I'll admit it: I used this WITH the Practical Workbook with my dd, and I plan to do it again with ds. As far as I could tell at the time, there are NO LISTS out there for supplies needed, so I'm going to share my list with y'all. I first had to buy the books, then read through them and collect on my own all the supplies needed to do some of the experiments. They cost a lot, so I didn't get all of them, and I bought them a little at a time. (I have more this time around than I did the first time) I didn't buy *anything* related to their technology experiments (eg digital probes of any sort or data loggers or any computer stuff of any kind) except a digital multi-meter which my husband already owned. So here's the list. I hope it helps someone. Singapore Interactive Science A (7th Grade General Science) Apparatus: Retort stand with rings and arms, bunsen burner. Yeah, right! Instead, buy this one kit from HST which includes an alcohol burner with stand: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/chemistry-equipment-kit/p/CE-KIT01/ You will have to buy alcohol at the home improvement store. It can be found in the paint section as it is used with other chemicals there as a stripper. Glassware Here's the supplies you may want to have for this course (only listing those not included in above kit): Beakers (get at least 6 150 ml beakers for experiments calling for several same-sized containers), displacement can (overflow can), petri dishes, additional test tubes, multimeter (my husband bought one for house tinkering project), sculpey clay (“plasticine†in book), magnets, evaporating dish, extra droppers, and small supplies & chemicals listed below. Microscope (Sonlight Ultra is best deal for quality I’ve found hands down) http://www.sonlight.com/250-40.html Microscope supplies: slides, coverslips, iodine, Methylene Blue & Red, Forceps (tweezers), lense paper and filter paper. You don’t need prepared slides until high school biology. You can buy a basic kit from either Sonlight or HST: All you *really* need until high school biology: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/microscope-slide-making-kit/p/MS-KIT04/ Measuring Equipment: Scale: (choose the one right for you and your family) q http://www.hometrainingtools.com/platform-scale-450-g-capacity/p/BS-SCALEDT/ (cheap, similar to what’s used for Apol Chem) q http://www.hometrainingtools.com/digital-scale-200-g-x-001-g/p/BS-DB0200/ (reasonable, digital, accurate, compact, nice cover built in) q http://www.hometrainingtools.com/triple-beam-balance--2610-g/p/BS-2610/ (a little pricier, space hog, but high quality, good to know how to use) Vernier Calipers: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/vernier-caliper/p/ME-CALIPER/ Plus: a measuring tape, ruler, and meter stick (find one at home improvement store) Household items: chalk, sugar cubes, toothpics (round), rubber bands, masking tape, batteries, barley grains (may be able to substitute other whole grains), thread etc. Chemicals: (all of these are available individually from HST) Hydrochloric acid Benedict’s solution Cupric chloride (Copper II) Sodium hydroxide Copper sulfate Sulfur Iron filings (included in SL NSK) Methyl Orange Eosin Y (included in most microscope supply kits) Methylene Blue (included in most microscope supply kits) Universal Indicator Calcium hydroxide Potassium Nitrate Zinc (small ribbon) Sulfuric acid Nitric acid Ethanoic acid Magnesium ribbon Copper carbonate Sodium carbonate Potassium hydroxide Other small supplies: Filter paper Litmus paper Universal indicator papers Splints Styrofoam balls Copper wire & aligator clips Safety equipment: Safety goggles Apron Since most of us will NOT be installing a vent hood, remember that some experiments may need to be done (or demonstrated) out of doors on a good weather day (no wind, no rain, moderate temps, bright light) Obviously you could substitute household items for SOME of the supplies here (such as drinking glasses for beakers if not using heat, salad plates for petri dishes, etc.).

Okay, so I used Interactive Science A with dd, and even though ds is planning on using Apologia Gen Sci this year, he still wants to use ISA labs because he remembers how cool his sister's experiments were. So, I've gone through the book and read the materials lists and gone through most of these things once, and now I'm setting up to do it again. I'm also gearing up to use their Biology program as a supplement for dd this year, and add in several of the labs. There are NO lists out there for materials to use for these books, and I was wondering if anyone here was interested in one? I will type it out here if anyone's interested.

I quit when mine were about the same ages as yours, honestly. My dd was about 9 and ds was about 7. They had already done lots of little crafty and messy projects for history and science at that point and had kind of gotten it out of their systems and really outgrown most of the project ideas. At that point they still liked science lab work, but I had to limit it to one per week that required me, though they could do goose eggs or other experiments they found on their own as long as it (1) didn't require me and (2) they cleaned up afterwards. They were totally okay with this. They still to this day do NOT like big projects like map work, timelines, etc. I kind of wish they were because I like the idea of them doing these things, but oy vay, you should have seen the near-mutiny last time I pulled out the timeline figures! LOL! You are SO NOT alone in this. I think some kids like crafts and some don't. I still try to make things interesting, but in different ways. For both of them, mostly that means me being in the room (they are both mostly independent now) and discussing things with them, pre-reading most of their books so we can really *discuss* them rather than just do a scripted Q&A session. Now it is more about us relating to one another and not just big messy projects, and that has been a gradual shift in interest over the years. But they both still love most science experiments so even though they both use Apologia science, they also both also use Singapore science for their labs! LOL!

You have said she doesn't like hands-on things like cuisinaire rods or other manipulatives such as those used in MUS. Several others have explained how to write things out on marker boards or scratch paper. I'll over something completely different: talking through it out loud. My dd is an auditory learner. I tried to get multiplication through to her on paper and marker board and with manipulatives and nothing worked because all of those involved visual elements. One day while driving around (we did a lot of that in Houston) she asked about something math that led to a conversation about multiplication. I had my hands busy with driving and couldn't so much as *gesture* to get my point accross, so I was forced to use only words. That did the trick. She had this grand "aha" moment so big I could almost hear the *pop* in her brain, and just took off running with the concept. Even today, if I can't get something through to her, I have to close my eyes, sit on my hands, and force myself to explain in words only. That's how she learns. That totally may not be the case with your dd, but it's worth a try. All math programs are either visual, hands-on, or a combination of the two. None are specifically designed for auditory learners, but Singapore, I think, best lends itself to them if you can learn to use it that way. It requires NOT pulling the book out until you've *discussed* the math concept with dd first so she gets it. THEN show her in the text the relevant section and *talk* through the examples while making eye contact with her rather than with one finger on the page, showing her each step. Definitely requires that you peak ahead and know what to teach out loud for the next lesson. I hope something we've suggested works for you.

1. Everything I've ever gotten from Sonlight. Everything except the LA has been as good as I'd hoped it would be! My favorite part of the year, honestly, is finishing up one Core while I'm unpacking the next Core and getting the IG all set up. 2. Omnibus. We are finishing Omnibus I and already have Omnibus II all lined up on the shelf, ready to go. It was definitely a big leap in difficulty for dd from Sonlight, even though we did Omni I for 8th grade, but she has stepped up to the challenge, and that's what I'd hoped. 3. IEW's TWSS and SWI. Still using their stuff, still loving it. Got to see Pudewa speak in person, and had dd take a pic with us together to show ds (who wasn't at the convention with me that weekend--it was out of town) who was as excited as if I'd posed with a celebrity. Also love love love their poetry memorization program, too!

I was just looking at the PDF preview of the Well-Guided High Schooler and had to laugh at the "Curriculum Plan" page as there are EIGHT lines under "Literature List" and only 16 more in the actual "Curriculum Plan" box. 24 books/resources? Honestly? Even just Omnibus doesn't fit there! I don't think that was designed with living-books homeschoolers in mind ;-)

Biology is math-light and age isn't that important IMO. I think 14 is probably fine for many/most children. However, you want to make sure your child is able to finish at least Algebra I at the same time so they have that under their belts before starting Chemistry as it requires quite a bit more math than Biology does!

I would say that memorization is a HUGE part of biology. At least, that was my experience in my Anatomy & Physiology and Micro classes and for dh in MANY of his various Bio courses (he has degrees in Marine Biology and Marine Fisheries).

The Federalist Papers are included in Veritas Press's Omnibus III course as primary reading, and they intend it to be used about 9th grade.

Even dh and I love to read aloud together! Just the two of us! But when the sad parts come, we have to trade off reading more often 'cause we're both saps and cry easily when reading books. We all read the last HP book aloud together, all 4 of us taking turns reading aloud to the others, because noone wanted to be the last to find out what happened, and we didn't want to fight over the book. It was So Much Fun! I wish we had more time to read aloud together like we used to, but life is too busy right now with me working full time and now especially with dh gone to the oil spill for so long. But we have a couple books lined up for when he gets back!

I hated the idea of how Saxon worked, and was as unimpressed as I could be with advertisements of higher standardized test scores. The cost was initially prohibitive and later it was merely ridiculous. We've tried many math programs with varrying degrees of success, and one that we actually loved in the early years (Singapore Early Bird through about 5B is excellent IMO). We really loved LOF for Fractions & Decimals and Percents but Algebra wasn't working for dd, and supplementing with Jacobs wasn't helping. I finally gave in since I just wanted dd to get through it and I no longer cared if she could be a math wiz--I just wanted her to get it, get it done, and get enough math done to get into college! Phwew! 10 lessons in and dd loves it, I love it, and I'm so glad I did it. She is more successful, more careful about simple mistakes, and more confident than she has EVER been with math before!! Ever! (Yes, we bought the DIVE CD because I cannot consistently teach EVERY day since I work 2 12-hour shifts every week) IEW seemed nice, but it also was waaaayyy too expensive. Now that I work, we had enough money to give it a try. Even though my kids haven't used it in over 4 months, they still use what they learned for other subjects such as Omnibus for short answers and summas and for outlining/notetaking.

I could not get aid after high school even though my mother had already abandoned me and I lived alone even through my senior year in high school. I could not get her cooperation even to the extent of proving that she didn't provide for me so I could get student aid. This is why I did not go to college until I was 30 and my kids were older. It was unbelievably frustrating to me then, and it seems things are no better now. I wish I could offer wise advice.

Yes. I would strongly urge you to consider the Catechism materials from Peace Sussex. They are inexpensive, usable by homeschoolers, and very thorough. Info on materials: http://peacesussex.org/CCA/cca6.html Click on the Day School Options A and B to see a brief scope and sequence of sorts, and choose the one you think is more appropriate for your family. Their online store is currently closed but will reopen very soon. You can still mail order their materials by following link on the store main page: http://peacesussex.org/CCAStore/index.html HTH

Look, I don't have kids old enough, but I'll tell you what I remember of my own SAT experience... I took precious few advanced courses at my public high school (I'm very ADD and couldn't do homework to save my life and had a bad bad bad home life). I did not take any fancy Princeton Review or Kaplan pre courses (they cost money, something I didn't have). I didn't buy any review books, study any vocabulary lists, or anything else. I didn't get a good night's sleep the night before (I was up past 3 am partying 'cause I'd forgotten the test was the next morning) and I did not eat a healthy breakfast. I barely made it to the test site on time, and I slept between finishing each section and the proctor's egg timer going off I was so exhausted. I had only ever taken the Texas standardized tests every other year from 5th grade on, and never took the PSAT or ACT so no other big tests to help me prepare for this one. But I did just fine. Better than fine. The kind of score that gets you automatic admission to any state college and "no further testing necessary" invitations to join Mensa. I'm not convinced all that test prep does anything more than cost money and time. I say, give them an excellent education in what you feel they need to know, and hang the test prep.

What did you love about it? It is easy to use, and my son can do a lot of it independently, and I'm working with my children to increase their independence and self-motivation. What did your kids love about it? Any dislikes for either parent or child? My son loves most of the reading books, but I find some of the early read-alouds to be a bit dull after a while in that they are very similar in style and formula. My son loves all the history books and enjoys following the internet links now & then when he's interested in something. One frustration I had was that the usual question & answers for book review seem to have been replaced with summaries of the daily readings. Questions would be easier for me to use on a daily basis, but some might prefer the summaries if they require narrations or written summaries daily instead. Or the science that is offered for that level? We are using Science 6. I think it's on the easy side for age 11-12 (ds started 11, is now 12) but I don't think science NEEDS to be too challenging this early, and definitely would recommend it. It is general science, so those who prefer to separate the science subjects as recommended in WTM would not likely be as happy with it as we've been. The experiments are just as good as the TOPS programs usually are, and you can always add in more from the Usborne book used part of the year. There is a YEC-view book used for a huge portion of the beginning of the year which we simply skipped as I found it to be a bit fluffy and dogmatic. I've never used Sonlight before, so this is very new territory. If you have ever felt overwhelmed or stressed about all the planning you do, or feel like the lesson planning gets in the way of teaching & learning time, then you are in for a real treat with Sonlight. I've used it & Veritas Press as-is and with changes, and I've put together my own stuff, and Sonlight is, IMO, the easiest to use and the least teacher-intensive, even if you do all the read-alouds. Oh and - did you do the 4 day or the 5 day? 4-day always when it is available. I might buy some of the extra books or even buy the 5-day schedule, but I USE the 4-day because it gives me wiggle room and allows more time for other subjects as ds is also studying 2 languages now, is doing a lot of intensive geography study, has additional memory work and lots of writing he's working on. And he tends to dawdle since he's a bit of a daydreamer ;-)

Well, I'm an RN in an emergency room. The only level II trauma unit within 3 hours drive (if you drive like me--3.5-4 hrs if you are a normal person). And we're county ;-) I'm usually the one with the crazy stories, like some kid high as a kite screaming at us that he's Abracadabra Man. Today I worked an area where there are 3 beds in one room (in addition to my other beds) and for some reason, all day I rotated through a bunch of comedians in that area! Every single patient and family member that rolled through there today had me laughing all day long--it was great! Okay, so I came home the other day and after my shower, I went looking for my super-glue so I could re-glue (1) the scratches on my forearm from coral from snorkeling last week on vaca (2) a papercut from a chart from that day and (3) scraped knuckles from helping with a psychotic patient who bit me, spit on me, and then 5 minutes later told me I had pretty hair, and who knows me by first name and is actually a really nice person. Request for assistance in finding superglue to glue *myself* is not unusual around here. I buy a certain brand (comes with a brush) for *me* and the regular kind in a squeeze tube for non-me applications. When I say "Where's my superglue?" they ask, "for you, or is something broken?"

Well, we've used R&S English. I would suggest that instead of doing every year, that you only use a copywork & dictation program for the early years (I like "English for the Thoughtful Child" and think "First Language Lessons" is similar, and had it been around back then, I would have used Memoria Press's "Copy Books") which can take as little as 5-15 minutes per child per day for K-2nd. I would NOT do any handwriting in addition to the Copy Book! Then, when using Rod & Staff, you can use only books 3, 5 & 8 and take 2 years to do each one. This will cut way back on the amount of review you'd be doing each year and also would mean you could work only 2 days a week with each child, saving your sanity. If you are also planning on using an additional writing program, then yes, that really is plenty!! I also did many R&S lessons aloud & skipped ones that my children didn't need. Once you read through the lesson, they work on their own in R&S & you only need to check their work when they're done. I bought the workbook one year, but found it to be full of busy work, and didn't end up using it. Simplify, simplify, simplify. All the extras we're tempted into buying generally only complicate, crowd and busy-up our lives without actually enhancing our children's education in proportion to the trouble they cause.

I've gone both ways with my 2. Honestly, trying to adjust one level to work for 2 kids *too* far apart in age can take more time than just working separately. I think it's most helpful for much younger children since they are more time-intensive for the parent/teacher. Once kids are older, ability-appropriate levels can be even more important (such as for credit for high school transcript) even in content areas, not just in skill subjects. Fortunately, they are also much more independent in their work, so it becomes easier to have each do their own thing in more subjects. You can also combine children in *some* subjects and still have them work at their own level in other areas, and how many subjects they do each way can change over time as your needs and their needs change.

Singapore Science has Bio, Chem & Physics: http://www.singaporemath.com/Science_Matters_s/128.htm

I wanted to start reading through the WEM reading lists at one point, and did make a start on novels by reading Don Quixote for the first time ever a few years ago, but then I went back to school to study nursing, and now I work full time. While in school, I did use my few elective hours to study literature rather than the typical easy elective credits *everyone else* uses (thrilling classes like Listening to Music and Cinema Appreciation). Right now I'm trying to read at least SOME of the books my dd is studying in VP's Omnibus I, but I'm struggling to keep up. A recent transfer to a new dept at work has meant that I needed to earn a few more certifications and that I have lots more stuff to learn/relearn, and all this has had me swamped with work stuff so I have less time to read. I also have an addiction to sci-fi and fantasy novels that eat up lots of time, and I also tend to get easily side-tracked with other non-fic books I find (including one on how human minds acquire language & grammar, one on non-genetic influences on intelligence that we can affect, and one on the Khmer Rouge occupation of Cambodia in the 70's, just in the last 4-5 months). If it weren't for all that, plus my new-found obsession with reading around the world in Nat Geo mags, I might have time to further my classical education!! LOL! I want to get some things planned out this summer for the kids' school, and get more studying done for work over the next 3 months, and then I think I'll get back to my personal studies some time in the fall. My plans include to read through at least one of the WEM reading lists (preferably on history since that's more interesting to me). I've toyed with the idea recently of finishing a bachelor degree, possibly in PoliSci or History, but we'll see. I also want dh to tutor me through Calculus and Chemistry either as self-study or through classes at a local univ/college (there's a couple to choose from).

Phonics: finish up A Beka Phonics 1 (have about 10 weeks left) fine, then you don't have to worry about it as another subject for much longer. Grammar: First Language Lessons good choice. Writing: Writing With Ease this may well be redundant with FLL for grammar--it includes writing appropriate for 1st graders. Penmanship: A Beka 1 Handwriting this may also be redundant if your child is doing copywork at least 3 times a week, and you are requiring good penmanship with that. Spelling: Spelling Workout A also maybe redundant if copywork/dictation is done, but some still like to cover it as a separate subject. Child's Oral Reading: McGuffey Readers sounds fine. Parent Read Alouds: above grade level reading, mostly complementing History and Science studies, some children's classics chapter books also great. Even dh and I still enjoy reading to each other, so being read to aloud never gets old, IMO. Child's Silent reading: at level reading that complements science/history study Sure, but I'd mix historical fiction with other types of literature. One of the best ways to ensure a love of reading is to expose your child to a wiiiiide variety of genres from the get-go to see what strikes their fancy. They may not like the same kinds of novels you do, so give anything and everything a try in these early years. Child's Leisure reading: whatever he chooses Agreed--including nothing whatever if that's what he chooses for now. If you follow the advice from the last subject, he will more likely choose at least something for himself in the future.

Maybe it's time to go on maternity leave until baby is at least enough settled into a routine with feedings/naps that you can get back to more intensive schooling. I went on maternity leave at 38 weeks!! But my job wasn't nearly as stressful as homeschooling back then! For the next few weeks while you're still preggers, take a break from formal schooling and just spend time reading good books together, snuggled on the couch. Maybe take one more week to get to a good stopping place in everything, and then declare your leave-of-abscence begun. As to the toddler, we do what other moms here have said--put the tantrumming child in their room (or corner) until they are done. I do not let their tantrum interrupt what else is going on. To do so would be to let a 3 year old rule the household (which most 3 year olds would love to do, hence the tantrums) and in my house, the parents are strong dictators who will not fall to toddler tyrants! LOL!

Yes! I got to hear him at the FEAST conference last year, and I was so glad I went. He actually had to shorten his stay into one day instead of 2 as originally planned, so he asked us if we wanted him to go through writing or other stuff, and we said other stuff (since most of us already used IEW materials). He talked a lot about how children learn, about how he became a Suzuki teacher, and how to apply IEW's approach to writing, and knowledge of how children learn, to any subject area you're teaching. He is interesting, funny, and engaging--something that can't be said for many people no matter how iterested you are in what they're talking about! I'd suggest you go see him if you have the chance. My daughter sat in on his day-long lecture (6-8 hours if I remember correctly) since we were travelling without dad, and even SHE enjoyed hearing him speak, and found what he had to say fascinating. I think she was 13 almost 14 at the time.

When elem. age kids have birthday parties, especially in the early years, it is customary to invite all the kids in the class for the party. Sometimes, parents actually have to convince their kids to do this, including the kids they don't like, so they don't hurt feelings. Even when older and allowed to pick who to invite, elem. age kids often come up with shorter invite lists that parents then expand in order to invite "friends" that the child is only temporarily fallen-out with, or to include children they want to encourage or not hurt. Even children who go to school often only have 2-5 real friends (really just play buddies at that age) anyway, and often only have 1-3 kids they play with on a regular basis. The rest of those kids are just classmates, not really friends. I noticed this was true for my dd in K & 1st at private school. It wasn't even that she didn't like the other kids in her class, and she did play with them some, but really there were just 3 kids she *ever* wanted to hang out with outside of school. The rest were just casual play buddies who conveniently were in her class. Dd is homeschooled and is in 8th grade. Her best friend lives down the street and goes to the local public school and is also in 8th grade. That friend has 4 friends she hangs out with regularly and that she'd call real friends (one of those is my daughter, her best friend). My dd has really 3 friends she calls real friends and hangs out with often: her best friend, another girl she met through her, and a family friends' daughter who is about her age that we spend time with regularly. The way I see it, there's not a huge difference in how many friends she has now vs. when she was in school, or between how many friends she & her public school friends have. One time of struggle we've had has been for ds who had 2 good friends here in the neighborhood, but one moved away (his best friend) and another rarely spends time with him now. For a while he was quite lonely (he had other friends, but none close by enough for frequent play, and mostly ones he only hung out with rarely) but since then has made 2 new friends. I've noticed he really has no desire to make friends with more than 2 other kids at a time--to him, that is a full cup of friends, running over. Your son might be matter-of-fact about it because he feels the same way--that 4 friends is plenty! Another rough time was when dd was younger, there were lots of boys in the neighborhood, but no girls. She was in girl scouts, had friends there she saw weekly at meetings, and also a couple she hung out with extra, but that was it. She was sad when we dropped girl scouts and for a whole 6 months (before we moved) she had no girl friends at all to play with after her ex-girl-scout friendships fizzled due to schedules not meshing for play dates. She has since fully recovered, and can't even remember that feeling of loneliness, and can't imagine why she'd be bothered by only having boys to play with since she was such a tomboy anyway ;-) I fretted during those two short periods, but my kids survived. And this is all in addition to regular (at least every 2 weeks to monthly) homeschool group park days and other activities, and to seeing other kids at church! All that to say, don't sweat it!

#2: Thanks for the reassurance. We've just started TL I and dd loves it so far. #6: Thanks for the suggestion. Both kids are asking to study Latin again, so I'll look into this one.