We didn't have any problems with the videos. They weren't high entertainment, which is just fine, because the idea was to teach my kids Latin. Actually I loved that time with the DVD. I poured myself a cup of coffee, the older kids had their Latin books out and the younger kids did puzzles. It was the most restful part of my day :)

We do use the text and the workbook. I use the text book as the teaching time, to work together teaching and then the lucky child:) gets to do the workbook on his/her own. I do find the textbook is important because, to me, a lot of Singapore is teaching different methods to working out problems.

I really like the Writing With Ease - Strong Fundamentals. I think that's what you mean by the instructor guide. It gives you the big picture to show you where you are going with WWE. At times in mid volume 1 or 2, it is good for me to be reminded of the big picture.

Maybe not go to ancients quite yet. All history periods do have death in some way or another and it is so different for each child. Your child's age is still quite young, even for next year's school year. There is no harm in not starting the official 4-year history cycle! Maybe do a year of library books about American history? I love using All Through the Ages for a guide for library books for different time periods. Or if you want to do ancients, you could use All Through the Ages and use library books at your discretion.

Here are some ideas that we've done in the past: * Read through books by Susan Hunt - My ABC Bible Verses, Big Truths for Little Kids, Sammy and His Shepherd * Or books by Sinclair Ferguson - The Big Book of Questions and Answers * Read "The Child's Story Bible" by Catherine Vos or "The Jesus Storybook Bible" by Sally Lloyd-Jones * Read "Dangerous Journey" - awesome picture book retelling of Pilgrim's Progress * Right now we are reading through the book of Mark. After a chapter or so, I have the kids verbally retell the section and then they draw a picture and add words to retell the story. At the end they will have their own story Bible :) In addition to the above we have catechism and scripture memory work. My goal is to have our children know the story of scripture and, most of all, to know Jesus. If you're mostly looking for application, I would suggest starting with the Susan Hunt books. We love them all :)

Dear OP - If your child is just 4.5 yo, put on the brakes! There is no hurry at this age to even start OPGTR or any other phonics program. If your child is eager and interested, then that's one thing; however, if she is not, do both of yourselves a favor and stop. Put away the phonics and simply read, read, read to your child. This will pay off in big ways. You can play games with letters, but put away phonics books. Then try again, like maybe is 3 or 6 months. Trust me, it works better this way :)

WWE and FLL are different - WWE is about writing, narration, copywork. FLL is grammar. I do have the older FLL editions, so there is some overlap. I just use my homeschooling mommy powers :001_smile: and skip over the lessons that seem redundant.

I've had my eye on MP for awhile now. It does all look lovely! I have a question for those who have used it and have multiple elementary aged children. I'm trying to imagine having 4 different tracks (we have 4 kids who will be in 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th grade) all at the same time. Is this the type of curriculum you can do with multiple children or do you combine them for sanity's sake :)

I wouldn't entirely drop reading lessons. Perhaps take a small break from the reading lessons, increase reading out loud and happily spell out words as requested. Then start reading lessons again. I guess that's probably what you are saying, just a different way (not a formal spelling lesson).

Jesus is such an exciting topic to study. I highly recommend: * The Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones (one version includes a CD, which is wonderful) * The Child's Story Bible by Catherine Vos * Big Book of Questions and Answers about Jesus by Ferguson (set up like a study) * ESV Children's Bible published by Crossway Books (it's the Bible) (it includes great study notes and our kids love their Bibles)

I love the advice given. On our "bad" days, I love to use that as an opportunity to say tomorrow is a new day, new grace, new mercies. If things are going really hard, I like to switch things up the next day - drawing while listening to classical music, read alouds and drinking hot chocolate, going on a long library visit, or playing games together. Sometimes it is more of a priority to work on the relationship.

I love all of NayfiesMama's ideas (hi there NayfiesMama) and have done and loved those in the past. We also made it real simple. SOTW CD and a coloring page. I tried and finally gave up trying to connect each CC history sentence with a SOTW or encyclopedia chapter. Connections are made and our children are hearing the learning the story of history. Another idea is to simply have a library basket of books that connect to that week or even that month's CC history sentences. Did your director give you a reading list? If not, you could use the book called All Through the Ages, which is a book of booklists divided by historical periods and geographical areas. Read them aloud, let your kids read them during rest time (oh that time is so important!). My big aha moment for American history was letting my kids watch Liberty's Kids (it's a play now on Netflix). It's excellent, your kids will learn a TON about the Revolutionary War and you can sit back and have a 30-minute break :) Don't break your back to try and cover each week's history sentence. Just keep learning. My dd did this cycle 3 years ago and I'm shocked this year at her school she still comes up with the dates and info she learned 3 years ago. So, it's all building up in their brains and will be great pegs of info for later on. As for science, we simply got the Usborne or Kingfisher encyclopedia (for the younger kids) and read some related pages during the week. Nothing too complicated. With CC your kids are already doing an experiment and memorizing. That's great.

I just got my box of Zaycon chicken and it is great. It seems funny to oooh and aaaah over chicken, but this is really good chicken and the price is cheaper than a bag of Costco frozen chicken breasts. I actually wish I had ordered two boxes. One great tip given to me is to make sure to have a plan for your meat. You're going to get a box of chicken breasts. They will be in a few bags and you'll need to do something with them when you get home! From a blog I found this book recommendation called Fix Freeze Feast, which is a book on freezer meals. The twist is that this book uses warehouse size (like Costco) meat trays, so each recipe makes 3 meals. I used my Zaycon chicken for 3 of these recipes (9 meals in the freezer!) and then froze the other chicken breasts in zip lock bags.

Like many have said, no need to do school now. Just read to your children and even listen to beautiful music. From my own experience, I think these "major disruptions" often help us get out of our desire of organization and control (which in themselves are not bad) and help us see what is truly necessary. When my oldest was 5yo, my 4th child was born. My kids were ages newborn, 2, 3 and 5. My beautiful homeschool plans went out the window. We read books, we listened to classical music, we played games together. In the end, I know she learned exactly (if not more) than what I had planned to do in my curriculum. In these early ages, they are soaking up everything even without a curriculum. So now you can start your new unit study called "twins" :)

It's not too late! Your daughter is just in 5th grade, not in college. Start now and (like previous poster said, I'm too tired to find the "quote" button), make her write in cursive every day. It may be a bit painful at first but it will get easier and will be worth it.

:iagree: To me it looks like so many red flags - conflict of being a neighbor & The Help (the book comes to mind here - no racial comments, just the idea of being The Help and a neighbor could be very awkward), having energy to take care of your own family (not to mention the energy to homeschool. When I read your OP, Nakia's idea is what came to my mind. If you do think you have to go to work, put your kids in school for a year and get a job. You just can not do it all - homeschool, take care of your home and family, support your husband in his job search AND take care of your neighbor's home and children, etc.

Sounds just right for 1st grade. As you go on with CC, the memory work review will take more time, but it shouldn't be overwhelming. Have fun in 1st grade.

So many great read alouds - Charlotte's Web (and all others by EB White), the Little House books, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Paddle to the Sea, the Narnia series... Get your hands on Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt. The first half of the book is all about wonderful books, why great books are so important, etc. The second half of the book is a book list divided by ages. For the last 10 years, this book has been priceless to me.

You could check Amazon for used book sellers. No other great ideas (although if you live in Western Washington, Children's Bookhop sells some Singapore math). If I have the $, I prefer to buy from singaporemath.com because that website has books that Rainbow doesn't carry. Plus the forum on singaporemath.com is super helpful and I like to support that work.

I either put the book in front of my child and tell her which sentence to write or I print it and have her copy it.

I just realize my post sounds kind of bossy. Am I a first born or what? Anyway, I think it takes time to take our grand plans and then figure out what we really have time to do. For a few years, my grand SOTW plans ended up being just listening to the CD and coloring the coloring pages. Homeschooling is definitely a process.

Well, my opinion is that you should have focused, structured school time - and it's a good thing. I tell my kids that we work hard and then play hard. One thing that I hear in the back of my mind is a poem the kids memorize in FLL 1 - "Work while you work, play while you play, this is the way to be happy each day. In all you do, do with your might. Things done by halves are never done right." OK, I may not have it word for word, but you get the idea. This poem actually has helped me focus to work and then play - not do two things at once. Being able to go down rabbit trails is a great part of homeschooling, but my opinion is that we need to teach our kids to be disciplined and focused - and that's not a bad thing. It will benefit them for life.

I tried to combine two kids (19 months apart) in WWE 1 (1st and 3rd grade) and it was way too easy and boring for the 3rd grader. The lessons really don't take too long, so I would do their own lessons for WWE and FLL.

You could pick a SOTW volume and activity guide. It's ok if it's not in your 4-yr cycle. Another idea is to use a book like All Through the Ages (book of book lists based by history eras and geography) and use literature for studying history. We did the latter this year, and we really liked it. My big problem was not getting the books ahead of time and I lost steam half way through the year. Next year I'm back to SOTW.

I just reread the OP and saw the big paragraph with the greater concerns, not just the group lesson. Your points would be frustrating. Having a difficult conversation can be so... difficult, yet it is better to be honest in a loving and gentle way. The two extremes are faking/lying and then attacking. You need to find the middle group and have a loving conversation with her. Is it the new group lesson that's the issue or the other points (phone calls, etc)? I really do love the book The Peacemaker and find it invaluable for handling conflict in a Christ-centered way. It's hard, but worth it in the end. BTW, just so you know, Suzuki parents don't have special training. Anything comes from watching hours and months and years of lessons. :)