I have never been a fan of reading programs, but last year I found a CLE 6th grade reader, cheap, at a used curriculum sale. While I was ordering math for my younger ds, I order a few units of the 6th grade reading program for ds11. He is an avid reader of quite advanced material, but we haven't done much in the way of analysis, literary terms, etc. What I liked about CLE reading was that it offered just that, in a way that wasn't heavy handed. The selections are short enough that he was still able to do all of his other reading, and I liked the vocabulary and scripture it included. He actually really enjoyed it, and found it a little challenging in a good way, said it made him think. Because of this, I went ahead and ordered 3rd grade materials for two ds9, one of whom has a hearing loss, and the other who has some visual tracking issues. The second remembers everything he hears, but has trouble recalling what he's read. The CLE reading program was wonderful for both of these ds as well, for different reasons. I still don't think a reading program is necessary, but if you are considering one, CLE is a great program. It doesn't contain twaddle and busywork you might find in other programs, and is actually, IMHO, worthy of the time spent doing it. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 2, 4 and 7

Gorgeous colors at the container store! But all out of stock in the colors I need! (drat) Aimee

Thanks all, for the great suggestions. I've discovered they're called "document boxes." The lovely scrapbooking boxes are a bit big for my space constraints, wish they weren't, so many lovely colors! I will check out Ikea and give Walmart another run-through. Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4, and 7

When I used it with a 2nd grader, we did much of the early dictation as copywork - and only a bit of it. For example, with the squirrel dictation, I may have had my ds copy the first two sentences, not all. I may have had him work on that passage throughout the week, as part of his handwriting/copywork. Can't remember exactly, but I know I did this sort of thing throughout the book. Later, when it asks the child to write a composition, I had him dictate to me what he wanted to write, and I typed it up for him. He would then copy it, for 15 minutes or so a day, in nice handwriting to be put in his binder later. On those days, this was his handwriting and not his English work. FYI, I have another ds7 who will be starting 2nd grade soon, and I am not sure yet if I'll use PLL as I described, wait until midyear, or wait another year altogether. It is a lovely, but advanced program. Blessings, Aimee mom to great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

That's exactly what I'm looking for. I found some at Walmart but was hoping for a different color -a blue or black. Couldn't find any at Target, and looked online thinking maybe there...but no luck so far. Thanks, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4, and 7

I have been inspired by many of the posts on this board, and am trying to get my schoolroom (which is also our dining room) more organized. On someone's blog, I saw shallow cardboard boxes with lids and a place to label on the front, that could be used to store paper. I need them! We have several different types of paper we use regularly (wide rule, college rule, printer, etc), and they are always getting strewn about when the kids grab a piece. I love the idea of having a different, labeled box for each type, stacked on a shelf I already have. Walmart was the only place I could find what I am looking for, but they only had them in white, lime green or brown. I'm hoping for black. I also need standing magazine holders, but these seem to be easier to come by. Does anyone have a great source for this sort of thing, if you can even picture what I'm looking for? Thank you! Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4, and 7

I have read great things about the cursive program, and was hoping to order it. The mixed reviews are interesting, but I'm glad some of you have loved it. I started a thread about Pictures in Cursive a few days ago, with no response; perhaps someone can answer here. In which book would you start 4th grade boys who have been using cursive writing since 2nd grade? And is the primer enough practice for a child who's never written in cursive before (ds7)? Thanks; Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

I have been looking at All American History II, wondering if it would be a good spine for our studies this year. Would it be too advanced for 4th graders? They will be 10 and are used to listening to a lot of literature and history - SOTW, Trial and Triumph, The World of George Washington, etc. I am trying to find an alternative to Hakim's, because I am not comfortable with some of her bias. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

:iagree:with both of these recommendations. I have waited until each of my kids is between 5.5 and 6 to start their K year, depending on where their birthdays fell, and I haven't been sorry. I figure it is much easier to push a child forward if they are ready (we did that with dd when she was 7), but harder to hold them back (if you have to report to the district). We loved Sonlight Core 4/5. I used it with littlest ds when he was 5 - he also had no speech until he was three. The Developing the Early Learner series of workbooks that comes with the program is fantastic for both developing pre-school skills, and for evaluating your child and determining areas where she needs help. However, my ds has some auditory processing issues (not uncommon with late speech, you may want to watch for this), and that made listening to longer stories difficult for him; even at 5 I had to hold many of the books until he was able to tune in to books without pictures. Some of the books had to be held until he was 6 and in 1st grade. My recommendation: continue with speech, and build her a pre-K curriculum based around her speech needs and getting her ready for K next year. I would include the workbook series mentioned above along with something like Sonlight 4/5 if you think she is ready (you can see samples online). If the books in that program would be a bit much for her - and they might - the preschool/K workbooks that Rod & Staff puts out are great for early learning and include cutting, matching, listening sorts of skills. Plus, they are so inexpensive! http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-10020-GH/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Preschool If you chose this route, you could use the library and find books about the world around you, with colorful pictures and simple, straightforward text. Talk about the things in the pictures, ask her questions. Teach her to answer in complete sentences if that is an issue. Keep an eye out for words she might not know, and talk about what they mean. With kids who have late speech, I've found they don't always "absorb" language the same as typically developing kids, and things that might be intuitive to others, have to be explained. Play board games, bake together, and listen to books on tape. Enjoy your year whatever you choose! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

:lurk5: I believe I've seen Pictures in Cursive mentioned on this board - anyone? Please? :bigear: Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

We love this book and have used it in a number of ways: - to identify and learn about something we've seen in the yard or on a nature walk; - to assist in a lesson with nature questions, such as those in English for the Thoughtful Child or ILL; - to learn a little more about something we're reading about in another subject. We love the stories she tells about the animals, and she gives some nice points for study. I pick and choose, as I go along, how much to read at a time. It can be very relaxed - I have read aloud while the children looked at a turtle we'd found roadside and "borrowed" for a little while, before we released him in a safe place. I've read snippets at the table, and older ds has used it for research. To help with identifying the critters/flora, I'd also recommend some field guides, like Simon and Schuster's Guide to Insects, Peterson's Birds of North America (forgive me if I got the name wrong), and if you are just going to get one extra book, the Reader's Digest North American Wildlife guide is excellent (an illustrated guide to 2,000 plants and animals). Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

I have been reading good things about this program, but can't tell which books would be best for my boys. For those of you who've used (or looked at) these books, I have a few questions. - Is the primer appropriate for a ds7 who's not yet begun cursive yet? I wondered if it had enough instruction for a new cursive writer. I'm not sure if I should start with this, or with Cheerful Cursive (we have used A Reason for Writing in the past but I am looking for a change). - Which level would you choose for 4th grade boys who have been writing in cursive since 2nd grade? I don't want to choose a level too simple for them, but can't tell from the website what would be best. Input appreciated, thank you! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

I have used both Sonlight (cores pk, K, 5 and 6), and MFW (Ex-1850). At times we felt bogged down with Sonlight, and I needed to give myself permission to not do everything, take a longer time with something that interested us, or skip a book that we didn't have time for or didn't love. I didn't love the TMs and mostly used them as a schedule - I found the explanations long-winded, and didn't often use them. I preferred to do things more CM style - read, narrate, discuss, look at a map if need be, digest and enjoy. We LOVED most of the books, and are re-reading some years later. The ease of getting all the books at once and having them on the shelf was wonderful. MFW was delightfully easy to use at first, the TM is very straightforward. BUT in order to get the full, rich feel we'd come to love with Sonlight, I had to supplement a lot. The book basket is a nice way to do this, but let me tell you, I spent a lot of time finding books and a ton of money on library fines (my bad, I know). The history was very well done and integrated, but the children didn't love most of the read-alouds, and by year's end, were asking for the sorts of books we've used in the past. The programs have very different feels to them - MFW feels like more straightforward history, and Sonlight, to me, has a more cultural aspect with a richer literature emphasis. The guides, the way I used them, were equal in their helpfulness, so for us it's a matter more of figuring out exactly what we want in a program. I am back to looking at catalogs and trying to decide between Sonlight and Biblioplan and some unknown program that may offer exactly what we need. Don't know if that helps, but it's my 2 cents! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

I wanted to add, I found a great schedule on Simply Charlotte Mason that I hope to implement in some form, though I would choose the one without preschoolers. It might give some inspiration for another way things could be done: http://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/daily/seggenpredaily/ Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

Sounds delightful, Aubrey! (LOL re: Rime of the Ancient Mariner, what patience you showed!) Michelle, I think there was a thread a few months back on Poet-teas, and we've been doing it ever since. Sometimes we're fancy and do hot tea in fancy pots with Grandmother's china, and sometimes we have iced tea on the patio. We usually make some sort of special snack, and one of the boys will be my helper for the prep. I wasn't sure how this would go over with a bunch of boys, but let me tell you, it has been delightful to see how they've taken to it, and such a pleasure to see them read and listen to poetry with enjoyment. Yesterday dd7 chose several poems from his Mother Goose treasury, and dd9 chose a poem much too difficult for him from Favorite Poems Old and New (a must-have volume). We let him plod along and then had fun figuring out what it meant and laughing over the lines - it was rather a jesting poem about a cowardly duke. Other dd9 chose another poem from FPON, and dd12 had us all laughing from funny poems he chose from the animal section of that book. It was fun today, to hear him recite some of those lines in reference to our own pets. I chose one from one of my old college anthologies and a haiku I'd written at the pond last week. Children are a very safe audience for your own poetry! I am so thankful that we've started doing this, it is a highlight to our week. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

:grouphug: to you, it will get better! You have gotten some great advice, and I will just throw out some things that have helped us through difficult ages and stages of homeschooling. - Potty training: truly, I wait until the child is completely ready, and it happens in about a day. Boys, a bit after 3, girls, much sooner. Just how it went here with mine. I agree with the posters who suggest waiting on either the PT or the school. - Schooltime: I'm a night-owl too, but ds12's 5 am crew schedule is SLOWLY forcing me to get to bed on time. If you can slowly get up a little earlier and go to bed a little earlier each day, you will reap the benefits by feeling more ready in the morning. I know, it is so hard!!! - Subjects dragging on: for the youngers, I try to subscribe to some Charlotte Mason ideas, including short lesson times, 15-20 minutes. It is really hard for many young kids to sustain attention for longer than that, particularly when the whole homeschooling thing is new to them. We set a timer and I tell them to work hard during that time, not dawdle, and they can be done with that subject when the timer goes off. Dawdling = more time on the timer, or a switch to a competely different subject, timer on again, and return to the other subject later. - A rough schedule helps us. We try to start school at 9, and by 10:30 we break for a snack along with Bible time. On Wednesdays we do "Poet- teas," where each child and I choose poetry, we make tea and a special snack, and read poetry to each other. It is delightful and having it scheduled every W keeps us doing something fun I'd otherwise squeeze out or forget. We break for lunch at about 12:30 (hopefully all seatwork is done by then), have free-time until about 1:30 and then we do history and read-alouds. I like the idea of starting in slowly with a few subjects; perhaps math and LA, and reading in the afternoon, snuggled on the couch while littles nap. Take time to enjoy walks together observing things in nature, bake together, etc. Give yourself grace and time, it will get better and you will find your groove. OH, and I tried the rice with scoops thing when I had two 3-year-old ds. Unless you have very tame children, keep the rice outside or have a very good vacuum cleaner that can reach every possible part of your school area, I'd use extreme caution. Just sayin'. :001_smile: Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

I likely shouldn't be responding yet as I haven't had my breakfast tea and may or may not have read the original question properly and may or may not answer coherantly! That said, have you looked at Biblioplan? Biblioplan is a three-day-a week plan that schedules history based on WTM suggestions. Their Ancients year was one of our favorites in homeschooling. They schedule your spines - SOTW and a history encyclopedia, choose Kingfisher or Usborne; your extras - I recall the Oxford Ancient World book being scheduled; and all your read-alouds and readers for each grade level. We loved the literature they suggest. They also suggest writing assignments, and have now come out with parent help pages with additional information about each lesson, map pages, and Cool History pages for kids, with questions about each week's readings and additional research questions. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption! Our 4th child joined us from Korea while I was homeschooling a k student, and the following year our next ds joined us from Korea as well (instant 3-year-old twins - tons of laughs and trouble, LOL), this time while I was teaching a 1st grader and our then 6th grade dd who'd begun to homeschool. During the next few years there were surgeries and PT, and those little guys moving up into our school, by the time another ds3 joined our family through adoption. How did I keep schooling??? Truthfully, the chaos kept me on target and forced me to be more organized than I naturally am. I don't plan out my years, but rather gather my curriculum and plan one week ahead at a time (I wrote it out in a Rod and Staff planner I'd ordered). During the times when we were waiting for calls, I might have planned weeks ahead of time, just in case I would be travelling and leaving schooling to my parents. I used many WTM suggestions, and simply "did the next thing." Once one lesson was completed, do the next - no fancy, schmancy scheduling there. SOTW was lots of fun for the ds to do with my father, as was FLL. I scheduled read-alouds and knew they were getting lots out of being with grandparents, out of learning to adapt to a new family member, out of learning about a new culture in preparation. I tried hard to remember something I read once on a homeschooling site - maybe at the lovetolearn site. It was an article titled "The Baby is the Lesson," and it helped me to remember that my dc were learning SO much more from our adoption and family experiences than could be quantified in curriculum. So when each ds came home, we'd spend time regrouping as a family, watching educational videos some days, Signing Times most days (great for language development), and getting to know one another. And for the record - it hasn't hurt; ds12, my K student when the first ds came home from Korea, has been scoring PHS for years now on his standardized tests, and he's an awfully nice kid to boot. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

I don't believe a child would need any prior grammar instruction to excel at PLL. While it does teach grammar in a gentle way, it concentrates more on proper language usage than on identifying parts of speech or memorizing definitions. We have used and enjoyed it. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

Don't worry, you are doing great! I have a little guy the same age, and it is good to enjoy learning together at that age, which it sounds like you are doing. I couldn't get any of my kids more than halfway through Phonics Pathways or Alphaphonics, I think we both got so bored, but I did start them all on the Pathway Readers in first grade and have them read at least through the end of the second grade readers. I love how they incrementally introduce new words, and the sweet stories kept the kids' attention better than the reading programs did. Many kids do learn to read without memorizing all the rules (all 6 of mine did). The youngest 4 have all learned phonics with Explode the Code, which they have loved. I usually start a spelling program in 2nd grade - either MCP (truthfully, didn't love it), Spectrum or R&S. I felt the same way you did about FLL after 1st grade with my ds11, so we tried R&S LA, which about killed us both, LOL. My mistake was to make him write out half of each lesson, rather than let him do it orally. I ended up using the second half of FLL anyway, along with copywork from his readers. Whenever I gave him a sentence to copy, I'd have him identify the noun, verb, etc. He kept a lovely little notebook in which he wrote and illustrated these. You don't have to use WWE to develop the skill of narration - every other day or so, ask him to tell you about the history you've just read him, a chapter of a book you've read, etc. You can write it down for him and let him illustrate it if you like. These are just some ideas. But you have not messed up or put your child behind - if anything, you have not pushed him and he will still have a good attitude about learning. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

Forgot to add: Laminated wall maps of the USA and our state Globe and state map placemats kept in the living room, where we do history and read-alouds Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7 - and two in college now!

You've gotten great advice already, so I haven't much to add, but will share one other thing that's helped us. My ds9 also is a great reader, but with very poor recall skills. It is partly a learning style - he's a stronger auditory learner - and when we had his vision tested, we learned it's also a vision problem. He has trouble focusing, and thus has a harder time retaining information; we're hoping vision therapy will help. In the meantime, we've found CLE's reading program to be a great benefit. I am not a workbook lover and prefer real books, but these surprised me. The stories are short but not cutesy, and the workbook pages are meaningful and don't seem like busywork. Three of my boys have benefited from these greatly, even though they all have varying learning styles, and they can all work independently in them. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7, with 2 in college now!

Colored pencils Library card and interlibrary loan SOTW - all 4 volumes, plus the activity books Books - lots and lots of living books Children's story Bibles NIV Bible Pathway readers and Explode the Code to start CLE and Saxon math Photocopier Lots and lots of plain and lined paper Reading lists from Sonlight, Ambleside Online and Simply Charlotte Mason Chocolate :-) Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7 - and two in college now!

I am struggling internally with letting go of how I wish I could educate them all, because A) We started too late with homeschooling to do rotations of things and even in my excellerated students I am stunned at what ground was not covered and B) It is impossible to go back for 10-12 year old kiddos and give them all they missed. We will never be where I wish we were with history/social studies, and it will easily be a couple of years...if we are lucky...before we can be where we can do some serious reading. I am finding it hard to let go of what I know my kids would have been capable of, and of what material we will miss. Looking at planning out years in the future, we will barely cover all the basics at a more basic level..which they need...and will have to rush through some areas to cover what we can. Cindy, first, congratulations on your two newest additions, and second, :grouphug:, I do understand to some degree what you are saying. Our three youngest arrived at 2 and three years old, but they, along with ds12 who is also homeschooling, are all over the map! I have a ds7 who likely has auditory processing issues and ADD (was 9 weeks premature and adopted at three with no language at all); a sweet ds9 who has a hearing loss and poor auditory comprehension, needs lots of repetition to have things stick; and a brilliant ds9 who remembers everything he hears but has trouble with reading comp - hopefully vision therapy will correct an issue he has and make reading more fun. My first three were so easy to teach, and I have been struggling with feeling guilty that these youngest three will not get what ds12 had in terms of schooling. But you know what? I think they're not supposed to. I am the one who has to let go of the WTM standards and CM guidelines that I love, because they just aren't all ready for the same thing at the same time. I have to regard every. single. time I sit down and read with ds7 as therapy and language intervention, as he just doesn't absorb things the others naturally got. I am using materials much younger than his actual grade, because that is what he can focus on, and a little at a time, the world opens to him. I am really trying to pray about my decisions and make them based on the child and not my vision for my homeschool, you know? I am starting to understand that the paths for my gifted son and my differently abled children will look different. Not bad or worse, but different. Hard. Ideas I am tossing around that might work for you: - colorful books from Winterpromise to illustrate time period studied, rather than strictly readers my older dc enjoyed. - black & white, easy to follow, spiral teaching for LA - CLE at a lower level (take the test), Rod and Staff, or Evan Moore workbooks. - books on tape or cd - unit study approach with hands-on learning Another thought (and I know you know this) - you are starting from scratch in so many ways, and because of language and life experience, your dc do need to start at a much younger level with everything. That is ok - every thing you read or do with them is a wonderful, new, therapuetic, educational thing they never would have gotten. You are opening up their world in many ways, and that has to be done before they can go deeper. Every trip to the library, recipe prepared together, every family activity is a learning experience. Don't know if any of this is of value, but you are doing great work. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 6 (two in college now!!!) PS - stop reading the siggies, LOL! I am trying!

Dana, Paths of Exploration looks interesting, thank you for the link. Rhondabee, thank you for your suggestion re: Sonlight Core 4 w/just SOTW - I hadn't considered not adding in History of Us, but that is a very viable idea. You are right, it is a huge amount of history to cover and much is indeed very difficult matter. Lynn, I am so intrigued by HOD and think it might have some material that is very good for at least two of my ds, and interesting to the others as well. Thanks for weighing in. Kassi - do we have to do modern American history next year? Funny thing, I was just asking myself that question this morning as well. A good thing to chew on as I consider options. At the very least, I can consider waiting to do it - in depth at least - with the three youngest, while letting ds12 move forward, as he is quite ready. Hmmmm. Fun fact - the "twins" are actually 6 weeks apart, born in Korea and adopted a year apart. It has been fun to have instant three-year-old twins and see them grow together. Ds7 also came as a three-year-old and has had more trouble with language - another reason I want to be sure not to "miss" his needs in planning school. Thank you all. Happy 4th of July! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7