I almost started to cry when I read your post because my daughter sounds so much like yours! I have been worried about her also. She only has one friend whom she considers her BFF but that friend has 5 other BFFs she mostly hangs with. She has tried to include my dd in her group (over and over again, sincerely trying to get my dd involved), but my dd is so painfully shy and self-conscious, she just won't let herself "be accepted" into that group. We go to a co-op twice a week so she has plently of opportunities to make friends. I volunteer there;her siblings are there so she should feel at ease, but she doesn't. She says she doesn't really like being around a lot of other people. She seems happy to hang around at home and play games with me or her dad or siblings. I keep telling myself that is really a good thing. She isn't boy crazy or silly or gossipy. She is in a sewing group and Keepers of the Faith. She has cousins and grandparents she spends time with, but I just feel like .... like maybe she is missing out on the fun of being silly with a best friend! She is a very stoic person but when I talk to her about making friends she gets tears in her eyes. I think deep down she wants friends but maybe right now she doesn't NEED friends. Anyway, I don't mean to hijack your thread I just wanted to commiserate with you. Jenn

I actually answered this question myself. As much as I would love to switch to RS, I cannot justify spending the money right now. I pulled out LOF today and let her do that. She loved it because she could do it on her own. I think I will continue with Saxon and supplement with LOF. Sigh, I will look forward to using RS all the way through with my younger two. Jenn

I am driving myself crazy with math curriculum issues! I recently switched my older two girls from MUS to Saxon for many reasons. The main reason was that our local co-op offers a class using Saxon7/6. Saxon is a good fit for my math loving dd13. But! My dd11 despises math! Saxon is torture for her. I have broken down the lessons so that she is not so overwhelmed. She is the type who just wants to do her math page, get it done and over with, and not have to think about math for the rest of the day. So! I would really like to switch her to RS E. I use RS with my younger 2 and absolutely love it. I think it would allow dd11 to see that math isn't so bad. She is thinking about becoming a vet and I know she needs a good math background. My question: My dd is in 5th grade, is it too late to switch? Should we just bite the bullet and finish up Saxon (she is half way through 5/4)? I don't want to make her fall further behind by continuing to switch curriculums. I'd appreciate any wisdom from the hive! Jenn

We are currently using WWE with CW. I do WWE on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the other days I do CW. My children have also improved tremendously by using WWE. I just started CW but I love this WWE/CW mix. CW really makes us slow down and look at the details of a story. For the writing project we have to make an outline of the story and then rewrite the story in our own words. I haven't tried any other writing programs so I don't know how CW compares to others. It is really amazing how children improve their writing skills by doing consistent narration, copywork and dictation! I think WWE/CW is a good combination (for us anyways:)). Jenn

I have looked at their website and it looks like what I am looking for to supplement our Saxon math. But what exactly do I order? I don't really want to spend $100 or more. Can I get away with the workbook only? OR should I do the online course for one month to see if we like it? If anyone that uses Professor B and can give me their experience I would appreciate it!:001_smile: Jenn

okay, thanks, HiddenJewel, that is what i wanted to know. I will just have dd8 do the outline with us next time. Jenn:)

I have just started CW Aesop. I love it so far! Here is my question about the writing project: When the child rewrites the model, should it be in their own words or is it okay to write the story verbatim? I had dd10 and dd13 do the outline from The Tortoise and The Hare and then write the story. They each wrote their version of the story - keeping the exact same story line (from their outline) but changed the wording to be their speech. Example: The model says," Ha, I could dance 'round you all the way." My daughter wrote, "Ha! Ha! Tortoise, you couldn't beat me in a million years." Is that okay???? Then, on the other hand, my dd8 did not do an outline. She just wrote down the story from her memory. It was the model, verbatim. Should I expect her to put it in her own words? Just wondering. TIA, Jenn

Thank you all for your replies! I am off to Ambleside Online to get more info and to join their yahoo group. jenn

Can anyone tell me how they use Ambleside? I really like the CW feel of it. This year I have decided that we need to concentrate on Math and Writing and add in Latin. We are also studying the presidents and would like to begin learning about the Ancients. Some specifics questions are: 1. What is the focus of AO's history? Looking at the schedules it looks like mostly middle ages and modern. Could I start there even though my older dd10 and dd13 have not had ancient history yet. 2. AO suggests grammar only once a week. What do you think about that? 3. Where would I place my dc? I think my dd8 would go easily into level 3, but my dd10 and my dd13? My dd10 and dd13 are on the same reading level. My dd10 (about to turn 11) is actually a better reader and writer than her older sister. Level 5 looked too easy. Level 6 looked like it had a lot of american history and we just finished SL Core 3 and 4. We are really tired of American History. Level 7 looked difficult. Any advice? We are out of the house two days a week at a co-op and I have been stressed about getting all our work done. Just reading the AO website and the CW philosophy has made me feel better. Maybe we need to do less better. 4. What about teaching outlining? According to TWTM, I should be teaching my 5th and 7th graders to outline. Does AO give recommendations for teaching writing? I plan to use CW. Thanks for any input. Jenn

also try The Inkheart Series The Christy Series by Robin Jones Gunn (Christian Fiction)

I can't so relate to your problem! We are out of the house on Tuesdays to an academic co-op and on Thursday mornings for another co-op class and then on Thursday afternoons we have homeschool play day with our church group. We also belong to another large homeschool group that has lots of field trips, enrichment nights,ect. We are also very much involved in church and sports. So this is my thoughts: I would hold off on the academic co-op. I began ours this year because I have a 7th grader who needed more girls her age and because I detest teaching math. It is wonderful but a lot of extra work for her. If I had only elementary age, I would definitely give it up! There is time later for your son to be in a co-op setting. I knew it was time for us this year because we were getting a little burned out and because my 10 year old was begging me! I have often thought about giving up our Thursday play day because it is just social. But, like you, these are our church friends, friendships I feel are important to cultivate. So, I would keep the social one. We are still trying to figure out our schedule-being out of the house two days a week. Keep us posted to how your year goes. Jenn

Could it be Polished Cornerstones: Projects for Daughters on the Path to Womanhood by Pam Forster? Jenn

We love RightStart! I ordered RS B last year to use with my struggling math phobic dd7 and my ds5. It is time consuming, but it is worth it! They love the math games. The customer service is wonderful. I was frustrated last week with my dd and called them. They gave me some wonderful advice (put the book away and just play games for a while) to cement her basic facts. My older dds used Math U See and have now switched to Saxon. My dd10 is moving quickly through Saxon 5/4. It is funny because my ds5 just this evening walked into the kitchen holding up two Star Wars light sabers and said,"Look Mom! I am making parallel lines!" My dd10 couldn't believe he knew something at 5 that she was just learning. I have also noticed the same thing about the mental math problems. RS wants the dc to really understand the math concepts not just memorize. They emphasize using the abacus and not counting. This is more than you wanted to know I am sure, but I love RS! Jenn

This is a list of what we have read or plan to read for Ancients: Detectives in Togas and The Mystery of the Roman Ransom (by Winterfield) Wonderful books! My 3rd grader read on own but they would make great read alouds. D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths - my children love this colorful book The Golden Goblet by Roger Lancelyn Green - my dc haven't read this yet, but i have and it is terrific. i plan to read it aloud. Black Ships before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff is very good. Aesop's Fables we enjoyed That's all we have read so far. I made a list from VP, TWTM, and Sonlight to read this year. Happy Reading, Jenn

My 3rd grader is the same way. It drives me crazy at times! She can't remember what 3 and 2 equals. We are still on Rightstart B. The only thing that seems to work with her is the card games. I think she does better because the math skills are used in context and because she isn't stressed while we are playing a game. One of our favorite games is addition war. I sympathize with you! Jenn

Thank you, thank you, Heather! I like your idea of doing WWE at double pace and CW Aesop at half. I am so excited by what I read on the CW website and I am looking forward to moving my girls forward in their writing. I will probably use Aesop A with all of them. My 3rd grader catches on very quickly;my 7th grader not so much. Thank you again. Any suggestions you have for using CW are much appreciated! Hope you feel better. Jenn

I am eager to begin CW with my daughters: grades 3, 5 and 7. However, I am not finished with WWE yet. This is where we are with writing instruction and grammar. Can you tell me if we are ready or should we wait. DD8: FFL3, WWE level 3, reads chapter books and writes a 2-3 sentence narration daily, then with my help she narrates orally the whole book and then copies her narration. She does two history narrations a week (narrating orally and then writing from dictation what she had narrated to me). DD10: Abeka Grammar 4 (finishing up from last year),WWE level 3 ( progressing rapidly through this, mainly needs work on narrating about details and with longer dictation passages);reads chapter books and writes a narration about each chapter daily and then writes a one page narration about the whole book; does not need any help with this from me. Writes two narrations weekly on history topics. DD12 same as DD10 Although she is the oldest, grammar does not come easily to her. She needs more work on dictation. She can write an awesome narration but has lots of trouble with the grammar and organization of her sentences. We are going to begin outlining lessons next month with DD10 and DD12. Soooo, should we add CW to what we are doing or wait until the girls go through WWE? Your feedback is much appreciated!!! Jenn

I tried to read it and got bored. My almost 13 year old who loves to read also got bored with it. I would say logic stage for sure. I found it in the young adult section of our library. I am going to pick it up again when we start Egypt. Hopefully, I will be more in the mood for it.:) Jenn

OhElizabeth, Thank you for your input! That is exactly what I was looking for - some practical how to's . I know my dc children can do more than they are doing. I just wasn't sure about the how to... I love the idea of summarizing each chapter in a journal. I love the idea that they only do one report per week. They have been doing a report (orally and then copying) about every two days because they read so much and I was requiring narrations for every assigned reading. I know I need to focus on the writing more so I also love your suggestion on "nibbling to death the ducks." Thank you! Jenn

I have read TWTM and WWE. I have a 3rd grader, 5th grader and a 7th grader. If I understand correctly, they are supposed to 1. read each day 60 min. and narrate the book when they are done. Question: My children read about 1-2 books a day. How many narrations should they do? They always narrate orally; I copy what they said and then they copy that and put in their notebook. Question: how do I ease them into doing the written narration without having to have me copy it down for them first? 2. do narration/dictation as spelled out in WWE. I have all three on Level 3. Question: Should I be adding something else to their writing curriculum? 3. read a section of history and either narrate back to me or outline each paragraph (depending on grade level) Sooo, on a given day, they are narrating and then copying the narration about their assigned reading, about their history topic, and from their WWE assignment. Three narrations/copywork a day Is this too much or not enough? None of my dc like to write. I try to mix up the 3rd graders assignments - asking her to draw a picture or sometimes she wants to write a poem about the book ect..... She is very reluctant to write. Also, I cannot keep up with their reading. SWB says we should read ahead the books our children are going to read during the year. I can see why- so we know if our dc have grasped the main ideas - but who has the time for this???? I would like to know how you guys juggle multiple children and all the narrating. Especially with dc who do not like to write! TIA< Jenn

Wow! I love the idea of centers! I am trying to juggle 4 children who need individual attention from me. My girls read or do chores while they wait for me to get to do their math, Bible, and writing lesson with them. I feel like we could spend our time more wisely. It is taking us all day to get through school! I would love to hear more ideas about centers! Jenn

I purchased the Presidents notebooking pages thinking we would do that when we finished Core 4 which was this Spring. Ummm, I haven't gotten to it. I plan to do it before we start Ancient History in the Fall. We will see. I figured it would make a good review this summer, but there seems to always be something else to do.

FLL-dd loves the poem memorization Rightstart Math Sonlight Core 1 (dd couldn't get enough of Egypt and Greece.) Sonlight readers and read alouds. Greek and Latin roots

We switched midyear from Sonlight Language Arts to FLL (2nd grader) and to Abeka (4th, 6th graders) after I read TWTM. We have always done copywork and dictation, but now the dictation makes sense!! For example, after practicing with commas in Abeka or FLL and then taking a dictation exercise my children understand where to put commas. I could spend months going over their dictation exercise and telling them where they needed commas, or they could spend one week practices commas in a workbook. I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am with the way they have progressed in grammar since we switched. We had even tried ACE grammar with Sonlight. It just wasn't enough practice. HTH, Jenn

Thank you everyone for your honest replies. I really want to try TOG. You have given me some good advice for taking it slow and using the library which I don't mind doing. I also love to plan so that won't be a problem. My problem is wanting to do too much fun history/geography stuff that I neglect the basics. I just will have to be more self-disciplined! Thank you everyone. I learn so much from this forum. Jenn