I have a couple kids that really struggle with written narration. I ease them into it. Step 1. Get them really comfortable with oral narration. I'll assume you are already there. If not, start with Aesops fables. They are my fav. early narration. Step 2. Begin writing down their oral narration yourself and having them copy it. Step 3. Start writing down just an OUTLINE of their narration, key words only, and have them write it from the outline. Step 4. Teach them how to write their own outline, and then use it to write the narration. Eventually it becomes more work and they just go straight to writing it.

No real suggestions though I agree with everything above- but lots of solidarity. I homeschool for a lot of reasons but bonding my 3 adopted from foster care, elementary aged children is a really big one. I know two other families as well that homeschooled their later adopted kids, both for just 2-3 years, and have ZERO regrets.

Have you looked into therapy? I agree with others about getting a neuropsych but plain old therapy can work wonders. And it may be a lot cheaper place to start, depending on your insurance. At the least a good behavioral therapist can tell you what testing they'd reccomend and how to get it.

I tried with my oldest 3 this year but they just weren't into it. It was a hassle to force them to do it. So now they just keep a paper log in the back of their commonplace journal. I think I would have had better luck if they were older/had personal devices.

I'm SO happy my youngest two kids get to use this!! Dance, dance, dance.

We are actually cutting way back on Morning Time next year. It was getting a bit bloated and I'm going to have 2 new kindergarteners. Daily- -Prayer -Hymn -Bible Reading -Memory Work -Poetry (AA Milne's Now We Are 6 for the littles first semester then Poems to Learn by Heart for the bigs second semester) -Daily chapter from a classic, going back mostly to enjoy books the younger two missed (Whinnie the Poo, Charlottes Web, Dahl, ect) Cycling- Art Apreciation (Artistic Pursuits) Faith (Journaling Through the Orthodox Year) Nature studies (just keeping journals, hiking) Music Appreciation (uhg, I don't know, this one is always hard for me) Crafting (sewing/woodworking/embroidery/ect)

Yep, do it. With the color labels instead of grades and the fact that there are zero cartoons it won't seem babyish at all. And yeah, they are SO inexpensive, they just using the threads you need and tossing the rest song seem a big deal.

We go out twice a week (once with a group and once alone) and spend 1-3 hours at various local nature conserves. It depends on the weather how long we stay but I do make an effort to get out even in cruddy weather. Kids 5 and over have a nature book and are encouraged to draw something. Kids 7 or 8 and over are encouraged to record dates/locations/weather and label their drawings, and to keep lists that interest them (birds or bugs seen). We don't have a curriculum but I do have a growing collection of nature guides that certainly add to the experience.

I also use excel for my big picture year planning. Weeks down the left and subjects/kids across the top. We school 6 weeks on, one week off, so during my off week I transfer that info into a paper planner that lives with me. It has my life on the left side and my homeschool on the right. I don't actually understand how folks homeschool without a planner. But I'm type A like that.

Can you link any of those threads? I've done searches but can't find any that dhscuss it.

I remember seeing a TON of positive reviews when Science in the Beginning came out. Then less than enthused reviews for Science in the Ancient World. And then crickets. :) Has anyone kept up with this series? I'm intrigued by the idea of a do-able multi-age approach to science. But I'm worried quality dropped after the first book. Or maybe just the oooh shiny! newness. In specific... Is it DO-able, aka not a ton of prep work. This is what keeps me from BFSU even though I drool over it every Spring. Is it truly multi age? I'll have two Ks, a 2nd, a 3rd, and two 4ths and while I don't care how much my Kers grasp I'd ideally like them entertained while my 4rths are still learning. I hear that ancient world jumps around a ton. We've done the traditional wtm "once science per year" so far and honestly, I'm ready for some change, but is it so bad that it comes off as disjointed and random?

Thoughts? Has anyone used this? I feel like taking a break off our history cycle before we "start over" to spend on US geography could be nice. I also feel like learning about the states for a YEAR would get old fast.

We have this, and my kids ADORE it.

Well, it's still chronological, just not starting at the beginning ;) I also keep in mind that A. My younger students often DID listen in a bit to the earlier readings/got some level of exposure. And that B. Sometimes my 3rd grader going into book 3 or 4 didn't remember book 1 that much anymore either. But, like said, if you only have two kids you could always separate them. Or alternatively, you could skip book 4 for the first cycle (a popular choice anyways for maturity reasons) and fold the younger one into history a year late when you start book 1. Or get the audio books and do a summer history refresher course in the car.

I'd agree that an hour and a half doesn't seem like "enough". But I also believe in light days for elementary students. As long as the time is spent well (and it looks like in your case it is) I wouldn't worry too much as long as you are on track to complete your goals this year. For comparison, My 3rd graders do about an hour of family Morning Time. Then 20-30 minutes of math, 20-30 minutes of writing, and 5-10 minutes of spelling instruction a day. Then they have 30 minutes of assigned reading with either an oral or written narration and 3-4 more short assignments do do in their own (math facts, spelling worksheet, copywork, read to a sibling, ect). So only about 3 hours (1 spent in morning time, 1 in instruction, and 1 in independent work).

My 3rd grader just did sections 1 and 2 of Treasured Conversations. He is not quite ready for section 3, and just now confident enough for Fables. So we are going to go into that next :)

We do that! I mean, we hit the skills every day (math, reading,writing for youngers and math, spelling, writing for olders) in shifts with mom. But the afternoons have a single focus be it science, history, art, Shakespeare, etc. we will even keep a focus for a week or two straight. I really love it. It's funny because I'm very cm inspired in most ways, but short lessons and lots of transitions make me insane. With a shoefull of children it's simply not manageable (for me).

I've used Miquon this last kiddo and thought it was a GREAT fit. It emphasizes the same problem solving skills and going through all 6 Miquon books (advertised as grades 1-3, but I did them k-2) set us up perfectly to start Beast 3 in 3rd grade (2 is planned, but not out yet, so that was the earliest I could switch). But previously I'd used Singapore Primary and that worked as well, going from Primary 2 into Beast 3. I don't think anything could be "wrong" but I agree with you that it would take a LOT of MUS levels to prepare.

Has anyone ever used Roadtrip USA by Confessions of a Homeschooler? Thoughts? I'm looking at using it for children in K, K, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th. Or is there another US geography curriculum you like better? I'd like something interesting (not just state birds and flowers over and over) but easy to pull together.

Two 4th graders next year! And toning core stuff down a lot down because I'll also have two kindergarteners keeping me busy... Math- Beast Academy 4 / Math in Focus 4 Writing- Treasured Convwrsations and Writing and Rhetoric Fables Spelling- Spelling by Sound and Structure 4 Handwriting- Starting commonplace journaling Science- Just nature studies this year History- Skipping SOTW4 to focus on geography. Maybe a Literature based states program? Still working this out. Also hoping to find easy modern art/ modern composers ideas that can fold into morning time. Simply Charlotte Mason, which we've used a few years now, doesn't do modern art. But broadway musicals could be a really fun composer study! And maybe finally starting studying Shakespeare?

I also have a 3rd grade struggling speller, knows all the "rules" but doesn't apply them, very poor visual memory. I gave up, for the most part. We still plug away. Sure. But I no longer push it heavily or sweat it personally. I'm waiting for maturity and/or spell check to help. It got to the point (for us) where frustration levels were so high, and it was distracting so much from other subjects, that it just wasn't worth it. For what it's worth both my 3rd graders read for an hour a day (two 30 minute sessions, one "free" and one "assigned"). Sometimes the assigned is an audiobook, but it's probably 75/25.

I feel for you, been there done that. Some kids just looove having a list of things to do. There are always Kumon books. Buy 1-2 on subjects she is working on (math?) and 1-2 fun ones (dot to dot? Cutting?). Give her a page from each every day. You could "assign" audio books. Librivox is a gold mine. Start with the Fivd Children and It ;). She can even report to you via narration or drawing after each session if she needs a "product". Or simply keep a list of books she's listened to. Or, similarly, look into podcasts. I have a Sciencey son around that age that adores "Brains On". There are a million kid exercise videos online- yoga etc. Add some PE to your day. My biggest suggestion is get her used to the idea of self learning. There are lots of crafts/subjects she could self-teach online or with books. Interested in drawing? Check out Art hub for kids (YouTube) or a few how to draw books at the library. Building? Get a good lego book or work through the knex website. Rainbow loom has dozens of bracelets/ring patters on their website. Embroidery has always been achievable for my kids at that age. I have two that take free online piano courses on the Hoffman website. Several languages can be learned through library cds/ DVDs. Help her pick a subject, give her the materials, and encourage her to go it on her own.

Pentime question, it looks like cursive starts halfway through 2. Should I start at the beginning of 2, even though they have decent handwriting, start halfway through 2, or can I start with 3?

Long time no see on the boards but I'm having a hard time finding a good, easy to implement, cursive program. I hate the way handwriting without tears looks, but otherwise am not picky about style. It would be for boys ages 7,8, and 9...all three have decent handwriting when it comes to printing.

I have my 8 yr old 3rd grader in ELTL3. A program we've used from the beginning and have loved. Unfortunately I really feel he's ready to start writing paragraphs, and my biggest goal for this year is that he can do a short written narration by the end...and this program just isn't getting him there. He will do copywork and dictation without trouble...he narrates beautifully...he can. not. write. a paragraph. So I'm thinking of setting ELTL aside for the year, and picking up Treasured Conversations instead. Or perhaps even running them half time beside each other (2 days a week each). Questions... Can I go ahead and skip the first section? We are more than solid on grammar after 2 and a fraction years of ELTL, and I plan on continuing diagramming sentences since we just learned how. Do sections 2 and 3 build on one another? Or can they be done in any order? This particular child cant stand "creative" writing. He'd much rather write on our history or science topics, so I think section 3 would go down easier. Is there a common "burn out" chapter, or natural stopping place within section 2, if I decide to split the program among 2 years?