This is what we do, as well, with the exception that we use German. Once my kids reach high school we use Oklahoma State's German Online.

Well, my 17 year old ds says they HAVE to read Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

Yes, I think many people are under the impression that all, or even most, charters are for-profit, which is just not true. That's the biggest flaw of this article and a number of the responses here. I know it depends on region, but still the vast majority of charters in the US are independent schools begun by concerned parents, teachers, and community members. My kids attend one such school part time. It was begun by 4 couples who were dissatisfied with the rigor of the public schools in town. And while there are numerous neighborhood businesses who contribute financially to the school, it is only the Board of Directors and school board that have any day in how the school is run (and this is entirely staffed by parents and community members who volunteer their time.) The charters here receive 2/3rds of the funding a traditional public school receives per student. They have lottery admission. There is no bussing, but we have a very decent public transit system, so it is inclusive. This high school has been in existence for 6 years. It was rated the 3rd best public high school in the state this year based on test scores, percentages of seniors headed to college, number of AP/ gifted courses available, student to teacher ratios, and polling of student/parent satisfaction. I never thought I would feel so positively about a public school. Ever. And FYI... This is one of three charter schools in town. One of the other two is rated 5th in the state. Because each state has its own laws regarding charters and how they are run, one cannot make blanket statements. I have no problem with an individual sharing their opinion on a topic. But ignorant, illogical, blanket statements that are irrelevant to more than half of the charter schools in existence are, I'm guessing, meant to prove a political point. I get it. The guy despises capitalism. Which made the "donate now" paypal button on his blog that much funnier. And if his attention to detail and ability to formulate a cogent piece of writing are examples of the "sophistication" being taught to these preschoolers, well, I hope their parents haven't spent too much money.

There were so many things in there that made me roll my eyes. Good grief! I may just print this out and use it as a useful logic/critical reading lesson. I'm pretty sure my high schoolers would consider this fun sport.

Winnie-the-Pooh is our all-time favorite, which clearly makes me a weirdo :-) When my son (7) recently watched the Disney's Pooh and the Blustery Day he said, "That's not what Pooh sounds like!" Mission accomplished.

My kids all love Peter Pan. My suggestions for similar stories/styles: Pinocchio Redwall We LOVE the Peter and the Starcatchers series. The style is a little bit different, but it still has the dry English-type humor. We have the audiobooks with Jim Dale reading and they are spectacular.

Worm composting

Well, I wasn't originally going to respond, but since you bumped... :-) I was in the same position as you quite a long time ago...when my oldest was in 1st grade. I felt so awkward and silly doing the script in FLL. I was sure I hated it and couldn't possibly get past it. And now I am in FLL2 for the fifth time. Honestly, I just got over it. I became more comfortable with the scripting...I don't even think twice about it now. (Of course, I've taught these lessons so many times now that I barely even need to look at the page :-) My kids have learned that Mom will sometimes go off script and they are to keep quiet about it. I just wanted to encourage you that you may have the same experience. FLL is so solid I just wouldn't consider using anything else. HTH,

Definitely Wedgits!

We focus on copywork/dictation along with narrations until 9 or 10 years old. No formal writing curriculum at all. At that point we begin CW Aesop. It has worked beautifully for my kids. My oldest was a star pupil this year in his AP Lang. & Comp. class, so I am happy with the results. His teacher even asked what we had used for writing!

My oldest two (junior and sophomore) are part-time students at the local public classical charter school. They each take three classes every afternoon - my dd15 takes Speech/Debate, conceptual chemistry and physics, and theater. She participates in Key Club, Forensics (speech & debate) and id on the Yearbook Committee. My ds17 takes AP Lang. & Comp, Physics, and Robotics. He also participates in Key Club, robotics team, cross country, and track & field. They have both been very well-received. No one has made fun of them -just asking honest questions about what homeschooling is like. It has been a really, really great experience for both if them.

(This is very unusual for me to wade into a politically charged topic here, but I am just very tired of hearing the same untrue rhetoric over and over...and I am visiting my family on the east coast and they have all gone to bed, while my Mountain Time body is just not sleepy.) Well, I've only ever heard that above quote about conservatives from liberals. It is a convenient political ploy to label your opponent as uncaring, unfeeling, and cold. But it surely doesn't make it at all true. The majority of my friends/relations are politically conservative and I cannot think of a single person (including myself, my husband, and most of my immediate family) who believes that we gain freedom by looking out for ourselves or that we should look out only for ourselves. Not one. But most of us believe that "we the people" should be looking out for those less fortunate. If the government would get back to its original limited size and scope, as laid out in the Constitution, reduce the heavy tax burden of those hard-working and productive members of society, stop enabling those who can work but choose not to to be a drain on the populace, then "we the people" would be more free to help those legitimately in need. As to the OP...I cannot think of a single Christian irl who does not give back to those in need in some way...whether giving financially, serving with their time, organizing drives, serving at soup kitchens/food pantries, helping those coming out of gang life, buying groceries for neighbors, keeping baggies of necessities to hand out to homeless folks, or all of the above. Our church is very active in the community in all of the above ways...and more. And it is in a lower-middle class neighborhood. Certainly the majority if the members are far from wealthy, but they do what can, often stretching themselves financially for the benefit if others. The issue for me is this: the government has gotten in the way of allowing "we the people" to serve as we feel called. In this country, I do not feel that forcing people to purchase anything, including insurance, is Constitutional. Many agree with me. It is not the government's job and they are extremely inefficient at it. It is true charity to be able to give and serve out of the abundance of your life. It feels more like stealing when you are required to give (through taxes or high insurance costs) and then forced to watch your hard-earned money be inefficiently used, ill-spent, and/or used to fund things which are in opposition to your conscience. It is utterly untrue that all those opposed to universal healthcare are uncaring and not living in perfect harmony with Biblical mandates. Sincerely, A politically conservative Christian who is not at all opposed to helping others and actually has a deep love for, and interest in, her fellow Man.

This very thing used to happen to us. We switched our outside time to mid-morning (10:30ish) and found that helped immensely. The fresh air, sun, and exercise seemed to help get us through that last 90 minutes before lunch with more focus.

Mini Beagle (3 yrs old) - Mollie (Molls) Border Collie/ chocolate lab mix (3 months) - Duncan Pets put down over the years: Beagle - Thurston Black lab - Oliver Yellow lab - Aspen Kitty - Sushi

FLL 1-4 with copywork/dictation JAG AG Classical Writing beginning in 4th or 5th grade

Phonics Pathways did the trick five times here. Apparently we like dry and boring :-) It is thorough, logical, quick, and cost effective. And, at least here, managed to produce five strong readers and great spellers.

I fold directly from the dryer, as I can't stand clean but wrinkled clothes. I consider myself caught up when it is all put away.

My issue with the bread analogy is this: when I follow your instructions exactly and my bread comes out poorly, then what? What if my idea of a perfect loaf differs from yours? Do I find another recipe and try that, hoping for perfection? Or do I simply play with the recipe that looks best to me, tweaking and manipulating it, until I find MY perfect loaf? I have been around the block with homeschooling. I am finishing up my 13th year. I have five children. I have homeschooled in three different states. My philosophy has been molded and shaped and perfected and changed steadily over the years. I have learned the hard way that the philosophy and practical application that works beautifully for someone else will not work here, and vice-versa. As previously mentioned, the Circe thread freed me up to be the homeschooler that my particular children need me to be. Not that I was slave to a particular curriculum or philosophy prior to that, but that it gave me license to completely color outside the lines. I have been able to really dig into the concept of education: what does a well-educated human being look like? Just to be able to deeply contemplate that question; to read articles, books, roll it around in my head, discuss with my husband and other deep-thinkers in my life, read some more, pray, contemplate, etc...this has done so much for me and my approach to teaching my children. For me, the competitive-play-the-college-game-and-do-what-everyone-says-you-are-supposed-to concept of education has been exposed as the inferior approach. That approach, in many cases, produces someone who "looks good" on paper, but falls far short of a human being on his way to maximizing his potential. For me, teaching from a state of rest means keeping that idea at the forefront of my mind at all times: We are in this to maximize human beings, not to check the boxes. Reading deeply, thinking, contemplating, discussing, seeking that which is true and good and beautiful, following through, persevering, thinking some more...These things will help us move toward that goal. What does that look like practically? Well, I can tell you what it looks like around here, but it will probably be different for everyone. Others may read my thoughts and think they're insane or asinine. But for us, this approach to schooling is the result of years of thinking, tweaking, educating myself, and getting to know my own kids. Around here we begin our day with a big breakfast at 7:45am. I make waffles, eggs, vats of oatmeal with fresh fruit. We sit and talk about things...lots of things. Then we move into Bible time. We are currently reading through Training Hearts, Teaching Minds. We read the lesson and corresponding Scripture. We discuss. We read other Scriptures that come to mind. We debate different topics. We think. Next we move into our Scripture memory. In the last twenty months we, as a family, memorized the Book of James. All five chapters. It was HARD, but we persevered. I made a recording of myself reading it. We listened, repeated, recited, discussed, listened some more. I do not say this to boast, but to encourage everyone that big things are attainable. Where we expect much, much can be accomplished. This is VERY important to us. We consider it crucial in the development of human beings. After Scripture memory we spend some time with poetry. My older kids are currently memorizing/reciting some selections of John Donne. My youngest two are doing IEW's poetry memorization (my oldest three completed this last year.) Then we move into our time of reading aloud. We read excellent literature selections. We do not read historical fiction during this time. So far this year, we have completed five volumes from My Book House and The Young Folks' Shelf of Books (The Junior Classics), The Burgess Bird Book for Children, Chesterton's The Ballad of the White Horse, Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea, Hillaire Belloc's fantastic poetry, and Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales and Wonder Book. We read together, all ages, and discuss. We stop when people identify allusions to other works we've read or think of Scriptures that apply or are just reminded of different characters/plots. We read for at least 60 minutes. Reading all together is very important for me. Personally, having multiple read alouds going at once for different ages would drive me insane and take away from that restful feeling. I love that my family has built up its own cultural literacy. My 16 year old can make a reference to something we've read and my 7 year old can laugh about it! That's a wonderful thing. We spend 90 minutes or so together as a family and then break up. My older kids begin their work, most of which is independent. One change I've made recently is to focus much more heavily on depth of learning, instead of quantity. My oldest two will complete 7 novels, two Shakespeare plays, two short stories, and selections from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for Brit. Lit. this year. We take our time, contemplate, discuss, watch/listen to TC lectures or iTunes Univ. lectures, and contemplate. This has been SO refreshing. I no longer feel compelled to finish some HUGE list of selections that we have had no time to delve into. I have required 4 papers - and will require a comparison paper at the end of the year. I do not give them topics. They write about things they find interesting or want to learn more about. Mostly we discuss and THINK about what we read, since we now have the time to do so. OK, we are off to piano (something everyone does in our home because music is necessary for music's sake around here. It makes for a better, richer human being!) I will try to come back to the conversation later this evening.

Classical Writing

I heartily agree with this! The only way you can make something a way of life is to do it consistently and persevere. Set expectations and expect interruptions. When I had littles, our routine was to spend 45 minutes outside every morning at 10am. We would ride bikes, walk, run, or jump on the trampoline. After our outdoor break we would come in for a BIG snack, such as smoothies and cookies, apples and celery with peanut butter, banana bread with cream cheese, etc. this was the only time they could have fun drinks, such as hot chocolate, chocolate milk, or Apple cider. While they ate I read. It created a fun time that everyone looked forward to. If they finished their food they could work on puzzles, wooden trains, or draw. Now we read right after breakfast for 60-90 minutes. I don't need to do anything special. They just look forward to the time. It's now a way of life.

My first grader does copywork independently. I am usually in the room (or at least within earshot) so that I can keep him on task, if necessary. Although the majority of the time he will sit quietly for 5-10 minutes while completing the work. He forms his letters properly and is a consientious worker, typically. He will also complete many math assignments independently after we have gone over the lesson together. Explode the Code gets done mostly independently with only occasional questions. He does his independent reading independently (obviously!) He does read to me every day, but then is required to read silently for at least 30 minutes. When he is done he tells me what he read about so that I am sure it has been done. It will depend on the child - their personality and their ability to sit still and stay focused. My current first grader is my fifth, so I've run the gamut with personalities and abilities. But I will say that all of my first graders have been able to do at least one or two things independently. Like I said, I am always in the room or very near by if help is needed. Only you can know exactly what your child is capable of doing :-)

Roasted chicken and corn chowder, crusty bread, salad Chili with corn bread and broccoli slaw Minestrone soup with bread Teriyaki chicken over rice with steamed broccoli

We only do screen time on the weekends...nothing M-Th. Friday they get an hour each after all school is completed. 2 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

This was my interpretation, as well. Mary Poppins was the savior that her real-life aunt was not. Young Helen even yells at her aunt, "You said you would make everything all right and you didn't." The reason we don't really get to know the aunt is because she IS NOT Mary Poppins. I thought the film was brilliantly done, even if not completely historical. One little fun tidbit: The adorable little blond haired girl who plays Helen's little sister, Biddy, was our neighbor two doors down. It was fun to hear all if her stories about filming!

I will agree with much of what has been said so far: SOTW for all - include the map work in the Activity Guide, refer to wall maps and or atlases and you have history/geography covered for all. I, too, never used a reading program. They were all just required to read for x amount of time from great books. We briefly discuss character/plot/etc. and it's all good. Phonics Pathways is my top choice for those learning to read. Then it just comes down to juggling and multitasking. I will frequently have a child at each elbow: one working on a math exercise after having gone through the work with me, then the child at the other elbow gets my attention. Then switch. That way you are overseeing and available but able to get through more material. Hope that helps some...