My 7 girls have names which are mostly classic(ish): Emily Kate Jessica Ellen Bethany Grace Samantha Joy Erin Elise Alison Rose Chelsea Ann

Maybe split up the read aloud sections so not everything is at once. It doesn't exhaust you so much and gives variety to your kids. You could, for example, read something first, then go and do book/individual work, then come back to read again later - kind of like a reward for having done the other work 😊. I start our day with some reading at breakfast, then we do chores. Kids start own book work while I read with dd's 6 and 4. Then I do maths and phonics etc with dd6 while others are still working individually. After morning tea I do readings with the next two (we use SL). Then after lunch we do some more family read alouds. So I'm still reading a lot but it's split up into segments. HTH

I'm a bit different. I'm really working on the idea that we do bookwork/academics in the morning then family read over lunch plus another activity in the afternoon. I don't want my kids doing school all day - I want then to have time to follow their interests too. So, we have breakfast and read aloud to start our day - I like that connection time all together to begin with. For us that is Bible and prayer, a bit of memory, maybe singing (we like to sing) and a literature read. Then morning chores Kids start school. I start with dd's 6 and 4. Reading with them works well first, then I do maths, spelling, phonics and writing with 6yo while 4yo either plays, watches preschool tv/dvd, or does preschool workbook. Older kids do maths, spelling and English in this time. English can be grammar or writing depending on the day. They come to me if they need help, but mostly I'm working with my little girls here. If they finish those subjects in that time they work on their individual science. After morning tea the little girls play and I work with my 6th and 8th graders. We sometimes do some more LA together like a writing activity, some editing, dictation etc. We also work on our Sonlight core work which involves history and literature. If there is still time and they haven't done science then they slot that in there. Otherwise science gets priority the next day. LUNCH After lunch we have family read aloud time. I have one or two read alouds on the go plus something else. Our 'something else' at the moment is poetry. After that the afternoon is for quiet reading and other activities. I may have a practical project for them to do for eg: Ds has been building a model island to go along with our Pacific Islands topic, gardening, music, an art lesson or activity. Music prac get done here. I have 6 that use the piano so basically it's get there when you can....ðŸ˜. One daughter loves to sew so she does this in the afternoons too. Anyway, that's it, I think. I am finding it so good to focus academics in the morning and have more activities in the afternoon. I'm working on the theory that homeschool is more intense and therefore doesn't take as long as 'school'. So I target those three main areas first everyday (maths, spelling, English) and let the rest fit in after that until lunch. Most day it works and we are actually doing more than we were when we were working nearly all day. HTH

Thankyou for linking to it. 😊 Unfortunately the site is saying that the kindle version is currently unavailable for purchase. Is it the same for you or is it because I'm in Australia? Just wondering....

Has anyone bought this on Kindle from Amazon? I thought it was available but it's not coming up as an option when I search for it....

I've found that my writers just needed opportunity. They responded well to having 'free writing' built into their schedules. So, twice a week, writing was to be their own choice. Some wonderful stories were/are being written in that time.

My 12yo boy usually either draws or plays with Lego while I read. He knows to keep the Lego noise down (you know, that scrabbling noise when you are trying desperately to find that certain piece...😉). Sometimes he will play with items from Lego that he has already made - at the moment it's police cars.

This sounds really good. Wish it was on kindle...😞

This is what my kids do.... Jigsaw puzzles Coloring Drawing Little people figures/houses. Cross-stitch Knitting Crocheting Play solitaire card games (don't know how they concentrate - but they do...) Lego (can get noisy) Eat 😉 Oh... And I'm thinking of instituting ironing as a read aloud activity. It's quiet, and oh so productive. Kid has something to do with hands and I get the ironing done. Win win ðŸ†.

Went to church Had coffee Home for lunch Sick kids (not the result of lunch-just thought I'd point that out.) Cleaned the computer desk Had more coffee Cooked dinner Read a chapter of read aloud - even sick kids can listen to read alouds, right? Now most kids in bed Time for more coffee?

My dd loves The Silver Brumby series. Also, Currency Lass is a novel set in early Sydney. My dd's have enjoyed this although it might be better as a read-aloud for that age. The Little Black Princess by Aeneas Gunn is a story of an aboriginal girl. A Little Bush Maid by Mary Grant Bruce about a family in the Australian bush. HTH

I'm using McGuffey Primer with my littles. We practice the words, talk about the sounds, practice sounding them out etc and read the lesson/story. I use sentences from it as writing practice for my 6yo as well. We also use phonics cards to learn sounds - no set plan or schedule - just add more as the kids are ready or as particular sound combos come up in the reader. Dd6 is also using a phonics program, but really, nothing else is needed and I am loving teaching them this way 😊.

I split our 'morning' time between breakfast and lunch time. My 12th grader joins us in the morning but is not here at lunch because she works at a cafe over lunch. She likes to join us for some read-alouds but can't be stuck with us all morning so splitting the times works well at the moment. MORNING: Bible/pray Memory Read-aloud (currently A Long Walk to Water) LUNCH: Poetry Read-aloud 1 Read-aloud 2 Sometimes something extra - art, extra history read, science video, together topic.

Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. Even my dh enjoys these when we read them aloud 😉

I've thought about it. At the moment I am getting up early to exercise (hopefully) by myself before everyone gets up but my 4yo seems to have an internal radar that knows when I get up. Apparently that means she has to get up too. I don't know how I'd make study work with miss 4 chatting alongside me.

Oh wow. Yes. Wading through treacle. What a perfect way to describe it 😉...

It's about 4:40pm on Sunday here. We went to church this morning and, since it's both dh's and ds' birthday today, we came home for presents, banquet lunch and cake. Boy oh boy, we made way too much food. We are all way too full now and not remotely interested in dinner. And we haven't even tackled the cake yet. So that's our Sunday so far 😊.

My 4yo is doing SL P4/5 with her sister which is basically reading with some activities. She is ready for it and they have fun acting out the stories etc together. I am also now actively teaching her to read because she is soooo ready and so excited. I'm not using a program though - just a bunch of phonics flashcards and the McGuffey Primer. We do this when she goes down for her afternoon nap/quiettime. We just snuggle in a chair and read while everyone else has their quiet time too. I'll teach her how to write the letters on the white board as she is starting to write by herself anyway. Another resource she likes and we sometimes use is www.allinonehomeschool.com It has free phonics and early math activities in the Getting Ready 1 and 2 section - some online and some printable.

I haven't read all the replies so please forgive me if I double up. 😉 My current school age students are in 12th, 10th, 8th, 6th and K, with a 4yo who is very bright and somedays asks for school work and sometimes doesn't. My 21yo college student lives at home too and joins us for some family time things because she likes to. My top tips would be: Establish and maintain 'quiet time' after lunch. Train your little ones to do this. If they sleep, then GREAT. If they don't they can still spend time in their beds with books or quiet toys. If you have a really little one that needs you at that time then maybe snuggle up in the bed together - you might both fall asleep #goodforall 😉. Do some things together. Lots of content can be covered by reading together followed by all doing some sort of response - acting out a scene together, drawing a picture, make a notebook page, writing about it etc. With individual work I have set time frames to work within so i know (and they know) what is coming up and when. I work with my little two between breakfast/morning chores and morning tea. Then they are free to go play while i work with the next two between morning tea and lunch. My 8th and 6th graders have done individual work like math, spelling, some English etc while i was working with the little girls. We now do their SL core work and some LA together. After lunch we have a family time which includes reading aloud, poetry, and maybe art, or outside game together, DVD, a together topic or activity etc. Then quiet time. In the afternoon, i can meet with my older student to go over work. So, really, while they are young do lots together, and have some set (general) times to spend short instructional times with individuals. Hope that helps.

I wake my kids (all but the 6 and 4 year olds). I think that getting up and going in the morning is a life skill. I find having a set breakfast time important to our mornings. So breakfast is at 7:30, then we have Bible reading, prayer, memory, and a read-aloud around the table. Next we do clean-up/chores and move into own schoolwork time until lunch. At lunch we have another family time (minus dd17 at this point because she starts cafe job at 12:00). For us, a set starting time is crucial otherwise major dawdling occurs and the day waffles along, jobs don't happen in a timely way, people don't get things done and guess who gets frustrated....???? ;)

Yes. That was it!!!!

I heard a podcast recently where the host was interviewing Sonya Schaeffer from SCM and she was speaking about how to use CM methods of writing to develop other forms of writing beyond just the narrative form. It was really good and enlightening. Maybe search the SCM site and see if she has a podcast on upper writing. She's very informative.

We split our family time into two sessions. Firstly, we have Bible, memory and a read-aloud at breakfast, followed by morning chores, then own work usually starting with math. After lunch we have more group time which then leads into quiet time (reading). We do it this way because dd17 has a cafe job that starts at 12 each day which means she is not here at lunch, but she doesn't like to 'miss out' on everything the family is doing either. So we have the earlier time together which includes her but also gives her time to do some of her own study before she goes to work. I also have kids that like to get in and get their work done in the morning so this method works well for us at the moment.

Yes, mine too ;)

I use Getting Ready 1 and 2 at www.allinonehomeschool.com with my little ones. They love it.