Not sure if this helps or not, but with HST Online, you can export your lesson plans to your computer in .csv format. This would allow you to use your created lesson plans in Excel if you cancel your online subscription. At least this would keep you from losing your planning.

When I learned to type 20 years ago it was with a book and a typewriter...hahaha. I bought a similar book for DH shortly after we got married because he didn't know how to type. I FINALLY was able to acknowledge it was antiquated and let it go...this year. :D

I have to say our experience with Typing Instructor has been great! All of my older kids have loved it, especially the games. Maybe the poor experience from the other poster was just trying it out too young (5). I haven't had much success with teaching really young ones to type. Mine usually start in the 8-10 range. That's just us though. If others have been successful with younger kids using something else, I'd love to hear about it!

I'm kinda on the other end, having never used SL. I was always under the impression that SL was all encompassing (minus math and science). Since I had so many other programs I loved and didn't want to give up, I didn't think SL would really work for us. Well, the light bulb came on this year and I've decided to use SL for literature and history. We'll be using Easy Grammar, AAS and WWS/Writing Tales (different kids) for those aspects of language arts. I plan to use principles from Teaching the Classics with the SL books to add more literary analysis. As for planning, have you considered Homeschool Tracker? I've been using it for several years, and I'm in love with their new online version. My kids (even my 5 year old) can log in and see their assignments. They check the student box when they've done the assignment and I know to check it. I like it because it does help keep me on track, but allows for flexibility (easy rescheduling) if we miss a day or two. It really helps me to see the "big picture" and goals for the year. As someone else mentioned, SL sells their readers schedule/discussion questions separately (about $7) if you don't want to use the entire core. Maybe that would be enough to keep you from feeling overwhelmed or freeing you up add other books that interest you, since you already have the history component with SOTW. Above all, my greatest advice to you at this age: RELAX!!! Reading and math should be your essentials, and everything else is extra, IMHO and experience.

Thanks everyone for your input! I've let the kids read one book, but I think I'm going to pack them up and head to the library ASAP to find some other books they'd enjoy reading. That should be enough to distract them and satisfy their desire for a good book. :)

So, we're going to be trying out Sonlight for the first time next year. I just bought 2 cores and they arrived in the mail this week. The problem is (if you can call it that), my kids are DROOLING over the books and want to read NOW. I'm concerned that if I make them wait until the school year that they won't be as interested in them and some of the excitement will wear off. I've just never had to tell them they can't read a book that I bought for them to read...KWIM? So my question is...what do YOU do? Do you let the kids read? Would you let them start early? :confused: We're doing a lot of home construction this summer, so I'm really not in a position to start school in the summer (the part that involves me), because I'm going to be busy doing other things. HELP!

:iagree:That's us completely!

Ahhhh....legos. If you're ever in the market for more legos, our family sells them in bulk. You see, we were wanting to get our dc legos, but were bemoaning how expensive they can be. So, DH started checking around on ebay and such. He began to realize that the more legos you buy, the less expensive they become per unit. We thought if we bought a lot, we could sell most of them to recoup our investment, and still have some legos left over for our kids. In a moment of weakness (on my part), I let dh talk me into buying 100,000 legos. Yes...you read that right...100,000. :blink: Long story short, we had reason to be concerned that we may not have actually gotten all our legos. So, we decided to count them. Trust me on this one, you N...E...V...E...R want to count that many legos! :eek: Turns out, we had been shorted several thousand legos, so it's a good thing we counted. So, as you can imagine, we have a lot of legos for sale that have not been played with. Our kids have their own that they play with, but we keep the others separate. The legos are bulk, and don't come with instructions or a guarantee for specific pieces, but they do include a lot of specialty pieces and can be a great addition to an already established collection. If anyone's ever interested, just pm me and we can talk details. I hope it doesn't bother anyone that I've put this here instead of the for sale board. I just couldn't help sharing my lego story after you mentioned how much your ds loves legos. :D

:bigear:

I should also mention that I have a very math intuitive family, from DH and I straight down to most of the kids. Sometimes I'm not sure how much is from curriculum/implementation vs. gifting. I have a DS10 who excels in math and will be doing Saxon 87 this year and a DD12 who is good at math but not gifted. Her talents lie elsewhere. She'll be doing Saxon 76. As obvious as it is, not everyone is the same (reminding myself here, too). It's okay if your kids never make it to Calculus. :) I'm sure they have exceptional talents in other areas. Encourage them to work hard at math, because they need it, but remind them of how great they're doing elsewhere. And that goes for you! Don't let this math situation diminish any other areas you've been successful at. Keeping those successes in mind will help you to push forward in math.

Thanks for the tip! I should have known to check my library. Sure enough, they have all 10. As for the two camps, I've been noticing there are strong opinions on both sides. That's why I've been on the fence about them. I guess it's time to check them out myself and see what I think. :) I'm glad I can do it without spending $$$. LOVE the library! Thank you all for your input...it's so appreciated! :D

:iagree: with everything except the self-teaching part. For my kids, Saxon is self teaching with instructions and examples in the lesson book. They may need help occasionally, but that will be true of any program. We do every problem and it's not too overwhelming. I, too, have not used CLE so I can't compare the two. I've used Rod and Staff, BJU Math and Saxon. I noticed big improvements in my older children once they began Saxon. My younger ones have always used Saxon.

We haven't had any problems with the download. My kids have enjoyed Timez Attack, but you may also want to consider using Xtramath.org, too. Timez Attack adds the fun factor while Xtramath practices the speed factor. My kids like both.

If you've used these books, can you tell me what you like or don't like about these books? Thanks! :bigear:

I TOTALLY agree with this, and I have a lot of experience with math as well. You may find they are able to progress faster through the upper math once they have the basics down. But to place them higher and hope they get the basics is a recipe for disaster, imho. No matter how low it is, I would place them where their skills really are, and push them to work hard to master it. If you don't have concerns about learning disabilities, then it's time for math boot camp.

I highly recommend Xtramath.org for learning the basic math facts, alongside Saxon. It's free, it works and it's easy to be consistent. I don't have any experience with Math Mammoth, but I can tell you Saxon is solid. I know it's hard, but try not to worry about hurting your dd's feelings concerning levels. If they don't like it, it may motivate them to work hard at it. Maybe you can create an incentive for them if they can reach certain milestones by a certain date. Also, you can save yourself some time in the books by doing a lesson and a test on test days (level 54 and up). If you start in Saxon 3, it's pretty easy to do more than one lesson a day. I would definitely make math the top priority subject you cover. I've never spoken to Mr. Reed, but it sounds like a good idea to contact him for some advice. HTH

I forgot to mention that Peace Hill Press sells The Creative Writer and has samples you can see.

I recently purchased The Creative Writer by Boris Fishman at the same time I purchased WWS. I haven't used it yet, so I can't say whether I actually like it or not, but it looks really good! I've read about people using this book at the same time as WWS.

We did BJU math and hated it! DH and I are both VERY mathy people, and we found their approach to teaching certain topics confusing. In particular I thought they had a strange way of teaching estimation. I'm sorry, I can't elaborate further on that because it's been several years. Also, with several children pretty much the same ages of yours (at the time), I found it way too teacher intensive. I know it's important to teach concepts that our children need help with, but I certainly didn't have time to teach EVERYTHING to them. We ended up switching to Saxon math and I can't recommend it enough. All of my kids have excelled at math and have been able to work independently for the most part. Even my 5yo was able to do Saxon 1 this year without very much help. I used to use the speed drills, but now I use Xtramath.org to practice basic math facts. It's WONDERFUL and free! I've always skipped Saxon K, because after reviewing it I realized my kids did all these things during playtime before starting school. My last 4 children all started Saxon 1 in Kindergarten without difficulty.

The more expensive one is the teacher's manual. It's basically the same as the student workbook, with the answers given in the back pages. I have several children, so I take my book to Staples and have the binding cut off, then I just make copies of the workbook.

I'm assuming SM 3A is Singapore Math (please correct me if I'm wrong). I don't know if you've considered Saxon Math, but my kids have used it independently for the last 4 years. One of the things I love about it is that it teaches to the kids in the books (level 54 and up) rather than "hiding" the instruction in a teacher's manual. Although the younger grades don't include instruction in the workbooks, my kids have been able to work independently through these with only occasional questions. We tried using the Saxon DVD's to provide instruction, but my kids hated it. They just wanted to pull out the book, read the lesson and get on with it. Everyone is different, of course, but that's what's worked for us.

My kids have used the Draw Write Now books for years and loved them! They're practically worn out...lol. We've never done anything formal with them, just let the kids "play" with them. I do believe that Mark Kistler is taking them to a much more sophisticated level with drawing, though. He teaches all about shading and perspective, skills needed to draw realistically. I love that he teaches these concepts, yet at the same time he's really fun! He usually makes up a story about what he's drawing and the kids get such a kick out of it. :) I've tried having my older kids watch some drawing lessons on youtube. But they're usually so technical and dry that my kids just don't get into it.

Have you looked at Teaching the Classics? It's not a "curriculum" per se, but will help you teach literary analysis to your kids in a fun and simple way. My kids love it! You could use it alongside Pathway without adding a burden (it's really simple to do with all the kids together).

I'm not artistic AT ALL, but DH is and several of my children show promise in drawing. Unfortunately, DH never seems to find the time to teach many art lessons. I was thrilled when I found Mark Kistler. Come to find out, he was a major inspiration to DH when he was a kid through his PBS show. I've actually listed all the videos (by name) into Homeschool Tracker and assigned them to the kids. They have to do 3 drawings per week, plus any they want to do extra. This way it ensures they actually cover all the lessons. I'm able to insert a link in the assignment, so they go directly to the drawing lesson page and just click on the assigned lesson. I just uploaded a couple of my 7yo's drawings. They're not the best pictures, but you get the idea. You can see them on my picasa album here

Have you already checked Homeschool Classifieds?