Thanks for sharing. Now DD and I will be late to dance class..... :laugh:

Does MM complement Saxon Math? DH has his heart set on Saxon for some reason. Me, I'm not so sure...

Yeah me too! I ordered the 1st grade review book as DD7 is finishing in PS before we start our HS odyssey. DH has his heart set on Saxon Math for some reason, but I want to review the copy the library has before we buy. I will be the one doing the teaching after all!

Whew! I got worried there all of a sudden. That makes total sense!

And I am liking the sound of it. But at one point it states that "the classroom teacher needs 2-3hrs each day to teach spelling, writing, and reading". Is that for real? I am going to need to spend 3 HOURS a day on that?! I also plan on doing WWE, and FLL, so would WRTR be overkill? Help a noob out!

I am SO getting this! I am a new Christian, DH is mostly agnostic and he doesn't want any Bible learning during school time. He wants that to stay at church. So this will be fab for memory work for the kids and me! I didn't appreciate The Bard so much in high school, but to my old 43yr old brain he's a delight!

:lurk5: beginning HS soon and need pointers....

Wow! Reading what some of you have planned for fall I am feeling woefully inadequate. So tell me it's ok? :lol: It is my first year so I probably should go slowly....

Wow! Thanks for all of the responses. To be honest I am not all that sure if DD school works on words during the day, I just know that we work on them at home all week with the test on Friday. And, I don't know if they go over rules and, to be honest, I don't know if I know the rules! LOL! So I think I will give all these spelling programs you all listed the once-over and get maybe the first and second books. After all 5yo DD will need them too! :thumbup1:

Here's us.... 7yo is finishing up 1st grade in the PS then we HS! My plan is keeping it rather casual until I get my sea legs, so to speak. -FFL for the 7yo and the 5yo -WWE Bk 1 for both. -Saxon Math, DH really has his heart set on this so will get Bk 1 -SOTW for history for both girls. And I like the idea of 30min daily out loud reading, I am planning on starting June 17 and do a 6wk on/1wk off kind of schedule, year round. I want to get the hand of this HS thing and then I would eventually like to add in some Latin and music. I am trying to talk DH into getting them into Karate at the local rec center. But if not, we live near a river trail and would take our daily dog walks there.

Thanks one and all for the kind words and encouragement. Part of my decision was the fact that I only see my oldest for an hour a day, four days a week. I think lack of attention/contact with me has led to a lot of her "ADHD" trouble. And it would only get worse. SO- off we go, DH is totally on board and we are excited and ready to go!

and start HS. Here's the thing... DD7 is just finishing up first grade in PS. She hasn't had a spelling test yet she couldn't ace. For example, some of her recent spelling words include toward, coin, boil, because, enough, etc. Where do I start with a spelling curriculum for her?

HAHA! Yes, a few weeks ago when DH and I were first starting to talk about this, I got a copy of WTM from the library. Read it, then promptly orderd my own copy. I am reading it again and going over it with a fine tooth comb and highlighting pertinent sections. I have got both girls a binder and we have started doing some "school" here and there. The 5yr old loves this! I find her math sheets on the internet and she works on them and puts them in her book. The 7yr old recently finished Mr Poppers' Penguins and I made her write some sentences on that. I have been combing the internet for various HS sites for ideas- my Pinterest board is growing exponentially! :laugh: Thanks for the replies and wish me luck!

Good idea! I was kind of thinking along those lines anyway.

Once DD is done with the school year in the PS (June 6), she will officially be a HS student! As well as her 5yr old sister. I have sketched out the HS year, starting later in June I will do 6 weeks on/1 week off kind of a schedule. This sounded manageable to me. I have FLL, and WWE already. DH wants to order Saxon books for math next payday, I also plan on getting SOTW-Ancients and then getting a copy of Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. I have already been in contact with some local HS groups for the "all-important" socialization HS kids "miss out" on by not being in school. Now, my question, Is there any kind of please-hold-my-hand-while-I-do-this kind of first year HS manual that somewhat follows the Classical model? I tried searching, but kept getting sidetracked (didn't find anything on my question anyway).

I am an RN in a cancer hospital recovery room. There can be a bit of downtime between patients, so it is not like working a busy post-op floor. My shift is 3:30pm to midnight, or whenever the OR finishes which is usually about 10-ish. So it isn't too bad. Cutting back would force me to drop insurance, not something I want to do (tho DH has coverage as well). Anyway, stopped by the library and picked up The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, and a Kingfisher History of the World. 5yo DD is about level 35 in the Guide, and the History book is FAB! I also picked up a copy of The Odyssey (for kids) and read the first two chapters to the girls and had them answer questions about what we read. Their comprehension impressed me! We may just start up some notebooks soon and keep it casual, see how the three of us do together :thumbup1:

Yeah, the questionaires that we did- the teacher and I were almost spot on with each other in our assessments of the 7yo. We are currently seeing a pediatric behavioral specialist. I just think a lot of her trouble is the inability to sit still and she is also easily distracted. If I have her at home I can let her sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair, or let her squeeze silly putty while working, stop for a break whenever, etc. Thanks again everyone for your welcome and ideas!

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and replies! The "ADHD diagnosis" involved some questionaires by 7yo teacher/myself. I personally think she is bored at school and therefore acts out. I am really leaning toward doing this. I have a few of the recommended books (SOTW, and can't remember the name of the other) on hold at our library so I can review those. DH wants to review them as well before we decide- he is mostly supportive. Thanks again...

Hi all- I am new to this forum, and tried searching topics but to no avail. I have two girls, 7 and 5. The 7yo is just finishing the 1st grade, 5yo will start K this Sept. We are in a good school district, and so far I have been happy with 7yo teachers/classes. For ex, her current class only has 14 kids, which is almost unheard of in our area. I am thinking about HS starting this fall, here's why... 1) 7yo has recently been tested and found to be "in the clinical range" for ADHD, ODD, and some other impulsive behavior thing. 2) She has been in trouble before for hitting kids in the class. 3) She is one of the oldest kids in the class and that doesn't help. 4) She has a large vocabulary and reads on a late 3rd grade/early 4th grade level. 5) I work four days a week in the evenings and only see 7yo for an hour on those days :thumbdown: I think a lot of her "issues" stems from not enough attention at home (see #5). Since she was born, DH and I have been able to work our schedules to keep the kids out of day care. I am an RN and work evenings. I have the kids in the am, while DH is at work and then he does the evenings. Because of where we live, the 7yo spends 45min TWICE a day on the school bus! It is 4pm by the time she walks in the door. Then poor DH has to try and oversee homework, get dinner going, and get the girls in bed after working a full day himself. I worry about what will happen once 5yo starts school. In the meantime, the 5yo copies the 7yo spelling words and knows the answers to the math flashcards I made for the 7yo, and is really getting good at reading the BOB books from the library. I am worried that she will be bored out of her mind in K. I am halfway through TWTM and it is really resonating with me! SO- Could I do this while working my schedule? How do I hook up with other HS peeps in my area? Should I just send them to school and enjoy the absolute silence in the house? TIA for your time and insight! :001_smile: