I use both with my boys. FLL teaches grammar and in later workbooks parts of speech and diagramming. WWE teaches narration and dictation as well as including copywork. Both are pretty short and easy to do, I feel like I'm hitting all my bases by doing both. WWE we do four days a week, FLL we do 2-3 days a week.

:iagree:

NOt sure of a solution to your question but I wanted to add that I'm using WWE3 with my oldest student and what we do is read aloud the passages together like you would in a classroom. We alternate reading paragraphs. This allows him to read aloud, I can check his pronunciation and flow (reading aloud is a learned skill) - it is an assisted way to do the reading. Just a thought. :D

Thanks for the review! My kids are doing Song School Latin (7yr old ds) and Latin for Children A (11 yr old ds) this year and we began the Greek Code Cracker in January. So far everything has been a hit for us - I like the way that Classical Academic Press approaches learning languages. Fun and simple. I am looking forward to adding Greek for Children to our lessons next year.

My three are like Jennifers - two hyposenstive and one hypersensitive. The hyper boy usually cries 3+ times a day because the other two are rough-housing and he gets too close or in the middle. Anything can set him off. I try to let them play and "be boys" to some extent but I also move and remove my hypersensitive child at times. Our only therapies at this point (horrible insurance) are what we do at home. Brushing, minitrampoline and vitamins/omegas.

With my kids most of the time I try to plug away but I do adjust my expectations. If my moody, Aspie with ADD is having a bad day (he's been hormonal lately and also continues to have trouble with sleep) I may not do all the extras - we will continue with the basics (writing, grammar, math, and latin review) and I will know that I will probably have to help him more than on other days. By helping him that often means being his secretary and doing everything (including math) by narration. This is challenging because I have two other children. I don't believe in beating a dead horse. If we are getting no where it's time to switch things up. Sometimes I just have him stop where he is and take the dog for a long walk. Get some sun and relief. When he comes back he has a light snack and we try again. One day last week I just said "forget it" and packed a lunch and went to the zoo for the day. They got good exercise and it was educational - and a nice break from the stress and arguing. Don't forget that sometimes homeschool can be outdoor play, watching a video (whether educational or an adaptation of a book), field trips, shopping, you name it - that's all homeschool. Some days formal lessons are more detrimental than helpful. Even in public schools the teachers know this and allow for "those" kind of days. :D

:iagree: This sounds exactly like what I've done this year with my 2nd and 5th graders.

Math U See WWE (workbooks) FLL Latin for Children (surprisingly - and I have no latin background at all) History Odyssey (not counting getting library books)

I'm not familiar with GWG. We are using FLL 4 and WWE 3 together this year for my 5th grader (pulled out of public school during fourth grade). My younger son is doing FLL 1/2 and WWE1 for second grade. I enjoy both but they don't really "go together" you can use one and not the other.

I have two boys with LD's, for us copywork has been really helpful becuase they practice those punctuation and capitalization skills daily and are not expected to know those at the same time that they are constructing sentences on their own. Short, simple daily practice of punctuation, capitalization followed up with regular drills ala FLL 1/2/4 have been producing good results here. Best of luck with finding what works for you!

Exposure is important, at those ages it should be kept fun as well. Why not try something like Song School Latin (or Greek). SSL is light and fun - basic vocabulary and includes some matching, coloring, and cutting activities. My 7 year old enjoys listening and singing along with the songs for each chapter. On the other hand, with a new baby coming it certainly isn't the end of the world to wait until next year...except your hands will be even more full then! LOL

It is *somewhat* teacher intensive in that the student can't do the lesson by themselves but it is also scripted and super easy. We do two or three lessons a week, each takes about 10-15 minutes and I'm happy with the progress. My oldest son has learned to really like diagramming sentences (and I've actually learned how!) from FLL 4. It's a great program for us.

I feel your pain! Both my boys don't like math, both have handwriting problems (and you have to write to do math) and it's painful sometimes. That is why Math is usually our third lesson of the day - if we get to it early in the day it's more likely to get done. I schedule their first break (recess if you will) after they finish math. Because my boys are visual learners I went with Math U See so on Mondays they both watch a short teaching lesson then do one page of problems. They do one or two pages each day of the week then take a quiz on Friday. We haven't flown through math and they don't love it but they are learning their skills and we're getting there. Anything you (and they) don't want to do make sure it's done first thing (or almost first thing) in the morning. Just get it out of the way and move on to something you all enjoy more! :D

This year I had a 5th and 2nd grader. First thing in the morning we usually do Bible study and history together (mostly read aloud and questions and answer/discussion) for about an hour. Then they start doing their separate work - Latin, Math, Copywork, Writing, Grammar, Science/Logic/Greek/Music/Art. My younger son takes about two hours total to do his school work, my older can take between 3-5 depending on the workload and how spacy he is that day (ADD unmedicated).

At this point we are still loving Latin (started in August last year) - I have a pick up and go curriculum and I'm learning it alongside my eldest. Every chapter I find interesting becuase of the derivative study - I love being able to understand and explain to my 11 year old the words we use in English and where they come from. Granted I'm a english/literature lover and love history so the two together make me wish I could have learned Latin earlier. Also, I had two years of Spanish in high school and so much of the latin reminds me of what I (kinda) learned then. I think after a few years of Latin that picking up a romance language will be extremely easy. If we quit it will be because we just can't understand any more and my child begins to loathe it - until then we are sticking with it!

I agree! The two work well together but there isn't really any matching up of topics that I can see. Both have been working well with my special needs guys.

Homeschooling for nearly free may be doable, especially with younger kids, but would be harder as they get older. Also I have kids with learning disabilities so that just makes all learning harder. I just can't imagine how I would do my housekeeping, cooking etc (and keep my sanity) if I had to spend hours every day planning and finding more resources in addition to the hours that I already spend teaching my boys. I'm grateful to have some open and go curriculum, it makes it all doable.

Greatly helpful - I had typed up the poems we did but not with the cute pictures. I'll be using those!

My middle son is very much the same, doesn't like to read or be read to. My older son is a good reader but outside of very specific book subjects (this is part of his Asperger's) he resists reading on his own. My husband and I are both big readers and it simply baffles me. I just started homeschooling my middle son this year (2nd grade) and I've found that for the most part it doesn't matter what book I pick. Once he's decided to be negative that's it. So instead I resorted to pure bribery at first. Read "x" amount or "x" minutes (I found I had to come up with a combination to avoid cheating and racing through) and you will receive free time for your DS, etc... After he showed me several times (over two weeks or so) that he could read and comprehend at the appropriate level it gradually phased out to this is part of his expected school work. At the same time I am still doing reading aloud and we do talk about what he reads but not every day in detail. Now I "allow" him to pick out a few books at the library for his free reading time at home but he knows that I will assign a book each week for his assigned reading. The free reading has become a treat. At the beginning however it didn't matter what book I picked out (and I was willing to try almost anything at that point) - he just didn't want to read. The attitude has to be addressed, it is the root issue. Once he starts practicing reading he will become a better reader with time and assistance. For a tutored child I can see this is more difficult, but it can still work with the parents assistance and buy-in. For us the approach was simply, "I know you don't like to read, that's ok, but you still have to do it. It's an important life skill." And then do what it takes to get it done. I have had to focus alot with my ex-public school kids on the fact of life that we don't always like what we have to do. I give them lots of reallife examples (washing dishes and clothes, cooking dinner for the family when I'm not hungry, etc..). Nothing fun is allowed until reading is accomplished, over time we have been able to sometimes move the reading time to other times of day when they show me that I can trust they will do it. For an older child he might be able to read X amount each session to work towards a bigger goal (something he really values - going to a real pro or local soccer game? some toy or item he really wants? get the parents involved in this) and you could have mini goals that involve some free time spent outside kicking a ball, playing a computer game (even if it's an educational one! My kids have loved games from Real Arcade that are spelling/word games), a piece of candy (I know but sometimes it works, big picture here lol). Over time wean from the extrinsic reward to the intrinsic, let's hope you have the time with him! Best of luck and I look forward to hearing how any of the suggestions from these wonderful ladies actually work for you!

This was my first year homeschooling all of my kids. This is a synopsis of what my son has done this year. Children's Illustrated Bible (read a story a day with discussion) SotW Ancients and History Odyssey 2 WWE level 3 IEW Ancient History Based Writing Math U See, completed Gamma starting Delta RS4K Biology level 1 Latin for Children, Primer A Greek Code Cracker First Language Lessons Level 4 Classics for Kids, Story of the Orchestra Prufrock Press Logic workbook Social Studies: The Material World, Children Just Like Me Read Alouds: The Golden Goblet, The Iliad, Greek myths, Aesop's Fables, and more.. Reading: The Odyssey (Mary Pope Osborne series) plus lots of free reading, weekly library trips

Yes - my middle son was reversing pronouns up until this school year (2nd grade - age 7) and reading this I realized that I haven't noticed this issue in recent months. Yay! Now if I can just get my four year old to stop calling me "Sir". LOL

I feel that LfC is open and go, I don't do any preplanning or review, just sit down and my son and I learn along together. You will need a student workbook for each student unless you plan to copy the worksheets and quizzes, the same goes for the activity books if you want to use them (which makes it not open and go lol). The DVD's are good, if a little homey in spots, but we enjoy them and watch them together each week at the start of each lesson. The basis of any good foreign language program is practicing vocabulary and I think the chant cd's are great for that. LfC is a hit around here and I plan to get B for my older son next year and get a new copy of the workbook and activity book for my younger son.

First year homeschooling my 7 year old with possible dyslexia and poor fine motor skills. Here is what we did and are doing: Children's Illustrated Bible (daily reading and some memory work) SotW1 w/AG CW:Primer Autumn followed by WWE1 FLL 1 and 2 (I skip some lessons and consolidate others to meet his needs) Math U See Beta Song School Latin Greek Code Cracker (started in January) Logic Safari from Prufrock Press Material World/Children Just Like Me (social studies/geography) HWT Printing/Copywork from Happy Scribe RS4K Biology pre-level 1, DK Animals Sticker Encyclopedia The Story of the Orchestra/classics for Kids/Artistic Pursuits (limited amts of art and music, we are focusing on the basics where this child is behind) We started AAS but not sure if we will be able to continue it - very demanding on the instructor and I have other children. Regular read alouds related to our coursework. Weekly trips to the library, trying to encourage him to read more and develop a love of reading. Regular chores - walking the dog, helping around the house, making his bed and outside play/swinging whenever the weather allows!

I have a 2nd grader and a 5th grader. I have aligned our SotW teaching to go along with the order from HO2. Monday and Wednesday I read SotW to both kids and we do the coloring page and discussion questions (my 5th grader asked for the coloring page the last few weeks, I didn't force this one him lol). Then on Tuesday and Thursday I work with my 5th grader to do the HO. This gives my older son more than one perspective and more in depth information (he needs the repetition) and keeps us all working on and talking about the same basic time in history. If I'm doing a read aloud for the time period (right now reading The Iliad to them both) it's also helpful that they are working together.

Why not? This is the first I've heard of this, I was using copper bottom Revereware and our iron skillet on our flattop range for the past 7 years...maybe this is why they weren't working? lol