We use our eat-in kitchen as our work space which opens in the living room with the piano. We typically have classical music playing while we works so we're ok with piano practice during school time. When one girl is practicing piano the other works on her creative writing assignment.

Our girls (8 and 10 1/2) practice 15 minutes daily. I don't sit with them as they understand the weekly assignments and homework required by their instructor. I set a timer and they're good to go. I anticipate increasing practice time to 30 minutes over the course of a year or so. The first six months of daily practice went well, but this month I started a reward system - piano practice earns one tv show for the next day. This incentive works because we don't watch tv much at all during the week. The caveat is that all schoolwork must be completed before they can watch the show of their choice.

Yes; it's definitely independent work. And I agree with others...I check their work daily to make sure they understand new ideas.

We made the switch two weeks ago and it was without incident. Our daughter found the transition extremely easy and in fact, I told her today that we need to complete 2 lessons per day. I only have her complete 30 to 40% of the daily problems, so two lessons per day is achievable. She hasn't learned any new concepts - everything is a review thus far. I don't have a problem with the review aspect of the materials as it is giving her tons of confidence. My only concern is that she may get bored soon.

No....I've looked for something for the older students and no luck. The Herb Fairies Book Club is definitely on the younger side and IMO couldn't be adapted for older students. Both girls love it, but I pull additional information from online sources.

Gardening is a favorite in our household too. Right now, we have purple violas on the worktable, which are also a great fit for our Herb Fairy book club. On our counter space we have 3 glass bulb vases with hyacinths - 2 started blowing today and our entire living space smells like spring. We also have lucky bamboo in a glass vase filled with shells from last beach adventure. Common herbs have a place just outside (and inside) the classroom area as well: oregano, chives, lemon balm, lavender, tarragon, peppermint and spearmint. We use the herbs for all kinds of things...most recently a ton of herb infused honey. Oh, I forgot about our pineapple plant on the patio. It is 2 years old and we're hopeful for some fruit one of these days. Patience.... Orchids are amazing plants. We are also fond of our milkweed plants and will use our bio-bubble containers to watch the monarchs develop. With the Florida heat, we haven't been dedicated enough time for a vegetable garden. So most of our time is spent with perennials. In fact, the tea olive shrubs/trees are blooming and the smells carries from the front door throughout the house. I don't know the zone for the tea olive, sorry. I'm excited to see more posts!!!

While the girls eat breakfast, I read a history lesson (3 times a week) or a science lesson (2 times a week). After they finish eating, I cleanup and the girls write a summary of what they heard and then I ask them questions about the reading. On the history lesson day, our 10 year old will have independent reading related to the lesson. I haven't asked our 8 year old to read additional history materials, but the time is coming! And on science lesson day, we do an experiment. We all look forward to Lunch and Literature. Again, the girls eat and I read. We either use K12 literature or Mosdos Press. We've used this schedule for almost 2 years and it's worked well.

In addition to SM, we also use Math Minutes, along with a Daily Math Warmups from Carson Dellosa. I also toss in Math Mammoth.

We use the book every morning, along with narration and an activity sheet. One project a week is all we can schedule. Then we listen to cds anytime we're in the car. This routine works well for our family.

We used GWG for three years with great success. However, after hearing the "negatives' associated with GWG, I started this school year with Voyages in English and it was not well received. Both girls asked to return to GWG (and our other workbooks) instead of VIE, as a stand-alone language arts program. They preferred GWG, along with Easy Grammar, Daily Grams, Wordly Wise, Grammar Minutes, and Editing workbooks. Toss in Bravewriter and we're good to go. Back to what worked for our family.

We love K12 literature and have completed grades 3 through 5, and plan to start 6 soon. We buy or borrow used books with no online access, so it does not take a full year to complete a grade level. Lunch and Literature is one of our favorite parts of the day. I read to the girls while they eat. When one of them finishes lunch, they take over the reading so I can eat. We also use the teacher guides for discussion questions. It's very informal in our house, but the quality and diversity of reading materials is excellent.

We've used Soaring with Spelling and Evan Moore's Spelling workbooks. The girls did well with both. Our leftie preferred Soaring with Spelling because the binding is on the top of the pages. We are a very workbook oriented family, and could also take both books with us on car trips.

Still another vote for Story of the World. We use it for our 3rd and 5th graders. We listen to the audio books in the car, and also read the chapters together in the am - History for Breakfast. They enjoy the activity guide and tests (really!).

When it's hot we keep PE indoors. Ballet barre, exercises, yoga, stretching, dancing. Obstacles courses as well. We use balloons a ton. Some blindfolded crawling on your tummy games to see how many balloons you can capture and put in a basket. Crab walk races. We use playing cards for exercises: designate red hearts as lunges and do the number on the card drawn. After reading the responses, I added a mini-trampoline to my amazon wish list!

Thanks! I was looking for basic information on participles. This was perfect.

Tomorrow is our first day as well. I just finished decorating our work room and putting new books and stuff on the work table, but I'm not mentally ready. 5th grade is scaring me!

We are using 4th grade - purchased used. Our girls love it. A diverse and wide range of material; it is one of our favorite subjects. We use it during lunch...."Lunch and Literature." The girls eat while I go over vocabulary, read and ask questions. If our oldest finishes her lunch quickly, she reads. We do not have an online component but we are fine with that. I purchased the teacher's edition and student books all used, and we use both during our day. Great used prices. Great product. I would definitely recommend it.

We have weaved pot holders and painted rocks, but I like the idea of making fairy homes or gardens. I'll definitely check out Perler as well. Thank you.

Stepping stones are cheap and our families all have fairy/perennial gardens. Great great suggestion!

Great suggestion! I'm going to order the book now.

We are prepared to get messy! What do you have up your sleeve?!!

I'm looking for some project or craft ideas for four girls (ages 8 to 10). Our group meets every other Friday for 2 hours and is mostly time for the girls to play. But lately, the girls are asking for a craft or project theme to work on. I was going to order Herb Fairies but the offer is now closed. These girls all like to read and craft, enjoy animals and creepy crawlies, gardening and fairies. They play both inside and outside. Any suggestions?

Just posting again to see if anyone has used this....

Thank you so much. We plan to order grades 3 and 5. I appreciate the insight.

Kristina, do you buy the teacher edition for VIE? Assessment book? Thanks!