Each subject is a 45 minute block done daily, unless noted. 15yod: English (Spelling, Composition, Literature discussion) Languages (Latin, Spanish) Math Biology Lunch Geography (M/W/TH) Literature readings Flute Practice 13yos: General Science English (Spelling, Composition, Literature discussion) + Latin Math French + Typing Lunch Geography (M/W/TH) Literature (RAs & readings) Drum Practice 10yos: Typing + Japanese Math English (Spelling or Grammar, Phonics, Penmanship, Writing or Vocabulary) + Latin Science Lunch Geography (M/W/TH) Literature (RAs & readings) Violin Practice Blessings,

It took five years the first time through & this year we are focusing on world geography. This is about right as it allowed time to sit on an era you wanted to go deeper in. You could put geography in 1st & 7th, then the 5 year rotation 2-6 & 8-12, allowing for more maturity when you hit the 20th Century on each rotation. And geography gives a framework to historical events. Galloping the Globe would be a fun unit study to do in 1st while you focus on math / phonics / etc. JMHO,

we aim to study from 9:00-3:00, but when life gets in the way the times change, but the order does not. If we need to shorten our day I either shorten the blocks to 30 minutes each or skip the after lunch subjects. My kids are older, but the same concept would work well with younger kids. For example, our day looks like this: Dd: English, Languages (Latin & Spanish), Math, Science, Lunch, Geography, Literature, Flute Practice Ds#1: Science, English / Latin, Math, French / Typing, Lunch, Geography, Literature, Drum Practice Ds#2: Typing / Japanese, Math, English / Latin, Science, Lunch, Geography, Literature, Violin Practice Mom: Spelling with dd (~15"), go over Science with Ds#1, English / Latin with Ds#1, English / Latin with Ds#2, Science with Ds#2, Lunch, chores / check e-mails / etc. but available for dc as needed, RAs with boys, chores / etc. Ds#2 was 3yo when we began HS/ing. During lessons time he had a work list just like Ds#1 & did a lot independently. I had a basket with storytapes / book sets ( & a walkman), pattern blocks & cards, beads (with patterns on pipecleaners to copy on shoe laces), color or cutting pages, Spectrum preschool workbooks for phonics & math, etc. I would change the tapes, patterns, etc. weekly to keep the work fresh. Educational computer games are good for independent work with younger dc as well. My boys really liked the math blaster & reading blaster cd-roms. Try something for a month, if it doesn't work try a different schedule. My HS is always a work-in-progress. Some seasons it's worked best to do all together work first, other seasons it's worked best to space out the together work. JMHO,

Independent Studies (ie subjects that I mainly mark their work & are available for questions as needed, but don't actually "teach") 15yod: Math, Science, Writing, Spanish, Geography 13yos: French, Geography, Typing 10yos: Japanese, Typing, Math, Geography, Phonics Subjects that require some "teaching", but not daily 15yod: Literature (discussions), Latin 13yos: Math, Latin, Literature (RAs & discussion of assigned readings) 10yos: Penmanship, Vocabulary, Literature (RAs & discussion of assigned readings) Subjects that are "Mom-taught" 15yod: Spelling 13yos: Spelling, Science (but hoping to move this to the semi-independent learning soon) 10yos: Grammar, Spelling/Dictation, Writing, Science, Latin Our assignment sheets encourage independence, but I've found we have the most success when I schedule "Mom-time" daily for each dc, usually during their English "period" ( & science "period" for the boys.) Our afternoon subjects (geography, literature, & music practice) are mostly independent, so I can use that time on trouble areas if necessary with individual dc. Blessings,

Laura, We've just begun Latin with my dd using SYRWTL Latin 1 & my boys using Latin Prep 1. How can I join the Yahoo group? My dd says Latin makes sense now. LC1 & PL did not work for my dc last year & Latin fell by the wayside when life got crazy. Blessings,

Our "school" days are 9:00-3:00 divided up into 45 minute "periods." Each dc covers English, Science, Maths, & Languages (Latin + their chosen modern language) daily during the morning, with me rotating around the kids. Geography, Literature, & Music Practice are covered in the afternoons on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays. Tuesdays Dd has Flute lessons 1:00-2:00 & volunteers at the SPCA 2:00-4:00. I run errands with the boys & usually hit the library as well while she's at the SPCA. Fridays we have homeschool swimming from 12:30-2:30. My youngest has lessons, but my older 2dc swim as well if they have their work completed for the week. I'm aiming for us to cover 45 days of work each term. A change I've made is to print out daily worklist for each dc. We've used weekly sheets for many years, but term one is crazy with regattas for us & we seldom have 5 day weeks. So this year each dc knows that they must complete 45 days of lessons, before they get to have their break. We try to keep to the PS schedule because of scouts, etc. Dd decided to start her term today instead of waiting as she wants to have some of the term break off at the end of April. They all know we'll start term 2 on 5 May & term 1 must be finished by 2 May. Hopefully by term 4 they will have figured out the benefit of working ahead or at least keeping up & finish their bookwork by Thanksgiving, allowing us a longer summer holiday.

Venturers are wonderful IF the leaders are enthusiastic about working with teenagers. We have a Venturer patrol at our Sea Scout group, but the leader doesn't put much time into leading & our venturers only get together when they join the scouts for regattas. Our city also has a combined Venturer group, made up of Venturers from 5-6 local scout groups (both sea scouts & land scouts). This group has about 5 leaders, who take turns being the leader on duty. Dd loves attending this group. Here in NZ Venturers is for boys & girls aged 14.5 - 18yo. 13yo is too young IMHO. Dd just returned from the NZ Scout Canoe School & had a GREAT time, meeting Venturers & Senior Scouts from all over NZ. Our Scout schools are like week long camps designed for senior scouts & venturers (ages 14-18). My dd is working on her Duke of Edinborough award through Ventuers. So, IMHO, Ventuers is great, but wait until your ds is at least 14yo. The co-ed aspect isn't an issue here as scouting is co-ed from the start in NZ and there are pros & cons to that issue. Blessings

I have the notebook cd for all 3 levels, with each dc working at a different level. They work independently for the most part & geography is one of their favorite subjects. I'm looking at using the book study during weeks 19-27 for literature & making up a NZ geography unit for our last term in the form of TGtWG. The notebook cd is well worth the $ as all you need to be ready for the week is print out the pages. They include the questions, maps, & a couple of extra pages for researching. And do get the altases that the book suggests. Nothing is more frustrating to a child just learning to research than not being able to find the answer to a question. JMHO,

it's summer down here & "school" doesn't start for about a fortnight. Blessings,

Just wondering if anyone here on the WTM boards lives in NZ, Australia, in the Pacific Islands? Blessings,

I used the math & phonics workbooks with my boys. I found it easier to have a workbook, than try to find time (& paper & printer ink) to print out worksheets. The Spectrum workbooks are colorful & my boys really enjoyed them. They also have preschool workbooks if your 3yo wants to "do school." That, along with read-alouds & nature walks, would make a fine education plan for busy family times. Involve you dc in everyday life activities. Things like cooking, cleaning, gardening, laundry are all educational & if you train your dc when they are young, you actually take a bit of stress off yourself. My dc had jobs from age 1. Their responsibilities grew as their ability did. Now all 3 of my dc can do laundry, cook meals (& clean-up, too :)), and do most of what I can do. Check with your local library to see if they have storytimes. Some have preschool story hours & others even have homeschool book clubs. I used to take my youngest to the preschool storytimes & my older 2 dc would choose library books for the week. Even if all you do is read, read, read & live life for the rest of the year, your kids will learn heaps. We had 7 months in the States helping my mother care for my sister in her final days. I thought we'd accomplished little as I found it hard to "do school" as we did at home, but when I listed everything we'd done, I was shocked at how much we had completed. JMHO,

They catch on pretty fast which spelling to use when. I am American & dh is NZer, so they need to be familiar with both. Spelling programs I have used (Spelling Power & Sequential Spelling) offer both spellings. I don't worry about spelling before age 8-9, but concentrate on phonics instead. My youngest is the best speller in the family & I feel that is because of his strong phonics background. He actually enjoys dictations! My older 2 dc began their education in the PS here in NZ & had no phonics instruction. We are still filling in gaps in their education from those years. JMHO,