, but I think it also goes farther.

[Spelling Recommendations!]

I learned to read early, liked to write, liked school in general.... spelling however was a great big mystery. My Orton Gillingham class in college really improved my spelling. I'm using All about spelling with my dyslexic son and it is finally helping. He started to get it about age 11 and is slowly doing level 4 as a 12 yr old and spelling is slowly improving. He also does a lot of oral letter by letter spelling to practice words he struggles with.

If you have reason to suspect dyslexia for any child pick some Orton Gillingham based spelling program. Dictation will not likely work for those children... otherwise I really like alot of CM style teaching.

[K planning 2024-25]

RightStart has a different sequence than some... it's a bit hard to jump in and out of. I switched oldest a few times and had to back fill some upper elementary topics. Like fractions as division is introduced in like C and then built on so that by F it's common sense....stuff like that. Sometimes I had a bit of trouble seeing where it was going and what was important. It really does make sense in the end and customer service is really helpful. Also oldest struggles some with school so that doesn't make it easier. We slowed down and reviewed more often, but he seems to be doing well now partway through H. @rebcoola

[K planning 2024-25]

16 hours ago, rebcoola said:

Happy Phonics

Five in a row

Right start maybe I want something with lots of games

Light and fun is the plan

I really like RightStart. I've used every level except oldest hasn't finished H yet!

[K planning 2024-25]

Dd will be solidly 5 in September. She loves to be read to, knows her letter sounds can blend 3 letter words, understands 2 digit numbers, understands addition and subtraction and can do it with an abacus, can subitize to 7 (8,9, and 10 she tends to count on...). She generally likes school....I don't want to push though so we'll see.  Math and phonics are my stand by options.

 

Here is a tennitive plan

RightStart A and/or B (probably fast through parts of A then start B...but again not sure)

All About Reading 1 (just for practice reading 3 letter words)

Outdoor secrets maybe from SCM

Probably Little Hearts for His Glory for small moter, handwriting, Bible, history.....

[Failing at Homeschooling/Not cut out for this]

Yes, yes to systems. I have checklists for my oldest 3. If it's not done it's "homework" you do it in the evening, on Saturday, whenever, but you do it. If it's all done by the end of the day you get a "school treat" currently a chocolate kiss. 

Also look at what needs to be done. Sit down with your oldest and have a talk. Involved him. Look as homeschoolers we must cover XYZ the state says so. Choice is do it here or go to school for 8 hrs a day 5 days a week and bring homework home. I'll bet he can do it unless time at home. Self discipline is hard to learn but child has to want to learn it..... we've been there this year;) Growing up is work!

[Advice re General Framework for Learning Handwriting]

@HomeAgain 

Amen to teen/preteen boys handwriting....lovely cursive age 8ish.....down to scrawl now at age 12+....;)

 

Yes to plenty of play outside, coloring, chalk, scissor play, art projects, handwriting practice once 4 or 5 with whatever book for 5-10 min at a time. Quality over quantity here.