I hear you completely. Same thing happening here with dd12, but usually only on certain subjects. Same with dd10, certain subjects. Even though it is only certain things, it just seems so overly dramatic. I was just telling my dh last night that I don't know how much longer after this year that I want to keep the oldest one home...I don't really know what to do or if there is anything I can. My intuition tells me that I need to figure out a way to get through it without losing My head and that we will indeed survive this stage, but it is no walk in the park. I am listening for some good 'survival' techniques.:bigear: Hang in there!

I admit when I wrote this I was very discouraged. Our first 3 weeks really are going well. We are doing more than we have ever been able to get done, but when I put so much of my heart and work into this homeschooling thing, it is really easy for me to get discouraged when things don't go as I have planned. Our summer was very short here due to rain, rain, and more rain, so I am feeling CHEATED of my downtime. I am chosing to have a better attitude, and embrace fall and all it's fun activities. Sorry for being so negative, that isn't very encouraging.

Ditto, ditto, ditto! I have a highly 'reluctant' ds7, that falls to pieces everytime I ask him to write a word, and trying to balance that and give fair time to his dd7 that would do absolutely anything I tell her to, with perfection. We are also trying to incorporate SWB writing into our day, and there are a serious amount of growing pains going on in that department. All that on top of switching from a box, all inclusive, type curric, to suggestions from TWTM...and we are having what feels like another "first year" of homeschooling. I know it will get better, it did last year, it will this year too. Though I am totally impressed that we have been able to fit in art on a weekly basis this year. Yippee. We are finishing up week 3 tomorrow, and I would love a day off already. I have my lesson plans done through week 8, but I will absolutely be taking some "teacher days".

I just listened to SWB's writing for the middle school years and her recommendation is to not stop too soon. Even though the high school years are supposed to focus on writing rather than grammar, grammar must be reviewed as writing skills mature. That was what I got from it anyway. I wished I could say that our time with R&S English 7 has been that fun. Dd12 just finished the first chapter and it's almost like she has never done grammar before, and she's done Abeka for years. I also got MCT, which goes at grammar from a slightly different angle, in hopes that she will have a light bulb moment. Unfortunately, our English time tomorrow will be very remedial...I do not look forward to it. It is a good program, we just have to get through our struggles. UUgggh.

We are new to R&S this year, but it is going well with some tweeking. I really like the Phonics because it really is more of a spelling program at this point(2nd grade). The spelling program is just the right amount of work. It didn't take very long to see we needed to modify the reading though. The actual amount of reading is very small...not enough...even for my "I hate books" kid(ds7). However the workbook that goes with it is a ton of work. There are 4-5 pages a day! My most compliant, workbooky child (dd7)would give me the stink eye every time we did them, and it took for.ev.er. The first 2 1/2 pages are mostly vocabulary/new word introduction, so we still do those, but the next 2 1/2 pages of comprehension questions we just do orally now. That makes it so much more manageable. Doing the comp questions orally may lead to narration type writing if I can slip it in.

We are using R&S English for 3 grade levels this year and I do think adding WWE is a good idea. I am doing WWE level 4 with ds10, and the techniques they learn are not taught in R&S, and I do think there is great merit in learning those techniques. I wished I had some $$ left to use WWE with my ds/dd7 twins, but we'll likely wait until next year and just keep doing copywork, narrations, dictation from our history/science. For my oldest dd, we chose MCT to get in more writing. We haven't gotten to Essay Voyage yet, but I do think I will use the WWE philosophy with her using history/science to learn the skills. Would have loved to get in on the WWE level 5 triall, but somehow we missed it.

We started using R&S phonics this year(second grade), and I think it's going well. We also use R&S English, and to keep it all fluid, we also do R&S Spelling, and it's all going great. Glad to see good words spoken about it.

I have been following these memorization threads too, and I am a little at a loss as well. I can manage bible, but for history, science, or literature/poetry don't have confidence in my choices. I will probably re-consult TWTM, but I have also checked out the Core Knowlege books from the library..."What every 3rd grader should know" type books. I may get them again and check their poetry lists. I am all ears on this too.:bigear:

I really wanted to like "The Daring Book for Girls" as I first perused it when my dd12 brought it home from the library. But, then I discovered the page on french kissing...ugh...not good. I suggest either a different book or a gift card to a book store. I have no idea if the same topic is in the boys book.

You really have to call. If something were wrong that could have been prevented or aleviated by getting in early, you would really regret that. I had a similar situation on Christmas Eve, had to leave my oldest with our house full of family, and go to the doctors office for an ultrasound that revealed a partial previa. I don't think I've ever heard of a case where there was spotting and it would have been ok to ignore. I'm sorry the timing is bad...but you need to call. At least get a dialogue going with your doctor before you go to the party. I will be praying that everything will turn out fine.

Birkenstocks would work for summer or casual situations, but for winter or more professional settings I would go with Dansko. I have arthritis in my feet along with plantar fascitis and I can't wear anything else. They're not very padded like a tennis shoe, but holds your foot in proper position. Like Birks, they take a little getting used to as they fit differently then any other shoe you'll wear, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE mine. For casual shoes, sandals, hiking shoes I wear KEEN. Ebay is a good source for a deal but I would try a pair on at a shoe store and have them sized properly before just buying them online. I have friends with knee problems, back problems, all end up with Dansko. Best of luck finding something you like.

We dropped formal reading last year for dd12 and ds10, so that would have been 4th and 6th grade. I liked that they would teach literary terms here and there and teach 'who's the main character?', or setting, plot, etc. However, my kids didn't like the chopped up stories they were getting, so we switched to a more WTM version using whole books that corespond to the history they are doing, and if I couldn't find one suitable at the library, then I would choose a classic that was at their reading level. I did have them do a sort of book report so I could tell they actually read it. This year I have chosed a few Progeny Press literature guides to guide us through, and they teach a lot of what the formal reading programs do and more. I still do formal reading for my 2nd graders though, and we'll see how this year goes before I decide whether or not to do it next year. I think that once you stop doing a formal reading program, but still want to study literature, you set yourself up for a more writing intensive assignments versus answering comprehension questions. If your kids like the formal reading program they're doing, I don't see why you would need to switch, but I would make sure they are reading some whole books as well.

There is so much more I could do, but it does what I need it to do, and the basic version did not. I think it was worth every penny, and you only have to buy it once, free upgrades. My biggest reason for using it is that with 4 dc, I don't have enough space on my table or in my patience to be constantly flipping pages and pages in TE/TM or paper lesson planner to keep us on track every day. HST+ keeps it all in one place, I can easily reschedule assignments, keeps track of attendance, keeps track of grades, all in one place. Keeping track of grades, etc. isn't so much an issue with the younger kids, but as they get into middle school, keeping records of what you're doing becomes more important.

I try to go through the lessons in the TE/TM for 6-8 weeks at a time and enter them into HST+ so we have a daily list. This helps me to know what is comming up and then I can make library lists ahead too. It's a big job to do for 3 grades, all subjects, but if I don't, I don't feel prepared and have far more stress than if I do the 'open and go' method.

I was just wondering what you thought of the readers and reading workbooks. It's way less actual reading per lesson than we're used to and a lot more workbook. Two pages of vocabulary/new word intro followed by two pages of reading comprehension on the very short story. It seems like a lot of workbook pages...hopefully we'll get used to it. My dd7, who is an almost completely compliant student, is giving me attitude over the length of the assignments. If you use this program do you do one lesson or story per day? Would love someone elses experiences and thoughts. Thanks

Is it too late to get in on the test run? I would love to try it with dd12.

American Girls are a hit here with dd7.

Yes, WWE4 is a butt kicker for sure. Of course we are just starting into WWE at the 4 level, but ds10 is in 5th so I thought it would be fine. Tears. Tears and time. Ugh. We are just finishing week 2, and the dictation part is getting a little better(yet I'm still amazed at the length of the passages). I am so glad I watched the SWB YouTube of dictation, otherwise I would feel like a failure for having to do it in chunks rather than complete memorization after hearing the passage three times. Sheesh. The narration is the hardest for my ds. He just can't seem to get it the way she teaches it. My hopes are that this will iron out as well, maybe in the next month. Doing both the dictation and narration excercises have really brought to light how little of these skills have been taught at priv. school. I really like WWE, I just didn't know it would take so much of my time teaching. I haven't started dd/ds7 twins on it yet, but I probably should to save myself more grief in jumping in late.

:iagree:We have done Fractions and Decimals and Percents and will be starting the Pre-Alg/Bio book next week. None of the books before Algebra is a whole program, and as others have said, there are not explanations of the concepts covered, so you need to have prior exposure from a traditional program. We do Saxon 5 days a week, then LOF three days a week, at one chapter a day. It's just the right amount of Fred to keep it fun.

This was us last year, only I had four grumpy faces watching me cry. It really just takes time. Now that we've been here for a year, they don't want to go back to the school they were in. We took the very good advise of some of the same ladies posting to you, and took a very much needed break. You have a lot on your plate...give yourself permission to start hsing slowly. It took a while for my kids to accept their reality of being homeschooled, and giving it time is really hard, but it does get better. For us it took getting involved in other homeschooler type activities like a weekly co-op or other groups like 4H(specifically for hs'ers), for my kids to see that not only were they not alone, there are lots of other hs'ers out there that are "cool" people, and that the world is bigger than the school they came from. She will make new friends. The co-op has been such a blessing as it gives them time away from me to be with friends, and gives me a break too. It takes time. Don't give up. :grouphug: Daily remind yourself to keep your perspective, "It will get better!"

I have several friends who's children have had extremely varied, but serious reactions to red dye 40. One's child has severe Tourette's syndrome when exposed, another extreme digestive problems with it, and I've heard of many other situations as well. I only suggest it as a place to start with when you start evaluating your son's diet. It seems like it would be a very non-reactive ingredient, but it seems to cause a lot of kids a lot of trouble. I will be praying God brings you answers and peace.

If I can find a free minute I may work out something like that for my dd/ds7 twins. It would become competitive though, which could be great. "Let's see who can get done with there work the quickest!" It sounds like something you'd have to make from scratch. I checked donnayoung.org, and I didn't see anything that looked like you could tweek. Good Luck finding what you need. I'll be:bigear:.

We are using TWTM's outlining instructions to learn how to outline. So far it has worked great using books, but I'm not sure what to do about taking notes from say a lecture or movie. I will also be checking out the recommendations here. Great thread.

So, today I ordered LOF Pre-Alg 1 and 2 and plan have the kids do one chapter a day, three days a week along with Saxon five days a week. One more week, and we will start LOF! Thank you all for the encouragement and confirmation that it can be done without grief. Thank you.

I would love for us to use some LOF with Saxon this year to keep math fun. My ds10 is doing Saxon 7/6, and dd12 is doing Saxon 8/7. I would like to get ds through LOF Fractions and Decimals and Percents this year, but am unsure if it is too much to get through along with Saxon. It looks like we'd have to do three chapters one week, followed by two chapters and the Bridge Test the following to get it all in. Pretty much the same story for doing LOF Pre-Algebra 1 and 2. The alternative is to do LOF one day a week and Saxon 4 days, but that stretches our Saxon book work into the summer. Please give advise on which method has worked best for you...thanks.