I am also considered rigorous and I think that is accurate. When my boys start complaining they don't like school. I try to find out what it is. Usually it is what they are currently struggling with. Sometimes we have just taken a break for a month or so. For example, if they are struggling in math we work to the next review and then put the book away for a month or set period of time. This has helped greatly with attitude. Then I replace what has been put away with review material or another book covering that material. Also, if they are consistently taking a long time for something I set an age appropriate time limit and then we are done for the day. You stated that your daughter is working above grade level in a few areas, it might be that she needs to mature into the skills she has. Have her pick a topic to learn about and do a mini unit study. Where she is picking the topic, asking the questions she wants to know about. Then help her pick good books that are at her level to read. Find the answers and a way to share those answers with you, dad or someone outside the family. Being able to pick topics has given my boys ownership in their education and has helped to build a love for learning. I only do this at times - the deal is you get to pick a topic and I get to pick 6 or something like that. This has also helped me see what they are truly interested in and capitalize on their interests. One other thing that has helped, as we to need a schedule. We now have what my boys call fun school on Friday. On Fridays, they get to do Life of Fred math, Geography, Art, Copy work in Greek instead of a lesson, some kind of different writing assignment instead of their grammar book. Basically Fridays look completely different but they are still doing a full day of school. For us it is things that are only once a week and I tend not to get done. But the important thing for me is the boys think it is fun and they look forward to it. It has not solved all of our attitude problems but it helps. I hope this helps as you move forward. I do think you can build a love for learning while being rigorous but we do have to remember where our kids are developmentally and not just academically. Just because a kid can do something at a higher level doesn't mean they are ready to do it at that level for a longer period of time. They need time to be what ever age they are and still be challenged to.

It sounds like your youngest two would be a good fit for Apologia. I would get the Junior Notebook for your 1st grader and the regular notebook for your 5th grader. You can read aloud to both or just the 1st grader and have the 5th grader read on their own. I am planning on doing Swimming Creatures this year with a K, 2, and 4th graders. The book seems to be very well laid out and easy to implement. I also have yet to find a science program that I can do for more than a month.

For the most part, yes we study the same thing in History and Science. For us it is easier to do these subjects as a family. But, if my boys want to do different things we either take turns or spend some time doing different things.

I don't have an end date in mind, but now that we are involved in a co-op my boys want more of a summer vacation. Yet, I love schooling year round. So, about this time of year I start picking "ending places." For example, each of my boys need to finish the next unit in R&S Grammar before they are able to put their grammar book away for summer vacation. What they don't get is I only give them 4-6 weeks off before, at most, we restart any subject. We still do something most days over the summer but we rotate what we do so we can enjoy the weather and all the summer activities. We also start back to school in early August so it all works out.

After HOP I have my boys read the Emergent Reader list from HOD. My guys are early readers so I don't start adding in grammar for awhile after. I do have them narrate and create notebook pages on some of the books we read.

My 9yo boy also loved to re-read Potter, Rick Rioden, Narnia and many of the books his little brothers are reading. For school our rule is he has to read an approved book for 60 min. This is either chosen by him or assigned by me. We have made found some new favorites and others have been dead ends. Oh and he is more interested in any book if it is part of a series no matter the topic.

My 1st and 3rd grader have also been doing xtramath all year. My 1st grader has passed both addition and subtraction and is doing well in multiplication. My 3rd grader has passed addition but is plugging along in subtraction. We have the 3rd grader pull up the key pad and use the mouse to click on the numbers as we found he was miss typing the numbers when using the key board to much of the time. His other issue is he has decided to not care and has gotten red many days. Not because he doesn't know the problem but because he thinks it is funny to type in the same answer. Now that we have implemented consequences his scores are going up again. However, I am finding that the more they get a problem wrong the more times they need to get it right to move on. I plan to have my boys do this all summer to keep up the practice and continue to improve speed.

I have one this week

We also own the kingdoms set and my boys love to set it up and play middle ages. They would like the joust set but they made one of their own. This coming year I see us building plane and carsas we get to the early 1900's

This is my hope. That my boys will be reading the New Testament in it's original language in High School, How we are going to get there? Not really sure. My boys like Hey Andrew. I am liking Elementary Greek. I keep looking from year to year at how things are going.

I am not sure about the high standard. But, I wouldn't start until your kids are comfortably reading early chapter books and finished with phonics. My boys have found it easier to work through Hey Andrew then Elementary Greek. They are early readers and have started Hey Andrew in mid-K to early 1st.

My oldest is working through it on Fridays and absolutely loves it. This is what he looks forward to each week. I was shocked that he can write 500 word narratives and they are pretty good. He can't wait to get to write his own short story. I am hoping they come out with a Creative Writer 2, other wise we will most likely go through the book again. I think a year or two later he will get alot of the book again as there is enough in there for kids that want to learn creative writing.

My books will arrive today. Oh what fun it will be to read them and decide when to start. Thanks for building the suspense.

I think you have great ages for this program. I was very impressed with how much my boys learned and how much they enjoyed the books. I used it for the first half of the year, but I found I was having to supplement to much for my oldest. My oldest needed more of a challenge and to be reading more on his own, so I found myself having to supplement a lot for him. It was a really good fit for my middle. In the end, I dropped it because I like to keep my boys together for history.

if it is boring to me and I am not pulling it out to get done - I find something else. If I find it boring but the boys enjoy and it is still getting done it stays

I am writing up lesson plans for this week. It appears that Singapore introduces 2 digit multiplication in 4A for one lesson then moves on and doesn't return to it until 5A. Am I missing something? This just seems like frustration. To introduce 2 digit multiplication, give two pages of practice and move on. I know my son will need more practice. If I am seeing things correctly I am going to need to find something for more practice. Most likely, I will get a blue book from MM. Is there more practice then I am seeing? How have you handled this if this really is all the practice Singapore gives?

I am combining Galloping the Globe and Trail Guide to World Geography. My older two do Trail Guide and then we Gallop a country or two from the continent we are on. I am finding this to be a good balance, as my older two are working more with the mapping and every one gets to take part in the cultural and environment studies we do.

I rarely buy more than one of things. However, I have bought bigger packages so there is more to share. I got the lot of 108 Funtastic Frogs instead of 48, which is enough for one but not sharing. I got the bigger bucket of Cuisaire Rods. But, each boy does get their own lap size white boards - we use these almost daily for different things.

I also don't use a reading program. My boys read for 60 min every day. I sometimes assign the book. The rules are the book has to be approved by me and a book you have never read. This has allowed my boys to follow their interests yet allowed me to vary the types of books. One week we read all poetry books, another will be non-fiction, most of the time it is fiction. I talk with them about what they are reading but rarely have them write about it. I have them read other books for history and science that they write about, but not every time.

What I am thinking for my 4th grader Math Singapore 4B/5A with CWP Grammar Finish R&S 4 move to 5 when we get there Spelling Spelling Wisdom Greek Hey Andrew Level 5, Copy book of John, Elementary Greek 2 Writing Creative Writer, possibly WWS, writing in science and history History Various Units from Civil War to Today Science Various Home Made Units - Habitats, Solid, Liquid, Gas not sure of other topics Co-op He will do Science, Art and PE I guess most things are set as we do the next thing. I am still working out the details for History and Science, I will continue to work on those through out the year.

I do this at least twice a year and listen to their desires to understand how to present other things. Right now, we are doing a big rain forest unit. The boys are doing a Trail Guide to World Geography, so when we got to South America I just make it a bigger unit. The love units because that usually means more art projects but also all the extra reading about topics they love and that tie together so well. I also talk with them about what they like and don't like about programs. They love doing Singapore's CWP because they get to do them on the white board or the window. They are loving history right now because we are watching Liberty's Kids and then reading lots of books. If we can make big posters to hang in our house they are willing to learn most anything. Or if they are able to build a diorama or set up the scene. As far as literature, I assign a few books each month and the rest they get to chose from an approved list or get approved at the library. I have one reading the Percy Jackson series, on reading Little House on the Prairie. Who knows where they will go next but I do know they are reading lots of books most of which are good literature.

Thanks for the encouragement. My son is in first grade right now and could easily finish 1.5 years of math this year. I have held him back some because I don't want him to catch up to his older brother. But, things are so easy for him right now that I really need to let him go. I am thinking he will go through most of 3A before fall and could easily go through all of 4 by this time next year, but I know that it will get harder for him so it will all go by how he is doing. I will be getting him the IP books and continue to follow the BA threads. He loves to do Life of Fred and so that will continue also. Now, I just need to let him go, yet continue to make sure he is understanding all the material.

Thank you all for your help. Yes, I do have the text books and do use them. Currently, this child is not using them but he will be as we move forward. How easy is it to use the IP with just the textbook? Most likely I will be getting both the workbook and the IP when I order for the year, but my goal will to be to use only the IP if he can handle it. Also, then I have the workbook to go to if he runs into trouble.

I am not sure where to go with my middle son. He is going to turn 7 at the end of March and is flying through his math. Currently, he is working through Singapore 2B workbook. I am guessing this will take him about 6 weeks. He works on the book for about 25 min 3 days per week. I am doing next to no teaching. (I think I have helped him twice so far and he is 2/3 done with the book.) I had planned to get him the IP book before he ever started this as a reinforcement but now I am not sure that he will need it. He seems to be truly mastering the material. Unfortunately, he is going to be done with the workbook before I go to convention and I really don't want to pay shipping for one book. I also don't want to take a break as this would be very upsetting to his brother. I do have some Miquon books that could fill the time. Would you continue to have a child like this work through the workbook and then the IP books or just go start to the IP books? I do expect that I will have to start teaching him at somepoint :) He is also working his way through the CWP books although slowly because I don't assign them very often.

If your dd likes to write fiction, you might to look at Creative Writer. I am having my ds, just turned 9, work on it one day a week. About every third lesson, we split it into two weeks. There is a lot of writing involved but he is loving the fact that it is helping him learn how to write better stories. I am looking at using WWS with him next year, but we also do alot of writing across the curriculum so I am not sure if this would just take to much time. I have found that the best curriculum is no set curriculum. I need something to teach me the topics and then we work on them through out the rest of his writing.