Thankyou. I'll have a search and order their catalogue.

This was really interesting. Is all this information on the site somewhere? I'm interested in reading up more about the way MP structures their course and the theory behind it.

Homemade vegemite!! Are you serious? I didn't even know that was possible. Send for some real stuff from Australia. It will totally survive the trip...😉😉

I've been having smoothies quite often for breakfast. Really liking this one.... Greek yogurt (3/4 cup approx.), 1 cup mixed berries, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1tbs oat bran, 1tsp Natvia, water to thin a little. Blend. And bingo...it can last me all morning. If you want some healthy fat content just add tbs coconut oil or some chia seeds.

I find it helps to start speaking the narration myself and then stop at a significant word for the child to fill in - something obvious. Then I continue and stop for another word. I usually find that the child will gradually start filling in more than one word and may continue with the rest of the sentence or even more. When she runs out of words to say then i pick it up and continue on until I stop for another word. I've started a number of kids on narration this way and find it really effective. HTH

My dd has just started 1st here and she turned 6 less than a week ago. She is now doing copywork daily as handwriting practice and we do a few short narrations and caption/title writings for literature, Bible and history during the week. I mostly write the narrations down as she tells me what to write, and she is writing some of the titles herself as i guide her. She also does some letters and word writing in her phonics workbook. That's pretty much it at the moment. I would have to say that i haven't really 'pushed' writing much with her but now we've started doing daily copywork i can see improvement already.

I haven't read the replies so I'm sorry if I'm repeating what is already said. I have some kids that are natural writers too, and what I have always found to work well is to have some days designated as 'writing assignment' days and some days for free writing. We did Monday, Wednesday, Friday for assignment or program, and Tues/Thurs for free writing. This gave them opportunity to express and write their own topics etc while still advancing in other areas as well. My 15yo still functions this way and has recently written a 60,000 word story. Just my thoughts...

My youngest has just started 1st. She is doing... Mathsonline and Easy Learn Maths 1a/b Learn to Read Write & Spell 2,3 and 4. Copywork for handwriting Give narrations for literature, history and Bible. Start to write some words and copy some of narrations. SL Language Arts - complete level K, then level 1. Read - SL readers K/1, McGuffey readers. SL Core K (Bible, history, literature). SL Science K Piano and Violin Art and activities related to history/phonics

Sorry. Double post.

My 7yo does violin because we are a musical family and she has sisters that play. Also we did a term of swimming lessons late last year. But that's all. I like lots of home time at this age...not a lot of 'outside' activities. I wouldn't force a 7yo to do activities that didn't involve me. We'd just do things that i could do with them like park visits or play dates with other families etc.

Yep, we are working our way through the series at the moment and are up to season 4. All my children, yes, ALL my children love it - that's ages 22 down to 5 😉. The only thing is my two youngest find a few episodes a bit scary so they disappear until that bit is over.

My 13yo son is really enjoying planting and growing his own vegetable garden. I find it good because it is an outdoor activity and also requires consistency and responsibility so it doesn't shrivel up and die (it is summer here). It also gives him a sense of achievement. He got his first corn cobs for the season the other day and was so excited.

My dd7 is getting a 'Frozen' scooter, a fold-up chair, cricket set (bat, ball etc...it's an Aussie thing), and a book. She also likes jigsaw puzzles and games so they would be other options. You can also get some pretty cool science kids for that age group.

Awesome. I hope you enjoy it.

At that age my DD enjoyed the Friends series.

Sorry. Double post.

I've looked at it and even have bought some of the units. I really like what I've seen and I think it would work well for you based on what you said above as it doesn't have a preset schedule - you set your own schedule using as much of the material a you want. There are plenty of activities that you could do with your boys too. I like the way they emphasize geography as a separate unit and also have complete art units. I'm not currently using LOL because I already use Sonlight and can't do both. But if I wasn't - or wanted something different - then LOL would probably be my next choice.

I have had long term sinus issues with limited success from meds. I've also recently had quite a bad sinus infection which I had antibiotics for which helped somewhat but didn't completely cure it. Then, I read about how ginger is an amazing anti-inflammatory and also really good for clearing the sinuses. So I have been trying it by adding ginger to smoothies. Amazingly, it seems to be working by clearing out stuff that I'm sure has been there 'forever' (sorry TMI) and definitely left me feeling a lot less inflamed and infected. So....ginger. Might be worth a try.

My kids love Piano Guys music. I don't let them listen to music with words while working.

Hi Rach. I had my last two babies at ages 44 and 46 (about 20 months apart). They were both uncomplicated births and beautifully healthy babies. I had high blood pressure issues a little with the first of the two, and a lot with the second...but that was not age related as I'd had the same problem with a number of my earlier pregnancies including the first two. I had regular chiropractor visits during both pregnancies and I really think that helped with the ease of deliveries.

Sonlight Cores (or HBL packages) operate more around an age range than a specific grade level. I have found the content, in general, to be good for the upper end of the suggested age range. So, yes, you definitely could use Core A for 2nd grade - it's not just for Kindergarten because there are some pretty intense books in there. My 7yo is doing it currently and really enjoying it.

I have 8. I had my last two at ages 44 and 46.

Sonlight LA. I really like it.

I have a 15yo daughter and there would be no way!!!! I say that because I think 15 is too young for that age gap. I'm not against wide age gaps in general (after all, my 19yo dd is dating a 30yo) but, as someone else said, there's a huge difference between 15 and 19. I'd be requiring them to wait a few years....

Sonlight. Love it. It's still working :)