This question is actually for myself, but I thought this would be a good place to ask. :) I'd like to learn the piano without hiring an instructor. Do you know of any good online turotials? Or perhaps a DVD series? Thanks so much!

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius A Man for All Seasons by Bolt (about Thomas More) The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine Walden by Thoreau Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck The Sword in the Stone by White The Hobbit by Tolkein Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (if he likes Sci-Fi, he will LOVE this book) I'd also add Bill Bryson's A Really Short History of Nearly Everything -- although despite the name, it isn't really short (but it is extremely enjoyable and an easy read).

Hakim's US History set is too advanced for his age, I think. Here's what we're doing for US History: Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities by Janis Herbert Colonial Days: Discovering the Past with Games, Activities, etc. (sounds like the "21 Activities" series and the David King books like this one are what you should look into the most!) Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Bulla The World of William Penn by Genevieve Foster George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began by Lucille Penner Katie's Trunk by Ann Turner We the Kids: The Preamble of the Constitution by David Catrow

We're supplementing Chemistry: A Self-Teaching Guide with these books: The Story of Science: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of Beauty and Terror in Science by Richard Holmes A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Tell her that there are many families with 6+ kids who manage to homeschool while taking care of infants and young children, so if there is a will, there is a way. I know a family with twelve children that homeschools without a single boxed curriculum. In reality, it isn't going to be as impossible as it might seem to her at this moment! If she keeps them out of public school, the worst possible scenerio is that her children spend more time unschooling than being classically eduacted; while we believe a classical education is the best we can give our children, even an unschooling education is vastly better than a public school education. Hands down.

I haven't read What Your Fourth-Grader Needs to Know, but we base our history curricula on The Well-Trained Mind's advice to teach history in quarters, with the fourth grade's period being 1850 - Present Day. Here's part of our reading list (not in chronological order), to give you an idea of what we're planning: Darwin & Evolution for Kids: 21 Activities by Kristan Lawson Thomas Edison for Kids: 21 Activities by Laurie Carlson Wright Brothers for Kids: 21 Activities by Mary Kay Carson A Nation Torn: How the Civil War Began by Delia Ray The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (illust. by Robert Ingpen) Theodosia and the Serpants of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan Mill by David Macaulay

Have you looked at The American Revolution for Kids: 21 Activities? Here's a preview of the book, to give you an idea of the material.

What do you think is the source of the problem? Are you trying to tackle too many subjects at once? Is the type of curriculum you're using not working out for you for some reason? I am a big procrastinator, so I've realized early on that taking a relaxed approach to education would be a death knell. I know that I'd never get anything done because I'd tell myself we'd double our efforts once things "slow down" (which they never do). I think the best way to counteract my indolence is to be more regimented in our approach. Each subject is broken down into quarters, as well as individual weeks for the year, so I can check off our progress as we go. I've planned our curriculum with the most crucial work at the beginning, while delaying some of the non-essentials for the last quarter of the year (superfluous experiments, supplementary books, etc.) so that if we need to catch up, we can push back or eliminate that last bit without missing much. We try to combine lessons as much as we can -- so if I had kids that were your age, I'd be teaching them all about the same period of history or science subject each year. So they'd all be learning about, say, ancient history: the lesson would start with some reading-aloud from me about the ancient Greeks, a project everyone could participate in, and then they would do their individually assigned tasks for the era (coloring a picture of Greek gods for the youngest, writing a summary of a section from Ancient Greece for the middle child, and reviewing what the oldest has read in The Black Ships Before Troy). We plan on doing science and history only two times a week because they are more intensive than math and language arts. Scheduling school time for the early morning might also keep you consistent. If you do school right after breakfast, it will help get you into a rhythm because you're not letting "everything else" that you have to do that day come between you and school. If you start at 8am, you should be done actively teaching by the time you have lunch at noon. The kids will probably still have independent work to do (reading, practicing an instrument, doing Rosetta Stone language work on the computer, etc.) for one to three additional hours, but aside from making sure that they're not goofing off in the time you know they should be doing independent study, it's not really demanding. It also helps to not structure home education to the public eduction standard of having a summer break. Letting a kid go two or three months without school is just setting them up for failure -- they'll have to review everything they've forgotten from the previous year, which takes up precious time, and you have to work that much harder to cram the material in a year that's three months short. The public school system only implemented summer breaks because children needed to work at home during the summer; it wasn't out of the children's best education interests, it was just a pragmatic measure of the times. Doing school year-round has a lot of benefits: + Less time is wasted on re-learning what has already been taught after a long break. + More time is spent on the material for that year. + Having a longer period over which to teach can mean shorter school days. + Kids are less bored in the summer. + Vacation time can be scheduled so that you won't be traveling when all the public school children are on vacation. We plan for a 46 week school year, knowing that we might actually do more or less depending on how things progress. :) Hope this helps!

Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities by Janis Herbert (awesome book!) Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Bulla The World of William Penn by Genevieve Foster George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began by Lucille Penner Katie's Trunk by Ann Turner We the Kids: The Preamble of the Constitution by David Catrow The Pop-Up Book of Ships by David Hawcock

What period of history would you like to focus on? If he'd been following the trivium already, sixth grade is for the period of 400-1600. However, I think if you're starting homeschooling for the first time, it's better to start at the beginning with the ancients. Here's my fifth grade history reading list: The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Rome by Cyndy Shearer Gilgamesh the King by Ludmila Zeman (trilogy) The Story of the Greeks by H.A. Guerber The Story of the Romans by H.A. Guerber The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfield Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfield Bodies from Ash: Life & Death in Ancient Pompeii by James Deem Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick Galen and the Gateway to Medicine by Jeanne Bendick In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid by Penelope Lively Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster Alexander the Great by John Gunther The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff If you'd like to do the Middle Ages instead (or if you think he can cover both in one year): The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of the Middle Ages by R. Shearer The Renaissance in Europe by Lynne Elliott The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White The Strongbow Saga, Book One: Viking Warrior by Judson Roberts Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by L. Schiltz The Magna Carta by James Daugherty Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett The Age of Charlemagne by David Nicolle Design Your Own Coat of Arms: An Intro. to Heraldry by Chorzempa As history/science unit studies, for sixth grade I'd also have him read: A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Da Vinci For Kids: His Life and Ideas: 21 Activities Galileo for Kids: His Life and Ideas: 21 Activities Most of these books can be checked out from the library, and the ones you'll have to buy are usually under $10. For language arts, I'd use the Greenleaf Guides and have him write an essay about each of their famous men once or twice per week. Good luck! :)

All four years of elementary science curriculum is available at Elemental Science for just $15 per book, and it follows the Well-Trained Mind method. :)

Grow-A-Frog Praying Mantis Kit Transparent Ant Farm Grow A Lily Pad Grow a Venus Flytrap Grow Sunflowers Predators: A Pop-Up Book Sea Creatures Pop Up Book The Pop-Up Book: How to Create Over 100 Paper Projects Eye Like Stickers: Animals Eye Like Stickers: Seasons Eye Like Stickers: Colors (Lots more in this series, including the alphabet, farm animals, bugs, etc.) My First Weather Kit Pet Tornado My First Science Kit: The Science of Color Make Your Own Volcano Make Your Own Chocolate Solar Print Kit

We don't do any of the boxed curriculum, so I can't comment on LL versus OM. Sorry! However, I would highly recommend using How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler. You can discuss and apply the methods quite easily to any of the books you're currently reading (taking it one chapter at a time over a course of weeks). I think literature analysis is most effective when your student finds new ways of looking at a novel that he or she already enjoys, so accompany How to Read a Book with something fun like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or The Hobbit. Good luck!

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Gilgamesh the King by Ludmila Zema (trilogy) The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Marianna Mayer The Lady & the Lion by Jacqueline K. Ogburn

For those who are interested, the books are The Worst Jobs in History and The Worst Children's Jobs in History.

Since two out of three of you children's ages correspond to the ancient world, I'd start there. :) Here are some books you can read-aloud with all your kids: Pompeii Pop-Up Book King Midas and the Golden Touch by C. Craft A Street Through Time by Anne Millard The Story of the Greeks by Guerber The Story of the Romans by Guerber Gilgamesh the King by Zeman (the entire trilogy is worthwhile) The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Lasky In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid by Lively Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Sutcliff The Wanderings of Odysseus by Sutcliff There are lots more on my list, but most of them are already covered in WTM and I just wanted to highlight the ones that could entertain a wide range of ages. Good luck!

Please let us know how you think it compares to the book! I'm contemplating buying the book but I'm not sure if it's repetitive if we're planning on them watching the video series.

Isaac Newton & Physics for Kids: 21 Activities by Kerrie Hollihan has lots of awesome hands-on activities, like making your own ink, plague masks, pendulums and optics. I love that it combines history with elementary physics. Galileo for Kids: 21 Activities by Richard Panchyk might also apply; experiments include specific gravity, relative motion, projective motion, cycloid curve, perception and (just for fun) cooking a renaissance meal. You can't go wrong with The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science by Sean Connolly. It includes 64 experiments that are all pretty exciting. Check out the video on the book's Amazon page for examples. :)

Be careful, they can be addictive! :lurk5:

If you're not familiar with Tony Robinson's BBC series Worst Jobs in History, check it out on Youtube! is part of the first episode on the Dark Ages (just follow the links to see the full episode, and look on the right for the other episodes on the Tudors, Victorians, etc.). Kids will learn about all sorts of aspects of medieval life while seeing the host eat worms, wash clothes with urine, build a hut using mud and manure, operate a wooden medieval crane to pick up a car, and lots more. Younger children won't catch all the background information and might lose interest, but I'd say that it'd be effective for second grade and up.

History: The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of the Middle Ages by R. Shearer The Greenleaf Guide of the Renaissance & Reformation by R. Shearer Knights by Rachel Firth Castles by Stephanie Turnbull Knights & Castles: 50 Activities by Avery Hart The Viking Tales by Jennie Hall The Norman Conquest by Cyril Walter Richard the Lionheart and the Crusades by Chris Gibb Marco Polo by Demi A Medieval Feast by Aliki I'll also use Terry Jones' BBC series The Worst Jobs in History. It's a fantastic show. You can watch Part 1 of the Middle Ages episode . Literature: Red Wall (series) by Brian Jacques The Lady and the Lion by Jacqueline K. Ogburn (and Ogburn's other books) Cinderella by K.Y. Craft (and Craft's other books) Midsummer Night's Dream by Bruce Coville (I'm linking my favorite; all of his Shakespeare retellings for children are beautiful!) Romeo & Juliet by Bruce Coville The Tempest by Bruce Coville Hamlet by Bruce Coville Science: Half the year will be devoted to earth science, while the remaining half will focus on astronomy. The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Our World The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space What Is the World Made Of? Solids, Liquids & Gases by Zoehfeld Spotter's Guide: The Night Sky by Nigel Henbest More Mudpies to Magnets: Science for Young Children by Sherwood Glowing the Dark Constellations by C.E. Thompson Feel the Wind by Arthur Dorros Clouds by Anne Rockwell Weather Forecasting by Mark Breen Rocks and Minerals by T.D. Burns Various other library books about the seasons, volcanoes, caves, earthquakes, deserts, rainforests, the planets, comets, space shuttles, etc.