Moms with ADD - What Curriculum do you use??

[honeymommy4]

Chances are if you are a Mom with ADD your kids are similar to you! So I want to know 1. what curriculum you use and b. how you survive?

 

I am constantly FORGETTING where I put everything. I am working on using a desk more, but keep wanting to sit at the kitchen table. We use the kitchen for our homeschool room, too.

 

i can stick to our curricl I have listed below for the basics but we need more stimulation when this stuff is done. and they are done FAST some days. i want time to plan stuff that I see on blogs, and in activity books but never have the right supplies at the right time, or don't have the time I need, etc. what do you use?

 

We WANT fun with minimal planning, but hands-on type learning with curriculum that EXPLAINS why things happen. My kids are just like me: distractable, easily bored, SUPER creative, wanting to do EVERYTHING but not able to stick to any sort of plan... LOVE unit studies, but get overwhelmed easily. TOG is not an option.

 

any moms like this? I am one of them. Please help!!!

[honeymommy4]

And yes, i do have ADD- (not ADHD) a psychologist confirmed it. it was the main reason for my depression a while back. having a label actually HELPS me not attack myself constantly for forgetting, etc.

Edited March 19, 2012 by honeymommy4

[AngelBee]

I have severe adhd and we use tog! Lol I know.....I'm nuts!!! :D

 

My littles are using HOD.

 

Also use task cards.

 

So....I'm no help! :)

[ErinD]

ADHD here. I use whatever seems like a good idea at the time. :lol:

[honeymommy4]

y'all are 2 funny!

 

We have had HOD before and quit it because we actually got bored... but i am more disciplined now.. I have been thinking about it again.

 

Looking for something that is fun but has the entire list of supplies needed so that I can be ready at the beginning of the year... We are always spending more time looking for something than actually using it... :confused: And I am pretty organized...

 

I actually have LHFHG for DD and DS (20 mos) but DD always says she HATES "doing School". I think she gets it from my older DS who say this from time to time.

 

so.. FUN days ahead! ahem.

Edited March 19, 2012 by honeymommy4

[Angie in VA]

ADHD here. I use whatever seems like a good idea at the time. :lol:

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

Oh, my! That is so funny!

[honeymommy4]

To be more specific I have so much I want to do - but have trouble pieceing different things together and making it work. lapbooks here, science experiments there... perhpas a boxed curriculum is something I need again? I am overwhelmed by the planning of it all.. yet I keep cycling trying to do it!

[Abbeygurl4]

ADHD here. I use whatever seems like a good idea at the time. :lol:

 

:iagree::lol::thumbup::laugh: Me, too!!!

[musicianmom]

I use HOD, with Singapore math and R&S grammar. I finally forked out the money for Atelier Art because it is so easy.

 

My mantra is "The best curriculum is the one that gets done."

[2boysmom]

CLE and Bob Jones (Science/History). Very well-laid out and scripted or on DVD. Also taking "live" online courses through the Potter's School seems to keep us very focused because the schedule is made and deadlines must be met:)!

[sagira]

Not diagnosed, but.. :tongue_smilie:

 

I am a CM homeschooler who pieces her own stuff together. I work best when I have a framework to start with, but it's flexible. I need choices, but not overwhelmingly so. Most of what I use is in my siggy.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

You sound a lot like me. I just posted a list of what we use to my blog. (See signature.) I've been using to-do lists to keep on track. Once a week I make lists of everything that needs to be done on a specific day. I list EVERYTHING, and take nothing for granted. (schoolwork related). On the back of the list, I put a list of the things I need to gather in the morning, again, taking nothing for granted. I list every book, every worksheet, even if we need crayons or colored pencils!

 

I also keep a running list of library books I need to check out in the bag I carry everywhere with me, and keep a running list of things I need to get from the store for whatever project is coming up.

 

I guess the short story is- I've made the curriculum we want to use work with lists. Many, many lists. :D

[Laughingmommy]

We just roll with things. I started doing a 6-week plan, and it works really well. Often things don't get done for a long time, then a lot gets done in a short amount of time. Hey, with a 6-week plan, it's all good.

 

I keep one thing in mind all the time: people with adhd have a much harder time doing what they don't want to do. So I encourage ourselves just to relax about conventions and standards. The more we pressure ourselves, the harder it'll be to do it. Be pulled by our passions instead of pushing ourselves to our goals.

 

Curriculum-wise, the kids just love when we do stuff. Thank goodness I do a lesson plan now 'cause before I would sometimes forget for weeks at a time that we were supposed to do something, like history. Like, I would just forget that history was a subject. But, hey, it's all good. It's not like I would've forgotten forever!

 

Pei

Edited March 19, 2012 by Laughingmommy
clarification

[sagira]

I keep one thing in mind all the time: people with adhd have a much harder time doing what they don't want to do. So I encourage ourselves just to relax about conventions and standards. The more we pressure ourselves, the harder it'll be to do it. Be pulled by our passions instead of pushing ourselves to our goals.

 

Curriculum-wise, the kids just love when we do stuff. Thank goodness I do a lesson plan now 'cause before I would sometimes forget for weeks at a time that we were supposed to do something, like history. Like, I would just forget that history was a subject. But, hey, it's all good. It's not like I would've forgotten forever!

 

Pei

 

Okay, how did you just get into my head? :001_huh::). I have done this last bit not with History (it's ds' favorite subject), but with Poetry, Art, Nature Study, even Grammar last year. It's not just me! There are people like me! You have no idea how relieved I am.

 

I make lots of lists too.. And despise routines.

 

As for the passion thing, you have described my mom and myself to a T. Going to read up more ADD and ADHD..

[Laughingmommy]

As for the passion thing, you have described my mom and myself to a T. Going to read up more ADD and ADHD..

 

While you're at it, check out descriptions of 2E, Twice Exceptional. I'm about to read a library book called *Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults*.

 

Pei

[...................]

Take a look at Timberdoodle Core Packages.

[Joyofsixreboot]

ADHD here. I use whatever seems like a good idea at the time. :lol:

 

:iagree: yep, that.

[ErinD]

:lol::lol::lol:

 

Oh, my! That is so funny!

 

Why thank you! I try to - hey look, a shiny thing!

[garddwr]

Chances are if you are a Mom with ADD your kids are similar to you! So I want to know 1. what curriculum you use and b. how you survive?

 

I am constantly FORGETTING where I put everything. I am working on using a desk more, but keep wanting to sit at the kitchen table. We use the kitchen for our homeschool room, too.

 

i can stick to our curricl I have listed below for the basics but we need more stimulation when this stuff is done. and they are done FAST some days. i want time to plan stuff that I see on blogs, and in activity books but never have the right supplies at the right time, or don't have the time I need, etc. what do you use?

 

We WANT fun with minimal planning, but hands-on type learning with curriculum that EXPLAINS why things happen. My kids are just like me: distractable, easily bored, SUPER creative, wanting to do EVERYTHING but not able to stick to any sort of plan... LOVE unit studies, but get overwhelmed easily. TOG is not an option.

 

any moms like this? I am one of them. Please help!!!

 

First of all, I know exactly where your are coming from! I'll be following this thread looking for ideas for myself. But first I'll share what I have found that works in our home.

 

Regarding finding stuff: I recently acquired a storage cabinet like this one.

I keep all of our current school supplies in there, and I put a child lock at the top so the little ones can't open it. This has helped immensely with being able to find things when I need them. It sits between my dining area and living room, our two primary school spots.

 

For activities: I have found buying kits helps us a lot. It does add cost, but it means activities actually get done. We use these particularly for science, although we have found a few for history as well. For example, Rainbow Resource sells kits to go with the elementary Apologia Science books that contain almost everything needed for the activities and experiments, divided by lesson (i.e., there is a separate plastic ziplock bag labeled with the lesson number, with the items inside). We have also enjoyed a Great Science Adventure kits and many Junior Scientists Club kits. Having everything I need ready in advance with minimal preparation and planning required on my part is wonderful and worth the cost to me.

 

The other thing we have really enjoyed is having a small co-op class once every week or two. About 3 families seems to work best, and you can rotate teaching or just have one mom teach (or rotate by term). We have done science, music, history, and foreign language this way at different times, also some fun hand's on math activities. It gives us all a chance and incentive to plan and do fun activities that might not happen otherwise.

 

HTH, now I need to go read everyone else's ideas!

 

--Sarah

[LittleIzumi]

Well, we stick with--SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!

 

 

Uh, sorry, what were we talking about?

 

:lol:

 

We change all the time. Right now, we're very happy with AAS, MEP (that one takes some initiative for me, as I'm not mathy, but it's amazing and so sometimes I take a couple of days to mentally prep for a lesson or cheat with MathRider or Miquon when I'm not really here mentally), and the Amanda Bennet unit studies stretched out at least twice as long as she estimates. We almost finished BFSU, which was hard for the ADD side but I love science so I could use it as open-and-go. We're now starting RSO Life for the spring/summer. Right now dd is in a science class and a full day of arts classes, and my K'er is in a play preschool, so that helps. I have other curricula around in case I get bored, LOL. Oh, we do circle time every morning and that helps me get my head back in the game, and we try to do school pretty quickly, in small chunks with each kid taking a turn while the other has a break. I want to try music during school this week (see, always something new). I have AAR and Dancing Bears coming to replace ETC....

[Laughingmommy]

You ladies are hilarious with your "shiny things" and "squirrels"!

 

Thanks for cracking me up!

 

Pei

[Laughingmommy]

Take a look at Timberdoodle Core Packages.

 

What great curriculum packages!

 

Pei

Edited March 19, 2012 by Laughingmommy
clarity

[SorrelZG]

This is long - sorry - but you did ask. And I'm sorry (if) it is disjointed and not a simple, helpful answer. :lol:

 

I'll be honest, I have no official dx (I feel like a nut and am too paranoid to talk to a doctor about what actually goes on in my head) but I'm an anal box checker who needs structure and a plan but can't keep a schedule or routine long term to save my life. I'm huge on information collecting and ordering ... and forgetting and losing. And then I discovered the iPad. (I have cyclical periods of existential depression also but the iPad hasn't helped with that.)

 

I chain my iPad to my person. I have an app on there called Noteshelf in which I keep copious notepads - one for everything. I have one where I collect notes, clippings, thoughts on long term plans an d over arching priorities, philosophy .. basically my "big picture" notebook. I have ones for daily, weekly and monthly plans (I use the monthly planner most and never plan specifically too far ahead - 1 to 3 weeks seems to work). I have one where I list memory work and I have one for each child where I list goals I want to accomplish with them and ideas for achieving those goals along with other individual notes. If I was writing all this stuff on paper it would be a nightmare and I'd never keep track of it all! The iPad and this app (and various others working together) make it so easy to snap pictures of things and pages of books for me to simply paste into the relevant notebook where I can mark it up with my thoughts or highlight portions - basically it enables me to reel in and order all my thoughts and inspirations and plans instead of having them scattered throughout books and notebooks and loose papers where I inevitably forget their existence even if I was life-alteringly inspired by them a month (lifetime?) ago. It also redeems all the time I use to spend looking for my notebooks.

 

Day to day I've found the CM inspired way of alternating subjects (input/output, passive/active) works very well and also block scheduling. That gives me a basic structure within which I have a lot of flexibility for what we'll actually do. My HomeRoutines app keeps a list of subjects "to do" (along with all my other to-dos) so I don't utterly forget something (so long as I remember to check HomeRoutines :001_huh:) but I only have a short list of core things that are done daily and then everything else falls into the block scheduling. I found that if I planned to do History on Wednesdays then History will probably never get "done" - too much commitment and pressure. :tongue_smilie:

 

Curriculum-wise, I'm with the previous poster who said whatever seems good at the time. My goals give me a structure while leaving me the flexibility in how I go about achieving them and when. Frequent checking and making of notes and "penciling" out plans for up to a month ahead keeps us progressing along my big picture plan. I don't actually spend much time on planning because it's pointless for me. Having a lot of cool stuff on hand (living books, useful apps, games, kits, educational DVDs, even formal curriculum) gives me a variety of options to pull from as I'm laying down the plans (or changing things up according to the need of the moment). I don't use much formal curriculum and I find it to be so individual (to the moment :tongue_smilie:) in preference that I wouldn't feel confident recommending anything specific. We use the library and the internet a lot to research whys. No curriculum could answer all the questions we come up with in a day. I have this general plan of working through the Apologia elementary science books but frankly, 95+% of our science education is coming out of us just following our interests and curiosities. I don't prepare much ahead for that but I am prepared to do any preparation necessary to enable and not hinder their natural love of learning.

 

I tried HOD and it was awesome for getting me started in the habit of thinking about education each day but as is typical for me, after about 6 weeks I started to freak out and needed to change everything up (the curriculum version of "It's not you, it's me", so nothing against HOD). It's like two lines that at first seem to be going the same way but after that length of time the difference between them is so substantial that they're on different pages and getting further apart. I need to be able to make adjustments on the fly, within the structure of my goals. I'm not worried about missing or skipping something important - I was doing a lot of that when wedded to specific tools and a lot less of it now that I'm wedded to my goals. So, I'm liberated from my guilt (it was big) of not being "consistent" or "reliable" or "sticking it out" with a specific book/guide/tool -- I AM all these things in regard to my time with my children and my goals for them and that makes up for an apparent constitutional inability to be those things with a preset curriculum package or schedule. I do have a couple of things for individual subjects that we don't get bored with at all but even then, most of my eggs aren't in that one basket for those subjects.

 

We each have to do what we have to do and finally embracing my realities (while clinging to my iPad) is getting it done at our house. :001_smile:

[Tanikit]

I love reading this thread as it makes me feel more normal. I have no diagnosis and do not think I am ADD, but I find I cannot stick to one plan - and luckily my DD seems to do well with changing things up all the time. I try not to buy too many things so that while cycling through things we will eventually pick up something we put down a while back - so OPGTR is being got through but with breaks of a good few weeks often while we pick up something else. The three math curricula I am using with my DD also get used for a time and then switched - we are still moving forward, but in a more round about route. I switch things mostly when my DD complains, but also if I get bored - so while my DD may choose to stick to the reading books we are working our way through I am bored with them now so will offer her other ones that I think I can cope with - again she is still advancing her reading skills and she needs to read a wider variety so this works for us.

 

As for planning, she's still in pre-K so I do not plan. What will happen as she gets older I do not know. I try to make sure I have a wide range of books and of craft materials so that we can do whatever we want when the desire arises. If I cannot find something I have been known to improvise (though having no eggs today did require a trip to the supermarket to get some for baking - ah well, there comes a lesson in math, planning or the lack of it and even writing a shopping list)

[mommymilkies]

SCGS, how did you so well fit my brain into your post. :lol:

 

And now I need to overdraft and buy an iPad...

[Shannon in TN]

Well, we stick with--SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!

 

 

Uh, sorry, what were we talking about?

 

:lol:

 

 

:lol::lol:

 

We call that "chasing butterflies" around here!

 

I don't really have much to offer because I struggle, too, but I will definitely keep tracking this thread for ideas.

[cherylw]

I'm self diagnosed and my mom thinks so too thinking back on how I was growing up. I could stay in my room for hours doing everything else BUT my homework. I'm still that way. I really need to be doing my taxes but where am I at? here!!:glare: But at this stage in my life I feel it's just something I have to learn to deal with although medication looks attractive at times. :001_smile:

I've been pleased with HOD and plan on sticking with it...I'm forcing myself not to jump around too much. It ain't broke so I ain't fixin!:tongue_smilie:I like that I don't have to plan and just check the box and know it's done for the day. There a lot of days where we get the minimum done and sometimes I feel like we're "flying by the seat of our pants". We use MM and I think it's a good program. The boys will learn what they need to know from it..but I've also been noticing that TT works well for dyslexics (ds10)...so I'm trying to subdue that urge for the time being. Lately I've added Apples and Pears spelling and LOF as a supplement.

If I could be halfway between OCD and where I'm at now I would be at a happy medium!!

[Carrie12345]

We are currently using (two kids):

 

Saxon Math 3

Saxon Math 5/4

AAS 3

WWE 2 and 3

MCT

SOTW 2 (almost finished, moving to 3)

Intellego US History (gr. 3-5)

RS4K Biology level 1

Intellego Weather (gr. 3-5)

The Happy Scientist study units

Getting Started With Spanish

and a bunch of random stuff I throw in here and there.

 

I keep everything that's in use on a separate bookshelf from our general household library so it's impossible to miss. I've switched back to a paper planner, because I can't see the big picture as well in digital form. Everything I use, though pieced together, is open and go. The only real struggle is having science equipment on hand, though I am getting a tiny bit better at that! If I'm missing something for a history activity, I've learned to just move on. In the past, we lost way too much time waiting for something to magically appear.

[sagira]

SCGS, how did you so well fit my brain into your post. :lol:

 

And now I need to overdraft and buy an iPad...

 

THANK YOU! I started thinking everyone else had it completely together but me :)

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

:grouphug: not diagnosed... ADD, OCD, PERFECTIONIST. PROCRASTINATOR!!

 

Bored with most boxed curriculum choices....only tried a few... drawm to WTM! IN 2000, FOLLOWING Guidelines for years from WTM and some CM.

 

Laughing too at some of the posts!

 

Mostly at myself...;) but I am so tired of having boxes of books to get rid of every few years! Many are just pb that cost a quarter, but after a few years of thinking about joining CC and buying books for it, I have let it go.

 

And a bookstore is my weakness, or it used to be. I am so disappointed at the downward spiral in the 2 I used to frequent. Video games, movies have taken over... and books in home school catalogs are on the Rare or Hard to find list!!!

 

I can't wait for the small but nice convention this weekend, and I know there will be 3 used book booths there, so I am taking some boxes to get rid of and have a short list of wtb. Hope I have self control... probably will since I have already ordered tons online used and OCD makes me insane trying to find the best price ( in good condition)

 

I did get TOG after reading so much about it on here, and now need to sell the books I spent so much time finding for it! I don't feel so crazy, as I see all of the Like New or Never used items for sale on here! And how can we know if we will like something new if we don't see it or try it sometimes?

 

I just have a strong desire to pick a few paths and follow them to the best, adjusting when necessary, and spend more time content! High School is freaking me out and I have seen others freak out in the past thinking ....CHILL! Now I know the feeling... and telling myself to Chill is hard.:lol:

 

Everything will be alright, as long as we have breaks, some fun, and get perspective as we work while we work, and play while we play!

[MtnTeaching]

I have been officially diagnosed (See siggy). Definitely ADHD. So is ds15 and my dd13 is dyslexic. My poor normal dh:D. I take a very low dose of meds because any higher makes my heart race - but even the low dose helps.

 

My kids are older now, so I am forced to be more organized. When they were younger, I would "fly by the seat of my pants" a lot. I think I would get bored with something we were studying even easier than they would and decide it was time for a fieldtrip. Unfortunately, I am not able to do that now as much.

 

I have found that the following things have helped me:

 

- Microsoft OneNote! This is my brain. I have all school assignment schedules and notes for the past 6 years in there. This is an incredible resource and I just do not know why more homeschoolers do not use it. It sounds as if it may be similar to the Ipad NoteShelf organizer that SCGS was talking about in an earlier post.

 

- Planning done in the summer. I plan the entire school year during the summer and put it into a simple table in OneNote. I add videos, projects, possible fieldtrips, library books, Netflix, etc. and schedule out my 36 weeks knowing that we will be nowhere near this in reality. It does give me something to work toward, though. I do not like spending days in the house doing this during the summer, but it is absolutely key if anything is going to get done during the school year.

 

- Every Sunday afternoon, I lock myself in my classroom and make a simple weekly schedule for both kids. They love checkboxes even at this age (especially my ADHD 15yo ds). It helps to keep us all on track. I even put the homework that needs to be done for their enrichment classes they attend each Friday. It is usually a cut and paste from my yearly planning page and some moving around of things that did not get done or that we moved ahead in. It usually takes me about an hour.

 

- Having all of my school items in a central place. I have a small extra bedroom that we turned into a school room. I have a cubby type bookcase where the kids keep all of their books by subject and a few rows of research type books (dictionaries, atlas etc.) Then I have shelving on the walls for my books. Supplies are bought in large amounts during the beginning of school sales so that I do not run out. I makes me nuts to not have something I need because I never think to pick it up when I am out. I have a large Home Depot armoire downstairs that houses all of the science, art, and history supplies.

 

- I have a "to-do" list template that I made up myself in Word. The section titles are: To-dos, Errands, To Call, To Buy, and School to-dos). I print one each week and place it on a stainless steel clipboard that I keep next to my desk. I have to jot everything I think of that needs to be done on this paper, or I will not think of it again. This has reduced the sticky note h*ll that I was living in.

 

- I love curriculum that tells me the next thing to do, but I tend to get bored of it easily. Unfortunately, it also seems to get done more often than if I have to do a lot to get prepared.

 

Some curriculum we have enjoyed over the years:

SOTW

Brave Writer writing and classes (love these!)

Prentice Hall Middle School Science (I would buy lab packs rather than use theirs. I could never get the items together otherwise)

Winter Promise American Crossing (my dd loved this program. It would have made my ds crazy with all of the hands-on projects.)

Teaching Textbooks for my dd

A geography I put together using Trail Guide to World Geography as the base. It took us three years, but we studied every country in the world.

Analytical Grammar

Lightning Lit for dd

Art of Problem Solving for ds

 

Now, if I could just get the rest of the household organization set up like I have my school stuff. I like working with the kids - I do not like laundry!!! Meal planning seems to be beyond my ability, I absolutely despise going to the grocery store, and I cannot "wing-it" when it comes to cooking. My mind goes blank.

 

Good luck!

[QuirkyKapers]

I am diagnosed with adhd.

 

It takes me awhile to get through these threads because when someone mentions an idea, like Timberdoodle packages which I haven't heard of, I have to go look. Or ipad is mentioned, and I remember someone told me if you take in your educator letter you can get a discount. So, I start to search if the discount applies not only to ipad 3 but ipad2....Ugh!!!!

 

I have a whiteboard that I write what each child needs to do everyday. When they are done, they mark it off. Consistently, I have them doing the following: Musical Instrument, Reading alone, Prima Latina, Click n Spelling and Click n phonics, Teaching Textbooks, Xtra Math and Handwriting. For Handwriting, I let them choose a paragraph to copy and everything has to be accurate. All of these things, are guided by an instructor or can be done independently. I check all the work. If there are problem areas, we work on them.

 

Together, we do Real Science 4 kids, Nature Study, a Read aloud, an audio book and their presentation for CC once a week. The items that are once a week, I schedule for certain days of the week. So, I know Nature Study will be Monday and Chemistry will be friday. My son also has grammar we do together as well as IEW. I also schedule those on certain days. If I could find a decent online computer grammar program, I would get it. When they are done, they can go outside or do something other than any screen activities. I found that not locking myself into a schedule where things need to be done at a certain time or order work really well.

[abrightmom]

:bigear: intently.

 

I've been thinking, for awhile now, that I grapple with ADD. No matter how much I pray and how hard I work I am always defeated by me.

 

Thanks for the wonderful ideas.

[sagira]

While you're at it, check out descriptions of 2E, Twice Exceptional. I'm about to read a library book called *Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults*.

 

Pei

 

Thanks. I will. I was gifted as a child. Had my own TV show at 7 years old, reading out loud to other kids (once changing voices 11 times in the story), interviewing firefighters, playing the piano, dancing, etc. Elementary school was a breeze.

 

Off to look at 2E..

[Laughingmommy]

Thanks. I will. I was gifted as a child. Had my own TV show at 7 years old, reading out loud to other kids (once changing voices 11 times in the story), interviewing firefighters, playing the piano, dancing, etc. Elementary school was a breeze.

 

Off to look at 2E..

 

Umm... yeah.... you should definitely read that book then. I think it's safe to say you're a likely candidate! ;)

 

Pei

[lillybell]

I have add and I understand the forgetfullness more than anyone. Have some stories to tell but let me not get into that. I loose focuse easily as well.

 

What I found was that I had a hard time with boxed curriculums because not everything seemes to work for us. We lost interest easily on some of the curriculum or kids couldn't sit through the lessons. I have 2 daughters with ADHD and 1 with ADD. Been a rough road but we are getting there. My oldest is currently finishing up her last year on an online school. But my younger two are using textbooks mainly.

 

For about a year, they used time4learning because I was too sidetracked most of the time. We would just print out worksheets and they would supplement lessons with that but I didn't like them sitting in front of a computer for most of the day. So I started my online research and trial and error on books. This is what we have come up with after several years of trial and error.

 

English/Grammar---Easy Grammar:The kids enjoy it and not much for me to do

Spelling--Spelling Power:At the start was hard reading through the teacher portion

but after I had read though it, was easy. Takes about 20 mins a day.

Science--Real Science 4 kids: Has a lot of hands on experiments and comes with list of items needed for each. I just look at the list at the end of the week and add stuff to my shopping list for over the weekend shopping.

History--Story of the USA and hands on activities to enhance the lessons: We incorporate activities from scholastic hands on books and from History pockets. Also gonna try using History of US with Liberty kids episodes.

Math--Teaching Textbooks: Kids are pretty happy with this one. Might add some worksheet practice but haven't gotten around to it.

We also use several Evan Moore workbooks for reading comprehension, paragraph editing, math problem solving, and geography. These are just daily practice books that they work on once a day. They are quick enhancers.

 

That is pretty much where we are at. I work with them throughout the day but as long as we can keep a routine, it really helps. I used to be all over the place and couldn't keep up but once we found something that worked, things have been much better.

 

My advise is to look at each individual subject and read up as much as you can on what is offered for those subjects and see what features you are looking for.

[Joyoflearning]

I love curriculum that tells me the next thing to do, but I tend to get bored of it easily. Unfortunately, it also seems to get done more often than if I have to do a lot to get prepared.

 

Meal planning seems to be beyond my ability, I absolutely despise going to the grocery store, and I cannot "wing-it" when it comes to cooking. My mind goes blank.

 

Good luck!

 

I could have quoted many of you. I also love curriculum that tells me the next thing to do and can be open and go. Rightstart and Phonics Road work well for me. They are "do the next thing" type comprehensive curriculums. They tell me exactly what to do, but I can tweak them if I like while knowing if I'm going to be missing anything. I also love HOD mostly because it gets done, but I too tend to easily get bored. I worry about being able to do SOTW or Apologia next year because they don't come with pretty little schedules that tell me what I should do next and they don't come with all the activities picked out for me with supplies already handy.

 

As far as meal planning, I also can't "wing" cooking. E-mealz http://emeals.com/ has absolutely been awesome for our family. It has the weekly meal plan along with the grocery list for all the meals. If there is a meal you don't want to do, then don't buy the ingredients for that meal (which are marked by a meal number). My husband does the grocery shopping though. It would take me 3x longer to shop because I get distracted trying to find the right ingredients, looking at food not on my list, comparing prices, etc. A meal plan usually lasts us about a week and a half with leftovers or other plans we had. It has saved us a lot of money being prepared for dinner and not having to buy dinner out. The meals make me feel like I can actually cook like a mom is supposed to just know how to do.

[LivingHope]

I'll be honest, I have no official dx (I feel like a nut and am too paranoid to talk to a doctor about what actually goes on in my head) but I'm an anal box checker who needs structure and a plan but can't keep a schedule or routine long term to save my life. I'm huge on information collecting and ordering ... and forgetting and losing. And then I discovered the iPad. (I have cyclical periods of existential depression also but the iPad hasn't helped with that.)

 

I chain my iPad to my person. I have an app on there called Noteshelf in which I keep copious notepads - one for everything. I have one where I collect notes, clippings, thoughts on long term plans an d over arching priorities, philosophy .. basically my "big picture" notebook. I have ones for daily, weekly and monthly plans (I use the monthly planner most and never plan specifically too far ahead - 1 to 3 weeks seems to work). I have one where I list memory work and I have one for each child where I list goals I want to accomplish with them and ideas for achieving those goals along with other individual notes. If I was writing all this stuff on paper it would be a nightmare and I'd never keep track of it all! The iPad and this app (and various others working together) make it so easy to snap pictures of things and pages of books for me to simply paste into the relevant notebook where I can mark it up with my thoughts or highlight portions - basically it enables me to reel in and order all my thoughts and inspirations and plans instead of having them scattered throughout books and notebooks and loose papers where I inevitably forget their existence even if I was life-alteringly inspired by them a month (lifetime?) ago. It also redeems all the time I use to spend looking for my notebooks.

 

 

Thanks for your recommendation for Noteshelf. I have been using DailyNotes, but this seems like another app I could benefit from! I, too, like using the iPad to organize my thoughts. I use a bluetooth wireless keyboard to type.

 

OP: After the dust settles over at Sonlight, you may want to check out a sample of their Instructor's Guides. It offers a variety of books in a grid format.

 

I personally use Simply Charlotte Mason's planning guide to prepare my term plans. http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/planning-your-charlotte-mason-education/ I have used their online SCM organizer for nearly a year, and it has helped me greatly this year to have nice records, to stay focused, and to plan ahead.

[jer2911mom]

No diagnosis here but it runs in my family. I think I just thrive on variety, and my dd seems to as well. We are in our 2nd year of homeschooling now and I think what is working is to have a core program (HOD) with lots of hands-on activites, but then to supplement heavily with other programs (SL Core K and Memoria Press). When we feel the twitch to change things up a bit (usually a few times a week), we just use parts of the other programs. Having HOD as the main program keeps some structure for us, but having the other programs at our fingertips gives us a break and variety. We also find that spiral programs like CLE math and LA work well for us because of the variety. We use the CLE math alongside Singapore, which again provides nice variety. Can I say variety one more time? :001_smile: We also do FLL and WWE alongside CLE LA, which provides -- you guessed it -- variety!

 

Of course all this varietry can make for some longer days! We're still working on that! Don't even get me started on time management, LOL. I noticed on the thread about how long 1st grade takes that we are WAY outside the normal range! :001_smile:

 

Kathy