She seems just too young to be expected to do history and science so independently.

Just print worksheets from the computer.:001_smile:

Once my kids knew the letter sounds, I moved on to the short reading lessons. I always did 'two review and one new' with them. The lessons are so short and easy in the beginning, that my kids never had time to complain. If there are only two letters that she does not know, I'd just spend an extra few minutes on those letters every day. I'd have her read a few words with and 'i' in them, and a few with an 'e' in them. (sip, tip, lip/bed, red, fed). The repetitive part is necessary.

I'd do both. I would have him do just five minutes of a reader (whatever you use), and then play a game after. I used TOPGTR and early on, it only took about 5 minutes. The lessons are short and sweet. We're almost done with the book, and we spend about 10-15 minutes daily on it. My ds6 has become an excellent reader and it's been effortless on my part (other than just consistently pulling the book out), and my ds has never once complained about having to read. It has a gentle approach. Whatever the case, at some point, you have to lead your child and lay the groundwork (a little at a time) that he has to do a little work every day. It's better to it when they are really little! I would (and still) tell my ds's that at the end of the day, we'll do x, y, or z. Or, with my younger one, we do a little school and then play a game. We break it up.

:lol::lol::lol::lol: hilarious!

If I found a curriculum that was costly, but I knew it was the one I/we needed, I'd get it. I totally understand. So far I've lucked out, but I've got a long way to go! :001_smile:

I spend between $300 and $400 a year for my ds. I don't think curriculum needs to cost a TON of money to be effective. I look for deals on what I can (buying used, in good condition when possible). However, I use Saxon math and I've always only spent about $60. For science, I only spend about $40. History, grammar, English, and Latin are normally around $50/$60. Spelling is about $20, and handwriting I only used up until 2nd grade (once my kids were done with cursive - I used HWOT for one year). There are a few other things that I buy for school (resource books, etc.), but if I buy it, it does not go to waste. I get to RE-use all my books for my ds6 (with the exception of a few workbooks). I don't know - I think that is fairly inexpensive for school.

Oh, you're not alone in that department! That is ONE change I would make to the SOTW Activity Guide - PICTURES!! It's been years since we made that, but ours resembled more of a dunce cap! Here is a link to the picture of it.... hope it works! http://autumnsegyptology.blogspot.com/2008/03/hedjet-white-crown-of-ancient-egypt.html

I used it with my 4th/5th grader. So, yes, you can use it for both ages - no problem. If you do it 3 days a week, I would spend at least an hour on those days. We break it down to 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Do the work WITH YOUR KIDS! I keep up much better when I pay attention to the lessons in the workbook. I kind of do the lessons on notebook paper, or in my head, as my ds does it. But yeah, you can set up a schedule however you want, just make sure you spend a few hour a week on it. We just started 2nd Form Latin, and the entire book is filled with new info. I am editing to add that there are approx. 5 workbook pages PER chapter. Also, there is a quiz at the end of every chapter, and then, on weeks where there is a unit test, there is the 5 workbook pages, quiz, AND test. It's a lot!

:iagree: Early math is easy to teach - and I'm not a teacher, but you can use anything. I use Saxon 1 for K - it's very basic. But after going through so many curricula, and not finding ONE that is decent???? Honestly - there is no need for panic or over-complicating it. Nothing is perfect - just pick something and go with it! :001_smile:

I would not do two languages at once for kindergarten. That seems like an awful lot.

We've been doing K work for a while. My goal has been to have my ds (and years ago, my other one as well) reading VERY well by 1st grade, and knowing the basics of math (math facts, telling time, money, etc.). I work on those skills every day with my ds6 who starts 1st in August, but he turns 7 in December. I could have started him much earlier, but the more time I can take in those early years to focus on the foundational skills, the better IMO. First grade for us entails history, science, grammar, etc. I wanted to wait before we did all that stuff. But it's up to you. There is no wrong or right way. I actually prefer our daily life when we do school. I like the stimulation and if your dc is ready, just do it. Some kids are ready to jump right in. It's your call!:)

Our 'year' begins August 1st. That is how I gauge what grade my ds11 is in. But we just do 3 weeks on, 1 week off, year round. When we finish a curriculum book, we move right on into the next. Here is what we do: Spelling Workout G - one chapter per week (the workbook has 4/5 sections and ds does one to two sections daily, and Friday is a quick written spelling test). There are some days he wants to get it all done in one setting. As long as he's doing well on the tests - it's fine with me. Second Form Latin - one chapter per week (there are about 5 workbook pages per chapter, we do oral review, flashcards, etc. We spend 30 minutes a day and I sit with ds while he does Latin because that is how I keep up with it - makes it pretty easy). WWE4 - a narration and dictation daily SOTW4 - one chapter per week (one outline, one written summary, outside reading, maps, and test on Friday) There were 42 chapters in each of the volumes. That put us behind the 4-year rotation. It's fine, we're starting the logic stage of history as described in TWTM in August, and my younger one will also be starting SOTW1. We'll be studying the same material on different levels, but it's going to make it much easier for me to stay completely plugged in. Saxon Math 7/6 - one lesson per day. Again, some days he wants to double-up and do two lessons so he can have a light day on Friday. I don't care - as long as he has five lessons done per week (or that includes if he has a test) - it's totally fine with me. It gives ds some control and he loves that. R&S6 English - one lesson per day God's Design for Science - one lesson per day Building Thinking Skills - as many pages as we can complete in 20/30 minutes Reading is always linked in with history and we read books together because I want to be part of it! I order our new books when we get down to our last few chapters. This is much easier on me financially because I don't have to buy all at once. We finish stuff at different times throughout the year. We do a full 36 weeks of school. I don't plan our breaks at the beginning of the year. We pretty much stick with every 3rd week off, but sometimes we do change that depending on vacations and little trips we take. All in all, he gets five school days off per month and if we don't have anything going on - I let him decide. As far as sick days - he's got to be on his death bed not to do school. Our days are ugly! They are not neat and tidy. We get it done, but we still have chaos of life going on, and I'm usually in my pajamas!

We don't have a lot of workbooks, but for the ones that we do - I'd say yes. I figure that practice of a skill never hurts, and if my kids know the material that well, it does not take them all that long to complete the page. Any workbook we do have is set up for us to complete within the school year - so why not just finish it? But that's just me! That kind of thing is a judgement call for the person teaching.

This is a great point.

I know you're looking for practical, tangible resources - but he's only 3! My son did not officially hold his pencil correctly until he was 5! I had to remind him over and over and over. It does not hurt to work on those fine/gross motor skills - but he's 3!! :001_smile:

:iagree: Year-round might be a good option for you. I do 3 weeks on, 1 off, year-round. We do our breaks back-to-back sometimes if we need more than a week off. I think that when you're struggling about what to use, about not getting stuff done, etc. - those feelings have to be far worse than just choosing something you can actually do every day. Maybe the expectations or the idea of doing school in some certain way, is just out of reach? You want for it to look and feel a certain way, but when you can't make that happen, then the guilt comes in that you're not getting anything done.... at some point you've got to give yourself some relief. Sit down, look at your goals for at least a couple/few years, and choose curriculum that you don't dread teaching. Most of the stuff I use only takes about 20 minutes per day (per subject). History and science take a bit longer, but the rest are subjects that we check off the list. I don't care - I just want to say we did it, and it's done. If you need to focus on the 3R's while you refocus, do it. I would at least get that done. I would not quit cold turkey, and start summer unless you are going to really take that time to plan and get school figured out for your kids. But if you do, I'd definitely try and get it together for next year, and commit to whatever plan you make. :001_smile:

If SWB writes it, I use it. I've love her curriculum because it is thorough and it works. I've never found it to be 'boring', or as someone else put it, 'assenine'. Seriously? :001_huh: We're approaching 6th grade, and I've used all the volumes/levels from SOTW, WWE, and FLL. Our school experience has been great because I have the confidence I need to teach BECAUSE the curriculum has been working. My son continues to progress and do well because of the strong foundation he has been given. I look for curriculum that I feel comfortable teaching. If it makes sense to me, and if I understand the broader picture and understand our overall goals, I know it's going to work for us. TWTM helped me to see the bigger picture. I narrow down my curriculum choices based on recommendations in the book. I'm certain there are other great options that extend past the suggestions from TWTM, but I could drive myself crazy trying to find the 'perfect' curriculum. I do believe that nothing is ever going to suit every single part of your teaching style, or a child's learning style. I also believe I could switch around in an effort to find something that is 'fun' - and end up right back where I started having accomplished nothing at the end of the day. In the younger years, while a child is learning new skills, a good curriculum may seem repetitive. A child needs repitition and memorization of basic skills. Math programs that are strong are going to drill a child until they are blue in the face with math facts. If it doesn't, I'd toss it. The same goes for grammar. They may be asked to recite a definition of a part of speech over and over, but this is done to make it stick. A child should not need to even think about what the definition means, it should roll off his/her tongue. The same goes for math facts. There are some programs that are misunderstood for exactly the thing that makes them strong!! The very thing that a parent hates is the exact thing that the child NEEDS! It baffles me when I read complaints about repetition. There are certain skills that are needed later on - those are foundational skills. A child that does not go through that 'boring' repetition of math facts, may end up struggling later on because the teacher did not fully understand the importance of it. They label a perfectly strong curriculum as being boring, and then toss it aside. It may be boring, but sometimes boring serves a greater purpose. Math is math, grammar is grammar - how fun can it really be? Math is my son's favorite subject and that is because he's really good at it. He does not hate and despise grammar because he's good at that also. A child may hate something they are not very good at, or something that they struggle with, and often this is because they are not being allowed to get the solid foundation they need. I look for curriculum that I don't have to plan and that is scripted. I want to grab-and-go, and know at the end of the day my kids are learning and that we accomplished something. I want them to enjoy school and the experience of learning, but in my reality, I'd rather finish school, have some fun along the way, and call it a day. I also believe that if a curriculum is strong, you can tweak it to fit your child's learning style. My kids have never been allowed to dictate what we use for curriculum. I do my research, and I keep their best interest in mind as I finalize my decisions, but once I purchase something, we use it. I think some kids just don't want to the do the work, and the teacher holds the curriculum responsible - when really it has nothing to do with that at all. I've never had my kids question a curriculum because they don't even know there are other options! They just do it. There are circumstances where a change needs to be made. Sometimes you don't know until you start doing something, that you just can't stand it, or that it's not working. But I think is the exception, and not the rule. A happy and confident mom/teacher helps create a peaceful atmosphere. So pick curriculum that you can teach with ease.

I used to feel this way also when we began narrating years ago. The more you do it, the easier it becomes (for BOTH of you). I used to feel like I had to pull it out of my son, but as the years have passed, he narrates better than I do. Yes, you have to direct and guide him with the questions. You will have to help him pull the main idea out of the story, or reading selection. I would stick with simple story lines that are easy for him to summarize. Get him used to doing it, and gradually work him up to more diffucult passages or stories. It will just take practice!:)

:bigear::bigear::bigear:

My ds6 is in K, but he will be in 1st in August. He turns 7 in December. I make him write his name and full date on his Saxon math paper. I make him write 3 or 4 words from his OPGTR book (I choose the words - usually a few new ones he's learned). I also have him copy one short sentence. That is pretty much it. I gave my older ds a lot more writing to do in first grade, but he never complained. I give my younger one what I believe he can handle. But whatever he writes, he has to write neatly and I always tell him that. I would not worry about it. Just keep it short and sweet! He will gradually be able to do more, but just praise him for what he IS doing.

Yes, it feels weird at first, but the repetition is necessary. I made my son repeat it as many times as recommended, and I'm one to follow the book by the letter when it comes to grammar! Even when he KNEW a definition, or list of prepositions, I still made him repeat it. I believe it made a huge difference later on. The lesson is already short - it does not kill them to say a definition a few extra times. There is a reason WHY it is recommended for them to repeat things over and over. It's no different than learning math facts. You are building a foundation and it needs to be solid.

We've done year-round hs'ing for almost 6 years now, and we take a week off every month. Sometimes it's planned (i.e. - Thankgiving, Christmas, birthday week, etc.). Most months we just wait and see which week makes sense. We take mini-vacations to CA all the time, so that typically dicates when we are off. But I kind of do the 3 weeks on, 1 week off schedule. I also like to take off a week at the end of a month and somtimes take the first week off in the next month, so that we have a full two weeks at times.

I vote for FLL and what makes it STRONG is the repetition. It really does only take about 10-15 minutes a day (if that, honestly). I loved it and it worked.

I have a ds who is 11 and we're going into our 6th year of hs'ing. I used OPGTR before first grade and my son was reading GREAT by the end of summer for K. I never purchased a phonics program. We began our first grade year using Spelling Workout A, and he is now in 5th grade and on Spelling Workout G. He's a great speller, and I've never had an issue. I also used First Language Lessons from first through fouth grade. I LOVED it. My son has such a wonderful foundation and understanding of grammar thanks to that curriculum. First and second grade are mostly done orally, and the overall pace was perfect. It was never overwhelming and we were done with grammar in 10 to 15 minutes every day. DS11 is now using R&S6 for English (we used R&S5 last year) - it's all a piece-of-cake for him. He can diagram sentences in his sleep and has a solid grasp of grammar. We also have been studying Latin for 3.5 years, and there is also a lot of grammar used in that as well. I've loved that Latin reinforces what he's learned in English and vice versa. For writing we've used WWE - we're finishing up level 4. I'm still on the fence as to how I feel about it. But for grammar, I would not just pass up FLL. It is a not a boring curriculum - it's very solid. :001_smile: