Kristen, You can go on the HOD website and they are listed. I personally would just use what I had because the readers are separate from the rest of the program. There are only three questions each day that you ask your child from what he or she read, and those are included in the back of the manual. Having said that, I did use all of the recommended readers and added several of my own in. The Beginners Bible and the CLP Nature Reader are used for good chunks of time. Hope that helps! Stephanie

If you have a 1st grader and are using the guide for 2-6th, is it easy to incorporate the younger one? thanks!

I have read WTM, spent time of Simply Charlotte Mason, and am currently reading When Children Love to Learn by Elaine Cooper. I really like this book. I checked it out from my library and will probably purchase because it's full of great content and explains the CM philosophy very well in my opinion.

Nancy- I appreciate your response and it's good to know the kids don't get tired of hearing the same book read more than once. Do you still read aloud to your dc 15?

My dd turned five in September. We don't have to register K in our state. Anyhow, I do K 3-4 days a week (phonics, math, handwriting) and she listens in on Bible, science, history and our read alouds. I'll evaluate to see if she's ready for 1st in August. If not, I'll probably not re-do K, but delay 1st until January. HTH!

Read alouds are everyones very favorite part of our day, but here is what I wonder about...I feel like my youngest will miss out on all of the great books that we read aloud now or have read aloud already. For example, we just finished Understood Betsy and my dd9 and dd7 loved it. My dd5 didn't really understand that much of it and I'm sad she'll miss out on this great book...unless she reads it herself somewhere down the line. Likewise with all of the books I read aloud to my oldest when she was in K and 1st. How do you choose books that the younger ones will enjoy and do you ever cycle back around with the books. FYI, I use Sonlight and HOD as a guide for our read alouds. Thanks!!

We are using Apologia Swimming Creatures this year. We really enjoy Apologia, but I'd like to alternate with some sort of Physical science (chemistry, physics, etc.) either monthly or quarterly. We are having life science burn out! I have used Noeo in the past and like it. I also used Christian Kids Explore Biology as a spine one year. I would even consider using SL Science. I like a CM style with experiments either suggested or included. I'd like to keep all the children together in content and then they can notebook or do supplemental reading at their level. Thanks!!

Hi there, Has anyone done a Daniel Fast? We are considering using these fasting guidelines mainly for spritual reasons. But I'm an avid runner and worry about the lack of protein during the fast. Should I lay off the running for these few weeks? Thanks!

I think I've decided not to use MFW...I'm either going to let my oldest do Preparing on her own or I'm going to use GTG (b/c I already own it) and EE with all three of the school-aged girls. I'm just concerned with my own follow though on making these enough for my oldest. It's not that I lack the ability to do so, just the time and self-discipline. Which is why I need a boxed curriculum!!;) So, who knows. I might even end up back with SL. I just have to get this year under our belt and then we can move forward because, as much as I really do love HOD, that one Eggleston book is just torture for my 2nd grader. It is completely over her head and I have to explain everything that I read. Now, dd9 loves it, comprehends the info. and has no trouble. What's a homeschooling mom to do?:001_huh:

I also think both of the Eggleston books are public domain. I think, but check google books.

I used Noeo Biology last year and I'm using Bigger with Apologia this year. We have skipped some of the science in Bigger in favor of Apologia when I ran out of time. I think you could do both, but realize both are teacher led (you read the material to them). I also might pick and choose which lessons you notebook with because it could get a little tedious if they are notebooking for science every day between the two programs. For you (and for me), I don't think it's a matter of whether or not you can do it, but more a matter of if you will have time. This is just my opinon, of course :)

These are just my thoughts after using Bigger this year with a 2nd and 3rd grader because I really wanted to keep them together. 1. I should have listened to users on these and the HOD boards and used Beyond instead, as a spine, and beefed up when needed! 2. The books in Bigger would be plenty challenging for a 4th grader. My dd7 has a diffcult time understanding some of the material (like the Eggleston book of US History) 3. I use extensions with my dd9, but some are more age/reading level appropriate than others. The ones that are too difficult or less interesting, I use as a read aloud. 4. I think you might be able to tweak and use Preparing with a 2nd and 4th, but I consistently hear that the older guides get progressively more difficult and that is where you have difficulty with the younger child. 5. HOD is a different type of curriculum than say MFW (which I have not used) and SL (which I used 3 cores of) in that skills are integrated into all of the work. It's made for a student at a certain level not necessarily for the time period. I'm sure all of that is as clear as mud :) We've liked our year with HOD but I definitely won't use Preparing next year with a 1st, 3rd, and 4th grader. Mainly because I like doing history, science, Bible, etc. with everyone together and HOD isn't designed for this. I will consider using Preparing in a couple of years unless we come across something that we love and better suits our needs. All the best to you! Stephanie

Anyone? :)

If you've used both, which do you prefer and why for grades 3 and above. We are using R&S a little now to complement FLL and I use Abeka for 1st and 2nd grade already. I keep hearing how solid it is through the elementary grades and wonder if I should stick with it. Thanks!

I'm interested too...

I have just discovered this program on the forums here and I love the looks of it. We currently use Abeka 2/FLL 2 for my dd7 and FLL 3/WWE 2 for my dd9. I'd love to do use a program that I can use for the two of them together. What's MCT like? Do you use all the components of it? What is the writing portion like? What things do you love/dislike? I'm in the information gathering stage, so anything you can tell me is appreciated. Thanks!!

I found CLE this year, on this board, we and LOVE it! I use CLE alongside of Singapore. I like the methodology of SM, but love the review and introduction of some concepts- like geometry, time, money, reading thermometers,etc. that are only covered briefly in SM- in CLE. It works well for us. We do the drill in CLE, introduce the new concept (which, since it's spiral and not mastery based, usually only takes a few minutes and not too much explanation) and I select about 10 minutes worth of problems in the section for her to work. Then we will do the SM lesson and they work the exercises independently. With 2 dc, I spend about an hour on math. Hope that helps you!

I appreciate your two cents, TracyR :)

Specifically, the grammar and writing portions for 3-6th grade? We currently use Abeka for phonics and grammar along with WWE. With 4 dc, I'm feeling that I need to streamline and wonder if anyone has experience using both at some point. I know Abeka to be very solid in grammar, but I don't know much about CLE. We do our own reading/literature. Thanks!

Sonlihgt uses some from the 3rd Grade Detectives series and my dd loved them. I bought several more of them on Betterworldbooks.com for only a few dollars each.

Thanks for this info. I did read this on the website, but wasn't sure if it would be any different for upper elementary level. Thanks!

I like Developing the Early Learner and Sonlight P3/4 (but we love reading aloud, so if you don't have time...). Also, have you ever seen Raising Rockstars on 1+1+1=1's blog? http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/RaisingRockStarsPreschool.html I love her ideas!!! Or what about What Your Preschooler Needs to Know from the core knowledge series? I also like to go on Amazon and search Preschool resources. Let me know what you come up with. I think these next couple of years I'm going to have to do a more formal preschool with my youngest :)

We use the same idea for read alouds as with books our children read on their own...some books are below level for fun. All my dc love to listen to me read to our 2 year old. Books like Going On a Bear Hunt, Madeline and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom are favorites. Then I read aloud books that are on level for most of them and that they will understand without much explanation. For us, this would be along the lines of Charlotte's Web, Stories From Grandma's Attic or a missionary biography. Lastly, we read aloud challenging books which require explanation along the way. Currently, this would be Understood Betsy for us. For clarification, we don't read the on level or above level at the same time. And with either, I almost always ask questions or for a short narration just to make sure they aren't lost in the story. This also helps the younger ones understand some things they might have missed when the older ones retell. HTH and happy reading!

How do you use them? Does the child read the book first and then do a page each day? I read that you should only do two guides a year. I'm looking to switch from DITHOR which has the child reading around 7 books per year. I know I would have to add in more books than the two they use the guide for...so how does this work? Thanks!!

Thank you OpenMinded for your thoughtful response. I feel like I could even use Preparing for my oldest and just not use HOD for the younger ones...maybe they could just use the Abeka history or something easy for me until they get to Preparing or CtC. Thanks for helping me think outside of the box!