I haven't used it, but Keyboarding Without Tears? It covers mouse usage?

For the early years, we used CLE's recommended sequence with my 3rd daughter. We started at 4.5 with the series of 4 workbooks for 3-4 year olds, then did their recommended K sequence at around 5 a R&S K books and CLE's KII. KII was better than the R&S, but we were happy with the results and it was easy to do (very concise - 20-30 minutes daily). Then we moved into CLEs 1st grade materials - we aren't rushing, and it's all working out great. I'm very happy - we've done little formal school until 6 in the past or our two oldest but I'm happier with this approach. Formal PK and K for everyone at our house from here on out :).

Teri's book is great, even though we use almost 100% different curriculum choices! I have a very simple teacher planner (the one CLE sells), I use one row per child and 1 column per day. I use it to keep track of what we need to do/review/cover during meeting time. I do most of that once a week when I look ahead, but add to it/cross off daily as we go. I do meetings with older children first to get them going, they start work without me. Each child has their own list of what needs to be done. We do EVERY subject they'll need help with at meeting time. They can always ask me if they run into snags, but that's rare. My 1st grader plays until I'm ready for her, since she needs me for so much more. My children really prefer being able to keep going on their own as opposed to having to wait for me. You still need to hold the reins, no fooling. The two weeks after I found we were having twins, I had my children keep going on their own. It wasn't TOO bad, but my 8-yo skipped chunks of her LA. There's still oversight and mental energy involved, no doubt. (As much as I sometimes wish there wasn't...zzzzzz.) LTR does have more sight words than the programs we've used previously, but it's worked well. It does seamlessly transition into the early grades of LA, and gets children reading quickly. We do break it into two sessions most days. We've never used Saxon math, so I can't really say, but multiple scripted lessons for multiple children would KILL me! I just wouldn't be able to get them done. For reading, it's my 3rd graders FAVORITE subject. She reads voraciously on her own, but I'm happy for her to be getting moral stories in, since I have never been able to fly a separate character program. :) For us, it really came down to...like Hunter always says...a curriculum that gets DONE is better than one that doesn't - even if it's imperfect. She was a real inspiration to me to keep it real during our switch making time, it does take some courage :). Thankfully CLE is a VERY good curriculum in any case! And it gets done, we've never been more productive in our homeschool than we have been since switching. Another large family mom near us uses a lot of CLE as well (expecting her 8th shortly). It's definitely more doable than many other, idealistic approaches, particularly for large families that add babies on a regular basis. I have been swamped by my own idealism/perfectionism SO many times :(.

Spelling Power - LOL! It makes my brain EXPLODE. I'm a Spelling Power failure ;).

Oh, independence. Right - my 6th grader is almost totally independent, my 3rd grader also. 2nd, 4th, 5th we're much the same. Once they can read, it's off to the races! My 1st grader isn't reading everything yet, so she needs the lesson taught to her and then does much of the work on her own. First grade is always a tougher year for me since it's more parent intensive. I do need to meet with the children daily to do flashcards with them and speed drills (or they don't get done) and to review anything they're struggling with.

Took me awhile to come over, but here I am! This is only our 3rd year with CLE, but because I have several children, we've covered most of CLE from PK-6 in Math, Bible, Reading, and LA with a few exceptions here and there :). Like a PP stated, if you just did CLE Math and LA and read, you'd be doing well. The curriculum is really rock solid. It is a HUGE blessing to have a seamless curriculum instead of piecing so many things together, trying to add reinforcements, full gaps etc. Now, that being said, we've had a tougher year this year. I'm pregnant with twins (zzzzz+stress), and CLE LA 600s are tough. I finally determined to press through and I'm waiting for MY copy of the course to come. I have very little in the way I formal grammar/diagramming knowledge myself. One of the major reasons I'm pressing through this tough spot (apparently if you make it through 6, 7 isn't too bad), is that I want my oldest to use CLE for high school as well. I want my younger children to go through CLE for LA, so I need to get this sorted :). We use ACE for social and science. I don't really think these are incredibly vital in the early ears, I don't assign them at all until children are reading independently, but I know the basics are getting covered at least. My children DO read voraciously on their own. Sometimes they write for fun, my oldest often does her own research projects in what would be considered social studies and science topic areas, and has taught herself so many life skills (she loves baking and is incredibly crafty and creative). My second (8) is pretty ADHD and still spends plenty of time playing, but she also devours large novels. Do they love their workbooks? Hmmm, I wouldn't say that they do :). Some more than others - my 3rd child is often helping herself to her math and LTR workbooks as best she can. BUT they get their academics covered, which makes mommy happy, and they are learning skills they apply in their free time (like those for fun research reports). We also plan on switching math after 700 to Saxon, simply because we'd like all our higher level maths from the same provider. We do plan I stay with CLE English/Lit and plan to tackle the CLE Homeschool Plus Diploma when we get there - they allow some substitutions. I'm trying to address a few different posts in this thread in one go, so if I've missed anything, or if there are more specific questions, let me know!

CLE does have excellent spiral review so you don't have to plan it yourself :). Many people switch out for algebra after 700 or 800. We aren't there yet :).

CLE isn't colorful, but it is very structured and follows the same format/lesson structure every day.

We moved from MM to CLE. We are SO happy :). It was pulling teeth to get 2 pages done, my children do the entire CLE lesson with no complaints. The layout is so much better :).

We use CLE. It is very independent, includes review, and is quite rigorous. We also use Rod and Staff spelling alongside and scratch out the CLE assignments. Now, I will say...*I* am having a tough time with the 600s, because my formal grammar skills are low. Thanks, public school in the 80s/90s. I'm knuckling down and learning it myself now. I have many more children and need to be able to teach this stuff when they run into tricky spots. You would likely do just fine with it.

CLE has been SO good for us. We used MUS for years, tried switching to Math Mammoth (ugh), but we desperately needed the CLE spiral.

I'm adding typing, front runner is Typing Tutor Platinum.

It's been a LONG time since we've owned a Windows machine, but I just ordered one for our children with gift money. It's running Win 8.1 and I'd love to hear educational software suggestions. I have children from 11 down to those who'll be hitting he ground next month, so it's a pretty side range. I'm thinking Typing Tutor Platinum and some Critical Thinking software as a starting place. Any favorites?

Yeah, DH was leery about being able to go back to CLE later, so I'm just going to suck it up, and learn my grammar, and hopefully we'll slog through!

CLE is VERY independent and we use it extensively - almost all of the skill subjects and Bible. It is important to take the placement tests, as it can be somewhat advanced. We use Rod and Staff for spelling. ACE works for us for content - social studies, science (definitely isn't WTM style scope and sequence, but it's independent and gets done. So, it isn't all from the same box...but from different boxes :).

We switched into CLE LA in 4th for my oldest and it worked very well for us, younger DC are following along. I will say that in 6th you'll likely to need to beef up your own grammar (I'm there now). We do substitute R&S spelling in 3rd and up, since it's more phonetic. CLE'a spelling lists tend to be topical at this point. Both programs are quite independent. The step by step research report in 5th was great!

Could be they need a spiral, mine do. We also use CLE.

Well...I do have those diagramming sheets. I'm going to start them today. I'm also going to buy a copy of LA 6 for myself to do . I need to get this sorted, she's the oldest of 7 (once the twins hit the ground next month) and I need to get this stuff nailed so I can help them ALL with it :).

Whoops! I love all the math we've done, and Bible is really good as well, particularly in 3rd -6th, but the lower grades are sweet as well.

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LA 5 had some tricky places, but 6! I'm ordering a copy of the course today for ME to do (along with the extra diagramming worksheets), maybe DD and I can muddle through, together. For reference, she was pulling low 90s in the 500s, low 80s in the 600s.

Blargh. I'm just going to order CLE LA 6 for myself and do the course myself. I have too many littles coming up through the ranks to make things more complicated than they need to be :).

I have used it at grade level, with two children, and it has worked well.

CLE Reading is very religious. Much more so than their LA and Math. FWIW, their science and social studies are not very spiral. not like their math. The social studies in particular is more distinctly Mennonite than any other subject.

So, here's what I'm thinking now. :) I'll start working on Hake 8, and DD can do Hake 6 over the next 1.5 years and EIW 7 over the same period, followed by Hake 8, and EIW level undecided, then back to CLE English for high school. I think this would actually relax our LA schedule while still being rigorous, and hopefully preparing us for re-entry I CLE in 9th. We'll see what happens :).