I think your plan is good. I struggle with this part of the progymnasmata too. I don't know of an isolated resource offhand for the research paper, but I'd love to find a good one. WWS does teach how to write a research paper and avoid plagiarism, etc.

We did Tinker Crates and Kiwi crates. I'd go with Tinker Crate for more science as Kiwi Crate is more artsy. I think it's more engineering oriented than maybe the others you are reviewing. My kids LOVE them, but I dont have any experience with the other ones you mentioned.

There's a placement test on their website. We started with 3a before 2 came out. It's my understanding that 2a seems a lot easier than the other levels we have seen. Take a look at the placement test and samples to see if your son is ready for it. I see no issue in skipping if he is ready.

We are using GAB LA2 and a science unit this year because I need something affordable to use this fall for a bit. Things I like: I like the art, literature and geography sprinkled in. I like that it mixes things up. I like the reinforcement of reading and phonics that is aligning well with the AAS we are doing. It is open and go. It is attractive and well laid out. Things I am not so crazy about: some of the literature selections are just boring. The grammar is ok, but it's spread out too much. A lesson on prepositions, and 10 lessons later, a lesson on adverbs type of thing. Not enough grammar practice for retention. I don't always agree with her editing symbols. The All in One isn't the right fit for us long term, but it's free so I might supplement some lessons. There's a few ultra conservative things in it that make me cringe a little. I already like my writing program and spelling program. I am using to supplement with some reading and grammar, but there are way better grammar programs out there. We probably won't use it again except maybe some supplemental lessons like memorizing state capitals, etc. On the science, I like that it is well laid out and easy to implement so far. I am stuck on a lesson until I go get a plant for a terrarium. Some lessons are a little more arts and crafts than science-oriented. I much prefer RS4K, but I decided to try an inexpensive unit on the water cycle.

LOL! I think my son had a very similar narration. He gets so bored with those types of stories.

We spent a half hour on math, about an hour on language arts, and 30 minutes history reading. We often practice something for memory and have a Bible reading. We do science twice a week, ideally for about 45 minutes. Occasionally, we do art or geography studies. I also have him do free reading for 20 minutes a day.

Real Science 4 Kids has two levels: elementary for k-4th and middle school for 5-8. Not sure where the 4-6 recommendation is coming from, but there's a level for any subject for any k-8 grade.

Maybe look at a vocabulary book that would teach some spelling too, such as Vocabulary from Classical Roots or Caesar's English from MCT. I love CAP's writing program, but WWS also includes good literature and writing assignments.

AAS Good and Beautiful L2 LA ABeka math Science: Good and Beautiful unit and then ES biology History: modern...my own unit studies with SOTW and library books Mindbenders WWE Maps, Charts and Graphs some art, SSS (spanish) and health when we get to it.

Barnes and Noble is a great place to shop for ideas as well as Learning Resource Center. Last year, we got science kits (Magic School Bus ones are our faves) a Stem coding mouse game, puzzles, rockets, Lego idea books, and a great magnetic roller coaster building set for a magnetic white board from LRC.

One of my kids was more of a late bloomer too. He's now reading Narnia type chapter books at age 8. My current kindergartener loves the idea of school and writing letters and learning their sounds and coloring. But when I try to get him to sound out things, I can tell he's not ready yet either. He has an August birthday, and we are likely going to do two years for kindergarten. Not stressing it at all. It's not a race...it's a marathon. If your child is struggling with blending, back up and do some fun activities with the letter sounds some more and try again in a few weeks with the blending. I know these are a love/hate, but my kids liked phonics ladders like sa, se, si, so, and su. Then you add an ending sound and make sat, sap, sag, etc. But keep it low key in kindergarten. Don't make it stressful and just go at their pace. That is the beauty of homeschooling vs. public school. Your child doesn't have to be forced to stress and move at the pace the school district decided all kids should do, but at their own pace. What I see and discussed with my oldest son's K teacher, is that many kids practice and practice, and they all have a spurt of maturity at different times where it clicks, and they take off. Just like with baby milestones or potty training or other things in childhood development. They'll get it in time.

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I am reflecting on all of these, and also looking at what outside influences have impacted my expectations. I teach college classes, and I see first-hand the poor writing that students deliver through the trial and error approach. The remediation needed at the college level can be high. Professors can feel pressure in some institutions to focus more on the subject matter and less on the style at the college level even! I personally feel that a college level paper should be well organized with higher level thinking communicated throughout the paper. I also think it should be grammatically correct, and I am not very soft on this. However, colleges are having somewhat of a crisis of poor writing and academic work and how that affects their retention and attrition rates. I think this has affected the current K-12 education standards to push writing earlier and earlier in response. The classical method spoke to me as teaching a wealth of knowledge and how to think first before we ask them to communicate this knowledge. I agree that we do not want students to write in a vacuum. However, I think back on certain assignments I did in school and think my kids should be able to do them, and I have to remind myself to have patience. When combined with the outside pressures of testing and public school "standards," I think I drive myself crazy trying to figure out where to push and where to relax. On top of all of this, there are the normal middle school maturity gaps. It's very helpful to hear others' thoughts in this area.

Thank you for the replies. The other threads were very helpful too. You guys have given me some food for thought. I guess I am not questioning my philosophy as much as I am questioning how things are supposed to sync together. I love our classical writing program and the path we chose. But I see when SWB or others recommend a grammar curriculum and then recommend to skip the traditional writing part of it (Shurley, VIE, A Beka, etc.), I can't help but think they wouldn't be so bad to include as well as the classical pro gym so they can write a book report or something. I think my confusion comes more from the evil of comparison and outside pressures. I have more freedom this year, but when we were in a charter before, there was that pressure. There is pressure in state testing. "Hey, Mom, what's an inference?" The public school education system is taught in a very regimented way, and much has been written to compare it vs. the more classical way. But the ps methods is what we are often tested on. And then when other assignments pop up, or you want your fifth grader to do a report, I find myself teaching him things we haven't yet covered in the writing sequence. And it's not just "traditional" curricula...I have seen writing assignments like this even in more "classical" type of curricula. I know curriculum is a tool, and I can tweak anything I want. I also trust that the proof will be in the end. But these middle years where everyone is learning at different rates in different manners, it makes it difficult to assess if we are doing too much or too little right now. If I had to suddenly put my kids in school, could they handle the writing? I also wonder if mixing the traditional and more "classical" methods together where they learn a five point essay alongside a fable rewrite would confuse them in the long run or be the best thing ever. So I started this post to see how others are navigating these transitional years. I figured I can't be the only one pondering these things.

How are they beginning outlines in 4th in LA programs? I'd like them to do that, but in WTM, it doesn't start until WWS, which is recommended for 6th grade. In CAP Writing and Rhetoric, it doesn't start until Book 5, for grades 5/6. SOTW 4 may not be the history cycle they are on in fourth grade. It may be in the sequence of the classical philosophy, but I feel like I have to fill in some gaps for the classical curricula during the 4-6 grades.

I've done this for a few years. I am finishing our first sweep of history, and I keep looking at TOG and BP and MFW. I research and research and see things I want to tweak and then tell myself I don't need to spend all that money. I might look at MFW for next year for Ancients because I want to do a more Biblical focus for this sweep, and I am less confident in ancient history. But we just choose the spines we like, get some library books off our booklist and pick some fun projects off of pinterest. The past two years, I have required some more output for my oldest, but we don't do a lot of written narrations, etc. We do have a lot of interesting discussions. I will say that I still do sometimes struggle with doing all I have planned because I am an over planner. Keep it simple. But I see no reason you have t spend hundreds of dollars if you like your way better. If you are doing SOTW, you might want to consider the activity guides. This is what we did before I went off on my own because I wanted more American history focus than SOTW does. So many expensive plans use SOTW, but the activity guide really has all you need if you are using SOTW. There are discussion outlines, optional book lists and optional project ideas/games and map work. Some of the projects are more involved, such as recipes or costumes and some are simple with printed easy craft ideas in the activity book. I highly recommend if you want just a little bit more, but it does not in any way make you feel guilty for not doing it all. It's more like...here are some ideas if your kid is really interested in this topic. But reading the chapter and doing a map only are more than ok.

At his age, it is completely normal. My eight year old still does this some, but he's improving, and my pediatrician is not concerned. Even my 12 year old slipped up this morning, though that is rare for him. I would even say some regression may occur as he is learning so much at this age, but if it doesn't start to get better, then I might be concerned. Definitely bring it up at his checkup and eye appt. just in case there are other factors we are not aware of. In the meantime, just continually remind him. I tell my sons, "b's have bellies and d's don't."

Hi everyone, I have just been thinking over some writing approaches today. If one selects the classical approach to writing (progymnasmata) instead of the traditional approach to writing (5 steps or 5 paragraph essay model), how does one navigate some of the assignments in grades 5-8 across the curriculum? For example, if I am doing the classical writing approach such as WWE or WWS or CAP Writing and Rhetoric which focuses more on narration, summaries and outlines, etc. before full essays, and the traditional method has children doing five paragraph essays earlier in their education focusing on form more than substance at first, there are bound to be some uneven skills in the middle grade years. To me, the proof is in the end, and I am ok with that provided my child isn't returning to the public school system anytime soon. However, I find it difficult to navigate through some other assignments in other subjects in these middle years. If they are expected to do a science report on a famous scientist or a book report or a state history report, the assignment may be before the student is actually taught these skills. WWS has outlining and the first types of reports in WWS, which is recommended around 6th grade. CAP also doesn't start teaching these outputs until about 6th grade or maybe an advanced fifth grader. Yet, students are often expected to write an essay in fourth or fifth grade across the disciplines, even in less traditional, more classical curricula. I find myself teaching the five paragraph essay and some of the traditional steps on my own alongside the classical approach so that the child can complete their assignments. Shouldn't a fifth grader be ready for a book report or state history notebook? And if those are my expectations or what I think is a reasonable assignment, should I completely switch to a more traditional method? Or should I avoid these assignments and change them to be a narration, summary or outlining "classical" assignment depending on where the child is? Or is it perfectly fine to teach both processes? I think it all evens out around 7th or 8th grade, but grades 4th through 6th grade are a bit tricky for me in creating outputs and determining what is reasonable for the grade and individual maturity of my child. I'd love to hear others' thoughts about this.

WWE was originally a handbook that showed parents how to do this. They then created the workbooks for parent's convenience. The handbook would be helpful in showing the types of sentences to look for to highlight specific grammatical concepts, but you can absolutely do this on your own too.

I have these ages, and we work as a family for Bible, History and Science with age appropriate spinoff assignments. But I think it would be pretty hard for language arts because it's mostly a skills subject. One thing you can do is combine literature and each do harder assignments from the literature or history texts. Perhaps copy work and narration for the younger and summaries, etc. for the older. If they aren't completely on grade level, there's maybe some open ended resources like MCT, CAP and grammar books they could share, but the sixth grader should be moving toward more writing, and the third grader is just beginning. Perhaps an ungraded grammar curriculum would work if the third grader is ready for it and the sixth grader hasn't studied much of this. Writing assignments can be on the same subjects, but the level expected should be different.

Puzzles, blocks and books! You can get some fancier things, but those are the best categories of toys. I've always liked Leapfrog toys, though they are more techy. Melissa and Doug also have great toy selections. Go to Barnes and Noble for ideas. They have a great toy section, and they are mostly pretty educational. Not a bunch of plastic cheap stuff, but more quality toys for imagination.

I think she needs to work on her spelling, but I actually think her paragraph is pretty good for her age. The spelling errors distract, but the thoughts are complete and well-formed. I am learning with my sixth grader that I need to do more of the editing steps of the writing process with him. When she is writing her thoughts, that uses a lot of mental energy. It's hard to remember spelling too when it is not her natural strength. But then you can teach the value of editing your work for spelling and grammatical errors.

Sorry, I never used the guide. But we read several of the books as supplements. My son especially liked By the Great Horn Spoon and Island of the Blue Dolphin. We used CA History for Kids by Katy Duffield as our spine. There were great activities in it and interesting chapters.

My kids like LOTR and Narnia and The hobbit type of stories too. However, my husband just read them this new series called the Wingfeather Saga series, and they were on the edge of their seat waiting for bedtime reading, trying to read ahead, etc. I think it's a medieval type adventure, and there's a map of the kingdom it comes with, and they just ate it up. Some other classics: Swiss Family Robinson Treasure Island Around the World in 80 Days H.G. Wells books Jungle Book Dr. Dolittle All Creatures Great and Small

We used Building Spelling Skills with my older natural speller only because that was the one with the most challenging lists that I saw. There was a little busy work, but not too much. A Bible verse was included as it is Christian. They'd look up and write the definitions, write sentences for the words and alphabetize. We skipped Level 4 and finished Level 5 and then went to Caesar's English for vocab with MCT. Another option is to just go through the free online McGuffey speller. We started out doing this, but I wanted the easy workbook after adding younger kids. We would hold a spelling bee on Monday, and when we got about ten words to work on, that was his list to copy and memorize.

Thank you! I am thinking of looking at Grammar Island at the end of this year with him for fun because I think we will finish GAB early. I also did Narrative last year with my fifth grader, so that is not too concerning to me. I wouldn't start CAP with him until fourth because I don't want to turn him off by starting too early. I do love CAP. The more I see of it, the more I just like it. It's enjoyable to me, and we've done some wonderful stories and writing and had fun conversations with it. I like MCT too, but I don't think it will have enough grammar practice for him. Maybe just a fun supplement from time to time or maybe just do their vocab and poetry. It's not his natural subject, and I think he will need some repetition in the grammar. Plus I really do want some diagramming. SO - I really think I will try out CAP with him next year and keep with WWE this year. But I am still mulling over grammar a bit. I'm going to read through the Jr AG program I already own, but I'm leaning toward an Abeka workbook for a few years because he really is the kid who likes colorful workbooks and just wants you to tell him what to do and get it done. It's thorough, complete and has plenty of practice for him, even if there are other programs people like more. I like teaching it, and he thought it looked great. Looked some more at Rod and Staff on a deeper level, and I can see why people like it. It is thorough. Still considering it, but this particular child is so sick of agricultural stories and discussions. lol! If only it were full of sentences about ninjas and outer space! This really was very helpful for me in mapping out my options for next year and helping me see where we are going this year. I really appreciate all of the responses.