We were able to do Latin and French at the same time. We started French in kindergarten, then Song School Latin in 1st. My 2nd grader now does them in parallel and doesn't mix it up. I used to try to space the lessons out so they weren't the same day or back-to back but now we can do that and it is not a problem.

DD7 did FLL1 and skipped most of FLL2 though we did some ad hoc grammar and read Grammarland. We went ahead with FLL3 in 2nd grade and it has worked well.

The first time round I planned things in advance and had a nifty weekly schedule. It helped in the beginning to become familiar with the materials and how long things were taking. Then planning did become a waste of time for us and now we follow more of a rough outline and "do the next thing".

We just use the book and song CD.

We are doing French and Latin concurrently with DD7. I used to be fluent in French and have been using L'Art de Dire and now L'Art de Lire. I am studying Latin myself for the first time with Henle, while DD just did SSL and is starting Prima Latina. She likes both and we will compare French and Latin words along the way. She hasn't had trouble keeping them straight, even if we sometimes study both in the same day (usually I try to alternate). Latin was a priority for all the reasons other posters have described over the years. I also love French and since preschool my kids have enjoyed the gentle introduction. It doesn't need to be a choice :)

My DS 4.5 is starting K in the fall. He's reading at a 2nd grade level and moving quickly through Singapore 1A. I know his K teacher well since older DD had her 2 years ago and I met with her to let her know where he is at (though I don't volunteer what we are doing at home). I wouldn't worry about kids being bored to tears if they are advanced. There is a lot going on in kindergarten even if they arrive already reading and doing math. DS loves reading. I am so glad I released the brake a few months ago and let him race ahead. Same with math. From older DD's experience, being able to read comes in handy when they are ahead in class because the default activity for early finishers is to go to the library corner and read a book. Our main prep for K is to not interrupt and shout out answers when it is someone else's turn.

We are finishing WWE2 and I am just starting to really see the writing benefits. The questions and narration has always been helpful, but Dictation did not seem to be adding anything and looking ahead to WWE3 and greater emphasis on Dictation had me reconsidering the entire program. In an earlier post, someone suggested watching the SWB YouTube videos and that changed how we do Dictation and it is working very well now.

I wanted to like A Little Princess and we all did like Secret Garden. But we dropped ALP half-way through. Wind in the Willows was a shower gift from my best friend, and I am in my 3rd try at it. Mary Poppins also fell flat. I was surprised to not like Shel Silverstein now, which I loved as a kid.

The Frog, too. But even now, when DD4 has to sound words out it is drawn out and the consonants end with vowel sounds. We'll just correct and repeat without the drawl and when she reads at a normal pace it goes away.

We ended up starting with SSL, mostly oral and mostly relying on the CD (the 2nd half is ecclesiastical). The songs make it fun. Then it went fairly quickly to go through the book and learn the vocab. I am hoping the "Latin is fun" attitude will continue when we begin PL in a few weeks.

DD was 5.5 and 1/2 way through K when we started SOTW 1. We listened to the audio (repeatedly) and did the questions and map work. I was amazed at what she retained, and the connections she would make to other stories, shows, or conversations. With SOTW2 we also listen to the audio but she reads the chapter too. I am glad we started younger. Ironically, it is harder to plan for my incoming K twins. They have tagged along for over a year now, but it is becoming a habit and I am not sure when to start SOTW formally and independently for them.

I have rising K twins and a 2nd grader in public school. For K, we are using OPGTR and Bob Books for reading. We do Singapore Math (Essentials for one, 1A for the other) and some Right Start card games and Sum Swamp. We are also doing literature read alouds (Wizard of Oz, Little House on the Prairie). And Jim Weiss CD's. For the 2nd grader, we are doing more over the summer because we have the time. At minimum, she will begin Singapore 3A and do related math card games, read to me for 15 minutes from classic children's lit at a challenging level for her, and Writing WIth Ease.

My twins will be doing L'Art de Dire, WWE1, and SOTW1 2nd semester. DD will be finishing Singapore Essentials B and OPGTR. DS will be working through Singapore 1A/B and chapter books.

We just finished L'Art de Dire and have begun L'Art de Lire 1. It is clunky, though I bought the download version. I prefer the paperback form of SSL 1 which we are also using. But so far Nallenart is getting it done for beginning French. For other subjects we use a mix of clunky and downloadable, and slicker books so none of us are very turned off by format. We also use Rosetta Stone (slicker), French books and CD's and what French of mine has survived 20 years of being dormant. Nallenart is good for structure and worksheet practice and affordability. I don't LOVE it, but do recommend it.

I second Ender's Game for Sci Fi. It is my go-to birthday and Christmas gift for boys around that age. I would also skip the others in that series.

I spend 1-2 hours on average, which includes read alouds and them reading to me. This has been our second year and the prep time is down dramatically. Like an earlier reply, we have books and CD's ready for car rides or tagging along to siblings' dance classes, etc. I now use more of a Do The Next Thing approach for each subject which eliminated the calendars and charts to plan and track progress. Teaching itself is now slightly less teacher-intensive too and I can multi-task or work with more than one child at a time. The main time sink is my own curiosity and tendency to keep checking out other curriculums or look farther ahead than necessary.

We end up with natural 2-3 week breaks a few times a year when family comes for long visits, or our own travel. It is hard for me to let go but we rarely lose ground and all come back rejuvenated.

Also the first Betsy-Tacy, which starts with them turning 5 years old.

In addition to the pp's, we like the Bob Books for readers with OPGTR. I got a lot out of reading Liping Ma's Knowing and Teaching of Mathematics as I began with Singapore. We also used Rightstart A the pre-K year and while I prefer Singapore (now beginning 3A with oldest), I still use the Rightstart Games set and recommend it. Everyone started with All About Spelling before turning 5, once they were 2/3's through OPGTR. And everyone liked the Leap Frog DVDs as they began phonics.

We have a late-start, half-day K so are able to do most before school. This worked for DD6 now in 1st and I plan to use it with DD & DS 4.5 in K this Fall: Reading: Finished OPGTR so on to children's lit and history AAS: Fortunately school does teach phonics based spelling eventually but starting in K helped with free-time writing at home and being ready for Latin & French in 1st French: L'art de Dire, CD's SOTW: audiobooks, narration & coloring pages Singapore Math: School uses Envision which is in the same neighborhood but with class sizes of 25-30 we are not taking any chances on math

We read at bedtime and aim for a chapter a day or 10-15 pages. Increasingly, my stamina is the rate limiting step. I get tired at bedtime too and my throat gets sore. We are reading longer books like The Hobbit and Journey to the Center of the Earth. I've found I need to make the time to try to finish within 3 weeks or so or else we all start to drift and lose interest.

DD likes Timez Attacks.

2 ways have worked for 2 of my kids. Oldest DD wasn't solid on handwriting when we started WWE1, but improved fast with me walking through just about every word as a pp described. By Week 8 or 10 she was doing copywork independently. With the next kid, handwriting has been more advanced and we then move more quickly through WWE1, often 1.5-2 "weeks" per calendar week. I've found WWE to be very flexible with slowing down or speeding up as fits the child and other schedules.

I struggle with this too. It is less feeling competitive with the rest of the population, though I do some admissions work for an Ivy-Type school and what I see with that is always in the back of my mind. My concerns are more about the "windows of opportunity" a pp referred to, and not wanting to miss them. And also being aware of how knowledge and skills build on each other. I have friends and family members who went along fine, fine, fine until some sorting period where they discovered they could not keep up with the reading, writing, or math to pursue the interests and careers they desired.

We are doing both, from the beginning. I studied French in HS & college, so can teach a lot myself. But we use Rosetta Stone too because the kids love using it and they do pick up a lot that way. It is good for oral practice, and they are always up to go do it (that and Timez Attack are the only computer "games"). I do not think they would end up truly great in French just via Rosetta Stone though, but we are only in the 1st set and do minimal writing/typing. But if your kids find it engaging, they will become conversant. Then it is great to find high school kids or babysitters who can parlent francais with them a bit too. We do Song School Latin too, moving into Prima Latina. So far they don't confuse Latin & French, and the two have reinforced each other. Sometimes I will throw in a Spanish translation if I know it too, and they are getting a good sense of the relationship between Latin, Romance languages, and English. We like languages and hope to add another modern before they are done, but if I had to choose only one it would still be Latin for all the usual reasons listed.