I have searched the boards and can't find exactly what I'm looking for. Does anyone have suggestions for an art book that would have FULL page spreads of famous art works? Maybe some kind of coffee table book? I don't want just one artist in the book either. Bonus points if it is chronological. Does this exist? Thanks for any help!

Did you happen to take advantage of TOG's free unit promotion this month? It might be a good way to see if the curriculum would be worth the investment for your family at this time. It's called Changing Horses and you should be able to find a link on their website. I'm in a similar situation as you this year - a just turned 7 year old and an almost 4 year old with a new baby. I chose to go with TOG for our 1st grade year and I don't regret it. We keep it very simple but it has been a great curriculum and I'm so excited to use it over the years as we hit dialectic and rhetoric stages. I plan to buy year 2 for 2nd grade and continue on with it. I use WWE and FFL for language arts and we are enjoying those as well. I agree with a previous poster that you may just have to jump in and try some out. I don't think you can go wrong following the WTM method but I really love TOG and think it's a great investment for those who know they will use it in the higher levels. As far as the co-ops go, I am in a co-op similar to your option 7. There is not usually a lot of academic value in a co-op like this for those following a classical approach (unless you find a strictly classical co-op) but I didn't join for the academics. I really wanted my son to have a small window in his schooling where he took instructions from someone other than me and had the chance to be in group projects and make friends. We are also in a community bible study which we love and would do regardless of homeschooling or not. Maybe making a list of exactly what you want out of community for your family would help you narrow this down. If you want assistance with the academics, CC might be the way to go. If you are just looking for fun, option 7 or 8. Or if you want religious support, then 5 or 6 might be best. I probably haven't helped much but I wanted to post to say, I've been where you are and felt the pressure to make the best choice the first time. The beauty of starting young is that you have time to try things out and see what works for your family. Make a list with your hubby of what your priorities are and go from there. Wishing you all the best!

I'm not familiar with Scholaric but the free online planner from Homeschool Skedtrack allows this. You set the days that a particular subject should appear and then, if you miss it for some reason, it automatically bumps the lesson to the next scheduled day. I really love this feature as I can plan the entire year out and not have to move it all if (when) we miss a day.

I think Artistic Pursuits might fit. We are really enjoying it this year. I think any of the books should be able to be done independently and at a variety of skill levels. They recently came out with a sculpture book in addition to their normal art books.

I was in a similar place as you when I started TOG. I definitely wanted to use TOG as a resource for self-education in addition to homeschool history. I started in K and did year 1 over two years. I plan to read some of the rhetoric resources as we go along to lighten my load when we get to that stage. I have found it totally worth it to purchase now and get use to the planning.

Take a look at Beethoven Who . I used it this year with my 7yo along with "My First Classical Music Book." I pulled out parts of it that I wanted to cover this year and plan to use parts of it next year. We only do music 1 day a week for a little fun in our schedule but I would say it's one of my sons favorite parts of the week. Edited to add links.

I have a 3 year old that fits your description perfectly. He is very social and hates being alone even if I set up a play station for him. Since I don't have another older child to help play with him, I've just started including him. It does make school more chaotic having him at the table or in the same room but I just don't feel right shoeing him away all the time. I cuddle him during read alouds and make sure he has a chance to pick some stories too. I made several quieter busy bags up that we keep in a bin beside the table. I also let him play with playdough or color. When we get out he chalkboard, he gets one too. He plays with the math manipulatives. I let him cut and glue paper if we are making a craft. Basically, I take whatever we're doing and try to make it little kid friendly. I've actually been amazed at what my little sponge has picked up just from being with us. He still loves to chat and it does get noisy sometimes. If gentle reminders to keep the noise down aren't working, it's probably time for me to help him find something else to do or for all of us to get up and shake out some wiggles. I've had to work at adjusting MY expectations for what a school day will look like. I'm not going to have 2-3 blissful, quiet hours at the table with my oldest without interruptions while we work through his subjects. I'm just not sure there is a better way for this kind of personality without another person in the house to help keep him occupied. I value independent play and am trying to build that skill in him but it happens at other points in the day. I'm pretty sure he's never going to be the kind of child to play for hours on his own. If he is by himself too long, I notice a difference in his happy, bouncy personality and I don't like it. All of this to say, I understand where you're coming from and get the frustration!

I wouldn't give up. It really is an awesome program. Maybe try opening a help ticket on their website. It's tapestryofgrace.com. In the upper right hand corner is the help center icon and you can open a ticket or try calling. They have always been really helpful when I've had any issues.

Sure, I actually think these all work very nicely together. None of the work is independent but I wasn't looking for that for a 1st grader. My son loves AAS and FLL and does well with WWE although I don't think it's his favorite subject. Our schedule is WWE and AAS 4 days a week and FLL 2 days a week. WWE and AAS take us about 15-20 minutes each and FLL takes about 5-10 minutes (or longer if he wants to recite all the poems!) Some of the topics overlap but not in an annoying way. It just provides a light review which I like for my son. I am careful with how much writing I require since on the rare occasion, all 3 might require copywork or dictation on the same day. On those days, we might do our spelling list in a more sensory way like in a rice tray or with magnet stamps. I don't require the optional copywork in FLL on those days either. Right now, WWE doesn't have dictation but when we do start that, I will hold him responsible for what he's learned in AAS and otherwise, spell the words for him that we haven't covered. Overall, I like the combination enough that we are sticking with all 3 curricula for 2nd grade.

Artistic Pursuits is a great home art program if you don't have classes available near you. They recently came out with a sculpting book. I haven't used the sculpting book personally but it would be worth checking out.

With OPGTR, we do a lesson a day Tuesday-Friday since we have co-op on Mondays. At first, I tried to match up readers with the lessons we were covering but it turned out to be too much of a hassle and my son has done well with me just finding things on his reading level from the library. If we come across words he hasn't learned the rules for yet, I just tell him the word and the rule if I know it. This has worked out very well as he now regularly reads words with rules he hasn't explicitly learned from OPGTR, just from our discussing them as we go. I love OPGTR for its simplicity and how well it works. I would say my son is reading on a 2nd grade level and we're a little more than half way through the book. I don't add any other phonics curricula to supplement OPGTR. With WWE, we also do a lesson a day Tuesday-Friday. I do not add anything to WWE. My son does "write" stories in his free time because he is a creative type but he dictates and dad or I do the writing for him. I don't require this of him, he just chooses to do it as part of his play. I've been concerned in the past that WWE isn't enough but I have level 2 on the shelf and really see a jump in what is asked of the student at that level. I've read countless posts on here about the progression of WWE and WWS and feel confident we're on the right path for now.

Homeschool Skedtrack is a free online planner that you can print the whole week on a page. You plan your lessons and then, if you miss one for some reason, it just bumps it to the next day you have that subject scheduled. I really love it and it's FREE!

The son might like the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems. They are short, repetitive readers but are so funny. They are the books that got my son wanting to read on his own.

Are you covering gravity? My 1st grader cracked up at "Gravity is a Mystery." It does a good job of explaining gravity to the little ones.

Good advice about meal times. We do listen to audiobooks in the car but so far, they have been simple picture books. My 7yo likes to have the book in front of him. I mentioned having a story going in the background while he was designing some of his games and he thought that would be fun so we are going to try that as well. Thanks everyone for the awesome suggestions. I'm sure between bedtime, mealtimes, bath time, and play time, we can accomplish some read alouds this year. I was stuck thinking of this as "school" that needed to happen quietly on the couch but you all have cured me of that! Thanks!

Honestly, I had great success with the program with just the workbook and the small chalkboard. We did some of the roll a dough activities with playdoh and letters printed and placed in sheet protectors. I did purchase the cd because we love music. You play songs at different points In the lessons that reinforce the concepts being taught - frog jump capitals, etc. It didn't go over the way I thought it would and we ended up dropping it. Overall, the method of forming the letters and the cutesy sayings describing their shapes is what worked well for my son. I didn't need the extras.

Thank you all for the replies! I definitely need to get out something for them to do while we are reading. I think that could really help. Neither of them really like to color but they both enjoy legos, beads, and the like. I'll add that in. I don't really require my 3yo to sit and listen to chapter books. However, he doesn't like being by himself, doesn't take a nap anymore, and loves to talk so he ends up jumping around all over us and chatting away the whole time I'm trying to read - very distracting for the 7yo and frustrating for me! Maybe bedtime would be a better alternative than after lunch for us although that would take some personal adjustment as I am just plain worn out by the end of the day. Hmm . . . I'll do some more thinking about that. Thank you for all the wonderful read aloud suggestions. We did have success getting through Charlotte's Web with enjoyment. Everything else I've picked up has been a flop though so I think I'm going to back track to longer picture books and short, chapter books and work my way up. This is an awesome community and I really appreciate all the advice!

I'm looking to transition our read aloud time from solely simple, picture books to some chapter books. I have tried a few times in the past without much success. I have two wiggly, active boys ages 7 and 3 and they just do not have the attention span to even make it through a chapter at a time. I have made it through the first 2 chapters of The Mouse and the Motorcycle but I can tell they just don't enjoy it the same way they do picture books. Any advice on how to help them enjoy non-picture books more? How can I help them build attention span so that we can enjoy the classic chapter books as a family? Thanks!

Everything is working pretty well for us. We just need to be consistent. We moved in October and had a baby in November so we took some scheduled time off. Our goal for the new year will be to stay consistent so we don't fall behind as we really don't have any more time to take off if we want to finish our curriculum.

Hi everyone, It's been a while! I hope everyone is having a fun and productive school year so far and enjoys the holidays! We have decided to get a tablet for Christmas this year and I was hoping for some recommendations on fun and educational apps for 7yo and 3yo boys. My oldest is reading fairly well for 7, is learning addition and subtraction facts and truly enjoys math, and loves all things science. He also loves to create. He makes his own books and board games all the time. My 3yo loves Daniel Tiger and the like and has mastered what the letters look like but not all of the sounds yet. What would you recommend? Any apps that might not be that educational but are a ton of fun for these ages? We're really out of the loop on what's out there for the tablet. Thanks for the help!!

You could try homeschool skedtrack. It is a free online planner. It probably doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a paid option but you can schedule multiple children, bump lessons, assign grades, and print daily or weekly schedules. You can even set up profiles for your older students to come in a check off what work they've done. You can also transfer lesson plans from year to year and student to student.

I have no experience with Sonlight but Tapestry of Grace will work for combining history. It does not have a science component though. It is also not secular and it could be difficult to work around some of the religious content especially in Year 1: Ancients if you don't want that. TOG uses real books to teach from - some are literature, most are non-fiction. I wouldn't call TOG minimal prep unless you do longer planning sessions ahead of time. I work through the entire year before we start and plan out what I want to accomplish each week. I also split some of the weeks that have more material if I want to cover more than what I can reasonably squeeze into a week. They provide you with a buffet of reading and activity choices and you choose what best fits your family. I personally love that aspect but I do need to take some time and think it through. It is not just "do the next thing." If you are going to use the dialectic level with your 5th grader, you will want to prep for the discussions as well which may take reading the teacher's notes depending on your familiarity with the topics. You wouldn't need to do much for your 2nd grader besides choose what activities to do and gather materials. Your pre-Ker could sit in on a lot of what you do with the 2nd grader as well if he shows any interest.

I haven't been at this long but I do know I'm not interested in any of the big publishers that do grade level packages - ABeka, Sonlight, and the like - or anything all online like K12. I like to pick and choose based on my kiddos capabilities, strengths, and interests. I'm sure I'll find more over the years as I explore more and get more experience.

My son loves nature study - animals, plants, rocks, anything he can touch and look at with his magnifier. I try to do this at least once a week formally with two other hours set aside each week for BFSU and books that go along with the lessons.

I don't use a formal curriculum for this (yet!). We do try to hit geography every week. Our normal plan of action is to do a blob map and then move on to a specific continent. We are memorizing the different countries on each continent by adding a few each time to a blank political map as they are memorized. I keep a blank one in a page protector and we use dry erase markers so I don't have to print out dozens. We are also noting key landforms and bodies of water. We get books from the library on individual countries or specific cultures and read, narrate, make notebook pages, ect as the mood strikes. We do historical geography (like Mesopotamia, where the pyramids are, ect) through Tapestry of Grace along with history. Informally, I keep Geo Puzzles around and I have a large world map, USA map, and a globe out so we can note places as we come across them in our other reading. I also purchased a compass for my boys to take on their "adventures." They really love these and love to figure out what direction they are going.