May I make one more recommendation? Older children make wonderful( !! ) teachers to little ones. If 11th grade and 9th grade can each spend 30 minutes a day with 4 yr. old, that's one hour of preschool - Done! In MFW1st there are several activities that are done on certain days (M,T,W,H,F). Those re...

Hi, Grace ~

I just want to second what Julie said about First math. It is so complete. Our daughter is now 13, and we were so pleased at the solid foundation it gave her, and will give your little one for future math in years to come!

Btw, CTG & 1st are really fun to do together! Enjoy!

Please forgive me if this is not a popular reply ... :~ One of our daughters had trouble reading when she was younger. She had been doing a phonics-based program since she was two years old (yes, I was that kind of mom 8| ). By age five, she still wasn't reading . . at all. We worked with a neurodev...

Hi, arosemalone! We did ECC and K together ( years ago :)), and the two actually go really well together. As do Creation to Greeks and the 1st grade curriculum. You'll see what I mean as you go throughout the year. Lourdes is right, the basic package has everything you'll need. really, it does! so n...

Hi, Grace! ~ Forgive me for saying this, but I feel overwhelmed at times ... with just two! :~ I haven't homeschooled a large family. But I'm friends with a family who homeschools with six, another with eight, one with five, and they all recommended I read a book by Teri Maxwell, who homeschooled 8 ...

Hi, Missy ~

Yes, agreeing with Lourdes. I think you should trust your gut, Momma {you know what you're doing! }, and continue VOD until you see she's ready to ease into K.

We had these same issues with our youngest daughter, and she is reading wonderfully today!

Enjoy!

Hi, Deborah, I'm so glad your son will be homeschooling w/ you, too! It will be such a blessing to hear how your family has grown closer by the end of this year! I agree with Lourdes & Julie. For a few more reasons... first, for spiritual development, I think ECC may be the most beneficial of th...

We all do!

Hi, Lea ~ It's been a while since our family has done 1st, so I'm not familiar with the new version of it. However, I just want to encourage you, that YES! (and absolutely!) it's o.k. to continue 1st phonics/language arts into second grade. :) Your little man seems to love math and science. I bet he...

Marie ~ Thank you for posting the link. We prayed along with him, too. We know a missionary family that has been in Egypt many years that left last year. As we pray for those who are persecuted, and martyred, all over the world for the name of Jesus Christ, we always try to remember Romans 8:18: &qu...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARIE!! May The Lord richly bless you and your family!

Thank you for the reminder. Our girls and I prayed together tonight.

Hi, Grace ~ I'm learning with you... My daughters are 15 and 12. I took my oldest driving yesterday. And yet, I'm still learning how to see if they're really learning, not just check the boxes and look at a grade. I've read a lot of good bits of wisdom from fellow homeschooling mom, Kelly Crawford. ...

Hi, Amy! ~ So glad you're enjoying RTR. We loved that year, too! Our daughter is pretty quick academically (she gets it from her Dad). However, she struggled with Ap. for Gram., too. Here's what we did, and it was really successful: I took the book and taught each lesson on a large white board, usin...

Hi, Sarah ~ I agree with Ruthamelia. We've used Spelling Power for several years, and it sounds like it could be a good fit for her. S.P. tests the student before she begins to let you know which "level" she should start on. Since she's a strong speller, I would probably forego much of the...

Hi! Welcome along!! Just want to agree with the other Moms. I remember (well!) those first few years feeling overwhelmed, no matter what curriculum we were using. The good news is, of all the curriculums we've used, MFW is laid out the e-a-s-i-e-s-t to use. We just pick it up, start with Bible, move...

Exploring Countries & Cultures was life-changing for us. The world suddenly grew exponentially. Our hearts began to love and care about people we'd never met, in different lands. And we have a different viewpoint of what our role is and what really pleases God (i.e. faith, and a heart that obeys...

Hi, Cappy, We've used ECC all the way through 1850-Modern Times. ECC is important for world cultures and geography, and you've completed that. I can't think of any skills that your children would be missing. From the Roots Up is studied over two years. I think Greek is studied during CTG; Latin in R...

Jen - that is one of the most thoughtful, informative and encouraging posts i think i've ever read. Our daughter had the same experiences with handwriting. We also used Handwriting Without Tears and found that, ultimately, handwriting comes when the child's ready - no matter how many tools we purcha...

Hi, Mom of two boys. We have two girls. :) As a "seasoned" homeschooler :), may i offer one thought of advice? You might purchase just MFW, look at it thoroughly, and, if it isn't sufficient, then purchase additional items/curricula. When we did MFW K, I didn't expect MFW K's math to be su...

Hi, Lee2 ~ No, 7 is not too old to start K. In fact, many children (esp. little guys :) ) don't read well until 8-10, and they grow up to read and write perfectly well. Over the years of our homeschooling, I've talked to many Mommas whose children have learned to read later. In many cases, the child...

Hi, Grace. Have you completed ECC with your third grader? If not, I would vote for doing that one first, too.

Was so happy to read Gratitude's and others' responses. !

For so many children, reading just doesn't "click" until age 8 or 9.

May the Lord bless you as you encourage your little Man.

We absolutely LOVED Expl.-1850! We all learned so much.

And thank you for the reminder about projects, Kathy. Our priorities can get jumbled quickly over here.

We are finally on book 5B and since ds is in 6th grade we are on schedule. Math typically has been my ds "thing". I am running into a weird situation for us though. When he did the daily work in 5A...he generally did well...but often made simple mistakes (he's always in a hurry). However,...