I have always liked to keep our kids together for history, and have so far managed to do so. However I'm thinking that I really will not be meeting everyone's needs if I continue with that next year, and am driving myself nuts trying to figure out the best way to teach my different learners, without stretching myself too thin or inventing a plan that's too complicated for me to stick with. We did MFW Ex-1850 this past year and I had intended to continue, until feedback from my kids made me reconsider. Want to help me think? Ds12, (entering 7th grade) a fairly brilliant avid reader and deep thinker, loved MFW and would like to continue. He liked the big picture, overview of world history. I want him to have the chance to go deeper this year and be challenged, but still want to be involved in his studies. He's a living book - NOT a textbook type kid at all. Ds9 #1, very bright auditory learner, liked MFW very much but at the end of the year said "it's hard to keep everything straight because we didn't spend a long time on any one thing. I'd like to be able to go deeper into a topic before we move on." I'd like to honor that. Ds9#2, sweet, visual learner who has trouble following complicated material and takes lots of repetition to really remember things, enjoyed the year but only remembered the things I'd taken the time to supplement with visual materials, and the historical fiction. These two boys will be in 4th grade. Ds7, wiggly, visual learner who likely has auditory processing issues, was on his own schedule but I want to make sure I gear things to him next year as well, as he begins 2nd grade. Soooo, I am tossing around: -Biblioplan, which I've used in the past, but Streams of Civilization and History of US seem old for 4th graders, and are scheduled frequently. Considering using it for ds 12, who wants to keep studying in the context of the whole world and not just US history, and something else for the others. - Sonlight Core 4 for the youngest three, with History of US scheduled separately for ds12 and colorful books thrown in for my visual guys. (ds12 could read through SOTW 4 on his own if he'd like) - HOD for youngest three - using Beyond (I think, it's the American history year for 7-9), with the supplement for the 4th graders, and something else for ds12. - WP American Story II (which I own) for the youngest three, and something else for ds12. I didn't love the scheduling at all though... So my question is, am I nuts to consider two or three separate programs? Can this be done? Does anyone have experience with any of these or suggestions? Something I've not thought of? I keep thinking I should put together something myself, but we have had a very intense few years with some health issues, and I also know myself, LOL, all intention and then I fade. I like a schedule. If you've read this far, thank you! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 2, 4, 4 and 7

Take heart, your son sounds like a very normal little boy (and as a mom of 5 boys, I have seen boys in action)! They are all so different, but as other posters have mentioned, boys mature a little more slowly than girls. My ds12 was my first child to homeschool from K on, and when we started him at nearly 6 years old, he still didn't know all his letters (not for lack of trying), couldn't always identify his colors, and couldn't sit still to save his life - unless he was being read to. He didn't learn to read until he was well into his 7th year, and struggled with sitting still long enough to write much until he was 8 or 9. However, by the time he was 8, he was reading far above grade level. When he was 10, I remember seeing him in a headstand against a recliner, enjoying his upside-down copy of Call of the Wild. And I thought, this is why I homeschooled him. He now is able to channel his energy and tests post high school in most subjects - I say this to give you hope! Here's what we did: I kept most of K oral - as I said, he loved to be read to. I'd ask him to tell me about the story, and I'd write down his response. He'd illustrate and we'd tuck it into a binder. He liked Explode the Code, and math was a strong point for him. But he was still VERY active and needed lots of time to run, jump, ride and play. Reading - we used Phonics Pathways but would put it away when we both got too frustrated and try again in a week or two. When he was ready, we used Pathway readers. In 1st and 2nd grade we did FLL - short, easy lessons that were oral. More reading aloud and narration, lots of reading on topics that interested him. I think we did a unit on Eric Carl that year (the very hungry caterpillar, etc), where we made a giant caterpillar on the wall, with a body segment for each book we read. He'd cut out the traced segment and copy the name of the book onto it. We baked a lot and did tons of nature study. Try not to compare (I know it is SO hard!) and enjoy this precious time when he is little - it goes so quickly. Find what he is interested in and let him snuggle up with you and those books, keeping lessons short and choosing picture books if that grabs his attention best. I am reminding myself of all this now, as my littlest ds7 hops out of his chair and has to be retrieved and refocused every few minutes...they will get there! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I really liked this aspect of MFW. I felt the way they scheduled the resources allowed us to read a slanted view, and a neutral view in the same lesson. Sometimes this prompted further research, a discussion of bias and what the writers believe, and more discussion on what we believe. I love and missed the Sonlight readers and read-alouds but that was not a problem - MFW's schedule is comparatively light (but still substantial enough), so I gave the boys Sonlight-type historical fiction as readers, and added read-alouds as bedtime stories. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I too will be schooling a 7th grade ds, and some of our choices are the same. For Saxon, the DIVE cd-rom was a big help when my dd was this age, and made the difference in her being able to stick with Saxon. So if you hit a wall with it and haven't invested in the cd, it might be worth looking into. My ds12 now does all his math lessons after first watching a lesson on the computer, seems to enjoy it and is doing quite well. We will also be doing LL but I am going with LL8 as ds12 is a pretty deep reader. Someone gave me LL7 and it looks like a fun program! The one history suggestion I can make if things don't work out is to add The Story of US, rather than scrap your program completely. When dd was this age, we both HATED the history text we'd chosen (BJU) and borrowed a set of the Story of US books. They are biased, but we enjoyed reading them together, identifying bias, researching and discussing throughout the year. I am hoping to find a used set to supplement our studies this year (MFW). You could also add historical fiction (check out the Sonlight readers) if you like. Have fun! Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

After I got married, dh insisted on a standard poodle. I was opposed because of those big floofy poms, like you see in dog shows. But I finally caved and it has been the best temperment dog. All standard poodles tend to be very laid back, family type of dogs. Very easy to train. Easy to take places (even the vet!) My dad has a standard poodle, too and they get along great together (they have sleep overs, lol). Only downside has been that they need to be groomed 4x per year. But they don't really shed, either. BTW, we do not groom her with the silly poms, lol - and she's a beautiful dog. I hear goldendoodles are nice, too (part golden part standard poodle). YES, standard poodles are wonderful! I couldn't convince my husband, he thought they were too goofy, but we needed a non-shedding dog for my allergic kids. My goldendoodle is 75% poodle - mom a goldendoodle and dad a standard poodle - and we are both sold on poodles (standard) now. We get her groomed like a big teddy bear, and she too gets along with everyone, dog and person alike. Aimee mom to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

We had former neighbors with a vizsla, and she was a wonderful dog. They'd have my then-5-yo dd come over regularly to help train the dog, and I was very impressed with the dog's calm,obedient personality. We did lots of research (like you're doing) when we were looking for a dog, and like a previous poster, we decided on a goldendoodle. LOVE HER! Perhaps not the dog you're looking for but she is the sweetest thing and so good with the kids - and my shadow. Have fun on your search for just the right dog for your family. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

This is not a bad idea, but I do think it could be difficult because of the scheduling differences. However, I've considered getting a few of the spine books - like the Story of Us series or Streams, and assigning my ds12 extra readings from those. It would take minimal research to find the topics but still give enrichment. So I was thinking somewhere along the lines you suggest. Thanks! Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

I lost track of this thread, sorry! I have looked at Queen's for my ds12, but I didn't think it was quite enough and the thought of figuring out what to supplement with made my head spin, LOL. I think we're going with Lightning Lit 8 for him - not Emma-like, but does contain lots of lit, poetry and thoughtful discussion of the type he likes, and perhaps analytical grammar. I'm not sure he can jump into MCT at the 7th grade level. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Thanks for letting me know, I could be sure to schedule a tad more for him in the beginning if it looks easy at first. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

These are perhaps not the type of books you are looking for, but my youngest four have all used and loved the Pathway Readers - sweet little reading books, a few per grade, all about farm and family life. We use them up through about 2nd grade. They have also loved The Beginner's Bible and have been very proud to be able to read it themselves - I have gone through three as they've literally read the covers off them. The I Can Read books I've seen can be unpredictable in terms of language - no continuity in difficulty, so it's been difficult for me to choose based on levels - I have to read through each to see if it's a good choice. Books they have loved include Amelia Bedilia, Frog and Toad books, Arthur (not the PBS character) books, and of course, Dr. Seuss. Library trips net lots of other good books and they are so proud to read the books they've picked out themselves. Have fun with your new reader! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

We have been doing read-alouds for all the years we've been homeschooling (and before), and here they are purely for fun (though I sneak in historical fiction!). History class readings, they narrate or write about. Independent reading, an occasional written narration for a child over 10, oral narrations for younger children. Read-alouds, pure cozy time, discussion time at the end of each reading session, begging for another chapter time. We just finished Jip and while it had many lessons about character and kindness and slavery, etc, throughout, we discussed them as we went along. Tonight, when we finished, the kids talked. One ds9 thought it should have ended differently, another was surprised at the ending. I was trying not to cry, LOL. In any case, that's how it goes at our house. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

I liked using 1850MOD with 6th and 3rd grader and using the younger supplement with 3rd grader so she got more US facts and fun social studies without it being heavy world history that she wasn't ready for. And more US lit. too. At first I thought the US Facts and Fun workbook wasn't all that great, but my daughter liked using it on her own. Nice for independent work. Crystal, thanks for sharing your experience with this. We did really like MFW this year, and it's nice to hear 1850-mod was a favorite for you and yoru family. Do you think the Facts and Fun workbook would be ok for a "young" 2nd grader? I really like that SOTW is used and the activity book is incorporated - that would be a big plus for us as we've really enjoyed the series. I really want to read Persia Tales myself! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

I just wrote out a long post, hit send and it appears to be lost in space. If both appear, please forgive the double post. I have asked and answered questions about Biblioplan and MFW, and have used and enjoyed both. Now I'm trying to make a decision for the upcoming year, and am hoping someone will have input that will help. We are entering the fourth year of the history cycle, having used Biblioplan for the first two years, and MFW for the third. I'll be teaching grades 2, 4 and 7 for the last year, 1850-modern. I have never done this year of the history cycle with a 7th grader, and have two things in particular I want to address. My 7th grader enjoyed MFW and the way it covers history all over the world (not unit study); he likes to think deeply, discuss a lot and read historical fiction. I can't tell if MFW 1850-modern goes deeply enough - it's hard to tell from the catalog, it looks light; however he'd love to do MFW again. My two ds9 enjoyed MFW but one told me he preferred the way Biblioplan "goes deeper," likely because it's arranged more by topic and you spend longer in one "place" before moving on. The other ds9 is sweet but spacey and I am hopeful he will get something (anything!) out of either program. I do have many books from WP's American Story 2 that I can use to dress up either program for the younger ones. So my question, for those of you who've done either of these programs for the last year of the cycle, is how would either of these address the above concerns? It is hard to tell from what either of the programs lists; MFW looks light without the book basket, and I can't see all of Biblioplan's listings without buying the program. Thank you for any experiences you can share, and my apologies if this shows up twice. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

We did use Biblioplan, the first two books, along with MOH 1&2. And truthfully, we were overwhelmed with too much reading - and not just too much, but much was redundant. It would have been better had I been able to preread and then weave together the most relevant info from each book, but I just didn't have the time for that. I did try to skim through, though, and that helped me choose which readings I really wanted to add, and which I could skip. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3 and 6

I think it would be a lovely group to belong to...but I am biased. We have three biological children and were blessed to adopt three kids with special needs (mild hearing impairment, bilateral amputee, developmental delays, respectively). I cannot tell you the impact this has had on the ds closest in age to these guys. The compassion, grace and kindness I see in him, and in them toward one another, is moving, and is often noticed and pointed out by others. I think children - those with disabilities and those without - can benefit greatly by being together, and I would love to hear of more groups like this being started. Blessings, Aimee monm to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

It is so good to hear this can be done and enjoyed! So did you buy and use the practice books? I've heard them mentioned in this forum but couldn't seem to find them on the MCT site. And I do love Emma too - I keep looking at other programs and I just hate to let go of her sweet lessons, poems and writing assignments. I am going to miss it so when ds12 moves to something else next year - I will have two others using ILL and one in PLL but so far can find nothing Emma-like for Mr.12. Sigh. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

You might like Biblioplan. It arranges history in the 4-year cycles, using SOTW and many other resources. The years I used it, I went through and selected the books I'd be using the most, and purchased quite a few, so I had a Sonlight-like stack of books to begin with and the library to fill in the rest. Biblioplan is arrange topically rather than chronologically, so it lends itself well to unit studies. The book selections are excellent. At this point, we are enjoying MFW, but we did enjoy the three years we used Biblioplan. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Many people do get excellent educations from textbooks, but it really will depend on your teaching style and the children's learning styles. When my dd was 13, she decided she was tired of the mix of things we were using along with Sonlight, and she requested textbooks for everything. We chose BJU for all but math (saxon), and she was happy - for about a week! After the two of us struggled along for a few months (I prefer living books to texts), I borrowed the History of Us set, used the Sonlight catalog for readers, and ditched the textbooks for everything but math. However, I later passed the texts along to people who loved them. Again, it depends - think of what you are striving for. Ease for the teacher (a must around here)? Some text-based programs are more intensive for mom in the early years. Something like CLE for a few subjects could free you up and let kids work independently on some things, if that's what you're looking for (we love the math and reading program). For us what's worked is a sort-of boxed curriculum: MFW. It helps a last-minute scheduler like me by giving me a plan every morning. It lets me combine kids but keep their LA and math separate, and it gives me flexibility to add if I want to. It has some text-like spines, but lots of living books, so it meets what I am looking for. Perhaps if you are not completely sold on a boxed curriculum, something with a schedule but more flexibility would work for you. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Cynthia, which portions of MCT are you doing? How do you schedule it? Thanks! Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Thank you, I appreciate the input. I hear such good things but looking at the samples online, it is all a bit mysterious to me! blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

When my ds12 was in 4th grade, he used and really enjoyed ILL. He did complain from time to time, but asked to use ILL again for the next two years, which was telling! We did try Wordsmith Apprentice in 4th grade and he really didn't enjoy it. He is a natural writer and it broke things down too much for his taste; it is a cute program though, and I may use it with my rising 4th graders. ILL does include a lot of writing and if you are comfortable teaching the writing process, I don't know that you need a separate writing program. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

I asked earlier this morning about MCT with ILL, but it didn't catch anyone's eye, so I am trying a different phrasing.:001_smile: Can MCT grammar be used in conjunction with another LA program like ILL, or must all the elements of the program be used together. Also, would 4th graders who have had a gentle introduction to grammar (English for the Thoughtful Child) need to start at the beginning of MCT grammar, or could they start midway through the elementary program? I am very intrigued but admittedly puzzled by the MCT materials and would love to learn more. Thanks and blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I plan to use ILL with my two 4th graders next year, but I have heard so much about MCT that I am considering giving it a go for grammar. Can the grammar portion be used with another program like ILL, or do you need to use all the MCT components together? What level would be appropriate for 4th graders who have had gentle grammar instruction? I hear such raves about this program but I admit I am completely and totally stumped about how it works. Thanks for any insight you can give me. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

My ds12 was like this as a 7-year-old, and R&S went very poorly for him. We ended up using the second half of FLL for 2nd grade (we had used the first half in 1st grade), along with Explode the Code and Spectrum Spelling. For extra writing, I gave him very simple copywork from his readers, he used (and loved) Draw Write Now, which has a bit of drawing instruction and copywork, and I wrote down his narrations and he illustrated them. For 3rd grade he used English for the Thoughtful Child 2, and that worked him into doing more writing. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6