We've used all three of those curriculums, and all have their merits. However, based on your description, I think HOD is what you're looking for, perhaps PHFHG, if that's what they'd test into (see the placement chart, and remember that you can adapt - you're in charge!). We're using HOD CTC for two ds11, and ds14 with extensions and additional material. We're using R&S as scheduled for the ds11s, but using our own writing program and that's working well for us, and we're also using our own choices for math and I'm tweaking the science. The bigger guy has his own programs for math, science and writing - my point in sharing this is that it can still work if you don't use it exactly as written. Even with those changes, this is such a stress-free year so far. The boys really, really like being able to do things independently, and most mornings, start before 8 (I don't usually start school until 9), because they've figured out they'll have more free time if they get their work done sooner. They move through their independent boxes, and then come to me for narrations - I make sure they don't overhear one another, so each boy has to do his own work. Some of the work we do together, and I like that, as it keeps us together as a family and keeps me in the loop. For the story time, I'm subbing in some Sonlight titles I loved with older dd, so we still get that cozy storytime too; if you did preparing, I understand you'd be reading the core history as well. I loved Sonlight, and MFW felt organized but I chaffed at the schedule, and it was all mom-driven. HOD, at the level we're using, is moving a bit more toward CM's philosophies, and I like that. I can really see the learning and connections happening, and I like the way this curriculum is geared to different learning styles - their strengths can shine in different ways.

Oh, I do feel for you; we have had years like this, between chronic health issues and the arrivals (and adjustments) of new toddlers, school took a hit. I found it very hard to stick to a curriculum all laid out in days of the week (or unit), with everything coordinated. What worked best for us was to use "do the next thing" sort of curriculum, like Explode the Code for phonics, Spelling Power, Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons, SOTW, Christian Liberty Nature Readers. If we missed a day or an afternoon, we could pick up where we left off without destroying a whole week's schedule; if we only did the basics one day (math and LA for example), that was fine, and we'd just move forward as we could the next day. I have quite a collection of fun games that are educational, and some days those could serve as math, or another subject, depending. When the kids are young, it is lovely to be able to do that! I think, if your situation is still in flux with health issues, I wouldn't try to rush into Preparing or any other curriculum in January - it may be setting yourself up for frustration. Some ideas: - use HOD that you have for your oldest, doing the readings more casually, requiring oral narrations and forgoing the written work and vocab exercises. Read the poems and enjoy and leave it at that, and use "do the next thing" bare bones curriculum for everything else. Choose some Sonlight readers as read-alouds for the whole family. Do the fun stuff in the guide if you have time and inclination, but feel no obligation. - Check out Queen Homeschool Supplies. Their Living History of our World might be a nice option to read aloud to everyone, knowing that your oldest will get the most out of it. They sell a companion notebook for writing, illustrating and copywork, which my ds8 loves and looks forward to working in. This might allow you to continue with the time period you were doing in HOD (I think), plug in some of the books you own from it, as appropriate, but would be an easy way to do history a few days a week and not have it be all-encompassing. They also sell A Nature Walk With Aunt Bessie , which might be a fun, low pressure way to do nature study/science as you get through this year. Whatever you choose, be gentle to yourself. We had some great times during those years when I had to keep things very simple, and had many happy hours baking, playing games, snuggling as we read, listening to books on tape and spending lots of drawing and playing outdoors. I pray your health is better soon.

My two 5th graders are using: - Math: CLE - History: HOD's CTC - Science: mishmash of Ambleside Online and CTC science - Grammar: R&S 4 - Writing/English: Intermediate Language Lessons, copywork, dictation, weekly written narration and daily multiple oral narrations - Bible: CTC scheduled Bible readings - Art: Simply Charlotte Mason Picture Study Portfolios, regular drawing and nature journaling - Geography: A Child's Geography, the Holy Land - Poetry: Robert Frost, plus weekly Poet-Teas exploring a variety of poetry/poets

There is so much to begin with, isn't there? What are the ages/grade levels you're working with?

I do think children from a variety of early life circumstances have the potential to be educated in many different ways; however I don't think that starting with expectations to "do" classical education as you've done it with your other kids is going to work. I speak from some experience, having spent the past 10 years homeschooling (and continuing to do so) my kids who represent bio and adopted, as well as vastly different early life experiences, learning issues and learning styles. The most important thing I've learned is to respect the personhood of each child - they each have enormous potential to be the person God made them to be, and I need to gently help them reach that potential. Charlotte Mason espoused this philosophy as she developed curriculum for underprivileged children, and challenged the thinking of the day, which held that only the children of the upper classes could be educated. Much of the growth that needs to happen, here at this house, starts with me, as I let go of expectations and meet each child where he is. Letting go of the classical model has helped reduce my frustration level with struggling learners, who were simply not ready to master the material being presented in the way I was asking. Learning more about CM's methods and implementing them, even using classical materials, has helped tremendously. CM's methods are not without rigor - just different in their implementation and expectations. Start gently. Expose them to books that go back a few years in grade level - surely they've missed a lot, and this is evident in the fact that they aren't understanding what's read to them. Read aloud; Aesop's Fables, fairy tales, chapter books. Stop frequently for narration breaks. Scan the materials beforehand to pick out words they might not know, and discuss first. Keep lessons short. Simply Charlotte Mason may have some ideas for you if you decide to find some alternatives to the Classical model for now. Go to museums, do life together. Work on habits first and foremost; even if they do very little school at first, help them develop work habits they've likely never been asked to concentrate on; choose a habit at a time to work on. Later, you will be able to add more and more of the things you were able to do with the other kids, but you will have a much better understanding of where these children are educationally, as well as what you can expect as you move forward together. You've been entrusted some precious people who sound like they've had an awful start in life. I'm sure you must be very frustrated and angry with their bio mother - please accept a gentle reminder to be careful that doesn't color how you view these children, who are still bundles of potential, and victims of circumstance. I do not want others viewing my kids as "orphanage kids," and I wouldn't imagine it would be good to continue to view these children as ghetto kids or trailer trash. Perhaps you could consider them kids who've been neglected and had a rough start in life. I second the recommendation of the poster who was concerned about the children's safety in the other setting, if the situation is truly so awful. I, too, wish you the best.

We had the same experience with WWE with ds8, back when he was in 1st grade. It made me ask myself a question: Was it important that he learn to parrot back a paragraph that he had no connection to, or that he learn to tell back a story while he was making connections to and with ideas? I decided on the latter. My ds has some language processing difficulties, but I believe it's difficult for many children (judging from the comments) to make connections with brief passages, taken out of the context of the larger body they came from. How can we connect with a scene depicting Fern and Wilber when we're not really sure who they are? I also felt I needed to let go of very specific pieces of information I was searching for, and see what the child connected with. If he was unable to connect with (remember) anything, either he wasn't paying attention, or it was the wrong sort of passage. More often than not, I felt it was the wrong passage for him. We kept WWE's fantastic ideas, and switched to Aesop's Fables. I had to scan them for difficult words to define first, and sometimes, had to read them a paragraph at a time, with a brief narration after each paragraph. It was still hard mental work and training in focus and listening, but it worked very well. I didn't ask as many specific questions as WWE poses; I prefer a more CM approach where I ask the child to tell me what he remembers or notices, or tell me about the passage. We worked up to the whole fable, and afterwards, ds could illustrate his favorite part and copy over part of his narration that I'd written out for him, or copy a sentence or two from the fable. Later we took this concept to other books we were reading, some of which were used in WWE, like Charlotte's Web. They are all different, but for what it's worth, this works well with our various ages and stages.

This is lovely! I'm so glad for you and loved reading what you shared.

My ds8 is using Serle's PLL for the second year this year - we used the first half for second grade last year. We love the simple, incremental lessons, and I adjust them if something is not applicable because of changes in our world since the time of printing, or if the assignment is too long or short for the time I have planned. We also like to follow CM's philosophty, and we've used this book with all four of the youngest boys, followed by ILL. I haven't used the workbooks; we use blank-topped composition notebooks for the younger kiddos - they can illustrate on the top of the page - and regular composition books for the older kids. We like the hard cover books.

We had a shelf of things to be used only during school time, and because our smaller people didn't always "want" to do something constructive (read, "quiet and not destructive") during teaching time, I took to "assigning" certain activities. We had things like large floor puzzles of the alphabet, solar system, Noah's ark, etc; Melissa and Doug type wooden learning toys - stringing beads, small wooden puzzles in a box, alphabet learning toys; and colored bears and bowls to be matched by colors or size. I'd try to mentally rotate activities and assign a different one each day, after which the child could (quietly) choose another activity from the shelf, use playdough, or build with his trains and that sort of thing. We also utilized a neighborhood preschool two days a week, as another poster suggested, to give a little quiet time for concentrated academics with the olders.

Beautiful Feet Ancient History - way too much reading scheduled every week for even a very strong reader to have time to process, IMO. We decided to stick to a more CM style and have ds13 use HOD CTC along with our two ds11, using extensions and Oxford First Ancient History. He loves it. Math U See - I suppose I don't regret it as it helped get ds8 over a slump last year, but he stalled at a certain point and I think the slow-moving repetitiveness of it was holding him back. We've switched back to CLE math for him - still at a younger grade level than he should be, but he's making lots of progress and liking the variety of the lessons. What we still love: Primary Language Lessons, Intermediate Language Lessons, Simply Charlotte Mason's Picture Study Portfolios, Ambleside book choices, CLE math for the youngers and Saxon Algebra and Apologia Biology for ds13. HOD CTC needs some alteration for our family but in general is working well.

I understand! It is so hard when we have an ideal, and real life and real children can be so far from it sometimes! Lovely, different, but not the picture we had in our minds. Perhaps you could take what you love, and leave the rest behind? Regarding CM, I don't know that the HOD program it looks like you're doing would be really considered CM, and in fact, I can see that it might hold back an eager little learner if she is beyond it. Have you tried looking at the Ambleside Online early years? They are very advanced, and may have something to offer your eager learner. Nature study - I hear you. Lots of mosquitoes here and if it would ever stop raining, I would be so happy. But we do love many of the natural science books listed on AO, and the Christian Liberty Nature Readers are other fun ways to introduce more interest in nature, and to encourage narration, for that matter - they are Littlest's favorite books to narrate. I recently was advised by a CM expert to have the kids start a "list of firsts" for fall; one column for red, one for yellow, one for purple, and have them list things they've seen. Doesn't require being outside a terribly long time or handling slimey things. :) Go slowly, and be gentle with yourself. We've been working our way in this direction for some years now, and this is the first year we've done picture study, thanks to the wonderful, idiot-proofed kits that Simply Charlotte Mason sells. Doing that little bit once a week, and looking at the pictures we've hung up through the week makes me feel like we are doing something I've always wanted to do. Take small steps in the direction you want, remember your dc will be learning, no matter what approach you are taking, and try to remember that the perfect CM or any other approach we have in our minds, most likely only exists there.

Congratulations on your growing family! Our three youngest joined us through adoption as well, and as you know, bio or adopted, they all learn differently and goodness that makes it interesting trying to teach a bunch of them! I can tell you what we did this year, and how we're working to make things more CM in our home; it's been a process, and finally I feel I've been able to shift the paradigm, and for the first time am not trying to do classical, CM and who knows what else, all at the same time. Phew. We started the year doing HOD CTC for my two ds11, A Living History of Our World for ds8, and Beautiful Feet Ancients for ds (almost) 14. It didn't take me long to realize this would need adjusting. We dropped the BF books for ds14, and let him use the extension books along with the HOD program to beef it up for him. We all do geography and the fun projects together, and while we read the poems in HOD, our real poetry study time is during Tuesday Poet-Teas, when each of us chooses a poem to share over tea and snack. No deep analysis, just reading, listening, enjoying. I've added in a few chapters a week of Child's History of the World, read aloud over breakfast usually, and ds8 is enjoying learning a bit about the Ancients along with his brothers. We've dropped formal spelling and all four boys are using dictation, usually using a passage from one of the books they're reading. We've dropped reading programs, and they're reading books from lists of classics I've compiled from Ambleside Online, most bought for change at library book sales. We use narration for reading comprehension, and I believe they get a ton of vocabulary through reading. We always have one book we're reading aloud together, and when doing this, or preparing for Littlest's readings, I scan the material and introduce words they might not already know; some people use white boards for this. For history, what's worked best for us is to choose one time period in history - perhaps the time covered in the younger kiddos' HOD program? Then, we've tried to choose books at the different kids' levels, and Sonlight and AO are super resources for titles you could find at the library. I say this, but am still doing American history with Littlest, and actually, it is more CM to be learning about several time periods at once, and not doing everything tied together in a unit. It's interesting, this year I'm reading WAY less for history than I did in our Sonlight and Biblioplan years, the kids are reading a bit more on their own, but in smaller bits, and I am so excited about what they are learning - as are they! Perhaps you might find the same, inadvertently? Here is a good resource for learning more about CM-style LA, that you could likely implement without buying lots of new things: http://wildflowersandmarbles.blogspot.com/2010/07/considering-charlotte-mason-and-our_05.html Have fun!

We're in week 5, and while we're not having those quick days done by noon I see people writing about on their message boards, we are having perhaps an average school day - start at 9, done around three. It seems long to me and I wish it were shorter; I'm trying to look for duplication in things. I don't feel a separate reading program is necessary, and it's truly not CM to do so, so they each have classics they're reading independently; that is the extent of our reading program, with narration of course. On days like today, when they had a written assignment in Bible study time, I let that be English; I really felt that was sufficient, along with dictation, and I used the first stanza of the Robert Frost poem for dictation, and we had fun discussing the poem. I generally read the read-aloud during lunch and the Bible study or geography reading during snack, and that keeps the day moving along too. We 're also using CLE math and are doing our own science, and I suspect the science they've scheduled would include a lot more work added to the day. Does your spelling program add a lot of time? Some days I note HOD schedules a lot of writing between history, geography, etc. Reading up on CM philosophy has given me courage to rearrange things in a way that suits us and doesn't feel too "heavy" for the school day. In general, I believe CM had the kids doing 1-2 written narrattions a week by age 10. One other thing - we are really having to work here with at least one particular ds to be diligent and not dawdle; that has made some days dreadfully long and he is learning to organize his time better. Don't know if that helps.

No one has mentioned HOD's CTC - like MFW, it will have a more unit study approach than some of the others and it will take 4 days, but it possibly use less time each day? (I haven't used the CTC guide.) Like Diana Waring, it will concentrate heavily on Bible history for ancients, so it might not meet your needs. It does have a history project every week you can do or skip and it has notebook pages that match the assignments. We are using HOD CTC this year with our two 5th graders, beefing it up for our 8th grader, and loving it. It is very Bible heavy which had me freaking out at first - not because we have an issue with Biblical teaching, but it was very different from the models I had seen and used before and I was worried that it didn't contain enough non-Biblical history. I can see that it contains lots of good things, though, and we are supplementing it with carefully chosen readings from SOTW and CHOW. The guys love the Diana Waring CDs (once they got used to her extreme enthusiasm and high voice, LOL), and the notebooking is working really well. I really like the way Bible and geography are tied in - the geography resource is great. I bought the guide used, and am feeling free to sub things out - we do our own LA for the most part, though we use dictation, usually from their own readings, on the days it's scheduled, and I've messed with the science schedule, using some AO picks and some of HOD's. We also do the poetry differently, but it's working for us. Way back when last history cycle, I did Biblioplan with the guys. It is great, and very, very history heavy. You must feel free to pick and choose or you might be overwhelmed, as were my poor kids and I. HOD seems so much lighter, and yet, it seems my kids are retaining and learning a lot more.

We're using HOD CTC here for two ds11, 5th grade. I bought the extension materials for my ds13, 8th grade, and almost didn't use HOD for any of them - I thought HOD looked too simple; it didn't seem like much was there. However, at the urging of some kind folks here, we stuck with it for a few weeks, and now, having just finished week 4, I can honestly say we are loving it. With Sonlight and MFW and Biblioplan, I read for hours, and I can't say that they retained nearly as much as I'd have liked. One of my guys has hearing issues, and the way HOD gives increasing independence to the student jives both with the Charlotte Mason philosophy I love, and with my ds' issues - it is much easier for him to learn when he reads it himself! I still need to (and am glad to) be involved, but more of the learning is being turned over to them, and they all enjoy it. Used with the extensions and the Oxford First Ancient History, we're finding it an excellent program for ds 13 as well. He loves the books, and is enjoying the Bible, geography and Bible study work as much as they are; it's broken down so that it's easy to implement, but is not lightweight stuff. I've adapted it so that they each have the English programs we'd already chosen and become comfortable with, math programs that work for them, and I've tweaked the science a bit as well. We also don't do the painting with the poetry - I'm allergic to the sort of step-by-step art instruction that's given there - but we do fine arts picture study on Wednesdays, and poet-teas on Tuesdays. Still, in all, it's a well-organized program that we're enjoying. HTH.

One of my ds used Lightning Literature 8 for 7th grade last year and loved it - begged to do another unit this year. For grammar, we used Applications of Grammar, which was dry but did the trick. We also love Ambleside Online book selections.

My ds13 was frustrated when we used a literature only curriculum; he really felt he needed more of a spine to learn the "real" history. I've used textbooks based on the time period we're studying, to give him the framework he wants. Last year, we pulled out SOTW 4, which is just a super resource for the time period it covers, and IMO, useful for much older students than 4th graders. Check it out, perhaps? I still insist on literature being the largest part of our studies here, however - each child is always reading a historical fiction book at their own level, and we always have a read-aloud going together as a family, often on the time period we're studying but sometimes just a classic we don't want to miss.

You've gotten some great input here, and I wanted to add a few suggestions. It does sound like your bright little guy is bored, on top of wanting to push the boundaries (ds8 is doing that here too). I've had to split up a lot more here too, to keep them all engaged, and while it's a little more work, it is SO worth it. Here are some easy things to check out that wouldn't require buying a whole curriculum, that perhaps you might like since you like FIAR: Ambleside Online - check out year one, looks simple, but the literature is a whole different style so don't be afraid to start at the beginning. He reads, or you read to him (we sometimes take turns reading), and then he narrates. Period. The end. It sounds like it would be right up his alley. I have my guy do copywork from one of his daily readings, and he loves to illustrate the page - it's his favorite part of the day. Milestones Academy - love the book choices there, same idea. Both curriculums expose the kids to a wide range of books, a "rich feast" as Charlotte Mason would say; we use bits of both along with other things. Pick and choose if you like, but they give you guidelines. Simply Charlotte Mason has some other great lit suggestions and articles on doing school this way. Having a daily list/planner written out is also huge for my son - he loves to cross things off!

Oh dear, it can be so frustrating, can't it! I feel your pain, I have a few like this. I asked about this sort of thing at a Charlotte Mason Study group, and the suggestion I received is that either: one, the student is being lazy and needs more habit training; or two, the materials are developmentally or otherwise inappropriate for the child, or a combination of the two. There is also the element of the newness of all of this - be gentle with yourself as you all adjust and perhaps lower your expectations at first? It is a learning curve and you will all learn together what works best as you go along - I am still learning after 10 years of doing this; they are all different and they keep changing! Math is tough - watch for the dawdling, complaining and carrying on and be willing to work on habit training there. Take a deep breath, I know how it is! Break up math into two sessions if need be, but try not to let them sit at it for any longer than 20 minutes at a time - for any lesson, at this age, for that matter. Most of mine couldn't give me a definition at that age, but what I am looking for are ideas they are forming and connections they are making. If the books are "living books," real books that tell a story the child can connect with, rather than textbooks or those packed with dead facts, the child has a better chance of interacting with it. Instead of asking for definitions, ask them what they noticed about the story; what they remember. They may make the same observations you do; they may make different ones, and over time they will have a lot of knowledge they have come to own, rather than definitions they've memorized and then forgotten. Read carefully chosen books together, perhaps some about the time period you're studying, (look at the Sonlight catalog or Ambleside Online) and let them enjoy; bake cookies, choose poetry to read together from a volume. Take nature walks and look at what's happening in your neighborhood; get some books out of the library about what interests them. You CAN do this! Please feel free to share here what you are using with them; I'm sure you will get excellent input on things that might help.

You've gotten great input already, and I also wanted to suggest you post on the special needs forum; I have gotten great advice there as well. Have you heard of Nonverbal Learning Disorder? http://www.nldontheweb.org/ I have researched it a bit and I remembered some of what I've read, as you described your son. I believe that lots of talking, but difficulty making connections, poor organization, anxiety and the like are all part of NLD. I also believe some of the anxiety issues can become amplified with adolesence. He does sound like he has a share of sensory issues too, so perhaps he's dealing with some neuro issues that make the school environment extra challenging for him. I think some testing would really help you pinpoint his strengths and weaknesses and give you a starting point for teaching him, and just help you understand your special person more clearly. While the school may not have seen the need for testing, if you do a little research and present things to your doctor, you may be able to get the doctor to request a neuropsych eval; we didn't even have to consult with our doctor for our insurance to cover a full eval. Even if you decide to bring him home before you have an eval done, you can start simply; choose materials at the level he can understand and work with, even if it means going back a year or two. It sounds like you are on the right track with thinking you can meet his needs better at home - if you go this route, really, you CAN do it!

I know that feeling! We've switched several of our kids to HOD this year, and while I see them growing in independence, I think we are all missing doing as many things together. We've started adding back in things that make it feel like "ours": Tuesday Poet-Tea; Wednesday picture study; a chapter of SOTW or another resource scattered here and there and read aloud at breakfast; regular chapter book read-aloud; memory verses during snack time. It's not overwhelming me because everything else is laid out so nicely, but rather, allowing me to add in things we've missed and make the most of our time together. When we used SOTW as our history curriculum, I loved these activity kits, and they helped with the boredom factor for all of us: http://handsandhearts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=2 A weekly library trip also helped, and I'd collect books on the history topic we were studying. I read some aloud, and we kept a book basket, where everyone was required to choose one and read for 15 minutes a day - no reporting back, don't have to finish it, just settle down and enjoy.

Oh, this sounds just like my littlest, ds8! I agree with others that doing more over the summer next year would help. I have been reminding myself this fall, when Littlest acts like he has never done math, ever, in his life, that in school they spend the first few months, literally, reviewing for just this reason. So I had to give myself permission to spend more time slowly reviewing, building up the time we are doing math, and getting him going again, even though I haven't had to do this with the other boys. I'm also remembering that that the first few weeks of school each year with him (and the others) are as much about establishing (or re-establishing) the habits we need to be successful. The doodling? Saying everything is hard? We have that here, along with the upside down off the chair and 50 trips to the bathroom, LOL, and it's gotta go - habits of attentiveness, diligence and concentration have to come in, to the best of his ability, at least. I wrote about this very thing a few weeks ago, if you want a few more thoughts on habit and how it applies in our house, to a very similar student: http://undertheevergreens.blogspot.com/2011/08/habit-good-servant-and-bad-master.html Would he be better off in school? I don't know about your little guy, but I was told by a professional who evaluated Littlest that we'd be pushed for an ADD diagnosis and meds (which she didn't think he needed) in public school. FWIW, she added that keeping him home, with short, varied lessons, no longer than 15-20 minutes each, is the best thing for him. We also use PLL - love it, but it's ok (IMO) to do some of the lessons orally, write some out for him to use as copywork, and let him do only half of the problems if it's more than he can handle, small-motor-wise or in 15-20 minutes. One last thing? I'm trying to remember to add in things he excells at and loves - like your guy, he is smarter than his attention span for math shows. Maybe make sure there is something fun (for him) to look forward to each school day, in whatever subject he enjoys most, and give him a little leeway there.

Milestones Academy, which I learned of on this forum, has some interesting ideas for a CM style education. She advocates using a family history rotation and has a 36 week schedule for the other subjects, arranged by grade/year. Her "years" seem to be a little more in tune with a typical grade level, IMO. Using an idea like that, you could use AO's Year 4's assignments for everything but history with your older daughter, and find another resource to combine them for history. Simply Charlotte Mason also has history modules, designed to be used with different grade levels, that you might want to check out. As far as picture study, Simply Charlotte Mason has put out some artist portfolios that include prints (nice quality) from a particular artist, a short biography and instructions for doing picture study. I received the Rembrandt portfolio the other day (quick shipping!) and am thrilled to have an easy way to add this to our schedule.

I am moving toward a more CM method and not sure what to do about a few things: 1. American History is early American so should I pick the year that aligns with that? 2. Would year 4 work for a sixth grader and high level 2nd grader? 3. Are they supposed to read all the lit themselves? How do I know which books I should read aloud? We're using bits and pieces of AO but have studied it lots and asked many questions, so I'll give you my thoughts. I was advised to pick the year not for the history, but for the reading/lit level the child can handle, and I think other posters have mentioned that from about year 4 on, the child should be doing most of the reading on their own. Check out the samples of the books on AO - many are online - to get an idea of the level. Some of the materials sound simple, but because of the older language and complex sentence structure, are not as easy to grasp at first. For instance, my two ds11, who sailed through Sonlight readers, are really finding The Storybook of Science (maybe a year 4 listing?) challenging, but enjoyable at the same time. Year 1 could easily be a second grade curriculum, and I've heard of many people starting two years back. I can't imagine starting a 2nd grader at year 4, because of the complexity of the material and the fact that a child should be giving a narration on every reading that they do - orally at first, and then some written narrations starting at about age 10. It might, in fact, be perfect for the 6th grader though. If you look at the material in year 1, you can see how the readings build in complexity as you go up, to prepare them for the reading they'll be doing as they move forward. The way we do it here for our youngest is that he and I read together; he is 8 but still struggles with language some. He does a few of his readings alone, but most we take turns reading paragraphs and then he does narrate every reading, much to his dismay! The older kids do most of their readings on their own, and we do a small portion of history, and one read-aloud together. I feel like I listen to narrations all day, but I am amazed and blessed to see how much they are learning, doing it this way. As far as history content, it was suggested to me by a lovely woman who runs a local CM support group that I find a way to do the same time period at least for the older three in our school (ds11, 11 and 13), while not necessarily using the same materials. I've picked and chosen the rest of their materials from various sources, including AO, HOD, and Beautiful Feet, trying to stick to CM's principles. Clear as mud? :-)

Have you looked at Biblioplan? SOTW is broken up by civilizations in Biblioplan's schedule, and Bible readings, read-alouds and independent readings are scheduled for each age group. A caution: there is a lot there, and you may find you exhaust yourself and become a bit history heavy in your schedule if you try to do it all. Good stuff!