Thanks! I love your actual schedule. I am a former engineer and have a hard time thinking abstractly. ;) So I like how you laid it out. Thanks for jumping in Mandy and for your feedback. Much appreciated. Our sonlight read alouds are just nice literature/'for fun' books. Just to clarify, I'm not using them for history. I just use their literature suggestions as a 'good book list'. :) As I said before, reading aloud at bedtime has been tried many, many, many, many (insert three more 'manys") times. But I've yet to make it work consistently no matter how hard I have tried. At this point, I think I need to find a way to fit those into my day if they are important enough. (And I feel like they are important!) Maybe I need a summer intensive on just phonics / learning to read. (and drop everything else.) THEN, I can add in the other language arts subjects. My question is.... Don't you STILL need children to read aloud to you after they have learned to read? How can you be sure they are comprehending things? Or not skipping passages, etc. ? Or work on helping them decode unfamilar words, etc? Everything I have ever read talks about how important it is to continue listening to your kids read aloud in order to improve fluency, vocabulary, etc. Am I wrong? So even if I get them reading, wouldn't I still need a block of time to listen to them read aloud? As far as bedtime goes, read alouds just don't work then. My DH doesn't get home until close to 6:30PM-7:00PM. So that means we don't have a lot of time before bed to squeeze in everything that we want. By the time we eat as a family, spend time talking to one another, get the food put away, brush teeth, etc. ----read alouds are often skipped. We can make them happen every now and then, but not everyday. I know I COULD do away with eating together as a family, but that is something that we all treasure and would miss. It is a way we reconnect with one another and we have done it since the kids were babies. (They even say things like, "We can't eat without Daddy!") :) I just don't think that bed time read alouds are something I could make work consistently. I've tried asking DH to step up and do that, but it didn't happen consistently. Love your re-arrangement of my schedule and the details. Thank you. Right now, we do some fun stuff for handwriting. We use a slate chalk board to do the 'wet dry try' stuff. ( ) Handwriting doesn't take a full half hour. BUT, I've found blocking out a full half hour helps us keep our paper schedule more realistic. Sometimes 5-10 minutes might be cleaning up supplies, nursing the baby, listening to my son talk about pokemon, changing a diaper, talking about things they want to write some day in cursive, etc. ;)

When I say reading, I mean they are learning how to read. I like your 'relaxed world'---However, don't you think they need to work on reading too in first in second grade? Or, at the very least, don't I need to have them read daily so they can practice this skill? Our sonlight list is NOT history btw. It is just listening to literature read aloud. Sadly, bible during breakfast hasn't been working out very well since our new addition. But that was a good idea! I also like your idea of combining FLL and WWE into one 'subject'. I'm going to look at that and see if I can make it work. OR just make WWE part of our history/science study. Concerning copywork, I pull our copywork sentences from their readers. So they do know how to read and spell all of the words they copy. We use our copywork time to reenforce phonics concepts/spelling rules, basic sentence structure, and capitalization, etc. Thanks for your reply. I have no idea how to cover grammar, cursive handwriting, spelling, copywork, and narration into one 30 minute lesson. Could you give me an idea of what that might look like in real life? that seems like a great idea on paper, but I'm not sure how that would work in implementation. And yes, maybe my day would flow better if I rearranged some things. That is what I'm trying to figure out. I like your idea about doing WWE with our content subjects. That will cut out one of my 30 minute blocks. And perhaps I should have picked curricula they could do independently for school. Just to clarify, our 'formal writing' IS just narration and copywork at this stage. That is basically what WWE is. I'm not doing IEW or something with them. ;) I just gave it the name 'writing' because I am using oral narration as a method of building their ability to take an abstract thought and put it into words. Also, just to clarify, our content subjects and enrichment subjects are covered in a gentle, casual way too. I don't announce, "LET'S DO HISTORY!"---I pull out some books and we read them, discuss them, and make drawings about them. (or do some oral narrations.) And I don't say, "LET'S STUDY ART." We casually look at art and discuss it the way you say you do/did. We also make notebooks for some of our enrichment subjects. I have given these 'subjects' names in order to facilitate conversation about my schedule in the forum...not because we make them something formal at home. That way people have a name to use when describing what we are doing. Does that make more sense?

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply and give me feedback. I want to respond to each of you when I get some more time. But a couple of common things I want to say are.... 1) Cursive Handwriting at this point is JUST learning letter formation. So I can't combine with copywork or spelling, etc. They are doing copywork and spelling in manuscript. I would just skip this subject, but this is something they asked to learn this year. 2) Reading instruction is just phonics/learning to read at this point. Just to clarify, that is what I mean when I say, "reading". I'm not doing some veritas press reading comprehension program or something. Our lesson consists of some direct phonics instruction and practice. Then they read to me from a fluency sheet or reader. That takes me about 20-30 minutes. I also don't see how I can combine this with kids. I feel like this is one subject where they need my individual attention and ability to work at their own speed. They also seem to really need individualized review, etc. 3) Reading durring meals (breakfast, lunch, snack, etc.) - I WISH I could make reading during meals work. That is what I used to do when the kids were younger. However, the baby eats with us now which means he needs a lot of my focused attention. Juggling him and the book was just not working out. I also am nursing full time / working out a lot---so I get REALLY hungry durring the day. I need a 30 minute break where I can eat too or my blood sugar drops which makes for a cranky mama! 4) Not teaching grammar or writing in second grade - I am actually quite surprised that so many of you are telling me I shouldn't be teaching grammar in the early years. (or doing copywork, narration, etc.) Especially since this is what Susan Wise Bauer and the Well Trained Mind seem to explicitly recommend doing, and what I read so many of people stating that you need to do in other threads. I had to double check to make sure I was on the right forum for a second. ;) ;)

I talk to other homeschoolers (and read posts on this forum) where people say they can finish up 2nd grade in 2.5 hours. I am wondering how they do that?! Am I scheduling too much? If so, what can I cut? Are my curricula choices making my day seem so long? If so, what should I change? (Right now I am using something separate for grammar, writing, reading, spelling, and handwriting!) I am hesitant to make changes to our curricula because a) I want to avoid gaps, and b) I don't want to spend additional money since I already purchased stuff. FYI... I have a 7.5 year old, a 6 year old, and a baby who is nearly walking. My 7.5 year old and 6 year old are working together in most subjects. My #1 priority subject this year is getting my two older children reading at grade level and fluently. Right now we are using AAR, but it just seems to be taking forever to get them reading. I feel like they are behind many children their age in reading despite daily, consistent work in the subject. On an IDEAL day my schedule looks like this. We almost always fall behind this ideal schedule and school can sometimes take until 4PM if we get side tracked, take too long on reading/math, take too long switching gears between subjects (putting away materials, giving the baby attention, etc.) 8:00AM*-Cursive Handwriting 8:30AM-Math (Singapore 2A) 9:00AM-Reading with first child (AAR 2) (Other child has snack, plays with baby) 9:30AM-Reading with second child (AAR 2) (Other child has snack, plays with baby) 10:00AM-Grammar (finishing FLL 1 then 2) 10:30AM-Spelling (AAS 2) 11:00AM-History (2 days), Science (2 days), Geography (1 day) 11:30AM-Writing (Copywork, Dictation, Narration using WWE as a guide) 12:00AM-Make Lunch, Eat, Clean Up Kitchen/Family Room 1:00PM-Bible (Bible study for all ages) 1:30PM-Read Aloud (Sonlight list)*** 2:00PM-Enrichment Subjects (Artist Study, Music Appreciations, Nature Study, etc.) 2:30PM-Finished *NOTE 1: Our first problem starts at 8AM typically. I am trying to start earlier so we can finish earlier. BUT On some days my husband doesn't leave for work until 8:30 which gives us a late start. OR, a kid will dawdle with getting dressed, finishing breakfast, etc. So we realistically probably start our day at 8:30AM a lot of the time. **NOTE 2: I know FLL doesn't take a full 30 minutes, but sometimes we go a little longer in reading. (I let the kids finish the story they are reading or something.) OR, we lose time switching between subjects, so scheduling a full 30 minute block helps us not to get too far off track. ***NOTE 3: I've tried moving read alouds to before bed several times. The problem is, my DH usually does bed time with the older kids while I get the baby to sleep. And read alouds just don't get accomplished when he is doing bed time. (He has good intentions, but if I want them to happen I have realized I need to fit them into our day.)

I think that Ambleside picks slightly more challenging books than Sonlight. So maybe (for the readers) pick a grade level down? For read alouds, you probably could start with any list and be all right. (Because you can explain unfamilar terms as you read.) Ambleside tends to use a lot of 'vintage' books available in the public domain---so the language is a bit more antiquated which makes them more challenging for kids to read. (Children might experience a lot of vocabulary or events happening to characters that they are not familiar with. So, that can make them more challenging.) BUT---because many of these books are in the public domain the best way to tell what level you need (for readers) is to just pick a level at random and have your child attempt to read them. If they seem overly challenging, then go a grade level down. As far as listening level...... I love vintage and classic books.....However, I much prefer the sonlight picks to the ambleside books. :) We just enjoy them as a family. Their read aloud list is top notch and has sort of turned me into a book snob. We dont' use sonlight for our history, but we do use them for our read aloud and reader list. Another great website to check out for book picks is Simply Charlotte Mason. (I still like sonlight better than SCM though too.)

I would check out Joy of Handwriting if I were you and see if you like the looks of that. The text is super easy to teach and well laid out. You can't beat the price either. :) They also give you several 'alternate' styles of cursive letters to choose from. http://teachmejoy.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

The workbook REALLY annoyed me. I hate reading small excerpts from books just for the sake of teaching something. It really ruins the book for me...and feels like busy work. (It reminds me of how english was taught in my school.) Lets just read the book from start to finish instead of picking parts to read out of context! :) That's what I say! I would much rather WWE scheduled whole chapters and whole books like barefoot ragamuffin's English lessons through literature. It would make the text feel a lot more 'real' to me if that makes sence. SO--because of that, we use the WWE book instead of the workbook. I find that it is REALLY well laid out, and super easy to use. They have a list detailing what you need cover each week of the year. (Example: One week might have you find sentences that have the word "I" in the middle of it. etc.) I use that list as a 'check list' for myself so I can be sure I don't skip anything. Each time we do copy a sentence that meets the criteria from the list, I put a check mark next to it in my WWE book. After we have 4 check marks next a topic (and the kids can do it in their sleep) I consider it covered. Any other teaching on that particular item is just icing on the cake. (We are using FLL so the grammar in WWE is mostly a review.) I do NOT do not plan what sentence we will use ahead of time. I literally take their book, open it, and find a sentence. It takes me maybe 5 minutes. (As a funny note, every time I have prepped sentences to use, I end up deciding not to use them at the last minute. Sometimes we make things more difficult than it needs to be. It really doesn't have to be complicated. Reading the samples of English Lessons Through Literature has given me the confidence to do this. ) I also understand what you mean about not wanting to make his regular 'read alouds' feel like work. We do narrate back our science and history readings. BUT, our other read alouds are a relaxing, fun thing for our family. I don't want to turn *everything* into writing practice. So, one thing you could do is grab a nice version of Aesop's Fables and read through that. Use that as your narration text. (I personally LOVE this version. It is a very beautiful book.) Work through each of these fables starting with the shorter ones and gradually working up to the longer ones. They are naturally the perfect length for WWE 1 narrations. After your finish the Aesop fable book, I would then move on to a well written collection of Fairy Tales or Beatrix Potter tales. (Or something similar) and have him narrate back those slightly longer stories. Using a collection of short stories would give you what you needed for narration. You don't have to use a *whole* book. You know? Here is how we do it: This week we are working on capitalizing the word "I" in the middle of a sentence. I pull open their AAR reader and skim through until I find a sentence with the word "I" in it. (These are all words they have been taught the spelling rules of. This is important to me because we are also doing dictation. This may not be important to you in this stage of learning.) As a bonus, this particular sentence has some other proper nouns in in it too. We can also review those concepts. Jackpot. I write the sentence on the board without any punctuation or capitalization. The kids take turns finding mistakes and fixing them on the board. (They think this is fun and it helps highlight the grammar we are reviewing. It also gives them some editing skills.) After we 'fix' our sentence, the kids copy the sentence from the board in their best handwriting on some grade level handwriting paper. I watch closely as they do this and fix any mistakes I see them making as they are writing. (I think this is a crucial part of WWE. I do NOT assign this as independent work. The point is to practice writing things correctly. I don't want them to write it incorrectly and then fix it at the end. Very important.) After that we come over to the couch and I read them an Aesop's fable. We are easing into WWE 2 at this point, so I am starting to work on having them pick out the main details of the story instead of just "telling me one thing they can remember." I ask them some basic questions and they answer in complete sentences. First I have them identify the main character and setting. I then ask some leading questions reviewing the story. (Basically *I* identify the main details of the story in my mind, and ask questions which force them to give these details as answers.) If they can't answer any of the questions, I re-read that portion of the fable and ask the same question again. I don't give them the answer. After that, they narrate the story back to me. On Friday's I have them use their narrations as copywork. (At least the first part.)

Thank you so much for your reply. That scope and sequence chart is really helpful.

Hi Everyone, I am having some self-doubt when it comes to teaching writing to my oldest son. I really don't know WHAT I am doing, and WHAT my goals should be for each grade when it comes to writing. My son is 7.5 and in 2nd grade this year. What should he already know? And what do I need to make sure and teach each year? As of right now, he is not attempting any independent writing. If I asked him to write a sentence about something, he would just stare at me blankly. I know that is probably because he hasn't received any direct instruction in that skill! Yet I am not sure when or how I am suppose to teach that skill. We have been following The Well Trained Mind recommendations for teaching writing....yet I am having some self doubt about their program. TWTM plans are so copywork and narration centered in these early grades. Maybe that is OK, and I just don't see the big picture. (???) However I just worry that there is no direct instruction on how to write independent sentences, paragraphs, etc. etc. You know? At one point they say, "Write letters to friends and family once per week"....but how does one even get there? It is almost like they assume that students will just start to write after copying lots and lots of sentences. What if you don't see that happening? Do I just need to be more patient? I guess (in the back of my mind) I feel that WWE might work better as a supplement to another composition program. But perhaps I am just not seeing the big picture in Susan Wise Bauer's plan to teach writing? I don't want to fall into the trap of scheduling TOO much language arts, you know? (Our days already feel longer than most homeschoolers!) But I also don't want important skills to remain untaught. Writing seems very fundamental to a good education. I don't want to screw that up!! I recently purchased the book, "No More I'm Done" based on recommendations to this forum. However I don't know if it is going to work with me either. I feel like it is written towards someone who understand how to teach writing. I am NOT that person. (I am more of a math person and struggle with language and writing myself.) In Summary, I am trying to figure out the following: 1) Is the combination of First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease really enough in these early years? Do I need to provide more direct composition instruction? If so, what should I add? 2) What should my goals be for each year in the early elementary phase? Where should my son be by the start of 3rd grade? 4th grade, etc. (I need help setting goals so I can come up with a plan to get there.) 3) Can anyone provide some long term curriculum recommendations for our language arts? I need a program that is easy to teach and has a lot of 'hand holding' for the parent/teacher. Even if my plans change, I would love to start researching and heading towards some direction. Am I an IEW person? Will I use SWB stuff long term? That type of thing. --------------------------- Like I said, he is in 2nd grade this year. Here is an overview of what we have done to date. We have liked all of these products because they were very easy to teach. K: All About Reading Pre-Level 1 Zaner Blosser K 1st: All About Reading Level 1 All About Spelling Level 1 Zaner Blosser 1 First Language Lessons 1 Writing With Ease 1 (started in second half because the copywork was too difficult for him.) 2nd: (Is this enough????) All About Reading Level 2 then All About Reading Level 3 All About Spelling Level 2 A Reason for Handwriting (Cursive) First Language Lessons 2 Finish WWE 1 then start WWE 2 in second half Future??? 3rd: 4th: 5th: 6th:

I've been looking at English Lessons through Literature for some time! I haven't seen much chat about it on this forum, so I was glad to see your post.

Concerning the vision issue: He recently (last year) had his vision checked by both his pediatrician and a doctor listed on the COVD website. He went through several blocks of vision therapy....(which they said he needed for convergence issues), but we didn't see any improvements in reading. As far as how we review cards: We start the lesson off by reviewing 'old' cards that he has previously mastered from levels 1 and 2. I have a big deck of 'old cards' and cycle through them. I shuffle them, and pull out ten cards at random. He then reads them. if he can read them automatically they get put a the bottom of the deck. (That way I can make sure we review every card eventually.) If he can't read them automatically, we work on them until he can. He reads most of these 'old' cards automatically by the way. Occasionally we find one that he stumbles on so we work on that. (Long story short, he is not memorizing them.) For the new cards (the ones that go with our current lesson or ones that he hasn't been able to master from recent previous lessons) I have him work on those every day until he can get them. I shuffle them every day. For the fluency sheet, I REALLY spread those out. We don't do those in one sitting. (Maybe we should??) First we do the new words section. The next day we do the phrases. And the next day we do the sentences, etc. etc. After we read a part of the fuency sheet, we just play games to review the new words some more. Or we re-read a story that has been previously read. I have been wondering if I should encourage him to try to read more of the fluency sheet in a single sitting to help increase stamina....or to perhaps see the words more often in a single sitting to help him not have to sound each one out. I NEVER know when I am not pushing hard enough and when I am pushing too hard....you know? I really HOPE so!!! :) :)

We are using SOTW, and will also use a separate geography program. We like the "Visits To" series from Simply Charlotte Mason. http://simplycharlottemason.com/store/visits-to-geography-series/ There are 36 lessons in each series. SO, you can do a continent per year, or do more lessons to get through it more quickly. Each lesson is very straightforward and easy to teach. I also really like the book picks that they use. We are using the Visits to North America with our ancient program. I know those don't relate, but it has worked just fine. ;)

Thanks for your reply! We have gone through all of the level 1 word cards three times now and they are very fluent in those words. They can also read every single level 1 story very fluently. We have read each level 1 story about 5 times now....so I think they have lots of practice in those and can read them very fluently too. For level 2, we also practice those word cards a lot. It takes a painstakingly long time for them to become mastered. UGH... I don't file them behind the mastered index card until they can read them automatically and without hesitation. (THEN, We also start off each lesson reviewing 10 previously mastered cards. I just cycle through all of the level 1 cards and then level 2 to review. And, if they struggle with any of the previously mastered word cards, I keep those out for review too the next day until they can read them automatically. ) HOWEVER (despite all of that review) they often struggle with previously mastered words when reading the story or on the phrases section of the fluency sheets. This makes the story very, very, very hard for them. Because the stories are so hard, we just keep reading them over and over again until they start to sound more fluent. However, my child is unable to answer any of the comprehension questions until about the fourth time reading through the story. I guess I am not sure if it is a good thing to read the stories this much. I know that it is helping them read these particular stories better, but I am not sure if it is helpful to learning to read over all. I'm also not sure if it is OK to do the comprehension questions after they have read the story several times. Should they be able to answer them the first time they read the story??

I just wanted to take a quick, informal poll.... How many days (on average) do you typically have to practice the word cards before they become 'mastered'? I've just been feeling frustrated with the lack of progress my children are making in reading. We work at it EVERY day...but it still seems like they are so behind other kids. I know I shouldn't compare...but man, oh man! Also, does anyone else feel that there is a HUGE step up in difficulty in the level 2 readers? Every single one has been frustratingly difficult for my child until about the 5th time we have read it! (And by that time, I worry that they almost have it memorized and that is why it is becoming easier.) We just finished the story "Broken Robot" (in the first book of AAR 2)----and it nearly broke me! Yikes! I keep waiting for that moment when reading clicks in their head.

How do you work through the mental math exercises in the Singapore home instructor's guide? Also, I could have sworn I saw some printable flash cards or something for these mental math questions. Has anyone else seen these? And if so, could you please send me the link? Thanks!

My advice is to better prioritize your subjects for each child. Academically, what are THE most important subjects that you need to get done each day? I know everything is important, but what subjects can you not afford to fall behind on for each child? Also, what are your biggest priorities for the year with each child? I would actually take your schedule above and list everything out (even the fun stuff) and rate everything with a priority status. (Pick a # 1 subject, pick a #2 subject, etc. etc.) Then I would actually write down your main goals for each child. This way you are more aware of them and your academic priorities. Chores are important. And Circle time sounds really fun. BUT, if you start your day off with history, read aloud, french, composer study and memory work---and then run out of time for reading and math....what happens? Nothing good. So what I would do is come up with a schedule that knocks the top priority subjects out first. Start earlier in the day if you have to. Then just get those top priority things done and checked off. While you are working with one child, assign things for the other children to do independently. (Perhaps they do their chores then. Perhaps they are assigned doing something with the 5 year old. Or silent reading, etc.) THEN, when and if you get your priority subjects knocked out, move on to the rest of the fun stuff you have planned. (Maybe save circle time for after lunch....or after the other school is finished.) Another thing to think about is ALL of the cores you have going on there in your content subjects. I am a former sonlight user, so when I look at your list I am thinking...."Man! No wonder she isn't getting it all done!" The thing to consider is that these books (and cores even!) appeal to a wide range of ages. I would personally try to streamline your content subjects a bit. Your kids are not spread all that far apart in ages. So I really think you might be able to better streamline your content subjects. For example: for read alouds, I would pick TWO books each day and read them to everyone. Start with one that will appeal to a slightly younger audience. (One that the 5 & 7 year old will like to listen to. For example "Milly Molly Mandy" or "Mr. Popper's Penguins") THEN, read one that might appeal to a slightly older audience. (Perhaps something from Core D or Core C. OR...better yet, just allow the 9 year old to listen to Mr. Popper's Penguins. She will enjoy that too!) For history, I would just want to study ONE historic time period per year. Read a core book, then add in any age appropriate books from the library each day. That may mean you aren't checking EVERYTHING off from EVERY core...but they will be getting a nice history study. You currently have world cultures going on in preschool, world history going on in first grade, and then american history going on with your 9 year old. That is a lot! And I can't really see a justification for it. (Maybe there is one, but that is just one way I can see to add some efficiency into your day.) For bible, figure out a way to do that as a family. Etc. etc. ----- for the practicalities of getting the priority subjects done before school....make a three column list and figure out a way to best use yourself as a resource. Figure out what you want each child doing while you are working with one child. For example, you may start your day off working with your 5 year old in phonics. While you do that, your 7 & 9 year old may be doing any number of things from that list. (They could do their chores THEN instead of together before school starts. They could do a math page. They might do some silent reading or writing, etc. etc.) After that perhaps you move on with the 7 year old. The 5 year old and the 9 year old would then be working on something. You might have the 9 year old read a picture book or play a game with the 5 year old. Or you might have the 9 year old help train the 5 year old in some new chore, etc. etc.) After that, time to give the 9 year old some attention while the 7 year old and 5 year old work together on something. another practical consideration is the idea of a make up day. No matter how well you plan and how efficeient you are, there are going to be busy weeks when you can't get everything done. Instead of letting those weeks be your downfall, PLAN FOR THEM! We plan a 4 day per week schedule. If I don't get everything done, the 5th day becomes a make up day. We also only do school for 5 weeks at a time year round. If I fall behind, I have that 6th week as a make up week.

Thanks for your reply. That is good to know what lies in store. So when you were doing the lower levels did you write several sentences each day in addition to the new words? And did you do it before or after you practice words? Thanks again!

My children are younger, so feel free to disregard my reply. BUT I was just listening to a lecture by Susan Wise Bauer on teaching writing in the Elementary years. According to her, it is perfectly normal for the various language skills used in writing to remain 'isolated' in a child's head and not carry over when doing other tasks. In fact, that is why she recommends practicing the various skills needed to write in isolation before attempting to combine them. That way they can work on thinking about and mastering one thing at a time. (She does a much better job of explaining it than I do.) So in other words, say a child is attempting to write their thoughts down on paper in science class. It takes SO MUCH brain power for them to 1) take an abstract idea and put the idea into words, and 2) arrange those words in a way that expresses them in complete sentences, and 3) put those complete sentences down on paper (the physical act of writing)....that they sometimes forget skills that they are able to show mastery in isolation like grammar, punctuation, spelling, handwriting, etc. etc. etc. SO--what I would do is try watching your child as they write (if possible) and if you notice a word is misspelled that they should know...then perhaps stopping them and helping them fix it. That way they get lots of practice seeing and printing the word correctly. OR, perhaps go through and show the child how to edit their own writing and make changes if you can't watch them while they write.

I have a question for those of you using AAS with your children. (We are currently on Level 2.) I notice that the teacher's manual always says, "Dictate Several Sentences every day." But-- it also says that under phrases. (Dictate several phrases every day.") That seems to imply that we should do a few phrases AND sentences every day...right? So,my first question is.... Do you really dictate phrases and sentences every day like the teacher's manual says? And if so---do you do this before or after you practice the new words for the step you are on? It always messes with my head since the phrases and sentences are at the end of the lesson. My second question is.... Does doing the AAS phrase dictation confuse your early elementary students when it comes to punctuation and capitalization. We have worked very hard on developing the habit to capitalize the first word of a sentence and add punctuation to the end. They are not the best at identify complete sentences....so it seems like the phrases really confuse the kids. Should I just think up a way to make them complete sentences? Am I the only one who has ever had this problem?

My son is about 7.5 years old. (birthday in late November.) He really struggles with the physical act of writing. I am thinking that we need to work on building up his hand endurance this year. But I don't know how much writing is appropriate to expect. Right now I have to act like scribe for the majority of the time. How can I start encouraging him to do some of his own writing? Can you tell me what you have your 7.5 year old do on a typical day when it comes to writing (anything) by hand? I would love specifics! :) Right now this is *everything* he writes by hand in a day: -one singapore math workbook page -one handwriting page (very short. using ARFH) -10 spelling words per day written (new All About Spelling words), sometimes one sentence dictated per day -one sentence for copy-work - using guidelines in WWE 1 Am I doing enough? I act as scribe for his narrations. (He narrates read aloud, science, and history). I also have to act as scribe when he does lab reports and other things that require writing. I would eventually like to lead him to writing simple sentences independently. And doing more with dictation sentences and review words in spelling. So I am trying to come up with a plan this year. Thanks!

My husband was/is the oldest and his family---and he is very adamant that the OLDEST should always get first pick and the biggest bedroom. Personally, I feel like that is really unfair and completely disagree with him! (I am the only child---so I don't have any direct experience with this. I just feel like it isn't fair for the middle/youngest children.) Why should they always get the smallest or least just because of their birth order? I personally think that the room should be picked based on the needs of the children....not based on age. SO---say for example you have a daughter who has a ton of clothes, she should get the room that has the most clothes storage possibilities. OR---if you have a child who likes to draw, maybe they should get the room with the most light or room for a desk. If you can't see any needs that can be met with the rooms, than I personally think that the rooms should be divided based on drawing straws or something like that.

Hi Everyone, I have two older children (7 and 6) and one baby (8 months). The baby is crawling and cruising around. (Pulling up to standing and trying to 'walk' around the room that way.) I am having problems thinking up ways to babyproof our homeschool room. It is hard to keep the older kids organized and have their supplies accessible---but at the same time keep the baby safe and out of trouble. Any solutions I have thought up have meant that it takes us lots of time in between subjects to drag everything out, and put away. I know that as the baby gets older things are only going to get harder....so I am looking for some good babyproof organization ideas. :) I would especially love to see some pictures if any bloggers are reading this! :) NOTE: I know I could just gate off the homeschool room, but the baby really wants to be with us of course. He is also not content to be in a play pen or something while we do school. And I know he really won't want to be in a play pen when he starts walking! So I feel like the only solution is to make it so he can crawl/walk around in our room safely. Our current organization setup: We currently utilize lots of notebooks for all of our subjects. We have a copywork notebook, a history notebook, an artist study notebook, a spelling notebook, etc. etc. We also have workbooks for other subjects like math and handwriting. Currently we have all of those workbooks/notebooks in rolling scrapbooking drawers like this. BUT the baby keeps trying to pull up on those drawers to standing. (They are NOT safe or stable when he does this.) I tried having the kids keep their notebooks in a basket on some shelves, but the notebook covers were getting all messed up as the kids crammed their books in their baskets after every subject. Plus, the baby got the baskets out and tried to eat their school work. (The older kids thought this was hilarious!) Perhaps there is some better solution I am just not thinking up? I also need a way to keep things like pencils, markers, glue, and scissors accessible to the older kids but also off limits to the baby. Any good organizational ideas on how to do this? How do people with kids in multiple age ranges store things like this? And how to do you allow the older kids to be somewhat independent, but still keep the baby safe? ETA: I forgot to say that one of my goals is to not just make things safe for the baby, but also create a room that is conducive to entertaining the baby. So if you have accomplished that in your own home, I would love some ideas. :) Thanks!

Our day looks like this: (ETA: We had an older first grader this year. My son was 6.5-7 this year. Along with a younger first grade girl who was 5 turning 6. She is a bit more advanced than her brother, so they are easily combined academically.) 8:00AM Breakfast 8:30AM Bible / Memory Verse 9:00AM Math (RightStart or Singapore) 9:30AM Reading (AAR) with First Child (Other child does handwriting, Reflex Math, gets a snack, and takes a short break) 10:00AM Reading (AAR) with Second Child (Other child does handwriting, Reflex math, gets a snack, and takes a short break) 10:30AM Grammar (FLL) 10:45AM Read Aloud (Our 'for fun' read aloud) 11:15AM Copywork or Narration (WWE) based on read aloud 11:30AM Spelling and Dictation (AAS) 12:00PM Lunch / Play On days we don't have a field trip, we do our content subjects after lunch. Otherwise we just spend this time getting ready to leave the house. (cleaning, etc.) But when we are home, we do this.... 1:00PM Memory Work (we use some classical conversation stuff for this. Review science, history timeline, bible verses, grammar stuff, etc.) 1:15PM Science or History starts (using Elemental or SOTW) 2:00PM - 2:30PM Finished with School

We don't open presents at parties sometimes. Sometimes it goes over BETTER because the kids have short attention spans. Just make sure and write thank you notes and I think you will be fine! :)

OK, we eat a lot of produce and have a garden...so maybe a worm composter might not be a good fit. (I was thinking the kids might think the worms were neat.) We do live in the city, so we need something small-ish and something that won't smell.