Stream F

Multi-grade family launch. Two or more children across grade bands.

Morning time first, then family-style spine, then age-appropriate skill subjects in parallel. The schedule changes a lot in the first ninety days; expect that.

Publishers, by tradition

Family-style publishers that work across age bands include:

• Morning time anchor

  Better Together book and morningtime.org membership; Read-Aloud Family; Mere Motherhood and Morning Time podcast.

• Sonlight family-style

  Sonlight Cores designed for multiple ages reading the same history and literature together; per-child language arts and math add on.

• Tapestry of Grace

  Four-level family-style for one year of history per child, with each child working at their own grade level on the same time period.

• My Father's World

  Family-style elementary cores; Adventures, ECC, CTG, RTR, EX1850, 1850MOD.

• Wild + Free monthly bundles

  Charlotte Mason-adjacent monthly unit themes for multiple ages.

• Konos unit study

  Three large volumes, each spanning multiple themes; designed for multi-age.

• Five in a Row Volumes 1 to 4

  Picture-book-based unit studies for ages four to eight; older siblings can listen to the read-alouds.

The first 90 days

• Week 1

  Set up morning time. Find a half-hour to forty-five-minute block when everyone is together. Read a Bible passage or virtue story. Read a poem. Read a chapter of an age-spanning read-aloud. One nature notebook entry per week per child.

• Weeks 2 to 4

  Add one shared family-style subject (in our assessment, history is a good place to start: Sonlight Core, Tapestry of Grace, My Father's World, or Story of the World). All children listen to the same read-aloud and discuss together. Independent skill subjects (math, language arts) happen in parallel, with the parent rotating from child to child.

• Weeks 5 to 8

  Settle into the rhythm. Older children begin tutoring younger ones. In our assessment, this is a feature, not a bug, because the older child consolidates by teaching. Add a weekly project day or co-op day if there is one nearby. In our assessment, a four-day or four-and-a-half-day week works better for multi-grade families than a five-day week.

• Weeks 9 to 13

  First portfolio entries per child. Different states have different requirements; if any child is in a portfolio-review state (NY, PA, MA, RI, VT) document accordingly. Review what is working and what is not. The schedule will continue to evolve.