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Thanks, these are great ideas. I think it would be a good start to work on goals and his future. I was also thinking some volunteer work might be a good idea for him. He doesn't want to do any work ever. I honestly don't think he wants to grow up.

Any advice on motivating middle school/high school students to get their work done? My 14 yr old (8th) complains alot that he has too much work, it's too hard, and he's overwhelmed. I dont know what to make of it - he has pretty much said that unless I barely give him any work. He doesn't want to read anything where there is a lot of reading. Mostly he just wants to read comics and play video games. I know he is bright and can do the work. He has told me before he is lazy and seemed proud of it. He has no goals at all for his future and often answers most questions with "I dont know". Im just really frustrated with him and not sure what to do. I want him to learn and he says he wants to go to college. I just put him into a charter school independent study program through the school district so I could make sure he is doing grade level work to start to get college ready. He honestly has less work than I give him, but its a more challenging. I also have never taught him very good study or note taking habits, as I dont know how. I would love to have a resource to help him so he can learn and retain things better.

Thanks! I have seen those history pockets before - they look fun!

Thanks : ) I have been looking around and seen quite a few who said year one seemed to work better at 7 rather than at 6. I found a "Year 0.5" that some moms put together that sounds interesting too.

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wow! thanks for all the awesome recs!

Has anyone used and loved Ambleside Online for 1st grade? I have always been intrigued by the curric and have looked at it on and off for two years for my oldest two, but never did it. Now Im going back to it again thinking about starting fresh with it for my 1st grader in the fall. I would love to know if anyone has successfully used it in first and loved it. What did your schedule look like? How did you plan your days? Is 6 a good age to begin Year 1 or is it better to wait?

Im trying to pin down resources for 1st grade this fall. Im thinking of sticking with Singapore for math and ETC for phonics. Im thinking of maybe trying SOTW for history. I would love suggestions for 1st grade history, science, spelling, handwiting and if Im missing anything, lo.

Thanks!!

Thanks for all the great input! very helpful!!

I would like to *try to stay on the 4 yr WTM history plan, but Im not sure if that will happen because I have a 3 yr old that will be in first when he is in 3rd. Maybe I should just read through SOTW lightly in 1-4 then do it all over again in 5-8? Or is that a bad idea? Or just do something different for history until my 3 yr old gets to be in 1st in a few years?

Is Story of the World a good fit for 1st grade? I used it a few years ago when we started hs'ing and my sons were in 4th and 6th.It didnt seem to easy at that time and it seems like it would be maybe hard for a 1st grader to sit still and listen too and maybe understand? I could be wrong, but Id love some input. Thanks!

Yes that is a good point (and I modified post to help with abbreviation, lol). I did start thinking about that after I posted. Im trying to look at the sight and Im a little confused about how history is. Im looking for 1st grade. It looks like it is just Bible? Not sure...

Is it possible to do the My Fathers World curric without the Bible work? Would it work fine or is it better to get a secular curric?

Sorry I should have clarified they do history 3 times a week, and then art and music just once a week each. I do have them doing science every day because they are just read ing and taking notes. If I asked them what they want to do they wouldn't chose to do school. Especially my oldest. He's much more interested in Pokemon and video games. I've tried asking him many times before. I never thought about it being a puberty thing... but I guess that could be it. So the question is, when does it get better? Lol

You make some good points. I just find myself frustrated constantly with homeschooling - and mostly just with my older two. I work one on one with my K'er and (preschooler) and every day I see the fruits of my labor. I see what my son learns every day and it amazes me. And it is only in a couple of hours or less a day. Just since Sept he has learned so much I can't even believe it. It makes me feel so good and it motivates me every day. With my two oldest I just question if they are really learning anything. They read the chapter in SOTW yesterday, and today I sat down to ask them questions from the book and they couldn't answer any unless they spent a few minutes every question searching through the book for the answer. I often feel like they aren't getting anything out of each days work, but they do not want to go back to PS ever again...

For the past 3 years we have been hs'ing we have done alot of workbook or text book type of stuff. I find myself spending more time correcting and less time teaching. I feel that I am taking away valuable time talking to the kids and teaching them. Im just not sure how to get away from the workbooks. And my oldest is going into high school in the fall. My 14 yr old and 12 year old do most of the same stuff right now. For math and grammar they are doing CLE. I like the math fine, but the grammar not so much. They dont seem to remember things from one lesson to the next very well and Im not sure what to do (for both really). So we spend alot of time going over and correcting both those. I know that as they get older they are supposed to be more independent. And they do most of their work independently, but I feel very removed from their education in a way. They do their work and at the end of the school day I correct it. The rest of the day I am taking care of my 3 year old and doing a few chores and then preschool and K. And of course I need to take care of my own needs (eating,etc). So I feel like I dont have much time before the end of the day unless they ask for help. Which they often dont. Then they also do SOTW for history (with 2 extra reading books, map work, encyclopedia work), they do science reading and note taking (no experiments at this time, havent gotten time to add that in either) and they also do Latin, Art, Art History, Music History and writing. By the end of the school day I feel like Ive been all over the place and am exhausted. I correct their work and go over it and then I just really want a break because dh is about to get home. Then the kids want to be done and go do their own thing, So although they are doing things I like and picked out, Im not really very involved. I want to spend more time reading and talking and lecturing and having discussions with them and less time on workbooks and correcting. Am I just going on the wrong path with this thought? Is there a way to get it together the way I want to or should I just leave them working independently like they are? I would also like somehow to include my K'er in some things (like history and science) but thus far havent figured out how to make it on his level. I just feel so rushed through every day. Im left feeling like they are just doing PS at home. Thoughts?

I was thinking of possibly switching to Independent study through a local charter when my oldest starts high school this coming fall. I was thinking it would make things easier for me, but Im not sure if thats really true. I am currently hs'ing 3 of my sons (one in K) and some preschool for my youngest (he insists,lol) and Im finding myself frazzled and out of time to often. Has anyone switched to independent study for high school before? Does anyone currently do independent study or have any input on it? thanks

I have looked at MFW but I won't have any in grades that I can combine. The reviews are very helpful though!

I have no idea what I'm going to do next year! I've been researching though. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with my oldest going into hs as well.

Oops double post

Thanks for all the great resources! I am feeling so overwhelmed!

I'm not exactly sure what type of curriculum I'm looking for. Something following the classic education model. While looking around I found MBTP and it looks pretty great. I Aldo found Oak Meadow, but I didn't get a good feel for what it is. I don't know much about CC. I didn't realize it was a curric. Or that Rainbow Resource had curric packages. That's pretty neat!

What is CC'a?