I'm planning to get a Proclick, too! We only have an Office Max near us, and their price is the same as Amazon. They have it in stock though rather than wait the 1-2 month shipping from Amazon (what's up with that?!?). This is my first year HSing, and I'm planning to print the student pages from SOTW and the Latin Lively Big Book of Latin for each of my DDs. I'll probably put together some other bindings but not sure what yet. Can someone suggest the best way to do this such as spine size used, how many pages they print/bind at a time, etc.? I'm going to get a laser printer with duplexing, too.

Thanks for responding. I decided to keep it simple this first year and do Easy Grammar/Daily Grams, Spelling Power, and Pentime for LA. DD11 will also try WWS1. I still haven't decided if I'll add in vocabulary as we'll.

Thank you so much for the SM coaching. We all will have to break from the PS "grade" mentality. I want to make this a smooth transition for my girls, but it's definitely going to take soe getting used to. So, are you using the Standards Edition then? I've seen a mix from what I've read here and am still on the fence about which to get. It's great to see another family who all do SOTW together. And until 8th grade, you say? That's great because that'll give DD11 3 years of it and my other DDs a chance to get through all 4 years of it.

Yes, the reading I'm meaning is just good old fashioned reading of books they love but also some classics along the way. My kindergartner will need phonics, but that's a whole different topic...lol. How awesome though that SOTW can fulfill more than just the history part of their studies. I'll definitely be applying the extra suggestions from the activity book. I agree that it will be best to try to combine my girls together in as many subjects as I can. Thanks to all you ladies for all your helpful suggestions! You have truly eased my mind.

Wow...thanks, Ellie! It's great to get that recommendation about not trying to fit in too much. I'm all for that since LA is definitely an area I shy away from. I've seen Easy Grammar mentioned often, so I'll have to give it another look. I've not looked into R&S that much. When I showed my husband the HOD catalog (which uses R&S) that another HSer loaned to me he immediately dismissed it because he wants the girls' education secular. I wouldn't mind some mix of both as long as it's not too distracting. Would you say the R&S spelling you recommend would fit that bill? As far as penmanship, my DD11 has wonderful handwriting and is actually studying calligraphy (a kit she bought on her own when given money to spend at Walgreen's), so I suppose I could skip it with her. DD9 still writes like she's just learning. She definitely doesn't practice the cursive she learned in 3rd grade. Saxon and I go way back. It was what was used when I was in high school, and it's also what was used when I taught honors pre-calc. My own experience with this kind of learning was great until I got to college and hit a wall in my upper level math courses. Basically, it boiled down to me being able to understand the how but I never truly grasped application and struggled when a different problem from the examples was posed. I'm not expecting my girls to follow in my footsteps and do upper level maths, but I'm hoping the change in approach early on will cement a deeper understanding of math concepts. I realize Saxon is successful for many who go onto higher math learning with no difficulty, but I want to try something different than the way I was taught.

Your words are comforting, Shay! Thanks! I will check out Memoria Press. It's funny you mentioned them because someone in another thread I was just reading suggested them, too. Noeo was chosen because it came with kits and was the only secular curriculum I could find that had a level that was recommended for both my girls' ages. My husband is a scientist and is hoping to be able to teach them science every so often. He requested that I avoid anything "churchy". We are Christians, but my husband wants as neutral curricula as possible for our girls while we do our own scripture study at designated times (probably to start out our day). I'll give my kids more credit than what the SM placement tests are telling me, and probably have them each start a grade lower. Their school was great with drills and sent home flash cards they had to complete daily, so they've got their math facts down. They are both decent math students, but I wouldn't say gifted. I'm not sure where they stand with mental math.

That's what I'm afraid of. I know that SM really pushes the mental math method and that it's something taught early on. Are there any resources to share with my girls before starting that would teach them this method and offer some practice?

I'm curious about LLATL. Is this a complete LA program? Is it something that can be done somewhat independently? This will be our first year HSing, and LA is by far my greatest weakness. I also am planning to use Singapore Math, but I'm really nervous about such a massive change to my girls' way of learning math. I'm an ex high school math teacher, and I hope I can help them grasp the different way of thinking/solving. Do you have any experience with switching an older student to SM or know of any stories to relay?

So this is our first year venturing into unchartered territory, and it's been mind-numbing to wade through all the choices and then get even more confused when I start reading reviews. We've lived in rural SD for the past three years, and there aren't very many other homeschoolers and certainly no coops or support groups that I've found. I've talked the two only local homeschoolers I know, and one completely follows HOD. The other uses a different boxed curricula. We are a Christian family but would prefer to keep our subjects secular. I've got three daughters starting kindergarten, 4th, and 6th grades. I've been a stay-at-home mom since our firstborn, but I'm a former high school math teacher with a BS in mathematics. I'm really excited to use Singapore math with them, but I'm finding they aren't testing anywhere near grade level. A suggestion I've seen mentioned a couple of times here is to just start everyone at 2A (except my DDK) to get a feel for the Singapore Math system and learn their key methods for solving problems. However, my DD11 is horrified at the thought of taking 2nd grade math even when I explain that it's only for "review" and should go quickly. Can anyone help me decide what do or how to make this work for my girls? The area I'm totally clueless about though is language arts. In fact, this is an area that I've pretty much avoided my entire life. My brain basically shuts down when I try to research what's out there and what all I need to be teaching. Just so I'm clear, my girls need curriculum for grammar, spelling, vocabulary, handwriting, and reading. Am I missing anything? I'm really hoping to find the same curriculum for both girls at their individual levels where they can work somewhat independently. Please, please, please give me suggestions and break it down in simple terms for me. Other than that, this is what I've got chosen so far: Science: Noeo Biology 2 (DD9 and DD11 will do together) History: SOTW 1 ( all three girls will do this together, DDK will just listen to the readings and color) Latin: Lively Latin Big Book 1 (DD9 and DD11 will both do at their own pace) The girls will also be reading age-appropriate literature throughout the year, and I will seek out what other families do along with those books. I greatly would appreciate any other input, advice, recommendations, or ANYTHING because I'm basically freaking out about this whole process. Thanks so much, and I'm looking forward to being a part of this community.