Sounds like us too!!! I'm going to use Preparing with my 5th grader... I was afraid of R&S but it seems with the copywork, dictation, and narrations, it sounds a bit gentler. And then I remember that SWB recommended R&S for grammar and writing before she completed her FLL and WWE series... So I think it will be just fine! I lean toward the CM side too, similar to Carrie. :)

I've been thinking of using some dictation for spelling from Dicatation day by day. Here's another one that you could pick sentences from... Lessons for Writing from Dictation. I'm loving this thread and have been collecting the same books mentioned, but just haven't figured out how to implement them! I've used PLL and some ILL...

I think you are ideas are good, and I've often thought the same things...now that I've been doing CM for quite a few years now, I can easily make my own curriculum, or take from other lists and combine my kids. I've tried to use just one curriculum, but still have to add in my own stuff... Simply Charlotte Mason has helpful lists for combining... I make my own lists every year, but have never thought of sharing. I assumed most CM'ers tweaked things a bit and made their own thing based on all the great resources out there. Have you seen Charlotte Mason Help? She says on her site that she based her curriculum on AO. Maybe you can contact her and see how she did this? Also, I know someone on the advisory, and she is very nice... I don't remember, but is there contact info on the AO site? Maybe ask them directly?

In response to the OP, I know exactly what you're saying! I am not even close to the ideal CM mom, but I believe in the philosophy, and everyday (well, mostly) I strive to do more... All of my CM friends IRL and online aren't perfect... I know a mom on the advisory board for AO, and she's not perfect at all, but always adapting and learning along the way... ;) It's one thing planning it out, but the actual implementation is another thing! :laugh:

It's nice to see other CM moms! If you're just starting out, I think it's important to really understand the philosophy behind it. What has really helped me to understand-- The Charlotte Mason Companion by Andreola and For the Children's Sake by Macauley...also, the Original Homeshcooling Series in modern English on Ambleside. I love AO, but like to combine everyone for history... Currently, I'm using a combo of AO year 2, Sonlight Core 2, along with books from SCM for my 9 to dd... For the older kids, I've selected a history core then added in classic literature. My 8th grader is using A Brief American Pageant along with select books from SCM and Sonlight Core 100. Next year, I will put everyone in the same time period (except for high schoolers) and mostly use SCM for history books, but AO for literature and other subjects. Oh, and what has really helped me has been using Librivox.org for read alouds. ;) You could probably use all of the WTM suggestions with the exception of LA in the early years... It's just a matter of how you use the curriculum, because all of Susan's suggestions mostly qualify as living books.

I'm thinking about the same thing for next year... :lurk5:

In the meantime, some curricula to check out... Welltrainedmind.com (Story of the World) Usborne or Kingfisher Encyclopedia of World History (these can be used with Story of the World and your comic history) Classical Writing IEW Easy Grammar Analytical Grammar Sonlight Teaching Textbooks (all computer based! my kids love it!) Math U See Apologia science Learning Language Arts Through Literature These are some of the things we've used in the past... have fun! :)

I started hs'ing mid year too, with a 5th grader! I had no clue what I was doing! Fast forward 6 years, and I wish I had more information to start, but it has worked itself out just fine...First, I'd recommend you make a list of your goals. Why exactly are you hs'ing? What is it that you want to achieve? (better academically, love of learning, better at writing, going to college, or a focus on character, etc...) What philosophy suites your family (classical, religious, Charlotte Mason, "school at home," etc...) Then I'd evaluate your son for learning style, likes, dislikes, etc... I would probably focus on language arts (literature, formal grammar and writing lessons) and math. Go slow and find out where he is at. I know I had to re-teach many concepts when I pulled my kids out of PS. So depending on what learning style and philosophy you decide on, start looking at curriculum from there... It's hard to make curriculum recommendations without knowing. If you like online learning, check out http://www.time4learning.com/. You could even start with something like that until you make a final decision on curriculum... If you are interested in classical homeschooling, I'd recommend reading The Well Trained Mind! ;) Hope that helps some!

Analytical Grammar...it has diagramming and parsing. Ds does it independently. You can spread it out over 3 years (6/7/8th)...or try Jr. AG first if you want to.

For those of you using Sheldon's Language Lessons, what grades do you use them for???

IMO, FLL introduces too much grammar to early, so we didn't go past FLL 1 for 1st grade. We used PLL for 2nd and will finish this year for 3rd...Then... ILL 3/4/5th, along with Jr. Analytical Grammar in 5th Analytical grammar for 6/7/8, but not sure yet about writing/vocab/etc... yet!

My kids love this one! A lot of different games to choose from... http://www.fun4thebrain.com/

We're enjoying Black Beauty and The Wizard of Oz right now... I love Ambleside suggestions too!

I'm a military wife, and know what it's like not to have family around to help. That in itself presents another challenge... I thought about this a little more, and maybe if there was an evening/weekend program, you could do this. But you'd have to have childcare available, if dh deploys, etc... especially for study time (I needed a couple hours a day outside of class). I don't know what type of homeschooler you are, but having a really relaxed approach to homeschooling would be helpful....well, for me it would, because I'm such a perfectionist, I'd drive myself crazy if things weren't completed. Maybe consider some online classes to for the 2 older ones... or a friend/babysitter that would help with the school work??? When I work nights, the next day I send the younger girls over to my friends house, and she makes sure they do the work I send with them. Your youngers would be fine to do "school" a few days a week! I hope I'm not sounding negative, just trying to be realistic...:) You may not know how it will work until you just dive in and try it!

I've been an RN for about 15 years... Honestly, I can't see anyone homeschooling an elementary age student while going through the program... You may be able to get away with it with an older, independent student though. Do you have anyone else to help? That would work, or if you enrolled them in outside classes or a co-op. Most full time programs I know of are a total of 4 semesters of nursing school (that doesn't include the prereqs). I was in school Mon-Thur. I did have a toddler and a newborn (she was born during summer break!) and I was exhausted!!! It was one of the hardest things I've ever done! My dh helped me through it, and I don't think I could have done it without his help. He watched the kids when I had to study and took responsibility for much of the household chores. I've never heard of a 10 month program. I would imagine that to be even tougher! I'm planning on going back for my Master's one day (part time program)...but I can't seem to fit it in anywhere! And yes, nursing is an excellent profession for a homeschooler! I work 2 nights (12 hr) a week and still manage to homeschool...But it is very hectic and exhausting, and I wouldn't work unless I absolutely had to! I hope it works out for you!