I’m so impressed with your persistence and patience. (And hers too, of course!)

Math: Undecided, but may try TGATB after I have a chance to look over their new curriculum. Sounds like a lot of what I’m looking for. Supplement with Math Adventures 5, MathTacular DVDs, and a variety of Usborne math activity books. Language Arts: Language Arts for a Living Education 4 (Masterbooks). Supplement with Usborne spelling books. History/Bible/Geography/Science/Readalouds: We do as a family. I am working on compiling my list of resources. Mostly living books, with no real output required. We will be going through SOTW 1, a whirlwind tour of all the continents, bible stories and Jesus Storybook Bible DVD, studying meteorology, intro physics and chemistry Handwriting: The last HWOT Literature: Reading a large variety of books from a booklist I’ve put together from a number of sources. He is a fast reader and goes through books quickly. No output required, but he gives me synopses after each book. Extracurriculars: Cello lessons, soccer, swimming lessons (knows how to swim well, but getting better at different strokes)

I would love to do Sonlight with just one child! The reason we have steered away from it in recent years is because my age spread is just too big...I can’t do the same stuff with the different ages. It worked great with just one, and still great with my two oldest (they were close enough in age to do the same core). But now that I’m adding another into the mix next year, and another one down the line, it’s just going to be too hard to manage 2-3 cores. However, it’s a really great program and well laid out. The guides are super helpful and easy to follow. But then you can as much (or as little ) extension as you want. It doesn’t feel like public school at home, because there are no textbooks, tests, etc.—a lot of great literature and living books, and discussion. I assum Bookshark would be the same way, without the religious content. My kids have like everything through Sonlight, and rebel against our non-Sonlight stuff (language arts and math), but to be fair...they would hate doing workbook stuff regardless of what it was or where it was from. They just really enjoy the first part of our day, when we do bible, history, and literature.

I’ve used and liked Sonlight, though only for the younger grades. It is religious, but not overly so. They use a lot of secular books. Christianity is sprinkled here and there throughout the lessons. Obviously, the “bible” portion of the core is religious, with bible and missionary stories. It is pretty neutral in tone, imo. I’m comparing it to Masterbooks, which we also use, and which is much more religious and takes a young earth approach. (Sonlight does not.) I think the books are fantastic, and it would be a good choice for a Christian family. Obviously I would recommend Bookshark for a non-Christian or non-religious family. But overall, I would guess quality is essentially the same.

My kids get scared really easily and are very sensitive to movies, stories, etc., and they had zero problem with any of the boxcar children books. My oldest read almost all of them. I bet your son would be okay with it! Have you read it yourself?

Oh, very cool. We have nothing great around us. 😞

Very true!

Oh yes, I forgot about that. Yes, Bookshark is the secular version. My kids have such a love for reading...it’s a great program!

I have been heavily involved (on the board, in leadership positions) in a non-accredited university model school in our town. I can tell you after thoroughly looking into accreditation that it really means very little. We ultimately decided to forgo it based on that fact. It really only “matters” for high school if your child plans to go to college. At that point, graduating from an accredited high school will save you some headaches when applying for college. Otherwise, It really is just a lot of red tape, and definitely doesn’t guarantee anything academically. I think you would actually find that a lot of exceptional small schools, both online and brick-and-mortar, are not accredited because they have more freedom to pursue their own vision. For instance, we strongly felt that hiring the absolute best teachers we could find and then letting them have a lot of freedom in designing their curriculum was the way to go...we didn’t want to have to answer to a governing body about test scores and days in service, and so on. Like a pp pointed out, it sounds as if you’re halfway there to coming up with a solid program on your own. There is definitely a lot of trial and error in the beginning. What if you did language arts online?....sounds like you have most of the rest in place. Check out Memoria Press, WTM academy, BJU online, brave writer, lantern English, etc. So many choices! Or if you liked the idea behind moving beyond the page, you could look at something like Sonlight. It’s literature based like MBTP, but it’s really clearly laid out. The instructor guide literally tells you exactly what to do every day. You can go as far and deep as you want to. We use it for a loose spine for literature, history, science, and bible. My kids absolutely love the books, and I feel like they have learned a ton about the Bible and history. I think I’m going to try SOTW next year instead, and kind of do more our own thing, but it was a great help for the first 2 years of homeschooling, and I think that a kid going all the way through with Sonlight would end up with a really solid, strong education.

My oldest (9 years old) has a huge love for science simply through books around the house. I have intentionally filled our house with LOTS of stem books. Usborne is the best source that I have found. He will pore over books about engineering, bridges and tunnels, science encyclopedias, etc. Check out their website...they have a LOT of options for all age ranges.

Op, the post about Montessori manipulatives reminded me of Shiller math. Look into that curriculum. It’s the closest thing to homeschool Montessori math....which is amazing. My two older sons attended a Montessori preschool/kindergarten. My second got his year cut short last year because of the pandemic, and then we homeschooled this year due to Covid stuff. And this would have been his last year in the primary program. 😞 but my oldest had a super strong foundation in math, and a love for it, too. It fizzled our a bit when we had to switch to a more worksheet heavy, traditional curriculum. 😞 But the Montessori manipulatives are wonderful, And the number sense is so strong. There’s a huge focus on place value. It’s not uncommon for preschoolers and kindergarten age students to start grasping multiplication and division after that point, the foundation is so strong!

I just read through the full sample. I think it would be good to go through with my 9 year old, but not my 6/7 or 3/4 year old. I’ll probably get it and try to find a time to just do it with my oldest. It looks very comprehensive and in line with what I would like them to know.

Great! Thanks for the response. I’ll look over the content again. I must have skimmed through it...I’ll look at it more in-depth to decide!

I have, but probably to my kid’s detriment. He complained about Singapore being too hard/boring, so I switched to BA, which he also said was too hard/boring, so I switched to MLFLE, which he has overall enjoyed and not complained about. However, he was completely capable of both the other curriculums and is a pretty mathy kid. MLFLE is light and I don’t think I did him any favors by not pushing him...now I read he is behind and has gaps. However, it has also helped him enjoy math again, so IDK. I am considering two different math curriculums for next year for him, and I will probably give him the option to decide. Both will be more rigorous than what he is doing now, but one moreso than the other. However, I will be fine with either. I think it’s like how you’re supposed to offer “choices” to little kids...”red shirt or blue shirt”, when you’re fine with either shirt. But you don’t offer them the green shirt if you don’t want them to wear it!

Thanks! I will probably pass on it for now. Have you used it? What did you think?

Thanks, that’s what I was wondering. I figured my fourth grader would be fine, but I like to do unit stuff all together. My friend used it with her 3rd and kindy kids this year, but I think she omitted quite a bit.

Just curious if anyone has used it, and what they thought. I will have a preschooler, first grader, and fourth grader next year. All boys. Would this be appropriate? Is it a good unit? Thanks!!

That school sounds amazing! I want my kids to go there!

I looked at Charlotte mason math briefly, but it seemed like it had a lot of gaps. The reviews from users were pretty mixed. what about TGTB math? That would seem to hit a lot of what you are wanting. Or you could check out “math with confidence”...first grade is getting released this year.

I am considering it for my two younger kids next year. It looks great! i wish it was an option for older grades right now!

Well, that is a relief to hear. I’m a little worried about his writing skills (or lack thereof). I hope your daughter loves the books! We are big fans of Usborne books here.

So far, my second son is more on the introverted (but social) side, and hard to tell with the third...he’s 3. We shall see! Great idea to involve him with teaching/reading with my 3 year old! He’s super helpful and loves to feel grown up and important. And he does like to read aloud. I’m going to try that! Thanks!

It is challenging, as an introvert, to raise a highly extroverted kid. He wants to be around me or his dad ALL THE TIME. Literally always. He definitely gets his tank filled from socializing and time with others, and gets really upset when he feels like he’s not getting that need met. He is also insanely chatty and can talk from morning till night. I, on the other hand, NEED quiet time and alone time to refuel. The only thing he will do on his own is read, so I keep him well-stocked. 😝

Well, my rising fourth grader is barely willing to write a sentence. And when he does, it’s something like, “the cat ran up the tree. The boy got the cat.” so that looks pretty amazing to me. Why not just stick with what works? I’d say she is ready for middle school curriculum. Usborne has a bunch of creative writing books that would probably be fun for her. Or maybe she could take a class on brave writer? Or Outschool? Looks like she has a talent for writing...that’s great!

Yes, we do lots of games at other times. I often play games with them in the afternoons when preschooler and/or baby are sleeping, and my husband plays games with them a lot—that’s his go-to thing to do with them. And we do a family game night on a weekly basis. The problem is that my younger son will often have a little game as part of his math lesson, or even just a little manipulative thing like counting beans, and my older son has to stop his independent work, every time, and come over to see what’s going on. And if they’re both working independently and I want to try to do something with my oft-ignored preschooler, like read him a picture book, my older son immediately drops what he’s doing and comes to read with us. He just has to be a part of the action, which I understand, but it makes it so hard for him to complete anything without getting distracted. I feel like I give him most of my time to keep him on track. And he won’t work in a different room, ever. He literally must be around people all the time...he is a true extrovert. As an introvert, it is hard for me to manage this need!