I did not love getting started with Spanish for my younger kids (2nd grade and younger). I am using Song School Spanish with them. GSWS is fine for my older (4th/5thish) grade child.

We have used all the guides up through Preparing as well. I switched to VP online history for my oldest (we are doing the last 2 courses), then we are going to use Charlotte Mason Help grade 5 once we finish up the VP history so we can look at the Eastern Hemisphere. I think after we finish that, we'll go back to HOD. Either that or VP Omnibus. This is for my dd who is currently in grade 4. So she did Preparing grade 3, VP online for 4 and will use for part of 5 (she does more than one lesson a day many days), and then Charlotte Mason Help grade 5 for part of 5th, maybe part of 6th, and then back to HOD most likely. My current 2nd grader will stay in HOD though because it's really good for him. So we're not switching because I'm tired of it, but because it no longer seemed just the right approach for my oldest. Or my 3rd. And she is... My current Kindergartner. She was done with what she was doing, so we started her on Memoria Press 1st grade. When she finishes it, she'll go into Beyond in HOD most likely. Or we may continue MP. I really like it for her. It's a TON of writing, so keep that in mind if you consider it. But it's good for this child. We school year 'round by the way, which is why we're all over the place. ETA: And that's something else I've learned from switching from (well, and using) HOD. There is no one size fits all curriculum, I've found. I hear people say that there is, but I just don't think it's true. The beauty of homeschool for me is that we can fit the curriculum to the child, not make the child fit the curriculum. So I was planning to use HOD for all children all the way through, and that just wasn't the right fit. It was a great start for my oldest, and is a great fit for my 2nd child. I also see us using it for my youngest (she will be starting LHTH this fall).

We've been using Reading Pathways along with Phonics Pathways for my 7yo who has really been struggling to read. We do them at different times of the day. He's doing really well with this approach and is enjoying it. I only wish that RP went along with PP better. It seems they teach things at different times.

We were told that we can't go ahead in books, even with my little guy starting in 1st grade. We just did the extra credit book and weren't allowed anything else.

Your kids are probably too old for this, but my youngers enjoyed trying Kinderbach. It's all online or on dvd. Your kids could probably start in one of the higher levels just since it does start out incredibly easy. I do teach piano, though, so my kids had been around piano music for a long time before we tried it. Even my 2nd grader at the time wanted to do it with them, so it might not be too young.

We did the Emerging Readers from HOD after The Reading Lesson, too.

The coupons come with the books. I ordered on Thursday. (I think. It's been a long week.) Can't wait to get the books!

We're really liking Home Art Studio. Although my 4th grader was a girl, my 2nd grader likes it, and he's a boy.

We are doing Flat Stanley this year too, and I think my kiddos would love to exchange Stanleys.

I have my middle 2 decided, finally, but I have changed theirs up several times. I am still not completely certain on history for my oldest. This is our first full year away from HOD and it scares me. ;) We are likely doing Uncle Sam and You.

I have 2 sets, 1 complete, and only 6 volumes of the other one. My kids look at/read them all the time. They are probably the most loved books in our house. We don't really use them to look things up, but my kids like to just look through them when they don't have anything else going on. We have also read many of the stories from the literature volumes.

It's tough, but doable. I work from home, 2 jobs, for 30 hours/week for one and 5 hours/week for the other, and I have 4 kids ages 2-10. I've been doing this for 5 years, the entire time I've been homeschooling. The key for me is organization and clear expectations for what my husband is responsible for and what I'm responsible for. I do have to say, it's exhausting. Absolutely exhausting. If I could give it up, I would, but that just isn't an option right now.

If you have a Nook HD or HD+, you can just get the Kindle app from the Google play store. And then you can get all the Kindle books you want. ;)

I hope to use BA as the main spine with my now 7 and 5 year olds when they each get to 3rd grade. We have loved it as a fun supplement for my oldest.

I have used the US edition up through 4B so far, and I really like it. I'm sure I'll stick with it.

Oh man. I was hoping you'd have one. Ah well.

Hahaha Glad I can help... ;) FWIW, If you have a Mardel's near you, they might have Uncle Sam and You that you could get at their 20% off sale this summer. Maybe that might help a bit?

I think we're going to do the BF Geography and Notgrass Uncle Sam and You this year for 5th grade. Not sure if that's what you're looking for, though.

This year for my oldest we did Singapore 4A/4B, BA, LOF elementary, and read some random math story books that I've found that I thought she would like. The two younger kids did a mix of Singapore, RS A, and some random math story books, along with a lot of free play with cuisenaire rods, geoboards, balance scale, etc.

The Debussy mentioned above is the Children's Corner Suite. It has a lot of great pieces. Have they tried any of the Gershwin Preludes yet? Those are lots of fun. These are older, but I always enjoyed the themes from Anne of Green Gables and Somewhere in Time. Or the movement from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff that was used in Somewhere in Time? Not quite fairyland, but gorgeous pieces. You said they've played the Entertainer, but have they played Maple Leaf Rag yet? It's a lot of fun and is usually a crowd pleaser. Mancini was mentioned. Have they done the Pink Panther theme? What about music from Star Wars? There's a lot of good stuff there. Or the Harry Potter theme? There is a great book out there that is jazz arrangements of the Beatles. I will keep thinking about other fun pieces that my students/I like to play.

I wouldn't worry too much about a missing year right now. You might be incredibly surprised at what life throws at you! :) My dd was incredibly young when we started HOD, and then we added more babies, school paused while we took care of them, we had deaths in the family and other unexpected events, and being "ahead" in HOD ended up being very helpful. I would just keep going with HOD and just see where you are. You also might like having that extra year at the end of high school too for your kids to explore other interests. I personally wouldn't try to add too much right now. Also, doing Beyond, Bigger, and Adventures, regardless of the order you do them, would give you 3 straight years of American History. I have also found that each year of HOD prepares the kiddos for the next year, so that might throw off some of that progression too. Now, we are taking a break from HOD this year (sort of), so you can take my suggestions with a grain of salt. (My reasons have nothing to do with HOD--it's not them, it's me. lol Trying to give the oldest a year to grow and wanting to combine with the youngers for a year) But we have used HOD for 5 years now, and do plan to continue with them in the future. HTH!

Well I have emailed the therapist that I found, and she's almost done with certification. I will at least talk to her and see if she thinks she can offer us anything. I really don't think I want to give flax oil right now. She has gotten horribly sick with every single grain we've tried, and I would be terrified of trying flax. We see our dietician this week, though, so that's definitely something I will mention to her. You've given me a lot to think about. The dietician we have is really awesome with seeing food's relationship to development, so I think she'll be a good one to ask. I might also mention it when I talk to the therapist over the phone. That's interesting that apraxia is more with boys. And it may be that it's not what she has. It's just something that the speech therapist threw out there.

I have to be really, really careful as to what I give her supplements-wise. She has horrible, severe food intolerances that have brought her near to shock several times. We have found a fish oil she can take. She has been on it since shortly after Christmas. Around that time we also finally found a probiotic she can take, and I think that's why she can take the fish oil. She cannot actually eat fish. In fact, she only has around 8 foods she can safely eat. I do think that nutrition has played a part in all of this, as does our dietician who we see once a month. We thought that once we had her nutrition figured out that she would take off in speaking too, but she hasn't like they were hoping. that's awesome though that your son is now at around 200 words! Yea for you for sticking with him and helping him get what he needs!! I love hearing stories like this as it makes me feel so encouraged that we will get there eventually. :D

Yes, the therapist is certified. Well, I have found 3 who are certified, and then there's one in the same city as my sister who is level 1. The one in the city with my sister would give us a place to stay at least. The others we would have to stay in a hotel. I will be calling tomorrow and seeing what I can learn. As long as they don't care if I call without a referral, I'm all over it! ;-)

And I wanted to mention, too. Thank you so much, both of you, for talking me through all of this. It helps so much just to talk to someone who understands. We've had such a different road with this baby than we've had with our other kids, and everyone just says, nah, she'll talk when she's ready. Well, she does seem ready. She just doesn't talk yet. And I think she's starting to get frustrated. She'll yell at me, but I just don't know what she's saying.