Annette, passed level 6 of Timez Attack. She was so excited. Jumping and laughing. Way too cute. She said that she has a little trouble with the 12's. I started explaining to her that she can break the problem down for instance for 12 x 4 first multiply 10x4 which = 40. Then multiply 4x2 which =8. So the total is 48. Same thing with 12x7 first multiply with 10 to get 70 than multiply 7x2 for 14. Now take the 10 from the 14 and add it to the 70 which = 80, now add the 4 to 80 and you ger 84.

I then asked Annette, "Do you kind of get that" she said, "Sort of. My brain was being pulled here trying to listen to you but it was also being pulled there, where Caleb is vacuuming. I kind of got but you will need to explain it again when my brain isn't going in two different directions". She so cute. You had to see her using her hands while talking. 

Today Josh got a whole math page right. Yahoo! Okay, I bribed him. I told him if he could get a 100% I'll give him a surprise. He tried three times and finally got a whole math page right. I gave him a bag of M&M's but told him he has to give everyone at least one M&M. I know bad mama  but he did get better with some word problems. He said, "Hey, I just need to multiply to get the answer". Yahoo! He's getting it!!!! He still needs to work on finding the area & the perimeter. He gets those mixed up.

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

It's thundering today. I love to listen to the rain fall and the thunder. My youngest son Lance is so funny though. Last night we were watching the Olympics and the thunder was loud. Lance stands up on the couch, walks across the coffee table (yes my kids jump on the furniture) jumps down and with his blanket hides under the table. It's funny because he so calm about. Later he heard more thunder so my Sweets & I look over and all you can see is legs sticking out of a blanket.

I think I might have wrote a few post ago that I would like to add Story of the World Vol. 1 to My Father's World Creation to the Greeks. I want to make a note that MFW is very complete without adding in Story of the World and/or Mystery of History. But you know me I'm always tweaking everything.

I want to add in SOTW for my younger ones to listen to and for Josh to outline and enjoy this book. Joshua really liked it when we used it for 1st grade.

Concerning all the myths, fairy tales and so forth. At our house I will tell the kids when the story is entering into a myth/fair tail. Because these myths are so similar to the Bible I do make sure we also read the Bible story and I do explain to the kids that the people (Egyptians, Greeks etc.) did not know the One True God and many of these stories were passed down from what I believe is Noah his descendants. Eventually the people fell away from God but the stories they passed down but making their own gods to worship and they got tangled and twisted. So my children and I have a lot of great discussions about the lost and so forth. When they read a book that mentions a million years ago because we have discussed these things they know it's not true, same with the myths.

I won't go off and just let them read the book without me because I do want to let them know which are the myths and which are not. The Story of the World sometimes or I should say many times doesn't always make it clear when the story is going from History to a myth.

All that to say that I found BiblioPlan and I purchased their Guide after seeing samples at their site. The Guide schedules in

1. Story of the World Vol. 1 (SOTW)
2. Kingfisher World Encyclopedia (Kingfisher or KF)
3. Victor Journey Through the Bible
4. Mystery of History Vol. 1 and I think toward the end Vol. 2 (MOH)
5. Bible Reading
6. Timelines & Maps
7. Read Aloud (I'm only going to read the books that we already have. My purchasing days are over for now)
8. Writing Ideas (we will use these if time permits. They sound great. There is one for every stage for my kiddos. Young Writer, Grammar & Logic)

MFW CtG does not use SOTW & MOH and doesn't really schedule too many real alouds (they do have the book basket for this though. We just don't make it to the library) For $24.00 I have everything I wanted scheduled in for me and I don't have to keep trying to figure when I should read this or that. Plus I ordered their maps on download so no more looking there either. I just hit the print button.  I love the timeline suggestions no more being stumped at where to put a timeline figure . I didn't buy the timelines though. The Guide has all the dated and I have all the timelines from Homeschool in the Woods and what I don't have we will pencil in.

My plan is for me to read everything scheduled from MFW CtG. Read or listen to SOTW on cd and listen to MOH on cd.

• Have Joshua read from the Kingfisher book and outline from SOTW or library books.
• Have Joshua and Annette read the Bible that is scheduled in BiblioPlan (I'll read what is scheduled in MFW with all the kiddos)

With BiblioPlan I'm not going to do all the extra read alouds for the younger ones other than listening in on the cd's mentioned above because Brent & Caleb will get a most of their history from My Father's World 1st Grade.

I'll write more as we use it. Let you all know if I bit off more than I could chew.

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

I have been trying to sell some curriculum that I'm no longer using and at the same time purchase a few things used. So I have been glued to this computer for a while and my eyes hurt. As soon as I get my last items sold I'm taking time off from the Forums ;) My kids have been running wild because of this and I still need to get a schedule down.

Here is a cute website to teach about keeping your teeth clean It's called MouthPower and here is a neat timeline that someone posted at The Well Trained Mind forum. And I found this neat curriculum sight (new to me anyway) I kept hearing about Biblioplan but never new what it really was about. Well, I own their Guide now. I like how it schedules Story of the World Vol. 1 for me along with the Victor Journal. I'm trying to follow the Logic Stage from The Well Trained Mind and can't figure out how to make MFW more WTMish so I went ahead and got Biblioplan and I really like it. It doesn't seem overwhelming. I have all the spines.

I plan to read everything from My Father's World Creation to the Greeks and assign Bible from Biblioplan as well as some of the Kingfisher, Story of the World to Josh. I'm in a hurry right now so I'll have to post a more clear plan later.

Last link Here for book projects.

Blessings,

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

I'm just jotting my thoughts out here and trying to organize them too.

I didn't realize how much more writing is required for Josh this year. So here is my plan. First twelve weeks of school I will read most of our History & Science. I'll ask him to pull the main idea. At the same time Josh will be getting ready to start outlining using "Teaching Students to Read Nonfiction" and "Beginning Outlining" from Remedia Publications.

Once he has a good grasp on outlining and reading nonfiction he will Outline twice a week from his History reading.

For History we are using My Father's World Creation to the Greeks and adding in Story of the World Vol. 1 and the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (1999). I'll do all the reading from MFW CtG but I am going to have Joshua read from Story of the World and Kingfisher (with help from me). Mark all the dates on our timeline, outline what he read from Story of the World. He will also start memorizing important dates.

I think this will give us a good start with the Logic stage for Joshua. I love the whole idea of The Well Trained Mind but it is not God centered or Bible focused. This is why I want to continue with My Father's World. I hope I'm not biting of more than I could chew by adding in Story of the World & The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia.

I'm glad I picked up and starting reading my WTM book. If not I wouldn't even have thought to add in some outlining. I would have read everything to him and thought that would be enough. Although we would do some summarizing through MFW.

Now that I have Grammar, History and Spelling finally finalized I am now off to read about Science. We will continue to use MFW for Science but I am saving up for Sonlight Science 5, which provides an overview of the Human Body.

We have been enjoying th Olympics. The kids love it because we are all sitting around the t.v. eating a late snack dinner. They never get to eat in front of the t.v.

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

This morning my kiddos found ants on our carpet. I think there is a little village of them living under our carpet because we keep seeing them come out from a little hole. I vacuumed them all up and now they are making tunnels in the dust. Science time ;) so Josh did his math sitting next to the vacuum cleaner. Who would have thought that they would build their little colony in the vacuum cleaner. I feel like putting some drops of water in there.

Look what I found for the kids. Click HERE. Its an online math program called Destination Math. I might add this in for the kiddos to do three times a week or after school hours. I would like to sit in and make sure they understand what they are learning. I'm not sure though because it will be over a hundred dollars. I would need three different levels.

I'm not one to put the kids in front of the computer or t.v. all the time. I don't think that online games should take the place of a math textbook but something like this would help out. Once they understand the concept I can put the timer on for 20 minutes while I school someone else. If a day gets so hectic I can have the computer help me with math for that day.

I decided not to get the Explode the Code online. I have the workbooks already and that should be enough. It sounded fun but my kids didn't like it. I had them try the demo. Now the math one they liked. Especially Ethan & Brent. They have been wanting am online math program for themselves. Josh & Annette have been using Timez Attack for 30minutes a day, Caleb uses www.BigMathTime.com although his subscription is expiring so I might get the Destination Math for him. Anyway, I have until Aug. 31st  to decide. I'll keep using the Demos until then and see if the kiddos 'really' like it.

In Him,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

In April of 2008 I thought I had our 08/09 school year all figured out for Josh. I was going to use

• MFW CtG. I almost switched to HOD Preparing but now decided to go with my original plan.
• Rod & Staff Math but am rethinking this now that I'm rereading The Well Trained Mind. My son is in the Logic Stage now. Yikes! I might use MUS Delta & Epsilon this year.
• Rod & Staff English for English & Writing. Now I'm not sure. I have heard that R&S Engl. has enough writing IF you are adding in writing from his History or Science. Now I might add in Writing Strands or do Beginning Outlining so he could start outlining and writing using his Hist. or Sci. like the WTM recommends
• A Reason for Spelling, but have since heard how good All About Spelling is and how it teaches the rules in a fun hands on way. I'm going to give it a try. Anything to get Josh spelling at grade level.
• Science I was going to only do MFW CtG science and we have started. BUT I want the kids especially the two older ones to learn about the human body and am leaning toward Sonlight Science 5.

Oh, what is a homeschooling mom to do with so many choices . I still have a lot of reading to do. My how time flys. Seems like yesterday I was saying to myself that I have years before Josh reaches this stage.

I love, love, love The Well Trained Mind but it seemed so overwhelming for me. I put my book on the shelf and have considered giving it away a few times, but something has always held me back from getting rid of it. Now here I am devouring up the Logic Stage. I feel so behind with Josh though. I'm going to add in some Mind Benders from Critical Thinking and a course on Outlining and maybe start the Latin program that I bought four years ago .

I was looking at all I have to teach this year and I don't know how I'm going to do it. Everybody still needs me. I'm using Writing With Ease with Annette & Caleb. This is a one on one writing program. First Language Lessons 3 for Annette requires me. MFW 1st grade for Brent needs me. All About Spelling for Josh, Annette, Caleb & Brent needs me to sit with them and they are all at different levels in Level 1.  I am going to combine Brent & Caleb. Than there is math. Singapore for my younger ones and Delta for Josh. I'm hoping that Josh can just watch the dvd and be okay with me checking to make sure he understands.

Anyway, I'm still trying to get my schedule ready but am having a hard time. All the above and I still am suppose to do Before the Code with Ethan and read lots of books to him and Lance. Did I mention I love homeschooling .

Thanks for listening my good friends. (Hey Reff, when are you moving out here? I NEED YOU! SOS)

In Him,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Caleb's 2nd grade year. As we go through the year I will update this page to add anything that is not listed, like read alouds, science books etc.

• Reading: The Reading Lesson (haven't decided what to use once done. Will add later)
• Spelling: All About Spelling Level 1
• Writing: Writing With Ease Workbook 1
• Grammar: Climbing to Good English 1
• Phonics: A mix between Explode the Code books 1 1/2, 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 and Rod & Staff 2
• Math: Singapore 1B/2A
• Greek Roots from English from the Roots Up

Read Alouds will be added here through out the year.

1. Moccasin Trail

Science/Bible/History/Art/Music: My Father's World 1st Grade (minus the LA's portion) and listening in on Creation to the Greeks.

Science:

• Genesis for Kids (CtG)

Bible:

1. Streams of Civilization (CtG)
2. Victor Journey Through the Bible (CtG)
3. Discoverer's Bible

Art:

• Drawing with Children (MFW 1st)

Extra:

• Read A Place for Zero

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Well, I should be cleaning up the schoolroom and getting it ready for Sept. but here I am in front of the computer, blogging. My head has been whirling around about Josh being in the 5th grade. I have be rereading The Well Trained Mind and realize how little narration/copywork/dictation I have been doing. I feel like I haven't prepared him for all the writing he is supposed to do for this year.

We are using Rod & Staff 5 which I thought had all the writing we needed for the year, but as I have been asking if it is 'enough'. It would be enough if he is writing in other subjects like Science & History. So I think I will have him write a summary at least once a week about what he has learned or a paragraph. At least to start with. Or I can add in Writing Strands.

With math I'm still trying to figure out between Calvert 4 or Rod & Staff 4. I was set to go with R&S but am wondering why it's not recommended in the upper grades in The Well Trained Mind. I wish I could just call Susan up and ask. I have both R&S 4 & Calvert 4.

We'll I better start my new post. I wanted to write what Caleb will use this year.

Blessings,

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

I just had to write how competitive my daughter is. We had time to play Times Attack tonight. Shhhhh.....it was way past there bedtime  but hey, their learning the times tables. Back to Annette. Once you get through learning all your problems for a level you can't move on until you take "the challenge". Annette just panics. She is jumping of her chair, practically standing on her head. What makes her nervous is she only has so much time to answer. If she gets just one wrong you have to go back and do that level again or if you miss one, by taking to long. She so silly.

It's 10:30 and my Sweets is home. He brought me a Mocha. Yummy! He works at his regular job until 6:00pm and then sometimes he has to go to fix something at the apartments (we own an 11 unit apartment and a 3 unit) so there is always something needing fixing. We are praying that by the time the kiddos are in college the apartments will help us out with their education, missonary trips etc. With six kiddos you need to plan ahead. Well, even with one child

So we named our cow Hoofs. He was fed hay instead of corn, didn't have any vaccinations, no hormones or chemicals. His manhood was taken away so the meat would be more tender . I made Tamales yesterday with the ground beef and it was so good. The meat actually had less fat. Hopefully that's a good thing . Compared to the meat that I buy at the store anyways. I am so thankful to the Lord for Hoofs. You don't know how long I have been wanting to by Organic meat. I would always put it in my cart only to take it out again because of the price.

Now I would like to find a farm that sells caged free eggs or chickens. Again they are so expensive at the Supermarket. I know it's worth it, but it's hard when you are on a budges. Once in a while we will purchase caged free/hormone free eggs to support the cause but it's not a regular thing. I'll keep praying for chickens and eggs.

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

The kiddos are watching Curios George. My two youngest ones have been listening to this on cd & looking at the pictures in a book. I thought since the repair man was going to be here I would let them watch a movie. So here I am. The repair man is gone and I have a little time. I was going to eat my Fun Dip that Brent gave me but I decided to blog a quick entry. Our fridg. works now. Yahoo!

My Sweets is working late again. He won't be home until past 9:00.

The kids and I have been wanting to play the game Timez Attack, but we can't play before 6:00pm because of the little guy we watch. He is walking and into everything. The game would end up with all of our attention. Even I am looking forward to getting to the next level.

I had a times table stress day. This is when I get stressed because Josh can't say the facts fast enough. I get like this every so often with a subject. This Summer it has been math because I'm trying to make sure Josh will be ready for his Rod & Staff Math next month. Thank goodness it only last a few mintues then I realize I'm not helping him if I seem like I'm mad at him. He knows almost all his multiplication but needs to gain speed now. I am waiting for Advanced Math It to come. I'm hoping it will help with division. Although I should look in the TM and see if there is any help there. I tried to explaine it to him but he doesn't get it yet. Maybe I should just have him copy them with the answers. I did tell Josh that if he doesn't know all of his multiplication by the end of next week, he is going to have to copy them every night. That is what his cousin had to do. Ali goes to private school and her teacher had her copy multiplication facts every night.

I opened my Fun Dip and the candy stick is broken. This is the second time I got one with a broken candy stick. I had one yesterday too  Annette bought some from Oriental Express and shared them with everyone. Mmmmm, it's good.

A few weeks ago Josh said, "That June Bug thought it was David. He bummed me right on my forhead". He so funny.  Also in the past few weeks, Brent has been loosing his teeth like crazy. His bottom left tooth fell out.  Then is two top middle teeth were loose and fell out. He looks like he lost three teeth because his teeth were not close toghether, so when they fell out there is a big gap. I'll have to post a picture.

mail me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Today the kiddos couldn't wait to play Timez Attack. Josh is on level 4 and Annette is on level 3. Annette still gets stressed out when she has to answer fast. I have her yell out the answer and and I will type it in. This has helped some.

Here is a picture of Caleb's New American Cursive. Sorry it's not standing right side up. At Photobucket it is but when I put the image here, it's not

I love catching my kids reading. Again, sorry about the image. I don't know why it's not coming out right. I did rotate this in Photobucket. Frustrating

Here is a picture of our cow. That's Josh.

Okay, Reff (my sis) this photo is for you. I took it myself

Blessings,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Today Josh, Annette & I were playing Timz Attack I finally paid for the full version. Josh didn't really care for the free version. I told him as long as he plays it, I'll pay for it. Hmmmm........now thinking I should have had them all pitch in for it. Oh, well.....he really likes it because of the extra features. There is Lava Land & a Space Place. That's not what they are called but you get the idea

We all really enjoyed it. Even Caleb is learning some multiplication fact just by watching. He wants to play tomorrow.

I am trying to get Josh to have those tables down. I want him ready for Rod & Staff Math 4 by Sept. when we start school again.

We finally got our cow this Sunday. We thought we bought a big freezer, but the cow barely fit. There is still some space on the door. We were able to purchase an organic, non corn fed cow for $4.00 a pound. I'm so happy to finally feed my family organic beef. Now to find a chicken farm .

Hopefully there is enough room for all the frozen fruit we bought from a co-op. It should be here in Sept. I wish I would have bought more, but we wanted to try it out first to see if we like the fruit.

For school we finished the last day of Week Two from My Father's World Creation to the Greeks. Tomorrow we will do the Science experiment. We couldn't do it today because we needed a tin can. I opened one for dinner, so now we have it.

We need to do art too, but so far it's drawing lines. Should be easy to catch up. I do need to read from our art books.

My Sweets worked late tonight. He so kind, he brought me a Starbucks coffee. Yummy! Hope I'm not up too late

I haven't been able to get into my Photobucket account. I miss posting a pic or two. I keep asking for my password by putting in my user name, but it doesn't email it to me. I don't know what's going on.

In Him.

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

The kiddos are watching National Treasure, so I thought I would take a moment to blog. It's been a busy morning for us. I woke up to hear Lance asking to eat. I got out of bed to get him some cereal. Our frig. is broken so everything is in the frig. that we have in the garage. Next to the frig. is a stand up freezer (we are finally getting our cow) since I was out there I thought I would grab the ice trays too, so I can make some ice (since our freezer in the kitchens broken as well). I opened the freezer door and everything was defrosted.

Last night I grabbed the ice cream and didn't close the freezer all the way. I was so mad I wanted to scream. Not angry mad, just sad. The kids and I have been playing a game to save energy. We started washing all of our loads in cold water (just adding a little bleach), we do light checks all the time and are making sure that we only open and close the fridg/freezer when needed. Once I realized I didn't close the freezer door I was so bummed. All that work only for me to waste a lot.

After I gave Lance his breakfast, I took a shower and cried. Then I started praying for people and I felt better. I didn't want  to let this ruin the rest of my day, so praying really helped. Sitting down with my cup of decaf coffee, I told the kids what happened. They are so cute. They understood how much saving energy meant and gave me hug. I know it sounds silly , but we have really been trying .

We cleaned up today to. I still need to tackl our school room, cut some cards from All About Spelling and take a look at Rod & Staff Math 4 to see what we need to finish covering with Josh, so he can start next month  where has the time gone.

In Him,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

It's been a busy Summer School Day. I started Caleb with his Explode the Code book 1 1/2. I'm glad I didn't get him book 1. Brent started Explode the Code Book1 and Ethan started Explode the Code book A. They all really enjoyed them. Thank goodness.

Joshua & Annette worked in their Language Lessons for the Elementry Child book 1 & 2, both worked on their Math-it/Times Tables the Fun Way, Annette and I went through her Singapor Math, they read from their readers. Both are starting Pippi Longstocking from Total Language Plus.

I ordered New American Cursive from Startwrite for $29.95. I thought this would work out better than spending $22.00 for 3 books from Memoria Press. If you are interested in buying the cd here it the LINK. Brent & Caleb used it today and they really like it. Josh did say he will stick with the fancy R .

I started a new Read Aloud from Sonlight Core-3: Moccasin Trail. The sentence structure and vocabulary is a bit hard for them to understand but they are really enjoying it. I will stop and explain or they will ask a question.

We are on week two of My Father's World Creation to the Greeks. I still need to read from our Science book and do Art. We haven't officially started school but I wanted to start MFW. I have had it sitting on the shelf since March. Josh & Annette are enjoying learning Greek Roots, which reminds me we still need to do that. MFW suggest that we make the cards and everyone I asked from the Creation to the Greeks Yahoo Group said it was best. I was going to have them make them but once we started I decided to buy them instead. My kiddos all have a full Language Arts program and I didn't want to throw this into the mix, because I new we would never get to it. So instead of not doing it, I purchased two sets of cards one for Annette & one for Josh, so they could take take them and practice them on their own. We will review them together daily, but they want to practice on their own to.

Next month I plan to start MFW First Grade with Brent. I'm pretty excited about starting this with him. He so eager to learn and happy to be home for his school (he went ps for his K year). He is doing well with using The Reading Lesson and I think it's going to give him a good start for My Father's World 1st Grade.

I really need to update my sidbars. Maybe I'll do that right now. The kiddos, including the little guy I watch are all having quiet time. People are amazed that I can have 7 children all quiet at once. Not from HSB but friends or people on the street. You know when they ask questions about having a large family. Personally I don't think my family is that large but I guess many people do. Large is 9 kids and up. Hee, hee

Blessings,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Chris is home with his wife Ruth & sweet daughter Isabella!!!!

Praise the Lord he is home safe.

Thank you, Chris we will continue to pray for you and your family.

Chris & Ruth are the proud parents of a healthy baby girl! Isabella, was born October 11th. Happy Birthday!!!!

Please continue to pray for them. Chris, will hopefully be able to see his daughter in January

Please pray for my brother-in-law Chris, who is serving in Iraq. Pray for his safety and that the Lord will comfort him and his wife Ruth who is expecting their first child in October. She is staying with her parents, while Chris is away.

Chris & Ruth

Thank you Chris & Ruth for all you two have sacraficed to keep our country safe. We are lifting you both in prayer daily for the Lord's protection and comfort.

This post will stay at the top of my blogs post. I might change the message every once in a while to update you all on how Chris and his family are doing.

In Him,

Lupe, Linda, Joshua, Annette, Caleb, Brent, Ethan and Lance<><

For those of you who like Explode the Code they now have this online. It normally is $60.00 for a one year online subscription. Rigth now through Aug. 15 or Sept. 15th (depending on the one you choose) you can buy it for $40.00, even lower if enough people decide to buy. Here is the LINK. This is for one child only, it does not include the ETC 1/2 books or the Before the Code. I did speak to someone at ESP asking if it would be too much if my children used both. The online and the books.

I would love to sign up Caleb & Brent, but last week I purchased all the Explode the Code books I need for Ethan, Brent & Caleb. I'm still thinking about it, but I don't want to overload us AGAIN ;) Also my kiddos will be using the computer for Spanish, Typing and Comprehension. To add ETC Online too seems like a lot of computer time. Plus on Saturdays I let them have 30 minutes of game time via; PBS Kids or NickJr.

Just thought I would let you all know. The more people that sign up the lower the price :)

Now that I did my little advertising/commerical I wanted to write about Total Language Plus. I just got my order yesterday and I love what I see. I ordered the Guide for Pippie Longstocking. My kids enjoyed the movie a year ago and still ask about seeing it again. I thought they would like to read about her and I wanted something 'fun'. The guide which is a student workbook includes Enrichment/Writing, Comprehension, Vocabulary, Spelling & Grammar. It looks like they will also write a Tall Tale of their own.

I didn't realize that a 7 Unit Guide can last up to 9 or so weeks. I was thinking we could do this for the month of Aug. and then start with our regular studies in Sept. but since this is going to last longer and it looks like it will take about an hour a day (which I think is not bad considering all the subjects you are covering) I am going to skip the spelling protion. We have our own program. Annette & Josh both have a LA's program all lined up so we'll do that 3x a week until we finish up with TLP.

TLP also has Projects, Field Trips and Art suggestions. It really looks like a lot of fun. I did ask if I need to purchase a 1 guide per child. The representitive said that you can copy for your household only. The one thing that I do not like about TLP (and MUSee I might add) is that they have reps through out the U.S. meaning that it makes their products a lot more expensive. The Guide is $24.95, pluse $7.50 shipping and $2.something for tax. I paid a litle over $35.00 for this. I'm thankful that they let you copy it because I was going to get 2 of them and it was almost $60.00. I'm thinking. WOW!!! That's a lot considering each child should do about four of these a year.

Also from the looks of my one Guide (this is the only one I have seen) It looks like your child should have some Grammar background. It does ask for the child to find the subject, predicate, well basicly the eight parts of speech (eeks, crash course time). My kids have had some grammar but not a whole lot. TLP doesn't go into detail to teach all of this, although it does give definition, it said "You already know....." type things. So it is expecting that your child have some background. Samething with the writing.

Overall, I think this program is going to be fun!

Which brings me to Progeny Press, I think we will go this route after Pippie (I couldn' t pass up Pippi). Progeny Press offers the Guide & Cd for less than TLP. I can have the copy for me and print out pages for the kids with the cd. If you order 4 Guides you get the 5th one free! I haven't seen what PP actually looks like yet. Hopefully by the end of the week I can report back I'm waiting for my order.

Blessings,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

I am using The Reading Lesson with Caleb 7.10yrs. & Brent 6.9yrs and just started Ethan 5.6yrs with it.

I was originally going to use Phonics Pathway with the rest of my brood ;) but wanted something more simpler for my younger ones to start with. The Reading Lesson is recommended by Carrie the author of Heart of Dakota curriculum and I'm glad I bought it.

I started using it with Brent at the end of May because this Fall he will start using MFW 1st Grade and I wanted him to read some what fluently. I have heard over and over, plus have seen how MFW 1st Grade introduces the long sounds pretty quickly.

Then in July I switched Caleb from Phonics Pathways to The Reading Lesson. Every time I would pull out Phonics Pathway I could tell Caleb was dreading the lesson. In PP the author says not to continue on until the child can read & spell all the words on the page they are working on. Caleb after a week on the same page still couldn't say all the words without sounding some out. After a week we would move on anyway because it was really boring for him. Plus he is still reading at mid K level because he would get stuck on a page for a week and there for he was not learning any new phonic rules and moving forward.

Once we switched to TRL he was much happier. I started him on lesson 6. He does four pages a day which I think really helps him to see that he can read. He is moving through it at a good pace and reading lots of words now. What I like about TRL is there are 20 lessons. Each lesson is tweny pages. By lesson 1-14 they are reading sentences 'a cot' 'a cat'. By lesson 4 the are already reading short paragraphs (3 or 4 short sentences) . Here are the lessons in order;

1. c, o, s, a, t
2. m. d. r
3. g, e, th
4. n, i, f
5. u, b, h
6. e, ee, ea, l, p
7. a, sh, w
8. i, st
9. ar, k
10. er, ir, ur
11. y, oo
12. a, ai, ay, wh
13. o, oa, ow
14. ch, j, u
15. v, y
16. x, z
17. qu, ing
18. ou, ow, th
19. ew, igh
20. c, g, ph

The lessons don't boggle the beginner reader with a lot of phonics rules. I think this is a plus because when they are first starting out especially the younger ages, phonic rules can sometimes overwhelm the child. The first half of the lessons are all done in lowercase letters and a good size font. Easy for the child. They are learning some sight words along the way and notice that vowel digraphs are mixed in. This has really helped Caleb.

There are cute illustrations through out the book and I let my dc color them or add more detail to them.

Once completed your child should be reading at a begining grade 2 level. You can then continue his phonics with:

• Phonics Pathway (don't start at the begining though)
• Rod & Staff Phoincs 1 or 2 depending on the age of your child
• Books from Heart of Dakota "Emerging Readers"

I am going to use with Caleb R&S Phonics 2 along with the emerging readers.

 Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

I am done with purchasing curriculum for our 08/09 school year. I'm handing over the debit card to my Sweets. Otherwise I might keep spending. I just bought the last of it today. It's going to be great to tear myself away from the computer. I have been researching & comparing that my eyes are about to fall out.

I did find these nice resources for Language Arts & spelling, but it's to late for me. They can be purchased at Timeberdoodle. Serious Phonics Training for the Older Child it is done on the computer. Not only is it a phonics program but it can be used as a spelling program too. Pretty neat!

The other product is a Complete Language Arts Program. This has everything Writing, Spelling, grammar & dictation. Each weekly lesson at all levels begins on the same topic from your 2nd grader to high schooler. Everything for that weeks lesson comes from a passage using character quality. There are free samples online.

This next one I might still get but later. Ace Reader. It doesn't teach reading but helps your students with reading proficiency.

Blessings,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Okay! I think I'm done with figuring out what my Annette will use for her 3rd grade year. Here it goes. Ready???

For Reading she will use Total Language Plus & Progeny Press. I would have loved to continue with R&S Reading but since she scored such high grades on her assessment I feel that Rod & Staff would be lots of busy work for her. I'll update and add the ones she uses to this post. Her first one will be

1. Total Language Plus - Pippi Longstocking

Grammar- First Language Lessons 3 I like how it includes dictation, narration, dictionary skills, letter writing & grammar all in one book.

Writing- Writing With Ease this looks so non threating. It's scripted!!! Yahoo! I love how The Well Trained Mind is scripted. I don't have to worry about explaining or figuring out how to teach it.

Spelling- All About Spelling She will start with Level 1. She is a natural speller but when I called they recomended that she start with Level 1 to get the foundation of the phonograms down.

Math-Singapore 2A, 2B, Challenging Word Problems & 2B Intensive Math. I wrote a schedule HERE if you would like to see how we plan to fit all this in. I don't expect her to finish all of the Challenging Word Problems & Intensive Math.

Penmanship-New American Cursive supplemented by Queenhomeschool new Cursive progam.

Bible/History/Art/Read Alouds/Science/Music- My Father's World "Creation to the Greeks" & WinterPromise "Adventures in the Sky & Sea" I'm not sure if this will work, but I plan to use CtG for 9 weeks, S&S 9wks, CtG 9 wks, S&S 9 wks. We'll only get half way through each program this year. As we go through these I'll post what books we read as we go here on this thread. If we skip anything I don't want it listed as we did it.

Annette's Reads:

1. Pippi Longstocking (Tall Tale) (Total Lanugage Plus) Started 7/31/08

Science:

• Genesis For Kids

Bible:

• Discover's Bible for Young Readers
• Dinosaurs of Eden
• Streams of Civilization Vol 1
• Victor Journey Through the Bible

Read Alouds:

• Teasure of the Snow (My Father's World)
• Three Little Ladies (from queenhomeschool)
• Moccison Trail (1844)

History:

• Victory Journey Through the Bible

Art:

• God & the History of Art
• Drawing with Children

Music:

• Vivaldi The Four Seasons, The Story of Vivaldi, Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery & Vivaldi Masterpieces

PE:

• Trips to the pool
• Bike riding
• Practice jump roping
• Twice a week park trips or walking to Seven Eleven

Foreign Language:

• Spanish
• Greek Roots

What Summer School did we do today. Josh & Annette did a page of Daily Grams, a page from their Language Lesson for the Elementry Child. Josh, practiced his multiplication using Math-It and Times Tables the Fun Way! Math-It is great but sometimes we need the stories from Times Tables help, so by using a combo of Math-it & Times Table the Fun Way is working out great for Josh (& me)

Annette did two pages of her Singapore Word Problems book. She was figuring out the problems quicker than I. I was trying to keep one step ahead of her. We were sitting together. She almost got all the answers right the first time doing it all in her cute head. I had to use a pencil & paper. The only thing she had a problem with was writing out the problem. She could do it all in her mind but couldn't figure out how to put it on paper. Add, then subtract and add again type problems. Annette said that Math-It has helped her do her problems faster. Today she practiced her addit game & I introduced her to the Dubbit game. She really enjoys them. At first she would get frustrated but she doing better now ;)

Caleb & Brent did their schooling online today using Big Math Time & Lets Go Learn. I was supposed to have them do "The Reading Lesson" today but forgot . Maybe later.

I need to take the time to start Pre Math-it with Ethan. He is so ready to learn. Today he was making a fort with the Domino Bears and he said "They need reinforcements" I didn't even know he new that word, much less how to use it in a sentence. He surprises us a lot with his vocabulary. This week he is practicing the "c" sound. He colored a big cookie and I hung it up in the hallway. When we pass it I'll ask him what sound does this make?

In Him,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Today I was going over Joshua's multiplication tables. I was tired so we did them in the living room so I could lay on the couch, listen to him & keep an eye on  the 1yr old that I watch. After a few problems I'm in la la land. I'm dream that I am in a cave sitting in a canoe and looking around. I keep hearing "45" I'm still looking around and hear "45". Suddenly I open my eyes and start laughing. I apologize to Josh and explained that I fell asleep and was dreaming. I think I was a beautiful Indian Princess in my dream. We finished Island of the Blue Dolphins a few days ago

I have been looking over Writing With Ease my Susan Wise Bauer and it looks great! It's a little book with a lot of information. I thought for sure it would be something thick like First Language Lessons 3. WWE is for grades 1-4. I plan to use this with Caleb Year 1, Annette Year 2 and Joshua Year 3. I love the whole look and how it's scripted, but it's seems to be teacher intensive. I'm also going to use First Language Lessons 3 with Annette & Rod & Staff 4 with Josh and it's kind of intimidating because all of this is pretty teacher intensive. I'm scared  but looking forward to it too.

I need to wake up Lance from his nap. He sleeps so well. I put him down at 2:00 and it's almost 6:30. Yikes! I try to get him down at 1:00pm but I forget.
Good-bye,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

MFW K almost complete. Missing about 10 student worksheets. asking $70.00ppd.

WP I'm Ready to Learn Almost Complete, missing Art Start for Little Hands and Blank Letter Book (which I replaced with one that I got from Calvert) $70.00ppd

Hot Dot Flash Cards all of Sub & Add Total of 4 packs. One is still in package.. pen included. and two Wrap-Ups sub & multiplication all for $35.00ppd.

Keys to Good Language 5. Purchased from SL in Feb. Brand New. TM, Student Workbook & Test booklet  $15.00ppd

Color Phonics from Alpha Omega Publications for ages 3-adult. Practically new. 3 of the 5 disc are still in the package. Will also include Rev. Up for Reading & Rev Up For Math normally $9.99 each. These are for the computer $30.00ppd

I also have some SL Language Arts posted Here and Easy Grammar posted HERE

If interested email. I take MO and Paypal non credit card though.

 I will be off the computer this Sunday & Monday. Will get back to anyone who is interested on Tuesday.

Thanks for looking,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

 Hope this doesn't seem to complicated you, but you know me, I have to make everything concerning our curriculum complicated  oh why cant I just use it as it was intended

This year Annette will use Singapore 2A & 2B along with Singapore's Challenging Word Problems & Intensive Practice Book 2B only.

1. Primary Math 4 days a week, 3 weeks out of the month. 2A has 62 Exercises and 7 Review lessons. 2B has 67 Exercises & 4 Review Lessons for a total of 140 lessons. If we do 12 lessons a month we should complete 108 lessons, leaving 32 lessons uncompleted. 22 lessons are multiplication with 2's & 3's so we can omit those lessons, since Annette knows them already. In 2B there are 4 lessons on time that we can skip to, so that is 26. There are 40 lessons on money so I'm sure there 5 lessons we can double up on or skip.
2. Challenging Word Problems on Friday. She will finish half of the book. We might skip around and do the sections that she need most practice.
3. Intensive Practice 1 week out of the month 5 days that week. In 35 weeks she will finish up to page 75 and through the Summer she can finish up the remaining 11 weeks or close to it.

Please don't think that it's all about the lessons we complete this year. If we need to slow down we will and there is always something unexpected that comes up, so we will readjust where needed but we do need a goal so the purpose of this post . As I was looking through the math books and if all goes well this Summer. She should know most of her multiplication facts and that is where we will most likely skip some exercises. We will continue to use Math-It through out the year so we don't forget.

Once I get all the figures from Caleb's math I'll add them to. He is also using Singapore.

In Him,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

On Tuesday I was trying to get the house decluttered. We had just come back from a week away from home. We left in a hurry because it was an emergency so our house wasn't in the best shape when we go back. My Sweets loves the house to be decluttered and I really wanted him to come home to a nice home. (We left because his uncle was killed, we attended the funeral) This week has been hard fry my hubby to be at work so this is why I wanted some extra cleaning done.

While the little boy that I watched napped I had the kiddos help me downstairs. A few months ago the kids made a little library in our living room. I told the kids that we would leave one small shelf downstairs but the rest need to go upstairs in the hallway. Josh helped take the bookshelves upstairs. I sorted the books.  I wanted to keep Bible Story books & Dr. Suess books down in the living room so I can grab one and read it to the kiddos without having to go upstairs.

Lance was starting to get fussy so I sent him to my room to take a nap. Later Ethan was acting up with his high pitched voice so off to his room he went for a nap. Now I had Josh, Caleb, Annette & Brent left. As I was taking up the last load of books in  a laundry basket I could here a little bit of quarreling. When I reached the top of the stairs the whole hallway was full of book. I was hot & tired, the house still was not where I wanted it to be when my Dear Sweet Hubby who was supposed to be home my 6:00pm or so.

In my mind I was trying not to loose control but I did. In a louder voice then usual I looked at the mess and the kids and told them if dad comes home and sees this he is going to get rid of all the books and I could careless (which I would care if it really happened). I dropped the laundry basket of books and yelled at them to go to their room. As they all stared at me, I'm thinking why haven't they started crying or have run off yet. So I thought I would add some more drama and I yelled, "See I don't care about these books" I dumped all the books out of the basket and kicked the basket.

My kids are still staring at me and Josh looks like he wants to laugh. I asked him what so funny and his reply "Your throwing a tantrum" In my mind I am thinking I could either say something that would hurt his feeling or I could laugh. I chose to laugh and we all bursted out laughing.

We kept laughing for the rest of the day because their mama had a major tantrum. Later that day I gathered the kiddos and told them that what I really wanted to say was lots of mean things that would hurt their feeling, but I knew if I did I could ask for forgiveness but I could never take the words back. I went over some Bible verses that we had read just a week before talking about this very same thing. I told the kids that it was very hard for me but I chose to laugh with them instead of going deeper into sin and not pleasing the Lord.

I'm so thankful for my wonderful kiddos and we have been laughing all week about mama and the tantrum.

In Him,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

I can't tell you how much I love Math-It! I have  gotten so speedy with my addition & muliplication. I have been practicing daily and I can almost say all my facts without hesitation . It was so worth the money.

But I'm sure you all want to know how it's working for the kiddos though Although my kiddos aren't requesting to do Math-It or sneaking it to improve their scores, they are getting faster. Just like any school subject it's somthing that they have to do not because they are excited. BUT..........once we get started they enjoy it. In fact today while I was timing Joshua, I asked him what he thought about Math-It. He said that he liked it and it is helping him remember his math facts faster. In his own words he said, "Mom,  I am learning these (facts) a lot faster. It works a lot better than all the math books. You should have just started me with this. It's not as boring as my mathbook and I'm learning faster." I was really happy to hear that. Whew, I didn't waste my $72.00

Annette my 8 year old, doesn't "care" for it but she to is trying to beat her previous time. She gets really frustrated sometimes, so I don't always time her. We  will practice a lot before timing her. She is also getting faster.

Caleb, has always been good with his facts but lately has slowed down, so this is getting him back on track and he too is improving.

There are two math-it programs out there. One is from Lovetolearn and one from Christianbooks I got mine at Rainbow Resourc since I was buying enough for free shipping. The one at LovetoLearn is less expensive. It says it comes with all three game & a manual. By manual I don't know if they mean the instructions, How Steavie Learned Hist Math or the Guide Book.

If you purchase the complete program you get the:

• Three games, ADDIT, DUBBIT, TIMZIT & the instructions
• Math-it Guide book. This is a guied book for all levels. Pre Math-it, Math-it & Advanced Math-it
• How Stevie Learned his Math. This goes beyond the three games. It shows you other ways to quickly add. For example 9+3+8+4+6+7+8+2. It shows you can can add these up in just seconds. Same with multiplication
• A cd. this is an instructional cd (we are not using it)

I am happy we got everything, but if you just want the basics learned than you would be fine with the one that Lovetolearn sells. I can't tell you how excited I was to learn how to add so fast, I can't wait to teach it to my kiddos. Can you tell I love this program. Again I am so glad that I ended up getting the one with everything.

Hope this helps someone. Next time I'll let you know how Happy Phonics is working

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

I think I got most of what we are going to use for Joshua's 5th grade year. I won't add links to this post because I have them on my sidebar under "Our 5th Grade Curriculum"

Because Joshua is struggling with Spelling we might go with A Reason for Spelling Book C. This program is colorful, something I think Josh will like. It also has hands on games suggestions in the Teacher Manual. A note about this program is you do need the TM. It has all the spelling list and teaching notes. The student workbook only has the student pages.

You start off your week with a story that is in the TM, gives you tips for the spelling list, has General, Visual, Auditory & Tactile games to do through out the week. You do the whole look, say, hide, write, see & check with your spelling words. Gives you optional activities & Journaling. If I would have found this a long time ago I think I would have used this as a whole Language Art's program on it's own. Lots of great ideas!

Another option is using All About Spelling. I'll write more about this later.

Math we will use Rod & Staff 4. I chose to go a grade below because Joshua is still memorizing his multiplication & division. Rod & Staff is a bit advanced anyway so I think we will be okay. I will add in Math-It and supplement with Math-U-See when we need a change. For some color we are using Times Tables the Fun Way. This is an optional part of our homeschooling though.

English/Writing he will use Rod & Staff English 5 & A Journey Through Grammar Land Parts 1 & 2 minus the scrolls/worksheets. Rod & Staff English has writing assignments included. This is a full program and really doesn't need any thing added, but I thought that A Journey Through Grammar Land would be a fun way to memorize some grammar and would be a nice break now and then.

Bible/History/Science/Art/Read Alouds are all included in My Father's World "Creation to the Greeks".

For reading we will use Progeny Press & Total Language Plus. I'll add these as we do them. I plan to have Joshua complete one from Total Language Plus & 3 from Progeny Press.

Penmanship I chose Pictures in Cursive. I love how they will study a picture for a week while learning cursive. Hopefully this will be our last year with cursive. For some reason it 's not coming natural for Josh .

That is the basics of Joshua's 5th Grade Year. I will update this post if we add anything. Most likely I will add any extra Read Alouds here. That way I can keep a record of his school year.

Joshua read:

1. Flaming Arrows By William O. Steel (History)
2. Pippi Longstocking (Tall Tale)(Total Language Plus) Start 7/31/08

 Read Alouds;

1. Moccison Trail

Science:

1. Genesis for Kids (MFW)
2. Dinasours

Art:

• God & the History of Art
• Drawing with Children

Music:

1. Vivaldi

Bible:

• Reading through parts of Genesis
• Streams of Civilizations
• Victor Journey Through the Bible

Memorization:

In Him,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

This Summer we are working on Math daily. My goal is to have all their addition, subtraction & multiplication facts down. I know that it seems that I have been working on this forever, well that's because I have. My kiddos seem to get them and forget them. Even though we do math regularly. Other times they know their facts but when I drill them it takes a few seconds before they give me the answer. Both Rod & Staff Math &  Math-U-See wants the kiddos to know them instantly. Since my kids haven't gotten them down cold (fast) I am not moving them forward and so my older ones are getting behind. Josh will be in 5th grade and should be a bit okay a lot further. Soooooooooooo, I purchased two programs to help my kiddos out.

1. Math-It
2. Addition the Fun Way and Times Tables the Fun Way

Both are great programs. Addition the Fun Way uses stories to memorize the facts. Each number represents something. For instance the 3 is called "three bee" the 8 is "eight gate" and so forth. Here is one of the problems. The Sick 6 bumped into the 4Door and had to go to the 10 fix it men. The stories are a little longer but they summarize it at the end of the story. There are colorful pictures of the numbers. I purchased the workbook, cd, storybook, Teacher's Manual & fact cards, but all you really need is the storybook. The cd is nice because the kiddos can listen to it in the car, during nap or quiet time. The workbook reinforces by having the child draw the stories, it has timed drills and fun worksheets. My kids are really enjoying this. This can get a bit pricey, so if money is tight I would only get the storybook. If you have a little extra pocket change than my second product would be the cd.

The other program Math-It is lots of fun, well at least I'm having fun. This program is $72.00 and all you get is a guide, a story about how Stevie learned (very interesting), 3 card-stock games & a cd with instructions. At first glance you would think this should be about $35.00 TOPS, but what you are really paying for is the knowledge/information. Once you get past that you paid a mini fortune for card-stock and see how much learning your children get from it than you see the big picture and it's worth the $72.00.

Now that we got past the price issue.......lets get to the games. My children started this today and they liked it. Annette got frustrated and started crying but she said that she liked it. She just couldn't do the facts fast enough. I told her to put it away and we will try again later. The boys really loved it and me, well I spent an hour trying to keep my score under a minute.

I love how Addit one of the games starts with the 9's it gives you some tips, you practice than you go onto the 8's. Again you practice only the 8's. Once you know them pretty well you mix them up with the 9's and practice some more. You keep doing this until you are finished with all the facts. Once you know the facts you try to get them done in less than a minute. once you can do them under a minute you move to the next game called Dubbit & the last game is Timzit (I think that's their names. I don't have it in front of me)

That is our math for the Summer. I'll have to report back in September to see how these two math supplements worked out. So far my children are enjoying them. I also got Pre Math-It. Again over priced. I paid $52.00 for a set of dominos, two cardstock gameboards and instructions, but like Math-It your paying for the knowledge and that makes it worth it. I jsut have to stop thinking that those are the most expensive dominos I have ever paid for

If your children like colorful than Addition the Fun Way might be the way to go. If they like games than Math-It is a good choice, as long as they don't mind it taking a while for them to get the facts under a minute.

Blessings,

Linda<><

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

I think I am finally seeing a path of what I would like to stick with. It's about time after searching for five years. 

Okay here it goes. If all goes well I would like to use MFW 1sg grade for 1st grade. That makes the rest of my broods 1st grade year pretty easy. The only thing I don't like is I won't get to use Rod & Staff 1st grade. I love R&S reading program.

2nd Grade Students:

1. Reading- I would like to use Rod & Staff. I would most likely start them with their first grade programs even though this is their 2nd grade year. R&S is pretty meaty and we can always pass over the first half quickly if we need to.
2. Spelling- Rod & Staff. Although I am still interested in A Reason for Spelling, but I love how R&S goes over rules. I only own A Reason for Spelling 3rd grade and am not sure what their 2nd grade program looks like. But then again Phonics Pathway has spelling built in to their phonics program. Okay, so I'm still up in the air about spelling. Hee hee.
3. Phonics-Rod & Staff 2nd grade phonics.
4. Writing- From the Well Trained Mind "Writing With Ease Workbook 1"
5. Grammar - I'm not into too much formal Grammar but if we decide to add it I would choose Climbing to Good English. Either 1 or 2 depending on where the child is at.
6. Math - Singapore or Rod & Staff. I still like Math-U-See but I can't fit it all in.

3rd Grade:

1. Reading-  Rod & Staff
2. Spelling- Rod & Staff or A Reason for Spelling. I like A Reason for Spelling because I have boys. Annette does good with R&S Spelling.
3. Writing- Well Trained Mind "Writing With Ease Workbook 2"
4. Grammar- First Language Lessons Level 3
5. Math - Singapore, Rod & Staff or MUSee (depends on which the child is using) I am looking to sticking with Singapore for the rest of my kiddos. Josh like R&S.

4th Grade:

1. Reading- Rod & Staff combined with Drawn into the Hear of Reading by Heart of Dakota. Again I love that R&S is Bible based but the kids might need a change. I wonder if you can use Drawn into the Heart of Reading witha read-aloud. I'll have to look into that.
2. Spelling- Rod & Staff or A Reason for Spelling
3. Writing- "Writing with Ease" not sure if they will have their workbook out yet for Annette, but the other's will be able to use it. They plan to have the 4th book out late in 2009. You don't have to have the workbook so Annette can still continue with this program.
4. Grammar- First Language Lessons 4
5. Math- Hopefully everyone in 4th grade and under will all be using Singapore now.

5th Grade:

1. Reading- Rod & Staff and/or Drawn into the Heart of Reading
2. Spelling - Rod & Staff or A Reason for Spelling
3. Writing - Will switch to R&S
4. Grammar - Rod & Staff
5. Math- Singapore

If I get to homeschool Joshua next school year 09/10 for 6th grade I would like to use.

• Reading - Drawn into the Heart of Reading
• English/Writing- Rod & Staff. Their English progam has writing too.
• Spelling- A Reason for Spelling
• Math- Rod & Staff

Well that's about as far as I have gone. I'm not sure if I'll even be homeschooling for 6th grade. I hope to sick with the above for Reading, Writing, Spelling & English. With the Math if Singapore is not working than I can try one of the other two programs. Rod & Staff or Math-U-See. I plan to keep all my TM for them just in case.

I forgot to add in penmanship. I most likely will use R&S