Personally, I would place your oldest in Homer A and your younger in Aesop B. My 11 year old dd is currently doing Homer A and she finds it tough (as all of my children have). I do not think that you can get to the meat of the program with a child much younger. Parts of speech/diagramming are covered throughout Homer. I think your daughter would be fine. My 8 year old 3rd grader is in the middle of FLL3 right now, and I know he would not be able to handle the workload of Homer. Aesop has suggested spelling words from the weekly model and both Aesop and Homer have copywork/dictation assignments. We have always used the recommended Harvey's Grammar beginning with Homer. HTH,

Updated my siggy...

:iagree: We take a 90-minute break for lunch, and generally school from 8:30 to 4PM. Generally speaking, though, my house is clean and my laundry gets done, so it can be done. I am just too much of a clean freak to be able to function otherwise. We finish all memory work at mealtimes and my children have significant chores morning and evening. I correct work while sitting and overseeing math. I have my older kids check over my younger kids' work. I am going to have to steal the above idea about discussions while taking walks. That one is brilliant!

I live within Los Angeles city limits.

[quote=lahmeh;3205508Aren't all these subjects expected at this age? Please tell me how to simplify. :) math spelling reading writing grammar vocabulary history science social studies geography Is there a really such a thing as an open and go hist/geog/social studies curriculum? :bigear: Nope. My 3rd graders do: Bible math reading grammar (which includes copywork & dictation) history (which includes geography) science For open and go history we always did SOTW at that age. Buy the Activity Guide and you are all set.

My 14, 13, and 11 year olds still love when I read Winnie the Pooh. I definitely don't think your kids are too old!!

Absolutely. Anemia can make you very sluggish/exhausted.

My first thought was, "My 14 year old son will eat anything (and then ask for more :-) " Yes, all of my children would have happily eaten either of those soups.

I have morphed in my opinions of such styles over the years. I am currently moving through FLL for the 4th time. When I first began teaching FLL with my now-9th grade son I found the scripted lessons awkward and the repetition a bit much. BUT...it did the trick. I found it quite easy to double up on lessons when needed and very simple to skip any repetition that was not necessary. Now, 8 years later, my oldest can recite every single definition and list that he learned in FLL. I would call that success! Now that I have five school-age children and am fully invested in rhetoric-level work with my oldest 2: Socratic discussions, multi-page papers to correct, multiple foreign languages, Chemistry labs, etc., I FULLY appreciate the ease with which I can accomplish grammar with my 3rd grader. Open and go, finished in 10 minutes. Done. It's a bonus now that it is scripted, because after all of the Socratic discussion and multi-page papers to grade, it's sometimes hard to form a coherent sentence of my own :lol: The best curriculum is the one that gets done...that is one of the big reasons that I adore FLL. And for those of us who are actively teaching multiple levels for hours and hours a day, some simple, easy-to-accomplish subjects are appreciated.

ds1: 6 dd2: 5 dd3: 6 ds4: 7 ds 5: (currently on p. 30...he will probably finish just before his 6th birthday)

We would never be able to make it work here if we moved from subject to subject together...for the same reason it is not working for you. There is just no way to do math with everyone at the same time. What works here is to separate maths throughout the day and have the other kids working independently during those times. I have a schedule that shows everyone when I am available to help them with math, Latin, whatever. The kids cycle through with me and then head off to complete independent work as they are able. It is definitely a much more efficient use of time than having all the kids queued up waiting for me. Also, I am not familiar with Rightstart, but if your 5 year old is having trouble keeping up she should probably be doing something more appropriate for her level. My older kids do take turns playing with/helping the littler ones throughout the day, as well, which really helps me. HTH,

:iagree: My dh travels every week for work. He is gone from Monday to Thursday. I don't think I would sleep at all without the dogs. Skype is also a godsend.

Frequently purchased here: bread Sandwich Thins Veggie Straws meat (ground beef, ground turkey, salmon) onions potatoes pineapple peanut butter organic jam Quinoa organic milk real maple syrup

I have been searching the site high and low for the proctor codes for my son's first quiz. I have logged in as facilitator and searched everywhere, but can't seem to find them. Can anyone help this poor technological simpleton? My son would appreciate it - he would love to move away from chapter 1! Thank you!!

"The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Howitt "Matilda: Who Told Lies and Was Burned to Death" by Hilaire Belloc "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer I didn't check word counts exactly, but they all seem close to 300 at a quick glance. (Casey is definitely over 300)

Phonics Pathways Leading Little Ones to God ETC Primers

My ninth grader is currently using TOG Year 1, R-level.

This would be my suggestion, as well. It is much easier to beef up the reading load with a few extra books than to find the reading over the heads of your children.

:iagree:

I was picking zucchinis today when my 13 year old freaked out and screamed "Rattlesnake!" Lo and Behold, there was a small (12-in or so) rattlesnake about 3 inches from my hand! It is still in the same exact spot...I think it's dead. But, I will not be checking on that. My "grew-up-in-the-West-has-dealt-with-rattlesnakes-many-times" husband will have to do that dirty deed when he gets home. Blech.

My oldest is just like this...he prefers to be with the adults, especially at church. I worried at first and sought the counsel of friends, etc. When I finally asked him about it, he simply said, "They (the Jr. high boys) act like fools, all trying to outdo each other and I learn more when I am with you." 'Nuff said. I think your son is simply more mature and less interested in foolishness. Good for him!

:iagree: I home school and keep the home, he works his buns off to allow me to do it. It works all around.

I voted to spend the year doing Year 4. We completed TOG Year 4 last year and the LG & UG kept the topics very light. We spent most of our time reading about and studying about all of the famous people and inventions of the 21st C. My then 7 year old loved learning about the Panama Canal, Walt Disney, Zeppelins, Gandhi, T.V.'s, etc. We certainly did not "delve into the horrors of the mass murder of 6 million Jews, Sept. 11, etc." It was light and entertaining, in general. The D and R levels, on the other hand...

For us it has been quite worth it. We have been using it for 6 years and are nearly done with Level 4. We began using it when my oldest 3 were 8, 7, & 5 and just folded the younger people in as they were ready. I personally really enjoy the selections, and have been pleased with the conversations they have spawned and the vocabulary learned. We do it at lunch every day. We review some past poems and then listen to the CD. Typically we listen through the last 5 poems learned and then listen to our current poem 3x. After that we spend a few minutes reciting new lines/sections and we are done. It probably takes 15 minutes at this level. HTH,

We focus on phonics in K (Phonics Pathways) and save FLL for 1st/2nd. My oldest four have all done great with that plan of action.