Let me start by saying what we all know; that the beauty of HSing is being able work at each student's level. When I started HSing last year, I first went to the Maryland State Standards site and downloaded the standards for the grades my DDs would be in, then used that information to guide my curriculum choices. I say "guide" because I have 2 very different learners. One flies through stuff, while the other got a rough start in PS in California and has needed a lot of special attention to get her confidence & skills up. This year I started w/ WTM, and have only gone to the MDk12 site recently to get a better idea of where I should/could be going with our writing program. I am comfortable w/ the progress being made in all other areas using WTM as my basic guide. If you are curious about what kids in the PS equivilent "grade" would be doing, check out the standards for Maryland. They are higher than those I encountered during our time in California, but I don't know how they stack up next to other US states. http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/reading/index.html (click on the grade you are interested in, or under the heading of "Instruction", choose another subject area to look into) Again, just use the site to get a feel for what PS grades are doing. I wouldn't get too fixated on what schools are doing. (For one thing, they have a very different selection of curriculum to use) And keep in mind that standards are goals. Some schools in a state will achieve those goals, while others will not. I hope this was helpful.

I used to lurk, but with the format change I've been trying to post more. I always get a funny, awkward feeling when posting, like I'm the new kid in a school where EVERYBODY has known each other for years, and not only did I have the gall to say something, but my style is just totally not "it". I figure I'll keep working at it as interesting things come. Either I'll get the hang of it, or someone will tell me to bug off.:rolleyes:

Hear! Hear! I couldn't have said it better!:)

I don't know how old your dc are, but Vocabulary From Classical Roots has worked well for DD12 this year. We'll be continuing on to Book B next year.

Latin Prep is working well for my DD12. She is working on it entirely independently and has little trouble understanding and translating. She uses the teacher's manual to check her work each day. What's more she says that she has a lot of fun doing her Latin. Sounds like you've got a willing, able learner. So with a little tweaking I'm sure you can make Latin work out fine!

I have to laugh because your post reminded me of this college professor I had who would say the most obnoxious, sexist things and then follow it with this slow, staged "Ha! Ha! Ha!, Just Kidding" (in some European accent). For years afterward my best friend (also in that class) and I would use that as our punch line. :rolleyes: Now I hope THAT hasn't offended anyone! :eek:

I found a friend who is also a junkie... as luck would have it, our kids are the same ages. So we can share stuff and only buy half as much! Or so the theory goes! (Doesn't help when she calls me to let me know that she's at the Scholastic Book Fair and how they've just gotten a shipment in and there's LOTS more stuff than when we'd been there together a couple of days prior!!!! Needless to say, I was at the warehouse within half an hour!)

You might be a homeschooler if... Your idea of home decor includes maps, globes, and HUGE solar systems sprawled across the wall! Oh, and pencils EVERYWHERE!!! What's up with that?!:p

Aloha! We're on Oahu, also. We're a military family and have been here about 1 1/2 years. We live windward but end up spending a LOT of time in town.

Every other day unless they smell funny. DD12 is getting to the point where daily showers are often necessary, especially after 2hr ballet classes!:p

Last year was my first year HSing my DDs. Prior to that they'd been in PS, but being a military family, we move around a lot and that leaves us vulnerable to varying qualities of schools. Now we are in Hawaii, and unless we wanted to pay MAJOR money ($17k+/child!!!) we would have had to go w/ a PS system that is known to be weak. Now, I've got a teaching degree... so I figured "No Problem!" as far as homeschooling, right? (I hear all you old-timers laughing:) ). So I happily chose my curriculum, figuring I'd be making adjustments during the first year. A friend recommended WTM, but I am a stubborn "Do-it-myself" kinda gal, so I refused to even LOOK as WTM. Last year was okay... we made progress, but not without a LOT of stress! (I was now teaching kids who'd spent their entire lives learning how to press my buttons! Also, I was constantly second-guessing my choices) I would talk w/ a friend, who is a very non-pushy kind of person and also homeschools, and she suggested several times that I read WTM. I kept saying "No", that I wasn't that kind of homeschooler (Don't know what I thought "that kind" really was). Well, my friend got around my stubborness by having her daughter come up to me one day at DD's ballet class; thrust WTM into my hands saying "My mom told me to give this to you!" and then run away! I took it home, read it, and was hooked! This year has been so, incredibly much better! We are all happier and making even more progress. (I still get my buttons pushed,:rolleyes: but I have more confidence & organization) I know that when I return to a regular classroom I will be a much better teacher from the experience I have gained.

"Meanwhile, as the only morning person in the whole family, I have been awake since 6:30 enjoying my coffee and quiet" Quiet... that's what I stay up late at night for! I love it after everyone has gone to bed and it's just me at the computer, with the dog asleep at my feet! But this would also explain my sleep-in attitudes towards mornings!

I, too, must be a hippie mom! My kid(s) also get up before me (there's NO WAY I am getting up at 6AM w/ my DD9!) Sometimes DD12 is up early, and other times I have to get her up (haven't gotten around to setting up the alarm clock she got for Christmas!). To lessen the daily nagging I made laminated cards that hang in their bathroom with the expected AM/PM activities ie: breakfast, teeth, wash face, get dressed & do cat chores before going on parent approved websites (Sara Bella, Webkinz, or Circle of Friends, which is a Pen Pal site) or watching TV. They use a dry erase marker to check off each item as they do it. They also know that if the dishwasher was run the night before and they empty it, Mom will be in a much better mood when she gets up! That's all they are expected to do. Bear in mind that they have a mom who would rather read, sew, take a walk/bike ride or do pretty much anything (even mow the lawn!) rather than do housework, so I'm certainly not going to ask my kids to do that stuff while I'm still in bed! We all do those chores together in short bursts after schoolwork.

We tried VV and Words on the Vine, but they weren't good "fits" for us. This year DD12 has been using Vocabulary from Classical Roots with great success.

If you Google Reading comprehension questions or something similiar you can find a number of websites where you can print out reading journal pages and other worksheets w/ questions, or you can pre-read the selection and make up your own questions/activities. Have your student read the questions prior to doing her day's reading the first book or two, so she starts to get the idea of "big picture" questions. Then have her complete the questions/activities either in a writing or orally.

DD12 - Vocab. From Classical Roots A, Latin Prep 1, and Writing Strands 5 and lots of reading including free-choice books and assigned books. We were using Our Mother Tongue, but after listening to her sister's work with Shurley English, DD12 asked to be switched to SE, so she is now doing SE-7 and says that she has more understanding of the "why" than she ever had before. Supplement with Spelling Power, although she is almost finished with the book. DD9 - Shurley English 3, Spelling Workout C, Writing Strands 3 (although I don't push the WS). DD9 came out of Public School 1gr. with some issues that we have been addressing (she needs to find her own way to make things work in her head), so as far as reading is concerned, last year we focused on decoding skills and this year we are finally working on comprehension using books that I select and prep for her. It can be a lot of work to accomodate two very different learning styles, but I look forward to the day when I get back into a classroom of my own and can apply the things I'm learning now when I don't have someone handing me a pile of books and saying "This is what you'll teach this year". Of course homeschooling for a curriculum junkie can be dangerous! My husband is dreading our next move, betting that our household goods will be overweight from all my books!

DD12 has been using Latin Prep 1 this year and LOVES it! She says that it's great and that she loves Latin when she always thought she'd dread it! Needless to say, we'll be doing Latin Prep 2 next year. What I wonder about is DD9, who says she wants to start Latin, but has a very different learning style from her sister. I'm wondering if Latin for Children, or Lively Latin might be better choices for her next year? Any suggestions?

Okay, now I'm realizing why I was always a lurker! I live in Hawaii and my primary time for being online is late at night when the rest of you are probably asleep! I'm not unfriendly, just an insomniac!

A friend recommended Shurley English and I am totally sold on it (even though the scripted nature of it originally put me off) You don't necessarily have to use the set level that matches your child's school year (ie: you can use a level that is one up or down from the school year). It includes vocabulary, writing, & grammar. I have a dd 9, who is a reluctant student, but is now doing a great job w/ all areas of English/grammar/writing! You can often pick up Shurley English used, and not needing the precise year to match your child gives you some flexibility. Another thought is to start a change jar.. sounds silly, but we have one and the whole family contributes any coins they come across. It adds up faster than you'd think and can really come in handy. I hope that you have success. You'll certainly find satisfaction as you make this school year work.

I guess I qualify as a lurker! :) Assuming that "lurking" refers to those of us who read the posts, but don't participate! Good news is I'm a friendly "lurker"! Just cautious w/ offering my opinion :p