I've been trying to make MFW work for us. I struggle with keeping a routine. This is a weakness of mine, and truth be told, maybe nothing will work for us because of this. But right now, MFW is not getting done. I like it! I just have trouble implementing it, because it requires planning ahead of time. We are just getting language arts (CLE) and math (MUS) done. Next year, my oldest will be 4th grade, and my second oldest will be first grade. My oldest says she doesn't like MFW, because she can't do it on her own. She likes that we changed to CLE language this year, because she can work on it independently. I can't wrap my mind around doing MFW ECC and MFW 1st grade. It just seems like too much. I've posted in a MFW group, to see if people have combined a first grader into ECC, and plenty of people have done it. So, I thought I'd just try to do ECC for both of them, together. And let them do their level of LA and math. BUT, if I change over to HOD for my oldest, specifically preparing, would this get my oldest doing more independent work? I wonder if it might be a better fit for her, since she wants to work independently? Would it be too hard to juggle my girls doing two different programs? I'm so worried that we're never going to find our homeschool groove. It's mainly me. I'm so scatter brained and disorganized. Adding a toddler to the mix does not help! I don't know what my other option would be. Maybe do other history and science programs, like SOTW and Apologia, and trying to combine both girls? I've even thought about take the easier way, and just give them CLE for all subjects, since it's workbook style. Or at least that seems easier. I just want a productive homeschool year!

I'm trying to simplify things. I've been using mfw for the past 3 years, but it's just not getting done. I was thinking about combining both my upcoming first grader and fourth grader in ECC, but then I remembered FIAR. I think it would work for my first grader, but I'm not sure if it would keep my fourth grader's attention. I'd rather not do separate curriculum for them though. Have any of you used FIAR with a fourth grader? Did it work well?

Thank you, everyone! I really thought MUS was THE program for us. But we never really tried anything else. We did dabble in Horizons, her kindergarten year. And she liked it at first, but at about mid year, it just seemed to be too much work, and she hated it. But that was probably just because it was too much for kindergarten. But when I saw those pages of CLE, I was blown away by the things that she'd be weak in. Like telling time. And I know she's gotten that in each book. But it's just at the end of the book, and usually, by the time we get to the end of the book, we are burned out, and just trying to finish. I like that it covers metric. I don't know much about the metric system, but I do think it's important to at least have a general concept of the metric system. For now, I ordered a sylvan math exercise book, and we'll use that for fun/supplementation. We'll chug on through Gamma, and I will seriously be considering CLE when it comes time to order next year's books. I know that my husband doesn't want to switch, and he thinks I'm crazy. He think math u see is fine. And it probably is for now. But I feel like we might be missing something. My daughter doesn't even use her blocks anymore, which also has me wondering if she even needs all the emphasis on each concept. All that being said, I do still appreciate our time with MUS. I really believe that my daughter is strong in her math facts because of MUS.

We've used MUS since my daughter was in first grade, and used Alpha. We've been happy with MUS, because she gets it. We're now in Gamma. Things have still be going well. But we just switched over to CLE Language Arts, and I love it so much that I decided to look at the samples for their math. There are things in CLE that she has little experience with. I know, MUS is mastery, and CLE appears to be spiral. I know the differences. But is MUS going to get into the metric system? When will MUS get more into measuring, and telling time? She gets money problems, but CLE has visuals! She took one look at a sample lesson that included pictures of coins, and she got excited. Or should I stick with MUS and supplement with some sylvan math books? I do like that her math concepts so far are solid. This might just be a situation where the grass seems greener on the other side. I almost wish we could use both, but I think that would be overkill.

That worked! Thank you!

I've ordered from them in previous years, but I am having trouble placing an order now. Basically, when I try to add a student book to my cart, it says that the page cannot be found. I've tried with both Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. It does the same thing both times. And I can't find the products when I look on my phone. Is anyone else having trouble? I love ZB. I'm a little picky about our handwriting curriculum.

Those of you who have used Beast Academy, and make it your main math curriculum, what is your long term goal? We've been using MUS, and we love MUS. It's working for us. But BA looks interesting. It looks too expensive to be a supplement though. I don't know if I could drop MUS for it though. What would I do after 5th grade, if there are no more BA once we get to that level? Would I go back to MUS? It really looks cool though, and I think my daughter would like it.

Oh my gosh. Right now, I'm having a moment where I'm so thankful that I'm getting out of CC. I was asked to volunteer for our local 3 day practicum. Volunteers have to pay for their kids to go to their "camps." I now have 3 kids, PLUS the cost of each camp has gone up by $6 since last year. It's $42 each. That would be $126!!!!!! And this is just to help out. I wouldn't do it otherwise. No way! I turned to my husband and said, "Do you realize how much curriculum I could buy for $126?" He sees my point. I turned it down. I feel bad that I'm letting them down, but I feel so good about saving money!

Thank you! Except that we are finishing up 2nd grade. But there's no way you could have known that, because I haven't updated my signature. :) Hopefully the same applies for 3rd grade. Haha! Now....I really need to fix my signature. Especially since I've had a baby since the last time I updated it!

We have been in CC since my oldest daughter was pre-k age. I have not loved it. Or I've had mixed feelings about it. I feel like it's over priced, and we don't do any of it at home. For us, it's been more for community. I always complain about it, and when someone asks me about it, I can't sell people on it, because I have not loved it at all. Friends will be like, "Oh! That price isn't that bad, considering private school costs thousands per kid." And I'm like, "Yeah, but when you really think about it, private school is full time, and it's a drop off program. CC is only 3 hours a week, for 24 weeks. When you average it out, it's more expensive per hour." Haha! And I'm also like, "Yeah, and you still have to buy books, and look up your own fun stuff on pinterest. It sucks up a lot of your time if you want to make it more than just memory work." Needless to say, when I talk to people about it, they are turned off. LOL! I've even been a tutor for the last 3 years, and I have felt so burned out. I have wanted to be free! So here I am. CC for this year has ended. I've told my kids that we probably won't do it next year, and they are upset. I've even tried to make it sound great by telling them that if we don't do CC next year, it frees up our time so we can do more fun stuff! But there's a part of me that is a little sad and scared about breaking off from CC next year. What if I suck at doing our own thing? What is the point of my post? Maybe more of a vent, and maybe I just want someone to tell me that we'll be okay next year? Because I sure can't talk about how I feel about CC in my local homeschool groups on facebook, because the CC people are EVERYWHERE!!! LOL!

We're in our 4th year of CC. We started when my oldest was always 5 (she's in 2nd grade now. I might need to update my signature). I tutor, and we do get paid according to how many kids are enrolled in the program. But it's not according to how many are in my class. The director takes the money she gets from all of the kids registered on campus, and then she divides it up equally amongst the tutors. So each tutor gets paid the same amount, even if his/her class is smaller or larger. I hate to say it, but I am not head over heals in love with the program, so I do not try to recruit people to the program. I'm such a realist, that I probably discourage people from joining. LOL! My cousin's wife was interested, and she was like, "That price isn't too bad, considering private school is so much more." And I was all like, "Yeah, but you're only in the class for 3 hours a week, whereas in a private school, you're paying for full time instruction. So hourly wise, CC is more expensive." And also, I was like, "And that price doesn't include your books and timeline cards. And also, those extra ideas and songs that the tutor was doing in class, she probably got from CC connected, which costs a monthly fee." Yeah. I'm not a recruiter. Haha! But there are people who genuinely love it, who think it's worth every penny, and who sing its praise to others. I probably should stop with CC, since I don't love it. I don't know why I come back each year. I think ultimately, I have a love/hate relationship with it. I probably hate it more than I love it, but I'm sort of attached to the community feel. I don't like the price, but I don't know of anything cheaper that will give the same feel to it.

When I was babysitting, I was babysitting for an entire week and I was also doing homeschool with him. I was checking the work that he did while I was there, and I took a peek at what was done in the past to see if he was trying to pull a fast one on me by saying that his mom lets him skip things.

Oh yes! I think some kids do take longer for things to click. And that doesn't mean that there's a learning disability or that the parent is doing a poor job of teaching. I guess I shouldn't have mentioned grade levels in my original post, although I was meaning that she keeps bumping him up to the next grade level book, even when he can't do the work in the previous leveled book. I don't put a lot of thought into actual grade levels. I mean, hey! She could consider him in 2nd grade while working on K work! She is in charge of her children and what grade they are in. But I think she should let him work at his own pace, at the appropriate level for him, and she should make sure he has a skill mastere before moving him along.

I'm expecting a baby this month, so I'm not really in a position where I can take on schooling someone else's child. We live in WV, and we have the option to get a portfolio review by a licensed reviewer (someone with teacher certification) or we can have our children take an achievement test. She chooses to get the portfolio review by a lady at her church. I don't know if the lady is just really nice when it comes to the portfolio review? I will say that she is a public school teacher and she has expressed that she believes homeschooling is inferior to public school.

I don't think she is. About the K level readers, she was just complaining about how baby'ish the books were, and that it was a waste for the tutor to go back to that. And when I told her that I agreed with the tutor, that the easier books were probably good for him, she just had an uncomfortable smile. And now I find out a month after having this conversation that she fired the tutor. She obviously didn't take what I said seriously.

It's more than just not finishing the books. I've babysat for her before, and when I go to check his work, I see that he skips sections of work when he doesn't know how to do it. When I have flipped through his book, I see where he's skipped whole pages and I've asked her about it. First off, she doesn't actually teach it. She just gives him the book and expects him to do it. If he doesn't understand, they just move on.

I really am not sure how he's doing with math. She complains mostly about reading, but it does sound like all of his school work might be a challenge. She's determined that he must have ADD, since he can't focus on his school work. She's not medicating him, but is trying essential oils to help him focus. I don't know of a program like that in our area.

I might get flamed for this post. Do you know anyone who might be doing more harm to their child than good? I'm not necessarily saying that they should send their child to public school, but they really have absolutely no idea what they are doing. I have a friend who has a son who has a late birthday. He turned 7 in October. She started him in K early, when he was 4 almost 5. That's not a big deal, but she bought K books from Abeka, and he didn't complete any of the books. Instead of having him work through the K books, she just bumped him up to the first grade books the next year. Again, he didn't finish his books. I don't even think he did half of the books. But again, she bumped him up into 2nd grade this year. She was stressing out because he can't read and he can't write. She hired a tutor. The tutor started working with him in K level books, and my friend felt like it was a total waste of money to hire this tutor because her son should be reading 2nd grade level books. I tried to explain to my friend that the tutor is probably starting him out in the lower level books to help build his confidence. He can't read the 2nd grade books. He needs to work his way up. Anyway, she has fired the tutor and said that they're just going to keep trudging on. A day of school work is really bad. He won't focus, and he gets really upset. She said that she got so frustrated with the way he was acting today, that she just sent him to his room to take a nap. I want to tell her that he's probably acting out because the work is too hard for him! That's what the tutor told her too, and that's what I was trying to tell her when I said that it was a good idea to have him read K level books. She will probably just push him on to 3rd grade next year, and have him work on 3rd grade level books which will be REALLY challenging for him if he doesn't master the 2nd grade material. I know. He's not my kid, and it's none of my business. I just feel really bad for him.

Sigh. We're almost in March now, and registration is now open for next year. I am still torn about what to do next year. If we do CC, we would also register DD3, who will turn 4 in June. Altogether, our tuition cost with fees will cost $975 for next year. This would be our 2nd time doing Cycle 3, and I loved Cycle 3 the first time we did it. I just don't really know. Maybe we could give CC one more year, and then try the co-op for Cycle 1, since I didn't really care for Cycle 1. But the price is like "EEEK!" And since I have a baby due in April, I'm not sure I should tutor. Which could be a good thing, since I could be more relaxed, and not have to worry about tutoring. But then I lose the little bit of compensation I'd get. Oy, decisions are hard.

I need to change my siggy. She just turned 7 last month and is in first grade. We started when she was 4, almost 5 and in pre-k. The art projects you saw were from the 3rd quarter. That is my favorite quarter! I do not care for the first and second quarter (basic drawing and tin whistle) and the 4th quarter is kind of meh (orchestra). Just hang tight for January though! The kids will do painting and art projects to correlate with famous artists. If I've done it correctly, I've attached a photo of my daughter doing a fresco painting, like Michelangelo. We did this instead of the painting under the table. I didn't add that I am also a tutor (gasp!). So, while I do get reimbursed, and tuition shouldn't be that big of a deal for me, we still have to pay for it up front before the year begins. And then I don't see a paycheck until after the first quarter, and the pay is only in quarterly chunks. The price still makes me bitter, especially when I think that next year my youngest will be able to do it, so then we'll be paying for two kids. I am also pregnant and due in April, so I do not plan to tutor next year. Tutoring has proven stressful for me. I am probably one of those less adequate tutors. Granted, I have the youngest class, and I can see how the CC program is really hard for little ones. 3 hours of organized activity is A LOT for 4 and 5 year olds! By 11:00 my kids are whining for their mommies and we start to have some meltdowns. I have to say, Cycle 3 has been my favorite cycle, so I almost want to just hang in there through next year. Plus, if I'm not tutoring, I don't have the extra stress. I can kind of relax and enjoy the classes my girls will be in. But then we're paying for 2 kids to do the program, and I won't be getting a reimbursment for it either...

Man, you guys aren't telling me what I want to hear. LOL! Don't stop though. I appreciate the honesty. I was just hoping there'd be someone out there who would say that they liked the co-op better than CC.

We are in our 3rd year of CC and I am just not loving it. Honestly, I think the price makes me a bit bitter toward it. We stuck with it so we could complete all 3 cycles. I really want to try something else next year. There is a co-op in our area. The classes they offer all depends each year on who volunteers to teach and what they choose to teach. But they might have art asses, science classes, lapbooking classes etc. The cost for the co-op is a out $30 per class plus any books needed. im sure the $30 helps cover the cost of supplies for the year. I know it's not consistent, since each year the classes are different. But I feel like it would be more like electives for us. We're using MFW as our main curriculum this year. I tried to make CC our core and failed miserably at it. So this year I thought I'd try MFW and we really like it. Anyone who has done both CC and a co-op, how would you compare them? Would you say one is better than the other? I just want to try something new since we've been doing CC since DD was in pre-k. Maybe I'll find that we miss CC and we come back after a year? But how will I know unless I venture out to something else?

Thank you! I went ahead and got them, even though they might be slightly too advanced for my kids. I just couldn't pass on this offer. :)

I didn't use it for my oldest, and we did struggle. I think this thread has convinced me to buy the DVD's for my youngest. But I have to say, things seem to come easier for my youngest. Like with colors. I did so much with my oldest. I sang songs, I'd draw rainbows and hold up the colored crayons as I'd sing the songs, I read lots of books about colors, pointed colors out in the real world, etc, etc. My youngest? I haven't done a thing with her for colors. I felt bad. Then some ladies from church came to me and just kept telling me how smart DD3 is, and how she knows most of her colors. I was like, "Well, thank you!" But inside I was like, "How the crap did she learn her colors?!?" More than likely she's learned most of what she knows from her big sister. I think she might be more of a reader than my oldest too. It's a bit too early to tell, but I read a lot of toddler and picture books to DD6 when she was 3. Now I'm reading short chapter books, and my 3 year old sits in my lap and just eats it up. I don't read any toddler books to her! It's very common to see her just chilling on the floor, looking through a book without pictures. I'm not sure how she finds it entertaining to look through a book with no pictures, but she just does.

I'm sorry if my post upset you. I was asking out of sheer curiousity, since we were planning to use MFW. I have been on the fence about whether to use MFW or piece it together on my own. I'm also scared of piecing it together, and I do have TWTM. You are a more experienced homeschooler than I am though. My oldest is starting first grade.