My basic organization is grouping like things together and keeping them in the plastic storage bins on a shelf (I like the shoebox size, but some things need bigger bins). Example, chemistry glassware/chemicals, electrical things, physics things (light, sounds, magnets), rocks/geology, astronomy, etc. If a box gets too full, I break it down into more specific categories. At one point I had a box for dinosaurs because I had so much dino-related stuff! I started with just one animal box, but eventually I had plastic animal figures in a box, shells in a box, parts/pieces in a box (like butterfly wings we found, or a cocoon), etc. I label the box with a label maker and stack them about 2 or 3 high on shelves in my basement. For small items like corks, I put them in small plastic baggies or little containers so they don't just turn into a big mess in the bins.

My two kids have very different approaches to math. DD wants a fairly straight-forward, no frills explanation of math. She likes reading LoF for the story, but it drives her crazy to try to learn "how" to do math with it. Her math pathway: 1 year of RS math, 2 1/2 years of MEP math, 2 years of LoF (did Apples to Mineshaft and Fractions), 1/2 year MM. This year for sixth grade we are using MM as the core text and using LoF Decimals for a little bit of fun AFTER she gets the concepts from MM. DS, on the other hand, hates boring, repetitive worksheets--he wants fun and wants to move along at a good clip. His math pathway: 2 years of MEP math, 1 year of LoF, 1 year of Beast Academy. For fourth grade we are using LoF Kidneys to Mineshaft along with MM. For myself, I liked the idea of RS math, but it was a bit too much work for me. I liked MEP math, but the kids hated it after the first year (too worksheet-y). I moved over the LoF, which again I liked, but has proved problematic for one kid's learning style. I also like Math Mammoth, but it is boring to my son. (Geez, you just can't please everybody!) I have liked these math programs I have tried out because they seem so refreshingly clear to me as compared to my textbook-y public school math education (can you say pictures, manipulatives and meaningful stories?!) All of these math programs have their good points and will work for different kinds of learners. It has certainly taken me a while to figure out what works for my different kids. I am somewhat reconciled to the fact that not all learning is "fun" (grammar and math come to mind), but it can be taught in ways that mesh with your learning style or clash with it. That seems to be the issue that is more important to me--does my kid "get" this program? Sadly, sometimes we are forced to buy multiple curricula for multiple kids (sniff!), because everyone does not always "get" things the same way. (I also have 2 different spelling programs for my kids who just do NOT get spelling in the same way--but it is such a relief to finally have something that "clicks" with my spelling-challenged daughter!)

Take a look at KISS grammar. It is available online for free. We have been using it for several years and it gets the job done. http://www.kissgrammar.org/

I like KISS grammar. It is all online and it is free. We've been using it for a couple of years now. You can find out all about it here: http://www.kissgrammar.org/

We did a test-run with Sequential Spelling for my rising 6th grader and I think it will be a good match. She is a very poor speller and we have not had much luck so far using other curricula. We are going to start at the beginning with Level 1, but I am worrying that we are still going to be doing spelling in High School (aaaggghhh!). Does anyone have suggestions for going faster with this curriculum? Right now I am planning to do spelling through the summer and over other breaks. Anything else?

My summer plan tends to revolve around things that I find impossible to do during the rest of the year. It usually involves projects that take unusually long blocks of time such as culling the bookshelves, purging the basement stuff, simplifying our lives, establishing routines for housework and staying-alive tasks, and planning (dare I say, plotting?) out the school year. Did someone mention a HUGE picture scanning task? I think that is also on my list of things to do. SO (not) looking forward to that! :-) But, it must be done so I can get rid of many boxes of pictures and scrapbooking supplies I am NEVER going to use (don't hate me all you crafty types!). Someone else mentioned exercise (ouch!). (Sadly) that is also on my list, too. So basically, summer goals are kind of like eating your veggies--it's really good for you and you'll be glad you did it because your life will be so much better, but not so much fun in the actual doing. (Well, I plan to read a lot of books--so that's kind of like eating dessert!)

Well, I am fortunate in that I only have 2 kids, and they are in the mid-to-late elementary stage, so they are becoming much more independent in their work. Our school work usually only lasts until about 1:00, so I have my afternoons and evenings to myself for the most part. Of course, I still have to keep the household running and make meals, etc., but other than that, I have embarrassing riches of time to devote to my own projects and study. (LOVIN' IT!) The main way I find to gain time in your schedule is to keep outside commitments for your kids and yourself to a BARE minimum. Do NOT over commit yourself to driving your kids to all sorts of activities! Another key is to work hard to purge your household of unnecessary "stuff" so you don't have too many "things" to take care of. The less "stuff" you have, the less there is to pick up and organize. Get your routines down for laundry, shopping, housecleaning, etc. so these things do not consume all your time. And most importantly, get your children trained up in adult-level chores so they can HELP you get things done around the house. By the time they are 10-12, most kids could probably run the house if you work at teaching them to master chores (with a few exceptions for things they just can't lift/haul/reach yet). Sometimes we expect WAAAAAAAY too little of kids/young adults. One of their "jobs" is to learn how to be an adult. All these things free up my mental energy and my time to be able to pursue studies and other worthy projects.

I just taught my kids cursive from the beginning. It was easier than having to teach writing twice. It was just fine for my first graders--frankly easier to do "swooping" writing than to try to get super-straight lines with manuscript. Also, my kids figured out how to "print" capital letters just fine on their own--I never taught them other than to occasionally correct a "backward" letter, so I saw no point in spending more time on printing. Those times that you occasionally need to print on a form as an adult are not worth spending several years on. OTOH, there are many times as an adult that I needed to be able to quickly write notes and that is exactly what cursive is all about. It was specifically designed for the pre-computer days when people wrote things by hand, and it remains the best, fastest way to do it. So learning to do it now is still important for the many reasons listed by others: ability to read it, ability to write quickly when you don't have a keyboard, prevent reversed letters (especially important for those who struggle with reading/dyslexia), and finally, because it looks like grown-up writing (which was very important to my little guys).

I second this. I had one kid that did learn to read early and the other one struggled SOOOOO much (imagine how weird it was to have the younger child reading books to the older one!). She was bright, motivated, LOVED stories, but just could not make any headway. At the end of 3rd grade she still could barely read through Bob books (with many tears). I finally had her tested for vision problems and it turned out she had eye tracking problems. After six months of vision therapy, she was fine. After that it took about a year for her to gear up and get up to grade level. Now at the end of 5th grade, she spends HOURS reading everything she can get her hands on. Whereas my son, who was the early reader, only occasionally reads on his own (He would much rather play video games!)

This probably depends on your child. My 5th grade daughter tried to use it this year and it was just too much. If you use the whole thing, there is a fair amount of reading and even some researching. Then there are lab reports. I guess it was just a big jump between the RSO elementary level to this. I think it would be appropriate to 7th and 8th grade.

We are using Lingua Latina: Familia Romana 5th to 8th grade. I have it mapped out along with the materials needed if you are interested. Our primary goal is not so much to use Latin as a way to work on grammar and vocabulary, but to end up able to read Latin.

Have you looked at Homeschool Spanish Academy? http://spanish.academy/ My 2 kids have been using it this year and I really like it. It is one-on-one tutoring from native speakers in Guatemala using Skype. I think the price is very reasonable considering you are getting private tutoring and are not in a classroom with other kids. They offer various levels depending on the age of the learner. I recommend signing up for 2 times a week to really work on the speaking/listening aspect. I just looked at Potter School for the twice-a-week Spanish class. I actually think their course price is pretty reasonable (~$646). If you were to buy 60 lessons from HSA, it would cost $546 (about $100 less). Yes, online classes are not cheap, most of them seem to run about $500-$600. You are paying for someone's time and expertise. This is particularly worth it for subjects you are not able to teach yourself, or if your child really needs to discipline and accountability of having someone who is NOT mom teaching them.

My kids started as Pre-K, so I spent WAAAAAY too much time copying, laminating, cutting, etc. all those cute little games and what-not... Then I thought I wanted to do Montessori-style stuff and tried to buy and create all this stuff that my kids did exactly ONE time and then refused to reuse it as it was "supposed" to be used... You would think I would learn from my past patterns but (ahem), I still get way too excited about the latest, greatest thing I'm going to do. This past year I spent too much time trying to create this immersive environment for our ultra-cool American History Adventure. I should have solicited help and ideas from my kids instead of trying to do it all myself (oh, it's the KIDS who are supposed to be doing the work?) I really wanted my kids to make nifty notebooks of all the things they were learning, but they really hate that kind of stuff. I was killing myself to come up with lapbook, cutout things for them to do, and they were like, "Enough, Mom!" I, too, can get caught up in making the "Master Educational Plan" for K-12 and then end up buying curriculum and books too far in advance. When plans change (which they ALWAYS do), I'm left with curriculum that I no longer want. NOT GOOD! It's okay to keep the big picture in mind, but I don't need to implement the entire plan at once, just the current year.

This did NOT work for us. ds9 is a natural speller and is miles ahead of dd10. dd10 struggles with spelling and has a very hard time retaining it. I cannot use SWR as intended for her because doing 20 words a week just ensures that she will learn absolutely nothing and get discouraged. Also, my two kids differ drastically in their ability to do "pencil" work. ds9 HATES using a pencil and struggles with handwriting, even though he is a brilliant speller. dd10 has beautiful, fast handwriting, but just doesn't get spelling. So if I attempted to keep them together, it would be boring to dd10 to wait while dd9 struggles to write the words, and then she would miss 18 out of 20 on the spelling test. So basically, what would be the point for either of them? I think you have to consider if your kids are both at about the same level and can keep up with each other or if it is just going to make you all hate each other. :-) So try it and see if it works, if it does, great, but if not, save yourself the horrible melt-downs and just do it separately.

This is what we are doing, too. This works really well if you are a whole-to-parts kind of person. It also works well if your goal is for READING Latin someday, as opposed to just learning it for the sake of grammar/logic.