Wow, you have a lot on your plate. Its hard to make decisions like that, with so many variables, with more and more thinking. I think you have to go with your heart, your gut feeling, and let go of the guilt and fear that stop you doing whatever is the right thing for you. And sometimes there just isn't one correct decision, and no one gets a perfect childhood or life, and you just have to accept you are doing the best you can, and don't be so hard on yourself.

I only have 2 but they are close in age and I combine for history and literature, and Logic, but do separate LA and Maths programs. I don't think I could handle everyone being in different history programs. I would try to pick one program and adapt it for everyone. Unless they could work independently. But history and literature is where I like us to all be on the same page,and do some together, and its the part of homeschooling I love the most :)

I said neither because I wouldn't use any program with early to middle elementary aged students. I would wait till they are older. It is one of the things I have appreciated about TWTM, is that it doesnt encourage much literary 'analysis' from a young age. It encourages loving books. I have both of these programs, and I don't use either because I still haven't worked out how to do literary analysis beyond occasional reports and frequent discussions, without killing the love of the book. Having said all that, if you are familiar with Writing Strands, and you like it, Reading Strands may work well for you. Some people really dislike Writing Strands. And although I have teaching the Classics, I haven't watched the DVDs yet because I just find watching lectures like that tedious. So I am probably no use to you at all :)

We have read some Lambs and some Nebitt stories and I think these are great as a way of getting familiar with Shakespeare, even for teens who havent been exposed to the real thing yet. Last year dd did Hamlet with a homeschool drama class- so I decided to do it at home as well, with both kids. I got the BBC audio production of it at the library (they have a lot of Shakespeare plays on audio) and we just listened to 15 minutes or so a week until it finished. My kids are far more audio savvy than I am- I just dont do well with audio, but they are great and could give me good narrations after each session. I had to read along to understand it :) I intended to do Henry V this year but when we tried to watch the movie- well, we just couldnt get into it at all. So I gave that up because they enjoy Shakespeare and dont think of it as boring, so I didnt want to turn them off. Instead I remembered I had enjoyed The Taming of the Shrew in highschool, and I got the movie out of that- with a young Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Gorgeous costumes. Fun movie- rather bawdy though, but that is the point. We read the Nesbitt version first, then started to watch the movie. We had to stop to go out- the kids kept begging me to watch the rest for the next few days and eventually watched it themselves when I was out one evening. They loved it. I have realised that I find reading Shakespeare the least appealing way of enjoying it, even with modern translation. We have gone to see Romeo and Juliet at the local uni, and also watched the Leonardo de Caprio version on TV. So far we havent done any analysing at all. I am not sure I even want to...if my kids can get through their childhood actually enjoying and being familiar with many of Shakespeare's plays- I think it would be better than going deeply into a couple and being turned off by the analysis (as I was as a teen).

Be genuinely as kind to yourself as you would be to your dearest friend who came to you with the same guilt. I think we think unconsciously that feeling guilty will help somehow, but it really doesn't.

I had my son do that for a while. we mostly just used SW for dictation but sometimes for copywork before that. I must admit my kids are not very good at "studying" for dictation and tend to glance only briefly if I ask them to. The "studying" comes afterward if they make mistakes. If they make more than one or two mistakes, they get the same dictation again next time. Someone told me way back about "repeat dictations" and it was great for a while for my son. The same dictation as many times as necessary (on subsequent days) until he got it perfect. Also with SW (which I tend to use as a source of dictation passages, among other sources), I pick and choose the dictations, rather than work in order.

I didnt realise there was a TM or student guide either. I have the first two of the books in the series, and my kids really disliked them. I am wondering how people use them- for middle school science? Theyre obviously not a science program. Adding a TM and student guide would make them even more time consuming and I cant imagine fitting that in to an already tight schedule. I suspect these books might be best used simply as read alouds or independent reading for kids (or adults) who are drawn in by that type of info. My kids werent, and I dont like to push too hard on books they dont like unless they are central to what we are doing, since there are so many books to read that they will like. Just thought I would mention it because that TM is awfully expensive (but my curriculum addiction is aroused nevertheless.)

Realistically, 5 hours to do a solid 4 hours worth of work. :) Lots of unscheduled breaks, complaining, trying to get out of work, etc goes on with my son.

We have often had a similar schedule. I only have 2 also. Tuesdays- Piano (ds13) Wednesday- Piano (dd14), Gymnastics (both) Thursday- Art (dd) Friday- Science class (both), debating (dd), recorder (ds) Friday/Saturday/all weekend- Scouts (both, separate classes) However, I am happy that Mondays and Thursdays I don't have to leave the house- nothing on Mondays, and dd can get to her own art class down the road on Thursdays. Fridays is our main out of the house social day, as the kids' science classes are at separate times and they socialise while the other is having their class. We mums sit in the park and chat. Scouts is our big time sucker, but its also one of their main social outlets, and it is inepxensive for what they get out of it. It works ok for me because it is fairly balanced, and this year we get in a full 4 and a half days work. Most people I know IRL do a similar amount of activities. Probably because they are the peopel I see at those acitivities :)

We have the opposite problem- too many extra curriculas. I would limit computer time. I feel that although it can be creative, it also makes the rest of life seem a little flat and colourless and boring. It can also be an escape from learning to get along with people. Dd14 has been refusing to get any physical exercise other than her once weekly gymnastics class. I made her computer time conditional on getting exercise and voila, she now gets exercise, even if its just taking the dg for a walk. Dd14- piano, Scouts (which takes up most weekends too), an art class, a science class, and a debating class, as well as gymnastics. Ds13- recorder, piano, Scouts, Science, gymnastics.

Actually, what I would do is work on the Logic Stage skills and get them going strong before worrying about the Rhetoric stage work. The reason I say this is because I was asking on the Curriculum Board about special needs kids- kids with learning difficulties- and the chapter in the new WTM that talks about this. I haven't seen it myself but apparently SWB says that some kids might not get past the Logic Stage but that's still pretty good. I realised my dyslexic kid might not get through all the rhetoric stage work, or even my other kid for that matter- but it is very advanced and to get the Logic Stage work down well is more important than finishing the Rhetoric stage work. In other words, the foundation is more important than trying to move on beyond where they can comfortably go. Two years of solidly working on Logic Stage skills- lots of outlining, rewriting from outlining, writing assignments, the study of Logic etc- and then two years on Rhetoric skills- may be better than jumping straight into Rhetoric skills- depending on how long she takes to "catch up". I am the queen of rushing ahead, and am really learning that you cant jump over things, although it is easier to pick things up when they are older. I haven't really started Rhetoric yet with my older and she is 15 next month. I am not in a rush because I am only now seeing the logic stage blossom in her.

I have often wondered how people who dislike modern technology handle the way it has evolved so that our lives have become dependent on it. I think you need to accept that this is the way it is, and then you wont be upset about it, because it's not going to change for you. And then work out how to live with it so it only minimally impacts on your life. So far, I have managed to live quite well without a mobile phone. Actually, I do have one for emergencies but I dont hand out my number and I dont leave it on. I also don't like to use the telephone much any more. However, I use email daily and I find it a useful means of communication. I am sure people felt like the OP when telephones first came out. I personally don't find email anywhere near as intrusive as the telephone. My kids are in Scouts and the kids who don't check their email are a pain in the butt because that is how we keep in touch with Scouts. Since the majority of us check our email, it makes sense to communicate that way, as it is quick and easy. If someone actually doesn't have a computer, we will accomodate them. But if they have a computer and dont check their email, it is just annoying.

I am not aware of any homeschool stores in Australia that you can visit. I have been to Uluru and it is awesome, particularly if you are sensitive to the land. I think it is magic, but I imagine the tourist industry has picked up since I was there 15 years ago. Dh and I travelled across the Gun Barrel HWY from Perth directly across the desert, on a corrugated dirt road. It was wildflower season- about June/July i think. We got lost at one point. At the Rock, I remember one of the elders invited us to spend some time with them, and he asked Dh if he could buy me for the price of an aeroplane- some of the people there are wealthy even though they live a traditional lifestyle- wealthy because of the tourism. (I was younger then, too! It was funny at the time though). But there are a lot of things to see in Australia, and lots of beautiful country and cultural things to visit- I wouldnt worry if Uluru seems too much. Its too much for plenty of Australians to visit, too.

I have recently pulled right back to less than daily TV. They will watch a movie or two each week and some shows on Discovery or something like that, but no longer are they watching it every day. I let it creep up. Not having the TV on, and limiting computer time too, means we interact more, play games together, and read in the evenings.

I got one of the masticating juicers (an Oscar, although Champion is the better known brand), because plenty of fibre is left in the juice. The food is crushed rather than cut. We chose the Oscar because in a comparison study, it leaves the driest pulp (and it really is almost dry!) and we havent regretted it. It is also useful for grinding seeds, making nut butters, crushing garlic and ginger, making sorbet and even pasta. But, we have a blender too, and use that even more often, for smoothies mainly :)

I tend to say my kids are natural spellers but it may not be altogether true- we have done Spelling Power for a while, but what I think really has worked is copywork and dictation. Some kids pick up spelling easily through this. Or maybe they just develop a good visual memory. I could call myself an natural speller too- I spell well (at least I can spell better than i can type :)) but I was brought up on dictation and spelling tests at school, and I read a lot, so I dont know how "natural" it is. With my kids, I give them the Spelling Power placement test every year or two when I panic and think they should be doing a spelling program. But when I did it recently, both kids tested well above their age level again, so I figure we can cruise with spelling.

We didn't do a lot of memorising in the grammar stage, partly because we started homeschooling halfway through it and I was finding my feet. But just the other day I pulled out TWTM and wrote down all the memorisation SWB recommends for the Medieval Logic Stage and we are doing it. This is a first here, although we have always memorised poetry- but never dates of people and events. I just feel that having those certain pegs embedded in the memory- the date of Chalemagnes rule, The kings of England, The Hundred Years War, the various Crusades...provides a whole context for all medieval history to fall into place. If they are all just vague pieces of information, as they tend to be for us, one topic on top of the next, it's hard to have a clear picture in our mind of the story of history and how it all fits together. I just saw the benefit of the memorsation. And if we had done some previously in the grammar stage, well, it would be all the more easy now!

Last year I used the Geurber Greek and Rome books along with K12's History Odyssey. It was a good combination. I think they would also work well with SOTW, but we had already used it as it was our 2nd time through. I did find though that my kids found the Geurber books very dry until i read them aloud. As read alouds they came alive for us- as independent reading, even though my kids were then 12 and 13, they didn't like them.

I think it is probably a good program if you are the sort of person who will put aside the time to sit down and watch lectures on your TV. I am not- I would rather read- and so this program sits on my shelf.

Yes, this is what occurred to me, too. I just had my dd14 have some bloodwork because although she sleeps well, she is too tired during the day to be as active as I tihnk she should be for her age. She gets headaches and other symptoms. Everything came back normal except that her iron is low- so now I know and I can do something about it, and we will see how that affects her other issues. I also 2nd the recommendation of valerian as a more natural sleep inducer. There are effective herbal mixtures that I would try long before I tried the prescription drugs you are using.

I have been using it for 3 years now. I use only 1/8 tsp, evenings only, but it is 5% strength. Sometimes I take it all month, sometimes only the last few days, sometimes 3 weeks. I play around with it. However I find that around ovulation is the worst time for me now. It is the time I am most likely to get extreme emotions, anger, upset etc, and often it surprises me that I have had a meltdown. That's one of the reasons I try different things. The actual week before my period is nowhere near as bad as it used to be, but I have to watch out for that ovulation time. I also sometimes go into a bit of a nosedive at the end of my period and need extra sleep. I think the only way to really regulate it is to keep getting bloodtests, but I dont do that- I just keep experimenting with the dose and when to take it. My doctor gave me full permission to do this- to find what works for me. One thing that doesnt work for me is taking it in the mornings- it wipes me out. So does taking too much.

:001_smile: You don't have to like what you don't like, Rosie. :001_smile: We have memorised My Country by Dorothea Mackellar, And Clancy of the Overflow of Banjo Patterson......we are beginning the Man From Snowy River, but it's difficult because every time I read it aloud I choke up. My kids roll their eyes and don't get it. Something about that poem really gets me every time, though. Maybe one day I will be able to read it without choking up. I guess I do like ol' Banjo. We read a book of his poetry a while back and some of the poems were good. I want to do Bellbirds by Henry Kendall too. I love that poem- I grew up on the east coast and we would drive to the Blue Mountains and hear all those beautiful bellbirds. My mum has them at her place up near Newcastle too. Over here in W.A., there arent any, so its hard to share the mood of the poem with my kids when they are not familiar with them. Overall, I am pretty much an ignoramus when it comes to poetry. Its probably like wine- its a developed taste, and if you dont normally drink you dont appreciate a very fine wine as much as someone who has been exposed to wine for a while.

No, when something thinks like that, or speaks it, it is called prejudice. A particular obese person may be less intelligent than a particular thin person, (or vice versa) but not all obese people because the obesity itself is not related to intelligence. (Unless there is some scientific study somewhere that relates them- I would sincerely doubt that study though). I don't think it is much different from asking are black people less intelligent than whites- for a long time many whites thought so. Of course, those sorts of prejudices are rife in our society, so many people think these types of things- consciously or unconsciously. prejudice a. An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. b. A preconceived preference or idea. 2. The act or state of holding unreasonable preconceived judgments or convictions. 3. Irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion. 4. Detriment or injury caused to a person by the preconceived, unfavorable conviction of another or others. tr.v. prej·u·diced, prej·u·dic·ing, prej·u·dic·es 1. To cause (someone) to judge prematurely and irrationally. See Synonyms at bias. 2. To affect injuriously or detrimentally by a judgment or an act.

I am a more whole to parts type of person (not sure what my kids are but they are coming along for the ride) and LFC drove me crazy, after doing Cambridge. Just no context. I need context- I cant just memorise something without understanding why I am doing it. But even though Latin Prep is supposedly a parts to whole program, I find it works brilliantly for all of us here, because it does give context. You memorise, you translate both ways, you read passages. After years of doing Cambridge (whole to parts) I am more than happy with Latin Prep.

We just use poetry for memory work. We started with IEW's program for poetry memorisation, and have added our own, mainly Australian poems. They don't get a choice, and I have never made them read poetry themselves. But they do enjoy it. Thats all I hope for- that they will be familiar with a range of well known poetry, that they can appreciate it, that they know many humorous or moving poems to rattle off to their own children. I myself am not a huge poetry fan, but I have learned to enjoy and love many poems through reading them and memorising them with the kids. The good thing about the IEW program is that it starts with many funny and short poems, and no matter the age of the child, thats where you start.