Thank you everyone for all these ideas! I have two weeks in London. I can decide how much of that to spend in London and how much visiting other areas. I'm taking notes and looking into all these ideas.

I live in US and I have an opportunity to travel to England with my 3 kids in May. My children are 13, 11, and 7yo and we homeschool. We are mid way through SOTW vol 3. My kids loves Harry Potter and now Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. My youngest is a huge Paddington fan (yes, even before the movie came out) My husband has work to do in London and also in Chesham. I defintely want to see London, Tower of London, London Bridge, etc. But I'm open to all ideas. I don't have to stay in those areas. Traveling to opther parts of the country is a possibility. I just don't know if or when I'll have the chance to take my kids on a trip like this again so I want to get the most of it. :) What is not-to-miss? What is overrated? Many thanks, MB

What are the names of the programs you are discussing? I got lost looking for the abbreviation guides. Thanks!

Start Story of the World if he seems interested & ready. You will want to encourage him to continue asking, "is this what REALLY happened?" and who says" or How do we know? Begin exploring perspective. Even something as simple as a Sunday night dinner or a trip to the park could be retold. Each family member could describe the experience from their perspective and it would be different for each of you. You could discuss facts / opinions. You know, "it's hot outside" verses "it's 99 degrees F outside."

Did your oldest go through the cycle already? If she needs to, have her finish the last year of her modern cycle and then NEXT year you could start them all on Ancients. For the odlest, it would be her second time through and she could go much deeper. If you haven't had your oldest work through it and your jumping into the cycle now-- then you could start them all on Ancients as you mentioned. I wouldn't start the younger two on Modern. I would start them all on Ancients and let them each work at their own level within that theme.

Ok. thanks. I thought they added new material and concepts not covered in the older edition.

Is the family room your homeschool space? Do you have a living room as well? I use our dining room as a homeschool area and I would use it in a space like that. I wouldn't want it in my living room. (but then again I have a castle being constructed in my living room right now sonopt sure it would really matter!)

Do you see mastery of addition and subtraction? The work can be done outside, on side walk chalk, on white board, with blocks. If he can teach someone else the concept he has mastery. Is the problem writing? sitting? Have him make a math worksheet for you to take-- then he checks your work. Or, have him make up a word problem. He may be ready for Gamma or Delta. Did you give the placement test?

I am trying to determine if I need to buy the new edition...What are others doing? I have a daughter on lesson 14 in Epsilon and another daughter on lesson 15 in Gamma. Now MUS has revised the books and I'm trying to decide if I should switch them over to the new edition immediately or wait until they finish their current levels. I can't quite tell if there are enough changes/additions to switch them now. Anyone else using MUS? any opinions?

I didn't realize 4-H had stuff like this! Wow. I need to try to find a 4-H group.

We have been working through the Barton program for the past year. It has helped my 9 yo daughter so much. I admit that I don't think the work is 'fun' and the stories aren't exciting. It is slow at first but picks up speed quickly and I'm glad we didn't skip anything. We work about 30 minutes a day. We are now nearing the end of book 5. For us, it has been worth the money. I have gotten support from the website (look at the 'for tutor's only' section) and I when I emailed Susan Barton directly I heard back immediately. She even asked me to call her and she spent time talking to me without asking for consultation fees. So, based on the success and support I'm glad we stuck with the Barton program. I read the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz -- but I haven't seen "A Reading Program for Overcoming Dyslexia". I'd love to hear experiences with it.

Thanks for the replies! I got everything from our library but nothing looks great. I will check out Viking Quest game. We will probably make a longboat out of a box. I printed out some Viking paper dolls and we did the map work. We didn't make the bread because one of my kids is sensitive to gluten. For literature suggestions-- we will read King Arthur soon. I'm considering The Adventures of Robin Hood, Joan of Arc, The Door in the Wall, and Adam of the Road. Any cewrtain time line or order? I don't know the chronological order or what makes sense.

We are on Chapt 14 Arrival of Norsemen/Viking Invasion. Anyone have good resources for activities for Vikings? The Vikings Treasure Chest is more than $25-30 used/missing pieces. Anyone know where I can find it or another similiar product? Or, any other place I can see what activities worked for others? I'm not able to find most of the books listed in the guide. It seems out dated or something. I try to just go with what the library has available. I just don't know if I'm missing out on great books. I'm doing this level with a 4yo listening in, 9yo, and 11yo. The oldest could use more advanced reading. I'm wondering when it would make sense to read King Arthur. I don't see that listed under corresponding Lit suggestions. Anyone working through this book? Or been there? Do you have any insights on literature or activities? Thanks!

The 101 Dalmations-- the original is different and much more beautiful than the movie adaption or Disney adaptions.

OK Thanks! I'm ordering the new one with the basic package of the Town level. I guess it will be worth it since I have 2 younger one's who will eventually use it too.

Thank you so much for your replies. We won't skip Sentence Island! We are starting that this week. I have younger children so it's not a waste but this level really was too easy for her. For now, she will work on practice sentences and do Sentence Island. I'll order Town level (and the next literature series). She is doing First Form Latin now too. It is still worth doing Caesar's English, right? Oh and which Caesar's English did you use? Looks like there is a new edition out. Thanks again!

MCT help... I started my 5th grader on level 1 (Grammar Island, Building Language...the basic package) It was pretty easy for her. She she despised grammar so I though better start easy and build. She is not quite through all of the books. Level 2 doesn't look much different??? I guess I'm confused. She completed Grammar Island, Building Language (she loved it and wrote a poem for each stem) She does 2-3 sentences a day in Practice Island and. She read the first set of literature books (Alice, Peter, Mole). She still needs to complete Sentence Island and Music Hemispheres. She is asking to move on to the next set of literature books (Search Trilogy) Should I have her wait to catch up in the other books in the level? I think I'm concerned about spending all the money for level 2 and it being pretty much the same stuff.

Thanks for the ideas. I feel a little better today. She worked through lesson 1 and got some of the worksheets done without a problem. (she had read the lesson and watched to DVD last week but it all seemed so confusing). She will finish the last two lessons tomorrow. I am not sure exactly how I'll proceed. Probably have her read the text book first and then look at the DVD. What do you do with the derivatives? When do you use the flash cards?

My 10yo is just starting FF. I'm kind of lost and overwhelmed trying to read through all of it. I got the whole package: dvd'd, pronunciation cd, flash cards, etc. I think the problem is that I haven't had a quiet minute to read through it all carefully. I have read it (while trying to keep my preschooler quiet) What is your general routine? Such as: do you begin with the student reading lesson in student text. Follow that by watching instructor video? Then recitation? When do you listen to the audio cd? How do you generally organize the worksheets? Each lesson has a lot. I know it would be too much for one sitting for my daughter. I know these things will vary by family but I guess I'm looking for some ideas. Latin is intimidating for me (not for my 10yo though). Thanks!!

I guess my hesitation is that First Form looks pretty dry and some of the other programs look a bit more playful and engaging. But she liked Latina Christiana so that may not be an issue for her. I was hoping to enroll her in a local Latin class but it doesn't look like that is going to work out. The o-line classes are at a certain day/time and our schedule needs to be flexible right now. Something self-paced would be of interest. Thanks!

Hi! Can anyone offer me guidance on picking a Latin curriculum? My 10yo (rising 5th grader) completed Latina Christina 1 this past school year. I was going to buy First Form for this year as that is what their website recommends. But then reading up on these boards-- I'm not sure. My head is spinning! She picked up Latin much more easily than me. I was learning along beside her but she moved through the book much faster than I could. So ideally something that is easy to follow and not super dependent on me to read ahead and teach to her. Lively Latin, Visual Latin, Latin for Children, First Form...?? Any insights on how to decide where to go from here. Thanks!

Remember that the goal can be to just enjoy your family time. Focus on building character. How can everyone pitch in? Can the older children plan a craft, read, make puppets, play a game or puzzle with a younger sibling while you work with another one. That benefits both of them. Can the older one make up a story to tell the younger and perhaps the younger illustrates? Lots of reading is great...books on CD. Use some educational videos. Listen to classical music. Do you have any help? Ask for help from family, friends, mother's helper, church??? You could give an aspiring babysitter some experience. Be patient with yourself.

Make your own. Have the kids build it! You can get the white board paint at home stores such as Lowes and Home Depo.

My daughter is 10yo and we decided to make the switch to Michael Clay Thompson's Literature program. I am starting her at the first level but we will move through rapidly. I think I probably should have purchased the next level. But now that I have it (and I have younger kids who can eventually use it) I will keep it. When did you start the Alice & Wonderland and the other books suggested? (Alice, Perter, and Paul) She read Alice and Wonderland on her own already but I thought we should re-read it together. Is there a guide or recommendation on what classics to read? I see so many books but I can't buy them all. I guess I just feel kind of lost on the website. Thanks.

Congratulations! Happy babymoon!