Thanks so much for the recommendation! Looks very interesting!

We are in our second year of homeschooling and I am considering science options for all of my children but mostly stumped for my 5th grade DD. We are looking at BFSU level 1 to guide us for my ds in K for a few years as we are using CM style education. I will probably use Apologia Gen Science for my 7th grader. This year we tried the Gods Design series. Although my son did great with it, It was too much info on Ecosystems for my daughter. I feel she will burn out on an Apologia book as well. She is coming from public schools, and does not have a foundational knowledge to build on. We have lots of great Usborne books since I am a consultant, but we need a plan on putting the pieces together and making it come alive for her.

I have the exact same story. New homeschooler. Spelling has always been easy for me. Of my two oldest, my 12 year old is a gifted speller, but my 9 year old is not. She memorizes lists but then forgets the most basic words. I don't really understand why we have to learn it the way I see most people here recommend. But I know my poor husband and my father are poor spellers and I don't want my children to have the same daily struggles they have. I want them to be confidant spellers. I posted the same question a couple of weeks ago and got a lot of feedback. I feel like Spalding may be the way to go for us. Now... where to begin. :)

We are very new to homeschooling (September) and since bringing my children home I have faced the fact that my children (4th & 6th) grade have had no real writing training in P.S. And I have one who is a gifted speller and one who is not. We have tried R&S spelling but as they don't have a strong understanding of phonetic rules, it was not a good fit. Right now we are using WW vocabulary and just testing spelling on those words. But my poor speller (4 grade DD) is able to memorize words easily. But when she writes creatively her spelling of even simple words is terrible. When she puts more thought into spelling, I see an improvement in her spelling skills. But I wonder if we need to get a better grasp on spelling for her with something like All About Spelling. For writing instruction, I am open to suggestions. Before I made the plunge I am working with them on some basic paragraph instruction. My sensitive daughter cannot stand to have me mark up her creative work with all the spelling and grammatical errors. Any suggestions for handling this? I have a 5 year old that I am doing preschool work with so I am open to suggestions on helping my children be more independant AND how to get my extremely SSSSLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWW 6th grader to move along quicker with his work.

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I guess I am trying to shake the traditional school parent mindset that grades matter. They have worked hard for the last few weeks and I began to panic just a little when i realized they would have nothing to show for it. But WE know as a family that they were doing awesome in school and that we made this decision not because we didn't think they could do great, but because 1st we wanted a more God centered education and 2nd because I think we can do it BETTER at home! To Ellie, yes I have checked into all the Florida laws and it doesn't matter when you pull them out. We do have some requirements but they will be no problem. As far as the friends... they know because my kids shared with them that this was their last week of school. I asked them to wait until the end of the week but it leaked. No matter... my kids are dealing with the comments and know in their heart that we are doing what we know God is leading us to and will lead us through. Thanks to who referred me to Guilt Free Homeschooling site. I am really enjoying reading those articles. Invaluable advice. Yes.. I think we may need to spend some time getting to know each other better and to experience LIFE together and learn from it. I am teary.. just thinking about the possibilities of getting to know my children better. WHO KNEW? They were mine all this time and yet I had to move to a different school zone that made us JUMP through even crazier hoops than we were accustomed to to realize that I didn't have to. THEY ARE MY CHILDREN! Our financial situation changed too with the move and it freed up my days and gave me the freedom to make the decision. So ...Breathe.. No i will not beat myself up over the past. I will move forward from this day.

We have finally decided to make the move to homeschooling. It is something that has always been on my heart, since we couldn't afford to send them to Christian schools. This year after some issues at school forced us to take a long hard look at whether public school was best for our children, I listened to that nudging on my heart that I COULD DO THIS!! My two questions that I need some feedback are 1 - Should I take them out NOW and jump in with both feet. OR wait until the end of October (the end of the 1st 9 week grading period) so that there grades would reflect that we pulled them out while they were excelling in school not struggling. They both have always been A-B students. Cons- The longer they stay in school with their friends, the more their friends comments about homeschooling sink in and they start to question our decision. 2 - Should I leave my preschooler (K4) in his Christian preschool where he is very happy, so that we can get in a routine and I can focus on the big kids. And maybe take him out around Christmas, and begin to teach him to read! Cons - He is not a morning person, so we do struggle a little getting him to be positive about going to school every morning. Once he is at school, he loves it and enjoys it. And, it would take 30-45 minutes out of my day, at 8 and again at 12 to do the pick up and drop off. Love, love these forums... I have learned so much by reading what works for everyone else! THAnks!