I wasn't impressed with the samples of RTD, so I'm curious what responses you get here. I'm using SOTW for my younger ones (8th and under) and the Companion for my high school student. I usually pick a couple sections of the companion to share with everyone. We have only been using BP for a month or so.

We also have Roget's International. I remember it being recommended somewhere (can't remember exactly where) by SWB.

We used Jonathan Bird's Blue World Youtube videos alongside Apologia's Swimming Creatures and my kids loved it! Having video clips of the animals moving around added so much to their readings.

It has worked well for us, as each pair has an “average” older student and a more advanced younger student. I think seeing their younger sibling at their level motivates the older half of the pair a bit more. I can see how family dynamics wouldn’t always play out this way, but it’s generally worked for us.

My understanding is that the levels won’t be harder, but different. Are you continuing next year where you left off or starting fresh with the next level? I think I’ve heard her say both as options in the YouTube videos. That if you moved to the next book, you’d speed through the parts they had mastered and focus on what they struggled with the previous year as well as what hadn’t been covered. We are just getting ready to start it this coming week. My DD has been wanting a challenge in grammar. I think she’ll get what she’s been asking for.

We have used Spelling Wisdom for years. My oldest two loved it— one was a natural speller and one was not. Both did well with it. My 3rd child is not a fan because of the writing. I am trying Spelling Workout with my younger ones and we’ll see how it goes. We have also used Dictation Day By Day from the public domain before SW. Whatever dictation you choose, I recommend watching SCM’s videos on how to implement SW. You can use those methods with any dictation program. Like OKBud mentioned, you can just use their regular school books as well. Just pull a passage for them to study and dictate a few sentences to them from the passage. I preferred SW because the passages were already chosen and more systematic than random passages (she includes the 6000 most frequently used words).

We have a Carson pocket microscope...actually we have 3! They are super fun, portable, and simple, and I don't have to worry about them being damaged. In the likely event that they are destroyed, they are only $10. We recently purchased a "real" microscope, but so far I've only let my oldest two use it on their own.

WWS is the first writing program that has "clicked" with all of my kids. I wish we'd used WWE/WWS years ago!

I forgot about The Berenstain Bears' Book! I've been wondering what to do about a little bit of science for DS. This would be perfect. My now 8yo used it for K science and loved it.

I wish I could leave out our microscope! Alas, I have a 4 year old...and we have a pretty decent microscope. Not a good match! Today I ordered a DNA experiment kit from Rainbow Resource that looks promising. I am still putting together my Home Science Tools wishlist.

I regret using the red level. It did not have enough phonics, and really set my child behind with reading. I also had children using orange and tan levels. We much preferred ELTL for an “all in one” program.

Have you looked at Visual Latin? We have enjoyed it. We are using Henle/Memoria Press, but I plan on continuing with the VL videos.

Thanks for the suggestions so far! The dragon genetics looks like something she would really enjoy. Your suggestions will give me some guidance when I look at Home Science Tools...and hopefully I won’t order too much. Unfortunately, I don’t think we have much locally for labs.

We just started BP, so I’m still getting the hang of it. Only my high schooler is actually using the Companion. My younger ones (2nd, 5th, and 7th) are using SOTW and a couple other spines. The Cool History Classic is based on SOTW books, so that would be an option for you. I think I prefer the SOTW activity guide questions and narration, but we are just getting started, so that may change. I love the BP family guide and the books scheduled have been great! We haven’t worked much with the discussion guide yet, so I’m not sure how that will work using different spines. I have used a bit of the Companion with them. We’ve looked at pictures and I read a few of the “fascinating fact” sections. You can easily pull up some pictures with Google images for free, which is what we previously did with SOTW. I wouldn’t spend $100 (cost of year 3 Companion) for no more than I use it with the younger ones!

I have 5, ages 15 to 4. We generally do our heavy subjects in the morning (3Rs, Latin, Logic) and lighter ones in the afternoon (history, literature, science, art, etc). We go from 9-12, break for an hour or so at lunchtime, and go for 2-3 hours in the afternoon. We take a few mini-breaks as needed. We have free time after that, then gather for a devotion and read aloud before bed. The older ones have some quiet time in their rooms for an hour or so after that. We don’t follow a strict schedule but have more of a routine. I just started some school-like activities for my 4yo and it’s working to fit his activities in the middle of everything. If I get a few minutes free, we can squeeze in a book or activity. I’m not being terribly consistent about it at this point, so it’s more interest based on his part. For my older ones, I have them grouped somewhat. My 7th and 9th graders are doing several of the same books and my 3rd and 6th graders are sharing some materials. It works well because the younger of each pair is a bit more ambitious than the older two. I am a single mom, and I have greatly simplied meal times and chore times. We eat off paper plates often. Fruit cups, bagged salad mixes, and pre-cooked chicken are staples in my kitchen. Laundry and heavy chores are done on the weekends. I have decluttered much and need to do more. It’s been a great help.

I was going through the suggested schedules in the 4th edition of the WTM and I noticed that one grammar lesson is 30 minutes and the others were much shorter (10 or 15 minutes, I can’t remember which). Can someone explain why one grammar session is much longer than the others?

My DD will be using Pacworks Biology next year. There aren’t any labs, but I do want to add some. My DS will be using Elemental Biology for the Logic stage, so she can participate in those. Can you recommend some essential experiments we don’t want to miss? She doesn’t want to dissect anything and has no plans to go into a science field. I will likely add owl pellets and some Petri dishes to my “shopping list”. Are there any other “must haves” for biology?

I saw a chess solitaire game awhile back. Two Christmases ago, I purchased a small game for each of my kids and it was in the running. Here is a link to single player logic games at Rainbow Resource. http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=Logic/12&category=Single+Player+Logic+Games/13306

We have used many MP products over the years. I think the only one we didn't care for was their writing (Classical Compositions). In all fairness, we've yet to find a writing program we like. Sometimes I just buy their teacher guide and use it as a teaching/discussion guide. This is usually what we do for the lit. guides. This coming year we are using their Latin (Prima, First Form, and Henle) and their classical studies (Greek Myths for younger ones and Book of Ancient Greece/Iliad/Odyssey for my oldest two).

We are going to use MP's Classical Studies books and move away from a 4 year cycle. They cover D'aulaire's Greek Myths and several of the Famous Men books over multiple years. My 3rd and 6th graders will start with the Greek Myths and my older two (8th and 10th) will start with Mills' Book of Ancient Greece, The Iliad, and The Odyssey. For regular history, we are using Biblioplan with SOTW. They have two textbooks available as well. My high schooler is using their Companion text, and I read aloud a few interesting sections from it to the other kids.

CLE--we switched to it recently and I can't get over how much easier it is to teach than the Charlotte Mason materials we were using. I also feel like they are getting an amazing foundation! I do have some teaching to do, but I can generally have everyone working on a subject at one time, with me helping as needed. My younger ones need more help, but their lessons are shorter, so it all works out in the end. I also agree with Targhee about focusing on skill subjects. History and science are not essential at these ages. Learning to read, write, and work basic math problems are essential. For Bible, reading from a basic children's Bible would be plenty. My kids that read lots of Bible stories at a young age now have more Bible knowledge than most adults.

I would use CLE if I were starting over...and I sort of am with my younger ones! Lots of review and a solid foundation. Plus it's not terribly overwhelming to teach multiple levels at once. We started the year with RS and they hated all the games. They'd much rather do 5 minutes of speed drill and flashcards and call it good. We liked MUS, but after seeing all that CLE covers, I don't think I can go back to it.

We loved Visual Latin! The Economics program looks really good--We may end up using it too.

CLE Math & Reading FLL 3 & WWE 3 (I'm combining her with her younger sister) --also adding The Creative Writer Pentime Biblioplan with SOTW as our spine (we're in book 3 and will move to book 4 mid-year) Memoria Press Greek Myths study (along with 3rd grader) Elemental Biology First Form Latin Getting Started with Spanish Logic Countdown/Liftoff/Orbiting books Artpac, The Story of the Orchestra, piano practice, picture/composer studies, singing (hymn, folk song, Spanish song, etc.)

Elemental Biology for the Logic Stage