Yes. And yes looking at the list I just put up. Yep!

Summer units going on now: MP Astronomy MP Greek Myths Prima Latina + learning roots CM Picture Study Monet Playing with Discovery Streaming Fall: I am seriously tempted to ditch everything I've got and go wtih MP Accelerated Core for 3rd, and add in some math/art enrichment. LA: Rod and Staff English 3 plus TC if it's a good fit; setting aside time for creative writing projects Spelling: AAS 3 and 4 in prep for RS4 for 4th grade is current plan Math: Singapore 3A 3B; 2-4 word problems daily plus speed drills - may add in some Beast. Latin: finish Prima Latina and move into LC1 when ready; continue root study Lit: MP 3rd grade lit plus study guides, and maybe a few from VP lists Read Alouds: pull from my lists Science: not sure yet; Human body Unit plus into to chem probably HistoryA: 1st half of American History using CM Stories of America and MP books, AO lists HistoryB: Begin MP Famous Men of Rome when finished with Greek Myths French: L'Art de Lire Geography: Maps, Charts, Graphs C and D, Trail Guide to US Geog, and maybe MP Geog 1 when we start Men of Rome Country Study: spend 1 month on a country, paired with read aloud, Netflix and Nat Geog videos, mapping, and research Handwriting; ZB 3: twice a week plus assigned copywork Art: outside lessons plus a few CM Picture Study Packs Poetry: Maybe MP not sure so many to choose from Typing: Platinum 21 MP Recitations Bible: Awana YMCA Home School Gym Piano

I am looking ahead to this conference in July and wanted to hear how others organize their morning. We all know morning success can really motivate and set the path and tone for the rest of the day. What has been successful, and what has not been successful for you and your kids? http://wtmonlineconference.com/sessions/how-to-create-a-strong-foundation-for-the-long-term-success-of-your-homeschool-and-life/ My middle child is a later sleeper, and some days really needs that extra snooz time. I'm trying to work that aspect into our morning, maybe starting with the older and younger first and just do the subjects we cover together later on in the morning.

Thanks for this - I've wanted to check this out to see if it was worth it or usable for us. :hurray:

Watch it wiggle, see it squiggle, cool and fruity, Jello brand gelatin. Another proof the songs work with memory!

Well I'm glad I'm not alone. Thanks for the support. We do have chores but have gotten off our morning schedule somewhat. So we are back on that on Monday as we are all planting and doing outside projects the next few days anyway. I'll decide what time is best to have our quiet time with no interruptions, I already put the signs up on my bathroom ("Mom, what's this?? "), and putting one on my bedroom door will just make me smile. I have the chore charts up, but need to revisit. And I guess I have to relax about my floors being without a crumb, or sand and dirt at the entry, whatever. We are a busy, busy place. They do their best and will get better at it. My mother did everything. But I was at school so of course our house was spotless, there were tons of fresh treats made daily, and she was always relaxing reading books when I got home having her own special time. I've been comparing myself to that world when I am not living in it. Happen to you? It happened to me. . . LOL Tonight after soccer I told my hubby to put the kids to bed, I was going to the store. The kids looked quite shocked. :eek: And there were hugs and kisses like I was going to Jupiter or something. All survived.

So Heinz bought Kraft. Apparently the Jello market is not what it used to be. I'm a child of the 70s from the midwest and cannot imagine a life without this product even tho I know now how bad the dyes are. Hopefully will never happen, but a life without my rainbow layered jello in the summer is sad. Anyone else with me? Never had rainbow jello? Let me know I'll give you the recipe. It's one of the most amazing things you'll ever taste!~ It has 10 layers!! http://fortune.com/2015/03/27/jell-o-kraft-heinz/

I'd like to hear how those of us who teach, and are home with their kids all day, everyday, find time for themselves. I cook, clean, teach, plan, drive to sports, then I cook, clean, teach, plan and run errands. (We only have one sport so not bad but still some days I don't want to go!) Oh, and then grocery shopping. And the constant referee of sibling relationships. I need to reinstate the hour or two of private time per day for all of us which is probably the best start. Putting up a sign on my bathroom door today as well that states, "When this door is closed no knocking." :) Why do they hunt me down in there? lol I'm not saying I don't love having them here all the time, but let's face it I need me time or I'm gonna snap. :)

I am hoping to set this up for us soon, as was interested if any of you do this. If you do can you share how it is working for you? This seems like a huge no brainer to me, now that we have more in this basket. I think the added use of technology would be fun for them and motivate them as well. We could use it for Latin, French, Geography Songs, Poems, Verses, Spelling Rules, Phonograms, Grammar (lists of the verbs comes to mind), Science lists, History Lists and speeches and I'm sure more. I could create playlists for each week to go with lessons. I saw a few months ago someone made their own recordings when they couldn't import them from CD or the internet. The index card box or binder for memory work is just not thrilling me.

Good points to consider from both posts. I'll chew on it. :)

I have boys in 3rd and 4th in the fall, and I have been thinking about just going for it and having them both do LC1. But now I am wondering if that is the best decision. I feel sometimes I push my younger boy ahead for ease of our day (if they are both doing the same things it is nice) but I want to be fair to him, and maybe he would benefit from doing Prima next year and waiting until his 4th grade to do LC1. He is doing really well in our joint French course, and not missing a step and having lots of fun with it. Maybe it doesn't really matter I'm making more if it than I should. Thoughts?

This was super helpful. Thank you.

I was looking at MP today and noticed they have FM of Rome for 4th grade, then FM of Greece for 5th grade paired with Famous Men of the Middle Ages. ? For 3rd they have a study of D'Aulaires Greek Myths book and the Greek Alphabet. Is the Men of Greece too difficult for 3rd graders maybe? I am confused why they reach back to Greece for in depth study in 5th grade.

This is a great idea and I've been thinking about the same thing since our experience at Awana this year. The boys tore into their assignments and memory work like mad because they wanted to earn points to go to the "store", and of course get patches on their vests. Now I do wonder if it would truly have the some luster here at home, or if it was just the external environment. I'm not sure they would care about spelling patches or math patches in quite the same way :) I will be trying to figure out some special things to put into a treasure box to reward them for not complaining or distracting siblings, end of week reward for completion of assignments, and how they did on quizzes and tests. Reading here is required daily with no exceptions but I could reward other things. The small lego sets in the checkout aisle come to mind.

I think you might be surprised at what your 3rd grader can do with the Level 3 materials. It is gentle, they see the same type of exercises over and over, they write a few, say a few out loud, and then after a few weeks they just know what to do with those tasks. The tests are super nice to have, and there are quizzes in the TM as well you can do to check understanding and reinforce. Interested to hear how it works out!

I am using both RS 2 and 3 right now with my boys, and it's extremely thorough. Not to just echo the PP, but it really is. I am so happy to get out the books each day because they work. They are learning more from it because they are writing things out daily. We liked FLL 1 and 2 but just needed more I guess or a different approach. I also don't make them write out every exercise (you hear that alot here!) or it would be too much writing. I pick and choose as well. Once they get into the flow of the pages, it is easy to assign daily --, just to keep them focused after you teach the new things. Review is built in. The teacher's manual is organized very well, and has good suggestions in it. Easy to follow. I have RS 4 waiting to go in the fall for my oldest and looking to buy 5 as well. I would highly recommend it. We also sprinkle in Writing Strands 2 and 3 lessons here and there which is a nice add for writing assignments that are interesting to them.

Darn - I forgot to calendar this -- is there a way to get the archived recording?

I appreciate all the stories and advice here. My boys are coming into this, and now I am terrified!!!!! :scared: :scared: (Not for them but for me!) Ok and for them. . . But lots of great stuff to ponder for sure. And how cool is it that Farrar lived on a farm out in the boonies growing up?? So Cool! We have the wood burner now (alongside our gas furnace so we can do it when we want) so the boys have the wood carrying, barn cleaning, lotsa fresh air, bike riding, but we need more structure daily here. School and play is not enough strangely. I got off the chores and can totally see a difference. Thanks for bumping this again I needed to see what it turned into. Boys are 8 and 9 but the 9YO is already getting kinda quirky/moody and challenging things he didn't used to. I really need a better way to approach things coming up. Great thread!

I'm looking for a famous figures set I can buy or print off from a blog -- the need is Rome history figures. The Famous Figures on the VP site which got me interested last year just has a few from the Rome era, and I was looking for something to pair with all (ok how about many) of the Famous Men of Rome MP books as we do a deep dive into Roman History over the summer. Anyone know of a resource like this that maybe someone has put together that goes with the Famous Men MP book? The Cathy Diez ones are fab but again, there's only small number that relate to Rome. . . . Sidenote: I love her dinosaur ones -- so cool for those looking for a dino unit. :)

I was just thinking about these today. So cool my boys will love them :)

I finally got around to checking this out - what a great resource thank you!

Yeah I get all that. And time will tell. I've also seen how completely uniformed people can make a situation way worse. Know your rights is all I was saying.

If you have seen this story already please disregard. I just came across it and this article was just published today. This is NOT to open a debate on guns, vaccines, or the like, but to shed light and make sure people are informed about the home school laws in their state so they don't get put in a bad situation like this family. I wish this lady would have knocked on my door. That would have made my year. :D :D :D or maybe my decade. Please know your rights and don't let people intimidate you like this. No warrant no entry no exceptions. And video tape it. http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/homeschoolers-interrogated-on-guns-vaccines/

OH -- the 9YO is a fab memorizer -- so I thought getting all 6 levels of Nallenart might be nice as he'd probably do more than one per year anyway. I'm just not sure how this would compare to GP at all.

Can I get some comparisons of these two programs please? I am looking for a course to start now and continue with thru the summer and into next year full year. I've heard some love Nallenart and others say it's too easy. There's a sale on Levels 1-6 ending on Sunday. I'm looking for a fun intro but also want them to learn alot if we are going to take the time to do it. My older could probably do 2 levels of Nallenart in one year I think. I don't know anything about GP SYTYWTLF or what to expect/how intense it is etc. I am fluent but rusty, and know it will come back quickly. What would I need to buy if I went with GP??? Boys are 8 and 9, but 9YO has an incredible memory . . .