I love the CD -- I don't have to read it to the kids; we can listen together! I also like the activities, maps... it's all there. And it works for my first grader and third grader.

Way to go! What a beautiful room. So many wonderful memories will be made in that room as your family learns together!

Thanks for the advice... I was looking at the sample pages of WWE1 and he is already doing copywork and narrations, just like Tonia said. I so much want to do what's best for my boys, and I don't want to miss out on any skills. I think I need to relax and trust myself that what we are doing is enough!

Should my 6 year old also be doing WWE1? Here is what he does daily (Fridays are a bit lighter): ETC 2 - 2pages (10 minutes) Reason For Handwriting (5-10 minutes) First Language Lessons (10 minuts) Primary Phonics (5-10 minutes reading to me) SM2A (30 minutes) AAS (15-20 minutes) Bible (10 mintues) And then we do about 2 hours of history (SOTW) and then 1.5 hours of Science (our own reading and narrations/fact pages) each week. My son has neat handwriting, good phonics skills, and loves to do his lessons. Would WWE1 be too much? Is it necessary if we are doing copywork from FLL each day? Thanks in advance.

This week I implemented a time schedule instead of just a list of things the boys needed to work through -- wow, what a great week!!!! We also love MCT, ETC, SOTW, and our science (mom gets books from the library and the boys read them together and create pages of information and pictures). We also have had amazing times at the YMCA homeschool programmes -- swimming, gymtime, and rock wall climbing.

I have started FLL with my 6 year old, and recently, I have picked up the speed. We usually do two or even three lessons a day. And I don't do everything stated in each lesson. Going at your child's own speed is the beauty of home schooling

Thanks! I think I will order WWE3 in a couple months and make a switch to it after Christmas. For now, we will continue through WWE2 quickly. Julie

I am wondering what the differences are between WWE2 and WWE3. My 8 year old son is working through WWE2. He is an excellent writer and speller. He can easily answer comprehension questions and is doing well with narrations. Although he complains about dictation, he does quite well with them. He is in Grade Three so I am wondering if I should get him working on WWE3, stick with WWE2, or go quickly through WWE2. Any comments or advice would be appreciated. Juie

After one week, we dropped SWO for both boys. My ds6 is now doing AAS and my ds8 is tested on 10 words I choose from his work and our Science and History curriculums. I was thinking I would have to drop SM for my oldest, but we are doing much better now! Julie

No for all three of our boys.

We have just finished Day 14 -- and overall, I love homeschooling. I love being with the kids all the time! I am enjoying watching my ds6 learn to read and celebrating with ds8 when he could remember all 7 conjuctions. We have spent so much time outside -- making teepees, checking out the stream by our house, watching the construction crews get ready to lay new asphalt, and just playing. It's great not to have to organize everyone to get the boys to school. I hated making school lunches... now we just have a nice lunch together. And we can go to meet other home schoolers at the park or the YMCA. Of course, we are having our struggles. The first week my 1 year old was teething the entire week. When she teeths, she demands to be held. My three year old is struggling with not having as much one-on-one time with me. This equals screaming all through Bible story time and hitting his sister. The hardest part has been the complaining and yelling by the boys when asked to do certain lessons. We have had some success in changing expectations, getting rid of certain workbooks, and doing some work in the evening when I am able to sit with them without the little ones looking for attention. Hopefully, this part will get easier as we develop routines! But overall, it has been good. My husband has seen a difference in the kids... they play together so much better and are more relaxed. My mom has mentioned that I seem excited about each day and really am liking this new role. She is definitely right!

I am on Week Three of home schooling and am wondering if the tantrums over having to do lessons will ever stop. We wre doing so well today, but then my oldest son flipped out when I asked him to write something. Pencils were flying, tears were streaming down his face.... Sigh. I will keep trying to find ways to motivate the kids, but I guess I want to know if there is an end to this or at least a reduction as time goes on. Thanks!

Praying for you and your family.:grouphug:

Thanks to all of you who took the time to share your ideas. Today has been wonderful... my son was actually asking to begin math! I have talked to him about how we can make the day go more smoothly and he seems to have decided to try to help out. He has always had trouble with transitions, so maybe time will help some. I also decided to cut out certain subjects if the day isn't going well.... to back off on my expectations. That is hard for me to do, but as a poster said, we have years ahead of us to learn! I haven't tried it yet, but I also thought to give him a small reward for getting out his books, pencils, and be seated for each subject. When he does start he usually likes the work and completes it. Thanks again! This forum has been a huge blessing to me and my boys! Julie

We are on Day 8 of homeschooling and I ned some advice about how to respond to my oldest son. He is 8 and went to school for the last four years. He is very bright and loves to read. However, we are constantly fighting with each other. I have a list of curriculum I want him to do. Today was: an exercise in SM, Writing with Ease lesson, read MCT with mom, write out 10 spelling words 2 times each, do a page in French and make a poster for etre, and then create a fact page for our Science lesson on Monday. Not much... but man does he fight it! He begs to play lego, or just walks away to go bug his three younger siblings. And when he finally gets down to working, he does it and then runs off while I try to get him to start the new subject. His six year old brother has similar work and gets most of it done by 9:30am. Okay, so what do I do? Do I back off and deschool for a bit? Or do I set aside a clear schedule (difficult with three younger kids around)? I can't say that he needs to get it done by the end of the day, as I have three others to take for walks or take care of and I am not free to be around to answer all his questions.. Please, please help me! Thanks!

Thanks for all the help! I think the Bible Study Guide for all Ages might work. What do you order? I am assuming you need the kids pages and the teacher's guide... Do I need the timeline, the CD, anything else?? Thanks again.

We have just finished our first week of Homeschooling.. and I think it went well. However, as we were driving in the car to a playdate, my ds6 commented that they used to go to a Christian school but our homeschool is like a public school because we don't learn about God. GULP went mom!!!!:blushing: I've been reading a devotional and we do talk about God, but at their former school they had a very extensive and wonderful Bible curriculum. So I think I need to find a curriculum for us at home. The boys are signed up for Awana, so I am not looking for Bible memorization. Does anyone have a suggestion for a Bible story based curriculum for ages 3-8 with some written activities for the older ones? Thanks! Julie

We have had a good start, I think! Very random day, though! My husband is a teacher and is home to help with the little ones. I also had to work for an hour and a half this morning (I tutor kids with dyslexia). But the boys are almost done their work, and had fun with what I planned. I will have to re-evaluate at my ds6 spelling program, but we will stick with it for a couple weeks! We still hope to get to Science for both, Math for my 6 year old, and maybe French! I was afraid I wouldn't be flexible enough, but I am so far. I am excited to have the whole day to fill with learning and fun for my kids. I can see us leaving the curriculum behind some days and learning what we want to learn! And Julie, I live in Oakville, Ontario. And the funny thing is my name is Julie Smith too:)! Thanks everyone for your encouraging words... it helps so much!

I have been lurker this forum for many months now, gaining so much wonderful information! I thought it was time to introduce myself. I have four children (8, 6, 3, and 1). My husband and I have always talked about homeschooling, and decided that this was the year. And we start this morning! I am nervous and excited, and am praying all will go well. I have a feeling my expectations are too high, but am hoping I will be able to be flexible and enjoy the time with my kids. Any advice on surviving and succeeding during the first few weeks would be wonderful! Julie

Hi!