My dh has always worked from home. Nowadays he works some mornings and most evenings- so he often has free time during the day. We have often 15 or more people in the house too once or twice a day for several hours! Our marriage survives because we rent BIG (old) houses.:001_smile: So I may not be much help! Personal space is a priority for us both. I learned years ago to be very assertive about my needs. Very. Assertive. :001_smile: I have a wonderful schoolroom where the other people in the house can't even hear me if I yell at the kids (I checked). :001_smile: Lately however dh has decided that he will very respectfully hang out in the schoolroom and do jigsaw puzzles in order to spend time with us while we do school. Actually, it's kind of working ok. He no longer expects me to drop everything just to be with him, go for drives, out to lunch etc. He knows being with the kids for school is my priority. It's been a journey getting to this point though. Having him in the room more often has given him a deeper insight into our son's learning difficulties and my struggle with teaching him. He thinks I am amazing for being able to remember how to do algebra just from highschool. And it has been useful that he has seen the dynamic between the kids and I during schooltime, and he has helped me see that our son was pushing me around too much and I needed to be firmer. Your dh may learn a lot from sitting at the table for a few weeks.......my bet is he will eventually move on and find another space. Hang in there, and express your own needs. I am sure most marriages aren't like mine, but if my dh is in the way or interfering with my flow, I tell him really straight. Nothing held back here. That way we always know where we stand.

I would wait. I just started to read it to my 12 and 13yos a few months back and they were all excited about it for a while, then their interest just dropped. It's not a light tale about fluffy bunny rabbits! We didn't finish it because it was an evening read aloud and they didn't want me to read it anymore. They are not particularly sensitive kids, I just think the story is written to an older audience, personally. I wish I had waited. I will assign it for school reading in another year or two.

Just be aware there is a U.S. and a U.K. version.

I agree with the idea of Freewrites. I have a reluctant writer ds12, and freewriting really freed him up. The other thing that really works for him is imitative writing. At the moment he is rewriting a Greek myth in his own words once a week. Often, for a reluctant writer, being able to come up with content while struggling with the mechanics of writing, is still an issue, and if the content is well known- like a Greek myth we have just read and he is familiar with- he can perform fairly well. For that reason, Imitation in Writing programs and Classical Writing have been good for him in the past too, wheras Writing Strands is a total flop because he has to think too much!

I think what appeals to me is that this is an education, a foundation, for a rich life....not just a means to a career or any other sort of jumping through hoops. It builds mental muscles, it is broad and nourishing and deep. It doesn't set a child up for a life of shallow entertainment and self centred materialism, although it doesnt excluse anything either. It is designed to stimulate and activate many aspects of our being, and make us mature people, not superficial ones. I think in many ways it encourages children to be more selfless, which in a way is the opposite of how modern education works, which is all about catering to kids' lower selves in many ways. I am not even Christian but the moral aspect, the appreciation of truth and beauty, appeals to me. And what appealed to me originally and is still relevant, is that here are a group of people aiming for a very rigorous education, rather than allowing their children to just follow their own interests. It doesn't exclude kids following their own interests, but it is about parenting them and guiding them. I would be considered fairly relaxed as a classical homeschooler, and I draw a lot on Charlotte Mason ideas lately, but its all classically influenced and its just so .....engaging, interesting, enlivening..as longs as our lives are balanced and not all spent with our heads in books.

:iagree: Anyway, a lot of stuff that is considered "fact " is only the prevailing opinions of the day. Even science. Better to teach them to think and to have creative imaginations and open minds. I can't imagine life without fairy tales! Of course, many adults use fantasy to escape, in a way that is probably beyond wholesome. That's different from children. Much can be taught through allegory and stories, particularly morals, and exposure to realities that can be hard to accept in real life. Knowing other children are going through things that children face every day- loneliness, anger, loss- helps the child learn to cope and know they are not completely alone,even if the other child is in a story. My son has had a love of dragons for years- he doesn't believe they are real for a moment, but they represent things to him I can't even imagine, put into words, or conceive, but I know they are important to his development because they are very important to him. I am sure there is a developing "hero" element. I am sure someone else can put it far more eloquently that I.

We do the 4 year history rotation. It has been kind of the central pin of our homeschool since I read TWTM even though I don't follow TWTM very closely. It just feels like a really convenient and organised way to study history AND literature. And we didn't even start from the beginning- we will only get through twice, if that, with my older. We do it together, because I love history! I add in our country's history (Australia) as a parallel stream and that has never been a problem. Sometimes they will just have a living book, a novel, each term, and sometimes they have read historical accounts or even text books. I focus on Australia's history more deeply as we come to the time in world history, too, but our history, apart from the aborigines which we cover when we do Ancients, is even more recent that U.S. history.

Yes, that is the right age for them. Ambleside Year 6 has some good Ancients books. This term just for Greeks,we are using Geurber's Story of the Greeks, Augustus Caesar's World (split over 2 terms- it's Roman), Colum's Children's Homer(for review really, we have already done Homer to death!), Hawthorne's Greek Myths, a book on Socrates, 'String, Straightedge and Shadow' (a book on Ancient Geometry), and Plutarch. For writing, I make up a history assignment, and they rewrite a Greek myth. Their assigment this week was to outline a double page in KHE. Next week it will be a research topic. I haven't thought of it yet though :)

Yes,those sorts of things are very high priority for me or I would certainly lose my equanimity very quickly! My dh works from home and it took me ages to train him not to just walk in and disturb us whenever he wanted a chat. It would really throw my day, my routine! he is much better now, and nowadays he loves to come and sit in the room and do a jigsaw puzzle quietly while we work...he has to be good though or I toss him out! We do chat quietly but its understood that the work goes on while he is there. I guess for me its finding what is really important to my wellbeing and the family's wellbeing and trying to prioritise things so that those things are supported, hence the routines. My kids are usually in bed by 8 and we do do most of our schoolwork in the mornings, and i will do almost anything not to interfere with that. But, if they never got to see their dad with that routine i guess I would change it because seeing their dad would be a priority. (Actually, I am pretty mean, that might not be a priority for me- I love my routine- but I can understand that it might be a priority for others :001_smile:). It took me quite a while to establish but having strict school hours assures that the work does get done. Otherwise I would be a nervous wreck.

For my first birth, dh stood up for me so fiercely to over controlling midwives AND doctors. They wanted to give me a caesarian because my labour was long, but I was fine and the baby was fine- no foetal stress at all, I wanted to keep going- they just wanted the bed. It was important to me to have a natural birth if at all possible.(and i know it is important to many women who don't get a choice for one reason or another). If it weren't for dh, she would have been born earlier, by caesarian, but I am so glad he was there and she came out naturally. He really was a hero for me, and we were both intuitive- he stood up for my intuition that she was just taking her own sweet time, that nothing was actually wrong. In a different situation, in a loving environment, surrounded by supportive WOMEN, who were really there for me, I could easily do without dh in giving birth. But in this day and age, many of us don't have those sorts of communities and our spouses are the people we are closest to in the world. A hospital is not a natural place to give birth anyway. So if we are there, in that clinical and often male dominated environment, where we are often disempowered in various ways, I am all for a male presence for protection and support when I am my absolute most vulnerable.

Soups- peanut butter pumpkin, lentil, carrot/cashew, mintestrone.

Me too! And, my immediate thought was, well, isn't that what homeschooling is all about? My kids are my guinea pigs. Homeschooling is not a well trodden path here. I wonder where that saying comes from?

Yeah, thats about where I sit with him too. Probably good for a lot of people. Comes up with some interesting stuff. Not a quack, although I definitely don't agree with all his opinions. I am allergic to that type of marketing though and it does turn me off- I can't bear to watch his videos, but every now and then his articles come up with something interesting. Actually, whats more interesting than what he says, is all the responses he gets underneath. Many people disagree with him and I have found some interesting opinions and links from the responses. As a naturopath myself I am a bit cynical of all approaches which claim to be the best and only approach, the truth, and all that. There are many ways to health, not one. But I am interested in varying viewpoints and Mercola's is one I read. He is on the high protein low carb bandwagon (with variations) which has always struck me as a fad, personally. Next decade we will move onto something else. He is ok, but I wouldn't send people to his website.

I love, love, LOVE to make schedules. I have made MOTH schedules, zillions of Flylady schedules, school schedules, chore charts. In colour, in black and white. With pictures, without pictures. But all that time making schedules would have been better spent actually doing the housework, lol. Maybe the making of schedules helps me organise my thoughts, but I do not enjoy having my day confined to a schedule! We have a school schedule but I only follow it loosely. However, what works for me are ROUTINES. I have developed routines which work for me. I spend alone time in the morning by getting up before everyone else. So my body clock wakes me up early. I make tea for dh and I, we have a spa every morning, we start school at 8.30.....these things are routines. The order we do our school subjects is fairly automatic and regular but not rigid. The kids' chores are routines- they get up, dd has to have a shower,(has to, or she cant wake up!) then chores and breakfast. Ds has to have breakfast first, then chores (skips the shower). I have trained the kids to keep the kitchen clean- it has taken time and effort but they take alternate weeks to do ALL dishes after every meal. That frees me up to cook meals and do deeper cleaning. Other routines: evening spa, filling the water filter, walks, Saturday morning cleaning (vacuuming etc), and usually, but not rigidly, a daily load of washing. Routines work far better for me, because then things happen by themselves, virtually. I dont "think" about making my bed in the morning- I just naturally do it after a spa with dh, when I am getting dressed, putting moisturiser on etc. I don't shine my sink every day though, but I do do it 2-3 times a week. I don't tidy every day, but I do do it 2-3 times a week. I don't have a schedule when to clean out the saucepan cupboard, but I felt to do it the other day and I enjoyed it thoroughly! I do "zone" or deep cleaning literally as the mood takes me, but I do do it fairly often, because I enjoy it. I wish I had found Flylady before I had children- those first few years of permanent overwhelm and chaos may have gone much easier. But, I survived and after a few years of Flylady, I kind of do my own thing, but it works well enough for me. You will find dust in places, but I dont mind. Things are basically in order.

I am not sure myself, but after this term's focusing on Greek Myths along with our Ancient Greece study, I intend to spend a term reading Bible stories (along with our Ancient Rome term). I will just borrow books from the children's section of the library- there are some very interesting ones there. My kids are older though and do have plenty of discretion as to what might be fact and what might by mythological. I also would like some sort of fairly short secular Bible summary, lol, so that we can get "all the good bits" that might be important cultural references. But I am happy if we just do Bible stories. I know it's not very classical of me, but I just cant bring myself to make us read the actual Bible. Maybe I will change my mind.

I'd be proud of her too. I was like that as a teenager. Being blonde helped though. I still don't shave any where near often enough. In winter I don't at all.

I had teh same issues with jumping around countries with chronological history. This year, since we have finished SOTW, I am doing Ancients by the civilization rather than strictly chronological. It feels easier to go more in depth. I never did like outlining KHE as a way of doing history. The other thing is using lots of historical fiction or other types of living books like the Geurber books. I find its the stories that stick in my kids' brains, and that that we end up discussing, rather than our actual history program. Both of mine love Greek Myths, so they are reading a Greek Myth each week and then writing up their own version, and making a book of their own Greek Myths. Linking history to literature has been a fantastic benefit for us.

I think there are a lot of curriculum junkies around here so it may give you a false impression. If I had to I could homeschool on very little, using the library and internet,and 2nd hand. I have ended up, after buying and reselling 1000s of $ worth of curricula over the last 5 years, using very little actual curricula and most of what I do use, is 2nd hand. We use a lot of Living Books, and for writing we, gasp, write. Only thing new is our maths texts and thats only because I could afford it. If you have more time that money, you shop around for the best bargains. If your time is worth too much money, you just buy things new. If you have time, you teach yourself how to teach some subjects, and use the library etc. If you prefer AND have the financial resources, you buy curricula to do most of the job for you and give you exercises and structure. I am not at all convinced that curricula is a better way to go- its just easier for a lot of us, particularly in the beginning when we are insecure about our own ability to teach. Ambleside is free.

Here in Australia we do 5 years of highschool (8-12) and we are a year behind/Ahead- I can never work out which- we start school earlier- so my 13yo would be in year 9 here and turns 14 halfway through the year, and is average age for the year. We school the calendar years as our seasons are opposite. Anyway, this has proved difficult for me in lining her up with WTM recommendations. She is a very bright student. That DOESNT mean she is ready for WTM level Great Books, History etc this year, or the sheer amount of work. And I have found programs like Traditional Logic, she isn't ready for in the same grade they are recommended. She might technically be able to do them, but she is not going to thrive and enjoy herself on them. That's not to say other kids aren't different, more intellectually mature etc- but it does seem to make a difference, that one year. She has wanted to be a doctor (although I think she is rethinking that) and that is more likely to make me put her BACK a year than rush her. I think many kids would probably be ok on packaged programs, and there are many stories of kids who "finish" highschool very young- usually, when I have looked into these families, they are using packaged programs. This is quite different from using a WTM or Classical or CM approach, which involves really thinking deeply, discussion, and a very high standard. I don't think you can rush the maturity that is needed, and which grows, with these approaches. Whereas a workbook approach is quite a different kettle of fish. And, of course, you know your son better than anyone. My dd considers herself grade 9 because thats what she would be here. But I consider her more U.S. grade 8 until at least halfway through the year, and when I look at programs and curricula produced o'seas, I take that into consideration.

I would do dictation 2-3 times a week, if that hadn't been used already as a strong part of his LA program.

I don't think the point is to spend money necessarily, it's to do the things that later on we tend to not have time for. That can be picnics, messy crafts, cooking, or nature walks. I know I find it hard to fit these things in nowadays, and I too wish I had relaxed a bit more in my first year or two of homeschooling, when my kids were 7 and 9.

Loved SOTW all the way through. It was a backbone of our homeschooling for 4 years. First impressions good, and it was one thing I consistently stayed with. Henle Latin- I wanted to like this, but it gives me shudders every time I look at it! Not for us. Writing Strands, Wordsmith- I liked these, thought they would work, my kids hated them with a passion. Ambleside Online- I always felt attracted to this but only now, 5 years into homeschooling, am I seriously using it. Its too soon to say how well the kids will respond, but they are not keen on textbooks/workbooks at all so I am optimistic. Traditional Logic. Another shudder. Yuk. Artistic Pursuits- love it, kids hate it. Its taken me a long time to get it, but my kids prefer to read and narrate than do a literature program, prefer to write than do a writing program, prefer to draw/paint than do an art program. Thats why I am moving more toward CM.

I go to a friend, a homeschooling lady who speaks French fairly well. She is English, learned French at school, and ended up spending a year at a French highschool which made her fluent. I had heard she taught French to a few kids and I kind of invited myself. Now, all the other kids are gone, and she was going to quit, then she realised that if it weren't for my kids and I coming around every week, she probably wouldn't get around to teaching her own son French. Having a small group is so good. We are informal and I do the class too. She is great with my son, who is, umm, unique, and doesn't always respond well to teachers and classes. we do an hour, and it can be quite intense. All we do in between classes is go over our next lesson, and some revision. We are using an adult CDRom, rather than a kid's program, but it is just fine. My goal is for the kids to be able to get a foundation in conversational French, and this is perfect for that. If they really want to take it further, they can, but it feels out of my range to do much more than we are doing. The one thing I found hard with doing French with my kids, was fluency and pronounciation, even though i have 4 years of highschool French. I never became fluent and i havent used it since. It really is a good thing to have a teacher.

Yup. Its fairly dry. My kid don't relate to the content of the sentences very well (but we are Australian and they have a lot of U.S. cultural history in them). Even though the program is only for 10 weeks a year.....it is a lot of work for those 10 weeks. If we did the program as is, it would take probably 60-90 minutes most days. I guess thats reasonable considering its only 10 weeks, but, its good to keep it in mind and give time for it. And, maybe my kids are just slow! The print of the sentences is too small to easily write above the words(you label them), and theres a gap in between the sentences but its not really enough to do a sentence diagram unless you write teeny weeny. More space altogether would have made the program much more user friendly. I still like it, but I tend to give smaller amounts over a longer time, because it's just too much grammar for one day around here, as well as skip one of the 3 worksheets if they seem to have understood the concept. My younger wasn't ready for it although age wise he should have been. I am leaving it another year for him. It's really his handwriting that has held him back with it...I was rewriting it all on the computer in a bigger font and lots of space for the diagrams....but after spending that much money on AG, I decided I shouldn't be working that hard, and am waiting for a bit more maturity with him. You asked for the cons. There are plenty of pros too. I am not overall unhappy with the program...these are just my gripes with it.

Art of Argument is good, but I am secular and I find the Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox very useable. The authors have a strong Christian bias, but it stands out like a sore thumb when it does come out, and it actually doesn't make any difference for most of the book- just here and there. And they have a good sense of humour.