My husband is a business/IT consultant for a large consulting firm. He has a Bachelors (in piano performance and conducting) and a Masters (in music composition). He's just always been really, really good at technology and business. He does still compose for an orchestra of his making, but that always seems to lose money instead of bring it in. Still, I think he's pretty amazing! Check out his music HERE.

The reason that Marcia does it this way is because kids at the higher levels (D & R) will need time to complete all of the accountability and thinking questions. My children really appreciate having at least one, usually two, days to work on the questions. The thinking questions, especially, require the student to synthesize all of the reading, and come up with an opinion of judgment, which means the reading needs to be completed ahead of time. Of course, if your students aren't going to be assigned the A & T questions, then it doesn't matter :001_smile:

My Amazon bill is going to look a lot different next month. I am awaiting MANY boxes. We just got the "Young Folks' Shelf of Books" (Collier's Junior Classics) this AM. We jumped right in with #1 and my 5 year old has announced that he will be sleeping with the book. He said it was "just like having the library in our house!" :lol: Seriously, though, I have been so re-invigorated by this thread. My husband says I've got "the fire back in my belly." That's about right.

This is an excellent point. Thank you.

Adelaide Kurt

2-3 lessons per week. There is plenty of built in review, so you do not need to review a lesson unless your child completely doesn't get it.

I would agree. I have always used them in the 6-12 year old range.

I'm glad the three of us aren't competing for library books...apparently we are all on the same week/weeks of TOG Y1 :001_smile:

:iagree: On my 5th go-round with this book. It gets the job done very well.

:iagree: We are also in the middle of this and it is a HUGE hit with all 5 of mine.

Here are a few of ours: Adam and His Kin Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt The Golden Goblet The Bronze Bow Adara King Midas and the Golden Touch (picture book) Theseus and the Minotaur (picture book) D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths Archimedes and the Door of Science God King A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (picture book)

:iagree: We have read it as a read-aloud once a year for 10 years. I think the key with Pooh is to read slowly. I found I got the hang of the text and formatting pretty quickly.

:iagree: We begin the last poem in the book tomorrow! We are in our 6th year of using it. It has been a truly wonderful addition to our homeschool. Nice variety of poems, background info. on all the poets, and a CD which ensures it gets done daily. :001_smile:

It is a lot harder when they are ALL young, to be sure. When my three oldest were under 4 I significantly limited the toys. That was the only thing that helped. I had three big Rubbermaids full of toys and rotated through them. Every 2 weeks they got a box full of toys that they hadn't seen in a while. Those young years are the time to train them to make beds (to the best of their ability), wipe down sinks/counters with a wet, soapy cloth, and put away the silverware when the dishwasher is done, etc. They can't do everything, and YOU can certainly do everything better than they can, but it is the right time to train them :001_smile:

It is a lot harder when they are ALL young, to be sure. When my three oldest were under 4 I significantly limited the toys. That was the only thing that helped. I had three big Rubbermaids full of toys and rotated through them. Every 2 weeks they got a box full of toys that they hadn't seen in a while. Those young years are the time to train them to make beds (to the best of their ability), wipe down sinks/counters with a wet, soapy cloth, and put away the silverware when the dishwasher is done, etc. They can't do everything, and YOU can certainly do everything better than they can, but it is the right time to train them :001_smile:

This is me, as well. I have traveled abroad on more than one occasion, but let my passport expire when I had small children. I knew the likelihood of foreign travel in the near future was slim.

Canada, Mexico, England, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France

I am a lover of FLL and have never used WWE. I prefer to just do copywork/dictation in our other subjects and being a writing program (CW) in 4th grade.

The very most important thing that I do to maintain a neat and organized home and life is to train my children early and often how to clean up after themselves and do chores well. This is so crucial. I have 5 children and two dogs and we really enjoy our lives. (This is a misconception that I have read in this thread a couple of times: that those of us who are organized don't live. Not so!) We read/craft/build with Legos and blocks/paint/re-arrange furniture/dress up/make movies/write and act out plays/etc. BUT- we start and end every day with a picked up house. The children do morning chores right after breakfast. These include basic personal hygiene, making beds, dusting, feeding & walking the dogs, and loading the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. They have been trained at a young age to do these things well and know that it will have to be redone if I am not satisfied. While they are doing their chores I do mine: start a load of laundry, clean out the coffee maker, and plan lunch. It takes 15-20 minutes. Also, my kids understand that before they take out another toy/book/game, they put the previous one away. Simple. In the afternoon while I am making dinner the kids do another 15-20 minutes worth of chores. They vacuum, pick up all the bedrooms, put away their laundry, water flowers, empty the dishwasher, set the dinner table, pour milks, feed the dogs, shake out rugs, sweep, etc. Not everything gets done every day, but we have a schedule and stick to it. I cannot stress chores enough. It's sort of my mantra :001_smile: Rest assured, our days are filled with fun. This is part of our routine and makes the home run smoothly and efficiently.

Next year will be our 3rd year with TOG. We will be doing Year 2 with 2R, 1D, 1UG, and a K-er who will sit in on some of the reading. We do not have a co-op.

This is my, too. Except instead of cats I have 2 dumb dogs who will drag it all over the house and chew it. Especially underwear. :confused:

:iagree: Yes! My oldest 3 do their own laundry. For the rest of us I just toss a load in first thing in the morning, switch at lunch, and fold when we are done with school. I NEVER put unfolded laundry in a basket and leave the laundry room. I learned early in my career that it would never get folded. I simply stand at the dryer and fold the laundry as I pull it out. Shirts get hung over the banister in piles by room (little boys/Mom & Dad). At evening chore time the kids are responsible for hanging up the clothes in the proper closet. It CAN be done. It just takes diligence and proper training of the offspring :lol:

Memory Work: Scripture memory, AWANA, IEW's poetry Math: Singapore 4A/B, Khan Academy History/Literature: TOG Y2 - upper grammar Grammar: FLL 4 Science: undecided Writing: CW Aesop A Latin: Latin for Children A Music: piano

Very, very worth it. It makes understanding the concept and diagramming a piece of cake.

I have 5 children from 5 to nearly 15. We just read all sorts of books and frequently revisit family favorites. Currently we are reading A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 and God King. They are definitely over the head of my 5 year old, but he picks up bits and pieces, so I know it's beneficial. We read Winnie-the-Pooh and The Wind in the Willowsat least once a year and everyone loves it. I can remember reading it when my bigs were 4&5 years old. There is so much nostalgia in revisiting them! I never worry that my kids will miss out, because if we happen not to revisit a certain book as a read aloud they will most certainly have the option of reading it to themselves down the road.