Interesting! Do you have a link to where he talks about that? I'd like to hear/read it.

I totally agree! Great post.

I used to have a math hater. What worked for us, was to take some pressure off. I told her that I would not count anything wrong if it was a mistake. If a whole concept was incorrect, or it seemed she didn't understand the process, then we would go back and rework the lesson. But if she added wrong or left out a zero, I just had her show me the mistake and we moved on. I also took a full year off of traditional math programs and had her use Teaching Textbooks on the computer. I'm a huge fan or TT as a way to relieve tension. I don't think it's a strong program at all, but I've seen it do a lot to raise math confidence. I didn't have to teach and she got ownership. We use Math Mammoth again now, and the results have been drastic. She went from barely being at a 3rd grade level to easily testing into 6th grade math.

Thanks for the responses! I used TWTM pretty closely for the first 5 years of school. The rest of our plans are language arts heavy, with some Latin and logic thrown in. Our weak link is history. We study it a lot, but don't stick with a plan or follow the timeline closely.

We just finished Echo on audiobook. It was brilliant. It's one of the few books that must be experienced in audiobook form.

Hello! I'm creating a 5 year plan with my 6th grader and could use some feedback. They will almost certainly go into the medical field and would like to plan accordingly. Science: 7th- Chemistry 8th- 1st semester Astronomy, 2nd semester Physics, 9th- Biology w/ lab 10th- Chemistry w/ lab, 11th &12th- AP classes or some kind or duel enrollment Math: 7th- Math Mammoth 7, 8th- Algebra 1 (Owens or AOPS), 9th- Algebra 2, 10th- Geometry, 11th- Pre-calc, 12th- Calc Any thoughts on this timeline? Thanks!

Thanks for sharing! It shows as the regular price for me. What does it show for you?

I am in the beginning stages of creating a journalism class for my current 6th grader. We won't start until the fall, so I don't have many actual sources yet. I can share my plans though. In the fall we will start with journalism ethics and history. This will be ongoing throughout the year and the core of the class. I'll add in journalist biographies and general books on the subject itself (New Journalism by Boynton and Elements of Journalism). Then each month (6 weeks?) we will focus on a different subject/genre- data, investigative, newspaper reporting, etc). There needs to be a focus on storytelling too, though I'm torn on how to incorporate it. I may end up putting storytelling into Language Arts as a separate thing. I'm also planning on having my 6th grader email or contact different people in the industry, but I don't have that thought out yet. In the past when I've created classes without a lot of obvious curricula, I've just taken from college sources. Many can be adapted for middle- grade kids. Post if you find any thing good!

The way I feel about mental illness has vastly changed in the last few years. I now fully believe a happy, healthy, productive life can be had. Being open about the struggle, finding the right meds, and by treating self-care as important has medicine. Have you heard of the Hilarious World of Depression? It's a podcast that interviews (mostly) comedians about their diagnosis- depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc. It does a great job of showcasing how people will have ups and downs, but can live really full lives. Find what works best for your son. Allow him to explore and then encourage him to stick with what works. For a lot of people it's a very stringent schedule of medication, meditation or relaxation, and exercise. Discuss how mental illness should be treated in a similar way to cancer treatment or diabetes management. Someone with diabetes doesn't say, well I feel good today I guess I never need my insulin again. No. Discuss how bipolar will be life long, but highly manageable, like any disorder or disease. Also, recognize that talk therapy may or may not be beneficial. I personally don't find much comfort in talk therapy. I've tried and have found that other things work better for me. I do think that a solid effort should be put forth, but I don't feel like I am being held back by not enjoying therapy. Take care!

Armchair Expert The Hilarious World of Depression Conan OBrien needs a Friend The West Wing Weekly Ask Me Another Wait Wait Hello From the Magic Tavern How I Built This 80s All Over Waking Up with Sam Harris

Sending you a message.

I believe it to be unethical, but I wouldn't care in the least. Ethics are right or wrong, essentially. But we also live in a world full of gray area. So from an ethics standpoint, it is unethical. But from a practical, real-world standpoint...who cares? I'm surprised by responses saying thy would actually judge a person for taking an extra sugar packet. My goodness.

Roots. It's high on my list for anyone to read, but young high schoolers particularly.

Yes, it is expensive! It's a bit more than the average math supplement though, so I think it is well worth the price.

I like Mathematical Reasoning, also from Critical Thinking company. Challenging Word Problems from Singapore is another good one. Teaching Textbooks (in my opinion) needs to be heavily supplemented and I like to do that with critical thinking or logic type problems.

My kids have been going to live performances since birth, and Broadway shows since 4/5. Lion King -4 Blue Man Group- 6 Les Miserables- 6 The Nutcracker- 3/4 Swan Lake- 5 Phantom of the Opera- 10 Sound of Music- 8 King and I- 8 Annie- 10 Cats- 10 The Little Mermaid- 4, 6, 10 Chicago- 9

Things are going well. Math is not as challenging as it should be, and that's a problem I don't really want to deal with. Latin is stalled, again because of my own issues with setting it up. But everything else is really great.

So glad you posted the talk! My kid took the class and absolutely loved it.

She is good at editing. If she re-reads she knows they are wrong, but would likely still spell them incorrectly. Does any on have thoughts on spelling lists? I was thinking of weekly spelling lists of common words-- like she spells "they" as "thay".

Ok, I'm certain I've asked this before..but I need to ask again. My kid can not spell. 11 years old. Other language arts skills are well above average- reading comprehension, grammar and sentence structure, vocabulary. I would feel comfortable putting her in a college composition class. BUT her spelling...it is terrible. We did several years of All About Spelling, and then Spelling Workout. Her spelling as marginally improved. As an example, this is her to do list for today: clene room do dishies clene cage tommoro I'm really at a loss. There are no other struggles that I'm aware of. She has a good attention span, at grade level for math, and there are no vision or hearing problems.

My 10 year old wants to learn Arabic language. I can't find anything I could use at home. My best option is a college course, but that's an hour away. Does anyone have suggestions? Thanks!

I think this is good advice.

Wonderful. Thank you for the responses. I will look into MUS as well, but I feel good about Right Start now.

I am thinking of using Rightstart next year for 1st/2nd grade math. Is it right for us? Child enjoys math and will probably do well in whatever math curriculum he uses. He is a people pleaser and a bit of a perfectionist. He enjoys seated school work. Me: I hate math. I don't understand it. I may have had to use the answer guide for a kindergarten text because I couldn't figure out how they were teaching a problem. I'm not visual and have zero natural ability for math. The day I found Teaching Textbooks for my oldest was the happiest day of my life. So...thoughts on Rightstart?

My kids are 5 and 10. They share a bathroom and have 99% responsibility for keeping it clean. I don't expect it to be clean all the time, but I do expect them to clean it once a week. The daily clean up doesn't usually get done.