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.

Math: LoF & Math Mammoth (4 days/week) Logic: Building Critical Thinking Book 2 (1 day/week) Science: Earth Science using Intellego Units, various books/videos, maybe some CK-12 (2 days/week) Spelling: SWR (maybe changing to Sequential Spelling, she is struggling here) (4 days/week) Writing: CW Homer (part B ), CW Poetry for Beginners (part B ) (4 days/week) Grammar: KISS 3.2 & 4, MCT Grammar Town for variety (2 days/week) Vocabulary: CE 1 (2 days/week) Literature: good books mostly related to 20th century, mix of read-aloud and ind. reading (daily) Latin: Lingua Latina: Familia Romana chp. 9-16 (4 days/week) Spanish: Homeschool Spanish Academy (online) (2 days online/2 days offline) History: 20th Century using Intellego Units, SOTW vol. 4, History of US, various books/videos (2 days/week) Geography: Atlas of the World (Parragon), World Geography (McDonald), puzzle maps (1 day/week) Music: Classics for Kids (website) focus on 20th Century, Listen to Learn (1 day/week) Art: Art with the Great artists (focus on 20th Century), Art for Kids: Drawing (1 day/week) Theology: Old Story New, Bible (daily) Study Skills: Learning to Learn (maybe do it in the summer, 1 day/week) When I list it all out it looks like a ton! But really, many of these things are once or twice a week and combined with other things. Our "humanities" is a mix of history, geography, literature, music, art. Our STEM is math/logic and science. LAs are combined spell/grammar/vocab and writing. Foreign languages are separate.

My daughter has also been studying Marine Biology this spring. We used an online Marine Biology class at CurrClick. This summer there are two session being offered which meet on Tuesdays for an hour. One is June/July and the other is July. My daughter enjoyed the classes this spring so much that she asked to sign up for these sessions during the summer. Here is a link to the first one: http://www.currclick.com/product/89454/Marine-Biology-eWorkshop-June-July-2014--Mandarin-Fish-Hermit-Crabs--the-Quee

Yes we use multiple curricula, because different math programs approach things differently. We have mostly been working our way through LoF elementary/intermediate. But my son, who is 3rd grade is not ready to push on into intermediate and pre-algebra, so he is detouring this year into Beast Academy mixed with various games, logic books and other things of interest. Next year will probably be more of the same, though I may have him work through some Math Mammoth, too. My daughter who is 5th sailed through LoF intermediate, but stalled out in Fractions. There just isn't enough straightforward explanation and practice for her to get it. So I have been using Math Mammoth to explain and practice, then she moves onward in LoF (because she loves the story so much). I suspect as we head toward Pre-Algebra next year, we will continue with LoF for the fun factor, but also use some other programs: Math Mammoth as long as it lasts, maybe Jousting Armadillos, maybe AoPS pre-algebra.....

This is a great question! Many of the things you are doing are on my radar as well: focus on Ancients, CW, KISS. I do the writing and grammar with my oldest, as we work through it together, I am learning a ton. I should probably also do the writing projects for myself. We are at KISS 3.2--I can't believe how much I have learned! I knew the basic parts of speech and S/V/C pattern, but I have learned so much about phrases and clauses--really I guess this is what I would call grammar at the sentence level. Also working on Latin with my oldest, we do Lingua Latina together. I have gone through Wheelock in the past, but I am enjoying Lingua Latina so much more. I am also trying to take the plunge with learning Greek. Am working through A Greek Hupogrammon to really nail down the alphabet and pronunciation. Am hoping to work my way to learning Attic Greek. Ancients History/Literature: I have the books to do Omnibus I, though I will probably substitute some of the books (I'd like a different flavor for my theology books). Will use SWB's Ancients book and am also looking at using Classical Historian stuff for some critical thinking/writing. Also have Spielvogel for history. Great Books: I'll be doing Abigail Adams Academy Colloquium next year (leading some of the book discussions)--you can see the booklist here: http://www.abigailadamsacademy.com/abigail-adams-colloquium1.html . Love, love, love the discussion with others, and having a schedule helps me stay on track and read books I might not choose otherwise. Economics/Gov: reading through the Uncle Eric books for a basic understanding. Also using Hillsdale College's free online series on US Constitution (2 levels--see more here https://online.hillsdale.edu/) and various lectures/materials from Mises.org for Economics. And of course I'd like to do something with Spanish, Logic, and Worldview and....... well, I probably have WAAAAY to much on my plate, but I do keep making the rounds on these things! Wow! Love this list, I'll have to do some browsing at Amazon now.....

OP asked for non-negotiables that are not part of the "standard" curriculum. Hmmm....since my kids have never been in ps, I'm not sure I know exactly what the standard curriculum IS. But based on what I think I know: cursive handwriting: you just have to be able to write quickly for notetaking, jotting stuff down, filling out forms, signing your name, etc. There is not always a computer handy and certainly not a printer. Spanish: I realize foreign languages are sort of standard, but my purpose here is to be able to think and converse in a second language from an early age. Spanish is practical if you live in the US, especially in big cities and certain regions. Learning a 2nd language helps you think in different ways because like it or not, language does shape your thinking. The world is a big place, and I'd like my kids to not be so anglo-centric that they can't appreciate other cultures. Latin: for so many reasons like vocabulary, grammar, logical thinking, easy access to other Latin-based modern languages Good & Great Literature: it seems sad to think this is not really part of the "standard" curriculum anymore, but I think it is important to read widely and deeply from the best that has been written. It helps you grapple with big ideas, look at things from different perspectives, think about what you REALLY believe, improve your vocabulary, improve your logic, improve your critical thinking, etc. In addition, I think that it is critical that there be much DISCUSSION about these books, the more the better (and some writing about it wouldn't hurt either!). How to Lie with Statistics (a book): really this is about thinking and understanding what other people's agendas are. It's about sloppy thinking, and a whole host of things that come with it. I'd like my kids to not be easily duped, to be able to challenge "scientific" data, to understand what statistics (and other sorts of data) can tell you, and what it can't tell you. I'm not saying all of these things are covered in this one book, but it represents something I think is important. Basic Adult Life Skills: all those things you should be able to do so you can stay alive and thrive as an adult. There are a lot of things that people need to know that really don't get covered in a typical school (and not that I'm saying they should particularly), but so many kids have no idea how to do many of these things because NO ONE ever teaches them these skills. Some examples: Cooking for healthy living, cleaning and organizing, personal finance, driving, negotiating the world of official forms and red tape, all those things you didn't know about owning a car or renting an apartment, savvy shopping, time management, study skills, child care, how to have a good marriage, basic repairs, etc.

We have been on the emotional roller coaster for the few months--gads! I am so looking forward to coming out the other side where things will be more predictable. She has always been emotional, but we have had so many meltdowns this year--my parenting patience has worn thin.

You poor thing! You have my sympathies. I swear I never spent so much time CUTTING THINGS OUT as I did when my two were pre-K/K-ish. And coloring.....and laminating...... and the bins. full. of. stuff. And checking out the HUGE pile of picture books for reading out loud....again and again and again..... And don't even get me started on playing the junior level games--I have never been so bored in my life playing those board games for kids! It was great then, but I am soooooo happy I have passed all that stuff on to someone else.

My son and daughter have both enjoyed this (along with Scratch). This would totally be do-able for a summer project. I'll just speak for myself since mostly what my kids like is our read-alouds. I liked using Lingua Latina for our first venture into learning Latin. For some reason this just really works for us as opposed to most of the grammar-oriented programs. Side note: I personally went through Wheelock a few years ago, and I am enjoying this so much more. KISS grammar is awesome (though my kids still moan about grammar)--I can't believe how much I have learned about grammar. Best of all, it is free! http://www.kissgrammar.org/ Spanish was good using online tutoring at http://spanish.academy/ Native speakers teaching my two kids, 'nuff said. My son enjoyed our own pulled-together science program on biome biology, which used books and videos from the library, worksheets from various websites, a making model biomes.

This is pretty much my take on forum vs. real life. I am truly amazed at how many homeschoolers you have in your area! I live in Boston, and let me tell you, it is a bit of a desert. For all the focus people have on higher education in this city, you would think homeschooling would be more popular. I guess most families in large cities have two working parents, so homeschooling isn't an option. My experience in the big city is that people don't homeschool. If I go west to the suburbs and smaller towns, there are tons more homeschoolers! So the bottom line for me is I just don't know very many homeschoolers, and the ones I do know are mostly not aiming for the level of education that I am aiming for. I am so happy there are forums for me to read and lurk on because I would never get this level of input and experience from the few people I do know. I think this is very true. Most of the people I know who homeschool are not so inclined to do as much research. For me, not only do I homeschool as a "vocation", but it is also my "avocation" so I spend plenty of time reading, researching, and thinking about homeschooling because I just love it!

Fablehaven series (5) and Beyonders (3) by Brandon Mull Series (5) by Susan Cooper (starts with Over Sea, Under Stone) The Great Brain series (5 or 6) by John Fitzgerald Books by Gary Paulsen (Hatchet, etc.) Books by Madeleine L'Engle (Wind in the Door, etc.) Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Adventures of Tom Sawyer (and other Tom Sawyer books) Phantom Tollbooth, Where the Red Fern Grows, Summer of the Monkeys