Our family is about to go through an unexpected transition after homeschooling for five years; I will be going back to work full-time starting next month. I have an incoming 7th grader, 4th grader, and 2nd grader. My husband is going to be around several days/week due to being on sabbatical so can help with homeschooling at least this coming year, although I think it might be rough for him to manage all three so I am toying with sending perhaps the younger two to school. If you homeschool and you are also employed full-time, I'd love to hear from you. How do you make it work? Do you have any concrete suggestions? What is the minimum time you need to cover school at each of those grade levels? I am looking for any and all suggestions! Thanks much, Helen

Wow! The last time I checked, there were no replies and I thought, "Hmm. Guess everyone's busy for the holidays!" Then I had to go clean and organize my disheveled house and get ready for family arriving today. Then I checked back and boy, have things picked up! Thanks, everyone, for all the input. I have appreciated everyone's input. Several things have stood out to me to consider: 1) I should feel more freedom to redesign the way we're currently doing MFW to better fit the boys' ages and stages. I have naturally grouped the older two so far, but perhaps it actually makes more sense to let the oldest read his history instead (which I think he will love doing) and then work with the younger two using the 2nd/3rd grade supplement. I never really thought of doing it this way and it might just be better for us. 2) What I meant by "hours of read-aloud time" is that I sometimes read or hear about families that do this, and there is a big part of me that is envious! Would that all my three boys would sit down quietly and listen attentively as we read great books together! But it just doesn't work, and that is no fault of their own; I guess I am just having to let go of that dream a little bit. I should say that of course the younger two loves when I read to them individually. And there are times they will listen to a book I'm reading (usually a fiction read-aloud at lunchtime). But expecting that history and science will always go over well if read aloud to my 11 and 8 year olds may be a bit of fantasy on my part. 3) Thank you, too, for the heads-up about TOG. I definitely appreciate a better window into how that curriculum works. I have heard it is costly, too, and that is a consideration. And I do think that what I am feeling is not a dissatisfaction with MFW per se, but a growing realization that I need to be willing to tinker and adjust as I go along if things aren't working well for everyone. I know I have more to say but since I have Thanksgiving dinner prep to attend to, I will stop here. But I do still welcome additional input from anyone else about this question! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Best,

Absolutely, would welcome ideas on how to make it work if possible, but also open to checking out other programs, too...feel free to offer your wisdom and experience!

Hi everyone, I am a four-year MFW user, starting with Adventures and now we are in Exp-1850. I have a 6th grader, a 3rd grader, and a 1st grader doing MFW-1st right now. And I'm feeling for the first time like MFW isn't working for us. The issues: --I want to do with all three boys together somehow, but the age range makes this difficult. I thought I could include my youngest into some of the science reading/activities and perhaps some of the history, but it hasn't worked out. His attention span isn't there. --History read-aloud time has become challenging because 1) my eldest is a visual learner so he would rather just read everything on his own; 2) my second son is a kinesthetic learner and sitting and listening isn't his style, either. --I end up foregoing the assigned 2nd/3rd grade supplement for this year because there just isn't time, so my 3rd grader rarely gets to experience age-appropriate activities in history and science. --We get behind on read-alouds as a result of it not being a favorite activity of my kids. As much as I wish I could sit and read aloud to them for hours, it is just not holding their attention and it's making history a chore for them and for me. So....help??? I have appreciated MFW overall through the years, but I'm feeling like it's not working as much for me as it did in past years. If you have made a switch from MFW to something else, say TOG which intrigues me a bit or anything else, I would love to hear your thoughts about what prompted you to make the switch and how it has worked out for you. Thanks in advance for your input!

(cross-posted on the General Discussion board as well) Hi, I have three boys, 10, 8 and 5. I use a combo of My Father's World, WTM-inspired language arts curricula and subjects (i.e., First Language Lessons, Writing With Ease, Latin, etc.), and Singapore Math. As I come to the end of this year, our fourth year of homeschooling, I am feeling TIRED. Nearly although not quite to the point of thinking, "The boys might be better off in public school!" So, to help bring me back from the edge of the cliff, I would love to hear what has worked for those of you with elementary/early middle school kids, boys in particular. If you're willing to share, I'd love to get a sense of how long school takes for you and what your schedule is like. One of my biggest struggles this year has been feeling as though our school experience is not instilling a love for learning, as I had hoped to instill when we began this journey, but is reflecting more of a "let's just get the work done!" ethos that perhaps is necessary to some extent, but that has taken the joy out for me, certainly...and probably for my kids, too, I imagine. I am hounded by a feeling that we are not doing enough, and yet I cannot figure out how to do more. I look at the impending Common Core standards, which I know are being criticized for not being rigorous enough, and yet my head spins wondering if my kids could even meet those yearly goals! So I would love some input and insights into some of the questions I've mentioned above. Thanks in advance for any advice you might have! Best, Helen

Hi, I have three boys, 10, 8 and 5. I use a combo of My Father's World, WTM-inspired language arts curricula and subjects (i.e., First Language Lessons, Writing With Ease, Latin, etc.), and Singapore Math. As I come to the end of this year, our fourth year of homeschooling, I am feeling TIRED. Nearly although not quite to the point of thinking, "The boys might be better off in public school!" So, to help bring me back from the edge of the cliff, I would love to hear what has worked for those of you with elementary/early middle school kids, boys in particular. If you're willing to share, I'd love to get a sense of how long school takes for you and what your schedule is like. One of my biggest struggles this year has been feeling as though our school experience is not instilling a love for learning, as I had hoped to instill when we began this journey, but is reflecting more of a "let's just get the work done!" ethos that perhaps is necessary to some extent, but that has taken the joy out for me, certainly...and probably for my kids, too, I imagine. I am hounded by a feeling that we are not doing enough, and yet I cannot figure out how to do more. I look at the impending Common Core standards, which I know are being criticized for not being rigorous enough, and yet my head spins wondering if my kids could even meet those yearly goals! So I would love some input and insights into some of the questions I've mentioned above. Thanks in advance for any advice you might have! Best, Helen

Yes, Penguin! Please do come back and report back on this thread. Would love to know how it went. "Tedious" is exactly my son's experience with it all. Some of the assignments have really just dragged him down (i.e., underlining all the chronological words, etc.) So I will be interested to see how your approach goes. Thanks much!

Hello everyone---I have a DS10 who is an avid reader and a natural writer. I have been struggling with finding the right curriculum for him, however; we used WWE back when he was in 2nd-3rd grade, then used Writing Strands which I didn't like so much last year. This year, I switched to Writing With Skill as it seemed to offer teaching in areas that he hadn't learned much about yet (outlining, etc.) He has NOT enjoyed it, to the point where he says, "I hate writing!" which is a dagger to this writer-mom's heart! What do your kids who are similar to him enjoy using? We are finishing up FFL4 and may start using R&S, which I understand has composition exercises as well as grammar. Would that be sufficient, what would I be giving up if I abandon WWS at this point? I hate to keep switching on him, but I don't want him to hate his writing program! I would love any suggestions...feeling a little in despair about it. I looked over IEW but felt its approach was too formulaic for someone with his natural abilities. But he does need to learn more about structuring his writing and about some typical usage issues. Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions! I have also posted this on the K-8 Writing forum board so for some of you, this may be a repeat post.

Hello everyone---I have a DS10 who is an avid reader and a natural writer. I have been struggling with finding the right curriculum for him, however; we used WWE back when he was in 2nd-3rd grade, then used Writing Strands which I didn't like so much last year. This year, I switched to Writing With Skill as it seemed to offer teaching in areas that he hadn't learned much about yet (outlining, etc.) He has NOT enjoyed it, to the point where he says, "I hate writing!" which is a dagger to this writer-mom's heart! What do your kids who are similar to him enjoy using? We are finishing up FFL4 and may start using R&S, which I understand has composition exercises as well as grammar. Would that be sufficient, what would I be giving up if I abandon WWS at this point? I hate to keep switching on him, but I don't want him to hate his writing program! I would love any suggestions...feeling a little in despair about it. I looked over IEW but felt its approach was too formulaic for someone with his natural abilities. But he does need to learn more about structuring his writing and about some typical usage issues. Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions!

Hi everyone, Have you ever been in a situation in which someone you know who seems determined to homeschool really shouldn't be? Either because she is going through some significant personal stresses or turmoil, or her marital situation is in shambles, or she is just not in a stable state of mind or emotion? What would you say to such a person? And what if you feel there is evidence that her children are suffering and showing increasing signs of dysfunction? This is not for myself personally, but I have been asked to write an article on how to determine whether someone is fit to homeschool, how to evaluate this, and what to do if you are on the outside looking in. If anyone has any resources or advice for someone in this predicament, I'd love to read your input! Thanks!

Thank you all for the supportive words! It's always a big nervewracking to put one's thoughts out there for the world to see. =) Appreciate your taking the time to check out the post!

Thanks to everyone who gave great input into the problems with Jones's perspective about homeschooling and how it runs counter to the missional life (see his post here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/2012/09/07/death-to-homeschooling/) I was asked to write a brief response for the Jesus Creed blog, which I did. It doesn't nearly capture the richness of all the input you all gave, but hopefully it will help further the conversation and point out some problems in Jones's original post. Here is mine if you're interested: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2012/09/17/homeschooled-and-missional-absolutely/#comments Best, Helen

Hi everyone, I'm a homeschooling mom and also an occasional freelance journalist/blogger. I've been asked to write a response to a blog post by Tony Jones entitled "Death to Homeschooling." Here is his post: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/2012/09/07/death-to-homeschooling/ I am guessing many of you are like me, and we have not chosen homeschooling in order to remove ourselves from or abdicate from being a positive influence in our communities and neighborhoods. If you feel so led, please share how homeschooling has NOT hindered you from being a missional presence in your communities, or how it has actually helped you and your family to be more missionally-minded. I'd love any stories or examples you are willing to share that I could potentially include in my response. Thanks so much! You can post here or message me. Best, Helen

We are using the Standards version of Singapore and all the extras: the Extra Practice books, the Tests book, etc. I haven't done much with the Challenging Word Problems although I do have the U.S. versions of those books. Fearing that if he cannot always manage the regular word problems, he might REALLY struggle with the challenging ones!

Thanks for the quick response! Part of the reason we are only in Singapore 3A is because every time we hit word problems, I have to slow everything down and spend so much time trying to help him understand them. Do I just keep progressing if he seems to understand the general math algorithm? And maybe do a book like this on the side? Feeling totally inept right now as a teacher. =(

We've just received our WWS books and I am so excited. I just never felt good with Writing Strands, and WWE didn't seem to fit my natural writer son. This feels like it will be just right. I have a question, though. It looks like this curriculum does a great job with teaching outlining skills, which I was going to try to have my son do through his history reading, but I would prefer doing it through WWS. Will the coverage of outlining skills be sufficient in WWS? Can I let go of doing it with his history reading, then? Advice appreciated. Thanks!

Hello to the Hive---I have a DS10 who started in public school for K and 1st grade, and I feel like we've been catching up on math ever since. He is great at the algorithms of math, but just awful at word problems. We use Singapore math and we're towards the end of 3A right now. I just graded one of his cumulative tests and he is having such a hard time figuring out word problems. We've tried focusing on them this summer, practicing more of them, but that doesn't seem to be helping him "get" how to do them. He is definitely not a naturally "mathy" child, he is my avid reader and writer. He's bright but math doesn't come naturally to him, and he's getting frustrated and his confidence is falling. Any suggestions welcome. Should we try a new curriculum? Should we just keeping practicing word problems? Help!! Any and all suggestions welcome!!! Thanks so much, I'm at my wit's end and it's only the beginning of the 2nd week of school!

I have been away from the forum boards for a while and didn't realize that PHP has released Advanced Language Lessons and Writing With Skill. (This after I have gone and bought R&S and Writing Strands as WTM suggests!) So, does this mean what is written in WTM is not accurate? That SWB and company would recommend ALL and WWS instead? Anyone have enough experience with these newer programs to make a recommendation? I am stymied by what to do... Thanks much!

Finally have a report up again...where did the month go??? Fun photos of several trips to Chicago among other things. Enjoy! http://trilliumacademy.blogspot.com/2011/11/fall-highlights.html

Not much time at all so far. We are on day 48; whatever the Bible activity is usually takes 10-15 minutes a day, for the most part. There are some days when an activity is scheduled that is a little more involved, but those are more the exception than the rule. That has been my experience thus far!

Saw this article and thought I'd share it: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2D514v/www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/american-girl-series-author-creating-series-for-boys/2011/10/25/gIQArC6FKM_story.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads Interested what you all think about the line that non-fiction or books in the "grossology" category is as beneficial for boys reading-wise as traditional fiction narrative. Also, can someone tell me about this "Captain Underpants" series? Is it twaddle-ish? Appropriate for a 6 year old?

I FINALLY have a post up for the year. Who knew it would take me five weeks into the school year to post one up???? Better late than never, right??? =) Link below in signature!

Bump! =)

Hey everyone---I recently did an interview for the Jesus Creed blog with Dr. Robert Kunzman from Indiana University who specializes in researching the homeschooling community. We discussed the recent Cardus Education Survey, which you might have heard about. If you're interested, check it out--I think he says some very interesting things about homeschooling! Hope everyone is having a great year so far! I am way behind myself on my weekly reports... =(

Wendy, if you see this again, tell me what you think about MCT Writing and how it differs from WS and WWE! Thanks much!