First off, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. Seems like we've been in similar circumstances.

Last yr, we started RS. Our oldest then were 14yo dd and 12 1/2 yo ds, and they did E together. They don't really enjoy math, but they did fine! Since I had them doing the level together, I also had them playing the games 4-5 days/wk. If they needed help w/ the games, I'd play w/ them till they understood it. But usually they played them on their own together.

We also used to do Saxon. W/ our oldest dd, she used it K-76, but we really got burned out. She did ok w/ it. Or oldest ds didn't like it. I knew I had to switch because the next dd couldn't have handled 54 on up. She would've been in tears too often! She just learns differently and RS seems to be able to help her (and the rest) comprehend better. We used a couple other programs between Saxon and RS, but they just didn't do what I'd hoped.

Our oldest 2 also thought the transition lessons were really easy, which I thought was better than them being discouraged before we even started E.

Our next 2 started B last fall and will finish C next week! They just had b-days, so they're now 10 yo dd and 12 yo dd. They've been able to move quicker through the levels, so they won't be so far behind forever. And I know that they're "getting it"!

Let me know if I can be of any encouragement to you!
Marti