In previous years I've done history and science all year - usually we have a history focused day and a science focused day. The kids love both. But I've always wondered if we would focus better and dig deeper if things were less spread out. We started our school year two weeks ago, but then left on a trip, so I haven't really dug into content stuff yet, aside from the great trip adventures we had! As we get going on this year, I have SOTW3 (doing half of it this year, I slow it down because of mixed ages) and RSO Chemistry (cutting the large elements chapter, so it's shorter). Has anyone had good results of doing science for one semester and then history for the next? Pros and cons you've found? I've read several of the threads here about block schedules, but I'm specifically wondering about semester-length blocks, rather than 2 or 6 week blocks. ETA: typo

I just made an organizational change this month and am loving it. I have two 5x5 Ikea Expedit (Kallax) that divide our basement. They sit back to back and we put hardboard between them. One side has books, toys, DVDs, etc. The other side (the less-travelled side) is for homeschool stuff. It's amazing. There are cubes for each subject, cubes for work bins to return to when not in use, cubes for bins of supplies, etc. I love it. I can find everything almost instantly and in the process of sorting every, I found stuff I had forgotten we had.

We like XTra Math. Not a game, but drill. It's streamlined and seems effective. My 4th grader uses Duolingo daily. 3rd and 4th both like to play Stack the Countries.

We love Favorite Poems Old and New. The selections are lovely and the kids regularly tell me that they want to add poems we read to the memory list. I also Google for classic poem lists, just to be reminded of significant ones we might want to memorize. I like having a mix of styles, lengths, and subject matter. My all-time favorites for kids are by A. A. Milne, but apparently one can't only memorize his stuff. 🙄 ETA: Also, hymns are poetry, so we rotate through about 8 for a school year (works out to singing each one once every two weeks). They really get to know those hymns. Great for the Reformation period!

We do four days a week, with Wednesdays off for a fun "co-op" morning that's connected to some church stuff I do. Our days tend to run from 8:30-12/12:30, with breaks in that time that vary depending on age/stage (DD7 goes off to play for a while in that time). I start with morning time while they finish breakfast, then we move on to skill work and end with content, such as history or science. I read aloud at other times in the day as well. We start school along with everyone else in our area, the day after labour day. We end the last week in May. We take about two weeks for Christmas and a week for March break. I've not had a problem with finishing curricula (have always done a full Math Mammoth year, for example), though I do often tweak curricula in general, for many reasons. This is similar to the schedule in my family when I was homeschooled and there was never a problem with not having enough academics. I really appreciate having a long, solid break in the summer to rest, plan, and work on other projects. Hope that helps!

Last year, sporadically. They loved them every time. Tablecloth, nice dishes, herbal tea, some kind of snack. A pile of poetry books. Everyone would contribute what they wished - recite a poem we had memorized, or read one from a book. This year, because they loved them so much, I have it planned for every Wednesday afternoon (after our one morning out at a fun co-op-ish-program), after quiet time. I told them they can either find a poem they plan to read and share, or write one to share. They like "inventing" poems, so this actually might happen. We will see!

This is great, thanks! Takes all the pieces I have gathered in my brain and lays them out in logical order. ðŸ˜

We always do a 4-day week and so far it hasn't meant that we need to school in the summer. I can't see the ages of your kids, though. I also found that we did well getting going about two weeks after baby came. My husband usually takes two weeks off, then I hit the ground running when he goes back to work. I eased back in, focusing on the 3 R's first and then adding more as we got comfortable. I find newborns easier to deal with during school than, say 8-18 month olds. The frequent naps, baby-wearing, and nursing meant that I was pretty able to sit with kids and do schoolwork. I also much prefer babies out than in - I feel better with a newborn than pregnant. I think that would be a factor in how soon you can get back into things.

This does mean that you are all gathering together for the meal! And connecting for a serious amount of time for devotions ( we do Bible reading after every supper, but a chapter and brief discussion and prayer only take 10-15 minutes). That's pretty significant at this stage of life. 3yos, especially, are loud and tough at family meals.

This is what I was going to suggest. When DH is on shifts and therefore home during the day, we still do family dinner. I find it's easy to be at home together but not connect and chat all together and family dinner does make that happen. Also devotion time, etc. And, honestly, I find it easier than everyone making their own mess and their own meal! But the same goal could be met by at breakfast and it might set a very nice tone for the day! I can relate to being "done" with talking for the day...!

I don't. Because I know each child well, can see him or her progressing, and tend to be aware of weak areas. Because I'm concerned about skills more than content at those ages and skill progression is different in every individual. I don't need them to meet any arbitrary test markers. I ⤠homeschooling.

So far, we haven't had anyone ask about school, homeschool has been a great fit for us all. But we do plan to make the schooling decision for our kids. A child doesn't have a broad perspective about decisions like that and we feel strongly about our responsibility to make those decisions. We will certainly take their desires and needs into account, I think that goes with the parental responsibility. I was homeschooled growing up and eventually my brother went to school because he really wanted to. It didn't turn out so well, in my opinion. My parents were much more firm about my younger siblings staying home. I think that has shaped my perspective as well - the reasons and factors for changing education situations are so varied.

Just wanted to second this. With each baby, I grow more aware that I need to allow more grace for the "baby year" as we all adapt and adjust. We all adore babies here, but everything shifts around until we reach our new dynamic. I can also empathize with having a child who has a harder time with obedience than others. I was a child like that and I have at least two like that. I understand that in the face of parenting a strong-willed child, it feels like that child is always just disobedient and it is hard to find another way to describe it. You're humbly asking what has gone wrong and how to fix it - I think that's a sign of an engaged, caring parent. So maybe you need to adjust some things. Do give your oldest things that are her own and a way to protect them (as the oldest of 5, I can totally relate to that need. So would my oldest). Do give your preschooler lots of positive attention and also appropriate discipline for disobedience. Consistency is so key. Pull her closer. Think about what else you can let slide in order to have energy for those things. Sometimes even the language we use can help. "Oh, honey, thank you for helping me with that, I know it's hard when the baby always wants Mommy." "Oh, the baby is so blessed to have a sister like you who can teach her _____!" "You know what, the baby is a little unhappy, but she can wait a minute because it is very important that I give you a snuggle." Etc. I've been amazed at the impact that kind of talking has on my kids. It says that you "get" them and agree with their legitimate frustrations, and it leaves them far more open to training about other issues. There is no quick fix, but good for you for identifying the issue and seeking out direction for adjusting, in the midst of the exhaustion.

We used this one when we were doing anatomy and using parts of the Apologia book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0486468216/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502991252&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=human+body+coloring+book The Dover anatomy one is also very good.

We love the Melendys! Thanks for the suggestion, sounds like a fun approach.

We usually schedule for 1x/week,typically Fridays. This year we will be using Art For Kids: Drawing, which we tested a little in the summer and liked. Otherwise, art happens organically. My oldest loved Mark Kistler's video lessons for a while - taught her a lot about shading and perspective. Both girls tend to do a lot of art independently in quiet time. We have Draw Write Now, which we use in spontaneous drawing/audiobook afternoons and which they use on their own. For art appreciation, we loved this a few years ago (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0794514529/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_of_47?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZVC4QNJZZYMYB9FPKXAF), we have enjoy this very much in morning time (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1579129560/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_of_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XQCHMH2N89CRQT8M7KYP), and we discuss our Met Art Calendar every day. Once a week they choose a painting from a previous year to glue into their journals and narrate. So far, they are fond of art and love galleries. I think my oldest is most likely to keep up with making art long-term.

Petit Ours Brun on YouTube is excellent. Three minutes episodes, each dealing with a different daily-life activity, like going to market or having friends over. I have the kids watch the same one each morning for a week, to get them familiar with the vocab.

I do this for quiet time and it's amazing how much they enjoy playing alone (at least, after they get used to it!). But I don't want to use it up in the morning and not have quiet time! So... Switching off kids to play with the toddler. Food in highchair/booster. Bin of rice with scoops and funnels. Training to stay in the adjoining room for a few minutes with a toy I set up (ex: wooden train tracks). Training to colour quietly with his own workbooks. Using toys that are hidden except for school time. Really, so much training.

We love to buy used iPod nanos for audiobooks. No concerns about kids accessing internet unsupervised, but they can still have the choice of a full iPod worth of books. I buy used speaker docks for them as well and they stay in each of their quiet time areas, so they are always charged and ready to go.

This is the thing for me. I can't do audiobooks unless I'm on a walk and can focus just on listening, or driving by myself (rare!). Most other activities require too much focus and so I get distracted. Sweeping and dishes can be ok. But even then, I often end up thinking about something else. Part of it is the speed issue, too... I read quickly and to get to that speed on audio makes it sound so very weird.

I uploaded all four of the SOTW volumes from CD into iTunes. Very simple. A couple of times the tracks were mislabeled, so I had to fix that. Each CD came up as a separate album, so then I made a playlist for each year. It was pretty straightforward. Just open iTunes, insert CD, and click "import CD".

Tidy but not terribly clean. One daughter had "clean can" on her weekly job list and she takes it garbage and anything that doesn't belong. She does quite well. I do take thing in during the week as well. Crumbs and bits of dirt, though? Yes. We don't vacuum much.

Charlotte's Web read by EB White is so good. Redwall Tuesdays at the Castle and the rest of the series were a big hit here this spring. Fantasy, mystery, and magical creatures.

That's our favorite too!

I don't closely budget, I just tend to pay attention to how much $$ we have reasonably available for school. If we are including a book budget, the number is far, far higher. That said, our basic stuff isn't terribly expensive: Math Mammoth, FLL, OPGTR, etc. I tend to cover the basics and then consider what else I can do for things like science, history, art. We've done STOW every year and if things were really tight, I'd skip the AG, even though I use it a lot. For science this year I bought RSO Chemistry - in elementary, if I was trying to limit spending, I'd use the library. So I'd say that a base number for me is $200 and it flows up from there based on want and cash flow.