Don't have the Teachers Manual so I can't speak much to that. I haven't felt the need for it during SSL1, though I may get it for 2. We have a pretty simple schedule of a chapter a week: M. Watch the DVD. T. Review new vocabulary. W. Listen to the CD and review all past vocabulary. Th. Review new vocabulary. F. Do the workbook pages. We LOVE the DVDs. My kids watch and re watch them for the "my pet monkey" portion, and even I like to sit in for the derivative river. But they certainly aren't necessary. Especially if you are familiar with Latin already (I am not).

What you like about a book is a super vague question, IMO. Even I have a hard time answering that question sometimes. I ask my kids, who was this book about/who was the main character(s)? If I'm feeling very motivated maybe we will make a character web, or list of traits. What did Mike Mulligan do? What does that tell us about his characters, his feelings, his values? We might come up with determined, hard worker, likes attention, ect. I might ask if his characters/values/feeling change? Not really in this book. Are his characters/values/feeling different or the same as yours? Do you know anyone that reminds you of this character? How would the story be different if he had a different character? If mike was lazy, for example? Or if he was shy and didn't like to be watched? Or I'll ask them what happened in the book/what was the plot? If I'm feeling motivated we might make a story arc. What was the rising action, the climax, the denouement, the conclusion? Or more simply we might just discuss, was the problem/solution in the plot? We might come up with Mikes steam shovel is being replaced by bigger machines, she becomes a furnace. Or we might come up with the basement needs to be dug in one day, mike and his steam shovel work hard to do it. Or mike and his steam shovel might not be able to do it in time, everyone watches which gives them the boost they need. I'm not picky. ;). As long as it even sort of fits, I take it. Or I'll ask them where did this book take place/what was the setting of this book? A small town. Is it a realistic place or a fantasy place? Pretty realistic. Is it familiar to you? How did the author describe the place, what senses did they evoke? What words did they use? How did that description make you feel about the place? Do you want to go there? If motivated, we might play around with the setting, would this story "work" if it was set somewhere else? In space, or in the jungle? Why did the author choose THIS setting? If we were motivated we might rewrite the story in a different setting. Or I'll ask what was the lesson in this book/what was the theme? Did the character learn something? Do you think the author is trying to teach us something? What does this message tell us about the authors values or beliefs? Do you have the same values or beliefs? If motivated we might rewrite the story to give a different message. My kids loved rewriting The Story of Ping so he didn't get spanked at the end ;) I do NOT discuss ALL of this with every book. Generally I pick ONE aspect of the book to discuss; character, plot, setting, OR theme. Nor do we have discussions with every book we read. It's a once a week thing for us. For the most part I'm just trying to introduce them to the vocabulary of literature analysis (character, theme, ect) and that this kind of thought about books is possible. I do it with simple picture books, not big complex chapter books. And especially with theme, I've found it has to be a very obvious moral for the kids to pick up on it without major leading. Proverbs and fairy tales are good. Hope that helps?

How often do you "give in" and answer her questions? I know you said you try not to, but I have a hard time believing even a 6 year old (an age known for their determination) would continue to pepper a parent with questions that literally NEVER got answered. So I would just make sure you never, ever, answer them. Set a timer if you have to. "We are going to work for 15 minutes, when this timer goes off you can ask as many unrelated questions as you like." Don't even acknowledge off-topic conversation- just point to the timer and keep talking about the assignment. I too have to sit with my 5 and 7 yo's. Not only that, I have to orally direct them to the next question, either reading it for DS5 (who CAN read) or just saying, "now #4" to DS7. They would just sit there staring at me, the paper, the wall, ect otherwise. Even in copywork I find myself saing, "what's the next word?" They have a daily checklist of a good 30 minutes of independant work that's been known to take them 3-4 hours to complete. So you aren't alone.

I taught each of my kids their letter sounds at 3 or 4 informally, and then started them on LOE at 5 or 6. So I can't really chime in on learning the sounds all at once. I dont think it would be an issue, though.

I had one that took what seemed like FOREVER to learn to blend. Ok, ok, he "got" it at 5 1/2, but that was after a good 6 months of very explicit instruction and practice. Maybe the instruction did it, maybe it was developmental. I'm not sure. My next was able to do it right away. In fact, he pretty much started reading the day he learned his letters at barely 4. No instruction.

You NEED the textbook and the workbook. ;). And the program does make heavy use of the whiteboard and flash cards. But the flash cards can be made as you go on index cards, if money's tight. And white boards are way cheaper at the dollar store/target/hobby lobby ect. I buy 4 or 5 cheapy mini boards at the dollar store every Fall. Doodling Dragons is cute, if she doesn't know her letters yet. But there are LOTS of books about letters out there. There's really no need to buy another one. The tactile cards are nice for kids who really need that extra step of tracing and feeling with their fingers. But not necessary by any means. If she just adores card games, you could but two sets of the game cards. But honestly, I'd wait until B to start the card games. I've never bothered with the reference charts at all, and I've gone through A-C and part of Essentials.

My kids are combined in everything except math and language arts. And I dream of the possibility of combining them in language arts someday and only separating for math. I LOVE combining. But my kids are young, 17 months apart in age, and very attached to each other. So there's that. When they are 9 and 10 and their little brother starts k I'm not sure to what extent I'll be able to fold him in.

I think you are borrowing trouble. In fact, based on past posts, I think borrowing trouble is a personality trait of yours and maybe something you should try to work on. Life is hard enough, ya know? I'm not a gentle person, so I'm sorry if that comes off as harsh, but I think parenting/homeschooling/life in general might be easier for you if you could focus on the problems in front of you/a maximum year ahead. Honestly, that comes from a place of love and from a fellow inherent trouble-borrower. Work on this. I do relate to not having intellectual peers within my church group as a child, however. I agree with other posters that it is a denominational problem. My husband, particularly, came from a Christian denomination that was aggressively anti-intelectual. I will not name names publicly, but you can PM me if this is something you need to discuss in particulars. My youth church wasn't as aggressive about it, but there was a mild yet general opinion that science, non-bible colleges, ect, were faith-risking endeavors and "regular, homespun" people were better Christians. It WAS painful for both of us, as if the choice to study, to go to university, ect would be leaving our faith. It made us live dual lives with a church-self and out-of-church self for many years. But I repeat, this is a denominational issue. Many denominations have rich intellectual backgrounds, and attract intellectual parishioners. If you are not currently in a church-family like that, it might be worthwhile considering finding one either in a new denomination, or just a new church within yours. For your OWN benefit, not for the possible problems your maybe-intellectual, maybe-struggling-socially, future children might have. I am honestly not that intellectual, and whenever we get a new member that ISNT a doctor or a professor of theology/history I yell "hallelujah, someone I can discuss Taylor Swift with." ;)

Yes, very much so.

They advertise the reading roadmaps/ready readers as extra hand-holding AFTER taking the teaching the classics course. I'd be curious to know if they could be successfully used without the course. It looks amazing but it's just so darned $$.

Those are two very full programs. I think it would work to do both for a very enthusiastic kid, that doesn't mind doing double math lessons every or nearly every day. Or for an advanced kid that's just zooming through either program and needs to be slowed down. Or even if you are just really confident in teaching math and feel comfortable picking and choosing sections of each to create your own unique year. But for your average mom/kiddo, I think it's too much. I've mixed MIF with Miquon and/or Life of Fred at different times but LOF only has 19 or so lessons per book and Miquon is designed to be super easy to jump around, skip sections, ect. Math in Focus, on the other hand, is meant to be used daily, and it builds on itself in a way that you really have to complete the entire curriculum and in order, IMO. While I have no personal experience with Saxon, my impression is that it is the same. If you love the spiral of Saxon but want to add in a bit of logic/challenge, why not add a supplemental logic/mastery program like Miquon or the Singapore CWP or Processing Skills. Or if you like the mastery approach to MIF, but need some spiral review, add in CLE or a fun computer math program or these handy daily warm-ups https://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/system/assets/uploads/files/838/daily_math_review_sheets:_grade_1.pdf Basically program + supplement instead of two complete programs.

I start planning in February during winter doldrums, and then I "sit" with those plans for a month or two. Reading reviews, making sure I *really* want it, borrowing what I can for a flip-through. Making sure it isn't too much. Tweaking here and there. In April I always have a little homeschool conference at home, with snacks and a few inspiring audio talks. Someday I'd love to go to a hotel for the night, but so far I've just locked myself in the bedroom for the day. Anyways, I finalize everything at that point and do my big order. It would be great to be able to use the big sales and order throughout the year. But I'm another that utilizes my tax return, and I'm new enough at this that I haven't built many long-term plans or loyalties. I think I'd end up buying what I don't need.

I've been doing the first half of SOTW2 with my first (6/7) and pre-k (4/5) year old this year. We've enjoyed it, and not found the readings or map work to be too far above them. What kids don't love Vikings, Knights, and a Robin Hood? I can't speak for the second half, or SOTW3.

Suppose the Wolf Were an Octopus has comprehension/critical thinking/analysis type questions for children's books based on Blooms Taxonomy. I like it, but have never been able to figure out how exactly to implement it into our day. Http://www.amazon.com/Suppose-Wolf-Were-Octopus-Grades/dp/0880922486/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=02KY1NJ6MWFM07K1M6NB Deconstructing Penguins was also a useful read for me, in a "this is how you talk about books critically with children" way. It's all about the parent/child book club the author started, with very specific details on how they approached certain books and book suggestions by age. http://www.amazon.com/Deconstructing-Penguins-Parents-Kids-Reading/dp/0812970284/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425162175&sr=8-2&keywords=Deconstructing And I've been absolutely drooling over Teaching the Classics. But unwilling/unable to take the $100 plunge. http://centerforlit.com

We've done RSO Life and some of Earth. We enjoyed both, and I consider it very open and go. I do see the program more as our spine, with plenty of demonstration and experiment ideas but not enough information to truly stand alone. But the fact that it requires supplementation doesn't bother me, especially considering that it includes a list of reccomended picture books for each unit. So if needing to round it out a bit at the library bugs you, I'd give this program a no. If you regularly go to the library anyways, it should be fine. I believe Rainbow Resource has a experiment materials kit available. But everything needed in Life was either stuff I had around, or easy to pick up at the grocery store. I think the only thing I had to specially buy for Earth was the rock kit. Everything you need for the experiments is in a list at the front of the program, organized by unit. I just glanced through it the week before. The list is also on the sample, so you can see it before you make a decision.

Math and science are pretty important, but I don't do formal logic, at least not in the grammar years. And as far as English skills go I find that copywork, with a bit of discussion and direction, can cover grammar, handwriting, spelling, and composition. Quality reading can cover vocabulary. So our (again, grammar years) English line up is: phonics, copywork, and lots of reading. I'll throw in a formal writing program eventually, but most likely not until 3rd to 5th grade. My kids pick up computer skills naturally. We are doing both history AND geography this year. But I wish I had done geography in K, and then started history in 1st, continuing the geography only as it related to our history. Tacking on geography as a 5th year in the 4 year cycle, if you will. And that's how I plan to go forward. Music, art, and foreign language are important to me as well. But unless my kids show a particular aptitude and interest I will probably keep it to 1 or at most 2 languages at a time. Latin can be a grammar and vocabulary heavy-hitter, and allow you to drop those subjects. Religious and character studies aren't really part of our school day, though they are a large part of our life. Neither do I feel the need to schedule fitness. We have hobbies and lifestyle choices that cover that. I might cover government and current events after our history cycle "ends", during our geography year before rebooting history. Life skills, like cooking, laundry ect, I again do not count as school. I get what you are saying, about it needing to be done, but it doesn't need to be SCHEDULED, it doesn't need to be planned or organized or formally taught. They can just be part of your natural life and relationship with your child- cooking together, doing housework together, going on hikes together. One way I've found to cover several subjects while keeping our daily subject count down, is to rotate. Math, reading, and foreign language need to be done daily, but the rest of it? You don't need to do every thing, every day. -- You can alternate (phonics M/W/F and grammar T/TH, for an example. Or history and science are often alternated). -- You can rotate (PE M, logic T, art W, geography TH, music F ect) or even have week long or month long or quarter long rotations (science in the fall, history in the winter, arts in the spring). --You can delegate subjects (like logic? Or typing? Or geography?) as summer-school.

Thanks everyone. I think I will continue copywork, start to introduce diction, and wait until 8/3rd grade to start spelling instruction.

My DS7 recently finished LOE C and we moved right into Essentials. But neither one of us is enjoying it. I think its part spring fever/burn-out, part burn-out on this particular program, and part that he might not really be ready for Essentials. I'm ditching it, and we will focus on copywork and phonics games for the rest of the year. It was borrowed for a month so we could try it out, so I'm not sweating a money loss. But next year... What's your spelling suggestion for a 7yr old, who's NOT a natural speller, doesn't have a great visual memory, and is still building up his writing stamina (he does 12-15 words of copy work at a time, but any more = tears). 1. Continue into Essentials at 1/2 time. Upside- we know and are used to LOE, and we have all the parts. Downside- after A-C we are a bit LOE burnt out, and while it taught him to READ beautifully, he's always confused as to how to use the rules to SPELL. This might be developemental, or he may need more practice, or it may just not be a great fit. 2. Switch to Apples and Pears. Upside- I've heard great things about this for non-visual kids. Downside- maybe too much writing? 3. Spend 2nd grade (age 7/8) on copywork and keeping up phonics with the LOE game book once or twice a week and start a spelling program in 3rd. Upside- it's easy and gentle, and will give him time to build visual memory and writing stamina. Downside- maybe this isn't "enough"? 4. ??? I tried to make WRTR work and I just can't make it work. I need a very clear daily "do this" program, and my kiddo needs more "fun" than a list of words to write down together. It would take a LOT to make me buy AAS at this point. I've already invested in an expensive phonics program (LOE) and I'm not thrilled to buy another. I skipped LOE D for reasons :). The reading is a bit below him and we've always skilled the comprehension/grammar, so it wasn't worth it.

Mine are 7,5,2. Each kid comes to the couch with a picture book he's picked out for the day. We start with the 2yo, in case he wants to leave but he usually stays for all three. Then we work on our memory work (recite our new item and 2-3 review ones), read a poem, read a bit from the bible, and then read a chapter or two from our current read aloud. Every once in a while we will have an ongoing science experiment that needs daily checking up on, so that will be included (tracking weather, checking up on some mold we are growing, ect). We finish up by talkign about our plans for the day.

Foundations D does work on fluency and comprehension quite a bit, so that is an option if you've been enjoying the Foundations series so far. It starts introducing "real" books like Little Bear, Frog and Toad, Mo Williams, ect. If that's about her reading level, and she hasn't been struggling over-much with C, I'd just continue with D. For full transparency, I didn't use D with my DS. He did A-C and then went straight into Essentials. I still go back and forth on that decision, honestly. But I made that choice because he DIDN'T need any fluency help and we had pretty much transitioned into using LOE exclusively as a spelling program. We do our grammar and copywork through ELTL.

This is for the 4.5 yo? I think its a maturity issue. Many 4 year olds are not ready for a formal reading program yet, I dare say MOST 4 year olds are not ready for a formal reading program yet. Add in speech delay? Put it aside. Continue to teach letter sounds, very gently, with games. Do you have a moveable alphabet? Can you make one? Or magnet letters? Introduce new letter sounds very slowly, even slower than LOE does. LOE introduces sounds very fast! Both my kids knew all their letters before beginning LOE. I don't bother with letter names at all, honestly. And I teach the FIRST sound of multiple sound phonograms first, and introduce their other sounds later. There are pluses and negatives to that, but it worked for me. Leapfrog is amazing. As is starfall. Continue to work on beginning sounds too, in a fun informal way. "Let's think of words that begin with b" (say the sound, not the name). Trade off, "What is the first sound in cat?"..."now give me one." Don't bother with ending sounds or middle sounds until he can always distinguish the beginning sounds. Beginning sounds are way easier!

Speaking as a remedial teacher by trade (pre having children) I have a few tips. With a 15yo I'd look towards the end goal, and work backwards. Figure out where he needs to be to get where he wants to go. Realistically is this going to be a university student? A community college student? A trade school student? Or will he be entering the work force? Obviously you don't want to corner a kid into a future at 15, a lot can happen! But there is also being realistic. If he's going directly into a trade or the work force, math can really be life-skills focused- budgeting! balancing check books! making correct change! cooking! Use remedial programs, NOT programs meant for 3rd (or wherever he places) graders. This is not only less insulting because it doesn't say "3rd grade" on it, but it will be less insulting because it will be written to his maturity level and abilities, and skip the cartoons. They are also designed to be moved through quickly, while your average program is taking its time. Honestly, dealing with a kid that can and does read (even drivel!) and admits he needs remediation sounds like a dream. A motivated teen can do a lot.

I think it depends on age and the level of mastery of the LOE material. Essentials does go over the same material as Foundations in great part. My kid went straight from Foundations into Essentials. But that's because while he was an ace at using the spelling rules to READ, and he could tell me the sounds for every single phonogram, when he was supposed to use them, ect and so on....his spelling was somehow still awful. In other words, when flashed "ay" he could say "ay, used at the end of a word". And when flashed "ai", he could say "ay, used in the middle of a word." But if I were to tell him to write bait, he would be just as likely to write bayt as bait. And again, in theory he knows every reason for a silent e. Whenever we come upon a word with one he can tell me exactly why its there. But he still misses or superfluously adds them all the time in his writing. So Essentials it was, with an emphasis on applying the rules. If he DIDN'T need that spelling help, if his spelling was excellent or even moderately good, I wouldn't have bothered with Essentials. I would have either used WRTR for spelling words, or just kept a frequently misspelled list. Or both. I think where LOE really shines is in the spelling, and I'm not sure I'd be up to spending all that money just for the composition/grammar section alone. But then again, I always skipped those sections and used copywork to teach those concepts. So if you love, love, love the way LOE teaches that part you may disagree with me.

I make them start over, every time. It's the every time that's the hardest, and most important part. It's exhausting. But after a few weeks/months they do get tired of saying everything twice. "It's time for math." "Whyyyyyy? I'm plaaaaaaayiiiing?" "Start over with a good attitude, please. Say, ok mom." If it continues for more than 1-3 comments they have to leave the room, and go be by themselves until they have a good enough attitude to be around other people again. I too have a bad attitude sometimes, and yes, I go somewhere to be by myself until I can politely be around other people. I make sure to tell them, "I have a bad attitude, I'm going to go take a break until I have a better one." I stress that this isn't an adult vs parents issue. This is learning how to live with others. Also positive reinforcement. Whining never gets them what they want. Ever. It get's a "No" and very little discussion. On the other hand, when they ask for things politely I say yes as much as I possibly can, and I make sure to mention that I'm saying yes BECAUSE they asked politely. And even if I can't say yes I try to explain WHY, treating them like the adult they are acting like. When they learn that whining gets them nowhere but saying, "Can I have 5 more minutes to finish my game?" will get them the 5 minutes, they switch. At least theoretically. I'll admit I have one kid that may have never, ever, ever gotten this unless his brother did first. You know its bad when a 4 yo asks his 6 yo brother "Why don't you just use a nicer voice? Then she would say yes!" If I didn't have that going on for me I might have baby-stepped him more, giving into things when he re-asks nicely for a few weeks.

I agree with the sliding scale theory, though I voted "age 6" because that's when my kids have full homeschool schedules, and when they HAVE to do school, every day, no matter how they feel about it. My toddlers (2/3) are learning their colors and shapes, how to count, and how to sing the abcs. SOME of my kids (not ALL) have picked up letter sounds at this age. This is obviously all very informal and off the cuff and fun. I do make a HUGE priority to read to them, at least 2x a day and when I can, 3x. We homeschool in a very much lit. based style which means my kids need to be able to listen to a book. ;). I also keep fine motor and sensory activities around (beading, playdough, sorting, ect) and we do those together. My preschoolers (4/5) are taught their letter sounds more formally and then, when they are ready, how to "blend" letters to read words. They are taught how to hold and control a pencil (with mazes and dot to dots) if they aren't already, and then how to write their name. I introduce math concepts like adding, subtracting, skip counting, and place value in day-to-day experiences. We play word games like rhyming and 20 questions. I offer from time to time, "want to do some school?". I've found it goes in spurts, with interest for several weeks and then NO interest for a while. When they do say yes, "school" is mostly math games like those on educationunboxed and playing with our moveable alphabet, and we stop when they want. My current 5 insists on workbook pages which is why he does Miquon and Logic of English. But I don't think its really necessary. I continue reading, reading, reading. I add in nonfiction on subjects they show interest in, and chapter books. They are invited to join in any content work the older is doing, but they don't HAVE to. My current 5 sits in on 80%. My 6 year olds get a full schedule.