We use Singapore...truly the only manipulative (other than their own fingers) that even my kinesthetic dc have used/liked/tolerated is the right start abacus. It is great for illustrating Singapore's concepts. Lana

We use Pathway readers for the dc to read aloud once they are past bob books. With my elder two we used grades 1 and 2, and that is probably all my current emerging reader will use also, but he also reads "early readers" from the library.

Scouts for all four kids and music co-op take up two days per week...we just don't have the time or energy at this point to do both history and science full swing. Once we finished SOTW 3 this year, we put history on hold and just did science (twice/week). But as elder is going into 7th, I'm wanting to pick up the pace. We will be doing SOTW 4 together as a family, but I am considering having him do a couple of the Science Explorer books, with one session per week. If I decide to do that, I will just break one week's worth of work into two weeks, i.e. if a book has 10 weeks of work at 2 days/week, the book will then take 20 weeks...reading and writing one week, activities/experiments the next week. Clear as mud? I'm undecided about all this, though. :001_unsure:

So our terms were roughly like this: School October/November Break December School January/February Break March School April/May Break June School July/August Break September Our in school time is either 8 or 9 weeks, our out of school time is either 3 or 4 weeks. This has its pros and cons, but it is just how things end up working out for us...we need that summer term when there are very few outside activities (scouts, music co-op) going on...in the summer we just school and go to the pool!

I'm sure others have already spoken elsewhere, but I highly recommend Galore Park's Latin Prep for Latin.

Bible--??? Math--Singapore 6 Grammar--Analytical Grammar Writing--finish Wordsmith Apprentice, then Wordsmith Spelling--Megawords 2 Literature--Progeny Press guides (haven't picked which ones yet) History--SOTW 4 with siblings, Reading and Writing Copybook, historical fiction Science--??? Science Explorer ??? Latin--Finish Latin Prep 1, begin LP 2 French--Learnables Level 2 Logic--Art of Argument Music--French horn, choir, music theory at co-op P.E.--Tennis 1x/week, home school P.E. once/week Boy Scouts We don't do all of this all year, but I haven't worked out how we are going to alternate things just yet.

I am hsing 4 dc who have never gone to school. When I first decided to home school, I was smitten with unschooling philosophy. I still am in theory, but I wanted a WTM-style educational outcome for my kids...I felt unschooling left too much up to chance, and by the time I had #4 dc, I needed some structure to things! We use WTM as a general guideline, but use whatever curricula/classes work for us in with each child and each season. I do consider Latin, Logic, and Rhetoric to be core subjects. We are very involved in scouts, as I have Daisy, Wolf cub, Junior, and Tenderfoot Scouts. We also attend a music co-op once a week where the children get band (recorder for the 2nd grader), choir, and music theory. As I have a degree in music, they pounced on me when we registered, so I teach beginning and intermediate woodwinds, as well as secondary music theory. The kids also do home school tennis and P.E. classes; I walk on the treadmill as much as I can, which hasn't been often enough lately. My dh is currently semi-employed--he is working as a waiter while searching for another full-time job as a chef. I guess that's it? :001_smile:

:iagree: Handwriting, ETC, and readers...add in some copywork, and discuss the mechanics of that copywork, and that is good for 1st grade, IMO. OTOH, you can skip a lot of the repetition in FLL and drop the poetry memorization altogether. There are some good, even fun things in there...my ds likes the picture studies.

My ds will begin AG this summer, and I am pretty sure on using Jump In for him for writing when he starts 7th grade this fall. I don't think you will be missing anything by not using an all-in-one English program. Have fun!

I took my elder two through FLL 1/2 at a leisurely pace, then started Latin. We have done no other formal grammar, but my eldest will begin Analytical Grammar this summer, before he begins 7th grade. My 2nd grader is just about to finish FLL 1...I'm undecided what course to take with him at this point. Personally, I think it is okay to wait until they are older. I do, however, think it is important to get to before high school. HTH, Lana

Many on this board will disagree, but I don't know that one is "superior" to the other...that will be different for different kids and different families...whatever gets them writing and writing things that are interesting and coherent. Included in that is the parent's comfort level with teaching the two methodologies. I tried classical method with my eldest...maybe it would work better with him in the teen years, but he hated it. Now he's using a "modern" methodology curricula, and he actually is enjoying it. Any time I mention doing the other, he groans.

As my eldest dc will be entering 7th grade, I'm hoping to include science for him that is a little more rigorous...it's been pretty hit or miss around here. Also adding formal grammar study for him. Might change French curricula...haven't decided on that yet.

I am currently teaching my 3rd dc to read with Phonics Pathways. When my dc can read most (like 80% or more) of the words on the page fluently, we move on. When we are stuck on a page, if it doesn't click after a day or two, I utilize other activities to try to learn the concept for a few days, or longer, then try the page again. Sometimes my dc just need a break and time for the information to cement, and then we can move on.

Thanks for that! I looooovvvee U2!

Here is how it worked for us: Day 1--Watch video, read text Day 2--Worksheets Day 3--Worksheets Day 4--Pre-Quiz Also, every day my dc would use the chant CDs for about 5-10 minutes to memorize vocabulary. I am looking forward to taking my 3rd dc into Latin with LfC! HTH, Lana

I usually answer that by saying my kids have never been in school. And I might, depending on the situation, add that we have been doing formal academics for 5 years.

We use a variety, too.

I definitely recommend Latin Prep for Latin. My 6th grader is using this and we both love it. It can be used for a 7th grader, too, I would say.

Next week will be 17 for us. But I planned on going year-round, with 4 9-week terms (roughly two months on, one month off). After week 18, we'll take a month break, then begin again in April.