Look at Real Science 4 Kids. Their elementary texts are actually quite good with advanced vocabulary, but easy to understand with excellent diagrams and illustrations.

Spelling Workout or All About Spelling are good secular spelling choices. If your kids are advanced in spelling, they can move up a level in SW or use it on level. It's more of a get it done workbook style. All About Spelling is more of a hands on spelling that is very parent intensive if your children need it. Both are good and teach spelling rules, but both are very different. As for writing, SWB has a good writing program as does CAP Writing and Rhetoric. While CAP is a more Christian company and there are proverbs or parables in the writing program, they are alongside other historic works and not overtly Christian in their writing approach.

What about a technology science like robotics? Or something interest driven?

How easy would it be to speed up parts of MFW to add Rome at the end? It seems some weeks are straight Bible, which may be a little more Biblical History than I want, but I definitely want to integrate it. Maybe I could condense those weeks a bit. I do like the idea of having things laid out for me for once. That would be nice. I like the Book Basket idea, which would add a lot more than I think people see is there on the website. How are the assignments? I hesitate to spend the money because I already have the spines and can piece together myself, but if I find a used copy for a deal, I think it might be a good thing to have to make planning easier.

I could have written something similar about my fifth grader recently as I caught him saying he had finished his work when he only did a few problems or none at all. I have caught him bending the truth a few other times too. I have read this entire thread and benefitted from it, and I have been mulling it over all day. The way I see it, there are two issues: not doing the work and lying about it. The debate over whether I am expecting too much from my child to do independently or not is one debate. I sometimes mistakingly think my son can handle more than I can, and through these trials and error, we learn. I learned that he cannot do certain math problems independently despite what the curriculum claims, and he needs more hand holding to gain more confidence. Maybe his work was too easy or hard. However, that issue is separate from the moral issue of lying. If he needs help, he should ask, not lie. And perhaps, he was truly scared at being caught and lied instead. These are all reasons the child lied, but it is not an EXCUSE. I feel some in this thread are blaming this mother for her child lying. Whether the work was able to be done or not is no excuse for lying. I hate lying, and I make it very clear to my children that lying makes it worse. Because in real life, lying makes it worse! So I tell my kids that trust is fragile, and when it is broken, it has to be rebuilt slowly. This means I am going to be checking up on him more. It means that I cannot, sadly, take him at his word right away until I have more trust. There is likely to be some sort of punishment too. I don't want too create a pattern of lying. Nip it in the bud now. Does this mean I do not recognize that he needs help with math? No. I am going to sit with him and help him with his math more. And I reiterate that he needed only ask and praise him when he does bring it to me without covering it up. I stress to him how much he needs to learn this for his benefit and that being hard on him is because I love him and want him to be successful in life, which requires math. But this does not excuse lying. Lying is unacceptable, and glossing over it only reinforces it. I have taught at the college level, and if you think college kids don't lie to cover their tracks and make excuses or that it is something they outgrow. Character must be taught and reinforced. As far as what is developmentally appropriate for independent work, I think every child is different. It is hard when you have littles and need your oldest to do more on his own. The goal is not for me to hover over my kids and make sure they do everything. I can be a softie about certain things too, but the ultimate goal is to teach them so they can do it on their own and build trust and confidence in their abilities. Maybe hover for a bit bc of lack of trust so they will want to prove themselves for the privilege of independence again. By the way, with privilege comes responsibility. A natural consequence for my kids is to link their responsibilities to their privileges that come with age. Hang in there! Parenting isn't getting any easier. I feel the physical work of parenting the younger years makes way for the mental work of the upper years. I'm not an expert or anything, but I am right there in the trenches with you.

I agree with others in letting her read. When she's a bit older and her handwriting has progressed, you can do more spelling and phonics rules with her. But if she is bored, move through quickly. As an aside, some good overall curriculum options for her might be Five in a Row or Sonlight with advanced readers. She may be reading, but she still needs a good quality learning experience for school, and these would build on her reading skills.

Try Mary Poppins series, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, or Caddie Woodlawn.

Pentime is pretty independent for cursive. Many others are also workbook based.

MCT is definitely parent intensive. I do question WWE with some of the issues you mention. It's narration and dictation in level 2. What about something online like Khan Academy for language arts? Then you wouldn't have to worry as much about the physical act of writing. You can focus on sentence structure and then add some copywork for physical writing as she can handle it.

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So right there with you today. Decided to do an experiment yesterday. Took almost all day, and there are still things we have to finish today. Took forever to start because I needed a ton of stuff from the store for it like red cabbage and several types of juice and Distilled water. My kitchen is a mess now. My preschooler than wanted to do his own experiment so I had to come up with a baking soda vinegar balloon thing for him, and we barely got math done. I hate science.

I feel she could do it, but it would stretch her a bit. I might wait until fourth grade instead. At the end of the book, you have to write your own fable. My son does better when I let him draft on the computer and then copy. We did some orally. You might consider their grammar program to start with this year. WWE would help ease into things, but it is all narration and dictation. I wonder if MCT would be a good fit for her. Since it is third grade, and many of these program say grade 3 or 4, I think you might have more success starting some of these programs in fourth grade. I'd take this year to establish good homeschool routines and focus on the components of a good sentence. For that, I think WWE would be good. But maybe look at more grammar this year to learn sentence structure well as a good foundation.

Look at Writing and Rhetoric for writing. There is a little teacher involvement in reading the lesson and the dictation, but they do a lot of the writing and exercises on their own. You could combine your kids in the same level, and that would cut down on time tremendously.

Same here. About three weeks ago.

I've looked at Biblioplan numerous times, but it just doesn't seem right for me. Thank you though. It does have a lot of things going for it.

If it is that much of a struggle, I would find the most engaging textbook you can and not drag it out. Have him write a couple of papers on some topics or do quizzes/tests for output. Maybe a notebook would be useful. Another idea: Since this is fifth grade and not too serious yet, maybe he'd enjoy a bit of a rabbit trail with history. Maybe modern history in a topic that interests him. The history of inventions or warfare. There's even a history of the horse. Maybe a social studies unit study on other world cultures or American history or state history. Find something that interests him and give him a breather semester on something he does find engaging.

Science for sure, but I would probably do that one more in person. I am thinking of using AOPS online in a couple years for math. I will definitely outsource in high school.

I really like the way SWB addressed math in her newest WTM edition. First, do you want a spiral program that builds new concepts incrementally and continually reviews previous concepts, or do you want a more mastery based program that covers a concept until it is fully learned before going onto a new concept. Then do you want a math program that is more traditional and procedural based? Or do you want a more constructive approach that develops on all the abstract whys of math at an early age and problem solves to discover answers. For me, in the early years, I want a more traditional, procedural based math that uses manipulatives to understand concepts and drills facts of the four operations until memorized before I focus on the more abstract problem solving concepts in math. So I use a very traditional math program and supplement for any areas of weakness with a fun math program (LOF). Then as they get into fourth grade, I start to add in Beast Academy for more problem solving concepts to transition them to the more abstract thinking of algebra. This is what I believe to be developmentally appropriate and fits my math philosophy. I did a lot of reflection and research to arrive on this approach, but my approach will differ vastly from someone else's approach. Once you know what approach to math you want to take, then we can better help you find a math tool (curriculum) to fit your approach, teaching style and goals.

Not as familiar with the laissez-faire term, but I could see that distinction. There are certainly degrees of free range parenting, but I wasn't implying that a free range parent doesn't care about their safety. But they don't keep them in a bubble. That's why I was saying they checked in to make sure they arrived safely, and I would also assume that many free range parents teach their child the rules and routes in walking down the street.

I would stick with it. Saxon K-3 are very different in terms of style and authors from Saxon 5/4. Stick with what you know and then switch once instead of changing things completely twice. Saxon 3 is teacher scripted lessons with lots of black and white worksheets. It ramps up fast and builds off the previous books. Saxon 5/4 is written very differently and has no worksheets. It's a chapter lesson to read together or independently with 25 problems the student would copy. Saxon 3 is probably the least favorite Saxon year too. The 3rd grade year in many math curricula, esp. in Saxon are sort of concluding the four operations before they go onto using the operations in larger problems. It would be helpful to stay consistent in third grade and be fluent in the four operation's facts before switching curricula. You may want to do a placement test after Horizons 3. Saxon does not always progress at the same pace as other curricula, and you may be surprised.

I think she said she felt the series was complete with just the three volumes, but I could be wrong.

He may like The Giver or Narnia. My 11 yo son likes the Herriot books and The Hardy Boys too.

In my opinion, teaching a 13 yo child how to use his planner is, in fact, good parenting and teaching him and explaining the consequences for negligence. Then I would think it is his responsibility to follow through. Filling it out for him and reminding him what's in it every hour is helicopter parenting.

As people touched on above, helicopter parenting is hovering and being hyper involved and not allowing the child any freedom. But to me, it's even more than that. It's trying to keep them safe and have everything turn out great for them so that you never allow them to be in any situation that could be dangerous or bring them harm in any way. You never give them the freedom to make mistakes either. The damage is that when they get into college, they have their mommies calling professors because they don't know how to approach a discussion with their professor because everything has been done for them. They don't know how to bounce back from mistakes. They had their parents fix their small mistakes as a child, and now that the mistakes carry larger consequences, they don't know how to cope. A free range parent (which is more European nowadays) gives child freedom to walk around more and isn't as worried about keeping them in a safety bubble. A free range parent would teach their child how to walk down the street to their friend's house and have them check in once they arrive. A helicopter parent would walk them there.

Accsedu.org has several under the School Resources tab.