I haven't thought of it that way.. "Also, just because it takes YOU all day doesn't mean it necessarily takes THEM all day. " There is definitely some going back and forth even with just two. I've combined where I can, but on things like language and math they work at their own level. I'll keep an eye on next year's choices to see if we're over doing some of the LA. Thanks. :)

How do you organize your day to cover all you've planned - and not end up teaching/doing school from morning until dinner? One of the main reasons we decided to homeschool was to allow the kids more time to not be at the desk and in school for 6 - 7 hours a day, but I find if I try to fit everything in (definitely not everything all on the same day, every day), we're still at the table at 3pm, even if we start by 8:30am. Of course we have lunch, but... What am I doing wrong? I don't feel like we're doing too much. Heck, I don't feel like we're doing enough as it is. I'm sure part of the problem is my motivation to teach some mornings. But I'm also sure there are tips and tricks to scheduling to keep (most) days running smoothly and not feeling like you're ditching the 'fun' stuff like science, history, geography, etc... because you've spent too much time on math and language. Do you alternate days for particular subjects? Do semester like blocks? How do you keep on track yourself? Any thoughts? My two are 7 and 9 and we're finishing up our 4th year of homeschooling - I should feel just a tad more seasoned than I do! ;-) I'm pretty certain we're not doing too badly, but some days I feel like we're floundering and others like we could take over the world! And I have a suspicion that I'm not alone in feeling this way! :-)

We haven't used Elemental or R.E.A.L., but we have done some of the mysteries on Mystery Science and really enjoyed them. I feel you could use it as a thorough curriculum if you brought in some extra books/materials on the topics, and use their extras. We use and enjoy apologia, but since it's topically focused, I bring in other topics by using MS. We're finishing up Astronomy, but I wanted to glance at other topics, so we recently used MS for their Plant Adventures unit. Both of my kids (7 and 9) really enjoyed that. We're moving onto Botany with Apologia next, so we'll probably use MS for topics like weather, animals, etc... The activities are simple, but provide good understanding of the topics. Also, MS is fantastic with their communication. They're quick to answer any questions you or your kid(s) may have and are very receptive to feedback.