I have one working a grade level behind in everything, except math, where is she is 2 levels behind. We use books that do not have grades on them such as MUS, SotW, RSO, IEW, FLL, SpellWell, and ETC. Next year in "6th", we'll add History Odyssey in there to up the challenge for history. I let her be the grade that her age designates not her abilities. We would have a very tough time going back to public school.

We are accidental loopers. lol DD1 is a bit pokey. Yesterday, she did science, German, math, flute, and read. So today she started with what she didn't get to yesterday English and history then she will roll into science, etc... Tomorrow, she will pick up with what didn't get done today. We try really hard to get math and reading done everyday.

We haven't used their Earth Science program, but we are using RSO Physics and really like it. We plan to stick with them through middle school.

We used Math Mammoth for 2nd with a little Life of Fred sprinkled in.

R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey would work great, I think. There is a page or 2 of reading and then an activity to do. It's scheduled for 2 days a week, but you could probably get 2 lessons done in an hour. They are designed for an age range: Life Science and Earth Science for grades 1-4, Chemistry for grades 2-5, and Physics for grades 3-6. We used Magic School Bus for grades 1 & 2, but by 3rd grade, they were saying that it was too young for them. It's the only reason I didn't recommend it.

My 10 yo was taking up to 2ish hours a day. We have switched math curriculum this week to see if presentation is the issue. She's taking chapter tests, right now, to help us find where we need to start lessons. So today was about 15 minutes. My goal for her is 30-45 min, though.

I didn't get to do 1st grade. My yongest was 2nd grade when we started homeschooling. I'll play a yway of that is ok. Math- Math Mammoth Reading- Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading (if needed) Phonics- Explode the Code Spelling- None (start Spellwell in 2nd) Grammar- None (start FLL in 2nd) Writing- Zane-Bloser (add WWE in 2nd) History- Story of the World Science- Magic School Bus books, videos, and science kits

Nope.

Lol. Unfortunately, that would lead down the same path. Why doesn't her sister have to do both?

Dd9 has consistently scored 90% or better on chapter tests in Math Mammoth. Dd10 has consistently scored below 80% on the same tests. I am moving her to MUS to see if this format will work better for her. The issue is that dd9 has seen the books and blocks and wants to do it, too. I really would rather she stayed with MM because it's working for her. How do I explain this to her without saying that her older sister needs remediation? Help!

Nothing. We were reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh as a family, but she opted out. We're starting A Wrinkle in Time Monday so hopefully, she'll stick around for that one.

Dd1 used ck12 Life Science. Dd2 will use RSO Chemistry next year. Dd3 will do it with her so she'll get RSO Earth Science for 6th which should be out by then.

Instead of Shakespeare, how about The Crucible? It's political, and it sure fired up my dd. Her outrage by the whole thing was actually quite entertaining.

I don't have the preschooler experience so not much help there. I do have 2 girls a year apart, though. This is what we do... everything together! Lol. We read books popcorn style and use RSO for science, SotW for history, and IEW for writing. All these accommodate an age range. Their levels are a little different for math, but they do it at the same time. I just float so I'm available for whoever needs me. Grammar, spelling, and phonics we do at the younger grade level because that just works best for us. Unless there is a dramatic difference in their abilities, I'd do everything together. On a good day, we do school from 10-3 with an hour for lunch. On days that they are draggy or difficult, it might stretch to 4 or 4:30. They are in the 4th and 5th grade. We started homeschooling in 2nd/3rd grade.

We are members of a homeschool music coop, which meets once a week, but that's it. Everything else, such as baseball, cross country, archery, etc..., is just regular after school activities. Often we're the only homeschoolers. The girls kind of like it because everyone is jealous that they don't have to go to school. Lol. My youngest has a neighborhood friend who loves to come over when she is out of school to do school with us. She thinks it's fun.

We pulled my dd out of ps after 5th grade for many of the same reasons. A few resources that really worked for us were: Analytical Grammar: Her grammar was AWFUL!! This is meat and potatoes stuff, no fluff, and gets the job done. We used it for 6th-8th, but it can be done quicker if you want. We'll continue to use the review books in High School. The only thing it doesn't have that I wish it did is conjugating verbs. Oxford University Press The World in Ancient Times and The Medieval and Early Modern World: This has been wonderful and interesting. Our literature selection followed our history such as: Epic of Gilgamesh, Hittite Warrior, Black Ships Before Troy, Beowulf, etc... We are pokey so this took us the whole 3 years to complete. We'll do Modern History with History Odyssey in 9th. We used Math Mammoth for 6th grade then moved to AOPS Pre-Algebra. They now have a Math Mammoth 7, and I will use it with my youngest and skip straight to Forrester's Algebra. AOPS just hasn't been good for us. We tried Life of Fred as well, and she liked it but wasn't getting enough out of it to use alone. My middle girl is struggling with Math Mammoth so we are moving to Math-U-See as soon as the books get here. 2 things we discovered late so she didn't get to take full advantage, but I will definitely use with my younger 2, are IEW for writing. I was resistant to it because of it's religious content and because many on the board here says it's too formulaic. I finally buckled after trying other things, and now, wish we had started with it. The other is Real Science Odyssey with Pandia Press. The 6th grade Physics is great, and I have heard good things about the Biology. They have a middle school Earth Science coming out soon, as well.

We used just the text. It wasn't really that much prep. I just used the book we were currently reading as our source. It actually tied our language arts and reading together nicely. Some books we used were Charlotte's Web, Little House in the Big Woods, Trumpet of the Swan, and Cricket in Times Square. We bailed about half through 3rd grade and moved to Writing and Rhetoric, not because there was anything wrong with the text but because we had gotten what we needed from it. My girls made huge improvements with it.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Does WttW actually teach how to write a literary analysis or does it just teach literary terms? Dd14 has done WWS 1 and Figuratively Speaking. Will WttW be redundant or something new? Thanks!

9th Grade: Literature: Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings & Units on Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, A Connecticut Yankee.. from Excellence in Literature Composition: Lively Art of Writing Grammar: Reviews every other week from Analytical Grammar Vocabulary: Vocabulary from Classical Roots 10th Grade (tentative plans): Literature: Excellence in Literature Composition: IEW SICC-B? Grammar: Reviews every other week from Analytical Grammar Vocabulary: Vocabulary from Classical Roots

The books you mentioned, I think, are very appropriate for an 8 year old. Shakespeare is not.. There is a reason that traditionally he has not been taught until High School. There are concepts not to mention vocabulary that an 8 year old is just not ready for... sex, betrayal, murder, suicide, etc... It's pretty adult stuff. I'd stick with Newberry Award Winners if you want quality reading for her, but not necessarily "the classics".

We don't have a first and last day of school. We tend to school all year with breaks here and there as needed. We don't have a beginning or end to the school year, either. We just roll into the next thing when we finish something. I grant grade promotions on the public school schedule for simplicity's sake. I'm trying to figure out how this will work for high school. Dd14 is in the "8th" grade. She has done 2 high school courses this year through GA Virtual School, German and Physical Science. Those are easy to record because they follow the public school calendar. However, we are about to start a medieval literature study which will include LotR, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, A Connecticut Yankee.., and Romeo and Juliet, possibly Macbeth. This along with her composition and grammar studies, I think, deserves a high school credit. Would I just add this to her 9th grade year since we'll finish it sometime in that year? Or give her a 1/2 credit in 8th and a 1/2 credit in 9th? I really don't want to have an August through May schedule and have the stress of meeting those deadlines. I like the more laid back approach for her and for me. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Experience, thoughts, opinions...

Are you talking about GA Virtual School? My daughter is taking Physical Science and German 1 there this year. Yes, it's enough, at least for the classes that she is taking. They provide all materials, except for the occasional lab item, and assessments. All I do is monitor and help with questions now and then. She spends anywhere from 1-2 hours per day on each class.

Yes, I have begun planning 9th grade. Half the time, I plan on public school and the other half homeschool. Lol I'm totally freaking out. This is what I've got so far... Eng. 1: Lit & Comp.- Excellence in Lit Algebra 1- Foerster Biology- CK12 w/ outsourced lab Modern History- History Odyssey German 2- GaVS Band- marching and concert with local coop.