Well, no, it doesn't. And I agree that it's easier to add days than to subtract them. :) It's just that, when I decide to do something, I like jump in full throttle (well, I'd have to find students again which takes time, but ideally I'd like to fill up 8 hours a week over 4 days.) Thanks for the reply!

I haven't seen her posts on the old board in a few months. I liked reading hers, that's how I noticed.

So, do you think R&S writing exercises are still good options for logic/rhetoric stage, along with the recommendations on your writing CD/in the WTM? Or will your Volumes 2 and 3 be intended to replace that option? And, do you think that in grammar stage, if a student is using the methods outlined in your writing CD, that R&S writing exercises are NOT needed (I've been using them for 3rd and 4th grade)?? I'm probably going to buy all three books - that volume 1 if only for the essay you mentioned - but I'm sure I'll get a lot more out of it for my dd7, and to make sure I've covered everything for ds9. :) Thanks for your help.

Has anyone been able to make working from home while homeschooling classically? Esp. with maintaining time for studying ahead of your kids? Keeping time for the little things like paperwork, etc.? Time with dh? Time for fun? Time for just me? I already have a plan in place to keep the kids occupied while I tutor - finish schoolwork that they don't need me for, read, craft, shower, picture study, history map, etc.. I've also talked with them about this, the older wants me to tutor so we can have money to do some more fun things, the younger is reluctant, simply because she wants me. :) We do have lots of Mommy time, however. But I'm afraid to take the plunge again - I don't want to have to quit on the parents again and disappoint them. I think I also can charge more money this time, too, which is a huge bonus. :) Any encouragement? Discouragement? Practical ideas? BTDT?

I feel silly posting this, but as usual, there are so many great opinions and practical helps here... I'm a classically-minded, WTM style homeschooler of ds in 4th grade and dd in 1st grade. Going into logic stage next year, and I'm pretty sure of most of our choices for next year...I know I can learn what I need to know for the next few years, but know it will take time, effort, and preparation from me. Anyway, a few years ago when dc were 3 and 5, and until they were 5 and 7, I tutored in the early evenings for other kids who needed help in reading and spelling. I learned a lot then, enjoyed it, and enjoyed the good hourly wage I could ask for. The parents were happy with what I did for their kids. I quit after two years, because my kids were starting to misbehave while I tutored, and it wasn't fair to the students. Dh was not home during my tutoring time, so my kids would play quietly in the living room while I tutored in the kitchen, or they would go to their rooms to play. It was for one or two hours a day, 4 days a week. Fast forward....I have been contemplating for months now about taking up tutoring again. My kids are two years older now, and though we have our rough moments, I am thinking they might be able to handle it better now if I tutored an hour or two a day (when my kids are done schoolwork, or they can do some things like mapwork/crafts/picture study on their own if I lay down specific guidelines). I REALLY would like to have the extra money to save up for a future vehicle when ours goes kaput completely, or to go to the pool every so often without being worried about saving pennies, or buy the stuff we are going to need in the next few years for homeschooling, or take our family on an extended trip somewhere (Europe? Asia? the Southern U.S. again?) or have money there for when dh's work isn't producing in the down times. We're very frugal people, BTW, so we know what we're doing when it comes to handling finances. I just want some cushion for those other things. But I'm worried about taking this up, and then possibly having to quit again in a year or two. What has your experience been, with logic stage? And with working from home while homeschooling?

Is Volume 2 a book for logic stage writing? If so, do you have any time frame (like say, in the next four years, as ds is starting 5th grade next year :)) for when you hope this will be published? How about Volume 3 (rhetoric? publication timeframe?)? Did you mention elsewhere that the series is based on your writing CD? I took extensive notes on that CD (just in grammar stage so far - it was a learning curve for me!) and I'm wondering if the books would expand on what you talk about on the CD. If so, how? Finally, would you recommend your writing book series in ADDITION to R&S writing exercises, or instead of, or any combination of the two? If so, why and for what levels? Thanks so much! I'm trying to determine if I should purchase Volume 1 for any reason.....and of course, if I should purchase the others when they come out. :)

I'll post an intro here, too, since I read here and occasionally ask questions of you great ladies.... I'm Colleen, and I live with dh, ds9, and dd7 in eastern Canada (southeastern Canada?). We've been here for 11 years, and married for 13 (previously lived in Ottawa, Canada's capital city). I'm from the States, and before getting married, I served for several years in Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international missions organization. That's where dh and I met. I read the WTM when ds was about 3 or 4, and was very overwhelmed by it. I read it again when he was 6 and when I was clueless about how to go about educating him. Instantly I was onto the plan and have been ever since, with modifications here and there. I am SO grateful for SWB's books, teaching CDs, these message boards, you ladies here......WTM has gone from being a mere plan to being more understood by me - the whys and the hows. I basically homeschool and manage the home. I am contemplating taking up tutoring in reading, since I did it for two years a few years ago. But I'm not sure yet, because I don't want it to overtake the homeschooling. However, it's good money around here.....how do you other classical educators manage school, home, and working at home anyway as your kids get older? Ds is heading into logic stage work next summer..... ciao.

I'm Colleen, and I live with dh, ds9, and dd7 in eastern Canada (southeastern Canada?). We've been here for 11 years, and married for 13 (previously lived in Ottawa, Canada's capital city). I'm from the States, and before getting married, I served for several years in Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international missions organization. That's where dh and I met. I read the WTM when ds was about 3 or 4, and was very overwhelmed by it. I read it again when he was 6 and when I was clueless about how to go about educating him. Instantly I was onto the plan and have been ever since, with modifications here and there. I am SO grateful for SWB's books, teaching CDs, these message boards, you ladies here......WTM has gone from being a mere plan to being more understood by me - the whys and the hows. I basically homeschool and manage the home. I am contemplating taking up tutoring in reading, since I did it for two years a few years ago. But I'm not sure yet, because I don't want it to overtake the homeschooling. However, it's good money around here.....how do you other classical educators manage school, home, and working at home anyway as your kids get older? Ds is heading into logic stage work next summer..... ciao.

I'm Colleen, and I live with dh, ds9, and dd7 in eastern Canada (southeastern Canada?). We've been here for 11 years, and married for 13 (previously lived in Ottawa, Canada's capital city). I'm from the States, and before getting married, I served for several years in Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international missions organization. That's where dh and I met. I read the WTM when ds was about 3 or 4, and was very overwhelmed by it. I read it again when he was 6 and when I was clueless about how to go about educating him. Instantly I was onto the plan and have been ever since, with modifications here and there. I am SO grateful for SWB's books, teaching CDs, these message boards, you ladies here......WTM has gone from being a mere plan to being more understood by me - the whys and the hows. I basically homeschool and manage the home. I am contemplating taking up tutoring in reading, since I did it for two years a few years ago. But I'm not sure yet, because I don't want it to overtake the homeschooling. However, it's good money around here.....how do you other classical educators manage school, home, and working at home anyway as your kids get older? Ds is heading into logic stage work next summer..... ciao.

Yes, Happy Birthday to you, Daisy! I enjoy reading your posts. Colleen

Hey Dayle, Keep exploring and learning - don't leave - I like reading your posts!!!!!

I wouldn't have her narrate every chapter, for fear of making her dread reading. What about asking her what her favourite part/chapter was, or what she thinks is the most important part of the story, and having her narrate from that? You can use her answers (or lack of) to come up with your own questions, and keep using her answers to weave together a narration. Demonstrate verbally how to take two or three answers and put them into one sentence. SWB wrote a great article on narrations, that can be found in the articles section of the WTM site. With practice over the years, kids will get better at remembering more details from their reading.

Aww, Lucy would LOVE to play with Emily, but I haven't been able to talk Joe into moving south (yet). It's becoming my all-consuming dream to move south and escape the cold and snow....but I'm diverging. :) Hope she finds some new friends.

hee hee, I did! :) sorry to take up space!

(did I get elevated?)

Makes sense to me! This is encouraging to me to "keep on keeping on" with teaching skills. I figured it was just so that in high school the student would be able to study content more on his own - but the whole learning curve about taking test idea makes sense, too. Thank you! And now, I should be elevated to "hive mind larvae...." or whatever it's called.

Jean, do you mean that your three examples should be done as much as possible before high school, or that the high school schedules should be freed up to do those three examples? (I'm thinking you mean the first thing) This was a great encouragement to keep going with what we are doing. And now, I think I've figured out how to order the messages in the thread. We'll see when I press "post!" :)

I'll be 40 in March.

The first two volumes. And I can't figure out how to order these threads, either. :)

Adventures with Atoms and Molecules. I loved using this last year with my kids, with the WTM recs on how to use it.

OK, I'm not really getting how these messages are sorted, but anyway....I suppose I'll figure out more as I explore more. WOW!!!! Those are excellent prices for the Usborne books!!! No, I've never ordered from Scholastic, but I have a friend here who collects orders from people for Scholastic.

but you know me and my duct-taped sewing machine, LOL! When we studied space a couple of years ago with the Usborne book, it was EASY to find library books with fun astronomy activities in them. Did F. tell you I found a one dollar button holer from 1966 to go with my sewing machine?? :)

Two here. DSalmost 10 and dd7.

Susan (oh Great Overmind - that's hilarious), thank you so much, this is great. I'm still checking it all out, but it looks like a lot of fun. As many others have said, this board is SUCH a blessing to me. Will we see you participating here?

In our 5th year here. Love it. How cool to see the poll results in a bar graph. There sure is a lot of experience here!