OhElizabeth and I seem to be "saying the same thing - only different". We're both trying to encourage you to give yourself and your family a break during a busy season. Simple workbooks that don't requre preplanning are great, like the copywork book she mentioned. My suggestion of a workbook free approach in Language Arts is because I know, for me, a workbook with pages puts pressure on me: it must be completed, must be completed on time, and falling behind is just another stamp of failure as a home schooling mom and I'm sure I'll ruin my kids and I don't think I'm teaching them well enough.....been there-done that! So, to answer your question about how I picked out copywork with this method, just pick something. Really. Anything. And only what your child can handle writing in about 5 minutes on the 7 yo and 10 minutes for the 9 yo. (depending on attention span). You can even set a timer for each, have them copy in their best writing until the timer beeps, and then they're done. They can finish it next time. After a while, you'll find yourself saying "Hmmm, I keep choosing sentences. I'll pick a question this time and show them what a question mark is". Or, "I think I'll use these two short sentences of dialogue today and teach them how to write a quote". Just keep in mind that ANYTHING you choose and have them copy is copywork, and it doesn't matter if the type or length of sentence you choose fits what another person or author thinks is the ideal sentence for a child that age. They"re going to learn from it. Or, you can do the reading, discussion, narration, and hand them a copywork book as OhElizabeth said. Really simple. As for MOH - I bought it, read through it, loved it, prepped the notecards and timeline board, never used it, sold it. It was too much for me at that time and at that stage. I promise there will be no negative impact for NOT doing any formal grammar, or formal history, or formal science for many more years. Scale back to the bare bones and do it for 6 months. When you are feeling like you are steadily doing a few things well and can look back on how much you accomplished with so little time and effort, then consider adding something else. Here's a confession for all to see - I have been absolutely terrible at keeping up with teaching writing. I just don't do any writing projects with my kids. I don't get to it. The oldest is going into 8th grade so I decided to buckle down and get after it with some tough writing program. Then I picked up WWE and just laughed! I've been doing 75% of what they have been suggesting all along, and I thought I was ruining my kids! I have been doing dictation and copywork as my sole source of writing for years. The only "hole" my daughter has is ordering her thoughts, partially because I was extremely slack on narration and mostly because she is a random thinker. So I'm just going to work her through the WWE narration exercises so I can learn how to teach it and she can learn how to do it. We'll start Wordsmith, and she'll start outlining some of her non-fiction reading, and voila! holes are filled. She's had no formal grammar and no formal writing - ever - yet she should be caught up to SWB standards in a month or two. She's actually a very decent writer when she writes for real life reasons, and uses proper mechanics, great descriptive language, and fairly clear explanations. She learned it from reading good books and doing copywork. May I make another (gentle) suggestion? After you have reduced your schooling load and determined decided how long your going to do it this way, stop looking at curriculum. Don't read a home school catalog, don't look at any advertisements in a home school magazine or read about what any other home schooling family is doing. Buy AAS, find a copywork book if you decide to go that route, get the math book you need for each 2nd grade and up child (using only one of the programs you currently have:-)) and enjoy yourself. No curriculum is going to solve your dilemma. There is always something that looks better and brighter. You already have some good things - many of which you need to just put on a shelf, or in a box that your husband hides from you for a few months. Give "Simple is Better" a try. Glean from our ideas but whatever you decide, keep it very basic, very short, and very important. Drop everything else - for a season. Breathe easy now....

In response to your question "How much should I be trying to do". Welll...you are already doing MUCH! Four children plus a baby!!! One thing I have had to learn over the years as I read what others do, is that each family's goals and personalities are different. Some people can live in more chaos, some need order. Some families are big some are small. Some are college bound, some are not, etc. So you have to find what works for your needs. But...I can't help but offer a few thoughts for you to consider that might help you breathe a bit easier. My kids are currently 14, 12, 9, and 7, we are college focused, and they are all at or above grade level. And neat people:-) First, when things get heavy, drop history, science, music and art appreciation, and any of the other non-skill based areas as a "subject" that you plan for and teach. Instead, live an interesting life reading good books, going for nature walks (even if it doesn't end up documented in a journal), play with Usborne children's experiment books, and just PLAY without concern as to how it fits into a plan. Second, don't do preschool math. Just start in grade 2 with one math program (we started our youngest two in Singapore 2A at second grade). Before that, converse, count to 100, talk about numbers, fractions when cooking, and use really good computer programs - Singapore Math's "Wiggle Woods" is fantastic. So it looks like you will have two in math. I spend no more than 10 minutes a day with my 4th and 2nd grader on their math text, they spend another 10 or 15 minutes on their workbook pages, and we're done. We also do a 3 minute math facts drill page every day. In less than 25 minutes, you've done math with the 2 older children, while 5yo is doing something math-y (pattern animal blocks, puzzles, etc.) Third, switch to AAS. I am with you, that I hung on with SWR because no "easy" program offered the same philosophy. Now there is AAS. Yipppeee! It is scripted and simple. Plan to spend 5 - 20 minutes, depending on attention span, with each child who is ready. Total time for spelling for 3 kids would be about 30 minutes. Do some during nap time:-) Fourth, no handwriting books. Fifth, have your competent readers read to siblings while you work with an individual. Your emerging readers should read to you for 10 minutes a day. Finally, read aloud every day. While reading, choose a copywork passage and put in a post-it note. Talk about the chapter, encourage narration. Then sit up to the table and do copywork or dictation. This is handwriting practice, too, because you write the passage for them in the style you want them to learn. Your 7yo. could probably handle 5-10 min., your 9yo 10-15. I like using a Primary Comp Book with space to draw. They copy their sentence(s) then illustrate it. I can't believe how much my kids have learned about grammar and mechanics from hearing good descriptive language, and copying great writing. In less than 30 minutes (including the read aloud time) you have covered grammar, literature, narration, handwriting, and writing with all of your children. You've spent about 1 1/2 hours of your day doing the important things for school. Now go do something educational, disguised as something fun! You have plenty of time when they get older and more independent to do a more structured, rigorous educational program if that is what you want. Right now you are in a busy stage of life - lots of young kids and not any older ones who can pick up your load. Enjoy this stage by not putting unrealistic pressure on yourself to teach a houseful of children the same way that a mom with 2 school aged kids can. I missed some precious time when my children were little by trying to do too much.

Using DWC is much like any other curriculum - if often comes down to our personalities and learning styles as to whether we like and use a curriculum. I haven't been very successful with it. I'm a Type A-math-logical-puzzles-driver-analytical type. I can't do ABSTRACT! It was really hard for me to do the lessons. We made it through a few of them and the kids had a good time, but I don't feel like they actually learned anything they could take with them outside the lesson time. Probably because we didn't keep going through the whole book. We made it to the lesson on the tropical birds. I just found it laborious to tell them where to draw each little element to end up with Mona Brooks' graphic version of an animal that doesn't look anything like a real animal. I just couldn't get what she was teaching. Because it wasn't easy for me to use, art just didn't happen. However, I LOVE the 5 elements of shape. Very logical:-) We're going back to How Great Thou Art (with VIDEOS! I don't have to teach it:-) We used it briefly about four years ago, and my two older children still have a great grasp of color mixing, perspective, and texture just from the few lessons we did. A program I will use is better than the perfect program sitting on a shelf!

What would be a really good reason to spend all that extra money if Life of Fred is a complete math program that is fun to learn? I currently use Singapore 1-6 for my grades 2, 4, and 6 (all very mathy) Looking at Saxon Dive Algebra for my oldest grade 8 (non-mathy - I'm very worried about it) Thanks!

I'm sure if I read all 39 pages of posts I could figure this out, but I'm not getting it! I read WTM years ago and can't find current recommendations on the website. Brief background: I do need help in the writing area because it is "open ended". If I don't have a good guide to follow (open the book and do the lesson) it falls off the schedule. We are very consistent with copywork, dictation, and a weekly "freewrite" (using Bravewriter Arrow and Boomerang newsletters). Where I drop the ball is ANY actual writing project. I can assign it, but I don't know what type of writing I should expect at what age, and how to move them along. If anything, I'm sure I ask too LITTLE for their ages and stages. I have done very little narration (except with the youngest - it was in her curriculum) and have never had them write it down. My oldest, even with very little writing training, is showing great ability to use strong vocabulary and put her thoughts on paper. I attribute this too our diligent efforts to keep good literature in the home. But logical organization of thoughts is a struggle. None of my kids have learning challenges. I'm thinking this year I need to stop relying on my failed planning, and instead use what someone else has written for me to do. I have spelling covered (I strip Spell to Write and Read down to its spelling components and rules). My questions for grammar and writing are: My youngest will be 2nd grade. She worked through My Father's World first grade. I have picked up FLL 1/2 for her to do next year. Where should I start in that? and what else do I need? What are the grammar and writing recommendations for 4th, 6th, and 8th grade? I'll have more follow up questions, but I'll start here. Thanks!