This is my first year homeschooling, and I was just curious to know what everyone else does when your kids get sick. . . Do you take the day off? Do you lighten the day's work load? Do you push on anyway? I'm sure it depends on HOW sick, but am interested in your thoughts. Pam

We're using AAR, and my DD loves it. It's the perfect curriculum for her because she's a really visual learner, and so the colorful manipulative tiles, and cutting/pasting/coloring activities are really fun for her and help her stay motivated. I've heard that when choosing a curriculum, choose something that fits YOUR (mom) learning-style, because if you don't, it will be hard for you to teach. I guess I love AAR for our family because it fits perfectly with the way I love to teach. Take into account the way YOU love to teach. . . is it with manipulatives and coloring activities? Then you'll probably love AAR.

Just wanted to pop in and say HI, Jenny! I'm another newbie homeschooler, who does Monday family nights ;). We're doing (and loving) the same history you mentioned, and since you've got some younger ones, I just wanted to let you know that I started making printable scripture story characters that go along with the Ancient History timeline if you want to check them out. My kids have loved using them as visuals and it's fun to get a better grasp of the scripture stories now that we're learning more about them in historical context. You've come to the right place for wisdom! I know I've been learning a lot from these amazing homeschooling mamas! Good luck in your adventure. Pam

This is our first year using them, but my DD really loves the readers, and they definitely complete the package. So I agree with many others, if you're going to skip the readers, maybe find a different program. You COULD probably do it fine, but it would be a lot of work or you'd only be getting half of the curriculum.

When I was looking for something I discovered Elemental Science and since it was based on (or very similar to?) the science suggestions in The Well-Trained Mind, I went with that as well. But as I got started, for my own personality and style of teaching, I found I needed a bit more pizzazz. This is only our first year homeschooling, and we're doing the Biology suggestions this year, but I ended up using Elemental Science/Well-Trained Mind suggestions, plus incorporating some themed projects. Not sure if this would fit for you, just wanted to throw out another idea! If you're interested, here's an example of what we do: (scroll down to whales and sharks) If you like Pinterest, I have some "Life Science" boards (Biology) on the top row that I try to fill with bits of inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pameladonnis/ Good luck in finding what works for you!! Pam

I'm so sorry to hear your news. I've had three miscarriages, and they've wiped me from motivation too. Anything pregnancy related is a big deal, so give yourself a break. Once your hormones balance back out, I'm sure you'll feel fine. Give those babies lots of hugs, celebrate the holidays, eat some chocolate :). January is a great time to get back on track.

Thank you all so much for your comments and suggestions. It helps to know I'm not alone and that it's okay if I don't cover everything RIGHT NOW. And I'm soooo glad for this forum and being able to chat with those who are more experienced. THANKS!!

I'm SOOO glad you suggested The Kane Chronicles! We just finished The Red Pyramid, LOVED it, and it fit perfectly since we're still talking about Egypt. The audio book was fun too.

Hi friends, I'm a first-year homeschooling mom--having pulled my 2nd grader out of school. We also have a Kinder and pre-schooler. I'm looking for some advice as I think I'm lacking confidence at this moment. . . Our science plan for this year, based on the suggestions of The Well-Trained Mind, is to do 20 weeks of unit studies on animals, 10 weeks on the human body, and 6 weeks on plants. Going with this plan I started the year strong with animals, thinking we would focus on 20 different ones, then move onto the body in the winter months, and plants in the spring. Now I don't know if this is me losing focus of my original plan, getting distracted by cute-themey projects on Pinterest, or if some adaptation would have been good for me to consider in my summer-planning months, because now I'm looking back wishing I would have made a better map of year better so that we would have incorporated more "fall" into our studies. For example, I wish we would have done the life-cycle of an apple tree (plants) during September, owls and bats (animals) around Halloween, and how pumpkins grow (plants) during October, instead of plowing through animals as we have been doing. And upon this realization, I'm starting to panic--like, I've screwed up my kids because I didn't teach them about Johnny Appleseed in September, and Halloween is past, so we've missed the window for owls!!And I can't wait til next year, because next year's science studies will be on earth science and astronomy!! But then this other voice in my head is telling me to CALM DOWN! :) What are your thoughts?

This is my first year homeschooling my 2nd grader and Kinder. In my pre-mommy life I taught public school, so I'm familiar with teaching, but I think that's what's causing me some mental stumbling blocks. Everything is going well, but two months in, I just find myself starting to lose steam. That public school teacher in me keeps thinking we need to follow the traditional schedule. But the mama in me whispers, don't burn out. Do what works for you. We veered away from our text last week and took some extra time to go with the Egyptian theme during reading, writing, art, and math. (We're doing SOTW 1) The kids are having a great time learning about Egypt, pyramids, and mummies, and I love that homeschooling gives us the option to pause in our curriculum and delve in deeper. But again, that public school teacher in me keeps shouting things like--does it cover a state standard? Where does your curriculum map say you should be by now? etc. Just wondering if any of you felt this way during your first year, and how you worked through it? I'm not sure how to balance my desire for a mapped out schedule and routine, with the flexibility and spontaneity of following my kids' lead and interests.

I'm not sure about deals on the DVDs, but there are some episodes on youtube, if you want to preview.

This is our first year homeschooling, and I am doing doing SOTW 1 with my advanced reader 2nd grade (7 yo) son. I'm looking for corresponding literature/good reads and was wondering if the Percy Jackson series would be appropriate age-wise? Thanks in advance!!