My oldest went on to Video Text Algebra when about halfway through G, as Dr. Cotter recommends. He alternated between them until he was finished with G. He is continuing to work his way through the Video Text series. He went slower with G than I would have preferred, but he finished it. He started with G after completing Saxon 5/6 (?). It was a difficult transition to Rightstart. He is much happier with Video Text. He is currently on their module "C". His younger brother has been doing Right Start since B, and is almost done with E I plan to do F and G with him. I feel more equipped to help with G than I was before.

The oldest was almost 6. He was reading fairly fluently. I started Spelling Workout with him. My youngest ds was much younger when he reached the halfway point. I started All about Spelling with when he was ready.

I followed Jesse Wise' recommendation to start a spelling program after the middle of OPGTR With my ds'.

Oops. Forgot to say which gap I preferred. The gap between the first 2 was easier than when the the third was born, but I think alot of that had to do with having 3 boys under 4. When dd was born, the boys were very helpful, especially my oldest. They all get along fairly well. Ds 10 gets along better with ds 11 than ds 13 does, but it definitely is a personality thing. Dd gets along well with everyone. Sue

I said other. There are 24 months between my first two, and 19 months between the 2nd and the 3rd. There are 6 years between the 3rd and the 4th. The age gap between the first two was "planned". Sue

I put Velcro on my large wall maps. This is the 3rd home I've hung them up that way. It works really well. It might damage the wallpaper when you are ready to remove the Velcro that is attached to the wall. If you are careful, or aren't overly concerned about it, it is an easy and inexpensive option. ~Sue

Glad everybody is better, and your house is clean. That is the worst stuff to clean up. Last week ds9 was sick in his sleep, and thought he was dreaming. He had several layers of blankets on his bed, and they all needed to be washed:(

Thank you for posting this. I just read it to Dh. We need to work on getting to bed on time.

I am glad you found a solution. We are doing something similar with our toddler in the mornings. She plays with one of the younger ds's while I work with the other. I need to spend more time with her. I like your idea of giving your son independent work while you spend time with your toddler.

My middle ds has been taking violin lessons since 1st grade, and is now about 2/3 through the first Suzuki book. One of the reasons he started with that instrument was to help him with his fine motor skills, which are poor due to Sensory Processing disorder. He has outgrown his current violin, which we own, and we need to get him a bigger one. His music teacher has been teaching the theory part of his lessons on the piano, for a few months now, and he really enjoys it. His fingers are pretty stiff and awkward on the keys, but I am sure that will improve with practice. We are trying to decide whether to get him the next violin, (either rent or purchace), or switch him to piano. Which instrument would help improve his fine motor skills? I would like to keep him on the violin, but both dh, and ds have mixed feelings about it. His music teacher teaches both piano and vioin. TIA

I think you should go. What a wonderful opportunity for you. The only ones that you should worry about are your dh and your youngest 2 dc. You said they are ok about, so go and enjoy yourself.

We recently bought a house, and place for a school room was on the top of my list. We found a house with an open area on the 2nd floor. It will be our schoolroom, with room for toys for my dd.

My dh is 14 mo. younger than me. All of his male cousins have older wives. Ours is the smallest age difference.

You never really know how much stuff you have until you move. Good for you in all you have accomplished do far.

I am currently using NL 3 w/ my 3rd, 4th, and 6th grade ds's. It has been working really well. My expectations for the oldest are a little higher, but he is enjoying it. I am not sure how much simpler NL 1 is than the one we are using. I agree w/ a pp to look at a sample to see if it will work go your dc,