Thanks guys!

We used Singapore this year, with great succeess, adding in LOF and Khan Academy. Thinking of purchasing MM instead and using it on the iPad. Do I still need Singapore? Math comes easily to my crew, and is not an area of stress for us. Additionally, my Kindie is getting ready to start learning with us. He is a kinesthetic learner. I started homeschooling the others past that point, so I am not sure what to do about a first math program. Will he need more hands on? Should I buy a seperate program, like Right Start? Or can I use the Cuissenaire rods we already own, and other household things, to concretize math concepts for him? I like to do things homemade/free where I can. thanks!

Wow, what great advice! In general homeschooling has been amazing, but it is those moment when everyone is calling my name at once (and "mommy" starts to sound like a bad word!) that I really want to lose it. And I really want to want to unschool, the idea of interest-led learning seems amazing - but I just don't think I can work that way, and I don't see how you learn multiplication tables like that. I love the time slot idea. I can hire the other older child to babysit while I work for 30 minutes with the other one. Then group learning (science experiments etc.) can be tackled while the little ones are napping. Thanks guys!

I am a fairly new homeschooler, still struggling with the daily rhythm after six months. I have four boys, ages 8, 7, 5 and 4, all very ADHD types (many trips to the ER!), who have a hard time sitting. I also hav a 2yo dd. We are following TWTM, have religious studies, math, reading, science and history. I don't want to recreate school at home. I give the kids a work list at the beginning of the week, broken down by each day. The work totals about 1 1/2 hours a day. Screen time is not allowed until the work is completed. We don't own a TV, but we do have a Wii with Wii Sports, and the boys love it. Still, they are resistant to doing work some days (normal, I know). Some days everyone wants me at the same moment - and I feel like I am coming apart at the seams. Other days no one wants to work all day, and I enjoy my time with the little ones, until it is time to make dinner and screens would be available. Then suddenly everyone wants me to help them so that they qualify for screen time, but it is nearly impossible for me to help them and I get so stressed. Also, I have the standard problem that when I am finally sitting down to focus with one, everyone else suddenly needs a diaper change/snack/attention/to show we a drawing etc... and the child working on multiplication tables or whatever can't concentrate... Help! Should I give everyone a time slot? Make everyone sit at the table for an hour each morning while the little ones play on the iPad, and just get all of the work done? Unschool for another year or two (my kids love to read and listen to books on tape and learn anyway, but unschooling freaks me out, bc I am a very scheduled type personally)? Thanks for any advice the more experienced folks out there can give.

Ha! I love it, an easy way to spend a lot of money on new books is what I need! But we just really love to check out books from the library, read them a few times, and then return them after a few months. We have STUFFED bookshelves already. But we do come across a 20 or so books each year that we simply must have in the home. Are the books in the Core C and Core D those sorts of books? Does it make sense to just get the book lists and check them out from the library? Honestly, I am such a cheap person, but sometimes (often?) to my detriment. This first year of homeschooling hasn't been so smooth, in that I nearly stopped sleeping in the beginning, ignored my health, ignored my husband, due to the hours and hours of planning I was doing, trying to put together all of the curriculums myself. Now we are all much happier, but doing much less school work, and more days than not I feel fairly unprepared. I don't have a geography program lined up for next year yet. Does it make sense to get the Core C, buy rather than check out the books, and just follow someones else's plan, rather than working to make my own? That is more of a personal choice/style of homeschooling question, I realize, I guess what I am asking is if the curriculum is a really successful, fun choice to follow, if you had the money as I will, rather than parse together your own stuff, saving your time and energy?

Thanks! I asked in another post about how to spend my homeschooling budget, and SL Core C was recommended by a few poeple. But if I am happily using SOTW and like putting together my own resources, I am wondering why an almost-all-in-one was recommended, is SL just an amazing curriculum in general, and a great supplement to anything else you are using?

It has been recommended by a few people on this board that I purchase Sonlight C, the Core only, for next year. T his is my first year of homeschooling, and my local curriculum fair is still a few months off. I can't seem to figure out from the Sonlight website what constitutes the Core only. can anyone here help me? I use SOTW, SP, make my own science and religion curriculums, ditto for art and music, and am still shopping for a LA curriculum for next year. How would the Sonlight Core fit into that?

Grantmom, I see you recommend MCT, Bravewriter, and WWE. I am SO confused about LA curriculums. We basically didn't do anything for LA this year except read, journal and work on handwriting. So I was planning on buying a curriculum for next year. But as far as I can tell from the little research I've done, and having not seen those curriculums at a curriculum fair or anything, I thought they all teach the same thing - am I wrong? Does IEW also cover the same areas? Another question - I wanted to use Rod and Staff for spelling. I don't mind that it is religious in slant, as I am a religious Jew. But I borrowed it from a curriculum library this week, and it just has a little too much New Testament in it for me. Otherwise, I love the layout, simplicity, independent nature. Do any of the curriculums suggested above also cover spelling, or will I need to get something for spelling as well? Any clarification would be so helpful, as my head is spinning in that area, and LA curriculums seem to be the most expensive purchases in terms of paper stuff. Or should I create a new post for these questions? This is the first time I have posted on a forum, and I am still learning the ropes :)

Thanks all! Let me be clear, this is not a spending spree on credit cards - don't spend on credit cards, never have and never will, not our style. This is a tax return that, due to lots of deductions, ended up being huge this year. This tax return doesn't qualify as regular income in a bankruptcy - we still are well below the line to qualify - and doesn't have to be given to the creditors, IF it is spent prior to filing. We will get it in a couple of weeks, have to spend it within a week or two, and then immediately file. We have asked the attorney a hundred times if this is really how it works, and if this isn't fraud or something, because it feels weird to us. He said that a spending spree on credit cards would be fraud, but that this is money we worked for last year and is ours, just now being paid back to us, and that it is ours to spend as we wish. But I think we CANNOT invest it - otherwise we absolutely would, that and stock the pantry. I do have some pent up purchasing angst for homeschooling materials, as I am far enough into homeschooling now that I can see what I would like to own (a few more books/kits/Life of Fred), but that all totals maybe $250. Spending a much larger sum in a short time period (just the online shopping alone will take a lot of time - I do still have to teach school all day and prepare in the evenings!), is inefficient, and in the end not nearly as much fun as I had hoped. Since I like to pull together curriculum the thrify way, but see that you could die from exhuastion trying to do it for every subject, I will purchase a LA curriculum, and hope I can resell what doesn't work. I will probably get all of the Singapores for the next few years, though my kids stopped picking up their Singapore workbooks about a month ago in favor of Khan Academy (free!), and I am purchasing Math Mammoth, which will provide the drill work, so is Singapore necessary? See! I just talked myself OUT of spending money again! I keep doing that. I decide I will spend some money on something and then come full circle, realizing I like the free resource, and it would be better to save the money. Only to again realize that I can't truly save the money. The attorney was so very clear on the point of not gifting anything to friends and then getting it back. But maybe that is standard lawyer talk, and not what people actually do in these situations? We couldn't do anything that smacked at all of illegality, especially given the nature of the crime that got us here - we have seen first hand how much dishonesty with money can devastate others.

Pen, thanks for the great suggestions. There seems to be a consensus that gift cards for Amazon shouldn't be so problematic, and you are right, if that is true, that would solve much of the problem. By "started", do you mean that, for example, I purchase a $500 gift card for one of my children, and then buy a $10 book using the gift card so that it is "started", and somehow that would exempt it as a transferable asset? I realize you are not a lawyer, I am just curious if anyone has direct experience with that. We don't own a TV and generally limit screens quite a bit, which is why I did not first think of iPads/Kindles etc. as a way to spend the money. My aspie has an addiction relationship with screens, they are just not healthy for him, but he is the one who loves to type rather than write, and of course despises sharing a computer with younger siblings who rearrange the desktop etc, creating lots of uncomfortable change for him. Thanks also for the information on Waldorf and Oak Meadow. Hunter, if you are still around, you mentioned some resources that people used in the 90's that helped to augment library books to round out a curriculum, could you share those with me?

Thanks so much for the words of support, and all of the amazing advice. We were told no gift cards, or at least nothing that could be spent the same as cash. Not sure I understand what is meant by Amazon gift cards already entered into the system, but I am not a frequent online shopper, so maybe that is a common process, I will google it. We were also told we absolutely cannot give the money to anyone, or else they will be pursued to give it back. Not sure how far they would go to recover money, but we don't want to risk losing it. We aren't trying to cheat or lie, it would just be so nice to have $1,000 a year to spend over the next few years rather than a lot of money at once, and my nature is to squirrel things away, especially given our experience over the last two years. The recommendations, advice and support here have all been amazing, thank you all so much!

No worries about an unstable situation. We were the victims of a ponzi scheme a couple of years ago (the perpetrator is now serving 8 years in prison). We both worked, had no credit card debt, had a comfortable middle class financial situation, shopped at thirft stores because that has always been our style, watched every dollor, but had savings and a safety net and savings for the kids. Then we, along with many people we know, were devastated by a financial crime. Just before the crime was exposed we decided to homeschool. My kids were all born premature, and all have their subtle issues. The schools told us to medicate them heavily for ADHD or they were not welcome to attend (not a public school). We are fairly holistic, and against the idea of medicating for ADHD in general. So we knew that pulling the kids out of school and going down to one income would make things tight. But we can't recover from that crime. We have tried for two years, nearly starving at times, but refusing to file for bankruptcy on pricipal. But we can't make it work any longer. We hate the situation we are in - that we can't take care of basic needs for our family, not because of our own irresponsibility, but that the stigma of bankruptcy is that we did something wrong. So now we must spend our tax return we are about to receive prior to filing, or it will be gone We refuse to budge on the homeschooling, as it is clearly the right thing for our kids. And I know I can continue to do it with little or no budget, for the most part. We are spending a good portion of the return on food - stocking up. But we will soon most likely lose our home and car, and need to move across country to live with family, or into a small apartment, so bulking up too much is also not practical. We can't put anything away in the kid's savings accounts, can't buy gift certificates, can't invest the money. It is like a cruel joke, really. My husband has recommended I get whatever I might need for homeschooling for the long haul now, but that is really so stressful for me - how can I make informed decisions under this pressure, and about a very unknown future? There are worse things in life, and I have to see this as a major positive, but at the same time it is terribly ironic. But we are all healthy, and homeschooling has brought us so much closer, our home is very rich with love. So please, no worries about instability, just trying to make the most of this trial in life, and walk through it with grace and strength, in a way that wil benefit our kids the most.

Yes, violamama, it is somewhat stressful. I already have a laser printer, but will buy a major stock of toner and paper. Art supplies - I am not familiar with Waldorf or Oak Meadow, but will try to find lists of the art supplies they recommend and add a shopping trip to Blick to the list (is that where you all would buy quality art supplies)? We own bikes, a trampoline, a basketball hoop etc (came with the house). I am having so much fun on Home Science Tools, and will be getting microscope, kits, etc. We have a baby grand piano (again, came with the house), but we may have to move in the next six months, so I am considering a good electric keyboard (would be moving into a much smaller house or apartment. Question - I honestly have SUCH a hard time figuring out what to do with my 4yo ds and 2yo dd - outside of reading and coloring. Would purchasing Oak Meadow or Waldorf help? I can design curriculum all day for the older ones, but for the little ones, I kinda alwasy go pack to baking, painting, coloring, and I think they are getting bored. Also the K ds is very intense - very intelligent, very emotionally intense, very talkative, very needy of my time and attention, very oppositional. He is an amazing builder. Keeping him happy and occuupied long enough for me work on math with the others is a major source of stress in our homeschool. Regarding curriculum, I just feel that science and history are fairly easily put together through free and library resources, plus a few spines like SOTW. But language arts is an area I am really stuck. My oldest 8 yo ds Aspie is a major reader (1500 pages a week) with an amazing vocabulary, but HATES handwriting. DS 7yo is an emerging reader with excellent handwriting and creative writing skills, but may be dyslexic. My 5yo ds just taught himself to read and writes well. He will soon catch up to the 7yo. So what do you all recommend for LA??? I agree with other posters that if I buy the standard LA curriculum pieces then at least they will have a resale value if they don't work... I really can't buy gift certificates with the money. If anything I buy can be taken and easily resold, it will be. Books will never be touched, but gift cards will. Even the computers and iPads are questionable, but as soon as they are used, the value goes down, and since they are for homeschool, I can probably do it. Please send LA suggestions, and even if I buy three curriculums that might work and end up reselling two in the next year, so be it. Better to buy now than not be able to find $20 in 8 months to purchase something....

I need to make my purchasing decisions for next year's curriculum now, without the aid of much experience or a local curriculum fair. I feel confident in my choices for math, history, science and religion, but less so for LA. I am homeschooling an 8yo ds, Aspie, reading 1500 pages a week with an incredible vocabulary and great natural speller, but HATES handwriting, busywork, and prefers screen work to paper. Next is a 7 yo ds, off the charts ADHD, not a strong reader, may be dyslexic, great handwriting and enjoys writing stories, makes up his own spelling. next is a 5yo ds who just taught himself to read and can write all of his letters well. Have two little ones who will join us formally in school over the next couple of years. This year we haven't really focused on LA, just tons of groupd reading and discussion, creative writing a few times a week, and looking up new words often for vocabulary work. I own FLL levels 1 and 3, as well as WWE, all given to me, but I haven't used them yet. What would you all recommend? I have looke dbriefly at R and S, but I am not sur eif my oldest would reject it due to writing and repetition. I read so much on here about IEW programs, but I don't know anything about them, the same for Bravewriter. I am all about free curriculum and like to put things together myself, and don't mind teaching parts of speech myself, but have no idea how to teach creative writing. Thoughts?

Where do you turn for used curriculum? And used books in general? Besides Amazon, of course.

Yes, after this spending spree will will be going back to tight times for the foreseeable future. The hard part of this is that a spending spree is so against my nature. I like free. We shop exclusively at thrift stores, and love it. We buy all books used. The time frame for this spending means I may have to buy a lot of these thing new, which feels really wasteful. And we have amazing libraries here, where I can request curriculum for nine or more weeks, so I am loathe to purchase a bunch of books. I think electronics, instruments and art supplies are wonderful suggestions. I do need new curriculum for next year, so of course I will buy that while I am at it. The local curriculum fair will be taking place one month too late for me to make use of these funds at the fair. As a newish homeschooler I so wish I could hit a cosmic pause button and arrive at that fair with this sort of purchasing power. But then I might implode! And I would probably make a lot of bad choices. I just don't like to buy new, buy quickly, and not plan carefully, so as horrible as it may sound, this is more stressful than fun at this point. When I can't scrape together money next year for a LA workbook, this will be all the more surreal. I a, really new to forums such as these, so I bet I need to start a separate thread, but what books (are they referred to as spines?) have been anchors in you WTM curriculum? That you would want to own even given weekly trips to an amazing library with a generous loaning policy?

Ooh, I love the idea of sensory tools! I covet the items I see in those catalogs, but normally can't even consider buying them. Nope, can't buy gift certificates, it must all be truly spent. With five kids, would you buy one iPad and one iMac, or is a less expensive laptop for each of the older boys and an iPad for everyone to share more ideal? We have one iPad now which is in constant use by all ages, but I don't personally like to work on the iPad for true typing work. I can't imagine that they will practice their typing ( which they do now on our ancient desktop PC) on an iPad. Does anyone have kids using the iPad for all school work, or is it mostly used for apps, and a laptop will become more necessary as they grow older?

Btw, people list living texts for history and science, what suggestions specifically? Is there a list out there you would link to? Also we will be doing Volume 2 of SOTW next year and I don't even own the book yet, but I will need to think of all of the extras , the fun kits or great books or figurines tht could support that book. Any suggestions specific to that?

Buying iPads is a great idea! I agree with those who have said it is not an ideal situation, but the money must be spent and can't be saved or it will disappear. I am a very conservative sender, and haven't spent much on homeschooling so far, made my own curriculums, searched out free resources, and have been fine. But I have longed for wonderful art supplies, building and science kits, a nice microscope, so these things are now at least within reach. But the curriculum choices are overwhelming, and I agree that it is just as likely that what I choose now will work in three year as not. So hardware seems like the way to go. In terms of science kits, building toys, educational toys for the wee ones, what have been your favorite splurges? I was thinking that I would buy a bunch now then squirrel them away for future birthdays and holidays, as nice wooden toys, Lego sets etc never expire. I saw Haba toys mentioned on a forum, for example.

Amazing, thanks! So this is probably just through 6th grade, as I hope to have more money to spend by then. My oldest is an Aspie boy who loves chess and sciences, reads 1500 pages and week, but HATES handwriting, I want to teach them Hebrew but haven't picked a language curriculum yet, following TWTM mostly but won't start Latin until Hebrew is established. DS 1st grade is an emerging reading, auditory learner, off the wall ADHD guys who lives in an active imagination all day, loves science as well and really excels at math, but won't read without a bribe, K is a kinesthetic learner who is a mini-MacGyever (sp?) - he can make a working parachute from a toothpick and piece of paper, very intelligent and musical but not social, need engineer toy suggestions for him, and he just taught himself to read. We own lots and lots of books already, and the standard reference books, and are heavy library users. Keep the recommendations coming! :)

I am in a fun-but-weird situation in which I MUST spend $5K on homeschooling materials in the next few weeks - and then won't have much more to spend on homeschooling for the next few years, outside of a basic workbooks etc. I am in my first year of homeschooling, so I am not experienced enough to know how to spend that money. My kids are 3rd grade (ds), 1st grade (ds), K (ds) and a 4yo (ds) and 2yo (dd). I know I will already be purchasing the next few volumes of SOTW and the CDs, LOF, I make my own science curriculum, still trying to choose spelling,grammar and writing program, and I think I will purchase Math Mammoth (otherwise we use Singapore). When creating your dream list don't think about socks-and-underwear basics, think about those dream extras that have in the end not been splurges but have been a return on the investment. For example. I think I will get the Snap Circuit full student kit, and we have the junior set and my kids love it. I am also thinking of investing in a quality microscope. Fun, right? But stressful, as I am too new to really know what I should be dreaming of...so dream for me!