Great, thank you for everyone's input!

Thank you for all the comments...this had really helped. I was sad thinking I would have to abandon IEW for the price but it sounds like there are ways around that! Thank you all for your insight.

I am about to being FLL Level 3 with my daughter but was also told about Fix It! by IEW....anybody think using both would be redundant?

I have had that suggested to me as well...do you think if I have used the PALS program that I would be able to just buy Fables and Fairy Tales or All Things Fun and Fasicinating and get by? I was thinking of doing this but was unsure if what we did in PALS was all of "the program I needed".

I have had that suggested to me as well...do you think if I have used the PALS program that I would be able to just buy Fables and Fairy Tales or All Things Fun and Fasicinating and get by? I was thinking of doing this but was unsure if what we did in PALS was all of "the program I needed".

Hoping someone can tell me where I need to start with IEW...I have daughter who is technically 3rd grade but needs to do some catch up in writing...she is not really ready for 4th grade in the fall. Last Spring we finished the IEW PALS program and it was great...the only reason I didn't start something more with IEW was cost. So after trying to find something affordable I am back to wanting IEW. I am wondering if someone can tell me what I need next as far as IEW and what is the least amount of stuff I can buy from them and still get by. Thanks.

We began SOTW Vol. 2 this year and I am considering buying the audio CD to go with it. Just wanted to get anyone's thoughts on if they are helpful or not. I would like to use them to help me save time by letting my dd listen to them in her room while I do other things with her sibilings to help us multitask. We do other reading together so I do spend time reading aloud to her but I'm just looking for ways to help us with time management for our day. Thanks! Andrea

My husband was laid off last summer and had to start his own business. Needless to say things have been very tight financially. We are thinking that I need to find something to do from home to help earn money for a little while. Anybody have any suggestions of a way to earn money from home that would flexible about hours? I have three at home and one on the way so my time will be limited. I considered selling jewelry...but not sure if the money is worth my time. Any tips or suggestions someone has who had been through this or going through this would help. :) Thanks!

Someone shared this resource with me but I can't seem to find a sample of it on the internet. Does anyone use it? Is it helpful? We homeschool and are expecting our 4th child in October...I'm feel like I need a better grip on our daily schedule and was looking for something to help me with that.

We just finished our first year of homeschooling that by the grace of God went very well. I only was homeschooling my dd6 and loosely doing some things with my now ds3. This fall I will have my dd (2nd grade) and ds (preschool). I also have an 18 month old and will be having our 4th child in October. I think I feel more overwhelmed about this upcoming year than our first year of homeschooling. Can anyone who is in a simliar boat give me some tips/advice on schedules? We are also starting Classical Conversation this fall so that will take up a full morning of our week. I hope to sign my daughter up for some sort of sport, tennis, soccer etc. as well. But sometimes I wonder if I am going to be able to accomplish all of this....as well as manage household daily things. Any advice from some veterans would be appreciated. :)

Thank you everyone for your thoughts...this does make me feel better. I will watch the SWB videos and continue with SWO this year.

My dd who is 6 but about to be 7 completed Spelling Workout A last year as part of her first grade curriculum...she did fine with the workbook and we even had time to do a lot of review over the summer. But I find when she has to spell things when it's not for a formal spelling test she spells things wrong all the time that she has already learned. And she constantly asks me to spell things for her that she really could sound out and spell on her own. Do you think she really can't spell these words or is just being a bit lazy? How do I know if she is really ready to move onto a the next level workbook if I'm not seeing her spelling improve in day to day writing? Should I switch curriculum?

These threads are so great to read. I just completed my first year of homeschooling and pretty much followed WTM and whatever SWB suggested...it went very well...so I ask myself why fix what's not broke? But I'm starting my dd3 this year with preschool and I just fell in love with Little Hands to Heaven and began to ask myself maybe I need to switch my daughter...plus I will have two more children to homeschool in the future I hear so many people who have 4 or more children says HOD makes it easy to homeschool multiple children at one time.

Thanks for all the help on this question...I did not realize how much HOD is based around the history, that will help me to make my decision soon. I will probably proceed next year with what I already had planned/purchased for my dd but start my ds with HOD. Thanks again!

I totally agree with your statement...I would never rely on any curriculum to automatically give my child a Christian character or mature them. It is only by the working of the Holy Spirit in their heart. What I liked about HOD is that it does the Bible integration for you and it comes alongside you in teaching your child these godly traits. And with preparing to soon be homeschooling 4 children it's nice to have that done for you. I had read other threads about how others had substituted some curriculums but had not heard if others used SOTW. Thank you for your input on not substituting I understand how it could take away from the overall curriculum.

I was just introduced to HOD by a friend and I will likely buy it for my preschooler but I've got one year under my belt with my almost dd7 and we used a mix of things. I'm just wondering how much I can substitute in HOD without making it pointless to use it with her. We really like SOTW and the language/writing we already use. What I REALLY liked about HOD was the automatic Bible integration into most all subjects. The character trait teachings seem so great and I've seen homeschoolers who have been exposed to it and have been impressed with their character/maturity. Any suggestions would help. :)

Wow...I had not even thought of the possibility of there being twins this go around. LOL! I haven't been to my first appt. yet. But thank you to everyone for the encouragemnt and advice. The shock still has not worn off and I am still very worried about how I will accomplish it all. But I know with God all things are possible and He is not shocked by any of it. :)

My daughter who will be 7 in August loves them and uses them often. I think they are a great way to learn geography and the world map is our favorite.

My husband I recently found out a happy surprise...I am pregnant with number 4! We "thought" we were done..my youngest just turne 1 this month and I was already having a garage sale next week to finally sell all the baby stuff! Needless to say we are in a bit of shock...but happy as well. :) Honestly though we are overwhelmed by the thought of 4 kids. When this baby is born we will have a 6, 3 and 1 year old. We many times say we can barely handle three...so we're a bit nervous about 4. My husband even said if I thought I needed to stop homeschooling I should...but I feel like this first year of homeschooing my daughter has gone so wonderful and she does not want to go back to public school....so I couldn't do that to her. Please give any adivce/support you can. :) Thanks!!!

Thank you for that recommendation...at what age did you start them?

We just got the LeapFrog Tag Reader Maps...a World Map and a United States map...honestly playing with those alone my 1st grader has LOVED learing geogprahy. They are worth the investment....even my husband and I have loved brushing up on our geography.

I have a 1st grade daughter is asking how babies are born and made...not surprised since we had a baby this year...but I want to explain as well as I can but also not have to go completley into detail. Later this year we will be diving into the Human body for science so I thought I might tie it in with that. Does anyone have a book to recommendation?

MissKNG, I'm going to do Math Level 1 with my daughter...do you think I can get away with just buying the consumable student workbook or do I need the whole kit and kaboodle. ;)

Great, thank you for that link. :)

Thank you for all of that advice...I think that is what I need to do but still not sure where to start in the horizon's curriculum if I do start...should I buy the 1st grade book and skip to where I think she should be?