i can't visualize what these would look like? we have a closet in the hall that we turned into our 'homeschool closet'. my stuff is on the top 3 shelves. the kids each have a cereal box cut like a mag box for their workbooks, notebooks, paper, etc. they also every year get a pencil box - the kind that are like a cigar box - from michaels, plain white, and we decorate them with their name, stickers, coloring whatever. this holds their glue stick, crayons, pencils, etc. we line these up and it is clear which is their own. they can find what they need easily. the bottom part of the closet is for art supplies, paper, etc. all organized on the shelves. we do have a lot of etc. in our house!

we don't watch much tv and never had so it's never something they think of, and we don't have video games, but they do love the computer/internet. so, i give them each coupons at the beginning of the week worth x amount of minutes. for the 4yo, thats 15 mins a coupon and he gets 3, then upward for each age. then if they have finished all daily responsibilities they may turn in a coupon. if no one is waiting their turn, they can use a second coupon but no more. they are responsible for not losing coupons and for alerting mom that they want the computer later. sometimes they have to arm wrestle me for it.

these are some beautiful posts, and the only thing i would add is that you clearly are so aware of your sons needs i don't believe you could make a big mistake. and if you make a little one, that's easily remedied.

wow, i don't have teenagers so maybe that is why my schedule is not so tight. for us, a typical school day is much more relaxed.i call it a routine. the same things basically happen, just not always at the exact time. we start about 9, the older 2 doing independent work while i help the 6 and 4 yo(not really 'school' but he thinks it is). we take a break at about 10:30 to try to catch whatever good weather we have. i make them run and ride bikes. if they are really happy and playing well, sometimes i just let them stay out till lunch, and feed them a picnic. we catch up later. if not, when they come back in, the younger kids play together while i work with the 11 and 9 yo. the baby will surely be grabbing everything by the time we resume school this august, so that will be a trading off situation. i will help one while the other plays with baby, and then switch. after lunch, we have quiet time for 1 1/2 hrs. they read, and sometimes play legos or something quiet. this is a time i could never do without - i NEED it. it may be a bit selfish but it's how i function. after q.t. , we might do history, some art project, piano lesson, cooking depending on the day and how i feel. the older kids complete whatever they haven't (usually the last of the math problems) after that. when we have ballet or other extras, the younger kids read with me while we wait. perhaps my older 2 are very efficient? they are both very fast readers. dad does science experiments one night a week with them. i feel that we need to enjoy the day and if i was preoccupied with sticking to a schedule i will just be an unhappy, grumpy mom. oh, and we 'do school' only 4 days a week, with fridays for cool stuff, park time, etc. i think you should figure out what YOU like - i am comfortable with knowing that they are learning without it necessarily being in a measurable way. have you heard of 'strewing'? basically, if i want them to be learning about birds, we put a feeder up, put bird books, fact cards, magazines, feathers out on a table or in a basket or 'strewn' about the house; we draw birds, read a story about it, go online to listen to calls- anything and everything that will draw their interest. and some of them will be very interested, and others will listen but go no farther. almost like a unit study, but unstructured. and they really learn a lot. and i don't stress that we have missed our scheduled nature period on a certain day. wow, i didn't realize i had so much to say about it! i've just learned from my past experience that i have to work with what kind of teacher i am! edited to add: i missed the part about the baby! i was due last october with #5 and i scheduled in a few days off every few weeks. i was so glad, because there were times i just couldn't do it all. and we were all ok.

in my opinion you are asking for a big headache if you put them all on a separate schedule! mine are similar distance - as of now, 6th, 4th, 2nd, prek (and baby). we do it together, and amazingly my prek sometimes remembers more than the others what we read. if a read aloud is appropriate for my 2nd grader, the prek enjoys it - in fact, the olders do too, though they also burn through their own reading. they do maps together, the little ones color pictures and the older ones love to draw. it all works very well, in fact is one of the smoothest portions of our homeschool day. everyone loves history time! as for the 'being confused', from my experience the younger ages they don't grasp much of the difference in history before the 1800s. it was a long time ago, before cars and running water!

yes, we found it at a thrift store and it was so clear and easy to understand. also, the dk encyclopedia of animals has a nice section at the front ( maybe 3 pages + more info) with beautiful photographs.

i think they are both appropriate to the age they are designed for. 5/4 is much less parent oriented, we read through, do a couple of problems to demonstrate and then they work independently. k-3 is all about parent interaction, preparation - basically you experience it together. which is what my kids needed at that age anyway. sometimes we skim through the lower level lessons, hitting the main issues. i mostly enjoy both - they are just a different learning mechanism.

used no curriculum with the 3 who read so far! started with index cards with letters on,(first saying the sounds, in a game - you keep the ones you can tell the sound of, lining up in alphabetical order, quizzing the name) an alphabet chart with pictures we made (a has ant, apple, airplane, aardvark, whatever we want) and marched down the hallway, moved to bob books and from there straight to early readers. with 2 girls and 1 boy so far, thats all they needed and they are all very different learners. 1 more boy in the pipeline, at 4 who can read simple words and knows all the sounds consistently. my daughters were fluent at about 4 1/2 (and now at 8 and 11 read high school level) my son at 5 1/2.

instead of a check off list, but similarly, we made my 6yo a laminated list that has spots to stick laminated stickers. its easy for him to read what still needs to be done (and i do require 'excercise' before he is done for the day). with 5 young ones, i don't have a set schedule but always try to get the math done first - in our house, it is the sittingest subject. he has responded very positively to his chart, and it helps me too.

wow, thanks for finding this! my kids will be so interested! good timing.

thanks, i think i will use amazon. i am excited to see this!

when my oldest was k my dh was in his 2nd year of law school, working days and school at night, and we had just had baby #3. we couldn't have been poorer and still have a real job. you don't say what your concerns about teaching are. but, k is really about: familiarity with letters and their sounds. enjoying the discovery of nature, reading about it. figuring out that one is really one. it sounds to me like you have the makings of an excellent kindergarten. focus on your basic goals - to my mind they are easily doable with no money spent.

debbie, is this the book you have? http://cgi.ebay.com/Essential-History-of-Art-Dempsey-Parr-2000_W0QQitemZ330250757228QQihZ014QQcategoryZ378QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

thanks, we don't have a meijer but i can check the others! saved me a little time!

i just checked and it seems that a lot of them run $12-15. since i have to buy 4 i'd rather not spend so much. has anyone found them for less? you ladies with all your brilliant organizing ideas are really inspiring me!

hey lori, nice! i thot i'd checked ebay but, as cbroberson23 said, your mind can really get in a twist! thanks for the help.

i have used these for the first 3 of my kids and for the last year with my 4 yo and it has saved school time many a day. yes, the cutting can be challenging, but generally i 'help' and it is very easy to have him sit by me as i work with an older child and tell him, 'now find the picture that is different in this row'. beginning at age three and doing maybe 7 pages a week (he generally likes to complete a 2pg spread each time) the whole set lasts at least a year and a half. i love, love, love them too. the quality is so much higher than a grocery store type workbook and he has his important work to do too.

looking back to when i began, i should have held off the 'scheduling' and textbooks for a while. it is so natural to teach a first grader...i am loving it with my 3rd child - i was a little too concerned about 'keeping up' with my first 2. live and learn! with reading, i think the best thing you can do with your 6 year old is to enjoy books with him. what he needs is lots of practice, right? i love the getty-dubay italic handwriting - its beautiful - and especially for boys who seem to have trouble with traditional handwriting (a total generalization!) if your son enjoys working alongside you, he will love FLL and saxon. if it is frustrating for him, they may not be the best choice. i have spent many hours on the couch together with FLL and it has been well accepted by my kids. if your son does not like to dawdle in math, saxon may be frustrating. my son (almost 7) loves the workbook part, and the lego part (which we use instead of linking cubes) but the talking and sitting are certainly a challenge. i think we may switch to a new program. we are not very organized with sci so i can't help you there...we just figure out a topic and dig in, getting library books and tons of stuff online. for music, i teach them piano and we just constantly listen to classical and when i remember, i say, hey, this is beethoven. we did enjoy peter and the wolf, with leonard bernstein, and you tube has great choices if, say, you want to see a tuba in action. i agree that aside from the basics at this age, and even 8 years, most of the rest is gravy and it may be better to get a good routine going before you spend a lot of time or money on extras. get some library books, listen to some music, go for nature walks. let your schooling build from your success and don't overdo it.

i started out with developmental math and turned to saxon. but my youngest, 7, is struggling with it and i think i will have to choose something else for him. saxon is time consuming with 3 so i won't mind the change!

i only have time to check when i am in the planning stages...but... d-11, d-9 almost identical just levels change... saxon 7/6, 5/4 random selected poems and scripture to memorize italic handwriting f, e rod + staff progressing with courage, FLL spelling from personal list, refreshing rules piano lessons from mom mavis beacon typing (found for our mac!) mind benders AG body book powerglide spanish guided reading for history - but they blow through everything fast soccer havent figured out sci for these two yet s-7 math? havent decided memorize scripture and selected poetry continue challenging reading skills - upward from nate the great italic a FLL beg piano soccer unit studies - earth, nutrition, senses and probably more s-4 lots of 'alongside' learning rod and staff prek workbooks thankfully the baby (10 mo) isnt ready yet together: sotw 2-3 lots of messy art lots of music, books, birdwatching and bug looking well, exhilarated and tired out at the same time just typing this

some of your things will come quickly...some of it may take a while. i had an order for developmental math that took months to get here...in fact, i think i finally cancelled it. but the rest of the order (art supplies, workbooks) came within a week. i'm in ca too, so geography can't be it!

i was just checking out the tobin's lab 'microchem xm 5000' and i can't even find it! what did you use, or is this still available and i'm just unable to focus?