I had a lot of plans at the beginning of this year. Then Lego League took over our entire fall and we didn't complete any of them. We spent Christmas Break kind of recovering and half of January fighting illness. The only thing I have had DD do with any consistency is read a book that is at her level for at least a half hour each day. DD's school decided to do the Pizza Hut program, and another, this year, so I opted to table my custom-made program until next fall. She chose to participate in a local spelling bee in January and advanced to the regional spelling bee (mid-Feb), so we've been going over the 800 words on the word list for the past couple of months. Other than that, we just play lots of board games at home; some promote deep thinking, strategy, etc. Others are just for fun. Last week, I picked up all the levels of Vocabulary from Classical Roots. I plan to start with the first one (Level 4) this month and just work my way through them (one per semester) until DD is finished with Level B (8th grade book) at the end of 8th grade. Then she can do Levels C-E during 9th, 10th, and 11th grade. It looks like a gentle program, one we can add in for 15 minutes per day, and should reap benefits when it's time for DD to take the SATs and ACTs.

my2boysteacher, I know that this is an old post, but I was doing a search for Homeschool Classes in the DesMoines area and found a group called Connect for 9th-12th grade. I wondered if you had learned about it since moving to Des Moines, and if you had joined it, what your experiences have been. If you found something else/different that your family is a part of, would you be willing to share some information about that group and what your experience has been with it. Thanks! (The same Google search led me to this post.)

I have less ambitious plans this year in the area of afterschooling. DD is starting a combined 6th-7th-8th grade and I think that the academic load is going to get much more intense than it's been for her before. We have done a gentle introduction to Latin this summer (through Song School Latin, which is way below grade level, but easy to slide in for 10 min-day). As soon as we're finished with that, I am going to order Latin for Children.Hoping to be finished with their first year by the end of next summer so that she can start the second year on track with the start of school next fall. She'll use Khan Academy to review and reinforce math concepts. I may also need to order some workbooks to help focus on specific topics; we'll see how it goes. I want to keep up the reading momentum she's built this summer. The library's summer reading program did a great job in challenging her to read books from different genres and read consistently every day. Each year, the school has offered the Pizza Hut reading program, but that stopped in 5th grade. Therefore, I am going to design my own reading incentive program for the school year, similar in requirements to the summer library program. We will be incorporating some specific books from the Ambleside Online site and another Charlotte Mason education website. I will also include poetry and memorization of documents/speeches.etc from History, such as the Gettysburg Address. Of course, she will also be able to choose a few books on her own each month, just to read for fun. I am only at the starting stages of putting that together, but DD is very excited about it! I will pick 9 incentives (dinner out at the pizza place, or mini-golf or a movie at the theater) and she can choose one to do each month that she completes her "Challenges". Other than that, we're going to start cooking dinner together two nights a week and add 4H and First Lego League Robotics. (SKL, thanks for the cookbook recommendations earlier in this thread!) She already has piano lessons, swim lessons, and AWANA. It feels like a lot now that I'm seeing it written down.

I used to homeschool my DD, but when my marriage suddenly ended, I needed to work full-time outside the home. Therefore, she needed to go to school during the day. I have been grateful to find small, private schools and most of her teachers have been very good. We have had to supplement with math from time-to-time over the years, but the rest of my afterschooling has been focused on enrichment. When DD was first born, my ex-husband said there's no way he would ever be OK with homeschooling. As she got closer to school age, though, he ended up having a change of heart. He didn't watch much to do with participating in the process, but we did both agree that it was best for her. DD's current school only goes through 8th grade, and I am seriously considering homeschooling and dual enrollment through the local community college during the high school years. (I can flex my work schedule to 4 10-hr days at that point if I want, and we live close to family now who could help if need be.) My ex is aware and hasn't indicated any objections to the idea.

I have done this as well. We homeschooled up through the end of 1st grade, and starting in 2nd grade, DD began attend a Classical Christian school. Overall, her school subjects are challenging and very well taught, except for math. We have supplemented with Math U See at home over the summers as well as played board games and covered some new materials during the school year that she struggled with topics/I needed to teach topics that their computer program seemed to skip altogether. We also snuggle on the couch and enjoy quality children's literature (as read-alouds) in the evenings at home (a few chapters a night, so we make it through 8-10 books a year). I taught her cursive at home. This summer she asked if she could start learning Latin, so after a recommendation from a homeschooling friend, we started a gentle program that we will continue even after school starts in the coming weeks. Like other moms have mentioned, I try to keep the lessons short and some of the methods a little more relaxing/fun -- and do a little more on the weekends than during the school week -- because school days are already long enough. I work long hours and want DD to just have some time at home for unstructured play, or to have opportunities for us to just talk and spend time together.

If I get to stay home on the snow day, too, we take advantage of the time at home together. Typically, we read books to one another, play a lot of board games, make banana break/a batch of cookies, and watch a movie (along with cleaning/organizing, etc.). There is a lot of math built into the board games (keeping score, being the banker, etc.) and baking. However, we don't do any no worksheets or formal "schooling".

DD didn't have anything mandatory assigned. She can log in to her online math program at home, though, so we have been keeping up with that at the math instructor's suggestion, and she has also been doing some reading and some handwriting. Other than that, I've just tried to let her enjoy down time and be a kid. Honestly, I would probably balk at an assignment like the one you describe. If we were home much, I would do it. If not, I wouldn't bother, and would send an e-mail over the break to the teacher telling her why.

newbieoftwo, Congratulations on your son getting into a great school! :-) My daughter attends a private school that uses the classical model and it is like night and day compared to her traditional public school experience. The teaching is individualized and they have kids working at their full potential. Now that I have seen what this is like, I can't imagine going back! In many states, younger siblings have priority in the charter school once the oldest is in. You may want to look into that. I'm sure it would be wonderful for them to both be there! :-)

I wanted to reply and encourage you as you go through this transition, but I am afraid I don't have answers to your specific questions. In the spring, my then 6-year old DD transitioned from homeschooling (preschool, K, half of first grade) to public schooling. It was drastically different in both teaching style and content. (I had used a a blend of CM and Ruth Beechick approaches in homeschooling. We used Memoria Press copybooks for handwriting.) DD did alright with the social transition, but she was bored, academically. I found myself answering a lot of questions about why she had to do the busywork, and how this connected to that, etc. Silently, I agreed with her about the futility of it all, but we didn't have a choice about this transition (marital separation, me working full-time outside the home), so I explained that we had to make the best of it and I supplemented at home when time allowed. A few weeks into school this fall, I was offered a new position in a small town about an hour away, one that has a private Christian school that embraces the philosophy of a Biblical, Classical education. The kids have the basic disciplines of the three Rs, plus Spanish twice a week, and then a framework of Classical Conversations content for the remainder of their day. I had been looking at transitioning to Classical Conversations had I continued homeschooling, so I was thrilled to find this school. Honestly, the main reason I accepted the job offer was simply to enroll her there, LOL! DD absolutely loves the school and the content, which both interests and challenges her. This school does use some Abeka, such as their readers for the kids' individual reading time, and a math workbook for the days they aren't in the computer lab or using Math U See. I had a friend who transitioned to Bob Jones for her kids' homeschooling, and within a year, was back to her original curriculum; she said it was very dry. Abeka is definitely different than the classical method, and if you can keep the Classical Conversations going at home, it will do a lot to enrich your children's education. Hopefully someone can give you some ideas as to how to schedule your after-school time to incorporate Classical Conversations. I work until 5:30 one week, 6:30 the next, so we only take about 15 minutes a night, maybe an hour on weekends for supplemental work. I know what you are needing requires more time than that! April

I am new here, and glad to see this post. I think DD needs some extra work in Math, and had tossed around the idea of Math Mammoth, but I wasn't confident enough about it to take the plunge. She doesn't bring homework home from school, and she enjoys doing workbooks, so I think I'll order it and add it in occasionally on weeknights and then on weekends.

I am a newly single mom who works full-time outside the home. I used to homeschool DD, working part-time during the preschool years and full-time during Kindy and the first half of first grade. Since she started traditional school, I've just been trying to catch my breath and adjust to all of the changes in our life, but I can see the need for a little "afterschooling" with DD (handwriting, spelling, and speech). Still trying to figure out how to fit it all in, plus give her time to just play and explore and be a kid. Thankful to have found this group and everyone's willingness to share what works for their family!

DD's private school runs from 8:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day includes a 20 minute morning recess, and a 45 minute combined lunch and afternoon recess. (They usually have 20 min luch, 25 minutes recess.) Then the teacher does a read-aloud after the lunch/recess for about 20 minutes before they transition to the afternoon work. They also have a half-day every other Friday. If I could be a SAHM and pick her up right after school, this would be a wonderful schedule. However, I am a single mom who works full-time, so she is often there in afterschool care until 5:45 or 6:45, depending on the week. (My work schedule rotates 9-5:30 one week, 10-6:30 the next.) Thankfully, they spend as much of that time outside as the weather allows.

When my daughter transitioned from homeschooling to public schooling halfway through first grade, I was pretty excited about the fact that her school had AR. She was reading at a third-grade level, and I was under the (mistaken) impression that participation in an individualized reading program would allow her to continue progressing at her own pace. I quickly learned that this would still take extra effort on the part of school faculty that they just weren't willing to invest (printing off a different test, allowing her to choose a book from a different section of the school library when her class was there each week, etc.) and after conversations with the teacher and the librarian, I finally just gave up. Like you, I didn't have time to do both on school nights, so her reading progress stagnated until summer break. At that point, she read everything she could get her hands on (for no incentive) and I watched both her ability and her interest level rise again. In the fall, we moved to a new area and she started attending a private Christian school with a focus on Biblical, classical education. I was thrilled that there was no silly AR tests or reading "incentives". Then in October, DD's teacher sent home a letter telling parents that the children would be participating in Pizza Hut's Book It program. I inwardly groaned, until I read that the goal was either a) 1 book a day (for those still in the early reader phase) or b) 10-15 minutes of reading each day (for those who were more advanced readers, into chapter books, etc.), the choice to be at the parents' discretion. It has worked out beautifully! In late October, she finished her reading goal for the month by reading a chapter book to me that she had chosen. The other night, she read "The Emporer's New Clothes" aloud by Hans Christian Anderson; the next day, we chose a book of poetry and spent a half hour taking turns selecting one and reading it aloud. During parent-teacher conferences next week, I hope to be able to share with the teacher how delightful this reading experience is compared to AR/standard classroom readers that were sent home in the public schools!