You likely need a few more posts. :001_smile: Did you receive my pm from earlier?

Here's my 6th grade plans for DS #2: Math: Saxon 76 Latin: New Elementary Latin Greek: Elementary Greek (?) English: Rod and Staff 4 & 5 Spelling: Spelling Power History & Literature: History Odyssey Level 2, Year 2 Science: McGraw-Hill Science 6th grade Other: Swimming & Karate

Here's my plan for DD (10): Math: Saxon 54 English: Rod and Staff 3 & 4 Spelling: Spelling Power Latin: New Elementary Latin (A used book I found and love.) Science: McGraw-Hill Science Grade 5 Literature and History: History Odyssey Level 2, Ancients Extras: Swimming, Karate

It really depends upon what materials you choose and your experience. I choose materials that are ready to pick up and go. Anything that requires a lot of weekly planninig doesn't work in my house. I've also homeschooled from the beginnng. For the summer, I spent around 5 -6 hours prepping an 11 week summer term. I printed off the spread sheets for the children's binders and that's it for prep work until August or September. Generally, if I plan on a weekly basis, it takes 30 minutes - 1 hour for 4 children. Again, I use material that's pick up and go. A friend uses Tapestry of Grace and told me she needs 3 or so hours of prep every week for her 2 children. My sil mentioned needing several hours a week when she was using KONOS. Also, the first year of homeschooling is trial and error. It becomes much easier to pick out material and plan later. At first, I had to try a piece of curriculum to know if it will work for my family. I'm able to thumb through curriculum, now, and know if it's a good fit. Good luck!

I feel better about changing our plan, now. :001_smile: We're getting a head start this summer and trying out separating all subjects instead of combining a few. Ds 12 (7th grade) Math: Pre-Algebra (Finish Saxon 87 and move to Algebra 1/2) English: Rod & Staff 5 & 6 (We switched English programs and I wanted to start nice and easy since there's a baby arriving later this summer. ;)) Latin: Oxford Latin 1 Greek: Hey Andrew 3 History & Literature: History Odyssey Level 2 - Early Modern (From SOTW 3 w/ Kingfisher, we're trying it out for the summer and then I'll make my decision.) Science: Apologia General Science (From Christian Kids Explore Chemistry) + Piano, swimming, and karate I'm still playing with starting Critical Thinking this year and doing some art & music history.

I placed my ds 6 by writing ability and have never used it for phonics lessons but rather for reinforcement. Quite frankly, I don't believe there's enough practice to drill phonics. We used Phonics Pathways instead. As to Queen's Language Lessons for Little Ones, we started with Vol. 1 despite the fact ds was reading short & long vowel words. I wanted to ensure he knew his alphabet and how to write his letters. He loved the book and we often completed 3-4 lessons at a sitting. Level 2 was a review of phonics but the amount of writing was perfect for ds. It also included a touch of simple grammar and introduction to sentences, paragraphs and basic punctuation. I was going to save vol. 3 for fall, but ds is begging to start now. Ds has finished PP and reads well, but LLFLO vol. 3 will reinforce the phonics he learned last year. The writing builds gradually and ends with ds copying short paragraphs. It also continues with the gentle building of grammar. My opinion is that it is a very gentle introduction to language arts for Preschool-1st graders. We've enjoyed using the series this far, and are looking forward to beginning vol. 3. HTH!

You don't actually have to use the LP feature in HT. I ignore it. ;) Actually, for me, putting things directly into the assignment grid seems to work best. You can enter your plans for the day / week, use the assignment calendar to print things up as a grid, and mark everything as completed at the end of the week. HTH!

Baby #5 is due July 27th! This pregnancy has been more difficult, everytime I try to get things done I end up on the sofa with painful contractions. :glare: But today I'm feeling great, big, but great. :D

The solutions manual will work as long as the editions match, the same thing as the answer key. There are several differences between edition that make it difficult to grade a 1st edition text with a 2nd edition answer key. I've since learned to check editions. ;) Best of luck!

Ask your doctor and anyone you know in the medical field who they would recommend. Also, ask anyone you know who's had your surgery or one that is similar for recommendations. Best of luck!:001_smile:

:iagree: We're very similar, with Friday nights being family movie night and the kiddos can watch cartoons or DVDs over the weekend.

:thumbup: What a marvelous idea! I'm going to have to use it next year. :D

Well, since I have boys the same age as yours (11 (5th grade) and 12 (6th grade)), I'll throw out what happens in my house. Ds 12 grabs his school books and heads upstairs. He works through his materials and then reappears for the two of us to discuss his work (check and correct). Ds 11 sits with me for 30 minutes or so while we go over his assignments for the day, including Saxon Math. He then disappears to complete his school work. When he's finished, I check his work, make him redo all mistakes, and let him go. Generally both boys spend Daily: 45 min - 1 hr on Saxon Math 30 min - Rod and Staff English 15 min - Spelling 15-30 min - Latin 15 min - Greek (only 12 yo) Weekly: 2-3 hrs - history 2-3 hrs - science + time just reading In addition, they spend 30 minutes sitting down with me reviewing their schoolwork. My time is around 30 minutes per child + 30 minutes for any group subjects for the day. As far as using Saxon Math, you could cover 2 lessons with both boys when they meet. Saxon includes well written explanations in case students forget the lesson while doing their homework. Then, you could give the boys their test and 1 homework assignment on the 3rd day. HTH!

My plan for my incoming 1st grader (the times depend upon his level of wiggles): Math: 15-30 minutes (1 lesson / day) L.A.: 15-30 minutes (LA program + handwriting / spelling every day) Reading: 15 minutes reading an approved book of his choice every day. (No comic books ;)) History: 30 min - 1 hr once a week. He listens to SOTW, colors the coloring page, and joins us for the map work and discussions) Science: 30 min - 1 hr once a week. He listens to Christian Kids Explore..., colors the coloring page, and joins us for experiments and discussions. Art / Music 30 min - 1 hr once a week. Likely listening to music while completing an art project.

Have you checked his eyesight? One of my children turned out to be extremely far-sighted. He could read well if the font size was 24+, but struggled with 2nd grade literature if the font was small. Best of luck!

:rant: I switched from CW to LLATL with the plan of covering enough grammar, gently, to reattempt CW Homer in the 9th grade. When I picked up next year's book (7th grade) it didn't cover as much grammar and diagramming as I expected. So, I headed out to a local educational store that carries LLATL and took a good look at the 8th grade book to ensure it had the necessary ramp up. It doesn't. FLL 3 begins to cover diagramming. LLATL covers basic diagramming in the 7th grade only. I'm still disgusted, this totally destroyed my LA plans from 1st grade - 8th grade, and nearly destroyed my high school plans. :banghead: We're switching over to Rod and Staff now. I'm not even going to bother finishing the year with LLATL. Think it's time for another pint of Ben and Jerry's. At any rate... I loved the all-in-one approach, but it's not going to enable us to tackle Homer in a year or two. HTH!

If she knows her math facts, then you can choose either 65 or 54. I've heard of several families that learn their math facts and jump right into 65. We prefer a gentler start in the Saxon series and start with 54. You could also give your dd the tests for 54 until you reach a test that has content she has not covered or she's not comfortable with. Back up 10 lessons and start from there. :001_smile: HTH!

Both programs are great. My preference is for Phonics Pathways for younger readers. Phonics Pathway's font is larger and spends more time drilling single words rather than sentences. My young children found it easier because the larger font is easier to see and they didn't have to hold their attention for an entire sentence. We could attack the book one word at a time. One last thought... I actually use 100 EL to get my children started blending. We use the first 30-50 lessons and then switch over to PP. If the child runs into problems, we turn back to a point where the lessons are super easy and start over. Using this method, my oldest and youngest were reading well by 6, we started at age 4. My mistake with my middle 2 was jumping ship instead of simply going back to review. HTH!!

Well, I'll give it a shot. Growing with Grammar covers only grammar; no writing instruction is included. It tends to be able to be completed by the student independently. GWG is also secular. Rod and Staff covers both grammar and writing. I've not heard of many people using it independently. R&S is Christian. Here's the link for Rod and Staff: http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Building_Christian_English_Series/, scroll down and click on the link of the grade/book you're interested in. You can see sample lessons on the next page. Best of luck!

:iagree: Happened here. :001_smile:

We're expecting baby #5 this summer, so I've actually been considering what our priorities will be next year and how much I can realistically expect to accomplish with a newborn in the house. ;) My essential, we WILL get these done regardless, list: Latin (My ds includes Greek here by his choice) Math Reading & Writing My should list, (I expect to get these covered unless it's an extremely difficult year): History & Science (If necessary we'll include history & science books during reading time and skip a formal curriculum.) Formal grammar Would be nice, probably should, but low on the priority list: Formal study of art & music Poetry memorization Piano

I seriously doubt you're going to produce a monster. Your ds sounds like a great kid. :001_smile: If ds picking out his own punishments is a concern, could you sit down with him and come out with a chart, particularly if the situations are repeated on occasion? #1 could be refusing to leave the park when Dad calls... with an agreed upon punishment. #2 pushing Dad in anger... and agreed upon punishment. Then your dh and ds could come home, say it was a #1 situation. You could check the chart and all would be said and done. However, I'll say again, your ds is seeing consequences for his actions and family harmony is being restored. I see no reason for sleepless nights worrying about your son turning into a monster, especially when the situation at hand only occurs once or twice a month. :D Best of luck!

HTH! :001_smile:

Lol, that's funny. :lol:

I'm using CKEB with a 12yo, 11 yo, 9yo, and 6yo. My 5th and 6th graders are doing extra work from the Reader's Digest: How Nature Works. I have them read 4 pages that relate to the lesson from CKEB, choose a topic to explore from their reading that interests them, do additional reading on that topic, and write a short composition. My 12yo writes a page, and my 11yo writes 2 paragraphs. I took the process straight from the 1999 edition of TWTM. We also watch Bill Nye videos that relate to the unit, and my dh is checking out tons of nature dvds from the library. HTH!