Have you checked out Scholaric.com? I don't think this website gets the attention it deserves. It looks a little archaic but it is amazing. I think you can get a trial and the monthly fee is cheap. Also, I have made me own lesson planner that has space for 3 children for each subject (I also have it for 1 and 2 kids). I just took it to be bound yesterday and I am thrilled with it. I plan on jotting down my plans in this and then plugging them into Scholaric. I know it seems like double work, but I am not a computer planning kind of gal. I like the plans in front of me during the day, not running to the computer.

We are using both this year. We will do 4 days of MUS and then LOF on Friday. Not sure how this is going to work, but that's the plan.

My youngest is 5 and will be doing kinder this year. She loves to be read to and can read some. I did a bit of Hooked On Phonics with her last year. I am wondering if I should just stick with HOP, since I have all 5 levels (the old school kit with cassette tapes!) I was also looking at All About Spelling and All About Reading. But then I was wondering if doing both was overkill. Any insight? Heather

My youngest is 5 and will be doing kinder this year. She loves to be read to and can read some. I did a bit of Hooked On Phonics with her last year. I am wondering if I should just stick with HOP, since I have all 5 levels (the old school kit with cassette tapes!) I was also looking at All About Spelling and All About Reading. But then I was wondering if doing both was overkill. Any insight? Heather

Thank you so much. I will look at Deconstructing Penguins and Moving Beyond the Page.

I mean whole books. This past year we read novels together, taking turns reading pages/paragraphs. We read books like Charlotte's Web, The Cricket in Times Square, Bridge to Terabithia, etc. They really enjoyed reading time. I want to continue this but I also don't know if the notebooking idea is enough. I used to teach 5th grade and did novel studies all the time. I don't know if I want to get that intense, but certainly like the idea of your graphic organizers.

Next year I will have a kinder, 3rd and 5th grader. I do science and history together. So far, I have pretty much everything figured out. But here is my dilemma. First of all, let me start by saying that this will be our 3rd year of homeschooling but our first year of being classical homeschoolers. We are using WWE and FLL. Of course, there will be real books with science and history, but I was wondering if anyone has added a literature program to this mix. My kids LOVE to read and really love when we all read a book together. Thank you for any advice. I love this forum! HEATHER

It's just hard for me to tell if TT was a bomb because (1) it was spiral or wasn't spiral enough (2) moved too slow OR (3) was on computer. Math Mammoth is mastery, correct? I think that might be something worth working on over the summer to see if it's a good fit without making too huge of an investment. Thank you!

Thank you! I am not necessarily looking for mastery. Since TT isn't really mastery, I just can't tell why it didn't work. Last year we used Modern Curriculum Press which is more mastery. I think it worked better than TT but I am not sure. My oldest doesn't like math but he is good at it when he doesn't rush. My 2nd grader is very good at math but TT is making her hate it. Ugh.

In this day and age, I can certainly understand doing this for security reasons. But I honestly don't think it is for that reason.

This is EXACTLY what I was thinking! Heather

Hi Everyone- I am new to the forum and I have my first question ready to go. This year we used Teaching Textbooks (TT). My son (10/4th grade) used TT4. My daughter (8/2nd grade) used TT3. I also have a DD that is nearly 5 and doing Math U See K that we got free to review. I am not sure we like this either. Man, I am picky. THEY HATED IT! When we began, they thought it was kind of fun to do math on the computer. I always sat with them while they did their lesson so that I could see what they were doing and identify any issues that might need more work. But around Christmas time, they started to hate it. I don't know if they've truly learned anything. We won't be sticking with TT next year. I know many consider TT to be mastery but I disagree. I was a teacher and used several mastery programs that weren't as scattered as this. My question is: where do I go from here? I am looking at Saxon. I want my kids to have a very solid foundation in math. And with my oldest entering 5th grade, I feel like my time is running out to build that foundation. Thank you for any help you have about what worked for you. I am open to suggestions. Heather

Thank you! This is very helpful. I think what would be great is that when people write a post, they state the full title the first time they mention it in the post. Then after that, they can use the acronym. Does that make sense?

Hi Everyone- My name is Heather and I have 3 kids (10.5, 8 and 5). We are native Texans trying to make our way in California. It has been a fun but challenging experience getting used to living here. I kind of thought we might be classical homeschoolers but the deal was solidified when I read TWTM. I am a former teacher with 2 degrees in education. After my children started public school, my eyes were totally opened to things I hadn't realized when I was teaching. We are now wrapping up our 2nd full year of homeschooling! I was referred to this forum by other moms at The Homeschool Lounge and the TOS Review Crew. I am so thrilled to be here. I feel like I've found my people. Heather

I was wondering the same thing. I guess I will have to post more too.

History Odyssey by Pandia Press uses SOTW 4. Heather