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My family has taken a break from HOD to try something else. I was hoping to make things easier but end the end, we are returning to HOD. We are currently reading and talking about the lesson to reading and talking about the lessons. I or my daughter get into like we did when we were using Bigger. I had to change the math because for some reason Singapore 3A wasn't working well and our english has changed. So with a new year this is what our schooling looks like:
8 soon to be 9
Second half of Bigger
First Language Lessons level 3
LifePacs Math 3
Pathway Readers for Reading but we are enjoying the books from the DITHOR book lists for Level 1&2. Tried a few times to work with DITHOR guide but didn't work out.

4 soon to be 5
Going over the activies in Little Hands again. Mostly the Bible portion since we did most of the guide once thru.
Earlybird Math 1A/B
Working on phonics and handwriting.
My son is getting tubes so he will be hearing much better. I was going to start with Little Hearts but have decided to wait until later one. ( I want him to finish his first set of math books first)

3 soon to be 4
tagging along with big brother
I am not doing the work 100% together because there are some big differences between the two but also some similarities. I prefer to keep them seperate so when DS goes into Little Hearts, DD go thru Little Hands with everything.

We just ended our full second year of homeschooling but majority of it was done as me being a single parent. I would have rather of had a few years on me before a deployment but it just didn't happen. ALOT has happen this past year and I got of my track big time. My orginal goal was to have been done with Bigger now so we could start something new in January. The same with having my son move into Little Hearts. I think you non-military families have it easier because we do all this craziness again in 13 months. Again hubby my go straight to a ship or will soon be going to one. Hes currenlty doing a tour in the Middle East so we have done some reading about the Middle East and their religion and how being a military family is different than non military families. Since my daughter is older she has had many more questions about our lifestyle.
I had an idea of what to use next for my DD but after talking to DH he prefers to do different subjects throughout the year unlike doing a full year of just one subject. I have been looking into the Preparing posts and seeing some of the pictures from using the guide. I do like what everyone has done and Preparing is on the top 5 list of my Want To Use for 2009-2010 school year. If we don't use the guide I will still be using the other guides with my younger children.

MamaBear23Cubs,

It's good to hear from you. You certainly have been busy! I can't imagine how difficult it must be to feel like a single parent. You need to rejoice in what you have accomplished and know that it takes time to find your way on this homeschool journey. Curriculum is only half of the battle. The rest is finding a routine and schedule that suits your family.

I know many of us can relate to the curriculum switching, as it's so easy to get into the "grass is greener" syndrome (when sometimes it really may not be).

I did want to mention that if your LifePac math doesn't seem to work out, you may want to return to Singapore 3A and give it one more try. 3A is quite a jump from 2B, but it does even out after awhile if you hang with it. We switched math programs so many times with my oldest son that I know I created gaps in his math learning. With my next son, we are just staying with Singapore through 4A/4B and working together on the tough parts. Anyway, just a back up plan. I realize Singapore doesn't work for everyone and that there are many excellent math programs out there, but sometimes switching causing problems too.

Glad to see you here and pray that you will be uplifted and encouraged on your homeschool journey.

Blessings,
Carrie