Wow they do look quite similar! Definitely on LA! I so want to go back to EIW; it got done! But she says no she hates it. She did it well at the time though. I also hate the looseness of BW. I know so many love it, but I really prefer "do this on this day" and I can keep us on track better with that. I'm glad you got through to your DD, maybe I'll try again. Is she doing at grade level in EIW?

And my 1st grader. I feel like it's going much smoother with her. Math: Singapore 1a/b On track to finish 1b before the end of the year. Phonics: AAR. She started 1 a few weeks ago, so just wherever we are. Probably finishing 1 and starting 2 She's well into AAR2 already. Handwriting: Maybe ZB? Or maybe just work on it within copywork? IDK yet. We did a bit of ZB and a bit of copywork until she finished AAR1. The she started SYS B so I just use that for handwriting. Writing: I think I'm going to do some copywork and narration from our read-alouds. We don't really do a separate writing. She does do copywork with SYS and when she joins us for an Arrow lesson. History: Tagging along with 5th grader on HO middle ages. If she decides she wants her own history or that gets too much for her, then I'll switch her to AiA. Or do nothing. I'm not too fussed about history in 1st. It was a bust for older DD and I fought it for too long and then it just clicked this year in 4th. I'm not going to stress it this time around! I had BYL year 0 so we decided to go through that for a bit of light SS. We don't do it every week but here and there. Science: RSO Life. Same as with 5th, official science has slid. They do a lot of random bits here and there but nothing formal. We have just this week started in on RSO. Extracurriculars: I have no idea. Her anxiety is so high she won't do anything. I just pulled her from tumbling yesterday because she had missed for over two months in a row by refusing to go. If we get it under control then I'll let her choose whatever interests her. Anxiety meds for the win, she is doing theater, ninja, and swimming. Other: Co-op classes which I won't know until August. Thankfully she does really well there and anxiety has not kept her from her classes.

Here's mine for my 5th grader. Original was in Jan/Feb, Red was in April, and Blue is now. I've already changed a fair bit! Math: SM, probably 4b/5a. We had to back up and dip into 3b this year (thank you ps 3rd), so she's on 4a right now. We'll just keep going with wherever we are. We also do a bit of BA on the side. She's in 3b now, so maybe 3c/3d next year. She's making good progress through 4a, so probably starting 4b in May and we'll keep that going through the summer. I'm hoping to recover the grade gap and finish 5b by the end of 5th. We didn't keep going through the summer so we started 4b end of August and she has really struggled through it. So she is still in 4b 😕 We do math consistently but she just has a hard time with output. So it takes a long time. Writing/grammar: EIW5 Growing with Grammar, teach 5 paragraph essay, and write across the curriculum WTM-style. (Though I'm still not sold on GwG, it's the one thing I keep going back to and looking at other things. I want simple, cheap, and get-er-done but still appealing enough to not turn off my non-workbook kid.) I never did order GwG and went with Bravewriter Partnership Writing instead. It goes well when we do it but we've been taking the projects slowly. We also do Arrows sometimes. She occasionally freewrites if we don't do anything from the other two. She also does Editor in Chief which she loved at first but has slowed down on as it gets harder. I feel like it's kind of a cobbled mess, but I *think* we're doing enough? Spelling: AAS probably the last half of 4 and then 5. She's almost finished with 3 now. Still AAS, but probably just 4, she's slowed down. This is the same, she's progressing well through 4. Literature: Probably just a list made by me from searching other lists 😉We joined a book club and did that first semester. So still the same but overall we've read less books than I would have liked. Science: RSO Bio2 w/ microscope labs. This was overwhelming once all ready to go and we never got off the ground with it. First semester was really a hodgepodge of videos, random books, random 'labs', and tinker crate boxes. Which I am fine with for 1st but feels like failing her in 5th. So we just started back with the last few units of physics that she didn't finish last year as something solid to do until she's ready for RSO bio2. History: HO middle ages I have so failed history. We still haven't finished ancients. We just drop the ball so often and simply don't do it. 😞 Tech: I'm thinking coding and robotics, but I'm not certain yet and I have no idea what I'll use for it. I'm open to suggestions! (She has to have a separate tech class for our charter. It has to fall under technology, engineering, or entrepreneurship. This year she did engineering with legos, k'nex, and engino, so it doesn't have to be too deep. I'll have $150 to play with 🙂She is (surprisingly) not interested in coding. We're doing Tinker crate instead. This has stayed the same. Extracurricular: I don't know yet, but she's loving theater this year, so maybe we'll do that again. I'd also like to get her back into tumbling. She dropped it when she started theater (she does not like a full schedule), but her OT says she needs it. Ninja warrior style training class that will do parkour 1x/month. She does the ninja class, theater, and swimming. Other: We are in an amazing co-op but I won't know what classes she'll be in until August. We usually have really good options for kids her age. She always goes first for science, then arts, then other.

We haven't received our packet yet, either. I thought it was here by now last year, but I'm not certain.

Every year we have a lot of threads for next year's plans. What I really want to see is a comparison of what you had planned vs what your year is actually looking like now. I feel like our reality never looks like what I intended. I sometimes feel like it's a fine line between failing and adapting. 😕 So who is up for sharing what it's REALLY looking like next to the intentions?

Me. I'm usually completely ready around this time of year to start figuring out next. But this year.....not at all. I even tried to get into it yesterday after seeing the threads but I just couldn't get myself to care about next year yet. I feel like I have so much on my plate right now so my focus is just on getting through the now, not adding more.

Thank you so much!

Interesting! She originally told me they were first edition, but they say second edition on the front. Maybe she meant they're 2nd not 3rd. What Am I has 12 stories and Queen Bee has 11. Copyright 2014. TM and activity book copyright 2013. So it looks like all the materials I have now go together at least! And we're not missing out on anything important going with the older?

How much changed between the first edition and 2nd/3rd? Particularly level 2. I bought the teacher guide and activity book used a few months ago and didn't pay attention to edition until today when someone local was selling her readers and let me know they are 1st edition. Turns out the books I bought are as well. So I could just get the readers from her and use 1st edition. Or is it worth it to get the newer edition? How much will we be missing out on?

Right?! The first pic that was within seconds of me seeing him for the first time. I wanted my first meeting to be at an autograph table where I'd have more time to compose myself but it was straight to photo ops. You only see them for *maybe* 30 seconds before it's your turn, you're called up, you turn, picture, you walk away. SOOO fast and I just couldn't process. The second pic was my fourth meeting with him! I had gotten an autograph with my kids later the day before after our family pic. Then that morning he signed my arm and we chatted for a couple minutes. So yes, I was much more comfortable in my photo op with him later that second day!! I honestly don't expect to ever hear anything negative about him. Most celebs, even ones I love, I have to say "eh, you never know, people surprise you." But seriously with him, I hear praise left and right. I've done a lot (a lot a lot ?) of googling and watching of interviews (him and of others who mention him) and everyone just says he's the greatest guy, from fans to colleagues and everyone in between.

Okay so I just have to share because I'm super excited. This weekend I got to meet my very favorite person in the whole world, David Tennant! I have been so completely obsessed with him for years and it has been a major dream of mine to meet him! He was so sweet and amazing. He was great with my kids, he accepted a gift I gave him for Georgia, he signed my arm, and I got pictures with him. I am just so excited and still in shock and I just have to share with everyone! ETA: If I look nervous in the first pic it's because I was! I had to be escorted through the line because I was a "fainting risk"! Immediately after this was taken the volunteer grabbed me by the arm and didn't let go until after she'd taken me for a drink of water and walked down out of the photo op area. ?

We haven't fully started school for the year yet but I've just been having DD10 spend at least half an hour a day on BA online. She's going into 5th and I'm having her do 4 on BA. When we start up for the year I will probably have her do BA online 1-2x/week and Singapore the rest of the time. So for us BA online has replaced BA physical books, but it is a supplement and ran a year behind either way.

I have so many pros, I know I do, but tonight I'm not in a mental place to recognize them. I am overwhelmed and maxed out. Cons: Time. I feel like I could get this dang house under control and organized if I just had time each day without the kids. I could gain some sanity. I could have silence without having to stay up until midnight every night. Really needing a break right now and this year hasn't even started.

Koala crate. We didn't switch to Kiwi until DD was almost 6 because she preferred being able to be more independent. We were not impressed with Little Passports.

I actually find it helpful to use grade designations. It helps me stay organized and be able to have a rough long term plan. I know 9th grade is when we have to start tracking what we've done more carefully for transcripts. Knowing she is going into 5th this year helps me easily see that I have about 4 more years before we hit that point. It helps to be able to look up things online, whether here or elsewhere. We also go through a charter so we have to declare a grade for that, but we did so before joining. My kids also love having a grade. It gives them something to look forward to over the summer. We make it an exciting thing when they grade-up. They seem quite proud the first few times they get to declare their new grade. We don't let it define what they do and I never assume where another kid is academically based on their grade, either.

We found 1" binders with dogs at Winco!

Following along to see if anyone has some suggestions. What I've been trying is to alternate. Spend time with her one on one, then give her something I know she can handle independently so I can give attention to my 6yo. My 6yo doesn't end up getting 100% of my attention, guaranteed we will be interrupted, but it's as close as we can get. Then I go back to 10yo while 6yo works on something near us. I'm trying alternating because 1. It gives my patience and energy a chance to reset a little with the break from 10yo. 2. It lets 6yo know I will be giving her attention soon. 3. It prevents the whole day being sapped away before I ever get to my 6yo. 4. It is (hopefully) slowly teaching 10yo a bit of independence without requiring a long stretch of it at once. And keeps her from getting into trouble like she would if I spent a large block of time with 6yo.

That's going to vary so much kid to kid. My just turned 6 year old is already an excellent swimmer (completely independent in the deep end) and is itching to move beyond the "easy stuff" of first grade math. But she's only just beginning to read cvc words and has never even worn a shoe with laces let alone tried to tie one. So I guess for her my goals would probably be: Consistency with school time (which we treat as optional for K so it was pretty hit or miss depending on her mood) Continue improving reading skills (no end-goal here, just to keep moving) Learn to help more around the house and have consistent chores Stick out her extra-curriculars (Severe anxiety has prevented her from being able to stay in classes in the past but she has become the poster child for when medicating a young kid is the right choice. This goal has to do with overcoming anxiety not with whatever she'll learn in those classes.) To love learning and remain curious

Thank you this is good to know. I'm not worried about the pencil to paper, she actually does just fine with writing. It was more schedule and just not wanting to add one more thing to her plate that I don't feel is fully necessary yet. But if it would end up being too easy for her next year then that changes things. She's just starting to read, about halfway through AAR1. She is working out some spellings on her own. She asks often for me to write something down for her to copy. I wonder if part of my hesitance is from my DD10. She has always been behind in motor skills and I have to keep her at the upper end of the age range for written work and even then it's still a struggle. I need to keep in mind I don't need to do that with DD6. If this would be more enjoyable and beneficial for her this year than next then I will add it in.

I've seen BW mentioned a thousand times before but was always too overwhelmed with how it worked and where to start. I finally spent some time on the site to figure it out and think it will be a good fit for my oldest at least. We are also joining a book club this year that meets once/month and she is using Arrorws for both clubs (the quiver of arrows list for the younger set and the Arrows from last year for the older ones). So I'm thinking for my 10yo reluctant writer we will do Partnership Writing and the Arrows that go with what she's reading for book club. For my just-turned-six I will do the quiver of arrows to go with her book club readings. I'm thinking I will wait until next year to start Jot it Down with her. I'd rather focus on getting her reading more fluently before adding much writing and our schedule is feeling full enough as is. I think I've got it sorted and that's a good place to start but I wanted to check with those more experienced with the curriculum! Is this good? Is waiting until 2nd a decent choice for Jot it Down? Question 2: homeschool buyers co op has BW including back-issue Arrows, but it hasn't updated with the Arrows that were published last year. Those are the ones my 10yo's book group will be using. Does anyone have an idea when the most recent issues usually show up there?

A really good literature collection by grade/age starting in K or 1st that is completely secular but is not tied to larger curriculum. We are often all over the place with what year we are doing so the literature isn't always the closest fit. Like when I did Ancients with my 4th grader. BYL would have been the 1st grade book list. So we did HO and I came up with my own reading list. I considered just taking the 4th grade list but then it's a major mis-match for history content. I use several places to pull together our reading list but I fear I play favorites doing it that way and it would help me get out of my own box more if I had one list I took and ran with. It is also hard to judge how many books I should plan and sometimes I can't tell until the book is in front of me if it should be a read aloud or reader so I plan it in the wrong group (since we use the library as much as possible and I don't have time to check them all out in the summer to read myself!) So ya, secular read alouds and readers scheduled by age independent of a history cycle or any other theme.

Thank you, this is all important to keep in mind. I don't want to make *my* schedule look better but end up having that feel more rushed to them because really I've just made them do the same work in less time or given them no time to transition. I do think it will end up being necessary to do RSO separately with DD6. She has always been my quiet "good" kid that always felt so easy and low maintenance (especially after very high maintenance DD10!) In the last year we've learned it was actually all severe anxiety keeping her from sharing when she was upset, sad, wanting something.... This child has never had a tantrum. Ever. Not even at 2 or 3. If I don't put time on the schedule for HER and HER school, it will easily be eaten up by DD10 who is very vocal and demanding of attention.

I only included Keyboarding in my DD6's schedule because it is something she can do independently while I do math with DD10 and she likes it. Keyboarding without tears is simple and fun. I absolutely won't require it! I should probably just list computer time for her there because she also has subscriptions to ABCmouse and Sumdog and she could be using either of those during sister's math time, as well. DD10 is the science obsessed one, not DD6. I think DD6 wants her own science because she wants to ensure more one-on-one time with me rather than a shared subject! But if I can make sure she gets enough one-on-one time through her other subjects, I think she'd be happy with the light science included in BYL K. Maybe I'll play that one by ear and start out the year without RSO and see how independent DD10 can be during her science and history and if DD6 is wanting more. DD10 wanting science every day isn't the only reason I have it scheduled that way. I was kind of overwhelmed when I looked over the course and I didn't think it would be possible to get through it all without scheduling 3-4 hours a week. But maybe I need to accept not finishing it in one school year and just see what we can do in an hour twice a week. If I do that I can alternate history and science and drop off that other block. I can tell DD10 she can do any extra science she wants on her own time. @Bay Lake Mom"Also, don’t be afraid to assign a half hour for science or history, and whatever isn’t completed could be finished on her own after dinner. (Like actual homework) We are implementing that with our 5th grader this year. " I think I should do this for math. I know she is capable of the content, she just can drag it out so long. I might set a timer for workbook and anything left is on her own time. Thank you to everyone helping me think this through!

Thank you!

Thank you for all your thoughts on this!