Oh, I so totally relate to you and know how frustrating that can be - and also how strange to see your own childhood repeated before your eyes. The strangest thing to me is that my biological children excel at math, and it is one of my ds born in Korea who most resembles his poor, math deficient mother. In any case, this child started with Horizons in K (way lost), we tried Singapore in first (lost by the end of the first grade year), and the following, tried MCP. This year, at the suggestion of gals here, we tried CLE and BINGO! For the first time he gets and LOVES math. I did have him take the placement test and started him in the middle of the 200 program (he's in grade 3). Using this program, he tested "average" in math, which is a big improvement in my opinion. I really like this program, the way it covers topics and the spiral review, and have my three youngest in it now. Just be sure to do the placement test if you give it a try. Good luck and don't be discouraged, it will click for her. It may never be her strong point, but it will click. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Thank you for this link; it is precisely these sorts of standards that are keeping me up at night as I plan for my rising 7th grader! Now, I know I have educated one student at home through 8th grade, and she went on to high school to do very well and received many scholarship offers to college. Yet I am still waking in a cold sweat worrying that I will not prepare this next child well enough - and we plan to homeschool him through high school. I worked very hard to invent these sorts of writing assignments for my daughter, as detailed in the link you sent - http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards/writing-6-12/grade-7/ and yet I wish there were some curriculum that could walk us through assignments like these, rather than having to reinvent the wheel. Does anyone know of anything that targets this sort of writing? Thanks for the food for thought. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

These are the bins I use in my pantry (I'm pretty sure mine are the same size), both for kids' books (they each have one) and for dry goods: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-Jumbo-Ultra-Basket-Set-of-6/10401033#ProductDetail Not nearly as pretty as pottery barn or ikea, but they fit nicely in my pantry, can be moved from place to place, are sturdy and can be multi-purposed as needed. My TMs are mainly on my own bookshelf but if I didn't have the space for that, I'd likely buy my own bin and put my TMs there. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

We bought multiple placemats but really only use one or two, which we hold and look at during reading sometimes. The flashcards - if you plan to use them to glue to notebooking pages, yes, you need them. We fell off the boat on making some of the president's pages due to a health issue, so one set would've been enough for us. I also didn't like the idea of gluing the whole card to paper, so my ds wrote narrations without the cards. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

We also homeschool mainly in the kitchen. I have a pantry with curtains instead of doors; the right side holds bins with food, and the left holds the boys' homeschool bins. Each boy has a bin for his individual work - workbooks, reading books, binders, etc. The bins largely stay in the pantry and they pull out the book they need, though sometimes they pull out the whole bin and take it to a quieter place to work alone for a bit - I like the portability of this option. I found the bins at walmart in the rubbermaid section. They are a bit bigger than a dishpan with handles on the sides, and they are just the right size for my pantry (though I'm loving that Ikea shelf idea!!!). I require them to clean up all their work before lunch so I can see my table at least once mid-day, and again before history in the afternoons. I have a big old buffet that likely once graced a country store, and it holds art supplies/paper/etc underneath, and an old bookshelf tucked in a corner to hold my TMs, poetry books, etc. All our history and other reading materials are in the living room housed in shelves beside the fireplace, and we do our history and read-alouds out there on the couch. I know people love having separate schoolrooms - and I do get schoolroom envy - but doing it this way has worked really well for us and we are all just very used to books and children's artwork as decor. :001_smile: Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6

Thank you Donna, I appreciate your input. I have read mixed reviews of Applications of Grammar so I haven't jumped on it...and am trying to remind myself that AG is used for 3 years, and I have 3 more kids who can use it. I'll check out Our Mother Tongue. I love the idea of using a handbook and putting it together myself...but I know myself and my limitations with the four I am teaching, and am afraid it just wouldn't get done if I have to make up the program. But I have been on the lookout for a grammar handbook all the same. A question you may know the answer to: does AG teach all the grammar you need to know for the year, even though it's done for such a short time? Thanks, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3,

I have used EFTT 2 with three ds during the 3rd grade year, and they have all enjoyed it. I love the sweetness of the lessons, the poetry, dictation, and picture study. It does introduce grammar terms, in a gentle way, though the emphasis is more on copying and creating good writing than on memorizing terms. There is nature study - for example, last week we read together about barn swallows, and the boys had to write a paper detailing what they learned one day, and draw an illustration another. Today they are to write a conversation between an oriole (studied earlier in the year) and a swallow. To make it more fun, I suggested they do it in comic book form, and they have jumped on that suggestion. Pros - it is gentle, encourages thinking, builds writing and grammar skills in a natural way. Lovely, old fashioned paintings and poetry help us teach the way I like to. It incorporates other areas of learning like nature study. It is largely independent, though the child will need to discuss pictures or nature questions with you. Cons - it doesn't teach grammar in an in-depth fashion such as CLE or R&S might - there is no diagramming. I have supplemented with Evan Moore Grammar and Punctuation workbooks, used as I see the need. Some people don't like the fact that they have to look up or research things like barn swallows (very infrequent, by the way). It also doesn't include little planning worksheets for writing (this is a plus in my book, I don't much like those), but if a person wants more step-by-step instruction, they might not like this. I have liked it well enough that we've used it twice now, and I will be using either EFTT 1 or Queen's Language Lessons for my rising 2nd grader. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I am trying to choose a grammar program for my ds12. He will be going into 7th grade, and his LA background has been largely CM, while his history and reading materials have been more classical. He is a bright boy who learns quickly, but doesn't have experience with diagramming or complex grammar. We looked at Analytical Grammar and liked the looks of it, and then I realized how much it cost (gasp!). MCT certainly looks interesting, though I am confused about implementing it. MFW recommends Applications of Grammar, but I read really mixed reviews of it. So, here is my question. I need a grammar program and my son would like to learn to diagram - thus his interest in AG. Would this program be appropriate, and is there another, similar one, without such a hefty price tag? Most of the traditional grammar programs like CLE or R&S would require him to go back many levels, and he's not interested in doing that. I looked at LLATL (8th grade level), and while it has a lot of grammar, I'm not sure it's enough. Input would be appreciated. Thanks and blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Your son sounds so much like my ds7! I have been using WWE veeeerrrrry slowly this year, because of the very things you mentioned. My ds loves trains, I-spy books and I swear the child has a map in his head and knows all the roads in the area - is very smart, but like yours, zones out when we're doing WWE and many other auditory learning activities. I have done a few things: - I do feel that listening is a skill and while it's not ds's strong suit, he does need to work on it. Slowly. I sometimes can tell when he zones out, and I stop and ask a question to assess where I've lost him, and then go back to that spot in the story. Sometimes I have to start over completely - it is maddening, I know! But I consider it a sort of therapy that he needs to learn to do this, though I backed off for a while. - I try using the techniques with other books and stories that interest him, as more practice that he finds fun. - Have his hearing checked; another ds was similar, and it turns out he did indeed have a hearing loss, and a hearing aid has helped schooltime immensly! - For ds7, if I tell him to focus and pay attention, I can almost see the switch in his brain turn off! For him, it is more helpful to give him a piece of playdough or putty, put him on his wiggle seat (exercise disc) and tell him I'm going to read him something and will ask questions. - I am trying to build in lots of opportunities to succeed - as other posters said, take turns reading as he does better that way, let him listen to books on tape, find materials that tap into his learning style. But I plan to not give up on WWE and I encourage you to not get discouraged. They are all sooooo different, as you know, and some take longer than others to get this skill. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I think your evaluator was looking for something to criticize, unless she comes from some crazily advanced public school system the likes of which I have never seen around here (and this is a fairly competetive area)! I have had two kids (my oldest) in ps. One had a high reading level and lots of writing skills in K, and was advanced to first grade; the other was held back by the limited classwork they did. There is lots of inventive spelling around here, whole language reading, and truly, how on earth could narration and literary discussion go on with a group of K-ers? I just can't imagine that it's happening in public school - we certainly never saw it. I think it's fine to take some of her remarks as areas where you can continue to help your son grow, as perhaps they aren't as strong as some of his other amazing skills, but from what you have described they are by no means deficient! I believe that while classical and Charlotte Mason philosophy (we fall somewhere inbetween) are different, they are both similar in that their philosophy about writing is very different from that of most public schools. Friends have told me that the schools now stress writing very early, getting as much as you can on paper, regardless of spelling or sentence structure. There are lots of fancy little worksheets as well, for planning and mapping, etc. This is very different from an approach that requires carefully copying good writing, and narrating thoughts, hopefully in an increasingly orderly manner as the child gets older. I just want to share that knowing this difference has caused me lots of anxiety as I have educated ds 12 (going into the 8th year - wow! of schooling him since K), and I have worried about how this "different" method will work out. Last week, as I sat watching him and my two ds9 work on (lovely) papers and narrations, I realized, not for the first time, this works! In the early years it will look different than the public school, but it works beautifully over time (and I believe looks much better in the end). Re: math, Horizons is known for being advanced, I wouldn't worry. Enjoy your precious little ds, do not stress, he is indeed just 6, sounds like he is doing great, and has plenty of time for literary analysis in the future! For now, mudpies, reading and chatting about it should be just fine. And do the SAT next time for sure! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 7

I haven't used ECC, but this schoolyear was our first using MFW. We used Explorers to 1850 with my four youngest sons, ages 12, 9, 9 and 6. It is very nicely scheduled, with little that you need to do or prepare ahead of time - I'm not sure if ECC is the same, but I'm guessing it may be (maybe someone else will chime in on that). I bought the supplement for 2-3rd graders, and both my first grader and the 3rd graders enjoyed those books - if ECC is the same, I think there will be things your 6-year-old would enjoy. The schedule is full but not heavy, so it allowed me to use the library for extra materials - colorful things for the littlest, more advanced for the oldest. It has really been one of our best years of schooling, and the boys are asking to use MFW again. I don't know about using the history you already have with ECC - I think it would exhaust me to try to do two different history programs, but I do think you could really enjoy doing ECC with all but the youngest two. We also used CLE for math and reading, along with Serle's Language lessons for LA, and that worked well. There is also a great booklist in the back of the TM, and I picked extra readers for the boys from that. Blessings in whatever you decide; Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I couldn't get the Rainbow Resources links to work either, please do share the name of the programs if you get a chance! Thanks, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I have used Primary Language lessons and FLL, in combination, or alone, for my second graders so far. However ds7, who will be in 2nd grade in the fall, still struggles a bit with language and attention - he came to us at age 3 from a foreign country, with virtually no language. He has made tremendous progress, but is still wiggly and "young" for his age. Working through FLL this year (we've not finished the first half) has been fun but slooooowwww, it is like therapy for him to make sure he understands everything. I know it is good, but I would like to offer him something in workbook format as well, because he really enjoys and looks forward to that sort of work. Does anyone have experience with either Queen Language Lessons or English for the Thoughtful Child? I have used EFTC 2 with my third graders, but haven't used the first. From the samples I think ds would like either one but I'd love to hear what people have found most effective, particularly for wiggly boys. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I love these posts, they contain lots of good food for thought. One more thought - you don't have to have a cut-and-dried plan now that you stick with 'til the end - things can change and shift as life happens, kids grow and interests deepen. For example, we are basically on the four-year history plan that I started with ds12 when he was in 1st. However, an older dd was doing American history during the second year of the cycle, and I was just too ADD trying to do those two time periods at once. We stopped SOTW 2, picked up a Beautiful Feet Early American history package used, and truly enjoyed learning together that year - her with Hakim's History of US, and ds with BF. The following year we finished American history with a WP package, and the next, jumped back into SOTW at the beginning, as I now had two new first graders in our school. I have felt rushed at times, and have to remind myself that: - I am in control of the curriculum, not the other way around, and - I don't have to finish everything every year - I can leave some things out, go on rabbit trails, or pick some things up the following year. Either way, I am confident they will get MUCH more than they would in public school. For example, we used Biblioplan for two years, which arranges WTM suggestions in a more unit-study sort of way. We loved the in-depth study it allowed of each culture and the books they chose. At this point, however, we want to know what's happening all over the world at the same time, and have loved the coverage MFW is giving us. We may or may not finish everything this year, because the ds are fascinated with the Oregon trail, with Native Americans and with pioneer life, so I am using some materials from that year with WP to flesh it out, slow down, and take time to enjoy it. We look forward to finishing the cycle in the fall, and may take a year to do a study of countries and cultures before starting again. Blessings to you on your journey. Trust yourself! Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 7

Well, we like rather British things and I drink tea all day long, so the boys like the idea of having their own tea time. I can see though, if a boy associates tea with tea parties, that it might seem girly. Perhaps in cultural context, of afternoon tea, it might seem cultural and cool rather than silly? Or you could give it a new name. :001_smile: We've done afternoon tea many times (or morning), just usually with our Bible work, so the poetry addition and grandmother's dishes were a fun new change. Blessings, Aimee Mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Thank you all for the great suggestions, I will put them all on my check-out list! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

A week or so ago there was a thread about tea time and poetry, and I was inspired and decided to make Wednesdays our poet-tea days. Today we had the most lovely poet-tea, and I wanted to thank those of you who started and contributed to the thread. We did it fairly simply, with iced tea (it's hot here today), banana bars on my grandmother's dishes, and poems each boy and I had selected. We set up outside on the picnic table, and each took turns reading poetry. I had asked each to choose a poem earlier in the day, and it was fun to hear their selections. Ds 12 chose several poems by J.R.R. Tolkien (one of his favorite authors) and one by e.e. Cummings, and one ds9 chose a psalm. The other ds9 chose a few poems about birds, as his writing assignment this week is about barn swallows, and littlest ds7 chose and read Humpty Dumpty. It was the sweetest thing, and I was amazed at how much my ds took to it - what a blessing to be outside on a beautiful day listening to four little boys read and enjoy poetry! Just wanted to say thanks. Blessings, Aimee Mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

All kids and styles of teaching are different, but I can tell you what I'm looking at for my ds, who will be in 7th grade next year. He has chosen Analytical Grammar - he is very interested in diagramming, which scares me to death, go figure! Although I haven't loved the looks of the lower levels, I really like what I see of the 8th grade level of Learning Language Arts Through Literature; because it is a grade higher, I think it will have a decent level of challenge, and the vocab will be richer. I am also considering Progeny Press guides as an alternative to LLATL, and both include literature study; perhaps one of these would interest your dd. For spelling, we will be using dictation through Simply Spelling. We also looked at Lightening Literature, which include vocabulary and writing; it looks like a nice program, and you can see samples online. I like the looks of CLE LA but do remember it's advanced, and you probably would not start her at grade level if she hasn't had that sort of grammar in ps. Blessings, Aimee mom top 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

but at $22 a book, that is a lot of money for 3 kids...but I did like them...thanks...I will consider these. Well yes...it is, now that you put it that way! But I have spent as much on lovely programs that I just didn't implement, or complete packages that had a lot of elements I didn't want. :tongue_smilie:Putting things together myself, this looks like something we could stand a chance of using in our school! Hope you find something just right for yours! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I have drooled over this for many years, http://www.timberdoodle.com/A_Child_s_Geography_Explore_His_Earth_p/257-256.htm but I haven't felt I have the time to do it justice without cutting out something else. In general we teach geography in the context of other subject areas - we look at the map during read-alouds, do mapwork and geography discussion during history, etc. However, I've been wanting something a bit more, and when my Timberdoodle catalog came and I saw these little workbooks, I thought they'd be a fun, easy addition that my kids would enjoy. I plan to buy four workbooks at three different grade levels for my ds. http://www.timberdoodle.com/Daily_Geography_Grade_2_p/215-302.htm Are they an in-depth geography course? No, but I liked the samples (they offer various grade levels) and think it's worth a try for our little school. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids, ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

I too am trying to fit a bunch of different grade-level, learning style and issues sort of group into one history cycle - I am schooling 4 ds, ages 7, 9, 9, and 12. Here's how we did it this year and will likely do it next year: we used MFW Exploration to 1850, which covers 4-8th grades with additions for youngers. It uses SOTW, as does the last year in the cycle, and supplements it with books that really add a lot to it, so it doesn't feel too "young" in any way. We too had used these books before, but the way they schedule it was really helpful, and the bite-sized chunks, along with the other books they scheduled, made narration and summaries much more do-able. Summaries have been scheduled a few days a week, and I will require more of the 6th grade ds than the 3rd graders, and will often ask him to do a little more research, or will sometimes assign him a paper on a topic we're learning about. While I'm reading, my wiggly learners do well given a coloring page from the SOTW activity guide, or being handed an Usborne encyclopedia open to the time we're studying, and drawing something related to what we're reading about. We enjoyed Biblioplan for several years but found it very intensive - perfect for my oldest, auditory learner, but a challenge for my two youngest, one of whom was recently diagnosed with hearing loss, and one of whom likely has ADD and auditory processing issues. All four of the boys - even my big history lover - are thanking me for doing MFW this year, and asking to do it again the next. They also enjoyed the science and while they moaned and groaned about the summaries, they all said it helped them remember more. Next year I plan to add more colorful books from my own library (a Winterpromise course) for the two youngest, to help them connect with the subject matter a little better, and to incorporate field trips and hands-on things, like Hands and Hearts activity kits as well. Don't know if any of that would work for you, but you're helping me plan for next year as I write this all down, LOL! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Congratulations! Our youngest three also joined us through adoption, and adding toddlers and preschoolers kept school quite interesting for a while, LOL! What a blessing for you all. Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

:bigear: I have been pondering this same question, picked up and put down and picked up BJU English 4 multiple times at a used curriculum sale last night (should have just bought it and decided later!). I'm torn between these two and Intermediate Language Lessons, which I used with an older ds. I'm hoping to find something with a good grammar foundation but strong writing aspect as well. I'm listening with you! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Lolly, thank you, that really could be the case. I haven't seen a decline in his work at all, and he is the king of correcting the rest of us on our grammar and punctuation! That is reassuring. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6

Thank you, I appreciate that input. I just looked at his scores again and see that his weak areas were in punctuation (average) and capitalization (below average). Perhaps we need a direct attack as well! I will look for "Improve your Punctuation," thanks! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6