Foerster's is my favorite algebra book...EVER. It is excellent for both the hare and the tortoise: the gifted student who blazes through without looking back and the student who needs a simple, steady approach. Dd16 (tortoise) completed all of Foerster's Algebra then moved onto Saxon Algebra 2. Ds 14 (tortoise that loves precipices and steep trails) completed AoPS Intro to Algebra ch. 1-12 independently (oh, how I wanted him to take Foerster's, but he thrived on AoPS from the beginning) then went into the AoPS Algebra 2 online course. Ds 12 (hare) completed Foerster's Algebra ch. 1-7 then went into the AoPS Algebra 1 online course. The rest of my children will do Foerster's Algebra then they may move on to whatever they prefer...but definitely Foerster's first!

Gardening (raised garden beds and methods from books like Square Foot Gardening and The Vegetable Gardener's Bible) and eventually canning and freezing home grown food Basic Sewing (boys too!) Painting (watercolors, oils, acrylics, and home decor...painting a room)

(already mentioned) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Princess and the Goblin-but we don't like its sequel. The Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales by Hawthorne are entertaining. I really like The Elson Readers, Jean-Henri Fabre's nature and science books, and Our Little Cousin of Long Ago books.

I like to take my young children for a morning walk before we start school. It's nice to see the world and get fresh air. Also, I get good results after fifteen minutes of picture book time. The first thing that came into my mind was that you pack a bag with the very basics and head out the door to do your table-time work at the library, Starbucks, park, or "name that special spot" for a concentrated amount of work (30 minutes). Kindergartners don't need long sessions and love outings. I have a troop of children. I remember the good ol' days when I was only schooling my oldest, and those daily outings together were so enjoyable. In other words, disguise school. Over time you will find your rhythm at home. Good job, Hilary. Welcome to the WTM Boards.

Sorry, Hunter, Pooh is not public domain. So, I'll add another to replace it...Understood Betsy. Love that one. Ben Hur is in the same vein as Count of Monte Cristo. My six year old especially loved me reading the long descriptions of the deserts and cities. And Christ was the ultimate hero of the story. I didn't find anything objectionable, but there is a bit of tragedy (chariot race accident) and some triumph (healing). Also, maybe I should replace Jane Eyre...it's kind of creepy. (We really enjoyed it and our discussions.) My oldest says that A Little Princess is one of her favorites.

Ten books we enjoyed here: The House at Pooh Corner Swallows and Amazons Pollyanna Kidnapped Captains Courageous (My dh's favorite book) David Copperfield Jane Eyre Pride and Prejudice Ben Hur Pilgrim's Progress

Here are the top three of my many homeschooling mistakes: 1. Many days I focused on my older children's school, and by late afternoon I realized that I did nothing with my littler ones. Now I remember that the little people have me first because I am helping them with the foundations of their education (and afternoon is for tutoring the older ones). 2. I did not use watercolors enough. Art is a foundational subject now. 3. I interrupted schooltime with too much housework. We now have a very structured but fun time called home blessing in the afternoon that we use to put our home back in order. (For example, I wash the laundry of the day and have it on the clothesline before school work and keep soapy water in the sink all day for corralling those stray dishes until home blessing.)

I bought this one year for our nature cabinet: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/rocks-minerals-premium-set-75-specimens/p/RM-ROCK75/ http://www.hometrainingtools.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Rock+collection

I limited myself to 30...so many wonderful books (top 5 favorites are bolded): 1. The Baron's Booty by Virginia Kahl 2. Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl 3. Island Boy by Barbara Cooney 4. Roxaboxen by Barbara Cooney 5. Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey 6. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen 7. The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Arnold 8. Seven Loaves of Bread by Ferida Wolff 9. Noah's Ark by Rien Poortvliet 10. James Herriot's Treasury for Children 11. Rikki Tikki Tavi by Jerry Pinkney and Rudyard Kipling 12. Deliverers of their Country by E. Nesbit and Lisbeth Swerger 13. Own and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Hatkoff, Kahumbu, Greste 14. Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges and Trina Schart Hyman15. One Hen by Kate Milway 16. Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier 17. A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert 18. Our Animals Friend of Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen 19. The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter 20. Papa Piccollo by Carol Talley 21. Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco 22. Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky 23. The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills 24. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein 25. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes 26. Verdi by Janell Cannon 27. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox 28. Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh 29. Capyboppy by Bill Peet 30. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost and Susan Jeffers check out other books by all of these authors too...especially Virginia Kahl, Robert McCloskey, Barbara Cooney, Patricia Polacco, Beatrix Potter

Classical... You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. Hello. My name is Charlotte Mason. You killed my narration. Prepare to add an entry to your nature journal. Have fun stormin' the castle. :001_smile: Sorry. I'll stop now. I mean it. Hey, anybody want a peanut?

I have three children beginning Lukeion Latin 1 tomorrow. This is very much appreciated. Thank you for sharing.

We have a schoolhouse with floor to ceiling bookcases on most walls, large maps and posters (Periodic Table) down the halls, personal desks in bedrooms, and an additional working table, separate from the dining table, in the living room. We are a family of 10 in 1800 sq ft but had the same set up in 900 sq ft for nearly a decade. Sometimes we want personal space; sometimes we want to sit in the same room.

Good job. You could use post-it note flags in your math texts labeled with week numbers.

I loved your son's paragraph. I especially loved the black cats for the housemaids. Wonderful imitation work. Thank you for sharing.

I loved my Classroom Friendly pencil sharpener when I first got it and sang its praises, but it doesn't sharpen colored pencils well. In fact, it doesn't sharpen colored pencils at all. And my classroom pencil sharpener was dropped a thousand times, abused and used to the point that it lasted me a year (but I do have a lot of children sharpening pencils). We actually prefer cheap manual Stuffmart pencil sharpeners, one for each child. Next time you need to order from Rainbow Resource, I recommend that you add a couple of Color-Combi Kum sharpeners to your order to get free shipping. These are our absolute favorite sharpeners. http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/039977/0fd0edfcf51eef6d7db35411 ETA The colored pencils that we use are Prismacolor with wax lead. These jam the classroom sharpener. Otherwise, this is an excellent sharpener for regular lead pencils like Ticonderoga pencils.

I soak my wheatberries to sprout them and then dehydrate them in my excalibur (a 1970's hand me down) before running them through my grain mill. Add yeast, raw honey, and olive oil (like Ellie mentioned) and voila...sprouted wheat bread. My homemade bread is probably cheaper than the store (for organic sprouted wheat bread) since I buy my honey and wheatberries in bulk from Azure Standard.

I really love everything you share. Thank you, Jenn. The new geography lesson plans look exciting. You have a neat mix of resources. I was stuck looking at the Buried Alive book about the miners in Chile when I was suppose to be making dinner. Amazing story. Lots of books requested from the library already.

Strayer-Upton Practical Arithmetics McGuffey Readers (1879) Spelling Wisdom by Simply Charlotte Mason Rod and Staff English, Spelling, Science Write from History by Brookdale Press

To new Onenote users: Just remember that Onenote is very flexible, so you can start using it immediately without feeling like your plans have to be perfect. That's why I love Onenote: it moves with me and thinks the very way I am thinking...at the moment. You can copy and move tabs and pages anywhere. And then change your mind. :)

Hi, Annabel. I haven't had my children use A Beka (we use Rod & Staff English), but my sister's children used A Beka's Grammar & Composition Levels I and IV. She really liked them a lot, especially the instruction on how to write book reviews (this starts in level 1). Because the student's work is to be written directly in the workbook, unlike Rod and Staff's English, A Beka's grammar program was efficient and visually pleasing for them. Sue, check out these affordable options for 8th grade: Harvey's Grammar with the worktext by Classical Writing to enrich the course with diagramming skills Although scheduled in Homer and Diogenes, this grammar course is independent from the CW's writing curriculum. http://classicalwriting.com/Harveys.htm Our Mother's Tongue is a inexpensive grammar book that is recommended by Ambleside Online. This is includes diagramming as well. http://www.christianbook.com/our-mother-tongue-guide-english-grammar/nancy-wilson/9781591280118/pd/280017

I think A Beka's Grammar and Composition I or II may do the trick. The writing instruction is integrated in the worktext and looks to be solid. https://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=138258

I have been combining these two vintage texts with great success: Webster's Spelling Book http://books.google.com/books?id=onoKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Webster"] Wheeler's Elementary Speller http://books.google.com/books?id=zpQAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Wheeler"] Sorry about the long links. I need to learn how to embed links.

It is great to "spread the feast," as Charlotte Mason called living books and ideas, throughout the day just like we spread out our mealtimes. Do what works for you. Switching things up a bit encourages brain activity and focused attention.

Maybe this could work for the main subjects: http://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/2013/07/18/my-original-180-day-planner-page-now-editable/

I agree with Nancy here. Morning Time became more significant to me as my children's ages spread out. I have eight children ranging from 1-16. Morning Time would easily be dropped from the older children's day if I didn't think it was important. After listening to Cindy Rollin's A Long Haul audio at the Circe Institute, I felt justified for keeping us all together (even the high schoolers) in the morning. My high schoolers get more out of it than the little ones, yet they tend to be the ones who want to get on to their own school work. Hence, the name and time set for "Morning Time". BTW, we also have an "Evening Time" for family time with Daddy, and it, too, has its own special name, time, and flavor.