nm.

I vote combo. Color code by subject then file by date.

Echoing MCT! AAS/AAR might be your next best bet.

Coach Oultet online

I scored a super deal on grades 1-4 of Real Science 4 Kids Building Blocks. We read a section a day and fill in the study notebook spot. So far, I'm not doing the experiments and probably won't do many. Have you considered Nancy Larson Science? You would have lots of cool booklets for the portfolios. Just some alternate ideas for you to chew on. If you have access to Core Knowledge materials and you like them, your kids are learning, and it covers what your state expects to see, why mess with it? I wish I could figure them out. I find CK confusing to figure out what I need and what order to use it in. I have used all the MP science things except Nature's Beautiful Order. The books are incredibly eye-clawing, burn the books, boring. You are better off getting topical books from your library about their topics. If you are really sold on MP, you could do them all in a school year when your kids are a little older. The Tiner books without guides take a year, too, but that is waay off for you.

One majorly important fact to remember about MP is that it is written for classroom teachers who teach the same subject/grade each year. The guides are SPINES that the "master teachers" use to add onto and flesh out. They were never intended to be just the guides/lesson plans. I think we homeschoolers forget this about a lot of companies. We are NOT their main market. We are a happy side market. Getting miffed because the materials do not work well at home when they are advertised for a school is silly. In answer to "joy sucking" materials: A story I like from an MP mom is her daughter turned her nose up at "fun" materials for skills because she said the joy was in knowing the answers. FLL and R&S are joy sucking but none of us would doubt their effectiveness. I read a review recently of a person who said their school used Shurley Grammar throughout elementary and middle school. Every single kid groaned and moaned every day they used it. This person said when they moved and went to a new high school and when they went on to university they were shocked how many kids knew nothing about grammar. They were so grateful their school made them go through "joy sucking" materials because that knowledge is now with them forever. Hard work and school DO have to go together. Drill has its place and a very important one. Does content need to be joy sucking? Of course not nor should it be. That isn't where MP shines, IMO. find other things or be prepared to add a LOT to those materials like the classroom teachers do. I have used just about all of MP (except Latin and Classical Comp) from preschool through around grade 6-7, depending if you are looking at the modified or accelerated path. I tried to use the cores as is but quickly gave that up in favor of using the materials as a wonderful booklist and discussion starters. I have also found the content materials 3rd on up are better used by much older kids than the suggested ages. Probably around 10 yrs old is a good time to start the content things. I think it also comes down to what you want to your kids to know when their education is done. Are you sold on the whole Latin or die thing? Do you want a narrow or more broad coverage of world history? What is it you want your kids to really KNOW at the end? That is where you put your time and focus- joy sucking or not.

Hake Writing & Grammar. Go with Book 6. Meets all the needs.

Question about this zero drop thing. I go barefoot all the time. Is that zero drop?

YES! These younger years have all been messy for all mine. They progress than stall, then zoom on, then SPLAT! There's a developmental wall!

Memoria Press Lit guides. Do orally.

Is it really ever too early? 😆 I have Little Man's plan lightly sketched out through 8th grade!

A digital recorder is your friend. DS 25 had the same problem when he was little and was driving Dad and I crazy with wanting to tell us his stories. The digital recorder gave him that outlet and saved our sanity. He wrote some of them down years later, but mostly he just needed to get the ideas out.

How exciting to have one who WANTS to write! Give her a blank sketchbook/composition notebook for her to write/draw anything she wants to in. Don't correct her journal, though, unless she asks you to. Correct her spelling in school! Trust me, not doing so will bite you big time in the long term. Also, explain to her that even though she has big ideas, she still has to know how to communicate those ideas (mechanics, spelling, etc.) so others can enjoy what she writes. Talk about editiors and what they do for published authors. You are her editor until she knows how to do it for herself. I don't remember what you are using for K, but can you up the writing there? How about having her create new endings for whatever you are reading or let her write her own narration about science or history or write those spelling words instead of using tiles. Give her story starters to finish. TGTB has a book and so does the Growing With Grammar people. Evan-Moor is a great resource, too. WriteShop Primary was fun for mine at that age. Games For Writing is good for ideas as well. Freewrite Friday could be a nice outlet where all of you write a story ending to the same starter then compare.

Thanks! I will look into those.

The one clothing item I hate to buy for myself are shoes. I have narrow ballet dancer like ankles but Bigfoot wide toes. I have a pair of Lands' End all weather mocs that the inside footbed completely wore through in less than a year and the entire shoe stretched out. I tried Kizik shoes but they rubbed my ankle raw. Normally, I would wear sandals year round, but my last pair died 2 years ago and I can't find any that fit now and don't rub my feet raw. I've had MBT's but they aren't available in the US anymore. I don't run (too many heavy babies), but I do like to walk indoors (Houston here) and would like shoes/sandals that will not make my knees and hips hurt. Not costing $300 would be a plus as would being durable.