Again, many thanks for all the replies! It sounds like everyone has been able to combine at least one or two areas more often than not. Honestly, if we're only able to combine in history and lit towards the logic and rhetoric years, I think I will be satisfied since I anticipate those will be the most mom-intensive areas. Lori D. your list is very helpful! Thank you for taking the time to write it out! JudoMom I dug into your blog last night when you mentioned you will be doing Omnibus. I'd love to hear how that goes for you! Regards, C.

You all have given me a lot to think about and this is exactly the kind of information I was looking for - what combining looks like and where it may not work. I really appreciate all the thoughtful replies! I am a former MS/HS teacher, so I don't have a clear picture of how homeschooling will be different from brick schools at that level. I also know teachers aren't always flexible enough for homeschooling, and I admit that holds true for me at times. :001_smile: Thank you again for sharing! I will be re-reading carefully! Regards, C.

On a whim, I put Mairzy Doats into Pandora. There's been a fun mix so far including songs by the Three Stooges and Soupy Sales. Regards, C.

Ooo, that looks like a great cd! Thanks! It has "Bushel and a Peck" which my MIL sings to my kids frequently. Unfortunately she sings it wrong! Drives me slightly nuts because I was in that number in Guys and Dolls in high school. :tongue_smilie: Regards, C.

To clarify, I plan to develop phonics/reading and handwriting individually, but other skill subjects might end up being together. Ds#1 has been working through Webster's Syllabary for 6 months or so, very slowly. He should be reading in the next few months. I plan to try it out with Ds#2 later this year, like maybe when he's closer to 4 in the winter, but not push it if he's not ready. So, unless ds#2 turns out to be a genius;), I expect them to be roughly a year apart in learning to read, spell and write. I will start FLL1 with both at 1st/K ages and see what sticks. If it's not working for the younger one, no big there. Math will be done together for now because I'm doing mostly mental math stuff and measuring, games, etc for the first couple years. We'll see in a few years if they start more formal math (Ray's) around the same time. Science, lit and history will be fairly easy to keep together as long as I delay the history loop until ds#2 is ready. So, I guess, I'm slowly seeing a picture of how this might work, but still wondering if my picture is realistic. Kwim? I am a HUGE planner. My scope and sequence has been done since ds#1 was a baby. :D. As I said before, I'm willing to adapt wherever needed, but I work better with a defined plan and a sense of whether or not on I'm on a workable path. Regards, C.

:D Isn't it fun? I hope your kids enjoy it! My 18 mo dd asks for it all the time. "Lamb, Mama? Lamb? Lamb?" Regards, C.

My boys are 16 months apart. By the time they reach 7th and 8th grades, I'd really like them to be working very closely together on content subjects. One of my big goals is Omnibus starting around 7th grade, but I really don't want to teach the same stuff two years in a row, and have to do double the content myself, (if that makes sense?) Has anyone been able to eventually synch up two kids who are fairly close in age? How do you structure the earlier years to get them there - extra content with the oldest to delay the history loop a year? Pushing the younger one along a little more quickly? When would you expect them to really be getting closer together in thinking skills and abilities? Any thoughts and practical tips would be helpful! Another area I'm interested in synching up long term is writing. I'd like to use CW after the FLL sequence. Any reason NOT to start them in CW at the same time around 2nd and 3rd grades? Please know, this is merely a goal I'm exploring, and not in any way set in stone. If my kids can't hack it, we'll adapt and do what's best for them as any parent would. :) Regards, C.

A favorite around here is "Mairzy Doats". I don't have a recording at home, but there are several YouTube videos of performances including one on the Lawrence Welk show. My kids' great-grandpa sings it to all the babies. I'd never heard it until I met him, but after Googling the title and finding out the history of the song, I just love it! Regards, C.

Thank you for sharing all this! I picked up Wilma Unlimited at the library today. What a great book about a great lady! I pre-read it and was in tears through most of it! The kids and I also watched this video about her that was well done: My 3 & 4 y.o. sat through the whole thing with rapt attention. Regards, C.

A-ha! Ok, we'll get more serious about spelling the syllables then. Thank you!

Hi, I'm a long-time lurker, newly posting to WTM. We're in Washtenaw Co, near Ypsi. TerriKY - just do your due diligence in any Ypsi location. There are some really nice parts, and others that are quite bad. We failed to drive concentric circles around the neighborhood we bought in, and have had some issues from about a block away that we should have been aware of. Regards, Carrie

We're not going as part of a group, but we will be at WDW in early December for our annual vacation. We haven't finalized our dates yet because we're waiting for the fall free dining offer to come out. :) We're hoping to stay at Carribean Beach if it is not the Pop Warner mod this year. It will be our first holiday Disney trip and I'm SOO excited to see all the decorations! (Well, ok, I was at MK in 1976 on Christmas Eve, but I was only about 6 at the time and I don't really remember it. :D) Regards, Carrie

Hi, Oh man, I wish I had posted yesterday! I would have loved to hear that talk! My 4.5 yo ds and I have been working with Webster's Syllabary for several months now, and I recently re-read this thread and noticed that you emphasize knowing how to spell each syllable before moving along. I didn't catch that :blushing: until we were at least 3/4 of the way through pronouncing and reading, but NOT spelling, the initial tables. I have since gone back to the beginning and we're slowly working through spelling, but we also have continued through the tables and are working on reading some words, too. He loves sounding out new words, and is really making good progress on reading, so I hate to stop going forward if I can avoid it. My original phonics plan was to go through Webster's once through the first 10-15 word lists, then work through Blend Phonics, and then go back through Webster's a second time, and to use the word lists as spelling/vocab each week. My question is this: Will I be hurting ds's ability to spell, if we DON'T hit spelling really hard, even on the word lists, this time through? I hope what I'm asking makes sense! :). I'm certainly willing to slow way down and go back to the beginning more fully if that is crucial for successful spelling later. But I just wasn't sure how critical the spelling element is the first time through. Thank you! Carrie