I'm due to have my 4th in (hopefully) mid-August. I'll be homeschooling a 3rd, 2nd, and pk4. Do you think that it's reasonable to plan to "start" school the 3rd week of September? From experience, I recover quickly, but I've never been homeschooling anything but K with a newborn. I'm planning to get started with science this week so we can have a head start with that, and maybe history too. Just to take a little pressure off. Obviously, the great thing about hs is that we can be flexible, but I'm a planner, so I'd like to have a general idea of what we're going to do. Any advice (or even just related advice) would be GREATLY appreciated!

A friend sent this to me a couple of weeks ago. Actually, reading this thread made me go back and actually take a look at it. There's lots of helpful information here... https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=127811d592a1194d&mt=application%2Fpdf&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F%3Fui%3D2%26ik%3Dce06dc00b5%26view%3Datt%26th%3D127811d592a1194d%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_g6sxoue10%26zw&sig=AHIEtbR8Ifgf07ITfRe-cjyZmWmwUkuSyQ&pli=1 Thanks for asking the question, it's good for all of us to remember to use whatever we have wisely! Sarah

and I did for many years. I bought a bread machine a few years ago (saves some time!) but I do still bake the loaves in the oven in bread loaf pans or make into buns. I HIGHLY recommend making sandwich or dinner rolls too, we like that even better than sandwich bread. You can make a big batch of 24 or 36 (or more) that'll last a while. One site that I'd recommend is kingarthurflour.com. There's tons of recipes there (and so far they have all turned out beautiful for me). There's lots of information too. Happy Baking! Sarah

Thank you for all the ideas - I have so much more inspiration to do some interesting and fun things with them through May (and probably into the summer, too). We did do some lapbooks last year and they loved them, so thanks for the reminder on that - we have to do some of those. Thanks too for the resources - that always helps! I love that we have extra time to do some more interesting things. What a huge benefit that is of homeschooling! Sarah

I hope that you decide to go. We live in the area and my kids are 8, 6, and 4. We've done tons of things and they do remember and love it. Couple suggestions (sorry if they're repeats, I just skimmed the responses): -Air & Space -Natural History museum ** both of these have great IMAX movies if you can afford it; my kids have seen a couple and some in 3D and still talk about them (even the 4 year old) -if you go the the OLD Post Office Pavilion, you can take a glass elevator up to the top of the clock tower. It's a fabulous view of the city (much better than from the stuffy Washington Monument) and there's never been a long line. The kids really just loved the elevator, but I love the view. There's also a tone of cool shops in the building and places to eat -Mt. Vernon - not super cheap, but my kids really liked this last year as well. The museum has a fun kids room where they can dress up in colonial clothing and there's lots of cool hands-on stuff for them too. Okay, I'll quite now - I could go on and on and we have plans to see a lot more in the next couple of months. Hope you get to go and enjoy it! Sarah

Well, I just posted about having time on my hands, so I guess I'm pretty efficient! I think that the best thing for me has been organizing things out into 3 categories: 1) What the student can do independently 2) What each student needs to be taught by me (or will need help completing) 3) What we can do together as a group Once that's figured out, i just make sure that it's set up so that while I am teaching one child, everyone else has something productive to do. Also, when we do a subject together (for example, history), I have something afterward for each child to do at their grade level. For example, my 2nd grader writes a couple sentences about this history chapter, my 1st grader writes copywork about the chapter, and my preschooler colors a picture. Yes, this takes some time to set up ahead, but it pays off for me in the long run. Anyway, I don't know if this really helps much, but feel free to ask more questions. It's so tough to get things organized well and I do think that each person finds their own way to make it work! Sarah

Yes, I know, this is a great "problem" to have. Suddenly, things have just clicked with my 1st and 2nd grader and school is over too soon. With the weather turning nicer, we have been spending more time outside (and I'm going to keep doing that), but does anyone have any good or just plain fun ideas for me to add to what they are learning? Any great unit studies you did that just took a couple of weeks that you could recommend? I'm sure I could come up with lots of ideas on my own, but I might miss something fantastic that just hasn't occurred to me. Thanks! Sarah 2nd-WWE2, FLL, SP, SOTW2, Sax.3, Earth Science, Reading lots of books! 1st- WWE1, FLL, SWO, OPGTR, Sax.2, Earth Science, & Reading lots of books! PS4 1 on the way!

First, the cutoff for K is that they must be 5 by September 1st. I have one in pK as well for next year. We are located in Silver Spring, convenient to Olney, Wheaton, Burtonsville, Calverton. Some parts of Rockville or Laurel might work also. Maybe that helps give you a better idea? I know, Montgomery county is sprawling. Saying Silver Spring doesn't help much either! Sarah

Hi there, I'm in Maryland, DC area--Montgomery County. There are several classical tutorials and co-ops in Howard and to the east it seems. I'm interested in getting a group started in this area. I have ideas about what it might look like, but first I'm looking for people who may be interested. Post here or pm me if you might be interested in participating! Sarah

I really like the idea of seeing how fast he can do it, rather than timing it. You're right, that's exactly what he does - completely freezes up. Maybe in the future we can change it back to a timed test, but I think he would do well if he just has to compete with his own time. I'm trying it tomorrow! I have him do the meeting strip independently as well, but I think I may try giving him a task list also. He works well when he knows what he needs to get done. Thanks for coming out of lurking with some great ideas! Sarah

Well, I stuck to our time limit today and focused on doing each part thoroughly (with both of my kids) and I felt like it went much better. It was much less frustrating for everyone. I think I'm going to try to stay focused on making sure that they learn the facts and concepts and know them well and stop worrying about them getting "behind." If we do math a little through the summer, that's how it is. After all, that's such a huge part of the beauty of homeschooling, right? I appreciate the advice & encouragement. Sometimes I feel like it's just me... Sarah

I thought about going back to Saxon2, but my dd is doing that and the competition wouldn't be good for either of them! I think I may just have to slow it down quite a bit. It does help just to know that it's not just me I also do it right away, which is helpful I think, but it also starts the day off on a sour note! You know, realistically, math just isn't his thing (and I can't blame him, I never loved it either). I just want him to learn what he needs to know. At least he gets the concepts - I'd actually have a much harder time trying to teach that part of it! Thanks so much for the ideas and advice, it has been so helpful! Sarah

Thank you. I think that this was just what I needed to hear. I'm going to stop being so driven to "get through" and focus on making it more fun and interesting. I think that's the downfall of Saxon in a way - the lesson part usually is pretty fun, but there's so much packed into the whole thing that we end up hurrying through the easy, fun lesson part to get it all done. Thanks for being a voice of calm and reason, I appreciate it!! Sarah

I'm really at a tough point with my ds (2nd grade). We're doing Saxon 3 and it has been such a struggle - for both of us. He seems to grasp each new concept as it comes along, but he's having a terrible time with the math facts and timed tests. Also, he is still writing his 6's (and occasionally 3, 7, 4, & 9!!) backwards, which is a secondary problem for me. I'm trying to do most of what the "script" says, but we don't have the time every day to do all of the number drilling, etc. Initially we were spending at least 1 hour (often up to 2) just doing math, but I felt he was getting behind in reading and writing!! Now I've been cutting it off at 30 min. and then having him do more later in the day (homework). The hard part there is that he needs so much help still that then I feel like I end up teaching math all day long. (I have 2 other dc, doing Saxon K & 2) So, here are my questions: 1. Do I set a time limit to math and do one lesson in however many days it takes us? 2. How much extra practice should I do with him outside of school time? 3. Do I focus on getting "caught up" in math and continue to lay off reading & writing? 4. Any other advice? I really do believe in Saxon as a comprehensive curriculum (I'd like to stick with it). Thanks so much! Sarah

I have children close in age to the op, and I think that for early elementary it helps to have some "structure." That said, the way I do it is that (assuming we've stayed on track through the week) I mix things up on Fridays. We've been in school since late August and I just started this in the past 2 weeks, now that we have our routine. It's probably different for everyone, but my children like knowing what to expect next. Now that they know the schedule, they're enjoying our fun Fridays. And I am, too!

I'm doing Saxon 3, 2, and K this year and it IS taking up our whole morning. I feel like we hardly have time for working on reading or doing anything fun. I do start everyone first thing with the meeting book and we go over the calendar together. A couple times a week, we practice various types of counting together and then I work individually with them as it gets more advanced. My problem so far is that they are struggling with different pieces of it and I don't want to leave much out yet. I'm hoping to stick with it in the hope that I can start dropping some of the review out as they make progress. For example, everybody is counting just fine by 10s so I only have them do it once a week, so they don't forget. They're telling time great - no need to keep doing that part. Also, if they get an "A" on the first side of the daily worksheet, they don't have to do the other side. To me, one of the benefits of hs is that we DON'T have to keep going over things once they "get it." Anyway, as they make progress, hopefully our timing will even out and then I can focus more on other subjects. I'd love to hear more ideas on how others do this, though! It IS tedious! Sarah

I haven't checked it out fully yet, but I'm wondering for those of you who use it already if being able to see other people's libraries has been useful to you? For example, could I search other people's libraries for children's books about ancient china? That would be so cool! Sarah

Or did you find other homeschoolers in your area? I'm in my second year of homeschooling and I still don't feel like I really know what's out there. Compounding my frustration, we are moving to a new area in the fall and as far as I can tell, there aren't any homeschoolers in the town! There are so many groups all over the state but there doesn't seem to be anything close by. At least, if there are groups, they are underground or something! So, maybe if a couple people shared how they found a group I can try some new tactics - maybe I'm just going about it wrong? I looked up all umbrella groups registered in the state and I've searched the internet but so far, nada. What if I wanted to start a group? Has anyone done that? Where are all the homeschoolers? :) Thanks!

It's just a bit further (seriously, about 10 minutes) but it might be a nice mix. They have a little boardwalk but it's not quite as busy as Rehobeth and definitely not as crazy as Ocean City! We have stayed often at Sea Colony (search through resortquest) which has fantastic condominiums right on the beach, indoor pools, tennis courts, etc. Since you are going in April, it may not be a lot more than a hotel and BELIEVE ME, with kids, it is so much nicer to have a living room to relax in overlooking the water rather than a tiny hotel room. They even have a full kitchen, should you decide to make your own breakfast, lunch or dinner and save some $$ on that! Whatever you decide, I hope you have a wonderful time - we were there over New Years and had a great time!

I purchased the first book this school year for my K-er and 1st grader. As a new hs mom, I liked having a "curriculum" for art this year, but I don't feel like they have loved it, and they love art generally. I didn't feel like it exposed them to very many mediums for making art--it felt too repetitive for me, especially with kids who love to try all kinds of different things. I checked out a wonderful book from the library (Usborne Treasury of Art, I think it was called?). It has a painting, information about the painter, and a project for them to do that corresponds. I'm going to use some ideas from that, add in some fun art projects as they come up, look at books with paintings in them, and that'll be it for next year. I don't spend much on curriculum, so I felt like it seemed expensive for what you get. For me, it's not worth the money to continue with it next year, but it was a good thing to do for this year. I don't know if it's really helpful to you that I can't give you a strong Yes or No on it, but I wanted to let you know my experience! Sarah

I actually typed them all up last year in an excel spreadsheet to have them all in one place (and I checked to see if our library had them or not too). Easier for me than carting the book around and flipping through the chapters! Now I'm moving on to vol. 2 for next year!

For those interested in cooking and baking using all-natural ingredients, whole grains, and unrefined sugars, here is a great tool! http://www.supernaturalrecipes.com/ I've already done a couple of searches for foods that I like to make and have found some great alternative recipes - can't wait to try them! Sarah

It won't be fun, but it beats cleaning up in the middle of the night/having a bad night's sleep. I've had to hold my boys upright to get them to go and they're REALLY unhappy about it, but it's worth it... HTH!

Over the summer I sat down with the kids and the Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia and let them pick a couple animals they were interested in. Then I rounded it out, trying to get a good mix of vertebrates/invertebrates and then each group under that (fish, crustaceans, etc.). Each week we went the the library and picked out some books about that animal. I tried throughout the year to get a couple of fiction books every once in a while to note the differences. Sometimes I requested books in advance. We read the encyclopedia entry for that animal. Then we just read the books, drew pictures of the animals, added in narrations or art projects that related to our "animal of the week." We have had a lot of fun and it was very educational for all of us. I found that we learned a lot, I didn't feel bogged down in planning, and activities seemed to crop up relating to some of the animals. Of course, getting to a zoo is great. But it's okay if you can't do that. You know, there are so many animals out there - you may be surprised, even though your son loves them, how many you don't know anything about! Now we're moving on to the human body and I'm a little sad - we'll miss the animals! HTH, Sarah

I only have 2 that I've found: http://kansaswheat.org/general.asp?id=171 although I have noticed that they still use a lot of combinations of wheat and white or bread flour and sugar, etc. But there are some good ones there. And here is one other place that I've found: http://www.wholegraingourmet.com/recipes.html again, this one still seems to use white sugar, but at least most of them only use wheat flour and other grains. I agree that it's hard to find places that fit my definition of healthy, so I'll be watching this thread for more ideas! I'm still looking for that perfect place...maybe we just need to start one! :001_smile: Sarah