(((((((HUG)))))))) want some of my coffee? It's really yummy and I cheated and bought real half-and-half. We could sit on the front porch in the sun and chat. That would be good.IdahoGrown wrote:
Simple...I need simple. I've had a hard time this last year trying to get everything done with both kiddos. My ds was in NO way ready to do RtR with dd so I used Adventures with him. Well...not really. We have done the bare, bare, bare, minimum. That is fine...it has given him more time to focus on learning to read fluently, get math facts down, and play.English is his second language so I've taken it easy on him letting him get his language skills down. But because of all the reading I do with dd, I feel like my ds has been left in the dust more often than not.
This coming year, we are using 1850-Modern. I plan on using parts of the 2nd and 3rd grade supplement to bring ds alongside our studies this coming year. We have read more than half of the books in the supplement already...so I will just sub those with other books i have laying around already. And I will add in the U.S. books that MFW recommends.
I guess the trouble comes in when I start subbing other stuff instead of using MFW recommendations...like for language arts...I am NOT a CM language arts person. Lol. Give me a workbook. So ds will be using ACE Paces for that. I also don't like God and the History of Art. So I was going to sub in a simple art program that teaches sketching. And then I make out a schedule in Excel to add in extra reading from the appendix...I schedule it all out to coordinate with MFW studies. I will be using MFW recs for grammar for dd, so that isn't an issue. But I will be using IEW for writing instead of Writing Strands.
Ugh. It goes on.
And before I know it, I have created this monster of a homeschool year that I simply cannot tackle. I add so much. And then stuff, important stuff, goes by the wayside! I make it so complicated when it COULD be so simple!! I'm overwhelmed to the point that I contemplated selling it ALL (all the brand new stuff I just got in the mail 2 months ago) and starting from scratch with ECC, using it as written, and calling it good.
I don't even know what i am asking for... Someone talk to me...
I have an only child, but I still understand the need for simple. Simple is very good. I have to applaud you for doing even the bare minimum with your ds -- to focus on math facts and reading fluently with an ESL student. Wow. I think you're amazing to do that in addition to RTR. I have a hard time believing that he's getting "left in the dust" - it sounds like he's having an awesome life with a great mommy. I haven't done 1850-MOD yet, but I love the looks of the 2nd/3rd supplement - I think you can have lots of fun with it. Somebody will chime in with how that works in real life.
When I was in school, I used ACE paces from K-12th - seriously, all subjects pace 001-144. ACE English isn't really simple, you know. It's a lot of work with tons of diagramming. I'm not saying that you have to give it up for PLL, but just asking a question -- have you seen the PLL workbooks? My girlfriend is using one with her dd, and it is really nice. It's spiral bound (lays flat) and has color pictures and just enough lines and room to write in the book. You can still do some lessons orally, but it's a great tool for people who like the workbook feel. Not all of MFW's recommendations fit everybody - some can be tweaked and some just don't fit. I've thought about getting a different writing program, too - my dd can't stand writing strands, and I find it a little silly. It's just hard to find something I like better. I personally can't stand GATHOA, but my dd is getting used to it and is doing it without complaining. Subbing out art doesn't have to be a big deal.
I'm a former engineer, project planner of all things, so I understand making charts and expecting life to go according to schedule. But it never does. There's always "slides" to the schedule. When I was working, I got paid to revamp schedules. As a homeschool mom, I don't get paid and no one cares but me. I try to get my dh to care, but he doesn't - I tell him we're behind schedule and he says, "Whose schedule?" I'm not going to tell you what to do, but if it were me, I'd use the grid in the TM and a pencil. There's room if you write small to cross out "Writing Strands" and sketch in "IEW lesson 1" or whatever. Don't plan the whole year in the TM. Yes, take an over-arching look and see how things will play out with your curriculum choices, but plan the next week, not the next year. Then when slides happen and you have to jostle a few things, you are only changing a week or two, not ripping your hair out because your carefully planned yearly schedule is a bust. (That may not describe you, but I've been there.)
So, I'm really no help at all, sorry. I read your post on my second cup of coffee and heard the words "Someone talk to me," so I did. I'll say a prayer for you that God gives you peace in your decisions. He's the one with the perfect plan.
And the whole reason I am even homeschooling at all is because the Lord called me to it! lol 
Thank you. Crystal, love the excercise analogy!!! No choice of curriculum is a BAD choice...love that!