For activities, walking, exploring and biking are all good. For nature study you might check out the Outdoor Hour Challenge. It might be a nice time to learn a new skill or hobby, before school starts. I see the baby is due next month, perhaps something less physical like a new game or puzzles? After you've explored a few things, perhaps the kids could even design a family fun day. As to talking to people, are video/distance classes possible? You could learn something like the violin or have Spanish tutoring. Do you have a webcam and skype? My BIL and niece use one to chat with my in-laws. This might be a good time to work with the kids on writing letters or emails to grandparents. Or start a blog and you can 'talk' in the comments. And there's always Facebook, in case you just have to see what funny cat pics your friends have posted! Can you find someone to have a play date with once a week? It might be nice to list some people you can call, and send the kids out / start a video / declare quiet time, then call one of your friends. My DH has an erratic schedule, and when he works late my day just lasts forever. So do plan a break for yourself at some point in the day. Just give yourself some time as well, you are going through a big adjustment anyway with a new baby coming, and being at home is a big change. I've never been an overly social person, and it still took some getting used to. I wasn't accustomed to having to plan everything! So be patient with yourself. And post back if you try something and do/don't like it - we might be able to make better recommendations.

Well I decided to learn Latin, and I've learned a LOT of grammar. I have Lingua Latina with supplements, and just purchased (and still love) English Grammar for Students of Latin. I now have my eye on Henle.

I'm trying to get back into the habit but what's worked for me: * I have an alarm clock with a sunrise feature, this maxes about 5 minutes before ... * My phone alarm, which is annoying enough I like to turn it off instantly. I HAVE to put the phone far enough away that it requires me to take a few steps, because I can apparently turn it off in my sleep. (On a related note, leaving said phone in the living room is a bit too far ... I've done that as well.) * I like to sleep a bit less at night, so I really need a power nap in the afternoon. * I need to get away from screens / go to bed earlier. A PP said they need to go to bed before they get the "second wind" - that's a wonderful insight - that's what keeps happening to me. I need to start watching out for it as well. I think I'll add the face washing to my wake up list as well. If you look at a sunrise clock, read the reviews and be sure it is bright. Just go for quality the first time. I have a Phillips clock currently, it's bright and even makes bird sounds.

Sure. Why not? The ancients will still be there.

@soror - Care to name the vintage program? @warneral - I would love it if any of the progym programs were PDFs. Three (four?) companies now, and nothing re-usable inside the family from any of them. Which is why I picked something different.

I looked at it, but it seemed really wordy to me. (Multiple choice questions didn't help it's case. :glare: ) I guess I like to the point material without so much leading word by word. I think I'll stick with my used copy of "Composition in the Classical Tradition" with the posts at Afterthoughts to flesh it out.

Can you listen to it? There are several free versions on Librivox - such as http://librivox.org/anne-of-green-gables-by-lucy-maud-montgomery-2/ . You might check Memoria Press for an online course, their curriculum has AGG in 6th grade.

You can use one of the tri-fold demo boards - they are often used for science fairs. Mine's lost, but I drew a number line and taped some cheat sheets (letter formation, multiplication table). I cut mine in half so it wasn't so tall.

Double posted, sorry.

Hunter, are you making a rotation for yourself or your students??? If it's mainly for you, and you'll include students as they come, then why not just work through AO, adding in SOW as you've already matched up? AO does have a basic, 6 year rotation, and I think it would be easy to use their spines to flesh out the ancients in year 1. CHOW is almost half about the ancients. For year 6 covering both modern and ancient, look at Charlotte Mason Help - she split AO's year 6 into modern (yr 4) and ancients (yr 6). (She uses year 5 for non-Western cultures.) You should also look at Milestones Academy, she uses a lot of AO books, but has family history & science. I've discovered that we get more done if everyone is separate. I like to work 1-on-1, crowd control tires me quickly. So I'm aiming for somewhat less time planning & more time teaching. (I confess I will be slightly tweaking year 6 for my eldest - mostly done there, and adding/dropping a lot from year 2 based on JustAMouse's list - haven't started!)

Homeschool Skedtrack also does student logins. When someone creates something with the "do the next thing" of SCM's planner, the drag/drop/add & week view of Scholaric let me know.

You might look at Ambleside Online's pages. They have one for folksongs, but sometimes they link songs for the time period in their upper years. So you might check years 9-11 for ideas. (I don't know if you've checked AO in the past, when they did only a few folksongs, but they've been listing 9-10 a year. The folksongs we did were some of the highlights of the year.

Yes. MEP, SWR, Ambleside Online, soon to restart KISS and kick BFSU back into active mode. A lot of time I get overwhelmed with teaching, but after trying something else I usually figure out the first approach was better and that I actually prefer to actively teach. Plus my 9yo can now read most of his own books, and I see great signs that my 10yo should be able to by year's end (he might always need/want some audio books, but that's fine!). Actually, I'm still looking for a better MEP. I think the real key is that I need better habits - when we have breakfast early and then start school, we have great days. I need to make those days happen more often. We like First Form, then dropped it, then restarted it. We're planning to finish it in the fall term, and then jump ship to Visual Latin for both my older boys. Of course, it doesn't help that each year is a moving target. Child A is doing better, but Child B has developed an attitude issue, Child C needs more time with me and Child D stops making as many messes but starts making more noise. Then the next season, it all changes again!

Android has some fun (free) puzzle apps. There is a world map puzzle (you can play a continent, countries with coffee - several fun options). There is also a US map puzzle, also for constellations, anatomy and math facts. We enjoy them. (All these are by the same developer as the linked world map above.)

We went to a COVD and were not sent to any therapy, since I think that's what you are driving at. The doctor actually gave us some good step-by-step ideas, but I needed more handholding and bought Visualizing and Verbalizing. (Under $100 with one of the V/V Stories books, and I resold for $50 or so. Which is a bargain IMHO.)

I only have Dancing Bears. For spelling we still do a little SWR and some studied dictation, now that DS is reading better. Dancing Bears is a great program - if things are measured on fulfilling their promised results, I can't see anything topping Dancing Bears -- ever! Most of the OG programs I saw were very expensive, much more than the Fast Track + Book C combo I bought. AND Dancing Bears is open and go, just 10 minutes a day. I don't plan to use it for my younger children unless needed. Nothing wrong with it, I just think it would be overkill for a normal child.

Silver will you post and tell us how using KTM this way works out?

sewingmama - I cut up DS's First Form Latin workbook because he was hooking his hand due to the spine & it's inability to stay flat. We used the first part as loose pages, and I've spiral bound the middle part.

I'm using this: http://weefolkart.com/content/homeschool-companion-guides -- I love the little books and also don't want to print a ton of pages.

Psst. How do you handle organizing in Goodreads? It seems much more oriented to what you've read. What about library books? Do you have a huge "unread" shelf? Use two accounts - one for books owned and one for books read? I'd love to use Goodreads, but I can't wrap my mind around what shelves I need. Care to share your setup?

Big patio doors with a screened porch. Porch would have a sturdy table - probably a picnic table. There would be a good fence around a play area for breaks, but I'd be able to see it easily through the doors. One solid wall and another nearly solid for bookshelves, maps and a whiteboard. Outlets would be (somehow) placed out of the way, and heat registers would be far enough from the wall to squeeze in a bookcase. I do like the fireplace idea. Oh, and I'd have hardwood floors. I'm honestly not sure I would build in much, I like to rearrange things. I would have a reading nook by the window though. http://www.babble.com/crafts-activities/reading-nooks/ What a fun idea!

I used & resold the newer version with my son. I ran across the older version at the Goodwill and bought it. It doesn't seem hugely different on a quick glance, personally I'd try the older edition.

I'm a planner, and it would be too much for me. I could see filing 15-20 daily folders though - once a month or so. I am going to print everything possible & gather or list resources in advance (whenever I buy some toner :( ), but I think I'll file by subject this time. I do plan to make weekly books though, in some format. But not 36 weeks in advance. Maybe 6 weeks if I get brave, I plan to start with a 3 week test run. However I seem to use less worksheets than many others, so there's less to go wrong (in theory :001_tt2: ). Some programs are better for advance planning than others. For example, MEP math is easier than MM in my opinion. Of course, most of my 'throwing off' when I did the full FCS was ME changing an entire curriculum. :001_rolleyes: I may have to consider doing a tickler file though - I have some nice monthly idea sheets, as well as lists from Picture Perfect Childhood to use.

Can he blend? I stuck with a spelling approach for a long time because my son could not blend. At any rate, I would try to avoid a battle. We are doing Dancing Bears now and it is worth its weight in gold. (Yes I'm excited. He's not reading "at grade level" but he can fluently read easier books, directions and my shopping list.) I read once about a mom who had her kids dictate a story to her, which she wrote in big letters. Then she had them read the story they had written. If he just has a fear of the books (fear of failure perhaps?) that might help him. Or try a cursor like Dancing Bears (and others) use. Cut an index card in half, then cut a little square notch out of the corner. You can use that to show just one sound at a time. Have you had his eyes checked? I did that when my son was 7 1/2 -- we had to drive 100 miles to find a COVD doctor, but he told us the issue and offered advice to fix it (it was DS's ability to visualize a story, not his eyes).

Straight Talk here as well - DH has $45 plan with Android phone, and I have the $30 plan with my 'dumb' phone. Cons - First one is not even against Straight Talk - for some reason walmart.com stopped working with my debit card, so I have to drive to the store to get new cards. I also had 2 months where I bought a card, but somehow Straight Talk's system "lost" it saying I had no service. And I couldn't call to straighten it out until DH came home, since my phone couldn't even dial the provider. When I finally got through to customer service they were kind, and in 2 calls straightened it out. Just odd. It was last year, no problems since. Pros - I *know* *exactly* what the bill is. No taxes & fees creeping up like my last provider. No late fees. No small print. It just works. I LOVE simple! And no contracts - if I don't want it, I don't have to pay. Oh, and unlike my last "real" cell phone provider, I can call my Dad without weird disconnects, failures to connect, distortion and errors.