Crash Course Kids has a number of good science videos on different topics.

We reserve mornings for math and language arts so that we have plenty of time and energy for those subjects. Everything else is done after an hour-long lunch break. We rotate history/geography and science every afternoon. However, we only do specific lessons Monday-Thursday, and Fridays are reserved for fun stuff like math games, art projects, and interest-led topics. For a second grader, you could work on getting the core stuff done on four days a week and save the fifth day for the extras.

I’ve been using Mr. Q for my 7 and 8 yo. We started with the free life science book last year and now we’re working through the Earth science book. It is inexpensive and I can print out pages for each of the kids. I love the experiment ideas and we do at least one every week, but I do add additional resources because some concepts seem to be lacking in depth. The kids love the little jokes in the sidebars and fight over who gets to read them aloud each week.

My DH read the Harry Potter series aloud over the past year (took almost a year to read all seven books) to my 7, 8, and 10 yo. All three of the kids were able to handle the content, but we also discussed it as a family so they were able to express their feelings when it was confusing or dark. My middle child did cry when certain characters were killed, but it didn’t do too much damage because she is already rereading the entire series independently. In the end, they enjoyed the depth and complexity of the story. But, if you don’t feel comfortable reading it to your younger kids yet, why not read it in the evenings when the littles are already in bed? We do read alouds at night, and I think it helps the kids calm down and settled for bedtime.

I know it is frustrating for me when the kids can’t answer the questions too, but your child is young and is still building the skills needed. If he enjoys the stories, I’d continue reading them aloud, but lower your expectations for the questions. Last year my first grader struggled with it a little too, but this year (2nd grade) she’s able to write beautiful narrations with a ton of detail. They still aren’t spelled correctly and we’re working on grammar, but I’m impressed with her recall and ability to put it into words.

We're reading The Long Winter right now. It's nice to snuggle up and read it by the fire when it's cold outside.

Yep, it will be ok. We moved halfway across the country a few months ago, and we stuck to math and language arts while we prepared to move and then settled into the new house. My kids are close in age to yours (10, 8, & 7), and everything worked out just fine. By Christmas, we were back to our normal routine and no permanent (or even temporary) damage was done. And we all felt a lot less stressed when there was less on our plate. Like others have suggested, we listened to a lot of audiobooks and watched the Planet Earth series on Netflix more than once… but if you can’t find time for that, it will still be ok.

My 7yo 2nd grader just recently began to read silently, and still sounds out challenging words verbally. I never “taught†her to read silently, but her older sisters certainly begged her to read in her head so she wasn’t a distraction.

I buy the huge packs of loose leaf handwriting paper and use a three hole punch so I can load it in their binders. It's cheaper (but harder to find) than getting a bunch of the little composition notebooks.

This is something I've added to our days that run a little short. The younger kids get so excited and run to their rooms to put on their "workout clothes." There are also some fun dance videos. These are good for the winter months when you're stuck inside and the kids have an excess of energy to burn.

Last year, when I had a 6 and 7 year old who wanted to “do school†after lessons, I printed out a bunch of coloring pages that were related to what we were learning. They also practiced math skills on Khan Academy and Prodigy. Often, they would use those things to “play school.†Our K’nex simple machines kit still gets a lot of after school use too. They could do those activities with minimal parental involvement, so I could take care of my own chores.

I would do this. You're not having him do any work over, and he gets an extra year of education out of it.

My 8yo 3rd grader is still transitioning to wide ruled paper. If the paper with three lines is helpful, stick with it until he is ready for wide ruled paper.

We did astronomy for the first half of this year, and we drew from a number of different resources from the library and online. It was my first time not using a formal curriculum, and it went way more smoothly than I thought it would. I also found a lot of good ideas and projects on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. The kids put together fantastic lapbooks and I think it was the most successful science unit we’ve done yet.

I think everyone has given good advice so far! I agree that focusing on the three Rs and not worrying about everything is just fine. You’re kids are young enough that the priority should be reading, writing, and math and if you don’t have the time or energy for anything else, that’s ok. Audiobooks are also a great use of time. Reading with daddy (if he’s up to it) will give you a break too and be a nice bonding experience. I also second the baby carrier idea. My now 8yo was a challenging baby and was only happy when she was being held. A good baby carrier gave me my life back! She was happy and my hands were free to actually get things done. Even my babysitter got a baby carrier. As for bored kids—I always tell my kids that if they are bored, that’s their fault. I just don’t tolerate boredom! My 7yo is finally catching on and will grab a book or Lego set or coloring book. Hope everything calms down soon!