I've used WP, though not the specific program you're looking at. First of all, are you considering the 4th-6th grade program, or the jr. high/high school one? The only reason I ask is that some WP users find that programs targeted for 4th-6th graders work very well for 7th graders also if you make sure to add in a lot of the other activities recommended/scheduled in the IG (things like supplemental videos, websites, and hands-on activities). Your 7th grader could handle a good bit of it independently, I imagine. WP is a literature-rich program, so that part sounds like it would fit you. Many of the WP programs, including world history, have a heavy Christian emphasis (they schedule MOH2 in their medieval program). The IG is easy to navigate. Each week's worth of work is broken down into daily assignments. WP schedules a heavier load 4 days a week, and deliberately makes the 5th day a light one. That way you have the choice of using the 5th day for catch-up, field trips, or something else. One nice thing about the IG is that each week has a student schedule as well. The student schedule lists independent work only, so you're able to hand your child their own sheet with that week's assignments. I used a 4th-6th grade program (Sea and Sky) with my dd when she was in 4th grade. I read a lot to her, and it took about an hour a day. However, I think that if she had been a couple of years older she could have done a lot more of the reading on her own. She could have also been more independent in looking up websites and doing the hands-on projects without much help. Hope this helps some. Blessings, Laura

Looks good to me. I'm doing something similar with my 3rd grader and K'ers next year. Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Junior Great Books series, though. Blessings, Laura

My oldest is in 5th this year. She's doing: Bible - Character Sketches, animal themed devotional books Science - RS4K biology, studying lots of animals from around the world World Geography and Cultures Time4Learning - math and LA Italic Handwriting E Next year we're looking at: Bible - Balancing the Sword Science - The Elements (chemistry) plus additional living books on the subject; a couple of short studies on inventions and astronomy to round out the year. History - Biblioplan year 2 Time4Learning - math and LA (and possibly a Time4Writing course) Italic Handwriting F Typing The Learnables French Blessings, Laura

Combo here. Of course, I narrow down first so that I only consider curricula that fit our family's goals. I give my children's learning style a higher priority, but I don't get something that I wouldn't enjoy teaching. Blessings, Laura

We're about to start using Biblioplan. That will let you reuse SOTW if you want, with a lot of logic-stage books as well. You can get a nice timeline from them as well You might want to look at WinterPromise Ancients. The IG has lots of recommendations for video and hands-on activities. Since your ds likes history programs, it might be helpful for you. They don't have quite as many books, so you may want to supplement with some from SL or other sources. Blessings, Laura

I would do what is easiest for you. I imagine that would be keeping everyone together, since you're using SOTW. Just let the little ones glean what they can at their level. Using a program like TOG or Biblioplan can help you there. Mine is a similar situation. There are certain things I feel I should cover with my oldest before high school. My plan is to use Biblioplan years 2-4 for her 6th-8th grade years, and her younger siblings will do it with her (at their level, of course). They won't study ancient history in-depth until later (although I am using the first half of CHOW this semester just to help introduce them to some ancient history). Blessings, Laura

Try some literature guides. We've been using the Progeny Press literature guides, and I'm very pleased with them. They have ideas for activities and related studies. There is vocabulary, then comprehension questions and "digging deeper" questions that help the child think about what they read. Bible verses that relate to the story are also given, and the child is asked about exactly how they relate, and if the actions of characters in the story are right or wrong. However, there are a lot of good literature guides out there (Rainbow Resource has a lot of them, from many different publishers). You can look around for the ones that suit you. Blessings, Laura

Right now my 1st grader averages 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day. Blessings, Laura

We're using Biblioplan, but I think with a 1st grader the suggestion of Paula's archives (combining a story Bible with SOTW) sounds great. Blessings, Laura

When my oldest was in 3rd grade we had a pretty busy year with a new baby and an international move, so we didn't do as much as I would like. Bible - read Bible stories SL core 2 (ended up doing just the history, readers, and a few read-alouds) RightStart math Classical Writing Italic Handwriting Co-op (Science, P.E., and math drills) outside classes for art and ice skating Next year my second dd will be in 3rd grade. For her, I'm planning the following: Bible - Betty Lukens Bible stories Biblioplan Year 2 FIAR (for science, art, and a little bit of fun language arts and applied math) RightStart math Finish FLL 1/2, start Classical Writing Progeny Press Literature guides (will do 3 or 4, most likely) Italic Handwriting Blessings, Laura

A couple of thoughts here. I think you could use both FLL and CW and it not be too much. Since you love FLL, you could just pick and choose which parts of CW to use. Alternately, use all of CW alongside FLL, but take 2 weeks to do one CW lesson. Blessings as you decide, Laura

This is what I've planned for my 6th grader next year: Bible: Betty Lukens Bible Stories (with younger siblings) Balancing the Sword Math: Time4Learning Language Arts: Time 4 Learning Readers from Biblioplan year 2 Italic Handwriting History: Biblioplan year 2 Science: 24-week chemistry study using The Elements and Exploring the World of Chemistry remaining 12 weeks studying inventions/inventors and astronomy Typing: Typing Instructor Deluxe Foreign Language: Learnables French on CD, practicing locally Local African language - by immersion, facilitating learning experiences, and any resources I can find or make (I'd love to add Latin, but we're in a French-speaking country in Africa, and she really needs to get French and the local language here down good before studying anything else) Blessings, Laura

I could do a lot of it. My rising 6th grader would need a math program, science kits for hands-on, and some logic-stage history resources. All my other students would need would be science kits for some hands-on, and some Progeny Press guides for my rising 3rd grader. However, I'm glad we have the extra $$ to use curriculum that fits each child. The math and LA curricula I have on hand is fine for my rising 3rd grader, but wouldn't fit my rising 6th and 2nd graders quite as well. I may use some of the things with my twins, who will be in K, if the curriculum I've picked out for them ends up not being a good fit. I do like to reuse curriculum as much as possible, though. Next year my 4 younger students will be using science resources I bought for (and used with) their older sister. All I had to get were some supplies for experiments. I'm also reusing some history resources (since this will be our second time studying the medieval, renaissance, and reformation). I am having to get some new things as well, since my oldest student needs more than just what I have on hand (and there is no library available here). Blessings, Laura

For a 1st grader, I'd definitely go with one of the Usborne encyclopedias. I voted for the UBWH. I got it when we were using SL, and we enjoyed it. We are now using it for the second time with some of my younger children, and they also find it engaging. I imagine the internet-linked encyclopedia is excellent as well. Can you see if your library has both of them and compare to see which one you like best? Blessings, Laura

I just went to your website and checked it out. It looked interesting and like it might fit my dd (age 8), so I went ahead and printed it out. I'll let you know how it goes. I do like all-in-one language arts programs. Blessings, Laura

I helped coordinate field trips for my group for a couple of years. Signup was voluntary, but once you signed up for a field trip you were expected to attend (unless you had a child get sick at the last minute or something like that). People were also required to pay any fees when they signed up. Then, if they didn't show up, they were the ones who lost the $, not anyone else. For everything we emphasized "Do not sign up unless you are committed, and think carefully about the commitments you make." We didn't want people stressed money or time-wise, and we also wanted to have the places we went view us in a positive way (ie - prompt payments, the # we said would be there actually show up) so that the doors would remain open for us and other homeschoolers. Blessings, Laura

I'd stick with SOTW. Have you looked at Biblioplan? It includes a lot of logic-stage materials that you can use with SOTW. Blessings, Laura

Another option - Time4Writing. They have several different courses for middle school aged children, and one covers paragraph writing. http://www.time4writing.com/ Blessings, Laura

It looks like you've got all the main subjects covered. No Bible or foreign language, but that may be intentional on your part. Is is Queen's Language Lessons for the Secondary Child that you are considering? If so, that will include some copywork (though not every day). You might not want to do other copywork if you do this. Blessings, Laura

There are several things I do. 1) I had to use less teacher-intensive materials for some things. For us, that meant Time4Learning for math and LA. There are other computer based curricula out there that you could use for one or two subjects. 2) My kids do well with a break and snack. You can assign them different times for a break in order to have one-on-one time with each. 3) Have a time of silent reading. 4) Some subjects may have you teaching part of the lesson, with the rest being a worksheet or some other kind of independent work. That makes it easy to rotate between 2 children - teach 1, then have him do independent work while you teach the other. Blessings, Laura

With younger children I would definitely use one of the Usborne books. I have the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History and like it fine, so I've never even checked out the internet-linked book. Blessings, Laura

I would think Biblioplan would be a better fit. I have the SOTW 2 AG, and it seems to mainly list books for K-4th graders. Biblioplan has a lot of books scheduled that are great for 5th-8th graders. I'm getting ready to start Biblioplan year 2 with my dc in a few months. Biblioplan schedules several possible spines (you don't need to use them all), including SOTW. They also schedule other books for older children, like the Famous Men books you mentioned. They have age-appropriate readers and read-alouds scheduled for you. The SOTW AG is useful for me, because I have younger ones. We'll use some of the activities and coloring sheets. Since I'll have 5 children ranging from K to 6th grade, I'll use the Biblioplan schedule for SOTW and read-alouds with all of them. For everything else they will be using only the resources appropriate for them. Hope this helps. Blessings, Laura

I always try to combine my children when it's possible. I'd definitely wait until your younger one is in K. The idea to spread out vol. 1 over 2 years is also a good one. Blessings, Laura

We're about to start Biblioplan. They integrate a lot of American history resources with SOTW - including Hakim's History of US series. Blessings, Laura

I tried the Astronomy course with my dd and didn't care for it. I wanted to like it - I wanted something somewhat Charlotte Mason in style and God-honoring. But--it was too detailed (IMO) for young elementary. Maybe older students (3rd/4th and up), but even I found parts of it so detailed I got tired of it. I also didn't like the way the author presented her Christian viewpoints. I'm a Christian, but I found myself having to gloss over or explain things that we disagreed with - it was a hassle for me. I understand wanting to like it and make it work. Even after our experience, I've looked at a couple of other Apologia products to consider if they could possibly work. After doing that a couple of times I've realized Apologia just isn't going to fit our family - and that's ok. I've found other excellent curricula that do work for us. Do what the others recommended. There are lots of great science curricula out there. Sell what's not working and buy something you think will fit your family. Blessings, Laura