Thank you. An active homeschooling community is going to be important for us.

Good to know. I'm especially intimidated by all the specific subjects that have to be covered and the quarterly reports. And what happens if we decide not to use a particular book or curricula after all or make a change to something else?

Wow! I guess that's doable, but it sounds like a lot to me.....especially for four children. It's going to be a big adjustment coming from not having to report anything. Thank you for the link. For some reason it is not letting me join. I keep getting an "an error has occurred, please try again" message. I'll try again tomorrow.

My dh may be transferring from his job here in London, UK to the company's office in NYC. I am VERY nervous about this transfer. Homeschooling here in the UK is easy in that I don't have to report anything to anyone. We do not unschool, but we are pretty relaxed and use an eclectic mix of materials. Before moving here 2 1/2 years ago we lived in Delaware, which also had very lenient homeschool laws. I only had to report how many students I was schooling at the beginning of the year and then report how many days of school we did at the end of the year. New York's laws scare me to death! My dc will be in grades 11,10,6 and 2. Please tell me homeschooling in NY isn't as bad as it seems!! Also, for those who live in NYC, is there an active community of homeschoolers? Any other information about living in NYC in general is also greatly appreciated. I never lived in a city until moving to London. I love London, but can't say I have loved living here. Mostly because it is so far from family and I am not a city person. NYC is probably our only option in order to get back to the US without dh switching jobs. It'll probably still mean city living, but most of our families live in Delaware and New Jersey. Being close to them is a huge plus.

Praying, Luanne!

We moved to the UK a little over two years ago. I was really surprised at the cultural differences. It did take a little while, but I began to feel "at home." Then this past January I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I recently finished my radiation/chemo treatments. I'll be rescanned at the end of the month to see if the cancer is gone, but the prognosis is good. Now all I can think about is how much I want to move back home to the US. Some days I am ok, but others I just hate it here and feel like I have to get back there RIGHT AWAY. My post-treatment therapist says it's understandable because I've gone through such a traumatic experience in a country not my own, and after not being here very long. I associate the UK with my cancer. My dh is great and says he will move me back (even though he'd have to find a whole new job) if that's what I want, but I have to wait until the end of the year to make a decision. He says I am not in the right frame of mind right now and need to let the side effects of my treatment wear off. I understand, but it's hard. We are going to try to go back for a visit in August. I figure I'll either be ready to get back to the UK after a couple of weeks or I won't want to leave! Try not to be anxious about your visit. Just enjoy the time with your loved ones!

Exactly!!

I like the looks of Beautiful Feet's two-year world history curriculum.

I think Beautiful Feet's Early American and World History could fit the bill.

:iagree:

Maybe Easy Grammar Plus or just do a year of Daily Grams to keep skills fresh until doing a high school level grammar the following year?

:lurk5:

My young second grader is only doing reading, copy work and a handwriting program to learn cursive. She does a lot of writing on her own though. She seems to be a natural speller, so I probably won't do a spelling program with her until next year, if I think she needs it. Formal grammar will start in fourth grade. Until then, we go over puncutation and some grammar in her copy work or play Mad Libs.

Tried and True: Explode the Code The Reading Lesson Apples and Pears Spelling Winston Grammar Basics Apologia Elementary Science Series Keep Coming Back To: Singapore Math CLE Math Story of the World Ambleside Online

Yes! We love those too!

We have all of them. My oldest three children would only pull them out every now and then for the drawings. My youngest loves them, but mainly used them for writing practice. She would copy the sentences and then draw her own picture in her own way to go along with the writing. Go figure! :confused1:

We really like Apples and Pears, but I would not use it if you have a natural speller. It is a workbook, but it's not meant to be independent at all.

"So here's how we're using it now: We use CLE for math, Pentime for handwriting, R&S for grammar and spelling. (much independence here) Then we read HOD books for the rest. HOD claims to be a Charlotte Mason curriculum, so we are doing the other subjects in true CM style: read and narrate. To give us a little more detail, I looked through the CtC guide and noticed how many times a week written narrations are scheduled (1 time) and how many times there were oral narrations, copywork and sketching assignments. So I just vary our days: Day 1, we read and narrate orally. Day 2, we read and sketch or copy something. Day 3, we read and discuss. Day 4, we do a written narration. That's it! :) Some we read together, some they read on their own. We read whatever books from the list that we are in the mood for. I am actually using CtC science books with the whole family, even my kindergartener. When we did Beyond a few years ago, we followed the lesson plans for awhile, but eventually just went to reading through the books. I quit all other busywork." Yes! This is what we do, except I pick books from HOD, Sonlight, Ambleside, etc. I just choose the books that interest us from the time period we want to focus on. For the basics we use Singapore math, Winston Grammar and Apples and Pears Spelling. I do have to teach those, but the full one-on-one time isn't more than about an hour total. The only other time I am needed is to listen to a narration or do a read aloud.

My 7yo is learning a lot just from the iPad app Stack the Countries. I have her play it a few times a week. It teaches the names, major cities, locations, flags and languages of each country. We focus on one continent for months at a time. Also, we have a world map hanging on the wall next to our kitchen table. We have been working on Europe for a few months now and she is better than I am at locating the countries.

Why not use something like CLE for the basics of math and English, then just read the HOD books? You could have him read them on his own or do as read alouds if you have time.

Any other recommendations?

Wow, I will have my third 6th grader next year! This ds is dyslexic..... Math - Singapore 4B/5A English - Apples and Pears Spelling B and C Winston Grammar Basics (continued from this year) Literature from 1000 Good Books List and Ambleside Online Written Narrations History - Our Island Story (with a few bigraphies and other nonfiction thrown in) Science - Exploring Creation with Zoology 1 and Botonay (reading only) Spanish - various games and materials and weekly FaceTiming with bilingual Aunt Rosie Bible - daily reading and devotionals Lots of free time for digging, whittling, computer programming, movie-making, woodworking and pottery! This child is VERY active and creative.

Wow, I will have my third 6th grader next year! This ds is dyslexic..... Math - Singapore 4B/5A English - Apples and Pears Spelling B and C

The basics. I have my elementary dc read 30 minutes each from a literature book, science book and some kind of history book (biography, historical fiction or nonfiction on a particular topic) each day and orally narrate what they've read. They also do a math lesson and copy work. At second grade we add a spelling program (if needed) and at fourth grade a grammar program. Also, at fourth grade copywork changes to dictation. Written narrations starting at fifth grade. That's it until we start a formal science curriculum in 8th grade.

"WWS - I don't understand this program. It's too tedious for good writers, and it's way too complicated for struggling writers. Who is it actually supposed to serve? I was so disappointed. I wish SWB would have devoted her efforts to continuing her grammar program." I agree!! I also didn't like FLL/WWE, but I wouldn't say I hated it. I really didn't care for My Father's World. That surprised me.