I’m glad Dimensions is working for him! 🥰

That's so awesome that you have kept all your original boxed sets! We are using a set curriculum from Little School of Smiths. It's technically 8 individual unit studies that are 4 weeks long (1 unit study per girl), but if you do them back to back in chronological order, it creates a full year's American History from 1760s-1950s (technically 32 weeks altogether). I have a video I did on the curriculum that you can watch for more details: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y9VdnpRklc2diaM.htmlsi=UWTwiW2uj08w1RTM

@@MaryBarfield Thank you so much!

The group is called “AmblesideOnline” - they are on a temporary hold at the time of me writing this for the day. Im not sure if that affects it’s search-ability? But by tomorrow you should be able to gain access!

Thank you! I’m glad it was helpful and I hope you and your boys enjoy the curriculum! 🥰

😂😂 I can’t function without organization 😅 so I’m the same way! I kept the flashcards in the box because at the beginning of each lesson, we will review previous lessons cards for 2-3 minutes and I didn’t want to have to flip back and forth through the page protectors in the binders to find the right cards. Im able to keep them organized in the box in a way that lets me seamlessly pick up with where we left off in our previous lesson 🥰

@@MaryBarfield ahh! Make more sense. Thanks for another great tip. Please keep making videos they are very helpful ❤️

Thank you! 🥰 We haven’t started to do formal vocabulary yet - but I encourage the girls to ask me if they don’t know what a word means and we talk about it right there in the context of the reading which helps them understand the meaning better. I review the definition of the word and then explain it further in the context of the passage/story we are reading 🥰

That’s wonderful! I’m glad he enjoyed it! What age is he? I think if my 6 year old was writing full sentences more fluently she would have enjoyed the lap book more (and it would have been less work on me 😅).

@@MaryBarfield He's 7, he did mostly pictures/ drawings or copy work from the book. He's writing sentences with help, not independently.

@@victoriasbooktalks8882 omg that would have been a much better idea - to have the girls draw pictures of their narrations/answers to the lap book questions! Maybe I’ll give them a second chance and adjust expectations of work! Thank you! 🥰

😂 I’m glad! 🥰

Yes! Thank you! The girls loved the series!

@@MaryBarfield Fyi, my daughter is a very advanced reader, but I listened to a few chapters of unabridged Little Women with her and it quickly became obvious it was going over her head. This was even after she had seen the show and was familiar with the plot and characters.

That’s good to know and makes me feel more confident in reading the classic starts version this time around (we will visit the original version when they are older) 🥰

@@MaryBarfield Reading the abridged doesn’t mean you are skipping for the unabridged, it means you are preparing for the unabridged! 🥰

@@BearBettermentSchool exactly! 🥰

Thank you 🥰 we certainly did our best to lift everyone’s spirits and enjoy the rest of the summer!

Thanks girl! I know, this summer went by way too fast 😅 but at the same time, the girls and I are so ready to get started on this next year. Especially since it’s just been way too hot/muggy out for us to enjoy being outside for long periods of time so we need something else to do lol. Thank you for your kind words about Baxter (my dog) - we miss him terribly but know it was the right time for him and he’s no longer in pain. 😔

I noticed that too when I was deciding to do the curriculum so I’m glad I was able to create this video for others! I hope you enjoy the unit study with your learners!

Wonderful! That will definitely be coming up as soon as I solidify my plans (probably once I have a few weeks of this school year under my belt) 🥰

Yay! I glad you found the video helpful! I hope y’all enjoy the unit as much as we did! 🥰🥰

You’re welcome! I’m glad it was helpful!

It’s quite possible it was you! I went back through my comments and realized I had multiple people recommend ASO 😂 I’m so excited to read paddle to the sea with my girls this upcoming year! I pre read it and I think they will really enjoy it! I’m really enjoying delving into Charlotte mason as well and feel like I have found “my place” and a good balance with CM and Well Trained Mind! 🥰

Lol I feel you could do both for a whole year! Especially since guest hollow has so many great literature options to pull from! I’m looking at them for future American history curriculum options! Have you used GH before? If so, did you enjoy it?

Oh thank you! I’m glad you are enjoying it! 🥰 let me know if there is anything in particular, you would like to see in a future video!

Oh thank you so much! It has become a very cozy and special space for us! 🥰

Aww thank you! I’m so glad you found the video helpful and I hope you and your learners enjoy it as much as we did! 🥰

We are actually doing the American Girl Units in chronological order this school year (we actually started last week) to create a whole US History curriculum! We also have the space unit too! I would say for Me and my Amazing Body the Age could be brought up to late elementary/early middle school with the addition of the Human Body Theater book and other more advanced spines!

@@MaryBarfield That is super helpful, thank you! Do you plan to use the space unit next year?

@@TheJonesClan6182011 we are doing blossom and roots level 0 science which is a space study this school year, so we probably won’t do that unit study from little school of smiths.

It was included in the files section of the AmblesideOnline Facebook group! Since it’s someone else’s personal creation I didn’t feel comfortable linking to it, but if you join the ASO Facebook group yo y will have access to it! 🥰

It’s funny how many of us are out there! Some of starting fully with classical and others with Charlotte Mason but we all end up meeting in the middle with different blends of both 🥰. Glad there are others like us!

Yes! Our plan is to do Biology for the Grammar stage from Elemental Science for the he 25-26 school year! I’m actually quite excited about it 😂. If we hadn’t already set our hearts on learning about Space this year I would have done for this coming school year!

@@MaryBarfield I just discovered them and made the switch already. So glad I stumbled upon your channel. Thank you.

It sounds like your son is similar to my daughter! She turned 6 right before the beginning of her 1st grade year and is exceptionally bright, which is why I thought Singapore would be a great fit for her. But personally, for her, it just didn't connect well, which is funny since Math with Confidence does, and it's mental math, mastery based, and Singapore based! All the same as Singapore Primary, but Math with Confidence approached it in a way that seemed gentler, but was quite rigorous. MWC is a program that challenges students, but in a fun way that is age appropriate. I think your best bet would be to check out the samples on welltrainedmind.com of Math with Confidence and maybe try out a lesson or two with your son! Unfortunately Singapore doesn't provide much in the way of sample so you can't really try that out unless you have a friend who has it? Hopefully trying out MWC will give you an idea of what direction you should go in for your son! :)

So true! We went through a similar set of phases where slowly over last year we were spending more time on school, not because we were overloading ourselves, but because we were having fun learning more and following "rabbit trails." I think this year should be a gentle transition year of adding in my youngest more, because she will only be doing phonics and her 10-15 minute lessons from Math with Confidence. So, at most I will be doing 20-30 minutes of one-on-one time with my soon to be 5 year old (during which I plan to have my oldest do some independent work from her curriculum or her independent reading or the Kahn Academy Kids App). I'll keep you posted in my updates if I come up with a better system! lol

Exactly! I always remind myself that it would be so much longer if they were in public school, but also a lot of what we are doing is either quick or just plain old fun that they don't realize it's "learning," so they don't get burned out and want to keep going lol.

I was! lol I forgot to add it to the description box, so thank you for reminding me! Here's the link, but I'll also add it to the description box - just click copy board and you can create and tweak your own: trello.com/b/LQIOAYau/marys-trello-homeschool-planner-template

Omg I love that and I love the name Felicity - such a beautiful name! So I think it depends on your kiddos ability to sit for chapter books. My newly 7 year old is loving it and following along with everything. Whereas, my youngest (turning 5 in August) likes to sit for some of it, and some of it she just doesn't have the patience for and I don't push her on it. I think the sweet spot would be 7-10 years, but I think kids younger and older will still enjoy it depending on their personalities, and interest level.

@@MaryBarfield oh perfect! Two of my girls just turned 9 and 10. I'll do this with them, thanks!

I'm so glad! It's made our lives so much easier so I'm glad it's worked for you too! :)

Omg thank you so much! I’m glad you are enjoying my videos! 🥰

Yep! It's actually very interesting how it comes full circle to have the four year rotation of history match the sciences that were being discovered in those eras! :) We plan to use Elemental Science next school year (25-26) starting with their Biology for Grammar years and as long as that fits well with our family, we will continue with that until senior year! That is the only curriculum that I have found, that follows the 4 year rotation through High School. Another curriculum is REAL Science Odyssey (this is what we would try if Elemental Science isn't a good fit for us). However, it only follows the 4 year cycle completely for the grammar years and starts into middle school. I hope they plan to make more curriculum for the rest of middle school and high school as it would be nice to have a second long term option! :) Beyond those two curriculums, you could pull from the multitude of science curriculums out there individual subjects each each to fit the 4 year rotation schedule: Biology -> Earth Science/Astronomy -> Chemistry -> Physics. Hopefully that was helpful and answered your question! :)

Layers of learning does a great job with the 4 year rotation and history, geography, science and art all dovetail together which for my brain is just perfection haha it just makes sense!

@@baileycumpson5169 ooo I haven’t heard of layers of learning! I will have to check them out!

@@MaryBarfield we are trying year one this year! I’m hoping it’s a fit for us because I love the idea of it. You can make it your own, it’s so flexible so you can pull all the living books in, as well as the classic literature. I am really looking forward to it!

Aww yay! You’re right! It’s so comforting to find others who are doing the same “mix-up” of curriculums! And funny story, I haven’t mentioned it in my videos yet, but my youngest is trying out Mcguffeys Eclectic Primer reader this summer and she is loving it! So we may be adding that in a few days a week for her phonics/reading lessons this year! 🥰

Oh thank you so much for the heads up! 🥰 Something I started doing this summer is pre-reading and I’m realizing now why it’s so important! So I’m not having to edit on the fly while reading/showing the girls a book for the first time 🥴.

I’ve heard of it but haven’t had the opportunity to look into it yet - so I’ll have to add that to my list 🥰

The video I am posting this Saturday morning will be a planning video for this upcoming school year (specifically I will show you how I do it in Trello)! So stay tuned for it!

@@MaryBarfield Thank you so much! I’m a full time working mom and even though you are newer to homeschooling yourself, your videos have helped me so much! I have watched hundreds of hours 😆

Lol aww I’m glad they have been helpful! I’m still learning as I go, but I figure that also helps for y’all learn from my mistakes! 😂

Yay! Thank you for following along and I’m glad you are enjoying my videos! We are using BYL 0 around the world this year and then I plan to continue to use at least parts of Emily’s curriculum (book lists in particular) for following years! If you couldn’t tell, I don’t like just using one curriculum and like to take bits and pieces from multiple 😂. BYL 1 is actually where I found out about Mary Pope Osbornes Tales of the Odyssey books and the Roman and Egyptian diary books! Such good newer books on her ancients list! 🙌

I haven’t heard of Treasure Hunt Reading so I will have to take a look at it! It sounds like it might be the right fit for you during this chapter in your life where you need a little more support! And most importantly it sounds like it works with your kiddos learning style 🥰 my girls are very different in how they learn so what worked for my oldest didn’t work alone for my youngest and I had to bring in more resources for her. It’s all one big learning curve it seems 😂

😂😂 right?! It looked pretty for a while on our wall, but we just never implemented it properly 🥴

Absolutely! Let me know if this works: www.canva.com/design/DAGKduXd00Q/UrEvfU8mWcHAYIgajkbJsw/edit?DAGKduXd00Q&

@@MaryBarfield yes! Thank you it worked!

That is awesome! We are approaching the lessons the same way, taking our time with them because the girls love all the activities and games also! I think it's great because it's just reinforcing the language without them even knowing that it's happening! lol

Yay! You are going to love it! It’s so easy on the parents and we actually have a lot of fun while we learn, which is what I always strive for! 🥰

Ooo thank you for letting me know! I will have to look into it! 🥰

Aww thank you!! And thank you for the encouragement with Unit 2! 🥰🥰 we are absolutely loving the curriculum and my girls are picking up Spanish so quickly because of it! 🙌