A variety...because I hate teaching the same thing all the time. ;) In actuality, we pick an area and try to really dig in. Last year it was chemistry. By the time we were done, I was really tired of it (this from someone who worked as a chemist). Teresa

This is the plan and it kind of worked today: Math: Beast Academy 4 and later Upper Elementary Challenge Math 45 to 60 min Science: Nancy Larson Science 3, One lesson 4 days a week (however long that takes, 30 min?) History: Story of the World 3, she reads the chapter and does a lapbook page and puts timeline figures in the timeline book (however long this takes over the course of the week, 1 hr total?) Spelling: Sequential Spelling, 4 times a week, 20 min max Handwriting: By her choice we continue with cursive practice, 1 pg a day, 4x week, 5 min Writing: CAP W&R, 4X a week, 20 min a day Grammar: Right now, one sentence from MCT Practice Island 4X a week = 5 min and 1 pg of Critical Thinking Co. Language Mechanic = 5 min, 4X week We also do a few random things with poetry, poetry teas, vocabulary, documentaries, but that's less timed. Once a week we go to coop and do robotics. We also do dance all week long and are trying to add music lessons.

I've used 3. Math in Focus: I liked this. My daughter liked it at first, but once bar diagrams were introduced she began to really hate it. And it's not that she didn't understand the bar diagrams. I think she was more frustrated that she was expected to use bar diagrams when the answers were so obvious. On the other hand, how are you supposed to get good at using bar diagrams so that you can use them on more difficult problems, if you never practice on the easy ones. In general, this one didn't work out for us, though I really wanted it to. She advanced so quickly (1st to 3rd by half of 1st grade) that I really felt she wasn't challenged. Thank goodness for Beast Academy. Beast Academy: Really, my complaints are pretty much the same as Farrar. I wish they would release faster and sometimes I wonder why they don't get to the point sooner. I love that they experiment with math in creative ways and really show you how to think about problems solving. Miquon: I'm doing this with my youngest. She LOVES it. I like the cuisenaire rods. My only wish is that it was more straight forward. I've read though most of the First Grade Diary and the Lab Sheet Annotations and I really feel like I'm starting to get it. I've watched most of the cool videos at Education Unboxed. My memory stinks and putting everything together that I read more than a month ago (or even the day before) is tough for me. I would love it was more open and go for me. And maybe it is. Maybe I just need to feel more confident and just go with it. Plus... I can't seem to remember which rod is what number. My daughter has no problem with this. Why am I such a moron?

I'm going to also say Montessori grammar. We used the symbols when we labeled the parts of speech in sentences. (Of course, there's more to it than that.) We introduced the parts of speech as described in the curriculum albums. Later, after she could pick some of them out in a sentence, we switched over to MCT island but still used the symbols to identify the parts of speech.

Organize?

I completely agree with Mary. We did 2 the year before last. This coming year I'm doing 1 with my first grader and 3 with my 4th grader. It's easy to get done because the hard to find materials are included. It's pretty much no prep, which is about the only way science gets done at our house. My oldest really enjoyed it and I did too.

There isn't anything cuter than the other kids at my daughters montessori school doing embroidery. Their teacher would turn there better works into pillows. My daughter, who is now in 4th grade, still has a teapot embroidered pillow from kindergarten when they were warming up for the English tea party they used to celebrate spring. My youngest has an Eiffel Tower embroidered pillow. Cutest...craft...ever. Enough said. Well, maybe there's more to be said. I've taught my oldest the basic knit and purl stitches. She was eight at the time and I'm working on teaching my five year old to crochet. http://www.mdtl.org/images/stories/images/primary1/Jan2011/embroidery.jpg

We've only done 3 lessons, but I'm really excited about what I've seen, flipping through the book.

I've seen that exhibit, and it's excellent. Also, we enjoyed this documentary: http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Secrets-of-the-Dead-China-s-Terracotta-Warriors/70180207 Skip ahead, probably doesn't matter either way. Definitely go enjoy it.

No, but my daughter gobbled up the book. FWIW

No, but my daughter gobbled up the book. FWIW

We bought ours here, http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk It's the uk shop, but it ships from the printer here in the US. It's the only place that I know of where you can get it.

I only write words that need correcting, though some may do all. I would probably have written the word begin in one color, pause here and quickly say, we double the consonant before adding a vowel suffix, write the second n in the same color, and then write the vowel suffix in a different color. I'm certain others do it differently.

We are going to add a free write to Fridays. She is somewhat behind in language arts, so I really want to emphasize that this year, but also leave lots of time for exploring her favorites--math, science and history. We do use a tablet to practice math facts and things like stack the states and the human body app (which is very well done btw). She really enjoys mark kistler's online drawing lessons. I really like self correcting work, montessori style. I'm trying to figure out how I can make that work for us.

We are definitely combining science. History, well.... My oldest loves SOTW, but my youngest detests it with a passion usually reserved for Brussel sprouts and dental work. I'm thinking the youngest might join us for some of the additional reading, but I don't want to push, because I want her to come to enjoy history. So far, I've subbed out some worksheets with some great ideas from all of you, and you've really got me thinking creatively about how I can use what I have in different ways to accomplish the same goals.

Where in the world. ;)

Even if I splurged on the USA montessori puzzle, which is very tempting, I'm not sure where in the world I would put it.

This is exactly what I was going to recommend! I've seen this exact puzzle (at my daughters montessori school). Pay attention to the dimensions, it is very large. Did you know that the pegs for each piece are where the state capital is located?

Good idea. She really likes drawing. She'll like this idea.

She does a lot of this on her own time without direction. Well, maybe not writing a letter, but that's a great idea. She likes sending mail to Grandma, and Grandma usually sends mail back, so that's great fun.

I'm not even sure she needs the review worksheets. She seems to remember everything we do for science without the review sheets. I may just eliminate this entirely and keep to the hands on stuff.

Oooh! Good idea. I don't think I could make that work with Language Mechanic as easily as I can with MCT sentence analysis. I'm totally going to do this with the whiteboard in the playroom! Any other great ideas?

I like the idea of workstations and hands on projects. :) In reality, I need things clearly spelled out for me with a list of materials and instructions. And I want things to not be messy. LOL This is a child who will NOT clean up after herself. She leaves a path of destruction in her wake. And she's not by nature independent. She's my challenging child.

That sounds amazing! I'm trying to figure out how to make my year more peaceful.

This year, for the first time I'll have two to homeschool (last year, my youngest went to a Montessori school). I spent the last half of my oldest's third grade year trying to make her more independent by giving her work she can tackle on her own. It seems that independent work equals worksheets at our house. Before that point, we did lots of things together and were a lot less dependent on workbooks. I'm not sure why this bothers me, it certainly doesn't seem to bother DD. It just seems so schooly and not at all what I imagined when I pictured us homeschooling. Fact vs. reality is really kicking my rear. I'm really trying to streamline things and not create busywork, but I still need her busy when I'm helping my first grader. How do you find a balance. This year my fourth grader will be using Beast Academy worksheets W&R Narrative 1 worksheets Nancy Larson Science which includes worksheets for review HWOT worksheets...I offered to cut this, but her handwriting isn't great and she wanted to keep it Language Mechanic more worksheets ARGH!!! also, non-worksheety Sequential Spelling SOTW we read and do a lapbook page and make a timeline MCT Poetry Bravewriter teas I hope and some projects with my youngest Tell me this is ok, or tell me how to make this better using the materials I already have. Teresa