This basically describes me, too.

My 11yo daughter has been shaving since she was 9yo, for the same reasons (dark, hairy legs that bothered her). I would say that any girl who is bothered by hairy legs is old enough to shave them.

When my first two were little, they had 4 basic scriptures that we recited every day, plus whatever verse or passage they were memorizing at the time. They started this around age 2. Deuteronomy 6:5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmuring and disputing Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. These also double as family/school rules, since nearly everything falls under one of these. I have added Colossians 3:22-23 (Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men) for my younger two. As for stories, I start with The Toddler's Bible when they are babies, and read a story or two every day (going straight through from the beginning to the end). I move to a more difficult Bible story book when they are 3 or so, and from there to reading all age appropriate stories in order from the Bible starting around age 5 or 6, whenever they are ready. I use Bible passages that are not stories for memory work (in addition to the four above), and then start adding non-story passages to our daily Bible reading somewhere between 9-12.

Your problem isn't classics per se, it is the particular books you chose to start with. In a couple of years they will like Robin Hood. Water Babies is sort of hit or miss--some kids like it, some don't--but either way it is more of a hit with the 8-9 and up group. With an 8yo and a 6yo I would try Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Heidi, Winnie the Pooh (originals, not Disney versions), Peter Rabbit/other Beatrix Potter, anything by Edith Nesbit, and well written fairy tales. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales (retold Greek myths) and Kingsley's Heroes (more myths) are also good for this age. Look at the Ambleside Online lists for literature and free reading for years 1-2 for ideas for books that work well unabridged for these ages.

I started with Singapore many years ago, with the Third Edition (not even the US edition). I have 3rd edition textbooks for 3A-6B, as well as US edition textbooks for 1A-2B. I did buy the US edition for 6B this year for my daughter, to get the instruction on dividing fractions. Otherwise, I have been very happy using the 3rd edition textbooks with the US edition workbooks this time around, and with the 3rd edition workbooks the first time. I have the old solutions guides for 3A-6B, and use them occasionally. I haven't needed the HIG. For me, the instruction in the textbook is sufficient to show how to teach the topic. I go over the material in the textbook. If my child has trouble with the topic, I make up other problems to practice with, pull out the cuisenaire rods, make models, explain it other ways, etc until he/she understands. Most of the time they don't need more than what is in the textbook, and sometimes not even that. Once they understand the textbook material, they move on to the workbook, and to Intensive Practice later in the day. [My oldest was an exception to this--he ALWAYS needed more practice and instruction than what was in the textbook before proceeding to the workbook, and needed more practice than what was in the workbook as well. Even the extra practice workbooks weren't enough for him. However, this was the case in every math program I tried for him, and I tried MANY. This particular child should have been in Rod and Staff math, or another program with 40+ problems for each topic. I just didn't recognize that that was what he needed at the time. Using the Standards edition--which didn't exist at the time--would have made no difference.]

I use a modified AO from 6th through 12th grade. We do Ancient History in 6th (the most heavily modified AO year for us--I omit all the 20th century materials and fill in with Egypt, etc.) Then we follow AO (mostly--I add a few books for non-European history, and substitute occasionally) with : 7th: Middle Ages 8th: Renaissance/Reformation 9th: 1600-1800 10th: 1800-1900 11th: 1900-present 12th: Ancient World (much more in depth than in 6th grade) This allow both modern history and ancient history to be saved for the later years of high school--one for disturbing ideas, and the other for difficult reading, while still giving the background of ancient thought for the medieval studies and beyond. AO studies government/economics from 7th through 12th, with increasingly complex materials.

I only put full year grades on our transcripts, no semester grades at all except for classes that only counted 1/2 credit. I also don't give plus and minus grades--only A, B, C, etc.

For a child who is at very different levels in different areas, or for a child who is quite a bit ahead or behind, my favorite is the Woodcock-Johnson. However, it has to be given by a certified tester and given individually. Each tester also seems to choose different subtests, sometimes including science/social studies/general knowledge and sometimes not. For a child who is more or less at grade level in all areas, I like the Iowa test. While the social studies/science results are not always helpful since I don't use a public school scope and sequence, overall the results have always been helpful to me, though never a great surprise. They do help reinforce my overall impressions, and sometimes point out a specific subskill I had overlooked. I don't like the CAT, either the long or the short version. I'm not sure why, though my all 4 of my kids and I have disliked it each time I have used it. I also prefer the score reporting format of the Iowa.

We'll be starting on Monday. I'll be down to only 2 students (4th and 6th grades) for the first time since these two started school. I'm looking forward to the smaller age span. (The last few years I have had a pair of early/mid elementary students and 1-2 high schoolers.) I'm really looking forward to school this year, after 2-3 difficult years trying to work with such different levels. Even though these two can't combine for classes like the older two could, it will still be comparatively relaxing. I'm glad your school went well for the most part. (Reworking your plans for the 3yo shouldn't be too hard.)

There is no one standardized test that students all over the country take. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and California Achievement Test (CAT) and Stanford Achievement Test (Stanford, occasionally called SAT, not to be confused with the college entrance test with those initials) are all normed to be given to students throughout the country. All of these are designed to be administered once a year, usually in the spring. The federal government also chooses a few schools throughout the country to test in 4th and 8th grade to give an idea how national education is going. That test is only available in public schools. I think it is called the NAEP or something similar. Most states also develop their own yearly tests, also given at the end of the school year. These tests are designed to line up exactly with that state's public school curriculum, and are usually also only available to public school students. Since they are aligned so closely with the state curriculum, they probably wouldn't be that useful to homeschool or private school students, anyway, unless the private school or homeschool chose to follow the state curriculum. Each state names its own test. NC calls them EOG's (for End of Grade tests) in the lower grades, and EOCs (End of Course tests) in the upper grades. Most institutional schools and some homeschools also give tests at the end of each term (whether 9 weeks or 6 weeks or 12 weeks or 18 weeks). These are usually either designed by the teacher or by the publisher of the textbook/other curriculum package, and are not standardized. These tests aren't much different than end of chapter tests or weekly spelling tests.

Although there are many CM users who have chosen to use a living books approach to math, CM herself recommended a math textbook, heavy on word problems. She also expected that lots of manipulatives would be used in the early years to introduce and solidify the meaning of the basic operations.

We did that section mostly orally. However, I asked my children to tell me 2 things--first, the answer "the book wanted", and second "a silly answer". They enjoyed it that way. If I used the book as seriously as intended, my kids would despise it. I often have to make alterations like this.

Unless you believe your child is ahead, he/she should take the test for the grade level he/she is in now, or has just completed.

Old Earth/Young Earth is most important in science. Except for dating very early events, it doesn't come into play much in history. The only Old Earth Creationist science I have seen is a one year geology course--free, but totally online. (I want a book based program, not a computer based program, so it doesn't work for us.) If she is interested, the website is http://www.answersincreation.org/homeschool.htm . There is also another 1 year science/pre-history course on that page, but it does teach a certain amount of evolution, with the understanding that God is responsible for the existence of everything. She can use any Christian materials she likes for English with no trouble. She should also be okay with most history materials, with the possible exception of sections about very early history. For science she probably has three options: Choose a young earth based program, and add supplemental books from an old earth position (Hugh Ross, etc.) Choose a secular based program, and add supplemental books from a creationist position (many of the same books) Save life science and geology for later, when she has more experience and feels more comfortable adapting materials, and choose materials focusing on chemistry and physics, where the age of the earth and evolution don't come up much, if at all. Years ago Sonlight had old earth based science and history (which matches up with John's personal beliefs, according to the notes in the IG of 1999 when he switched to that belief). However, most of their customers preferred YEC materials, so SL now uses a mix of secular and YEC books for science.

We played Make 10 Dominoes (instead of putting matching numbers together, put together numbers that add up to 10) and Make 10 Go Fish (making pairs that add to 10). My kids really enjoyed these in K and 1st grade. We didn't memorize the other number bonds, other than making sure they understood the concept.

I do use R&S. However, I dislike English 2 & 3, which have a different format than the other books. I have never finished book 3 with any of my children, and I only finished book 2 with one child--the only one who was able to complete it independently. My children have also complained that it is boring. (One son grumbled "All those people talk about is doing chores and going to church.") Sometimes, for variety, I use their lesson but make up my own sentences about other topics. However, I have never found anything else that covers the same material to the same depth and as clearly. So, we use it as our primary grammar/writing program. (I do use some MCT for a fun, different way of looking at things. My younger kids love MCT, but they don't learn as much as with R&S, so I will just be using a few books as supplements now and then.)

I think a lot depends on WHY you want to supplement the school math curriculum. Do you dislike the way the school teaches, and want to basically ignore the school lessons as much as practical and teach math yourself? Do you just want to present another way to look at the math taught in school? Do you want to teach math at a faster pace? Do you want to add deeper thinking problems? Also, do you want something that will teach more or less in the same order as the school will, or do you want to just teach your home program as if it were its own class? As a supplement, Saxon would probably be overkill, especially in the K-3 years. It is very involved, and can be time consuming. (This is not a problem for families who are using Saxon as the only math curriculum in a homeschool, if the approach and method are a good fit. It might be a problem when added after a long school day and the homework assigned by the school.) However, if your local math program is severely lacking and if Saxon is a good fit for you, it might be possible to trim it down to fit in the available time. There might even be families who feel it is worth the time invested. If you want to teach an additional math program as a sort of separate class, without trying to line up with what the school is using, MUS or Miquon or Singapore will all work well. Any of these will provide a different way of looking at numbers (unless your local school is using Singapore or MUS--a few do). If your local school is using Saxon or Scott Foresman or Everyday Math or something else, MUS or Miquon or Singapore will all be a new way to look at things. If you want to work ahead with a child who is likely to learn more rapidly than the school will teach, Miquon or Singapore or MEP would work quite well. (However, these can all also be used more slowly for a child who learns at a more average pace.) MUS can be used for this type of child, but it can be expensive since a child who is a quick learner could go through two or more levels a year. If money is a factor, Miquon or Singapore or MEP would be your best choice---high quality math instruction, some fun activities, low cost (ink and paper for MEP, inexpensive workbooks and teacher books for the others), and shorter time investment.

When my oldest was 13, he was a bit like this. I had tried several ways of teaching--unit study, unschooling with a few minimum requirements, CM, textbook, etc. Many of these were with materials he had requested. In every case, he started to hate it and complain after a few weeks. (Except the semi-unschooling, which began to morph from informal learning to all day goofing off within a couple of weeks, so I ended it myself.) I even sent him to the local public school for two weeks at this time. (I discovered that even with all of his resistance and goofing off at home he was getting more work and more difficult work done than what the school expected of him.) I finally realized that he was never going to like school, no matter how I set it up. So, I selected materials that would cover what he would need to know if he ever did go to college, also taking into account what I would want him to know if his formal education ended with what he learned in homeschool. I required him to read, discuss, and write about all those materials, whether he liked them or not. At first, he complained a lot, because I had gotten into the habit of letting his likes and dislikes determine our school. Once he realized that had changed, he did what was required (at the level I would accept), and rarely complained. He even started to like some of the books, though he never did like school. He has since graduated from homeschool, and is in the process of enlisting in the Navy. He is very bright, very articulate, and very knowledgeable. He is probably gifted, especially in language and people skills. However, he has no interest in corporate/business type careers, nor in that kind of success. He does not want to attend college unless or until he decides what career he wants permanently, and then only if that field requires a college degree. (He intends the Navy to be a short term career, not a life-long calling.) He is a great young man, and I am proud of him, but he is not what I thought he would be when I started homeschooling him for kindergarten. So, I guess I have two suggestions for you: 1. Love her for who she is, and accept that it might not be who you expected her to be. Her path in life may be different than what you chose/would have chosen. 2. Decide what you believe is non-negotiable content for school, and require her to complete it to your satisfaction, whether she likes the method/materials or not. (Choose materials you think will appeal to her, but require her to use them even if they do not--while retaining the option to switch to other materials if they truly are not working, but not if she just would prefer to play.) Free time is for doing what she loves most. Schoolwork must be done, and done acceptably well, whether or not it overlaps with what she loves. This type of conflict is worst between the ages of 13-15 (with signs of problems as early as 11yo, especially with girls). There is a remarkable amount of maturing that takes place between the ages of 16-18.

We have always done copywork and dictation in Spanish, leading into eventual written narration in Spanish. This is in addition to Spanish reading, grammar, etc. (We do occasional translation, but less of that.) When I tried to do a little self-study of beginning Biblical Hebrew last summer I also did some copywork in Hebrew. It was very helpful in learning the alphabet, cementing the right to left direction, and even in learning something of pronouncing the word. I never got beyond the single word stage, so I didn't get to the level where it could have helped reinforce grammar. However, copywork and dictation in Spanish has helped my children (and me) a lot in placement of accent marks and in reinforcing grammar patterns.

Data interpretation is mostly reading graphs, tables, etc. So, you might want to add in a little more practice with that. However, it is possible that your math program simply introduces these topics later than the standardized tests. If that is the case, you have the option of just realizing that your child hasn't been taught this yet, but will learn it later. If your program has already taught these topics and your child needs more practice, or if you want to go ahead and teach it separately now, you can have your child create and read tables and graphs: How many toy cars/animals/dogs/markers/fruits/etc do you have in each of 3-5 categories? Make a bar graph/pictograph/pie chart to show this. How has the temperature changed this week? Make a line graph/bar graph to show this. Talk about what you have more of, what you have less of, how many hot/cold days, the total, which are equal, what is the average, whatever. If you prefer something ready-made, you could look at the MEP worksheets. Those are free, and often cover various aspects of graphing. You might also pick up some inexpensive workbooks at a teacher store or maybe even a Walmart type store. Problem solving questions are often things like "How would you solve this word problem?" with choices like 2+3 or 3-2 or 2*3 or 2 divided by 3 as options. My son had trouble with those in 2nd grade because for the subtraction word problems he was looking for the option of 2+___=5 instead of 5-2=______, and didn't think to look for another way of stating this. So, for 3rd grade I occasionally asked him to tell me more than one way he could solve a problem, to prepare him for this section. He did much better the next year. Depending on what trouble your child had with this section, just working on word problems and requiring your child to tell you how to find the answer and not just give the answer could raise scores in this section.

The book choices seem geared for girls, for the most part. Many of them are also quite intense emotionally, while only moderately difficult to easy in vocabulary/language use/concepts. My older two boys used SL 1 and 2 many years ago (when they covered an intro to world history with 4 civilizations for year 1, and a quick overview of world history for year 2). I also tried year 6 (at that time, a quick overview of world history) and year 7 (at that time, the one year US history). There were a few books we loved, but there were also many books we thought were very dull, or more aimed at girls than boys. I did like the world focus of Sonlight, and the missions books. I didn't like many of the book choices, and I didn't like feeling like I was racing through history at the pace the books were read. I prefer to save book gobbling for books read for pleasure, not for study. We (my sons and I, not necessarily everyone) miss too many nuances when we read through a book and on to the next so quickly.

Guatemalans also use "vos"--but for a singular form among close friends/family, much like "tu". It is often used interchangeably with tu in that context. Also, if Bible reading will matter to you, it is important to be comfortable understanding vosotros forms, because they appear in the Bible a lot. However, those aren't crucial concepts for beginners. My Spanish classes (9th and 10th grade, and all 4 years of college) all pretty much skipped vosotros, just mentioning its existence. However, I have had no trouble understanding it during my 19 years of marriage to a Guatemalan, attending Spanish church services. For ser/estar--we try to raise our children bilingual. I do correct these errors (as well as "soy 9 años" instead of "tengo 9..."). However, I don't really teach Spanish grammar directly until around 5th grade or more, when I do teach rules for things they haven't picked up from usage.

My daughter took the 5th grade Iowa this year. I glanced over some of her questions, and don't remember any percent questions. She used Singapore 4B/5A/part of 5B this year, and percents were covered a fair bit, though.

The questions weren't really in-depth enough to get a true answer, and many times the correct answer to the questions they had wasn't available in the multiple choice quiz. However, the results they gave me were surprisingly accurate--possibly through sheer luck. What's Your Homeschool StyleYour Result: Classical You want your kids to know about their history. Classical education can be quite structured. You should be prepared for reading lots of classics.For more information look at "The Well Trained Mind". Christian Unschool Waldorf Unit Studies School at home We are probably more Charlotte Mason than WTM classical, but we are a good blend of both. They actually got the others in the right order, too, with the possible exception of Waldorf--I haven't really looked much at that. We are Christian (though I don't know how they would know from my answers), we have tried unschooling and dropped it because it devolved into playing all day after a few promising weeks, and we have tried unit studies and gotten bored with them. We even tried and disliked school at home.

I have two pairs of close in age children (a 17yo and 18yo; and a 10yo and 9yo). The older two nearly always used the same materials for everything except math and grammar. The younger two only share a few books. For narrating something I read to both of them together, I would toss a coin. Whichever child it landed on would narrate first, and the other would have to fill in something his brother (or sister) left out. Sometimes the second child would/will ask to tell "the whole thing". They almost never focus on the same points, from kindergarten through high school. Once they started reading books on their own, they would come to me as they finished reading and tell me about what they read. When they start doing written narrations (on their own), it is even simpler. If you will be using WWE, with its more focused narrations, I would have one child working independently while the other did WWE with me. Another possibility would be to set it up so that one child does the narration day while the other does the copywork/dictation day. That way, neither would remember the other's narration or dictation very clearly.