You have already gotten the first best piece of advice - get rid of lots of stuff. Paring down is tremendously liberating. Stuff can be oppressive and it can be damaging to relationships. So, first, eliminate. Second, I believe you that she just can't do this on her own. Some of us are wired to "see" the mess and some just aren't. It is futile to punish someone for something they just can't help. For people who see things in "globs" instead of "boxes" (I'm a box girl, myself) - it is too overwhelming to think about putting everything away. Just too much. However (and this is a big however), you don't have to give up:). It isn't completely hopeless:). What we can't do naturally, we can learn to do by building habits. Slllllllllllloooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyy. One. at. a. time. Perhaps you could pick one thing. Clothes. Toys. Books. Whatever. And set a time twice a day where all those things get put away. If you are anything like me, the person for whom this will be most difficult is...you:) Maybe if you set up a routine, eventually (and it may take years), picking up will just be what she does at 8 a.m. (or 10 or whatever works for you all) and 2 (or 4 or 8 or whatever). On my 12-year-old son's daily school list, I have the subject "Math" and then "put away math." AFter each subject is a little reminder to put his stuff away. Once it became part of a routine, (and a written one that doesn't include my voice) it was a lot easier. He'll probably never be a neat person, and I don't really care (other than I'll feel sorry for his wife:)), because neatness is not a Fruit of the Spirit:). But, respect for others in the family and a reasonable amount of care for "stuff" is part of the deal. HTH!

...and in September we will start our seventh year (I can't believe it!!). The one summer I took off became a nightmare trying to get started again (especially for me:)). I swore never to quit schoolwork in the summer again. Summer is light and varied, with no set schedule. Some weeks are heavier than others - I plan on Sundays, based upon what is already going on during the week. When the children were younger, I did 4-6 weeks on, one week off, but as they have gotten older, that schedule has gotten more difficult. I take time off as necessary and that seems to work for us. The key is finding a system that works for your family (and then being prepared to change it as your children change and grow). Regardless - have fun! It goes really, really fast!

The weekly DVD, the flashcards, the weekly "saying" the prayer, and orally answering the questions in the book on Fridays. My 10-year-old daughter doesn't like it. But, she doesn't like anything:). So, I wouldn't factor that into your decision-making. I don't:).

My 7-year-old is loving it!

We've used ours, too, for review of a concept.

...and it is free! http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/

This is an interesting question. I am doing Prima with my 7 & 10-year-olds. One of the first lessons covers how to pronounce the vowel sounds. I wondered, when we did that lesson, if learning the Latin vowel sounds would be confusing to an early reader. Had we started Prima a year ago, I probably would not have continued with my then 6-year-old.

Easy to use. Systematic. Gets them typing quickly so they can play the games. My seven-year-old begged to be allowed to learn.

We also appreciate having the textbook for reference. The lectures are written out, verbatim, so if my daughter has a question about a concept, I can refer back to exactly what the instructors wrote as an explanation.

We did this. We went from Singapore 6B to Teaching Textbooks pre-algebra (their level 8) with my son and from Singapore 3B to Teaching Textbooks 5 for my daughter. In both cases, there was a lot of review. Review was good for my daughter and tedious for my son. So, whether you want to skip another grade depends on how much review would be good for your daughter. Unlike Singapore, Teaching Textbooks includes problems from previous lessons in every new lesson. If you skip a grade, you'll know in short order if any of the skipped material is causing her problems. The table of contents for each of the levels is listed on the Teaching Textbooks website - looking at that you'll be able to tell if your daughter can skip some of the material. Regarding how long it will take to complete each grade, the table of contents also tells you how many lessons are in each grade. You can expect to do one lesson per day, and there is a test every 7-10 lessons. TT 5 has 114 lessons with 16 tests. TT pre-algebra has 126 lessons with 15 tests. As for the workbooks, I'm glad we have them. We have referred back to the workbook for the teacher's exact wording in a concept explanation. Also, the workbook shows me all of the problems in each lesson. I really have referred back to it multiple times. It was worth the $20. You should also know that until pre-algebra, all the student's work is completed on the computer. Other than for reference, you don't need the text. However, beginning in pre-algebra (level 8), the problems are no longer on the computer. The student has to either work in the workbook, or copy the pages, or write his answers on a separate sheet of paper. For pre-algebra, the workbook is necessary. As an aside, my daughter (who went from Singapore 3B to TT) LOVES, LOVES, LOVES TT. It is a PERFECT match for her. She likes how the concepts are explained to her; the teacher is consistent (as opposed to her mother's inconsistent math explanations in Singapore). She likes that TT comes easily to her, whereas Singapore was a struggle (probably because of me:)). She likes that she is a grade "ahead" - it makes her feel smart. She enjoys working exclusively on the computer, entering all her answers there. She thinks the teacher is funny and she likes the goofy flying icons that come at the end of each lesson. All the silliness that is thrown in for positive reinforcement WORKS for her. Finally, there is the indisputable fact that she is learning and understanding math. My son hates it; I suspect we should have gone straight to algebra for him, but I was chicken - and I don't really know that algebra would have resolved his dislike for TT. He doesn't think the teacher is funny like my daughter and I do:). He doesn't like the constant review in each lesson. Once he knows how to divide, he really does not want to have to divide for the next 30 lessons. He thinks the 10 minute lectures are too long (they aren't:)), and he doesn't like the teacher's voice. And, like I said, he had to plod through a LOT of review, only a small fraction of which was probably good for him. Good luck!

Do we need the whole package?

anyone else?

Is anyone aware of a grammar program that is on DVD, similar to what Teaching Textbooks does with math? I am looking for fifth grade...

Oh, I love this list - it is MUCH better than the list I have hanging up! "Bored" is an offensive word in our family, too - not allowed. Use of that word results in cleaning (without my involvement;). My boys, too, would prefer nothing more than a life in front of a screen. Some folks have suggested I just give them unlimited access and they will get bored. Nope. That is NOT what happens. Plus, screentime creates conflict in our house. Consistently. LIke a previous post-er, we have now significantly restricted the use of screens. Sunday night, two hours, that's it. For the week. And, we, too have experienced happier, more pleasant, more cooperative children. We've done the same restriction with sugar, too. Same result. Fewer fights. Happier children. Now, meanwhile, educational stuff on the computer is allowed. And I mean educational - not edu-tainment. Video games masquerading as multiplication learning don't count as educational. Our oldest is taking two online classes. He gets his screen "fix" with those. Learning programming through Terrapin would count as educational screentime. Learning how to create video games would be ideal. Good luck - I feel your pain!!! And, as for him not having a clue about what he wants to be, I don't worry about that stuff too much. Online personality tests (adult monitored - you never know...), etc. could get him some screen "fix" AND reveal useful information.

I love Christian Studies! The program will be easy for your children, but lays a great foundation. If you go to this website, you can see how each lesson is laid out. http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/ChristianStudies.html Click on Sample Lessons, and you can view the inside of the book.

...when I bought it a year ago, for my then 10-year-old son. It is sitting on our shelves. I also thought it was a little too hard for me:)

...and even start 2 years behind. CWP is...well, challenging. We use Singapore and we do the CWP book for the grade level that the child has already finished. For example, my son finished Singapore 6 last year, but is doing the CWP 6 this year. If you buy CWP 1 and it is too easy for your daughter, you can always use it with your son:). The books are not that expensive; and if you don't write in them, you can recoup almost half of your money.

WOW! This is a fantastic review!

Where in LC II are you? My son hit a major road block, after two years with few problems, starting in chapter 8. So, I ordered a new student workbook and we reviewed extensively. He seems to be fine, now. We have about as much support as you can get - he is doing the class online with Memoria Press and we have the DVD's. I wouldn't have been able to pull it off without both of these supports. If the material is too difficult and he legitimately cannot do the work, muddling through has proven to be a futile waste of energy for me:). Good Luck!

I LOVED LOVED LOVED SOTW 2! We are using MOH 2 for our second rotation, but still reading the corresponding SOTW stories (and using the SOTW activity guide for literature).

we would have quit Latin without the DVD's. 11-year-old chimes in: They really help with the lessons, and give information that the lessons do not.:iagree:

I see you also posted about Tapestry of Grace. I don't have experience with TOG (although we will probably use it for our third history rotation). But, I do have experience with SOTW and Mystery of History. I also bought (cheap!) the syllabus and schedule for one year of Sonlight, so I have looked into SL pretty extensively. I love SOTW - especially the first two years and especially with little ones. The lessons were each just the right length for my kids when they were your kids' ages. For our second rotation through history, we have switched to Mystery of History. As much as I love the WTM and SOTW, MOH has become a better fit for our family. MOH may also address some of your specific concerns. First, MOH is told from a decidedly and distinctly Christian worldview. The first year incorporates biblical history, with a strong focus on the phophets, into ancient history. The end of the first year is heavily focused on Christ - who IS the Mystery of History. It also sounds to me like you are looking for both simplicity and structure, but with enough variety. MOH fits all those desires. The MOH 1 book is both the history spine and the activity guide. I love the layout of MOH; I find it much easier to read than the SOTW activity guide. MOH is, in general, simpler for me to use than SOTW or what I saw in SL. Part of the simplicity for me is in the structure and layout of MOH. MOH 1 has 108 lessons, in 3-lesson increments, to be used over 36 weeks. So, there is a kind of syllabus incorporated into the layout of the book. There are suggested activities after each lesson and suggested literature and/or videos for most of the lessons. Then after every three lessons, there is a timeline summary, suggested map work, and a review of some type. The reviews frequently include previously learned material, so there is constant review throughout the year. We achieved a kind of "rhythm" in our study of history using MOH, in part, because of this layout. If you already know how to use Excel, it would take you about 10 minutes to create a Sonlight-like schedule for MOH. Another attribute of MOH that I enjoy is the CD-ROM activity guide. I can make as many copies of maps and quizzes as I want, without stepping foot into a Kinkos:). Like SOTW, MOH offers literature suggestions to supplement the lesson. With a history spine, you can bring variety to your study of history with the literature suggestions, while keeping the story of history coming from a consistent spine. SOTW offers many more literature suggestions than MOH. If you want a lot of read-alouds to supplement your history spine, you can use MOH as your spine and use the literature suggestions from SOTW - that is what we are doing this year. The audio books from MOH are read by the female author - I think she does a great job. There are things about MOH that some folks don't like, and that can be useful information to know. Linda Hobar (MOH author) writes in conversational first person. I love it - it rubs some people the wrong way. THe full series of MOH is not complete - Linda has written through 1700. This shouldn't be an issue for anyone starting with book 1. WIth all that said, I still think curriculum is a personal choice and you have to find what works best for your family.

I had this same issue. I did a couple of things that were helpful to me: 1. I read Honey for a Child's Heart and used it to find age-appropriate, excellent literature. 2. I used resources like 1000 Great Books list to find more suggestions. http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html 3. I ordered books in large-print whenever possible - this seemed to help my son overcome his concern about longer books. 4. I started some of the books as read alouds. He didn't pick up on every one of them - but on at least half, he would end up finishing the book. 5. I expected him to at least try (read the first 20 pages) some of the books I ordered from the library. Now, as previous post-ers have commented, this can backfire, depending on the child. I don't have this expectation with my daughter, as it would lead to a protracted battle. But, my son would try things. If, after 20 pages, he wasn't interested, I didn't make him finish. (I make this suggestion because your daughter is 7. Now that my son is almost 12, he has to read things he doesn't always FEEL like reading:)) As for reading books like Rainbow Fairy...Aha! I found the reference in WTM (Chapter 5, first edition) regarding reading for young children. SWB and JW make the case for, first, expecting difficult reading as a part of school. Then, allow for fun reading to improve reading skills, teach the habit of sitting still with a book, and to remind the child that reading is fun. They comment about lightweight reading directed at young readers. To summarize, lightweight reading is the literary equivalent of TV cartoons. A taste for cartoons doesn't lead to an interest in National Geographic specials. Cartoons teach a child to pay attention in five-second bursts of images. In the same way, lightweight reading (in WTM they use Goosebumps and Sweet Valley High as examples) develops, "a child's taste for short sentences, simple sentence structure, easy vocabulary, uncomplicated paragraphs, and shallow, simple plots." HTH

Technology can be so frustrating! I have enjoyed reading the different replies to your question. I tried to pull off fewer, long days, and it didn't work out very well. I'm sure if I had to I could. I can also tell you that, over the years, I have slowly eliminated all our daytime activities. We now reserve 9-2 as sacred school time M-F, with strict rules for exceptions. School is now much, much, much better for all of us. The year I eliminated the majority of our activities was a very difficult transition - FOR ME! I never wanted to be school-at-home. But, structure and consistency is what my children work best with. And, when I am being totally honest, I work better that way, too. So, I do think it depends on the personalities of you and your children. It depends on your academic goals, why you are homeschooling, and what your priorities are. It can be difficult to eliminate commitments. Try to think about each commitment individually. Why are you doing it? Is it really something you should be doing? Can someone else do it in your place? If it weren't a long-standing commitment, would you take it up now? What else could/would you be doing instead? These posts provide excellent fodder for contemplation. But, ultimately, you know your family best:)! Good luck!

....how many posts that takes! I had thought about just :iagree:-ing to a bunch of posts. But, then I thought that was cheating:D. So, at least 44 posts, huh.....