I started out being certain that I was going to use R&S math and English all the way through high school, and we were going to do everything the WTM way. ... It turns out DD needs spiral curricula, not mastery, and is dyslexic, so the heavy focus on rote memorization failed spectacularly. I've learned to try to tailor my curriculum choices to my child, rather than my child to my vision of how home school should be.

Voice and recorder or tin whistle are pretty cheap. DD joined a local choir group one year for something like $50 for the entire school year. I learned to play recorder in 3rd grade music class because that and the glockenspiel were about the only instruments most kids wouldn't mess up. Most other instruments require careful hand positioning to do correctly and it's something young kids don't do well unless they have a good teacher.

Today I'm organizing things to get ready for "new stuff" next week. Acellus has been glitchy for the past 2-3 weeks, and DD has to keep repeating lessons, so we're going to drop it, at least for a bit, and do something else. We're going to try out the algebra program I bought for next school year, since it starts with prealgebra, but if it doesn't work, I've got other math resources. I put the first 40 lessons worth of algebra worksheets in a cute puppy binder, hoping DD won't think math is so bad if I wrap it in cuteness. I don't want to add too much work, since she's currently doing 2 outside writing classes, so science and history are going to be via Crash Course (Mythology and Anatomy & Physiology, followed by Psychology), and using Easy Peasy Homeschool's Reading 7 (because it has a workbook :P) and Drawing & Painting courses.

Acellus has both a middle school and a high school personal finance course. Both courses are one semester.

I got Movies as Literature the other day, too. I'm trying to decide if I want to use parts of it next year.

Tomorrow: Laundry, laundry and more laundry Regular school work, plus writing activities for class Get DD to bed early for competition Saturday morning

So, if I understand right, next year you will have: Eldest - 10th Son - 8th Middle - 6th Youngest - 1st Have you asked the kids what they want? You mentioned that the middle girl wanted to stay full time, but what about the older two? Are they happy with their current schedules, or have they expressed an interest in choosing either PS or HS full time? Will your eldest be driving soon, so she could drive herself to classes? That would relieve some of your chauffeuring duties. If it were me, I would keep the youngest at home, so you're not having to pick up and drop off from the elementary school, middle school and high school+university, since 2 of your 3 options include PS. Then, after discussing with your kids, decide whether full time PS or PS plus electives would be best, since it sounds like it's mostly up in the air for the middle 2.

A little more adventurous: The Birchbark House series DD always mentions El Deafo to everyone who asks, even though it's a graphic novel and not really a read aloud Momo (Michael Ende) I can't believe I forgot to mention this one. We loved it. The Paper Bag Princess Ada Twist, Scientist Madeline series The Penderwicks (and sequels) Gooney Bird Greene Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Inkheart Half Magic

Another recommendation for Anne and Emily. I was a girly girl and liked Pippi Longstocking as a kid - more for Annika than Pippi, but it was a fun story. If they like Pippi, they might also enjoy Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by the same author. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Ozma of Oz were some of my favorites, particularly the latter. They might enjoy the The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook and sequel, DD loved them around those ages (and she's refused to give those books up! They are still on her shelf). Others: Understood Betsy Four Dolls (Rumer Godden) - they're dolls, but they are girl dolls, with their little girls. Impunity Jane was one of my favorite stories, and DD loved Fairy Doll Twig (Elizabeth Orton Jones) Because of Winn-Dixie The Night Fairy The Seven-Year-Old Wonder Book (the protagonist is 6, and she turns 7 near the end - DD loved it at that age) The Ordinary Princess The Borrowers A Little Princess (and The Secret Garden) Best saved for a few years, but well worth reading: The War that Saved My Life Un Lun Dun Gypsy Girl (Godden) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH A Wrinkle in Time

Plan for the week: Regular school stuff Clean the house (I got my office, parts of the kitchen and my bath, and half the hall done today, and DD cleaned and vacuumed her room) I had to go out and buy a new tablecloth for the kitchen and bedspread for the guest room. ;) All my tablecloths were either for the wrong season (fall or Christmas), or so badly stained I was embarrassed to have them on my table. And the quilt in the guest room was torn in multiple places and didn't match the color scheme in that room anyway. :P Tomorrow I finish the hall and start the living room. Get rid of this migraine that's been building all day Conquer Laundry Mountain (I have no idea HOW we have so much laundry this week. It's like we were visited by the dirty laundry fairy or something.)

OPGTR - learning to read FLL - early grammar (~ grades 1-5) WWE - early composition (same range as FLL) SOTW - history So for the first grader, if still learning to read: OPGTR, SOTW Third grader, and if your first grader is reading well (finished with OPGTR) FLL (1 for first grader, 3 for third) WWE (1 for first grader, do placement test for the third grader) SOTW (any level - Ancient Times is the easiest, so easier for the first grader to follow, but still plenty for third grade)

I tried McRuffy, but there were SO many parts and pieces I got overwhelmed and ended up returning it. I'm kind of a minimalist, so simpler stuff worked much better, like Dancing Bears and Blend Phonics.

We tried AAS multiple times, and it never worked. DD retained nothing and all the little pieces and cards drove me nuts. SYS is working much better. It's not perfect, but I'm not sure what "perfect" would look like with this child.

It had an unusual name that was easy to overlook.

I think so. The teacher explains some things in a different way than some texts. You could at least try it out and if it doesn't work out after a month, you've only spent $10. Also, I think some of their other courses look neat. I'd like DD to take their Personal Finance and career planning courses, but I'm not sure we have the time or her interest.

Ok, so no "real" school, and I've already changed my mind about some of the things. Keeping math and spelling. Changing others to: Fall: Athena's Academy Writer's Workshop or Athena's WriteNOW Workshop followed by So Verbose Intro to Essay 2 or Creative Writing Movies as Literature (maybe) ABeCeDarian C & D Easy Peasy Drawing & Painting ASL 1 (either Start ASL or local co-op) thisclose to signing up for Athena's Academy History for Whovians (DD really liked the 9th and 10th doctors, so she might be interested) or their Sociology courses using Inside Out and Harry Potter Spring: Lukeion Barbarian Diagrammarian either Athena's Academy Writer's Workshop or Athena's WriteNOW Workshop followed by So Verbose HS Essay 1 ASL 1 Art (online - either Pencil Kings or DrawPj, probably) I'm purposely leaving social studies and science open, in case we find a neat semester-long class that DD is really interested in, or decides she wants to do a LOT of art or the One Year Adventure Novel, or something.

DD really likes the videos (as long as they have the right teacher - she hated the 8th grade ELA one, for example, but loves the 9th grade English teacher), so I guess I'll say they really depend on the teacher. The algebra teacher, for instance, is excellent. Assignments are mostly quiz-type assignments after viewing the video, with tests after each unit. There are extra assignments for certain classes that are done offline, but I haven't had DD do any of those. At the middle and high school levels, most units have between 15 and 20 lessons, depending on the subject. I felt like I needed to add the part about it not being for everyone, since some kids learn very poorly with videos, and parents expect a lot of written work. If that's the case, Acellus will not fit your family. For mine, because DD learns SO much better with videos, and we're still working our way up the writing ladder (it's her weakest skill, so next year will involve lots of it) - she can handle FAR more input than output, since she's not even really on "grade level" output-wise - it works for us. For the price, it is totally worth it here.

I really like Acellus for accountability. Everything is online, so it doesn't work for writing, but for $10 a month, you can have the student watch the videos and do the online work in up to 6 subjects, and the parent can log in and check the student's progress (daily, if necessary), to see if all the goals for the day have been met. It's certainly not for everyone, though. So Verbose has outsourced writing for $60 per quarter. That's the least expensive I've found so far.

I usually cobble one together using SL/Bookshark and the Mensa for Kids reading lists. You could also look at the books assigned for curricula that jive with the way you teach and use their suggestions.

Assuming I ever get to sleep... The usual, math, spelling, health, science. Maybe first ASL lesson to see if that's what DD really wants to do for foreign language next year. DD started one of the writing workshops with Athena's Advanced Academy, and LOVES it. Today she came in all excited talking about how much she loved the class. This child, mere weeks ago hated writing and anything even remotely resembling "school". She was adamant she did not want to do online live classes. Now she looks forward to Thursdays, not only because she gets to see her bestie at tumbling, but also because she has a class with other kids. About writing. Go figure.

Online G3 has literature classes that can include a writing component to supplement. They look like just literature and essays, though. Maybe creative writing with Write at Home or So Verbose? We're planning to do the One Year Adventure Novel for creative writing, but there is only 1 book scheduled in the course. You could maybe do both over 2 years (alternate semesters?) and cover all the English he needs to graduate.

I don't know whether this will be 8th or 9th grade, so I'm trying to set it up so that it could be either. She really wants to start DE at the local CC soon to graduate faster, so we're planning to really focus on math and English to help her with the placement test. Updated: Algebra I (Math Relief) Integrated Math I (Acellus) General or Honors Chemistry (Acellus) Barbarian Diagrammarian (spring, Lukeion) ASL 1 (local co-op) Still trying to decide what to do for composition (So Verbose, Write at Home, and CLRC are my short list, but I'm still researching) and literature. I want to do composition for the full year, focusing on essays, and a formal literature course for fall. She'll already have half credits in World Geography and Health from this year.

Thanks! Was this recently, or a few years ago? I've read some mixed reviews and it seems like people either think it's wonderful, or a waste of money. I do plan to add lit and grammar (probably a lit class in the fall, followed by a grammar class and just reading in the spring).

It looks neat, but more like everything is done at home. If I get the scoring service, it looks like they only score a final draft. Is that right? I think DD really needs outside accountability, and I'm trying to figure out if it would be mostly done at home or if she has more interaction with an outside teacher.

The Complete Book of Maps and Geography, maybe?