The Bible first it's my worldview. Everything is built on it. Charlotte Mason's writings and Sonya Shaffer's summeries of them. We don't follow it to a t at all, but it is kind of a base for my philosophy of education. Know and Tell by Karen Glass Montessori especially for preK-3. Her ideas of children and work/ practical life. Not her views on discipline and child raising. Also we use the independent learning trays and training ideas. Teaching Montessori in the Home Preschool Years and the corresponding School Years books are helpful. The Homegrown Preschooler very practical advice on fitting preschool in and helping the young child work and feel valued. I read at least parts most summers:) Orton Gillingham training I took in College (not a book exactly, but you could read books on it) Math articles from RightStart and Kate Snow Farmhouse Schoolhouse blog (again not a book, but always gives me new ideas and encouragement) It's hard to remember where all my philosophy has come from.....

I'll quote Laura to start;) 6:00 me up to read Bible, start 1load wash or something similar and make breakfast 6:50 kids up for 7:00 breakfast with father right during and after breakfast we do a short (like 30 min) Bible/ morning time. (Memory Verse and rotate through 2 other things hymn, charàcter study, composer, poetry, picture study, Spanish, ) 7:30-9:00 bigs (12 and 10) tidy up dress, personal Bible, chores, start school During this time I do breakfast dishes, fix girls hair, tend to toddler and baby. At 8:00 I do phonics and start copywork with the 7 yr old (who has been helping with chores and getting dressed as well. He is an early bird so he may well have done this before 7) 8:30 is littles morning time we read a devotion, a picture book or 2 at least 1 goes with AYOPS theme and start some activity or project from A Year of Playing Skillfully (AYOPS) 9:00-10:00 is math time for everyone. I start with the oldest capping lessons at about 20 minutes as I finish each they go off to do the practice part of the lesson. If they don't get it in 20 ish min it gets dropped till afternoon or finished the next day. It doesn't do anyone any good to bang with math without understanding for much more than that;) 10:00 is either spelling with 9 (2-3X) or math with 4.5 (2X she loves her "school" so I fit it in where I can) 10:15 is writing or grammar with 2 oldest 10:45 is spelling 4X a week with oldest 11:00 is science with 7 yr old (he loves science. We're trying science in the beginning 3X a week) or phonics with 4.5 yr old (2-3X a week if we have time on Friday we do both science and phonics) 11:30-12:30 is finish up lunch prep (me) if I can fit in spelling with 7 yr old here great if not it happens in the afternoon 12:30 lunch After lunch 4 oldest clear table, do dishes, sweep dining room, and tidy 1st floor from school and toddler play. I tend to baby and toddler move laundry extra and begin to nurse baby. Then it's quiet hour. For the first 30 min 7 yr old reads to me and then I read to him (lit or a picture history book) The second 30 min is history geography Bible module 3 from Simply Charlotte Mason. The 7 yr old is not required to be here except for geography 1X a week 3:30 is snack and either Art (2X) or an activity from AYOPS for anybody who wants to do a messier activity Friday I don't do phonics with 7yr old or littles am time. We all do nature study instead either inside or outside. We have notebooks from SCM for this this year to make it less prep for me. Oldest is dyslexic (but reads well now) and I use fairly teacher intensive material so there isn't as much independent work. The 2 oldest have science(I bought the mp3 files for oldest here to help) math drill, math practice, literature, activity with little sibling, Book of centuries, commonplace book, and extra history book that they do independently. 7 yr old is still plodding along at learning to read....it's slow steady work. Children are (in fall) 12, 10, 7, 4, 2, baby we use RightStart, All About Reading, All About Spelling, WriteShop (oldest 2), and Analytical Grammar (oldest 2), youngest does copywork from SCM. We school September to mid May. Summer is phonics only and mandatory reading for those who can;) This is a new schedule for fall, but not too different from last year's except I am going to use a timer and clock more;) and history is in the afternoon.

It's past due now;) I shouldn't be surprised....my babies like to stay in. I'm amusing myself by organizing all the school books, laminating posters, tearing apart new and sorting out old AAS/ AAR cards..... it's easier to do now I guess but I'm not very enthusiastic about it.

Yes to cleaning and organizing.... I've been working on the whole house a room or floor at a time since April.....the kids chalk it up to nesting for baby, but it isn't really. I just got motivated. The school room, our bedroom, the attic, and the upstairs bathroom got the biggest makeovers;) I haven't had to buy much....just move and organize and think about what I really wanted each space to look like instead of using each space to store furniture and stuff.... Well the attic got a floor and it is storing stuff but that is its job;)

I set up 3 lower bookcase shelves with Montessori style work and A Year of Playing Skillfully stuff for the little ones to do during with "quiet time". Currently 2 Lauri alphabet puzzles Rice and butterflies ECT sensory bin Animal track and constellation cards Animal track memory game Montessori red and blue rods A few leftover workbooks and art project book Animal lacing cards Playdoe set up in a bin....green and brown playdoe in the fridge I'm trying this for baby is coming soon and I thought it would be good for school time this fall. The idea is to change out 1 or 3 things each week and totally redo it 1X a month. I'll match the A Year of Playing Skillfully themes and add in my Montessori stuff. I'm excited to use what I have! I'm going to have to train the 2 yr old alot with this but the 4 yr old did a good job today;) 2 yr old was napping. Also big sis looked at the Year of Playing Skillfully calendar and decided pretend camping sounded fun she and little sis now have an elaborate set up outside;)

I dropped outdoor secrets. We're going to focus on A Year of Playing Skillfully. About 2X a week RightStart A About 3-4X a week Foundational Phonics

Rod and Staff might be good for him also. Kate Snow was using it to tutor a girl who was struggling in math and said she recommended it for kids or mom's who needed straightforward traditional math. Memoria press uses it for all kids and they seem to do well too......not you need another idea but it sounds like strayer Upton or rod and staff may fit your student well. (Or fit you well....teacher clicking with math is very important both these programs are good....you don't need fancy math to do a good job and for your kids to succeed;)

You can usually find the teacher book used for cheap. Sometimes homeeducators resource has used cards for cheap. That's all you need. Any alphabet chart will work...

I have used strayer Upton for years as a supplement to RightStart. I really like it for that. It has good explanations and plenty of drill. My oldest son really likes it. There is less "help" as in script teacher notes extra than new curriculums, but it seems solid. I don't think there is any algebra in it if that worries you. Book 3 has lots of practical math. It is all very straightforward.

You could look at Abeka K4 phonics workbook. I think it starts with letters briefly then does 2 letter blends very quickly. You don't need the teacher book if you know phonics. Another idea is Foundational Phonics letter mastery. It is a lot of letter work, but it adds in blending quickly too. I like it between AAR pre and 1.

Not the original question asker, but thanks. My 4.5 yr old so wants to read and "do school" that I'm looking at doing a bit for her in the fall...that makes 3 in school, 1 preschool, 1 two yr old and a baby! Also LA is not independent at all for oldest as he has dyslexia...neither is math for anybody..... I think I'm going to totally need a schedule, but somehow it seems a bit silly and my babies don't really schedule (we just have cozy routines). Baby will be about 3mo old. I do moby wrap alot and can nurse on low chairs while teaching math (btdt 3X now). I think I need a rotating toy, activity, mama time, play with siblings plan for the 2yr old and 4 yr old so they don't get board and lonely.....any bright ideas....we have Montessori stuff but then 2 yr old messes up 4 yr olds spindle boxes or something else disastrous:-) Glad to hear this about WriteShop. I have level E planned for my very reluctant 7th grader and creative enjoys writing 5th grader.

I have tons of books like those at home...I think I'm going to pencil in some that I already own;). I've used some of the emerging readers and have tons on my shelf.... he's not ready yet though. I like the history books so that's what I'm excited for!

Yes I feel for you @alysee except I'm moving to 4 not 3 with 2 younger and a not very independent oldest... @Nm. I'm trying Beyond little hearts with my 2nd grader too. There's not much in our Roman study for him ... he'll listen in on our Gospel readings but that's all. 2nd grade plans Beyond little hearts history, geography, grammar, poetry, oral narration practice daily Copywork either from beyond little hearts or Simply Charlotte Mason AAR 2 maybe into 3 Alice and Jerry and Cowboy Sam readers AAS 1 maybe start 2 RightStart B/C 3x week Berean Builders Science in the beginning because he loves science and wants experiments. I read a lesson on the moon to him and he liked it...My bigger ones didn't love it really but this one is different. K4 plans My very eager 4 yr old who loves to "do school" RightStart A at her pace Finish AAR pre and move to Foundational Phonics letter mastery Play with various Montessori math and reading stuff with siblings A Year of Playing Skillfully Bible memory with brother

I have the form 2 maybe 1 templates. I don't use them..... I like the SCM plan your year book better. It is more helpful I think and less schedule driven. I also like the weekly grid Ambleside uses and made up something like that for my big kids this year. It helps me see how much they have to do each week and hopefully push them toward a bit of self scheduling;) I have bought each of them a planner called my student logbook from edutaters the last few years that gives them a daily checklist after it's filled out.

AAR does have a placement test so you could skip to the level you need. 100 easy lessons is not as strong phonics I don't think. But I've never used it so ask around. You might look into the ordinary parents guide to teaching reading too. I think I'd look for an Orton Gillingham based program since she is struggling in case you have some kind of dyslexia going on. I love RightStart math but the scope and sequence is different than many and it can be a bit hard to jump into. It has been great for my dyslexic child though. It is the only thing that has clicked for him. It is very hands on and visual even in the middle school books. Let me know if you want to know more about it. I've used A- most of G new edition so far. Many levels I've used twice now;) RightStart has a game book that you might find useful as well as some tutoring sets for arithmetic, fractions ect that may be more helpful than a full program. They have excellent customer service so you could call with questions. Kate snow's 3rd grade book is out now you could look at it too. It might be just what you need.

I don't know as I haven't used BJU. I know that I personally skipped from Abeka 7th to Abeka algebra (9th) skipping preAlgebra and was totally fine. The rep told mom for a strong math student it was fine. I looked into BJU last year for my son and saw that many people skip something (can't remember if it's 7th or 8th) and put algebra 1 in 8th grade. I even thought the BJU website talked about it. Have you looked or emailed them?

Well we're using it for 7th on down for enrichment and history bible and geography. They suggest Wile's books for 7-12 science which I plan to use. I feel free to add/ substitute books anytime. I do some of their LA suggestions and will continue to do so. We don't use Spelling Wisdom or using language well due to how our kids learn. We use RightStart (an older SCM suggestion) then videoText for math. I'll probably use their history Bible Geography guides through highschool and add in exploring government as they suggest. I'm not really concerned about rigorous history in HS. I can add in papers in HS ala written narrations which is encouraged anyway. I add in my own literature for the children to read.

Simply Charlotte Mason has a schedule book and DVD to DIY. Also they sell family history geography Bible plans that I really like for like $20. This has some combined some on own that I really appreciate. Sometimes I add a book to the plans because I want to and they are on the lighter/simpler side. I like that as we have farm kids whose whole life is certainly not school;) They also have really great science plans. I especially like pond and stream and discovering what God has made for 1-3 and Investigating what God has made for 4-6. I'm trying for a simple year that isn't just stripped to basics. We're keeping on with the math, spelling and phonics we've mostly always used doing SCM history and enrichment and various interest led science-all textbooks this year! I'm adding in the old Analytical Grammar and Write with the best for the oldest 1 or 2 along with written narrations and doing copywork from SCM and primary language lessons for the 2nd grader.

Homeschool classifides for me too both buying and selling It's easy.

My daughter about that age liked the courage of Sarah noble In the Animal World by Emma Serl it's a compilation of poems and short stories for young readers. It is chapter book sized and bigger print. I got mine from rainbow resource. Emma Serl wrote primary language lessons. Various Alice and Jerry readers these are reprinted as well and available from Rainbow resource Happy Little family by Rebecca Caudell this is also a series

I like math facts that stick too. I've used them with kids up through 4th grade. It's not babyish at all. I would agree to add in more review if needed.

Why didn't you do AAR 4? I've used that level 2x and think it's best for 3rd grade or up. My struggling ds did it in like 3rd and I thought it helpful. Then he read Alice and Jerry readers aloud to me and that really helped with fluency. They are vocabulary controlled readers...more interesting than Dick and Jane IMHO. Start with one that he can read fluently then go on as needed. I may try like Friendly Village and Neighbors on the Hill. The controlled vocab that he was totally capable of sounding out really seemed to help. Rainbow resource sells reprints. My Dd who did AAR 4 in like early 2nd grade whizzing through didn't get as much out of it I don't think. (Incidentally, I really like AAR pre-4. After trying out several other phonics programs, I plan to use AAR several more times;) Another thing I did was institute a quiet reading time on the summer for like 30 min and provide lots of easy books for the kids to read. Like level 1 and 2 readers that were about stuff they were interested in. Also reading picture books aloud to little siblings helps a ton of he has any to do this with.

Simply Charlotte Mason has a nice classic list too https://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/preschool-guide/preschool-foundations/favorite-read-aloud-books-for-preschoolers/

RightStart Math- It really clicks with how I teach. I was wondering about G and H because they are so "different", but it is working so much better than anything else we've tried were going with it. My son wouldn't say he liked RightStart G but he says he learns well with it and not to switch....we don't get to all the games but I've added in calculadder drills for all and sometimes make a worksheet or add in some drill from strayer Upton. I've used most RightStart levels now. All About Reading - I'm on my 3rd and 4th runs through this now. I like to put Little seedlings press letter mastery between levels Pre and 1, but he otherwise I like it. All about spelling- it's helping my 2 very different children. Child 3 will finish level 1 next year. It will likely help him too;) Simply Charlotte Mason History geography and Bible. The kids like to do this together. I like the book choices and it's easy to substitute 1 if I want ..or add to it;) None of these are new. I've learned to stick with what's always worked. I think I initially picked all these when ds 11 was 5... Not that we haven't tried other things but I still like these best and keep coming back to them;)

I think I know what we're doing and I've ordered most of it alot is a continuation of what we've been using. Continuing with RightStart math for 4 students most are between levels so we will do G/H, E/F, B/C, and A. Calculadders for all kids (math drill) All About Spelling levels 1, 4 (probably into 5), and 5 All About Reading 2/3 for 2nd grader Foundational Phonics letter Master for K4 (this is a good bridge between AAR pre and 1) Simply Charlotte Mason History Matthew through Acts and Ancient Rome this includes European geography everybody will do this Just reading Our Star Spangled Story pt 2. 2nd, 5th, 7th. The bigs read it to little. I know it's "below level" for 2 but it's just exposure and Rome is our focus. Oldest burns out really fast on school and America the Beautiful just looks long and dense for him.... Simply Charlotte Mason Enrichment trying out the year 3 plan... I've always just done it on my own but with a baby I thought a plan may be nice. We may sub out some artists though Reading books I pick for literature SCM outdoor secrets science I've done this before for 2nd grade and K4 Apologia land animals with notebook for 5th grader she loved botany this year Trying out Berean Builders science in the atomic age for 7th grader Writeshop B and E for 2nd, 5th, and 7th Analytical Grammar original edition for 5th and 7th Spanish for children for 5th SCM copybook readers for 2nd Montessori grammar symbols 2nd and 7th mostly I'm not good at assigning written narrations or writing across the curriculum so we're trying a writing program.... we'll see how it goes. The 2nd graders Grammer will be informal. I'll just teach verbs nouns...as far as we get with his copywork. All the kids take turns doing oral narrations during family Bible and history time. Undecided Continue with A Year of Playing Skillfully for PreK or do Wee Folk Art? I was going to do Wee Folk Art but now I'm leaning toward AYOPS. I have both....