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Finding the sweet spot


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I figured you guys are about the only people on earth who would understand. After approximately 18 months of struggle, I think I finally have LegoMan working at an appropriate level for all his subjects. I truly thought we would never get here and I'm going to enjoy it for the whole 30 days or so it's likely to last. This is tough! I realize I shouldn't complain but having a kid who works so drastically outside grade level is exhausting. For the last several years I have felt every day like I somehow failed him. While we are nowhere hear perfect, it's just nice that for this moment I feel like his math, LA, etc. are where they should be. And seriously, thank goodness for Latin because something should challenge this kid.

 

For the record, he'll be 7 in late June, is legally in 1st grade and here's where we landed:

 

Literature: Working our way through junior high level books as part of our school day and more fun (but still quality) books in the evenings; he reads 4-6th grade books for fun.

 

Spelling: AAS5 mainly doing lessons, review, and dictation (he's a very natural speller and may not truly need AAS but I still see benefits)

 

Grammar: LLTL3 with diagramming every day. We are 1/3 of the way through, trying to do lessons 6 days a week, and planning to move to MCT when we finish this summer. I'm not overly concerned with the grammar honestly but he really enjoys diagramming sentences and I love how pulled together the literature and poetry is. He even wrote a poem the other day for a dear family friend (our former babysitter) which ended with "This is the first stanza."

 

Writing: WWE2. I think this is one of the areas where he shows some of his age. He actually does very well with narration but we could certainly use some practice with identifying main themes and of course WWE2 is excellent for that. We are working on an accelerated schedule and we're running through 1.5 weeks of lessons weekly as I can't imagine he'll need anywhere near 36 weeks to grasp the concept. Generally up to writing 30-40 words worth of sentences in cursive daily. My goal is 50-60 words worth of sentences by this summer. His cursive is amazing. I am blown away. Planning to add IEW this summer or fall. 

 

Latin: LL1 (which I'm incredibly thankful for because Latin clearly makes him think)

 

Math: Should be done with Fred Decimals shortly then on to LOF Elementary Physics and pre-A. Also working through SM CWP and BA4. Will do sections of MM5 & 6 at some point in the next month or so (statistics, etc.; the stuff that isn't covered by Fred or Beast). DH and I are getting ready to start working through Jousting Armadillos and AOPS pre-A in preparation. I got him the dragon box app tonight. He worked through the first 3.5 levels in 45 minutes, told me it was very easy, but still fun. I'll take that.

 

History and Science are on hold until after we move in mid-May. Something has to give right now and he reads extensively from our science, history, and geography encyclopedias.

 

Anyway, just wanted to say you all are amazing and I'm very thankful for the wisdom. Thanks for being here. I thought LegoMan was going to be the end of me but I feel so propped up by all of you. Which is probably a good thing since we are gearing up for round two as ArtsyGirl is showing signs of a similarly advanced skill set (she's 4) and The Monkey is scaring me being far far ahead of where the other two where at 20 months.

 

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To some degree, it gets easier as they get older.  They train you better :lol: .  You begin to be able catch when a curriculum might be peetering out and a new one is needed.  You can start to understand the quirks of their personality more, and less butting-heads for a bit before puberty kicks in.  A rhythm is developed more than anything.  That doesn't mean things are ever easy, and the pace doesn't slow down very much, but it does smooth out a bit.  Good Luck! 

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