Thanks soror. I did a quick search yesterday but not a lot came up, I'll try again - sometimes you just need to be persistant with the search function on here. And I'll look at LiPS as well :0

Oh my. I feel like today has been a real smozzle. The kids are all feeling a lot better if the noise level and silliness level in this house is any indicator! dh is away and one of his dogs *will not come* when I call her. She keeps disappearing over the bank and I suspect something dead is done there (not in a CSI kind of way, maybe an old bear kill or, more likely, some dead salmon?) It's been pouring rain all morning so I really don't want to go down there an chase her back home but I don't like her on the loose unsupervised either. She is a stock dog so when she's loose with no one to give her orders, she gets her own ideas and the sheep, cows, chickens etc don't really care for that any more than I do. I guess I'll go chase after her once lunch is done and I'm outside graining the milk cow anyhow. We did some make-up work this morning and part of an art lesson and math lesson. We'll finish those up this afternoon as well as reading for all. In other news, DD8 took a phonemic awareness test yesterday and they suspect auditory processing disorder - which makes a lot of sense and is one of the things I suspected of her myself. So I'm now expecting a phone call sometime this week with more information - and possibly funding from our umbrella school to cover any extra costs. I really don't know a lot about it, so on top of all my usual neverending list of things to do, I'm also trying to research! Feeling grumpy and overwhelmed today but trying to muddle through. It can stop raining any time now!

What's your purpose in having him use CLE Reading 7? If he's a great reader and can tell you all about his reading, maybe this is redundant. I've never used CLE REading though. . . what's the goal? Comprehension? Literary devices? Something else? My kids are quite a bit younger, but I can definitely see my son following this same path. If that is so, I think I'd continue to do what I'm doing now. Make one subject writing intensive (in your case EiW). Make copywork about the perfect handwriting - or skip the copywork and use copying grammar sentences about perfect handwriting? Everything, else, do orally, if possible. Maybe he could even record what his answers and/or narrations if you don't have time to discuss each question with him. Talk about it with him, share your concerns, set some standards together. If he answers in complete, interesting, neat sentences in "x" subject, then "y and z" subjects can be done orrally. If he agrees to type up his EiW assignments to the best of his abilities - no skimping to get it done quickly - then he doesn't need to hand write them. I dunno. I *get* wanting him to be able to hand write. I'm determined my kids will have legible cursive handwriting. But I feel like 90% (99% ?) of the time, writing as an adult will be done on the computer. I know mine is. So if it's tainting the entire day and killing his joy for school, it's probably not a mountain to die on. Of course, ymmv :)

Critter, enjoy your day. Rest up. I'm with you guys, this week did seem long. First week, full bore for us. And, as you all know, my days are long (not that I'm any different from everyone out here - don't want to imply that I'm busier than anyone else!). My to do list every day says: School. Animals. That's all! Do you still take Friday Saturday off Critter? Does that change with a new term? Rest up if you can! I've got a few things to do now that I have a few hours from school, but I hope to lounge reading for a bit (if I ever have trouble getting this in, I use the "setting a good example" excuse to justify ;) ) We've decided on Thursdays and Saturdays off over here. So technically, I'm "off" (haha). Fourth child just came up complaining of a stuffed nose, so it looks like all but one of us now has a cold. I think I'm on the mend at least, but I'm not sure we should go to the farmer's market and the harvest fair today or just stay home and chill. There's a pretty good set of DVDs made by CBC that has interesting dramatizatios of the major points of Canadian history that I *think* my kids are old enough to enjoy. I was going to let them watch the first hour and a half, covering Vikings, First Nations, Cabot and Cartier, as part of our school day tomorrow, but maybe we'll do it today. They don't get so much TV that they wouldn't consider it a treat lol. Tonight, in our house, is kids' choice for dinner and dd8 has requested Taco Salad. Yeah! Sometimes we end up eating really odd things, but as long as its' balanced, I don't argue (like pizza with spaghetti noodles and perogies is a no go, sorry). Taco salad is a favourite all around though! Maize, hope the baby slep better last night? My kids did - and they're not babies anymore, so thank goodness for that! Love the barbie mummy lol. sahamama, enjoy your parents! How long will they stay? Jean, how is Daily Life in a Victorian House? My "ears" perked up when I read that title, as much as a feel like Victorians really messed up society with their view on things, I have a huge fascination for them. My grandmother passed down an 8 inch thick copy of Mrs. Beeton's Household Management that her MIL received as a leaving gift from a large house as a cook in England and I've been fascinated ever since. mama25, Super Smash Brothers Brawl has been a favourite around here for years. When they were little, it reminded me of a bowlful of puppies playing, now I think your title is more apt :P soror, your day sounded so nice! One of those interesting, balanced days :) Have a wonderful day everyone!

Well. Everyone was able to do work today, which is nice. I didn't actually ask "Are you up to working?" No one objected or fell over lol. But no one's really eating and their break wasn't as loud and crazy either. . . actually, it was kind of nice :P Math went fairly well, although dd8 and I butted heads a bit and I'm not sure why. I'm sure it was partly my own fatigue. We recovered and moved on. We're moving too slow through math. . . maybe. On one hand, I just want to make sure they get it, on the other, I want to get through the pages in a timely manner. We've been on the same CLE lesson for three days - although that's not as straightfoward as it sounds so maybe we are doing okay. Dd8 seemed to really love the Khan academy I set her up with to review multiplication so that's fantastic! It's pouring rain, but the two who feel best are out in rain gear playing under the hay roof and I'm about to head out and grain the cow. Glad I watered them this morning while it was still sunny! Reading lessons all around left to do, as well as copywork/typing and piano practice.

Good morning! Man, rough night around here. I was up later than usual discussing some pretty heavy topics with partner, then ds6 was up around midnight complaining of illness, dd2 up at 330 complaining of . . . well, actually, I think it was a nightmare, and then when I got up at 530, ds8 was lying in the hallway complaining of stuffy nose and headache. So. Not sure what kind of a day we're going to be having. Supposed to be a full day of school. I hope we can get it done! I was thinking about math some more after reading your comments. I think I have a plan, and *maybe* I'll also get dd8 to watch Khan academy videos to brush up on multiplication. We've done it together, but not since last June. My plan was to get her to master facts over the summer but . . . sigh. Between some khan and some math fact worksheets, maybe we can get that ball rolling already! Okay. Off to set up breakfast. Have a fantastic, positive, constructive day everyone :)

thanks for the math advice ladies! My CLE kid is *fairly* independent on the We Remember parts. The MM kid is a wild card. She's unpredictable and so is MM lol. But if I add in some (sorely needed) math fact sheets for her, it could work. I used to have a Kumon Book but it disappeared over the summer. trying not to be suspicious about that disappearance lol. I'll ponder today. We have a town day, which means no school. We'll leave around 10 so we can do some running around before their first piano lesson of the year at 1230. I'm hoping the pool is open (they close somewhere arround this time for yearly maintenance) so I can drop all three older kids off to swim while I do some little odds and ends with only one child. Ha! I can remember when going grocery shopping with just one kid was hard - now it's a treat lol. Also need to make a library stop :) I guess the big thing is to get everything I need loaded in the van. Let me tell you, all you guys with curbside pick up, be grateful! I have to haul garbage and recycling to town, in the back of the van, for an hour. Pee-yu!! Summer's the worst! At least we have chickens to take care of food scraps. Have a great day!

Dontcha just *wish* dinner would just appear somewhere? I mean, even it was hidden in laundry room or dh's office, I would be totally okay with "finding it" as long as I wouldn't have to make it myself every single nightt :) Though I guess I shouldn't complain since there are three adults who are home all day in this house and my partner is making dinner as we speak ;)

Okay. We did it! Three wonderfully producative days in a row :) I'm exhausted. Kids are palying outside. I'm making spaghetti for dinner. Tomorrow is town day - no school for us! I *do* need to hash out the details of our math time. Any of you teach two different levels of math at the same time? I'm trying it out with my two older kids. . . it's not bad, but not right yet. But it's only been day three. A cardboard divider has been essential. It's actually motivated my oldest to become more independent since there are times when I'm busy and I let her hash out her issues even when she's frustrated - my weakness for sure. Today she even wrapped her arm around her page so I couldn't see, saying "Don't look! I want to try and get them all right!" This from the girl who usually asks if every single little step is correct! So, needless to say, I'm reluctant to give this up, I just need to get her going a little more quickly. I seem to spend most of my time with her and then my second gets neglected a bit. She needs a lot of work on times tables - fact memorization. And my second is getting there, so I may even be able to combine them for that. All though that doesn't solve my problem lol. And something magical happened during silent reading!! Okay, in this house, 'silent' is a term used very loosely when it comes to reading. Actually to almost anything lol. All four of my kids (even the toddler was pretending to read while running her finger under the words - adorable!) were reading in some form and my oldest, who's struggling the most generally, asked if she could read her novel. We've been reading "Ivy and Bean" together. I was hesitant at first because she has a really hard time reading fluently on her own to have the sentences make sense, and she gives up quickly and jumps around all over the place. I told her my concerns, but she assured me she could do it. I said "okay, but you'll need to tell me what's going on so I don't miss anything when we read together next. She agreed. And then SHE READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER AND COULD NARRATE IT CLEARLY TO ME AFTERWARD!! I'm seriously tearing up while I'm typing this. Up until now she's only ever read Mo Willems books independently. We've been working toward that together for almost two years!! And they've played together so well lately too. My heart is full - I love these peaks. They're how I get through the valleys :)

We read aloud a TON in this house. Seriously, add it all up and I'd say I'm reading aloud (for history, for science, for writing, for literature, character, geography etc) for about two hours every day. Plus bedtime stories (Fudgemania! is the current) My two older kids are struggling readers while the six year old is a whiz (what a relief cause for a while there I was thinking it was *me*. I wasn't consistent enough, I didn't get them to practice enough - even though we have worked on reading from MANY different angles every single day for the last three plus years! It's finally starting to pay off, though we're not done yet!) I feel very strongly about reading aloud to kids - any kids, not just struggling readers, though that certainly has added benefits. Along with some pretty intense phonics and instruction to gain skills, I want my kids to *love* reading. LOVE. Reading aloud will expose them to more vocabulary and advanced phonics, but also to truly great stories and new worlds and inspiring, hilarious, fantastic characters that would otherwise be out of their reach. Good books help a kid understand the magic of getting carried away in a book, the *why* for reading. I consider it a huge compliment to my patience and dilligence when all four of my kids will pick up a book - one they can read or one they just enjoy looking at - during odd spare moments during the day. And even the two year old will clamour for "read a book" at the breakfast table :) I

Haha, this thread is entertaining at the end of a long day :) Sahamama, I know exactly what you mean by clean, contented bunnies munching away. I have a milk cow fostering three orphan calves. I make sure they have what they need, when they're used to getting it. They're very much creatures of routine. Now, since I'm out there with a pitch fork and water hose every day anyhow, I'm also in charge of the welfare of six rams and a stud horse. My dh is gone for a week or more ( :( ) so I'm also feeding stock dogs and making sure the pastured sheep have all the water they need. It's *so* satisfying. Except when things go wrong. Then that's just frustrating and disheartening lol. I too managed to feed and educate all my children today. I did it with hardly a snap out of me (except when my rambunctious six year old managed to wake up my napping two year old. That did push my limits. But we recovered quickly at least. We all worked hard today and I feel like things went awesome. We even enjoyed history! That doesn't happen with my oldest usually. We're focusing on Canadian history in the context of SOTW vol. 3. So these next few days we're reviewing vikings. What's not to love, right?

Hello ladies! I'm still here! If I don't post in the morning, I feel like I'm missing out in a big way. Looks like everyone was as productive as possible (I wonder if anyone will ever come on this thread and say "My house was clean and my kids were eager to learn, but I wasn't in the mood so I sat down and ate chocolate and watched soaps while they watched junk TV" ?) And actually, you know what? I think I might be okay with that ocassionally lol! Sometimes we homeschoolers take ourselves too seriously - I know I do!! We did a full day here. Got everyone through everything planned - except a few extra things at the tail end of the day. I have a friend with a market garden who called to see if we could help her get all her squash under cover as they were worried about frost so we skipped silent reading time and typing/printing and piano practice to go give her a hand. They paid us in organic potatoes and watermelon :) She's really in need of a lift. Her kids are 4 and nearly 2, her husband works full time shift work, they have a huge market garden and two milk cows and their house isn't in the best shape, so it's hard to keep up with everything. I have so *been* there!! So while we were picking squash and my big kids were entertaining her little kids, we were able to have a really good, encouraging talk (I hope lol!) and i shared some of the places from where I drew inspiration and motivation. Man, I wouldn't trade places with her! I really do like having some big(ger) kids!

Morning critter! All the best this week, hope it's smoother for you guys. I'm going to pick up my kids today. We leave at 930. Also, a neighbour is coming for coffee at 730. So there's my whole day lol. Kids are getting picked up 2 1/2 hours away. Blah. Hate spending a day in the car, but they *are* my kids, after all, I guess I should go get them lol. Other than that . . . have a great day!!

I live along the Fraser River in BC (waaaaay out of the region you're talking but I thought I'd comment anyhow). It's a huge migratory path for all kinds of animals - land and sky. We've had flocks of geese flying back and forth, north and south, east and west, for weeks now! Crazy, huge flocks of 50 or more, only 2 or 3 at a time. They're very busy, but not actually going anywhere as of yet. I'm planning on starting a Book of Firsts with the kids once we've settled into our new school year's groove, I wish I'd done it years ago now.

Morning all. Critter, I've been thinking of you and your family, wishing you all the best! I'm so sorry about your bees - but way to find the silver lining! I spent the morning picking eccinacea blooms for a neighbor (she sells them to someone who makes eccinacea products) and got paid in eccinacea honey and concentrate :) Got an up close and personal look at her honey bees, but managed not to grab one by mistake. Soror, I can tell you're getting impatient and I don't blame you, but try not to over do it. So glad your son is seeing some good in himself :) Onegirlacademy, would another teacher help? I briefly considered teaching my kids piano myself - at least for the first year or two - but decided it was worth the $$ to get someone else to do it, for their sakes and mine. As for me, I realized last night that my kids will be back on Sunday afternoon and I don't really have anything firmed up for the week! Plus we have company all weekend and I have a neighbor who just miscarried coming for coffee early Sunday morning. I need to can applesauce and plums and do some baking and more freezer cooking. Yikes! So I cleaned the house fairly well last night to prep for company (which ended up getting delayed due to vehicle issues but at least it's done). Today I'll focus on figuring out this week's history and cannig fruit. As it is, we can't see the school table under all the boxes of plums lol! If I can, I"ll drive into town for some library books, but I'm not sure that's worth the two hour rounder it takes to get there. Need to clean out the fridge too!

aw sdel, that's terrible! Glad it wasn't worse and I'll be thinking positive thoughts for your week!

Roll of Thunder, Here My Cry *is* amazing, but I'm almost 100% sure it has many mentions of the 'n word' and is also quite graphic. Not so much that terrible things happen directly to the main characters, but they overhear their parents talking about terrible things (KKK). It's also set during the great depression, so if you're looking for something that takes place while slavery is alive and well, this wouldn't really suit.

*I* had a hard time getting through it - although that may have been more of a priorities thing as a busy mom. To me, thirteen seems young, but you know your son best. But what I found helped enormously was highlighting my way through the chapter. I would first scan the chapter with a pink highlighter and highlight names, places, dates, definitions, that kind of thing. Anything I *may* need to find later for easy reference. Then I'd go through the chapter more thoroughly with a yellow highlighter and highlight the most important things, the ideas I wanted to remember. And finally, I use an orange highlighter to highlight topics I was interested in learning more about (for example the fact that so many ancient cultures have similar flood stories) and a blue highlighter for things I'd like to copy into my commonplace book. I certainly didn't use the last two colours in every chapters though. It helped so much! I've had to pay much closer attention as a I read as well, making decisions on what's most important so I'm not just highlighting the whole thing lol. I've been going through the guide and having names and dates pop out in pink made the first section of questions a breeze, giving me more motivation and confidence for the next section. And the third section in the guide can be quite challenging! I'd seriously consider using it as a jumping off point for discussion with him and only then have him write the answers down - maybe even then, not with ever chapter. If you decide to continue with the Ancient World, would you consider letting him highlight? I admit, I hate the way the book looks when I'm done reading so I only save it for harder reading - things I would otherwise procrastinate on while reaching for Diana Gabaldon ;)

The time thing is exactly what I mean. The kids were working hard, I was working hard, there was a lot of complaining one day but a lot of fantastic attitude too. With some serious work, we could get it done each day, then be burnt out in a month. So I'm dropping a few things and seeing how it goes. We can always add a few things in again :)

Critterfixer!! HALF?! How do you do that?! I have such a hard time getting rid of books. In fact, with our last toddler growing up, I'm considering weeding through the board books no one really uses and I'm uneasy just thinking about it - and they're not not even really my friends. Many of my homeschooling friends are selling books their kids are outgrowing and while I'm grateful for the opportunity to buy, or even just receive for free, good stories, I'm not sure how they can handle it. Maybe by the time my youngest is a teenager I'll feel less attached? I always joked that when I was more eager to create closet space by giving away all my baby gear than I was to have another baby, it was definitely time to stop having babies ;) Everyone sounds so productive! I love the idea of hanging quotes. I was thinking about this a few days ago. I have all sorts of reference things hagning for the kids on the wall they generally face during our school time (maps, alphabet, syllable breakdown rules, 100 chart, jobs of silent e, bed for b/d reversals, etc). The side of the room I face has nothing really, and I could totally hang quotes up: "Remember you are teaching people, not cogs in a machine" (SWB) or "People rank infinitely higher than anything on your to-do list" (this may have been from Homeschooling From Rest) and "First seek to understand, then be understood". Can you tell I struggle with patience over anything? I always used to think "This too shall pass" was perfect for babies. I have a friend who actually had it painted above her baby's crib to encourage her during those long sleepless nights. But it *totally* works for homeschooling - not only will those frustrating days of 'that's a b, not a d' or 'what sounds can ow make?' pass, but you'll actually long for them back some day. And the favourite times will pass just as quickly! I should have a giant banner across the room lol. Anyhow. I think I'm gonna have to haul my toddler to town. It's an hour long drive and I'd rather not take her, but we've only got three diapers left in the house, we're almost out of coffee cream and our water cooler is completly empty. The diapers would last another day if we're careful and our well water isn't *bad* per se, but the coffee creamer is a deal breaker! Before I go I think I'll make a shopping list and I'll prep a bunch of crock pot meals for the freezer to get me through the next few weeks. Fall is a super busy time on the ranch for dh and the third adult in our house just started a new (work from home) job so I feel like I need to be ready for anything lol. Have a good day everyone!

Following. I'm considering buying a large used chalkboard and hanging it on the abandonned log cabin near the sandbox. For those really, really nice spring days when no one actually wants to do school, but some must be done anyway :)

Okay. After some contemplation about our own goals and priorities, both for our kids and education in general, I think I've come to some pretty good conclusions. Dropping FLL3 and CAP Fable (for now) and dropping ETC (possibly for good. though the wasted money grates). That gives us almost an hour every day. That's a big relief, I think. I never really even considered that I didn't have to do those two things before. I'm going to keep the history and science spines and use that a source for narration (with little or no written component), copy work, experiments, read alouds (me reading) and easy readers (them reading). Their spelling programs have simple dictation in them. I'm going to try doing their math together (at least the older two). After some pretty serious contemplation and a great discussion with a close friend with similar philosophy, I've decided to keep Latin and French - but ONLY as a very light, fun "break" in our day, and only oral, no writing, no reading. The only thing I'm trying to accomplish with these programs at this time is a bit of exposure and a positive attitude. I feel like some things are worth learning with no practical value - just for the pure enjoyment. At least, that's what I'm thinking right now. I'll probably change in a few minutes. But I feel like I have a lot more options - and one of them *could be* Do Nothing. But I feel great to have all these options. Thank you all so much for all your input. It is so appreciated! (and I'll definitely look into Calvert's Verticy, just in case!)

Mmmmm, new books. There's an AWESOME used bookstore in Penticton (which, now that I've moved from my home town, is like 7 1/2 hours from me :( ). It's like something out of a movie set. Bookshelves up to the ceiling, packed with books. Books stacked precariously up in the aisles, you have to pick your way though them. I'd LOVE to go there again. I used to work only two doors down from them and I'd spend many a lunch hour just browsing. That was before kids and homeschooling, though. If I had access to that store, our home library would be overwhelming lol. It was cheap though! And you could find almost anything! And you could bring in donations for store credit! Anyhow. Accountability. Um. I will continue to ponder my day, but try not to overthink it :P That's about all I've got right now for school stuff. I'm taking the toddler for coffee at my neighbor's bright and early this morning. I'm going to clean the bathroom and sort through the boys' clothing and figure out what they need for fall and put away their shorts. I'm going to read a lot. I hope. I'm picking up the Diana Gabaldon series again, starting with the fifth book. I tried to read her latest book but was so lost, I decided to backtrack. Probably my favorite ficitonal author of all time - except maybe Laura Ingalls Wilder ;) I'd also like to get through a few more chapters of SWB's History of the Ancient World.

Thank you for your thoughts. I'm going to sleep on this and see what comes up for me in the morning. I'm loving all the suggestions, experience and care you are all offering. Thank you so much!

you know, I've been pondering . . . I think part of what's got me hesitating and arguing with all you considerate, experienced moms is my MIL's voice in my head! She's a public school teacher and her kids write and write and write and write. I *know* that's not the model I'm following. I *know* I can't do that with my kids personally, like physically unable to sit there with them and get them to do that much writing. But, while very supportive of our endeavors, MIL is always mentioning that writing would help them in their reading, asking them to text, email or write letters. Making comments and suggestions. I think I'm feeling a lot of pressure from her (as much as I love her and as much as I believe her intentions are good). I need to separate that from what my goals are and what's actually going to be best for us. 4blessingsmom, thank you for taking the time to clarify your comments and answer my questions. you make some great points and I really appreciate the time you've put into this. soror, you made me think that perhaps I need to let go of what I imagined the year was going to be like and really pay attention to what I ahve in front of me. If it's too much, it's too much. No matter how great it looks on paper. Glad the kids are away with family this week! I need more time :)