As far as discussing the root word and a suffix, I think the easiest way is to give a brief explanation and then lots of examples. Show some root words, then add some suffixes. Have your child add suffixes on to some root words and then maybe give your ds some words with suffixes and have him underline the root word, then show some words and underline the suffix. You could also have a mix of root words and words with suffixes and ask him to pick out the ones that are just root words or just words with suffixes. He'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. For compound words, I will pick a word and we will add another one at the end and see how many we can make. Then we pick another word and add a word in front of it to make words. Easy and the kids think it's fun. The rule for when to drop a silent final e is "silent final e words commonly lose the need for the e when adding a vowel suffix". Or at least that is the rule that we use. I use SWR (Spell to Write to Read). It's a little pricy but you use the same curriculum for years so you end up getting your money's worth. You are given rules (if any apply) for each word so you always know why something is spelled the way it is. My dc really like this b/c spelling makes sense to them this way. There is a definite learning curve to SWR, but it's not hard once you get used to it. It's really the only thing I have used. Sorry I can't be more helpful suggesting other options!

Thanks so much! I had started to feel like maybe I was a lazy homeschooler or something. :tongue_smilie: I'll try to :chillpill: and be confident with what we are doing!

Enjoy your kids, relax, and have a great rest of the summer!!! :D

I have a 4th grader and we are starting WWE this year. I don't think it's too late if you want to add it in. I gave dd the tests SWB recommends and we are starting with WWE3. I am hoping to get through WWE4 before 5th grade, but it won't be the end of the world if we don't. If it's a program you think you will want the others to do, you could add that in for the 2nd and 1st grader if you want, but I don't think you have to. I am starting my 1st grader with WWE1 in the fall b/c I wish I had done that with my 4th grader. Or in lieu of a formal writing program, you could just do narrations with each of them in history or science and let that be your writing for the year. I have a few more independent reading books for mine, but I always schedule probably more than what we can do and then pare down later in the year. I just like having extra stuff listed in case I need it. What you have looks good and I don't think you need to change or add anything. If it will give you peace of mind, add a few more books to the reading list. If you don't get through them all, it's no big deal.

Was it The Count of Monte Cristo? I think I saw a thread where someone just finished that.

We are usually called back in about 5 min. I have waited as long as 30 during the height of cold and flu season, but that is a rarity. When dd1 was a baby, I went to a practice w/ only 2 docs. I waited on a well appt for about 1 1/2 hrs. We never went back after that appt. I switched to a practice with multiple docs. We loved the staff and docs there. I was so happy that we made the switch!

Les Miserables!!! (my favorite) :D Wuthering Heights Pride and Prejudice The Brothers Karamasov Crime and Punishment Silas Marner

We were in your exact situation about 9 months ago. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but you will get through this! Sending you :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: and prayers!

If it was clear that you loaned your items to people, then definitely ask for them back. Obviously don't make a big deal out of it it they don't have the stuff anymore, but I think asking is OK. If you did give them the items, then ask them if you can borrow them back (to me this acknowledges that the things are now theirs and you are respecting their property). I don't think it's OK to give something to someone and then years later act like it's still yours anytime you want it. I had someone give me all of her old maternity clothes when I had ds. She told me she was done having kids. Those were basically all the clothes I had when I was pregnant. I kept the clothes, moved with them multiple times, stored them for years and then out of the blue, she wanted them back. I did give them back, but it offended me that she had clearly given them to me and she felt that she could just have them back whenever she wanted. I got pregnant about 6 months after her and then had no clothes. She didn't even offer to give them back a few months later after she was done with them. OK so maybe my experience has soured me a bit. I need to :chillpill: Oh, and I am not suggesting that you would treat someone like the above story! That was really just me venting/explaining why I feel the way I do about your situation.

I don't set a time limit per subject. I think it would drive me crazy to micromanage that much. So far we have done about 3-4 hrs of school per day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. My ds6 pretty much always does less time than dd9. Ds probably did around 1 1/2hrs a day this past school year. It's funny to me how we hs moms talk about doing school for 6 hrs a day like it's some kind of torture. Ps kids go 7 hrs every day. I figure if we really need to, it won't kill my dc to do that on occasion. :tongue_smilie: I do set the timer sometimes for seatwork. If the assignment is not finished on time, I make a judgement call. It is important enough to push the whole day back(do I need to reteach a concept or is the work vital for some other reason)? Could it be assigned after school as "homework" so that the flow of the day is not interrupted (that is what I do when I think something is not finished due to wasting time- the child has to finish the work after school before any fun activities)? Have I overloaded the assignment (kid understands the work but is bogged down by the number of problems, etc)? Then I adjust our day accordingly. I also try to remember that it's not the end of the world if we don't get things done on a tight schedule. One thing this past year has taught me is to take a deep breath and just make sure our goals and skills are covered. If my ds meets all the math goals and skills I have planned for him to do, but we don't quite get to the end of the book, it's OK.

I used Abeka for K with my dd. It seemed like an average curriculum to me. It was bright and colorful, which dd liked. It was easy to use and didn't crawl at a snail's pace, but it didn't seem speedy either. I did feel like dd got a solid math foundation when we did it. I haven't used the other programs listed so I can't compare Abeka with them. Maybe you could let her look through some of the workbooks and see if one catches her eye in particular. Is this your first year hsing her? If not, it might be helpful to know what you used last year and why you thinking of switching.

We just moved out of my in-laws' house. I think you will do fine especially since you will be the only woman in the house. When you have 2 women who do things differently, I think that is where most of the friction comes from in situations like this. One thing I would mention, which you probably have already thought of, is making sure each party's financial responsibilities and even household responsibilities are clear from the outset. That way everyone knows what to expect from the new circumstances. Oh, and if your dad is anything like my FIL, I had to make sure he didn't give the kids cookies and ice cream every time I turned my back :lol: My dd was 9 and ds was 6 when we lived there. They shared a room then and still do in our new place. They change separately in the bathroom, and it has worked out fine. I wish I could give them both their own rooms, but it's not feasible for us right now. It took some adjusting for both of them, but they are happy sharing now. If you have the space to give them their own room, that's great, but I wouldn't stress about it if they have to share.

Dinsfamily, I would love to see your schedule for SWR!! This will be my 4th year using the program. It's pretty flexible and once you get used to dictating the spelling words, it's pretty straightforward imo. Both of my kids love playing the phonogram games and chanting the rule cards. It's something that we can all do together, which is nice. So we usually do a game or go over rules/phonograms together and then dc break up and do some individual work. I love that I do not have to buy new curriculum or workbooks each year, and the dc are always so proud of their "learning logs". That being said, I have never used the program with a child who could not at least read basic 3 and 4 letter words. When I taught my ds to read this past year, I used letter flashcards and some of 100 Easy Lessons to start. We finished 100 EL a little over 1/2 way through the year and then I introduced SWR.

Thanks! We are getting ready to go through the Middle Ages so this site will be very helpful!

I love TWTM methodology! I have been hsing my dd since K, but just read TWTM a few months ago. I am incorporating many of SWB's ideas for next year, especially for history and writing, but we are sticking with some of the curriculum we were using too. Dd is going into 4th and I thought that switching all of her curriculum over to SWB's recommendations might be too much change for one year. We already have math, grammar, and phonics/spelling programs that are working well so we will keep those. I think when dd hits the logic stage, I will switch over to more of the recommendations in the text. The narrations and notebooks will be the biggest change for us next year. I hope to take those ideas and use them with stuff that's already working for us to make it even better.

My dad, dh, and sister are lefties who were made to write RH. They all have atrocious handwriting. Sometimes my dad can't even read the things he has written b/c it's so bad. My MIL is LH and writes LH and has beautiful writing. She doesn't hook at all, and I have often admired the graceful way she writes. As far as being RH for the benefit of reading as you write, it doesn't work if your handwriting is so bad that you can't read what you've written. My ds is LH and showed pronounced LH tendencies from a very young age. When he was a toddler, I always put utensils, crayons, etc. in his right hand and he almost always switched them over to the left. I taught him to write this past school year. It never occurred to me to make him write RH when he was so obviously LH. I was nervous about teaching him b/c I am RH, but it wasn't any harder than teaching my RH dd. He has great handwriting now (well for a 6 yr old boy anyway)! Oh, and I am using the same materials I used with my RH dd. I haven't had to get anything "special" b/c he is a lefty.

I taught my kids with Abeka in K. I have some issues with the program, but one thing I did like was that it taught blend ladders. So dc would learn b=/b/. Then they would put together that sound with all of the short vowel sounds to start off. I would show them ba and sound /b/ /a/. Then do the same with the rest of the vowels. When they could do ba, be, bi, bo, bu easily, we added a letter at the end to make a word. They would recognize and blend the first 2 letters quickly and then just add the last letter. I hope the way I wrote that down makes sense. It worked really well. You can buy blend ladder flash cards from Abeka, but it is very easy to make your own. We would sound out up and down the ladder for fluency. Maybe something like that would help your child include the first letter when sounding out a word.

Sorcerer's Apprentice All 3 Narnia movies Harry Potter movies (can you tell fantasy is a hit in our house);) Charlotte's Web- live action version I can think of a ton of older movies, but that's all that comes to mind that's relatively new. I'm interested to see other responses though.

I have used SE with my dd through level 3. We will be skipping to level 5 this year. I did do the writing assignments for 1-2 and if I could go back in time, I would definitely skip them and do something else. I personally think the formula they teach is atrocious. I understand that kids need to understand the concept of a main point with supporting points, but the SE model is so incredibly scripted that it almost becomes a fill-in-the-blank exercise after a while, IMO. I am going back and using WWE 3/4 with my dd this year and will start my ds out with SE 1 just for grammar and use WWE 1 and other narrations for him for writing. SE is great for grammar! My dd excels in grammar b.c of it, but we have had problems with her writing b/c SE focused more on form than substance.

It's not too much to expect the things you want (clean up the mess that she makes, provide her own transportation, etc). It is too much to expect the sitter to know intuitively that you want these things done. Back when I was babysitting, cleaning up after oneself was a given, but most kids aren't raised to think about that kind of stuff now (unfortunately). The clearer you are about expectations at the outset, the happier everyone will be. As a babysitter, moms picked me up in high school and even some in college before I got a car. My parents were never expected to pick me up or drop me off. As a parent, I definitely pay more for a sitter who has her own transportation than for one who does not.

This might be a silly question, but how do you do narrations with the same subject matter with 2 kids? I guess I am concerned about one parroting what the other one has just said. Do you do narrations right after you read a passage (that makes the most sense to me)? Or do you read science or history and then later in the day pull them aside individually to see what they remember? I'm kind of new to the whole narration thing, and I'm still trying to get a picture in my head as to how it will work.

I recently ordered SG4 for my dd, and noticed that there was very little difference between SG3 and SG4. I am wondering if I should jump her ahead to SG5. If I do, do I then jump her to SG7 the next year? I am also thinking about switching grammar programs as we enter the logic stage. Should I stick with SG and just incorporate some diagramming so that she stays consistently with one program (I majored in English so adding diagramming is not a problem for me) or should I switch to something else? I have been thinking about using R&S since SWB recommends it. Suggestions are welcome! I have been homeschooling dd since K but have only recently read WTM and want to change if needed to give dd a truly classical education.

I have sold a few things on homeschoolclassifieds.com. It's worked out pretty well, although I think there is a small fee if you need to post a lot of items.