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Hello Hive, I really need some advice. I am in the planning stages for next fall. My concern is that I am putting so much on my plate that I'm setting myself up for failure. I typically feel this way each spring/summer when I'm planning for the next year. I'm going to list each child's curriculum choices. My concern is not that THEY can do the work, but if I will have so much to do working with each child. Please let me know what you think! Oldest daughter will be 11th grade Omnibus V Physics Apologia Teaching Textbooks Pre-Calc Government and Economics (outside class with paid instructor) Spanish 2 Rosetta Stone Vocab from Classical Roots SAT prep Youngest daughter will be 8th grade Bob Jones American Heritage History Lightning Literature Grade 8 CLE 8th English Teaching Textbooks 8th grade Physical Science Apologia AAS Write at Home 8th grade composition course full year Wordly Wise Bob Jones Bible 8th grade Oldest son will be 5th grade CLE 5th grade English Teaching Textbooks 6 AAS Youngest son will be 4th grade CLE 4th grade English Teaching Textbooks 5 AAS I am planning on using HOD Preparing for my two youngest children. I will also use Drawn into the Heart of Reading for them. I'm just so worried about staying involved with my oldest two. The boys will need me quite a bit so I'm not concerned about keeping up with them. My girls are a different story. I know they still need me to stay involved with their history and literature. Also, my oldest two play musical instruments. Oldest competes in several events for piano and also has 3 students she is currently teaching piano. She also volunteers at a therapeutic horseback riding facility 3 hours a week. My oldest son has Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy. My youngest will begin competing in level 4 gymnastics this fall. BTW, my husband travels approximately 36 weeks a year for his job so he is basically MIA. Thank you so much if you read all of my ramblings. I'm just a bit stressed about how will I ever get it all done!!! God Bless, Elise in NC

I can't imagine trying to make your own student materials. I think they are well worth the money. God Bless, Elise in NC

:grouphug: for Emily! God Bless, Elise in NC

I am finishing up our 11th year of homeschooling. I could have written a post very similar to yours a few years ago. So far the teen years have been wonderful. Yes, we have had ups and downs. But, I believe that we are reaping what was sown all those years ago. I used to pray that God would show me why I was doing this. I sometimes felt I was drowning in small children and household chores. I now know that homeschooling has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am close with my 2 teens (as my younger two). I enjoy them. They are very independent at this point. My workload has decreased so much in the past 2 years. Don't give up. It only gets better. I can relate to not having "me" time. My oldest son, 11 years old, has Cerebral Palsy, epilepsy, ADD, you name it. My husband also has a very demanding job. He works for a NASCAR race team and travels heavily all year round. I still don't have a lot of "me" time but I don't feel as worn out as I used to. I always want to encourage people not to give up homeschooling during the teen years. That is when it gets really good! All those hours sitting at the table helping children read, spell, work long division problems pays off. God Bless, Elise in NC

Here are some of my favorites that we have watched through Netflix: Pushing Daisies (really cute, sweet, and smart) Downton Abbey (awesome mini series by Masterpiece Classics) Just finished watching season 4 of Madmen...one of my all time favorites. HTH, Elise in NC

My son is technically a third grader (Feb. birthday) and I started him with TT4. He has done very well with it. There is so much review in TT that even if you son doesn't know a few concepts he will learn them. I would go with TT 5 if he did that well on the placement test. God Bless, Elise in NC

I have been doing some research about literature programs for my 13 soon to be 14 year old daughter. After scouring these forums and looking online I have decided to go with Lightning Literature. It really looks well planned out. From what I have read it is not Christian in content. We also use Wordly Wise and Vocabulary from Classical Roots for vocab. We love Sister Wendy for art appreciation. HTH, Elise in NC

We are doing WP All American 2 this year. I have really enjoyed it. I really like the books WP chooses. We also did Core 3 with Sonlight years ago. But, my children love non-fiction books. I also like that WP suggests activities, DVDs, and websites. There are some draw backs, though. You cannot beat Sonlight's customer service or how quickly you receive your books from them. Also, WP recommends websites that have either expired or don't exist. That can be frustrating. I think Sonlight is better organized than WP but I still like the books from WP a bit better. HTH, Elise in NC

I began using AAS with my 13 year old daughter this fall. She read at a much higher level than she could spell. There are many poor spellers in my family and my husband's family. I started her in Level 3 and have almost finished Level 4. I am amazed at how much better she is spelling now. I believe in a year or 2 she will be spelling on grade level. AAS has helped her to understand why words are spelled the way they are. It's wonderful. I can't recommend this program enough. God Bless, Elise in NC

I am also trying to decide between LL and PP. I am really leaning toward LL because I like the idea of reading fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. I wonder if I can pick and choose the composition assignments for my daughter to do. She will be doing another writing course so I don't want to overwhelm her with too much writing. Does anyone with experience know if choosing between composition assignments would work? Thanks, Elise in NC

I have a daughter that has made remarkable spelling progress since we began AAS. Her standardized test scores are above grade level for everything except spelling. Her spelling scores were WAY below grade level last year. This year she is still below grade level but has made significant progress since beginning AAS this fall. I would really encourage you to keep at AAS. I keep a list of words or concepts that my children are still struggling with in the back of the book. We review those weekly until they are mastered and then I cross them off my list. I am constantly tweaking the list. Keep up the good work! God Bless, Elise in NC

I loved the story about the girl going on the road with her trucker mom. I actually heard an interview with the daughter on NPR about 6 months ago. Really interesting! God Bless, Elise in NC

Thanks so much for posting. I watched a program about the Finnish school system a few months ago. I was so impressed. God Bless, Elise in NC

Have you looked into Winter Promise? I used Sonlight for about 9 years but I needed something that I could combine a wider range of ages. It also has activities, DVDs, and websites scheduled in. That is something Sonlight will not give you. I really do love Sonlight and think they have a wonderful program. I only attempted 2 Cores at one time and that was when my oldest daughter did Core 100 and could do it all on her own with me only going over questions with her. God Bless, Elise in NC

I have actually thought about assigning some PP books this summer along with the guides and then use Lightning Lit during the school year. At least that would give us an idea if we really like PP. Thanks, Elise in NC

:bigear:

We started using TT last year. This year my daughter's highest standardized test scores were in math. She does not like math at all but she is 2 years above grade level now and I believe it's because of TT. That has never been the case before. My youngest son really likes math so instead of starting him with TT3 for third grade we started with level 4. He is also doing well and his highest scores were in math. I am a firm believer in TT now! Blessings, Elise in NC

Hello Hive, I'm really hoping I will get some good responses. My daughter will be in 8th grade in the Fall. I am trying to decide between Progeny Press literature guides or Lightning Lit 8th grade. Currently she is just reading Sonlight Core 7 readers and we go over the questions orally. She is using CLE for English and does Wordly Wise for Vocabulary. We are using AAS also. Which literature program would work best? God Bless, Elise in NC

No, the tiles aren't just alphabet tiles. There are prefixes, suffixes, sounds of "r", vowel teams, etc. The consonants are blue and the vowels are red. I really believe they are worth their weight in gold. My daughter does not like using the tiles but both my boys love them. They are a great resource when teaching concepts. I wouldn't skip them. God Bless, Elise in NC

I have read the other posts and haven't seen this mentioned. Could it be that he is a very bright boy and very bored and needing attention? I have a child that needs to be mentally or physically stimulated or she gets into mischief and acts out. I usually find that if I spend some one on one time with my children that fixes a lot of discipline problems. HTH, Elise in NC

I tried approximately a million spelling programs before buying AAS in the fall. I love it. It has helped my struggling spellers so much. Just do a search on AAS and you will find LOTS of good reviews. God Bless, Elise in NC

Don't know anything about this. I live in the Charlotte area. What is the proposal? God Bless, Elise in NC

I really found the book Shepherding a Child's Heart to be very helpful in dealing with my stubborn child. I also have used spanking before but found it wasn't effective in the long run with heart issues for her. God Bless, Elise in NC

I bet that in a few months you will wonder why you waited to pull them out! Homeschooling will enable your kids to explore their giftings and work on their weaknesses in a safe and loving environment. God Bless, Elise in NC