I'm using 2 MFW programs, but not for my middles, 2 of which are SN. I agree with the above poster that it's too literature and writing heavy for my kids. For them I am doing TT, AAS, and RS4K, plus interest led readers. I would love to use MFW for all our kids, and considered doing it. But I knew in the end that while they'd enjoy some of the activities, school would be a daily drudgery with the literature and writing.

Thank you all for being so open. I knew puberty could be quite a thorny issue, so I appreciate your input. Dsmith, that is good to hear. Yes, our bodies do produce melatonin and if one is lacking in it (like a lot of Aspies seem to) then it would probably not be a problem, just replacing what's missing. I did not get the connection until I took my biology class last year where it was mentioned that melatonin has an effect on sex hormones. We were doing a quarter of a pill with both our boys. I thought the pill was 500 mg, but looking at your dose I would say not! Lol. It was 500 something, and working well. As far as my other DS's sleepwalking, my brother does it too, as well as my aunt. No one n DHs side does, so it could be just inherited. Cindy--thank you. ;) Amy--thanks so much for that link! Funnygirl--my DD did not "start" until 13--later than i did, and she does not take melatonin. The women on my DHs side start late, so it's got to be genetics and I think normal for DD. maybe yours too?

Thank you both for your replies. Cindy, we took older DS off because of the puberty thing. Seeing that younger DS was seeming to have side effects worried us into thinking that the puberty delay could also be true. It seems an awfully personal question, but your DS has progressed normally in that department then? MomatHWTK, I agree with you that melatonin is a better option than drugs. I guess I just need to put him back on it. I'm sorry to hear about your DS. :(. I'm wondering if all this stuff maybe has a connection to puberty?

DS10 has always sort of challenged bedtime by a lot. He has trouble shutting down, but it was manageable until lately. Now he is in our room just about every night, saying he can't relax. His pacing has gotten worse. He does it at meal times, which causes stress because we live with my parents right now and my mom does not want him eating all over the house. The pacing at bedtime is getting worse too. At night to help the kids unwind we put on Adventures in Odyssey. This helps them stay in bed, making the situation with having our 9 person family in 3 bedrooms more manageable. I find find DS up at the computer, though. He's messing with it or just staring at it, even though there's not much on the screen with an audio file. I tried music, which works when he's in our bedroom, but not in his. He's now become obsessed with the 11 o'clock hour. He thinks if he doesn't go to sleep by then it's just really bad, even though we've never told him that. To be clear, he is not afraid of anything except not sleeping. He's not having nightmares or saying he's afraid of his room. We've talked about it. Melatonin works really well. But we stopped using it when we read that younger DS's sleepwalking could be caused by it, and that some have suggested that melatonin use before puberty might delay its onset. Drugs always have worse side effects. Any advice?

Thanks so much! I'll look into it. We do use TT math for the very reasons you stated.

Thanks you guys so much for your advice. I guess I need to look in different directions for some things. Definitely OG, which is something I keep forgetting to look for. Typing was one of those things I really wanted to do with them and then.....things just get stuck. Like we are all slogging through mud. It doesn't help that DH is unemployed and we are living with my parents, who are "concerned" for the kids with homeschooling (all while they and everyone else says how smart they all are). Sigh. All of our mistakes are so very public here, which is paralyzing when it comes to doing something new. MomatHWTK--Can I ask you more specifics on what you do? By Plato type stuff, I suppose you mean modeled after the questions Plato used to ask and have his students answer? Or is that the name of a curriculum? I have SO many theories on which way to go next! Part of me says do something fun like MFW ADV for all of them (except oldest DD), even though it is below grade level for the older 2 I am concerned about (I would of course have the olders doing harder books), simply because it would have them learning something everyday and maybe that would give us something to do together. Another part of me says "NO! Just stick to the 3Rs!", so that I can concentrate on the REALLY important things and maybe make some progress there, but then school will probably still be a drudgery with their learning "just the facts, ma'am". Another part of me says drop it all, go in search of excellent, interesting books and make them read their brains out. I just don't know! In our current living situation (and I didn't mention I am in online school myself!), I feel like I never have a thought that lasts more than 3 seconds. So while I usually shuns TMs, or plans, or schedules, maybe I need one. Maybe I just need to be able to check a box.

I have been going over what my middles are missing and it is extensive. I have made sure my oldest was always doing about average (in math she is behind, but that's her) or above in everything, maybe because I know I can do that. She is a traditional learner and can do things independently and be fine. I have alluded to my problems for my next 2 kids in posts before, but I just don't know what to do. One might be dyslexic (we've never hard the money for a diagnosis and the school system in Nevada denied dyslexia exists. We are not residents of FL so they would not help us until and unless we become residents), and has the HARDEST time forming sentences on paper. We have never succeeded in any formal writing training for her and at 11 years old she cannot do it. Her handwriting is horrible. She'll technically be in 7th grade in the fall right after she turns 12. She is behind in math, but it's only because she's a slow worker. She is actually very good in math. I did not do any grammar with her this year because it doesn't stick. It just doesn't. She is reading her science book and likes it okay. She reads okay, but she will totally mess up some words and just throw something out there. I figured it wasn't a huge deal for now as long as she ca tell me what the book is about (in broken, halting speech. This is never an issue when it is her own thoughts she's expressing). It seems as though nothing I've tried with this child helps. My next child (DS10) has a diagnosis of Asperger's. Shall I just stop there? He can concentrate on nothing except Legos. He's a complete natural at math but I can't get him to just sit and do it. Grammar has not happened except for a brief trial of R&S 2 when I found just how much a boy can melt on a book. He likes his science book and is a good reader. But finding something that interests him is VERY difficult, and I have to keep checking on him every few minutes to find he is playing with some Bionicle. When I check on him too much he gets really frustrated and either has a meltdown or acts like he's reading but he could not tell me a thing about the book. As you can imagine, these two wonderful, awesome kids are all consuming when it comes time to do school. Either all the time is spent with them, or they just don't do their work. I have a DS8 that I SO want to do things right with, but he just hates school (influence from his brother, no doubt). He's such a bright, articulate boy, though, and has such great potential. I then have a 5 year old I want to teach to read and 2 toddlers running around. I KNOW we can do this. I just need a plan. Some direction. My tentative plans for this summer are to start DD11 on MCT Grammar Island, TT 7, and RS4K Level 1. DS10 will do TT 4 and RS4K and books if I can find something to interest him. DS8 will do books (once again, high quality but interest-led), RS4K, and, if I can get him up to that level, TT3. Does this plan seem realistic? Enough? Doable? Should I be pushing harder (I'm not sure I can, and I know how to push)? I think I just need some perspective. The lack of writing is bothering me, but I just don't see how we can do it. It's like one of those dreams where you can see what you want or what you need to do, but you can't quite reach it. Thanks for your advice.

That sounds great. After reading reviews, the boys book is probably better for both boys and girls for a more useful education, at least here in my house. I've always thought the boy's book looked fabulous!

This sounds ridiculously fun and something my boys and second daughter would actually eat up, reluctant learners and all. Hmmmmm......

:iagree::iagree: I don't post much, and I don't presume to know what is right for everyone. We all do what works for us, right? However.......I think it's great that your son is so efficient with his work! Like the above poster said, if there is a shortcoming, definitely try to correct it. But I think my kids' reward for doing their work quickly and efficiently is being able to pursue their interests, not be given more work. I know my kids would quickly lose all joy in their education if I were to do that. My favorite farmer Joel Salatin says to give kids task oriented work, not time oriented. "The task to be done is before you. Do it correctly. When you are done, your reward is________". He says this is what makes kids love to work (he raised 2 kids who still help him with his very successful farm, so he didn't drive them off! Lol). I want my kids to love to work. Love to learn. For MY kids (I speak for no one else) that means they do task oriented work. If they finish early, great! But I'm not a classical homeschooler either. I'm not a purist with any homeschooling philosophy. We just do what works for each child.

TT math! I wish I had listened when my friends raved about it 4 years ago. I just tried it last year and have been thrilled with the change in my ODD since starting it back again in the fall. My second DD cannot wait to get her hands on the program, and I see no need to do anything else with my subsequent children. Truthfully, I'm still looking for much of anything else we love. *I* loved Sonlight, but it was too much reading for 2 of my kids. I'd like to give it another go now that everyone is older.

Looks like MCT is a fave for many! I'll be checking out all the links, though, so thanks to everyone!

Thanks, Elizabeth! I had a friend who used Shurley and luckily got to check that one off my list. She has a daughter like one of mine who hated it, so I was glad to get the chance to look it over.

Thanks all! Very useful advice. :)

Teaching textbooks works great here for my non Mathy oldest. It also works well for our mathy second born!

Interesting option, Lily Grace. Thank you! I like the look of those books. Heidi, thats just what I want: a rigorous, fun curriculum. I hated asking for fun, because I don't want it to be easy! But fun is just so crucial for some of my kids, especially at this juncture in our lives. Love your blog and homeschool room, btw! Dolphin, thanks SO much for the review!

Thank you! I was just looking at that program since ive seen it mentioned but never researched it. It looks much more fun than anything we've tried.

Shallow as it may sound, that has become one of the most important curriculum standards: not boring. My oldest is bored to tears (our life right now has alot to do with that and there's nothing I can do about it) and my second 2 children have attention issues and need to be captivated. We've done A Beka, Rod and Staff, tried Easy Grammar and are currently in BJU grammar. The programs are just so dry! And I love grammar! We love Teaching Textbooks for math. Is there anything like that for Grammar?

Thank you all so much! I have checked some out--really like the look of the story of classical music. I am glad there seems to be plenty that fit our needs!

I want to use the month of December to do a classical music study with my kids before we go back to academics the first of the year. I want something that we could finish in that month, something that gave a good overview of the great composers and that had a CD or at least a suggestion of a good one. Anything like that out there?

Thanks, cjshima!

ok, thanks. Guess we'll start on the first level (logical place to start, right? ;)). she DOES have a hard time hearing individual sounds. She can tell me what a word starts with when she's spelling, but things get kinda silly after that.

Hmmmmmm she is kinda hit and miss on things. She sounded out all her digraphs (all the ones I wrote down), but in spelling this morning she was asked for a spelling word that began with the short o sound and she got it wrong. When I asked her to tell me what the short o said she said "well, I know, but it's hard to explain". When I asked her to just make the sound she gave me the long o sound and then the oo sound. She spells horribly. Today I asked her to write down the months of the year (checking on her sequencing) she got them all right, sequence and all. But she spelled them so nonsensically (juliy for July, febwuary for February, etc) that her writing looked illiterate. Yesterday when I checked her math, all her 9s were backwards, and she had mixed up the times on all her clocks because she used the big hand for the little, and vice versa. It's just that....she can read.....I know that does not matter all that much. She seems to be stuck at around the 3rd grade. We just keep going over and over the same stuff (ALL sentences begin with capitals. Capital letters do not go in the middle of words. The p goes below the line, etc). But there again, I'd hate to bore her to tears because then she'd hate school even more than she does now (math is the bright spot for her).

I am looking at getting this for my daughter. They say they recommend level one for "almost everyone". My daughter is in 5th grade, so I don't want to get a level that's too easy for her. Any thoughts?

Thanks so much to both of you! :) I do not know about the literary analysis. I am still waiting on her workbook. Are we talking about something like Progeny Press? I was planning on having her do that when I had her read The Bronze Bow.