I don't time anything, it's just however long it takes her to do that day's lesson. Sometimes it's an hour, sometimes it's five- just depends on how distracted she is. math- every day phonics- every day spelling- 3-5x/week, depends on how many lessons there are for the particular rule handwriting- every day grammar- every day Bible- every day science- read every day, exp 1x/week, sometimes a supplemental fun exp geography- 3x/week art- 2x/week sewing- 2x/week- 1 hand, 1 machine

practice spelling words and math problems in the sand. find one thing you want to learn more About- a starfish, sand crab, certain shell, pretty bird, etc and spend some time digging in, observing, researching, dissecting, etc. scavenger hunt. see if the sea "glows" where you're going. pick up trash on the beach and talk about the environment. fish. count how many of certain things you can find.

this isn't a phonics program, but has a ton of fun ideas. http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/2011/05/word-play-learning-to-read-is-fun/

my secret is... have no money! Unless it just really and truly is NOT working for us (with had some of these issues with math this year), use it. I can't afford to just keep buying things to have or to try unless it's really needed. I'm only in my second year and just now adding a second child, but once I find something that works, I see no reason to change it.

we are currently using spell by color- just because it's free- and dd seems to be learning from it. http://jettedgames.com/spelling.htm

it takes so little time, it's the one thing we consistently get to every day. no teacher prep. there are some written exercises, but we skip them since dd hates to write. she loves it and has learned tons.

Thanks so much for this! Can't wait to get them! I also entered your giveaway. :D

I just got this email this morning... "Just a reminder, you can still get 20% off of all Math Mammoth downloads & CDs - till June 3! Use the coupon code MAYSALE. Go to MathMammoth.com first, then find the links to Kagi's order pages. OR, use these direct links: Light Blue series (complete curriculum) Blue series Golden and Green Series Make It Real Learning workbooks Bundles (CDs or downloads) All the best, Maria Miller P.S. If the coupon code claims that it has already been used, delete cookies from Kagi.com and clear your browser's cache. " hth

i just got mine from rainbow and they are b & w.

http://www.abcthekey.com http://www.readingbear.org/ http://allinonehomeschool.wordpress.com/grades/getting-ready-1/

I LOVE this idea!!! my plan has been to do a 4 year history cycle (2nd semester of 2nd- 1st semester of 6th), then 2.5 years of state/american history, then another 4 year cycle. the city study will fit perfectly in that 2nd semester of 6th, then a year of state in 7th, and a year of american in 8th. I live in and grew up in florida and we did a whole year of florida history in 4th grade. i still have my "florida history notebook" we had to make that year.

Look up Grapevine Studies Stick Figuring through the Bible. It's on our list for next year. :)

Pretty much every day. Spelling depends on the unit- the program we are doing varies on how many lessons there are for each rule- anywhere from 3-5. We may slow grammar down to 2-3x/week, but it's so short and simple, it's easy to do every day. Our handwriting curric recommends every day, so we do. Phonics every day, reading every day. We will be starting writing in the fall and the curric has each lesson borken down into 5 parts- so every day. Nothing takes much more than 5-10 minutes so not much in the grand scheme of the day.

Neither of these are secular, but we are loving Real Science for Kids and A Reason for Handwriting. Alos http://www.abcthekey.com for phonics. My kids BEG to do their lesson.

check out road trip usa from confessions of a homeschooler. we've been using it this year and dd loves it! hth!

The Best of Sewing Machine Fun For Kids http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sewing-Ma...dp/1571202544/ My DD got this one for Christmas and it. is. fabulous! Starts VERY basic with sewing on notebook paper lines with no thread to learn how to feed it straight, then turns and mazes. There are games, word searches, and crossword puzzles sprinkled throughout also.

:iagree: Yep! here,too!

thank you for this! i'm going to look into it. my 4yo seems to be a more whole to part learner, especially with reading and i've been at a loss so far.

we do this, too! i can't make them sleep (and they pretty much don't anymore), but they must be in their beds and quiet. without it, none of us make it through the day well.

this is exactly why we started homeschooling- so it wouldn't be like a strict job. my stepson is a product of the public school system and any time he would come to our house and we would suggest he read or do something perceived as educational, he would refuse saying he wasn't in school. this really turned us off. we want our children to view life as learning. now, we use curriculum, we have a loose schedule/routine, and i do not go out of my way to make things fun. i think you really have to find a balance. i have decided what things get done each day, but my children decide in what order. it gives them some control, but i'm still in charge. it's really helped us get things done and with less harumphing.

thanks for all your answers. Maybe my question was mostly out of curiosity. I have NO intention of pushing her just to reach a certain point by a certain time. Yes, I have goals, but if we don't reach them when I want to, then we don't and we just keep moving on. We are very flexible and move at each child's pace. I'm not trying to make her something she's not. My biggest frustration has been finding a curric that works for both of us. And I feel bad that she's behind because of me. It also doesn't help that hubby is a math PROFESSOR at a local community college. I know she has plenty of time and i know that "grade level" is merely a suggestion, but I need all the help I can get! If we like MM and it works, she will probably skip most of 1-B because she already knows time, money, etc. So thanks for all your comments and suggestions. :)

OK, first of all, I truly am interested in the answers to my question. How do they "just get ahead" if you're following a curric? Am I somehow holding her back from something she's good at/enjoys by following the curric? My brain is just not computing. :P Yes, my oldest just turned 7 and is "1st/2nd grade". We school year round so we just start new things when we finish old things. She is WAY behind in math. We have had problems finding a curriculum that works for both of us and our family situation at the time (RS for K just didn't happen with 2 toddler in the house and therefore just got skipped all together). We finally finished RS-A in December and have been hopping around ever since. We've tried Singapore and MEP, but she still can't do simple subtraction. She can add okay, though not great, but she does not understand subtraction at all. She hasn't done math in over 2 weeks while we find something new, and school has been going so much smoother, faster, and more pleasantly. I've just ordered the 1st grade Math Mammoth as it seems a good fit for us both. She enjoys worksheets and needs more practice and I don't have to TEACH a ton- I just don't word things well and find it hard to get the point across. Anyway, I'd really like to get her caught up in math by no later than January, then hopefully by the next fall we will have worked steadily through 2nd grade and be on par.

and you use a curriculum, How? Is it from schooling year round? Do you do multiple lessons a day? Do you skip stuff? How does your child end up ahead? My child is way behind so I'm interested in your answers to get her "caught up". Thanks!

we are just getting into audio books ( i LOVE how they keep my kids quiet in the car!) and my question is how do you decide what books to listen to and what books to read aloud?

really?!?! my kids LOVE finding beautyberries! i would love to see your fall study. thanks!