Thank you all! I will have to look into your suggestions:)

Does such a book exist for US History? We are going to be using MFW ECC next year, but I want my kids to keep up on their US history too. My husband is a big history buff and wants this to be a big part of our kids' education:) I just want something that maybe we can read a story from every other day maybe, and that is kid friendly (my oldest is only 8). Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks!

For K math we used a clock, rods and cubes, counters, pattern blocks, tangrams, a geoboard, and play money.

I did pay $15 with a money order for some books, and I did receive them. But I would go with your gut if you do not feel comfortable with it. If you tell the seller you only want to pay with Paypal (and many people do) they may decide to set up an account anyway.

I don't know about Spelling Workout, but I did briefly try Building Spelling Skills and did not like it. I was looking into it for the same reasons as you and was able to find a cheap used copy to sample. Basically all it does is have the children memorize and then lists of words that follow the same spelling rule, but they never really go into an explanation of why they are spelled the way they are. I was really not impressed with it. We are using AAS now and I really like how my children are understanding why words are spelled the way they are. After we finish level 3 we are going to move into IEW Phonetic Zoo, which is independent. I know it can be pricey, but I got a used copy of Phonetic Zoo A for $55 ppd. and it is nonconsumable so all of my children will be able to use it.

If you want a list of things done in K math, you could just look up the scope and sequence of any math book and that would give you an idea of what would be covered.

I am using Cheeful Cursive for my lefty ds8. He really enjoys it (it is his 3rd favorite subject after math and spelling), and his cursive looks SO much better than his printing!

Thank you for sharing your experience! I think what I really need to do is sit down with both the Saxon 5/4 and 6/5 books and see what the differences are in them and try to make a decision based on the actual books. Thank you for the tips too. Being new to Saxon it is good to know how other people have used the books:)

Thanks so much- that was very helpful! I think we will go through 5/4, even if it is mostly review. My son loves math right now and I would hate to have him be frustrated by something too challenging!

It's great to know another McRuffy user! Can I ask if you looked into McRuffy 4, and why you decided on Saxon? I know for us I didn't care for Saxon K-3, which led me to choose McRuffy, so I just naturally assumed when we got to Saxon 5/4 we would switch (and since McRuffy doesn't go past 4th grade we knew it has to happen eventually). Just curious as to why you switched. Thanks!

Thanks so much! It's good to know that an eight year old is capable if we decide on Saxon 6/5!

My ds8 is just finishing up McRuffy 3rd grade color math and I am making plans for next year. I assumed this was when we would move into Saxon so I bought Saxon 5/4. While looking through the book I realized he already knows a good portion of the material. So I looked at the placement test and the only thing we hasn't covered is percentages. I'm not sure if I should just stay with McRuffy 4th grade now (that is the highest level that have at the time) or try Saxon 6/5. It just seems too extreme to have an eight year old in 6/5, but has anyone else ever done this? Is the book written toward older children and will it require a lot of help from me if we try that? Any suggestions or direction would be much appreciated! Thanks! Erin

Just like the others said, the science is a lot better in bigger! I debated staying with HOD because the science was so lacking, but I'm glad we did- it has been our favorite year (especially the science notebooking and my kids are really enjoying the Pioneer Sampler)! I had really been disappointed in the science in previous years.

My son is 8, so here are some of his favorites that may work: The Indian in the Cupboard series, Mr. Popper's Penguins, the Boxcar Children, Ginger Pye, Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, the Incredible Journey. That's all I can think if for now- hope it helps!

:bigear: I'm interested in the answer to this too! We are debating on trying Phonetic Zoo (for more independent learning), but I do love AAS!

We are using HOD emerging readers this year and doing HOD Bigger. Next year we will be moving to MFW, but I am planning on keeping the readers and using them for my younger children. I don't really use the questions for the readers because I can come up with my own, but I do use them in the order they use because I think they are done in such a way to be challenging, but not overwhelming.

We loveMcRuffy math! It has worked well for dd6 who is not nearly as "mathy" as I ds8.

I made the mistake of trying to do too much orally and ds ended up not retaining as much as I would hope. So I try to do about 1/4 or 1/3 written, the rest oral, and I use the extra worksheets too. This is working out much better! I also now make sure to do the review at the beginning of the lesson in the teachers manual -thisis makes a big difference!

Multiplication can be a tricky thing at this age. My son, who has always enjoyed math, recently went through a phase where he wasn't enjoying it because the multiplication was tripping him up. We took a break from math and made up some songs for him to memorize that were the multiples of numbers (so it works for division and multiplication ). Now that he has his facts down, he is back to loving math. So maybe think about taking a break until you know she has her multiplication facts down and then start back up again. We use McRuffy Color Math, which is spiral like Saxon, but is very child and teacher friendly, and has different aspects for all of the learning styles. Hope that helps!

That looks like a great selection! I have ds8 who will be doing mostly 3rdat grade next year. He, like your son, needs alone time to focus, so I could see how the lifepacs weren't working so well! I do my best to keep workbook activities to a minimum with him:) You might be surprised to find other people that homeschool. When we first started I didn't really know anyone, but now we have a whole group and we get together for field trips and such. Hope you have a better year next year- the first year is always the hardest:)

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be much help with the 6th grader because my oldest on only in 2nd, but I'll do my best with the rest! We use R&S English and it is a really good program. I would suggest doing the review that is in the teacher's manual and getting the worksheets to reinforce learning. I made the mistake of trying to do too much orally and we had to backtrack because of that! For our history and science, we will be starting our first year in MFW, so I don't really have any individual recommendations for that. For your kindergartener, I have a few suggestions that have worked for us. We love McRuffy color math! It is very thorough, they cover all of the different learning types, and it is very teacher friendly (just open and go!). My 2 oldest are very different learners, but they have both done very well with this type of math. As far as reading, for my oldest 2 we used AlphaPhonics, which is very cheap and works very well to get the job done. After they finished that we would move to books like Owl at Home or Frog and Toad. We also use All About Spelling, which really reinforces phonics and helps with reading. For the younger children I am going to try IEW Primary Art of Language for reading and writing because we have some extra money and it looks like so much fun! It has handwriting built into it, so that would take care of it, and there are fun stories that go along with each letter to keep from reversing things like b and d. Best of luck in your decisions!

We really enjoy Rod & Staff English! I haven't used Growing with Grammar, but R&S works well for us so I am not going to switch any time soon:)

I think your plan for putting history and science on hold is perfectly fine. It is amazing how much children pick up in those areas just from reading books and through every day life! I applaud you for not trying to overdue it with a new baby coming! I was always so overly optimistic about what I could get done with a newborn- and it never happened:) My dd will be doing 1st grade next year, and I don't have any specific history or science plans for her either- she is just going to join in with her older brother when she can!

I am in the same boat as you trying to figure it out for next year! From what I have researched I think I am going to use PAL writing for my 2nd grader, since it is a gentle approach to their writing style and my son has not had any formal writing instruction yet. I wish I had already used it so I could help you more, but my understanding is that the reading and writing together only take about an hour. I would think that would mean the writing would take about 30 minutes or so? I was debating on starting the SWI-A, but I think I will make it easier on myself and just use PAL:001_smile:

We are trying to remedy a similar situation for next year. My ds8 and dd6 are doing HOD Bigger this year, and I know that it wouldn't work to combine them in Preparing for next year. I also have ds3 and ds1, so I don't feel I have adequate time to go through 2 guides. So next year we are doing MFW ECC. Unfortunately we haven't gone through it yet, but I did get the materials and it looks like dd6 will be just fine with the work. It is very open and go, and there are added "optional" activities in case you have extra time that week- and if you don't, that is OK too! They will be doing LA and Math in their own levels, but I just decided that it would be easiest for me to combine Bible, Science, History, and read alouds. MFW does a great job of suggesting ways to keep the younger ones involved so that the activities are not too much for them. And I have decided that if we come to a project or activity that is too much for her, I will just adjust it for her, or not do it at all:) I wish I already had a year of experience to let you know for sure that it worked, but I have seen many other people use MFW successfully with multiple ages. Best of luck deciding! Hope this helps!