It is not free, but have you looked at Spelling Plus - http://rainbowresource.com/product/sku/014528/1304461919-695559? There is a dictation book that goes along with it - http://rainbowresource.com/product/sku/004554/1304461919-695559. Also not free, but another possibility might be Spelling Wisdom - http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/spelling-wisdom/.

:grouphug: I know exactly how you feel. This year has been a year of long days. I have done some remediation in the spelling/phonics area, so my days are long(but it has been worth it to see the progress that has been made). I also work individually with all of my children for between 45-60 minutes a day + history(TOG), which we do together 3 days a week. The only thing that has saved my sanity, is only schooling 4 (long)days per week. I will continue to do this. I do a master schedule week by week, so that it is flexible - meaning I can double up on lessons one day if we have a doctors appointment on another school afternoon. A four day schedule gives us a day to plan field trips, appointments, or to do housework. Before doing a 4 day schedule, I was always behind and beating myself up over it. I also figure out how many weeks I want to school and name my weekly schedules - Week 1, Week 2 etc., that way if something comes up and we need a week break, we can take a week off, without psychologically feeling like we will be behind. I plan enough breaks in my year, but don't actually schedule them, meaning, for example, I usually plan two in the spring, but don't schedule them until we need them. I see that you are adding a 5 year old. I, too, am adding my DS, who is now 6 and will be in 1st grade next year. I am choosing new curriculum that my 4 older DC can do fairly independently next year, so that he will get the one on one attention that he needs to get a good start in reading, writing and 'rithmetic, and so he doesn't get lost in the shuffle of a big family. I also unschool science until my DC are in 6th grade. It might not be something that you are open too, but I have found that my DC naturally have learned science, because they want to. For instance, one of my twins(8) has done every single experiment in all of the Van Cleave books - on his own, for fun. I don't think he would have come to love science, if it would have been something he had to do. The only problem I have with this, is knowing what to do with him when he hits the middle grades, and has done most of the experiments that are required.

I have purchased both GWG and SWS for next year. I have SWS3 here and I am waiting for my SWS4 to come in the mail. It looks thorough. Is there anything you would like to me look at specifically in the Level 3 I have here?

Wow, thank you! That is exactly what I was looking for!:001_smile:

Wow, thank you for this, Lori. I am just embarking on the journey into the middle grades, and this has post has clarified some things for me.

Yes, there is a hard copy catalog. You can request it on the website.

Thanks, Holly. I will have to go through and make some lists myself. I had just thought if someone had made a list of titles, I wouldn't try to reinvent the wheel.

If you want book lists for introductions to great ideas, the lists for Grade 7 and 8 at Tree of Life are great. http://www.treeoflifeathome.com/bigidea.html I would recommend downloading their catalog, because their high school courses are divided up into the Great Ideas that you have listed.

Thank you, HollyDay...do you mind telling me which biographies worked for you?

:001_smile: Yes, I have had my share of serenades, but not nearly enough to have ever let it bother me(and I am 41). If you were thinking about naming a child Roxanne now, I think it would be a non-issue, because most of her peers would hardly even know who the Police are.

My DD11 will be starting Apologia General Science this summer. I am looking for suggestions of living books that I could add to make this year more meaningful. Thanks

Thank you for all of these posts. I am currently using MUS, and I am wanting to supplement with a workbook for review. I was all set to order Horizons for my children, now I am not sure. I would have them go through the Horizons books a year behind MUS. Would this be a good progression for independent spiral review?

After listening to SWB, I also went back to solidify phonics to increase spelling proficiency this year. Only, I went wayyyyyyy back. I took my four oldest through Saxon Phonics 2, yes, you read that right, 2. It has been THE best homeschooling decision I have ever made. You may not choose to go that far back, but I would definitely go back and go through a phonics program, disguising it as a spelling program, if you have to, as SWB recommends.

My DD11, in 6th grade, started this year with R&S 5. She had no formal instruction before this year. At Christmas, I realized that it was moving too fast and she wasn't grasping the concepts. I moved back into R&S 4, at the roughly the same spot and the year has gone better. We do most of it orally. I only have my children do the worksheets as they come up and some of the diagramming in the text. I think that R&S is awesome, but next year I will be schooling 5 from Grades 1 to 7, and I went ahead and bought Growing with Grammar for the 4 oldest. It looks thorough and is written so that the child will do it independently - although I will still go over each lesson quickly with each of them. I may go back to R&S next year, but for this year, I really need to concentrate on my 1st grader. Over this year, I have come to the conclusion that the most important part of grammar is that my DC grasp the concepts, not that they are at grade level. Both R&S and Growing with Grammar go to Level 8. So we do have some wiggle room. R&S does have additional levels, but from what I understand, the additional levels concentrate a little more on composition.

I have Saxon Phonics and it teaches ue as a digraph, making the long sound of u.

You're welcome!

I am planning Apologia General Science with the notebook/lapbook from either Knowledge Box Central - http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=25593&it=1 or Live and Learn Press - http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=41910&it=1 I tried to do CLE Science 6 with DD11 this year, but the reading/filling in the blanks format did not work well for her. She is artsy/crafty, and I am hoping that the lapbooks will have the hands-on that she needs. The only problem that I have with the lapbooks mentioned above, is that I feel that they are a little juvenile, and if I had time, I would design my own that are a little, well, nicer.

Thank you! I have looked at the samples and the placement tests, and for the most part it almost looks too easy for my boys. There are a few things that I will have to teach that haven't been covered in MUS, but I think it will work out fine, because my boys are fairly 'mathy'.

We have been using MUS for a few years, and I 'think' that I am going to supplement next year with Horizons. I am going to place my DC in Horizons a year behind, so that it will be a complete, easy, spiral review. I do not have time in my day to 'teach' another math curriculum, but I think doing Horizons this way would cover some of the other topics that MUS does not cover. And from what I understand, Horizons is about a 1/2 year ahead of its written level, so in actual fact, the review wouldn't necessarily be a whole year behind, but maybe a half a year. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

We do a mix. I end up reading a lot of the books out loud, because the youngers don't want to miss them. My DD11 has other literature that she does on her own. Generally, history is done together.

:iagree: I could have written this post. All of my children have been homeschooled. I wish I would have read TWTM back in the beginning. I started with a boxed Christian curriculum. I remember talking to a friend at a homeschool conference, back before I had even started schooling, and she said that if she was to homeschool she would do it classically. I guess I thought that I was not qualified to have a classical homeschool, as I had had a sub-par public school education myself. I read TWTM last year and at first I felt that I had blown it. Then I gradually realized that I need to start again, where we were. This year has been a heavy year of remediation for all of my children. It has meant long school days and a few tears. We are a few weeks from the end and I am happy to say that we are seeing huge improvements in all areas. I am looking forward to the years to come with anticipation, not dread.

Wow, thank you for this! I don't necessarily have 'bright ones', but this statement can apply to any child.

I might consider this, but her load is going to be pretty heavy next year, and I don't want to add something else to her plate.

I am glad to see that it is working, especially for your 1st grader.

I have Spelling Plus and the Dictation book that goes along with it. I really like the organization of the lists and the no nonsense way that it teaches. I plan on running my DD11 through it next year, to make sure that she knows the 1000 most common words, then I will probably move to Megawords. She is not a strong speller and I think we will probably still be doing spelling in high school, unless she surprises me between now and then. My question is...should I also use SP for my youngers? How long does it take to do the dictation every day? I am torn between SP and Spellwell for them. Spellwell would be more independent(which is what I need next year, because my youngest will be 1st Grade and will need lots of my time), but I am not willing to sacrifice mastery.