How's that for a ridiculous title? We're starting our HS journey after three years in PS. My plan was basically to try to get through the four-year history/science cycles in 2.5 (fairly relaxed, mostly lots of books and documentaries and such...my kids are rising 3rd and 1st and our main focus is math/reading/writing), so that when my oldest is around fifth grade we can start over and go at the 'normal' pace. I think they'd like the sped-up pace fine (and I'd probably have to skip some chapters of SOTW here and there), but I worry that it'll seem very repetitive to go back to ancients again in 5th--has anyone been in this boat? What did you do? Wondering if we shouldn't stick with a four-year plan and just always be a little 'off'...since my original plan really only put two kids on the 5-8, 9-12 schedule--the other two would be 3-6, 7-10! Gah. It seems like a silly 'problem' but it's really bothering me. ;)

If mine is able to make up problems, it's random +1 or +0 ones that don't relate at all to the page, lol. He doesn't do well making up problems based on the rod picture--he just doesn't grab concepts quickly or easily. I hoped we could just come back to it in time! I am anxious about starting the multiplication section...we might have to skip that for a bit, too.

Thank you sooo much, everyone. I've bookmarked this to come back go. Thanks for asking, OP!!

We're using it now--it was going really well until they started asking my son to make up his own problems. He just does.not.get.it. I don't know if it's like...a language processing thing or too abstract?! It's so frustrating for me and him and we've been skipping those parts. I'm hoping that is okay. :/

I'd start with 2--I bought 3 for my rising third grader, who HAS done a lot of writing in PS, but the dictation in level 3 was just way too long/challenging for him to start with. I went and got 2 last week and feel much better about it. Edit for typo. :)

I just had to pull out my teacher manual to get through a page in the E section--my issue is that my son is starting to not 'get' what they're teaching and I don't know if he's just not ready or is especially...not mathy...but I'm wondering if we shouldn't put it away for a while? Maybe he is too young (almost 6)? It started out helping him so much with figuring out his PS math (we are finishing out the school year), but suddenly is endlessly frustrating. :/ Anyway, sorry to hijack, just commiserating! I worry if we stop for a while we will have to go back and redo pages to remind him of what we've covered, and that would stink...because I did not buy the PDF version, lol. ETA But also, my kid caught onto the number/color pattern way sooner than I did, I was shocked! I still forget which are 7/8/9, heh.

We used HWOT. My second grader worked through it on his own, he loved it.

I only have the orange and red books, so hadn't been planning on continuing along threads for that reason--plus, the addition in the red book is a lot higher and more complex (more numbers being added, etc), so it seemed quite advanced for him! But I was looking at it like he'd need to be basically memorizing those facts, so that changes things. I'll let him do the few pages I just wrote up, and then I'll look at the red book again. :) Thank you, all!

He's about to turn 6! I started it to see if it'd help him with his PS kindy homework. He does great with rods. I need to just have faith in the system, I know. :)

We're working our way slowly through the orange (first) book. I'm feeling like addition moves quickly after a couple of pages of practice--should my child be memorizing addition facts before we move on to higher numbers and the next section? He's good up to 5s (as in, problems totalling 5! lol) but after that very much relies on the rods. Which I assumed was fine, until I noticed we're due to switch to the subtraction section soon and I started doubting myself. Should we be working with flashcards regularly to memorize these facts, or doing more pages of problems...or does that just come with time and experience? What did you do? I've written up some more practice pages similar to the others in the book, but wanted to ask the masses. :)

Have you looked into Tinker Crates? My son's two grandma's went in together and bought him a year's worth of boxes for Christmas. We have loved them so far!

This topic has interested me ever since I took a course on phonetics in college. My professor told the class that 'tr' sounds like 'ch' when most people say it, and it blew my mind--it definitely doesn't when I say it, in my opinion! Lol, but my son usually spells things that way...'chruck' or 'chrain,' for example. Same with 'dr' coming out as 'jr'...he will spelling driving as 'jriving.'

Sorry I am apparently incapable of multi-quoting, lol! But I do have a plan drawn out for what to cover (for history and science) each week! Not that we will necessarily achieve that, but we have a plan. ;) We are kind of...well, fitting four years worth into 2.5 years, because we're just having fun with it for now and hope to get back to ancients in time for my oldest to enter fifth grade/third son to enter 1st grade.

I don't have the SOTW activity books...do they photocopy well? I am sure I'll need 3 of everything. :P

This is basically just what I'm planning! The basics in the morning and once the babe is down for nap, we'll snuggle in for history or science reading and quiet time. My 4yo still naps too, but I don't know if he still will several months from now! We have always done a post-lunch rest period for all, so no difficult schedule change there! Writing for 3rd--I think he will do okay. I have WWE3 and have been exploring it--it seems to be near his level but I will definitely keep it in mind thay WWE2 might be a better fit if he starts to struggle! Thank you everyone!

I feel just about set -- but there seem to be a couple of holes, and I don't know, my science might be weak. Third (*June starts, the rest in fall--don't want to start it ALL at once) *MATH: After much debate, I bought the 3A set of Beast. He likes math, does well in it, loves logic puzzles and being challenged re: mental math, etc. If my choice proves to be a mistake I will likely go with MM. SPELLING: R&S GRAMMAR: FLL3 WRITING: WWE3 (have also considered Fable for the occasional change of pace) *READING: He's a strong reader and he and my husband pick out his books. We'll have a set time each day for reading (for everyone!), but he will exceed it just because he's always got his nose in a book. *HISTORY: SOTW 1, library (I have a good list started), maps, and honestly documentaries, 'related' movies, crafts, etc. Admittedly, history and science might seem academically weak, but I'm trying to keep them fun for a 1st grader and preschooler who is interested, too. And just trying to not overwhelm everyone. *SCIENCE: Bio first...we have several kid encyclopedias for the body, plant life, and the animal kingdom. Books with cool pictures, field trips and hopefully some notebooking at the zoo, Conservatory, gardening-Grandpa's yard, our own gardens, etc. Bill Nye, Animal Planet.... Is this enough? *I will have him practice cursive/copywork this summer, but probably no formal writing program until fall. Should I consider anything additional for math? How about a typing program? Are my science plans seriously lacking or okay? First (*June starts): *MATH: We've started Miquon, will continue. SPELLING: I have AAS, don't plan to start until fall at least. GRAMMAR: FLL1 *HANDWRITING: I got the HWOT first grade book. We'll finish this before starting AAS and WWE. WRITING: WWE1 *READING: So far my plan is to just keep reading with him like we are now. He's on the level 2 Bob Books (almost done). *Same history and science as above. Any glaring issues? Do I need to do more for reading? With my oldest we just read a ton--both have had public school kindy so that's what we've done. I think that's it. The only thing I'm still feeling REALLY anxious about is just how much trouble my near-2yo is going to cause during this transition. Thank you!!

My 2nd grader is just finishing up HWOT cursive in the next week or two and we've loved it. His handwriting is so neat and he's taught it to himself, the book is very easy to use.

My 8yo got these for Christmas. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0763668966/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1456957846&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=maps&dpPl=1&dpID=617PGb7J6aL&ref=plSrch http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1847807119/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1HT3MXT8HMC1K2SHRHNC

We have the hard copy of orange and red, and I love the colorful pages. I think I'll continue buying the books...we don't have a printer, which would be a pain, and idk why but colorful pages really speak to me. :P I absolutely needed the teacher books (Annotations and First Grade Diary).

I have an old edition of TWTM, so I'm wondering if the information has changed in newer editions, with regard to notebook pages. Is it necessary if we are using WWE 2-3x per week? If I'm having a hard time squeezing everything into our days, is this one thing that could go, for now? :P (Also have a 3rd grader, and a 4yo and 1yo). I can't imagine him writing a lot or well, although I remember reading he could dictate for me to write. Just wondering if a simple read-aloud and discussion session would suffice for first. :)

We usually do one page front and back, and then some other activity--a favorite is using numeral cards to create a number with the rods...how many ways can we make 12? Or geoboards, or number line jumping, etc. We aren't currently working daily, but more like 3x a week? He's in PS kindy, so I'm mostly just trying to start and get used to the system so it comes easy to us in June. Or, easier* anyway. :) I haven't thought to just have several pages on the table for him to choose from--typically the 4yo and 1yo are 'helping' in the worst way possible, so it's all I can do to control one piece of paper and the box of rods. :P

I seriously can't.wait. until mine will sit for a show. Just one show would change my life. I could actually get something done around here.

This is one of my biggest fears about starting to HS this summer. I am losing my mind just...being home with my toddler (20m). She is a walking tornado. Just now my Ker was doing his homework and she spilled a glass of water all over his papers, crayons, etc. I set to work cleaning it up and she followed me into the kitchen, yanking dish towels down and emptying the lazy susan of the dry goods canisters and big glass wine bottles (which she normally does every night as I'm cooking dinner, we really need to figure out how to lock it...). The instant she gets distracted with playing with her brothers or her toys, I will try to run and put laundry away, or start working with the Ker on math (forget ever trying to do anything alone with the 4yo), and then there she is, walking around yelling for me, destroying whatever I just did OR getting in the middle of the Miquon rods or whatever. She only naps for 1-2 hours most days, I can't fit it all in then!! When I do sit with her she mostly wants read to, or for me to just carry her around. So.demanding. of attention and time. If anything makes HSing not work out, I'm afraid it'll be her. :/

I have a neat book of science and history related projects...my kids are obsessed with looking through it and choosing things to try, but we haven't actually tried them yet. ;) For the section on 'Restless Earth': looking a how night and day, and seasons, work using a plastic ball and flashlight and 'axis' string. Moon phases with foil ball and flashlight. Showing tides with a ball in a tub of water, pulling it from side to side. Waves and currents/changing coastlines. Pinwheels (homemade) for wind measurement. Measuring earthquakes and plate shifting. Etc. Anyway, lots of fairly simple ways to show all sorts of things, with mostly normal 'ingredients' you'd have laying around, but idk if they're super engaging and interesting? We haven't tried personally. http://www.amazon.com/The-Science-History-Project-Book/dp/0754814459

Thank you all! My phone won't let me sign in so I'm finally on a computer--I went ahead and bought the Rod & Staff books, so I'm excited for them to get here. :) Hopefully they work out!