My three top favorites-- The Tomten Night of the Moonjellies The Seven Silly Eaters

My dd was much the same in 6th and I let her do just LOF starting part-way through the year. She did Fractions and Decimals and Percents and then started pre-algebra book 1. When she finished her 6th grade year I had her do a placement test from another program and she did fine on it. So for her, it was enough, but she is very mathy and grasped concepts quickly, which I think is why the other programs just bored her to tears. She is now doing Beginning Algebra and there is no question in my mind that those books are definitely enough. I do not think it could hurt to let her try doing just LOF for awhile. You will know pretty quickly if it is working or not, and you will be able to fix it if doesn't work. It did not work for DS who also tried doing it this way, so I ended up using a TT/LOF combo with him.

I didn't use mine all that much to start with, but I liked having it to look things up and to copy problems out for him as needed. I think the general idea (from TT) is that you would go over the lesson in the book first, then the kids would do the lesson on the computer and write their answers in the book. I want to re-use the book, so I just have him use separate paper. I went most of the year with TT5 just having him do everything on the computer, but towards the end he was having a harder time with it so I started reading through the lesson with him first and then sent him to the computer, which worked better. I plan to do the same with TT6. This is for a pretty math-resistant kid though, you might be able to get by without the textbook if your kids don't need much hand-holding or help.

DD watched this last year and I'm sure will watch again. I didn't realize it would start up again so soon-thanks!

We have always had Prismacolor and I stick with it because the only craft store in the area-Michaels- carries single pencils so I can replace as needed for cheap.

I am using Bookshark this year-the "K" level, American history 1, and world history (grade 6) if it does come out in August as expected. I got my boxes for the first two levels and am very happy with everything. They have awesome customer service- I was missing a map and they sent it right out that day, I had it two days later. I love the instructor guides- everything looks so nice and uncluttered, with just the stuff I am actually using. So far at least, I am a fan!

Code-Cracker seems to be purely about learning the alphabet, so we thought that would be good to do first.I had dd look at Athenaze and GP and she liked the look of Athenaze, but was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it. It is definitely more in-depth and aimed at high-school level. There aren't too many options out there for the middle school level, but she liked the look of GP so I figure it will be a good place to start. I am no expert on this at all, just hoping it works out!

My dd13 is going to start with Greek Code Cracker, followed by Galore Park Greek if she is still interested. And probably Athenaze after that.

I don't consider 8:30/9 "super early", it is all just what works. I do not like sleeping past 7, it makes me feel lazy, but that is me. Here, dh and I are up at 6:30 and I need 8 hours sleep to function well so I try to be in bed by 10:30. We also like to have some quiet time to read and watch movies the kids can't see or whatever, so that means they need to be in bed before 9. The younger three (11, 9, 6) can have lights on until 9. My oldest is 13 and usually stays up until 10 reading in her room. They are all up at 7 at the latest and they do not sleep later if they stay up later, they are just irritable. They all really seem to need that 9-10 hours of sleep. Plus if they slept later they would not have any time with their dad before he leaves for work. We eat on the early side, around 6, and we still have plenty of time after to hang out before bed.

I switched my pencil & paper phobic/daily math fighting son to Teaching Textbooks. Best homeschool decision I have ever made. I will not say he leaps out of bed eager to get at it! But there are no fights anymore and we have caught him up to grade level. We had tried at least three other programs before I decided to go ahead and buy TT. This is our first year with it, so I can't say if it will work long-haul or make any comments as to it's rigor compared with other programs, but it has made my life so much easier. For some reason he understands concepts much better when someone other than me explains them and he is finally "getting" it.

Life of Fred Pre-Algebra? My dd13 is finishing them up now and will start algebra in Sept. I am fully confident that she is ready just from going through those two books. She is very mathy though and really "gets" the Fred approach, which I know doesn't work for all.

We are doing year-round this year, and so far it is working well. We have been going roughly 3-4 weeks on, 1 week off. I feel like they are actually missing out on less by going year-round. They were able to get in some extra sledding time during their February week off. This week will be our March week off and it is just starting to feel warm enough that they want to be outside more, so I expect them to be out a lot this week. I do plan on taking off 3-4 weeks for summer, but I find that the kids get restless after too much of a break, so the rest of the time we will be doing at least some work, even if just during the hottest part of the day.

Milly Molly Mandy and Uncle Wiggily with my 5 yo White Stallion of Lipizza & Story of the World II with my 8 yo Lord of the Rings with my 11 yo And Daughter of the Mountains with my 11 and 13 yo

How old are your kids? 13, 11, 8, and 5 When do you get up? 6:30 When do the kids get up? usually around 7:30, though I let them sleep till 8 if they aren't up, except for the 5 y.o. who can sleep as late as she likes. When does school start? 8:30 Any tips on starting school on time? This year I have been very picky about starting as close to 8:30 as possible. We just can't get our stuff done if we start much later, what with extracurricular and such in the afternoons. I also like to have a bit of free time to myself in the afternoon. So we just start at 8:30, with very few exceptions. Even if the kitchen is a total disaster, I try to ignore it and at least get everyone started on something before dealing with it. The kids have chore charts that they are to complete before school starts. They are finally getting to the point-after years!- of doing their chores independently and finishing them before we begin our day. Unfinished chores get completed during lunch break, so there is some motivation for them to get moving in the morning.

Mine uses Lively Latin. It can be a lot of writing for him, but we do as much as we can orally or I act as his scribe sometimes. He loves the online games.

We had the same issues and dd12 ended up doing Latin for Children A after LL1, rather than going on to LL2. I was worried that it would be too much repetition to do two introductory Latin curriculums back to back, but it has been really great for her. She gained a much better understanding of things and a lot of confidence and has since moved on to LfC B. I am considering taking the same route with ds11 who is about to finish LL1.

What about The Secret Zoo series? My 12 and 10 y.o. really love it.

We used Core D two years ago. Yes, much of it can be done independently, depending on the age of your child and their reading level. I read the read-aloud and the main history spine (Landmark History) aloud to them, and then they read the readers, poetry, some other history books, and science to themselves. I did not use the LA at that time but we are using it this year with Core F and I am happy with it. Some grammar is included, but they do recommend you use a separate grammar program in some years. I believe with Core D and E they suggest Grammar Ace, and then for Core F they have created their own grammar program (Grammar 5) you can use alongside.

I am in the same boat with my DD12. She is finishing up LOF Decimals & Percents right now. I am planning on having her do a placement test from another program to check for any gaps or areas she needs to work on before starting pre-algebra. And then she will do the LOF pre-algebra. Like your son, LOF is the only math program she has clicked with. It looks like the pre-algebra books may be meatier than the previous books. They cost a bit more and it says they include 46 daily lessons. So I am guessing there is more practice in them and I am hoping it works out that just LOF will be enough. If not, I am not sure what we will do! When she gets to algebra we will buy the book of extra practice problems if needed.

My ds 10 is using Lively Latin, which he enjoys. I do not think we will move on to LL2 though, because as he nears the end of LL 1 he is getting a bit confused. He is going to use Latin for Children A instead. My dd12 is just finishing this up and has enjoyed it. She does not like the videos that go along with it, so she skips that. There is a related site (headventure land) that she enjoys using.

I would definitely not answer the phone while teaching. I do not think it is selfish to protect school hours, and I know it can be hard to do that. But I would also think about setting aside a regular afternoon for visiting, if possible. Then the rest of the week, stick to your plan. When my grandmother was still around we always went to visit her and my mom for Wednesday lunch. They lived 45 min. away though, so closer than yours. I agree with those who said family trumps extracurriuculars. If I didn't have time for visiting family, I would feel like we needed to cut back, but that is me. Unless you don't get along with the family in question. My MIL is a very difficult person and we do have to limit her visits for our sanity. But I lost my mom four years ago and obviously I would love to have her "interrupting" our day now. I do not regret at all the breaks we took to visit her, and wish we had done even more. Maybe it could work for your mom to help you teach one day? I have four also and know it is very helpful those days when there is a second adult around to help with a math lesson, do a read-aloud, or whatever. Just a thought. I do think it is very rude to drop by unannounced, that would drive me absolutely batty.

The Night Tree Pussycat's Christmas

My dd12 has the job of looking up everyone's library record each week, making renewals, and noting what needs to be returned. When the kids were all younger I had a set day each week when I looked up the records. It can be a major pain, but it beats the fines! We do go to the library more weeks than not and again, my dd has the job of making sure everyone has the items on the list that need returning.

My dd5 likes Tall Tales and Robin Hood best. My boys at that age loved the Greek Myths one. I will admit, I find his voice annoying too, but the kids don't seem to mind.

I have only tried Math Mammoth of the ones you listed. I'm using it now for my 3rd grade ds. I like it okay, it is not a "sparkly" program like some of the others, just a basic worksheet type math that gets the job done. I do love the price, and ds8 does well with it, but it did not work well for ds10. He just couldn't take sitting and doing a worksheet for math everyday, so we switched him to Teaching Textbooks which is a better fit for him. We started out using Rightstart too, but found there was not enough help for me to teach it well. I am not strong in math though, so that factored in to it. It is also very teacher intensive, which was fine when I was teaching just one or two, not so much now when I am teaching four!