Same here. We love the tiles! We keep them on a portable white board, out of reach - have been using the tiles for six years and none have gotten lost so far. My kids love using the tiles and makes a big difference in them being attentive in the lesson. I do let my older one dictate spelling words to me orally if he wants to, but we still use the tiles for learning the rules.

We initially dropped AAS because I couldn't get over the lack of very detailed instruction and daily spelling lists. I felt like I needed more direction. I tried a bunch of other things, none of it worked - and then we came back to AAS last year (after about a 3 yr hiatus from it). Now I get it. I understand it now. I understand why it works and why it's actually perfect. I feel more comfortable with the system and figuring out a daily schedule and how to use it for our needs. And my kid is flying through spelling. I think we've gone through 4 levels in a matter of months. My reluctant speller has turned into an excellent speller, thanks to AAS and lots of reading!

My kid sounds the same as yours. Even though Voyages in English is pricey, I would consider looking into that if I were you. I've checked out all of the other options you've mentioned and none of them was even close to being a good fit for my kid. Voyages in English seems the most promising. We're trying it out now. We also have tried out Junior Analytical Grammar and it's also excellent! Over the summer I did Junior Analytical Grammar together with Montessori grammar symbols and that was a big hit. Great for the visual/hands-on learner!

We LOOOOOOOOVE CLE math!!!!!! We switched to CLE about 3 years ago after trying a myriad of other math curricula including LoF. CLE is everything. It is by far the best curricula of any kind that we use. We use it slightly below grade level cause I find it advanced, even more so than Singapore. But it's a totally different kind of math than Singapore so it's really not comparable. I love that it's incremental so the kids really don't forget anything. Everything is constantly reviewed, and mastered - so they really "get it". My kids also constantly get very high grades in math, usually 95-100%. It's also written to the student so I have to do very little actual teaching, they can do most of it on their own. I also love how it covers things a lot of other math curricula doesn't. Little things that are actually important, like how to say very large or very small numbers correctly for example. Could be very important especially for kids who go into the sciences or engineering. ETA to add... I don't recommend CLE for grade 1. But from about grade 2.5 onwards. Before that we did a mix-up of Singapore and Miquon, more hands-on than what CLE provides for those levels. I would still do CLE but supplement for grade 1 and 2 to prevent boredom. I plan to continue with CLE till around grade 7-8 and then probably switch to Saxon for high school.

Grade 3 has been the perfect age to start history for both my kids. We go through history chronologically, starting with prehistory (one of the most fun periods, IMO) and move on from there. I'm planning on going through all of history twice before Grade 12. Grade 3-5 SOTW 1-4 with the Usborne Encyclopedia and extra books, videos, etc. Grade 6-7 Human Odyssey Ancient through Modern inc. extra for U.S. History (Probably Joy Hakim's *condensed* US History books) Grade 8 History of Science (Build Your Library) Grade 9 OUP Ancient & Middle Ages (Oxford University Press) Grade 10-12 probably outsourced, but would like to use the OUP primary reference books for modern history as a resource. I tried using OUP for my sixth grader this year who is a very good reader, but we're finding it a bit dry. I think it will work better for high school. It's also a LOT of material to read. Meanwhile Human Odyssey is the most readable history text I've come across yet, and he's loving it - so that's what we'll use for now. I have all the OUP books so I might add in a few chapters here and there before Grade 9 if they are applicable.

10 yr old DS is reading "Beetle Boy" and he just finished "Galen and the Gateway to Medicine", I just finished "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles - BEST book I've read in the last 12 months! SOOO GOOD! It's slightly slow in the beginning, but worth sticking with it. We just discussed it in my book club and the consensus was this was the best book we've ever read together.

Most colleges in Canada require official high school diploma's. Some make exceptions, but it's really tricky and lots of hoops to jump through. With the exception of maybe some Christian schools which have higher percentages of homeschoolers applying, like Trinity Western University for example... which is where we plan to send our kids. It's a lot of $$$ but popular with Americans cause it's a high quality school and a lot cheaper then the equivalent on the other side of the border.

The Great Courses has a great audio course too, "The Science of Natural Healing" by cardiologist and professor Mimi Guarneri (Scripps Center). I've been studying nutrition for many years and what she has to say is spot on and very current. She's very easy to listen to, a great speaker. Probably my favourite course so far from The Great Courses.

"Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Weston Price. It's free online. He was a dentist who traveled around the world in the 1930s to the most remote healthiest people groups he could find. The book is all about what he discovered about their diets. There is a foundation out there with his name. Some of their stuff is pretty good too, but I'd stick with the original book for context.

I'm an INTP. I've read that book about careers and personality type someone posted above and I found it pretty accurate. All the careers on the list were ones I'd considered at one point or another. I find the biggest struggle is narrowing things down, cause I have so many interests. I've always been obsessed with nutrition so I'd like to do further studies in biochem, but I don't think I could ever be a doctor. I would probably just be in school forever and then become a professor. The most enjoyable job I've had was working in a preschool. I'm fascinated with early childhood education, especially the Montessori style approach. I could also see myself having an art studio some day and teaching art to students of all ages. I've also considered just freelance writing. Who am I kidding, as an INTP I probably won't have to choose - just attempt to do it all! :P About your plans - the classroom part wouldn't last forever. If you keep that mindset you might be able to make it through!

You could do CPO Science (recommended in the WTM), the only thing that doesn't work on your list is that they are based on specific subjects not general science. Because the reading level doesn't change much from grade to grade in these books, you could just do 1/3 of each book each year for middle school level until you're done them. We buy the textbooks secondhand, you don't need to do any experiments at all if you don't want to. The lab sheets are optional extra practice, some cross-curricular. You can add as much as like, or none at all.

So far the only group activity that has been somewhat of a success is a homeschool gymnnastics group, and only cause my kids lack some coordination and gross motor skills so it's one of the few area's they are not really ahead in! I've pretty much given up on academic co-ops. My kids are already looking forward to college. It sounds like a dream world to them lol. They are 8 and 10 yrs.

I would add handwriting to what you've already got, and that's about all you need for actual curriculum. I also really like "All About Reading" level 1 together with Explode the Code (if a child needs extra practice). I'd also add in plenty of reading out loud... there are so many good book lists out there, I think one of my favourites for that age is the Mensa Kids Reading Excellence book list.

Yes, and this is also why we school year round.

CPO Life Science!! We did the earth science this year, it was soooo good. You can buy the teacher and student textbooks secondhand. The worksheets are downloadable online. I love the literary selections and extra activities too. I add some videos to each chapter, and it's about as close to the ideal science as I could get (and it happens to be the one Susan Wise Bauer recommends in The Well Trained Mind too...) ETA: We've done RSO and RS4K and I think CPO far surpasses them both.

I've posted our loop schedule for CPO Life Science and video links on my blog. We used CPO Earth science this past year and loved it! I haven't posted the schedule and videos for CPO Earth science yet but I plan to. http://life-schooling.blogspot.ca/2017/06/grade-6-science-schedule-and-links.html

Grammar: FLL Spelling: AAS Handwriting: Zaner-Bloser Writing: WWE Phonics: AAR with ETC as supplement Math: CLE Geography: Evan-Moor Daily Practice History: SOTW German: system based on "Fluent Forever" Art: Child size Masterpieces and Atelier DVD Science: Mystery Science and TOPS systems Bible: Telling God's Story Phys Ed: Gymnastics, Ballet, Swimming

I would definitely continue with either ETC or AAR even though your child can read already. They will help with multisyllable words and unusual pronounciation. We don't quit phonics at this level, we continue with "Megawords" by EPS (same people who make ETC), and also McGuffey's Readers. My son is reading many grade levels above, but I think advanced phonics is important to continue.

I'm fluently bilingual (German is my first language) and I've been looking for curricula to teach my kids German. They've only spoken English their entire lives. I always had the intention to teach German to them some day, but not to have a bilingual home from the start. The very best resource I've come across is the book "Fluent Forever". It describes a step-by-step process that is easy to follow, with minimal cost investment, that I know will really work to get far in a language. You don't need full immersion or one-on-one tutoring, but it can help once you are already pretty advanced. You can get far with a simple program that you can set up yourself based on the book. I highly recommend it. I have a friend with her masters in Linguistics who is bilingual in Japanese, and the advice she gave me is very similar to what's laid out in "Fluent Forever".

I'm in the same boat. I've spent hours today pouring over the materials and I am overwhelmed. I do not get overwhelmed easily. I was prepared for there to be a lot to go through... but there is a LOT.

It was a substantial order... I think it was over $500. No duties and no fees! Maybe I just lucked out this time.

I just got the Usborne Illustrated Shakespeare and it looks great though I haven't read it yet.

I second, Winnie the Pooh (I like the Judy Dench one) James Herriot's Treasury for Children Beatrix Potter But one of my all time favourites has got to be "Frog and Toad Collection" narrated by Arnold Lobel himself.

"A Child's Introduction to the Orchestra" is fun.

My son is similar. Spelling is his worst subject. What has helped more than anything is "All About Spelling". Any curriculum with weekly spelling lists has not worked for us.