Classics for Kids is good! Composer history.

So looking at it as having a battery of ways to approach various aspects of logic and thinking skills. I appreciate that perspective and will keep it mind, thank you!

Improvising is not a big part of the piano instruction for my 7 and 9 yos and it wasn't for me at that age. I hated it when it did come up. I had one teacher who asked for a lot of improv and it was a confusing year and I didn't learn much. I definitely do not think it is essential. My 9yo does some on her own because that's who she is, but for my 7yo, it would be overwhelming. I agree with the copywork analogy... beginner pianists don't have the tools for a lot of improv.

I agree. And if she tests out of gr 1 completely, then consider whether it's an issue with the program or the level. MM might be a better fit, but not automatically so.

My phone won't multiquote, so... I think I was wondering about both, though I didn't really see how Latin could be formal logic study. I wish I could find the thread where this specifically came up - I read a lot of threads. But your definition narrows it down quite well and based on that, I'd say that I'm interested in Latin as logic prep (though the following posts make me think might like to incorporate more than that). Anyway, helpful definition of terms. Very useful to think in terms of skill vs content.

I will have to remember this! We do well with Morning Time stuff, this would be a great addition.

Thank you all for this. I really like having an overview of where we are headed and this helps. Looking at Latin as logic exercise vs Logic study itself makes a lot of sense. And I really like hearing how this looks as it works out for individual kids.

I've been digging through old Latin threads here, working out a vision for our possible Latin trajectory. It's been helpful! But I've been noticing that various posters talk about using Latin for logic. While I know that Latin is great for logic, I always assumed that we'd do formal logic as well. So for those of you who have done ongoing Latin, how much and what do you do for logic? Do you do less of it, ex: just a year or two in higher levels and let Latin be the logic in younger grades? Very interested to hear. I'll have a 5th grader next year and am planning on GSWL and then likely Henle (I have a Latin background and like the Henle approach). Where does logic come in? ETA: I did a Google search for this, but it turns up every Latin thread from the logic stage board...

I have a 7/almost 8yo 3rd grader and a 9/almost 10yo 4th grader. Our day typically runs from 8:30 to 12:30 ish. The 3rd grader often has some break time in there while the 4th finishes some things. 8:30 - Morning Feast (starts while they eat breakfast) - Bible, prayer, hymn, memory work, French, history and literature read alouds. 10ish - 12ish - 3rd grader does MM3, copywork/WWE, journal, reading, ETC, handwriting, Xtra Math drill. 4th grader does MM4, WWE/BW, journal, Prima Latina, Xtra Math drill, handwriting, spelling. After that or right after lunch we do history, chemistry, or art. We don't really take breaks other than a quick run and stretch - they lose focus when they go off to do something else. Switching subjects seems to keep them focused enough. ETA: this is 4 days a week. The Wednesday is spent at a morning class and in the afternoon, we do poetry tea.

You could do math with the olders and just wait with the kinder if you are pressed for time. I've never done math officially before second grade and neither of my kids so far had trouble jumping into MM2. There is so much repetition in the early grades. During K and 1st, I bought the MUS blocks and they played with them a lot. I showed them basic addition and subtraction with the blocks (not a difficult concept in that context). I bought shape magnets and they played with them on the fridge and we used the shape names. They baked with me. We counted things. I got a child's measuring tape and they measured things. We had a calendar in the kitchen and pointed out days and discussed our weeks. It was easy, fun, and simple. If you are pressed for enough time to work with everyone in the younger grades, I've found that K and even 1st math does not need the time commitment of a curriculum.

We are doing RSO Chemistry and I don't find it lacking. It's been a favourite so far. In fact, there is enough to it that I've cut some things and the kids still have had a lot to work with and learn. I think it's a great program. Extra reading is always good, if you want to add things.

Neither of mine were reading at 5 or at 6. My oldest "knew" how to read in theory at 6ish, but hated getting things wrong, so just didn't bother trying. She started simple chapter books (Boxcar Children) at 7, when she suddenly decided that she could read. Until then, she devoured read alouds and audio books. She is now 9 and a voracious reader. My second is almost 8 and has more or less learned to read in the past year, but is still working on fluency. It's only been the past few months that she is comfortable enough that I've seen her choose to read on her own and it is still sporadic. With my first, I was concerned about timing. I will be much less so with the next two. Five is so young.

The Rod and Staff 4th grade level is excellent. We are taking a break to do some AAS since my 4th grader needs some foundational things addressed, but I'm still impressed by the R&S program and hope to come back to it.

My second is a very young 3rd - I just use the grade label for admin purposes, as that is where she would be in our district and a lot of activities are organized by grade. Her work falls into both gr 2 and 3 levels. She is relatively good at narration, is barely getting started with spelling and independent writing. We do all our work in the morning, at the kitchen table. I am therefore more or less available, depending on the need. Our day starts at 8:30 (as they finish breakfast) with Morning Feast. Morning Feast is anywhere from 1-2 hours and includes Bible, prayer, memory work, poetry, French, literature, and read alouds from various subjects. This is very geared for the gr 3-4 level. After Feast we do independent work. I make checklists at the beginning of each week, with daily assignments. It keeps me on track as much as them. The days' work is grouped into work they can do independently and work to do with me. 3rd grader's independent work: journal, Explode the Code, Pentime Handwriting, Xtra Math. Work with me: the end of OPGTR, buddy reading, MM3, copywork (used for grammar & spelling). Once a week each we all do chemistry or history together. She practices piano daily for about 15 mins. She has daily and weekly jobs, totally about 1/2 an hour. Weekly ones are things like clean out van, sweep basement, dust house, fold and put away her laundry. She keeps herself busy playing with little brothers, biking with friends on the street, playing Playmobil and listening to audio books during quiet time, climbing everything, making up races and things like that, and doing craft projects with her sister.

I do think that sitting for read alouds is a skill that can be trained over time. Some kids will find it easier than others, but all can learn it, to a greater or lesser degree. My oldest is a very still, story-absorbed child. Constantly reading. My second never stops moving - she's like a sweet monkey. Both love and sit for read alouds. It took time, frequency, and gentle training, but we got there. Now my three yo is developing an appetite for story and he loves to be read to. I do teach them to hold their thoughts and interruptions (as is natural/doable). When we read for a long time, they will often snuggle, colour, play with small toys. I think that, to some extent, it's a developed family practice and kids do develop the necessary skills. ETA: audio books here mostly happen during our afternoon quiet time. Each child is on his or her own, with an audio book and things to do (art supplies, Playmobil, Lego, etc). They listen while they quietly play. They don't have to sit still for the audio book.

I said yes - that schedule would quickly reduce me and a few of my kids to a little puddle on the floor. But you are not me. â˜ºï¸ I know others will can handle a lot more, but I'd say this is on the hefty end of what I've seen. We aim for minimal extracurricular activities, because family evening time is a big priority for us. We do: Mon - piano (teacher comes here ðŸ˜) Tues - afternoon and evening are spent at grandma and grandpa's house - mama does errands and then we have date night Weds - Morning is out at a combo women's Bible study/homeschool class Sunday - church all morning Some semesters there are swimming lessons or gymnastics in there. We try to be hospitable frequently. We have play dates once or twice a month.

This is an interesting approach. I am going to keep it in mind for my struggling speller. She's solid in cursive, but the spelling in chunks thing is hard - doing all the AAS dictation in cursive might be somewhat similar to this.

This is what I do and it works so well. The girls LOVE it when I give them sentences they recognize from books we are reading. It also offers more opportunity for talking about context, vocabulary, etc. I follow the WWE suggestions for grammar focus in each selection, just so I remember to vary things.

That's a good idea, to just follow up with some targeted phonics. I've never looked at that site, will check out. Thanks!

Those articles are great, thank you. I can see a few things that would probably help.

This is helpful, thank you! I looked through level 1 this afternoon and I see what you mean about the speed and difficulty. By the middle of the level, it hits words she currently misspells. I'm hoping this will target some of her gaps!

Thank you for all of this! It all looks quite helpful.

I know that spelling and phonics are not all the same thing. But she struggles with identifying the sounds in words, which is a phonics skill and a precursor to identifying sounds for spelling. If you don't understand phonics, you'll have a hard time spelling the correct sounds. And there is a fair amount of phonics in a program like AAS, especially at the beginning. All the sounds of the alphabet letters? OPGTR and AAS start the same way, with this. Blending is addressed in both - spelling starts to pull it back apart. Etc. While spelling and phonics differ, lots of spelling (especially early on) is phonics backwards. I have a sense that she needs some strengthening on the phonics side of things as well as on the spelling side and I think it's possible to strengthen the two together, to some extent, especially if I am conscious of that need as we work through lessons. I have looked at Spalding, but that's not the way j want to go.

Interesting! She passed the test fine but had to think for a second about the last few. Initially missed a couple at the end and then rethought and switched her answers. Thoughts?

It's helpful to hear that experience, thank you! Makes me think AAS is the right track. I think she might find the tiles annoying so I might just use a whiteboard. I was all hesitant about switching but then realised I could do a break for AAS and the reassess. Is it just going to be a lot of memorising rules or do they get a lot of opportunity to put them into practice? ETA: I know there's a lot of practice in the program generally. I just mean, if I go through faster, will it hurt up the rules so we are mainly memorising?