Ok...so general consensus is my idea is a bit wack ;) We have always done the extra books, fun educational materials, etc. as a gift. I think I will purchase and wrap up Beast Academy for DD because I sold it, but then she got upset that we weren't using it this year. It is definitely an extra for math that I was not planning on buying, but she keeps asking for. However, I will refrain from wrapping up SOTW 2 :lol:

I was thinking about a telescope this year. DD is obsessed with space, and we could all use it...well, maybe I would keep DS away from it. I definitely wouldn't have given curriculum as the only gift, but just as one. We normally do the next level up for piano books, too. Santa only brings stockings here, and they are filled with frivolous items (Shopkins will be making an appearance, I'm sure).

Hmmm...may need to go to pinterest for some images. Standing desks might be awesome for dd. She is the kid that is constantly running laps around the house... You ladies always have great ideas.

Don't laugh, and I know this is early, but we have to start shopping early so our kids have some presents to open on Christmas ;) We always do 12 books as gifts leading up to Christmas, but these are generally a few new Christmas-themed ones plus some fun, quality literature to build our home library. We are cautious about giving toys for Christmas because they really do have more than enough and I hate adding stuff just to add it. We tend to go the more practical route...new beds if needed, etc. I was thinking of buying the next year's curriculum and wrapping it up for them as a gift, because it really is a privilege and gift that we get to homeschool. I'm thinking of asking grandparents to spend money on this, as well, instead of wasting it on toys that I will just end up donating anyway. Plus, DD will start most of the new curriculum right around then, anyway. Does anyone else do this?

This!! All of these are on my DD's 2nd Grade list (or ones she has already read on her own). We also have All-of-a-Kind Family, Five Little Peppers, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Peter Pan, A Little Princess...the list goes on.

Love all these ideas. I just thought about doing a "center" type morning rotation with them. My DS is 3.5, Baby 1 is 2.5, Baby 2 is 1.5, Baby 3 is 2 months. Baby 3 is the easiest because I just wear him a lot;) Baby 1&2 also nap consistently in the afternoon, and my son has fort time. DH built him a fort in the school room so I could work with DD while DS plays quietly in his own fort. DD is done with school around 2:30, so we save outside time for then when she can run out, too.

Some quick background... I will have 4 littles, 3 and under, shortly, so life is about to get cray-cray around here. My DD is really the only one actively schooling (2nd grade) and she is mostly independent, but 7, so she still needs me. Three of those 4-under-3 crowd are not my children, rather ones I nanny on a daily basis, so I am not battling sleepless nights, nursing sessions, etc. However, that fact doesn't make my days easy, because littles (especially 3 of those boys) are a handful:) So, I need your favorite activities to do with little kids. These ideas can be anything really. I do try to be as hands-on as possible, but some independent-ish projects will be helpful for the times DD needs me for something and the youngest one is asleep (I mostly handle instruction at nap, but she needs to start school first thing otherwise she would rather just play all day). Thanks!!!

OMG! Thank you:) this was the one!! We are not Catholic, and I do not mind references to that, but would your first suggestion be applicable to any homeschool family?

I'm looking for a book that walks you through the steps for developing your own classical curriculum. I came across a website with one particular book for sale, and I of course can't remember it for the life of me. I'm pretty sure it was also with a reading/writing/literature program. Hopefully someone has a clue what I'm talking about, but any resources would be great! TIA.

That is the only place I know of. Shipping is pretty quick, if that is a concern. I've never had a problem.

All of you make me feel so much better:) HomeAgain, I love your list...especially since it is all stuff he can do or we do on a daily basis. Lexi, I think I need to be more diligent setting aside time for just him. I completely agree that he is young for "school," but I have a very bad tendency to compare. My dd was ready at his age for advanced learning. She is still my academically driven child (in fact, she requests to do R&S Grammar on top of her regular grammar "because then I'll learn even more" and also requested French be added to her language list along with her current Latin, Spanish, and Greek). In many ways, he does a lot more for himself than she ever did and I have to remind myself that they each learn in different ways.

This is probably completely ridiculous, but I have been feeling completely guilty about not doing any school work with my little guy. I know he is only 3.5, but I was doing school with my dd at 3 and feel bad that it isn't a priority with him. He does ask on occasion and I do try to add it in for him, but it isn't as easy this time around. I work from home and teach dd, plus dh works long hours and isn't home much to help. When dh is home, we tend to ignore the world and spend time together as a family, which I am totally fine with. I guess I feel like my ds may be behind because I'm not working with him:( He can definitely do many things my dd couldn't at that age, but as far as academics, he doesn't even know a single letter. Any advice or experience with starting school a bit later?

I had never heard of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (along with many others) until I started homeschooling my own kids. I was a lit major in college, too. In my opinion, there are just too many great books out there for us to all know about each one. Plus, all the greats I did read were not read in school but ones gifted to me by my bibliophile grandfather, including the Little House series. Our library is horribly funded, although we do have an awesome children's librarian!!! We have come across several titles from WWE that my dd has requested to read the whole book after listening to the narrations, and they hardly ever have the titles we want and I have to buy them. I am also a newbie to the RAR podcasts, but I am in love with them. I don't necessarily learn vast amounts from them (and lit major....reading is a priority in this house), but I am always inspired and refreshed after listening. Sarah just has this quality about her that is calming and inspiring at the same time:) Plus, I always come away with new books added to our Read Aloud wish list.

We do languages every day, for about 5-10 minutes each. It doesn't feel like a lot, but because it is consistent, she makes a lot of progress.

CLE has been our saving grace, too. My daughter went from hating math to claiming it is her 2nd favorite subject. Like your dd, mine was good at math but claimed it was too hard and had a break down every.single.day about it because she actually has to work to understand it;) I find it to be an excellent program, supplemented with word problems.

Glad I'm not the only one that does this. I find if we just spend a solid 3-4 hrs every morning on school and wrap up by lunch, we still have plenty of day left to play, run errands, etc. we rarely take off for anything that isn't a holiday or birthday (unless sick). My kids just know do get up and start with school. And the dates in my planner are blank and I just fill in the date when we start lessons for the day. Every now and then, we decide on an impromptu trip or decide not to do school on a Monday because daddy is off.

Dd (7) has also been begging for more astronomy. I have been on the hunt, too. We are using Elemental Science, but I think I may break down and do mr. Q, too. I also found a book called Galileo for Kids. It is not a curriculum, but a book that has several projects suggested. We are going to read it together and do any projects that she is interested in.

We had this exact problem with DD (7). We just switched to CLE math, and math is now one of her top fav things. It still times facts, but gives 2min instead, which has made a difference. It also has spiral.

I just re-read a few parts of WTM while going over planning:) I still love your book. Anyway, I have found CLE a great curriculum. We use it for both math and language arts. We recently switched from Saxon. DD hated it, but now finds math one of her favorite subjects. I find it to be more advanced than Saxon, too. As for science, we love Elemental science, the classical series that actually follows the cycle you recommend. I would love to see more Spanish and. Greek resources listed. I haven't really found any decent early elementary programs. Along with other posters, I'm more concerned with methods and tips than curriculum suggestions, although I really love those, too. I do like how they are listed right after you talk about the subject. I am super excited for a new edition:)

The lessons do seem long, but usually only take us 20 minutes to complete. We do cross out spelling sections (we use something else) and penmanship (until they teach cursive).

Definitely following:) My hubby was shocked to find out I don't really enjoy poetry (and I was a lit major). It is mostly because I don't know how to approach it:)

I stopped planning out by date and started leaving blanks at the top of my planner pages. I fill in the date every morning we have a school day, and then fill in what gets done that day. Like another poster mentioned, if I don't see at least a note for subjects, I may forget to work on it, so my planner does have each subject listed for me. We also work on a specified time limit for each subject. When time is done, we put away that subject, record what we got done, and move on. My DD prefers this method, because it gives her a goal to work toward, and she knows that if she works hard, I'll let her move on even if she hasn't completed an assignment. The next day, we just pick up where we left off. Some days, she flies through 2-3 lessons, and some days we can't even finish one, but she is working diligently and that is what matters to me. This may not help you at all, but has helped us out a great deal.

Have you looked at Miquon? I use it with both my 3-year-old and my 7-year-old. I find it easy to advance for my dd and slow down for my ds. They both love the rods, too, and will often sit for 30 minutes after lesson to play with them:) I do use it to supplement CLE (which I think is great, btw), but Miquon itself is great, too.

OneStep, thank you so much for the ideas. Looking up Ronit now. They definitely are 2 different things, but 2 areas with she struggles with and wants to improve on. We don't mind more than one resource. We homeschool year-round, and have lots of time to work through stuff:)

Hi! I am stressing out with math for this year. We recently switched from Saxon to CLE (a great fit for both dd and me), but she still counts out nearly all of her facts. She wants to move ahead in science, but she really needs to solidify her math facts and work on becoming a better problem solver. I understand she is young, but her math fluency/understanding lag far behind her other skills and it is frustrating her. So, I am looking for something that is going to help her visualize numbers in her head, help her improve her mental math skills, and help her be a better problem solver. She is a highly motivated learner. We are not looking to switch curriculum, just add in some supplements. Math right now is only taking about 15 minutes. We are going to be adding in math games, but not sure what else to do. Thanks!!