I don't really have any wisdom or experience here either…but I will say that we were in exactly that same place last year with my then 6 &7yos and we stopped using FLL and tried another route. However, I still got blank looks when talking about parts of speech though! They are just too abstract for my girls. *I* am learning a lot though! :laugh: I just wanted you to know you're not alone. And it really may not be the curriculum, so I wouldn't rush out to replace it. Take a break, maybe. Or even try some other methods of presenting the information if you want. I think that the whole point of grammar instruction in the early years is capitalizing on their memory, and having those things in their brains to pull out later when they can use them when they write. Please, someone tell me if I'm wrong on this because this is why we keep plugging away. ;)

I know we've talked about this before…but if you do this, tell me what it looks like for you. I'm thinking copywork/dictation, our spelling words, and the little grammar practice that we do. ;) Perhaps narrations that aren't related to history since we already have a notebook going for SOTW. I don't really even want to organize it by sections or anything, just use the next blank sheet. Any reason NOT to do this? Also, my girls are 7 & 8 so I bought primary comp books (with the appropriately-sized handwriting lines.) One of my DDs definitely is still working on penmanship, but the other is pretty solid. When do you start using regular paper with your kids?

What are your goals for your child for 1st grade? It seems to me that the main teaching method in Level 1 is copywork from classic literature. That may seem pretty "light" compared to what others around here are doing, yes. FWIW, I am using levels 1 & 2 with my oldest children. For a while I had DD7yo using level 2 with her older sister. It can be done, but IMO grammar concepts are quite abstract...and I didn't think she was ready. I will tell you, that *I* think level 2 is plenty challenging. Previously I'd used FLL levels 1 & 2, and in ELTL all the grammar examples and exercises are from classic literature, which is a major reason I like the program, but that adds another level of complexity. Both my DDs can recite the definitions of most the parts of speech, but picking them out of real sentences (not ones made up in grammar books) is a challenge. I think it would be fine to read the books at a more comfortable pace for you & your kids, and just do the lessons as planned, or even more frequently if you want. Definitely check out the samples of the next levels, though, before deciding against it because I think you'll be surprised by the depth of the material. HTH!

Thanks. :) It almost just seems too easy. But I have this problem with trying to make things way harder than they need be. I appreciate the encouragement to just keep on keeping on.

I have a difficult time making decisions in this area, and I need some help!! I'm doing fine choosing a read aloud for our non-school-related reading. My girls pick mostly quality stuff for free reading (although usually much lower reading level than they're capable of) so I don't even worry about that right now. It's the history reading to add to our spine that's causing me troubles. Yes, I know that that SOTW has recommended reading (and I really appreciate that!), but it's just not working out great. I'm sort of scatter-brained & distractible. :tongue_smilie: So this is what's been happening: I look ahead of time at what's available at my library from the recommended list and request it held. I pick up books. They sit in a basket for up to 6 weeks (this is how long I can check them out.) Sometimes my girls read them. Sometimes I get to it when we're on related chapter, but usually not. We often have to return them unread. Sometimes I even forget they're there! :ohmy: It's not that I mind checking them out...I just think we'd work better with a different system. I think it's good to have them around for dc if they want to read them, but for *me*, I need the spine, and maybe one other book to read as a read aloud for the day that is of the same time period, I guess. (I DO read other things at other times: Bible, a picture book, a before bed read aloud...) Sorry, this is rambly. I over think this area a lot. I need to keep it simple. But buying everything isn't an option. Or maybe I just need to be told to pick one on my wish list, and start there without even worrying about keeping it all organized. :laugh:

Brilliant. Thanks, Ellie.

Ahh, that's right. I remember that being suggested. It's been a while since I'd used any Miquon with my olders. I only have one physical book, the rest are pdf. I thought that would be most economical with multiple children. Maybe I should have a WB bound for DS. I had previously just printed out (1-3 sheets) of what I wanted my girls to do...but quickly realized that if it's not already done for us, I'll grab something that is. ;)

:lurk5:

Hoping it's okay for me jump in here. I'm going to start Miquon with my DS also. Farrar, what do you mean by the bolded? Did you have a folder of random pages you'd pulled out of the WB? I'm trying to decided how to best organize *myself* but stay flexible at the same ykwim? I have to be prepared, or I'm likely to drop it when it gets harried here. Thank you for sharing how you use this program!

I haven't read all the replies...but I bet they were good. I come from a family that keeps EVERYTHING. Seriously, my mom has spent her LIFE organizing her cr*p. And it all looks amazingly organized and labeled perfectly. Thing is, it overcomes her. I just don't want to end up like that. Fortunately for me, I married Mr. Purge. And we moved 13 times in the first 10years of our marriage (and I'm talking cross-country and overseas moves), so that helped us purge even further. Honestly, in all of those moves/purges, there is only 1 thing that I really miss that he talked me into getting rid of. Just one thing. So, that's pretty good. Sorry for that rabbit-trail. I have 5 children, but they're all pretty young, so take this for what it's worth. (AND, I have a long way to go to figure out the best methods for us.) Color-code your children if you aren't already. My kids have binders, boxes, and magazine holders (for teacher manuals or storage of books not using that day) that are "their" color. I write chores in their color. My intention is to get solid bath towels in their color when the budget allows. Everything in their color, or even put colored tape on it to hold them accountable for their stuff left out. Not sure if this is practical if your kids are doing lots of schoolwork, but I like to have actual space/size limits on their schoolbooks, or I'll fill up the bookshelves with tons of stuff we don't need or use. So, their work for the day fits in the letter boxes I linked above. The teacher manuals fit in the magazine holders, etc. If the books don't fit on our bookshelf, I need to rethink and maybe use the library for extra books or something. This isn't really school-related, but my kids have their own "special box" that's under their bed for their extra things, but it's mostly junk they want to hold onto that otherwise I'd throw away. (Think dollar store toys, church crafts.) When their box is full, they have to cull some stuff because if it doesn't shut, then *I* will have to cull it. (I'm really not mean!) Somewhat related to the special box is a drawer (again, colored drawers) for their papers. They go there if they want to keep them from the recycle bin. (They do a lot of crafting/drawing.) Since I have 5 kids, they have a drawer for their crafts/supplies, and one for their works-in-progress. Similar to what Sahamama mentioned above. I love what Soror said about going out a buying a bunch (more stuff!) to help you get organized. I have done this so many times! And really, it's been best if I've worked on one thing, a little bit at a time, and figured out what the best method was for our family situation. Often I already had on hand what I needed to get organized - or I used some shoe boxes until I did! - and I was much more likely to stick with it since I'd made it my own. HTH

We actually never even had one until we remodeled our kitchen in our old house, but that was about 3.5 years ago. And now my kids are bigger -eating more! - and I have TWO more, so a dishwasher is a huge help! On the bright side of not having a working dishwasher right now, I've had my girls dry and put away all dishes after every meal. Before they only loaded the dishwasher, while I washed and just left the dishes in the sink drainer, to put away later when I had "time" (whatever that is.) Having an empty sink all the time is NICE :D

Oh, I forgot to mention: our dishwasher broke on Wednesday. Sure, I've lived without a dishwasher before, but that was almost 4 years ago. And since then I'm become quite accustomed to having one. :) It's added a whole new dimension to kitchen clean up. My big girls are doing great at washing and putting away, so I'm thankful. :D

We're still here. :) I have a minute, so thought I'd post on our progress this week. Trying to remember my goals... Well, the baby has been dressed before lunch every day this week except for yesterday. Wednesday night we got a foot of snow :ohmy: which is kinda crazy, especially since it was 70 or so on Monday! It's just too cold to change the baby out of her footie jammies on day like yesterday...so we didn't. ;) For a while anyway. She got dirty "helping" me in the basement, so then it was time for a change. We've also been doing well on some morning chore training. My 3 & 4yos are most receptive - they like chores :) - and the big girls aren't complaining. I consider that success. I'm proud of myself to not turn any of these days (especially with the snow yesterday!) into marathon cleaning days. Those usually wind up disappointing in the long run since things don't stay clean, I wind up feeling guilty for not getting anything else done, etc. I'm working on balance here. We're making some small steps, and hopefully forming some good habits. Read alouds have been okay. I am still trying to get into our groove. We always have our before nap and bed read alouds for sure, I just want to be in a better groove for our daytime reading. And I"m still contemplating assigning some reading to my fluent readers. My oldest especially is always reading, loves to read, but then often complaining that she doesn't have anything to read. (This isn't actually true - I will then pull out books I know she hasn't read.) I think she might do well with some assigned reading, especially since there's only so much of me to go around. Yesterday, instead of me reading a picture book on the solar system, I asked her to read it to everyone. She'd already read it to herself, but then I was able to feel like the others had benefited as well. And she enjoys that sort of thing. She LOVE feeling like she's in charge. ;) Overall, I feel pretty accomplished this week. However, DD didn't get up this morning for school (maybe she's confused because we often don't school on Friday, but I was planning on this week since Monday we took off.) Her sleeping in is the only reason I had a chance to catch up here. :laugh: Anyway, I'm content. Hope you all enjoy your Friday.

I've been looking at apps a bit last night and today...and I'm overwhelmed. Sheesh, there's an app for EVERYTHING. I guess that's nice. For some. It's overwhelming to me. :sad:

I love the reminders within this thread to make your homeschool right for your family. I don't think any one of us can look back (ever!) and not feel like we should've done something differently at any point. That's why we have that saying "Hindsight is 20-20." But that doesn't mean we have to regret it, either. That would just be a waste of time. Learn from our mistakes, forgive ourselves, move on. Knowing that we all feel that way, SWB included, means that we really shouldn't try to exactly imitate how anyone else is running their home, in our own home. Yes, I am so thankful for the tips/advice/suggestions, just that we'll be disappointed if we think we'll have the exact same outcomes. (OP, I'm not talking directly at you, just the rhetorical you, but mostly to myself!!) ETA: And yes, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Susan, for all that you've done for the homeschooling community! :hurray: I am forever grateful.

Although yesterday wasn't productive AT ALL school-wise, we had a wonderful day enjoying the weather. I am pleased with that. :) I am excited and ready to start our day, but my kids still haven't emerged from their rooms!! Since our weekend ended up quite long (Fri-Mon.), I will probably need to ease them into this day. I plan to do that with some Bible and blueberry muffins at breakfast. Hope everyone else is happy to start Tuesday!

I'm thinking I'd use Reminders as a "to do" or task management list. Right now I (kinda) use Remember the Milk. Calendar 5 looks great. However, I need DH has a PC at work, and I need him to be able to keep me updated with his work and other responsibilities. He's much more likely to add them if it's easy for him. How do you use Notes? I guess you said it, "brain dumping"...but what exactly is that?

Thanks for the suggestions. Okay, I already use google calendar, so I'll stick with it. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble syncing it with my iPad Air. Any suggestions? It's syncing fine on my iPhone... But when I use the calendar app on my iPad, nothing.

So glad I set a minimum amount of goals because we managed to accomplished two of the three. Baby girl was dressed well before lunch, and we got our chores plus one job done this morning! :hurray: (However, reverse that order. Baby girl wasn't dressed until AFTER chores. ;)) We also had a picture book read aloud session on our back porch, but I was distracted for a moment by my 3yo's needs for a different vest and lost a few. Really, that's okay. I had already decided to cancel school for the day due to the unseasonably terrific weather we're having. (One of the reasons we want to homeschool. :)) So, the kids spent their morning playing outside with their neighbor friend. I'm glad they have the opportunity. Now my oldest is resting her eyes (she's battling an infection) while the babies nap. I am hopeful the quiet house lasts for a bit longer and maybe even I can rest! Soror- thanks for posting about how you're doing chores. I think the details would benefit my girls as well.

Or something else? And while we're at it, Remember the Milk? or Reminders? I am wondering what would be the benefit of one over the other, for me, who is using Apple products all around, and so is DH with the exception of his work computer? (He has an iPhone though.) I am wanting to be able to work offline sometimes, from the iPad, so maybe Google Calendar isn't a good fit? I'm a teeny familiar with some of these apps, but now that I have more devices, I am ready to use them to their fullest potential. (Whatever that means! :laugh: )

What a truly great thread. My kids are young - and more little than not - but as my oldest has grown, I am just so thankful for the sweet relationship she has with her younger siblings. It is such a contrast to the relationships her church peers (PS kids - this is really her only peer group right now) have with their siblings. It's one of the main reasons we homeschool. Relationships are HUGE.

Our goals for the week (in no particular order): Having the baby dressed before noon (or when Daddy shows up for lunch). We'd let getting dressed fall to the wayside with illness, and then just plain yucky weather that we didn't want to go out in anyway. It will make it easier for us to make an impromptu children't museum visit, or run to the library much easier if we have the baby dressed. The others can (mostly) manage on their own. Having the kids do their morning chores. These are the basics, plus one (or two for olders) extra job. These don't take long, but since I likely need to walk through with each child, and hold them accountable, I'm thinking this will take maybe 30min each morning. Does this sound realistic to you gals? Consistent read alouds to my older girls. This has just been tough lately. I need to do them while the babies aren't in our hair, but I also like to hit teacher-intensive subjects during naptime.... Before bed is not an option. I'm usually too wiped at that time for school-related stuff. I DO have a before bed fun (for me!) read aloud going. We hit picture books during a morning snack. That's great. My older girls are both great readers...so I have toyed with the idea of a reading list for them instead of me reading everything. I either haven't figured out a system, or don't have the books. We use our library mostly. Hmmm... I have so many other things I want to get done this week, but I should probably stop there. I got an iPad for Christmas, and then an iPhone last week, so I may tweak our organization to something more digital. But that's kinda overwhelming for me. This is my first smartphone AND I'm tech-challenged. I'm still just getting used to having these extra toys. :)

It is kinda crazy how parallel our home life seems to be... I just mentioned in the previous Accountability thread that I have been going through some similar life issues with my emotions, fatigue, illness, gosh, so much! And seeing this, it's just funny - we are this week focusing on some chore training again. I'd let it go to free up mornings for school; then lessons just weren't happening due to the toddler & preschooler, but I kept on trying to keep up with the house on my own - which is not a good idea - while it was a free-for-all for the kids. I'm trying to approach chore training differently than I did previously, really focusing on my apprenticeship style training, and lots of praise. I tend to get frustrated that I could do a much better job in a much shorter time... But this is so important. My kids aren't behind at all academically. However, they aren't really helping out to their fullest potential. And it's really not entirely their fault. Incidentally, I love to clean. I find it therapeutic. If DH & I have had a big fight, you'll find me somewhere in the house vacuuming. :lol: That absolutely does NOT mean my house is clean (or picked up - I DO still have a 19mo ;) ) it just means it's been hard for me to hand over "my" jobs. But I must delegate. It's my mantra right now. ;) Right now I am trying to keep it really simple (for me) as I tend to get over-excited about chore charts and incentive programs and then burn out, but when I feel ready, I may need some ideas on how you're tracking completion and attitude. Another funny coincidence, DD3 also got fitted for eyeglasses last week and will get them sometime this week (hopefully). This is my first experience with a child needing glasses. I hope I can convince her to actually wear them, and to NOT LOSE THEM. She's only 3, and therefore not super responsible just yet. ;)

THIS is exactly how I'm feeling. I usually try to grow them all, get choked by the weeds, then need to pull it all up and start over. Will I ever learn?

I would say that last week was pretty productive, but I feel like I"m still tying up last week and today is Monday... :closedeyes: So I must be behind already this week. Or maybe today will be a vacation day (the PS kids are out) /sick day at least for my oldest. Now SHE has an eye infection. Since the first week of December we've been in and out of illness. :( Normally my kids are amazingly healthy, so I am just not used to this. The spiral notebook thing mentioned above --- we started this very same thing after starting back up after Christmas. I had been given a ton of comp books (in college rule or something) in various colors. The kids immediately claimed "their" color - I color-code kids ;) - and I decided to use it as a daily checklist for my oldest. It's working wonderfully for her! DD2 still needs needs lots of reminding to check hers (the list used to be on our dining room blackboard), but I think once she gets the hang of it will be great for her, too. At the end of our lessons, - completed with a nice attitude - they get a scratch-n-sniff sticker and I think she'd like to keep it in her "book".