When I only had 1 and we were doing K I did feel weird and always second guessed everything. I'm much more comfortable now with our schedule now that we are "reading" and doing very well at math, too. I think I always wondered if we were doing "enough". We try to do 4 hours a day most days (which is still less than ps) but some days we have less lined up. I make sure they get plenty of outdoor time to play and even on light days I do read alouds and individual reading time.

When I only had 1 and we were doing K I did feel weird and always second guessed everything. I'm much more comfortable now with our schedule now that we are "reading" and doing very well at math, too. I think I always wondered if we were doing "enough". We try to do 4 hours a day most days (which is still less than ps) but some days we have less lined up. I make sure they get plenty of outdoor time to play and even on light days I do read alouds and individual reading time.

Thank you! I was going to buy that a few months ago and it was at least $20 then ...

I love CLE math, too! We had a hard time with math before using it and my son is now very independent with math and is loving it! It has really built his confidence.

I want you to know, I've had similar problems. I'm loving this thread, too ... who would have thought there would be so many similar personalities on this board (especially being that they are the less popular personality types!) INFJ here...

I find it interesting that so many don't seem to like it. It seems strange that it did work so well for my 5 yr old (she was 4 when we started) and 7 yr old. Like I said in an earlier post, my 7 yr old had had phonics for 2 years and couldn't get it ... just couldn't read very well at all. By the end of this program he is reading at a 4th grade level and my 5 yr old is close to that. Maybe it is what clicked with my kids when PP, ETC, and 100EZ lessons bored them to tears...they loved the games ... they can even play them by themselves. They love the worksheets - they knew every day that it wasn't too hard (my son hated ETC - found it incredibly frustrating) but it was good review of the new words. They love the sight words and the handwriting practice. I didn't find it difficult to print out everything. I printed out everything the 2 kids would need for the entire year. I put it away in a binder and only took out enough for each week. I also made up most of the games ahead of time so no time was wasted.

We used it this year (almost finished with it now). I LOVE it and can't say enough good things about it. I made the games up ahead of time and it is teacher intensive but it was what worked for my kids. My oldest was very slow to read and write and was in 2nd grade and my dd was 4.5 when we first started using it. It was an awesome fit for both of them. They are both reading (my son is now reading on a 3rd-4th grade level) and writing and enjoying it, finally. I love the approach to this. We had tried multiple programs with my 7 yr old that just didn't work for him until this program. I'm sure it won't be for everyone but I love it ... the kids thought it was more fun than anything we had tried previously (like 100EZ lessons and ETC) ...

My kids aren't as old as yours but I have 5 and I can tell you, we have some rough days, too. I agree with the other poster: Combine! I would use something like Simply Charlotte Mason or MFW to combine all of the kids in one history and science cycle or at least the 7th grade on down. Another suggestion: can you do a spelling program online or on the computer (software)? I was just thinking if that is something that your son could use while you teach another child. For math for you 1st grader: I don't know what type of math you prefer. I really like CLE Math but I know there are a lot of great math programs out there. Some people like MUS, Singapore, Saxon ... just depends on your style. Really, nothing stuck before CLE for my son. Make a schedule up and get all the kids on that schedule and try to figure out who is doing what for every hour of the day. Also ... have you tried workboxes? That seems good for a lot of kids who need to be directed to the next activity...that way if you are busy with another child, whoever needs something to do can "do the next box" and you could put stickers on whichever boxes for "work with mom" (depending on which kid it is). Adding: You could add Dreambox math (or another similar program) for your 1st grader. It is fun for the kids (mine think it is a game) but they are learning math, too!

My 2nd grader started book 1 in K but really struggled with it ... I don't think we got past book 1 and took a different approach because he does not like workbooks (still doesn't) ... my K'er who is 5 is in book 3.5 and loves it ... begs to do page after page (loves every workbook I give her and is working on a 1st grade level in LA). I don't know why but each kid is different. My son still doesn't work as quickly (especially in LA). I think it really depends on the kids. I found that PAL-R/PAL-W worked much better for my son (less writing and more playing "games" but really taught him what he needs to know).

Memoria Press? I'm not sure if that is the one but they do use real books and then have a workbook for reading comp and other things, though...

I don't seem to have a problem getting the kids to focus after breaks. I also feel that I *need* scheduled breaks or I just won't take many ... or feel guilty if I do. I do want to take all or most of December off, too.

I love PAL-R for phonics it is for 5-7 year olds. We used it this year for Kinder and 2nd grade (my son needed help reading) ... he is now reading on a 3rd grade level which I'm very pleased with. My Kinder is doing really well with it, too! I'm also looking ahead at what to do for the rest of first...

I love CLE ... we switched after a year of Singapore. It works for my son. I understand how to teach it ... we don't use the flashcards until after he understands the process. The flashcards have helped, though, with speed. I feel confident that he can do math ... better yet, so does he! No more crying about math!

Thanks for replying! I noticed in your sig that you are using multiple HOD guides. Is that working well for you? I was thinking of either combining our just turning 6 & 8 yr old in Beyond or doing light work for my 1st grader and putting my older child in Bigger. I'm not really sure what I'll end up doing ... I think Bigger will be a little too hard for my younger.

I was thinking of changing out HOD Bigger's readalouds for Beyond's. Is this possible or will it mess up the program? Has anyone tried to do that?

Thanks to everyone who responded. I have thought about it ... sometimes 1 week is fine ... but other times (like right now) I long to have multiple weeks off so that I can just be mom and not be in teacher mode the whole year. I feel like I have a hard time just relaxing. Even the last week I took off ... I felt like I needed to rest from finishing a long 9 weeks ... and then I never got much accomplished. I need time to do small projects around the house and to get "reorganized" in many ways (we have a pretty busy house with the ages of our kids). I did like what another poster said that it seems with a longer break we could be re-energized. That is exactly how I feel. We did take a long break last year after moving and hadn't unpacked all of our school stuff. We basically took December off. We were baking everyday and watching Christmas movies and just relaxing as a family. There was no guilt (for me) that we weren't doing school every morning. (We usually school for 4ish hours now per day). There was a time (my 1st year mostly) that I had trouble sticking on schedule everyday ... mostly the ages of my kids ... so we did take multiple 1 day breaks instead of longer ones. I don't feel like that any longer. Also I have to agree with this poster below: Where we live Summer is horrible. I would much rather not break in the Summer at all and take off most of the Fall. I LOVE Fall ... if I wouldn't feel bad about it, I would take off from right now through Christmas and start back in January. I'm thinking of doing lighter schedule from now until Thanksgiving and taking December off and then starting back with our new work in January.

We have been doing a year round schedule. We are not good about planning breaks. In fact, I haven't done a lot of breaks this year. I started our year in February and started by scheduling 4 quarters (9 weeks each). We planned to break after baby was born. I only took 2 weeks off and went right back to schooling. We took a few more weeks off in the Summer. That is about it. We are almost done with our school year. I have been taking off 1 week in between quarters, too. What I'm wondering is - is it better to take more frequent breaks that are short ... or fewer longer breaks? I'm thinking about doing 6 weeks on, 1 week off, another 6 weeks on and then break for one month (4 weeks). Repeating 3 times. So basically taking the whole month of April, August, and December off from school. I've never tried this before. Has anybody done this and was it a good fit for your family? My logic is ... if we did it like this, I can focus more attention/time on the younger ones for that whole month ... do more "family" activities and not stress about getting "work" done. It would be more relaxed for those 3 months. This is place of taking a full Summer break. My other idea is to straight through with breaking every 3 weeks with 1 week off. all the way until Christmas of next year. I was going to do this until I came up with this other idea. Thoughts?

2 of my 5 were born on Tuesday ... The others were each a different day ... that was my only duplicate! (no c-sections)

I think if we did combine in Beyond ... they both could do it. I've thought about this ... just wondering if it would be too easy for my 8 yr old. Somethings he has been exposed to more and understand more than my dd. Hmmm... still trying to decide. I wasn't sure if he would use DITHOR yet because I would consider him an emergent reader still.

Thanks for the help. I did look at the placement guide and that is why I was wondering because he seems to be able to do the work for Beyond and some of it seems a bit "easy" but wasn't sure if Bigger would be too hard for him. As far as history goes ... I'm not so sure. He did seem sort of confused with parts of our "history" this year ... not sure if it is because I didn't reinforce enough of it. He didn't remember a lot of what we read. Typically, though, he does well with narration and loves for me to read to him. Something just didn't stick with our program this year. The kids did remember about the flag/national anthem, etc. They loved that part ... just not the history part of it. It seemed confusing to them. :confused: Looking to start in January or early February with our new year ... Trying to decide because he'll be 8 and dd will be almost 6. I'm thinking in some ways he is much more advanced than she ... so we should just do separate levels. (Especially with read-alouds/narration...)

watching this thread ... the least I've done is 4 days a week, though.

My son is in 2nd this year ... he is just turning 8. He has struggled with phonics/reading but now can decode most words. He can write short sentences -- he can do copywork. We started out doing mostly CM style learning -- lots of narration and some copywork (even in first grade). I'm curious about Heart of Dakota. I keep being drawn to it for some reason. We have never used a "boxed" type curriculum but this one seems very nice. I am thinking between Beyond and Bigger HOD and am not so sure. So... Is there a lot of writing/dictation? Is there creative writing? I read the skill list for both and I think he fits somewhere between both. He can definitely do all that Beyond is asking of him ... sentences from dictation and free writing will be a challenge for him if he is expected to get that right away. Is there direct instruction of those things or are children supposed to already have that coming into that program?

:iagree: We started this program a few months after my son turned 7. We had tried 3 different programs and couldn't get anything to stick. He knew letter sounds and some blending but he couldn't remember any sight words or how to blend quickly enough to make sense of the words. It was frustrating. This program clicked with him. I like that it doesn't waste anytime and teaches the "helper" sounds early on in the program. They learn about the squeely e's "ee" helper pretty early and the magic-e (silent e at the end of the word) to help decode more and more words. We only have a few chapters left and I'm very pleased with how well he is blending words and how quickly he is getting even complex words. It has been a huge relief to me! This same program is working well for my daughter who is 5. She is reading, too, although not quite as quickly as my 7 year old who was apparently very ready but just couldn't quite get it. HTHs!

Thanks for the suggestions! I liked some of the R.E.A.L. Science books when I just looked them up. Does anyone know if MFW has a lot of science in it? Even if it just reading about science - my son would love it. I'm so confused which direction to head!

I found out tonight that my almost 8 year old DS is quite upset that we are no longer doing Apologia's Exploring Creation through Astronomy book. We did it all last year and finished it several months back. He LOVED it ... I knew he did but didn't understand how much until he was almost in tears about not doing it anymore. When I asked him what he's loved to learn about he asked me why he can't do that book anymore. He loves me reading to him about science and doing the notebooking. We did very few projects/experiments. He just loves me reading to him and looking at the pictures and creating the little notebook pages. We started Apologia's Zoology this year but only did a few chapters before putting it on hold. It seemed too detailed -- a little bit too difficult maybe for his age (2nd grade)? I'm at a crossroads for what to teach this coming school year (we start in about 2 months). I'm considering MFW ECC, MFW Adventures, HOD Beyond, HOD Bigger ... up until right now I've just pieced together a mix of curriculum. I felt bad for him ... he hasn't liked history lessons - only science. I know school isn't always fun but I really want to find something he'll enjoy everyday or at least a few times a week.