Thank you so much everyone for your help! Sometimes the odd problems aren't enough & we need to do the evens & see how to work them out, too😅 I do not have time to work through each one with my students these days....you'd think after our 20 years of hsing we'd have it all memorized by now, but noooooooo!

Why doesn't this exist?? I'm so tired of checking math - please please advise where to find this! I've contacted Pearson several times - I bought the book used (8th edition). Thank you!!!

I have the original WTM book, we started using SOTW through k12 before it was published in book form, I've been homeschooling for 16 years & have like 15 more to go....yet I can't update my puny ads unless I post here periodically. Sorry, small vent, love you SWB!

How does it work where you live? We do this naturally at home, but I wonder if it would fly in my area in an organized way!

Well, it's been a long time since I've been here! Good to be back. Our 2 oldest have graduated, married (both this summer!!) & now we've got littles to educate ;0) 1 year old, (new) 6 year old & 8 year old. I'm thinking about doing a semester more of kindy w/ the 6 yob & starting 1st in January. 8yog is solid third although math always needs more help! Has anyone tried to combine this many different styles?? The notebooking/narration part of the classical approach using SOTW that we did with our older ones is very similar to Waldorf's (somewhat) unit study approach to Main Lesson Books, although my brain needs workbooks for spelling, most of math, & handwriting (sorry about that sentence, not even gonna correct it bc it's too late at night)! We'll be on SOTW book 3 this fall but I really would love to encorporate the Waldorf studies of gardens, shelters, fiber arts & Native Americans. Any ideas welcome! Shannon mama to 5 ages 1-22, homeschool mama since 2002 instagram mamaj41

I know I'm really late jumping in here, just doing some more comparison on these two & the conversation came up.....I tried Waldorf Essentials k and the 1st grade & they were not laid out enough for us. I currently have them for sale for $25 each if your sister or friend or you is still interested. I think it looks like I'll probably go w/ Christopherus, although I am also so classically inclined from homeschooling our older children that Oak Meadow also is appealing ;0) Too much research just leads to more confusion sometimes!!!

Our children are 19, 17, 5 & 3....so I've had a bit of a dry spell in participation here ;0) In gearing up for the younger ones to begin, I need to sell some high school curriculum but have been unable to list them on the sales board. I've posted here a few questions & comments (even though I've been a member for at least 7 years - maybe since they started? & listed & bought tons of curriculum here. Also gave & received lots of advice especially in the early years with our older ones. Any advice now would be much appreciated! Thanks :0) Shannon in MO

Is anyone doing this?! I know I'm not alone :0) Our senior is doing rhetoric this year but we still haven't settled on what practical math for him to do. The 5 1/2 yo is ready for 1st grade reading & math so we are beginning that, although things are different than when we started 12 years ago! Still doing MUS & now The Reading Lesson (similar to 100 EZ lessons) but not quite ready to start FLL, seems very surreal..... Just let me know if you have ideas for practical math - our 19 yodd did Lial's BCM as math wasn't her strong point. The 17yods has completed MUS geometry. Thanks! Shannon

Our 5 year old just started suzuki violin so we have been listening to that first thing in the morning - and it does have a wonderful calming affect! I noticed when we turn on some NPR station w/ classical music everyone in the house seems calmer, too :0) Shannon

I am currently looking into this whole topic, too, and a friend who grinds all her own flour says that wheat starts to get rancid as soon as it's ground. She grinds it & then freezes it right away...& says that everything on store shelves is rancid. I haven't looked into this, but I'm assuming the flour you would buy at the store (pre-ground) has preservatives in it or something to do w/ being bromated?? Just my 2 cents... HTH, Shannon

Our ds now 12 did SWO A, B & 1/2 of C. He really liked A & B but C introduced some weird stuff in the middle so we dropped it. We tried the Calvert spelling program on CD, but those big RED x's on the ones he missed were really discouraging. We tried R&s & it was too crowded & seemed a little unrelated or something. We've been doing ss for 2 years now & love it (but we need to do it every day - we're still in book 1 b/c we only do it 2 or 3x/wk!!). I sometimes cross out words that don't fit the pattern, like a name or something like that, or give them in a different order. HTH, Shannon

Thank you for putting a "bee in my bonnet"...I'll look into those things a little more before I just make copies! Sorry to have given some bad advice *blushing* Shannon

ds: unload the dishwasher whenever it needs it take out the trash whenever it needs it sweeps upstairs & down 1x/wk but sometime in between sweeps upstairs where the muddy boots land whenever it needs it clean both bathrooms (he loves this job!) help daddy build/repair fences for horses, feed horses & dogs, stack firewood dd: fold all her & her brother's laundry 2x/wk (we only do laundry on Mon & Thurs) & put it away dust 1x/wk vacuum at least 1x/wk, usually twice help daddy do outside stuff like ds & feed cats help cook meals & doing many on her own (whew!) Shannon dust

DO have a rent-a-pet for the classrooms in the district! When I was student teaching I went to the building where they were kept & it was a literal zoo: iguanas, mice, snakes, turtles, rabbits, hamsters, parrots, etc. etc. Very cool program - you sign up at the beginning of the year for the animals you want & then they come like every week & bring you a new class pet w/ all the food, bedding, etc. You can plan your school year somewhat around the pets. mmmm...I don't want a commitment like that, but it WOULD be cool if homeschool families could also participate for a small fee, or find some pet shop or farm willing to do that! Our new science project/gross motor activity/time & money commitment are 2 older horses...we're in week 2 & loving them a ton....and adjusting to the discipline they require LOL ;0) No more sleeping in til 8 or 9 am..... Have fun w/ the finch! Shannon

Hi Jean :0) I made copies for our ds & our dd did the worksheets in the book. So we did the lesson together & watched the video, then they did their worksheets separately so our ds could use the book when he needed to for reference. I guess you could do the same w/ 3 children, depending on how you schedule their workbook time (depending on ages they could do that independently but you could still do the teaching & review/chants etc. together). HTH, Shannon

Hi there! We are in a similar boat - this year will be our first year with Sonlight. My dd will be in 9th & son in 7th. When they were in 1st & 3rd we did WTM yr. 1 ancients (through k-12 online, before the books came out) & followed the whole sequence. By last year, when ancients came around again, I was a little lost & wasn't sure what to do - we had loved SOTW so much but needed more meat! We did Omnibus & tried to combine it w/ TOG first semester & were pretty swamped - so we dropped the Omnibus & just did TOG w/ some SOTW reading. This past year we did TruthQuest Middle Ages and Ren/Ref and it was nice, although I feel like we could have done more to show what we learned. We basically have nothing to show for it! So this coming year we plan to combine Sonlight 7 with the commentaries in TruthQuest Age of Revolution I - I think Sonlight will give us the direction we need, with writing & mapwork to show what we've done. I liked Tapestry of Grace, but I felt led to try Sonlight so here we go! I hope that helps somewhat?! I think I rambled on a bit, sorry! Shannon

Your dd will have her own 'baby' to look after & it might make the transition a little smoother w/ your new baby :0) We have a beautiful, sweet golden retriever that we got when our children were 3 & 5, & an affectionate but spazzy brittney spaniel that we got when they were 7 & 5 & we LOVE them. They are outdoor dogs but we live in the country so they usually run free during the day. Inside the golden retriever is a little big, but they both sleep in the laundry room in the winter. The retriever also sheds in the spring as they have an undercoat, but a few days of brushing (by your dd!!) takes care of that (just be aware if it's an indoor dog, but I recommend a dog that size stay outside most of the time!). Guess what we did 2 weeks ago? We got 2 horses...and I'm expecting the 17th of this month!! We have built 2 fences & go over twice per day, and have been getting up waaay earlier than usual to go feed them in the am's. Now was THAT crazy?? Yes, probably, but our *almost* 14 yo dd has wanted horses for a few years & this horse thing came together fast - and they were free! Our 12yods has bonded so much w/ his dad building the fences & working on the fields - it has been a real blessing in so many ways! So, go for it!! Shannon feel free to email if you have any q's about dogs!

although in MO you can't get pd for it, which I didn't. It was only 1 day/wk & she brough a lot of her stuff w/ her. She was w/ her grandma the other days...they girls got along ok, but generally my dd was ready for her to go home by the end of the day & they no longer speak to each other! Shannon

grew up in central MO. Now we live in rural MO & mostly eat my dh's catch of venison - YUM! I call that deer burger. Oh, a funny: a friend of mine's daughter asked her mom why hamburger wasn't really made of ham ;0) Shannon

I've been lurking & posting here & there for several years now & these boards have always been such a blessing :0) I usually glean great things from the posts & occassionally offer my 2 cents, but I'm inspired to really get more into it these days (although we have a baby due in about 10 days so we'll see how much time I have when she or he? arrives!). Blessings, Shannon

We for sure try to spend more time when they're having trouble w/ something & we'll stop & review til the concept is mastered (mostly in french or math). If it's science sometimes we'll stop & find other resources or look online for more explanations (for instance in Gen. Sci. this year the diagram for how the blood goes through the heard really stank so we found something better online & worked through it w/ that). If it's an area they excel in, I let them have more time to what they want w/ it & sometimes even cancel another subject for the day that is more 'neutral' to them (ie just at level) so they can spend more time being creative writing poetry, or finishing the artwork they started on, etc. I love having that flexibility and knowing that it's ok if I move one lesson to the next day or week & not being so rigid that I have to stick to 'the schedule'. Sometimes w/ history it's ME that wants to spend more time - some days my enthusiasm rubs off & we have a great discussion or do a fun review activity, and other days they're bored stiff w/ the topic so I just drop it & read it myself for my interest ;0) HTH, Shannon

but get creative in the office sections & hardware departments! I did buy a 12x12 heavy duty plastic paper holder (like an accordian file) so I could sort my papers by theme & color. Another thing that comes in very handy is an accordian-style coupon holder. I use that for sorting my pictures by theme or month or whatever. Oh! If there's a JoAnn's or a Michaels or Hobby Lobby nearby you can usually get a 40% off coupon - then you could get one of those rolly suitcase type things for your scrapbook stuff! They often have slots for scissors & pens, too. Same w/ buying scrapbooks - wait for the coupons. I don't do all the embellishing w/ powders & metal gadgets & ribbons, but if you get into that one of those sorting things for nails & stuff w/ all the little clear drawers would be perfect for that. You can really spend a lot of money, but you can also do it fairly cheaply if you think outside just what is marketing to scrapbookers ;0) HTH! Shannon

so we're usually eager to answer it!

Thanks again for the refresher on this - my dd almost 14 really needs something & believe it or not TT 7 is not really working for her! She's done MUS twice, Saxon, R&S & many of the Key to books (the best so far but doesn't retain much). I'm not as worked up about college prep but she needs a basic foundation for life ;0) Shannon