Thanks for this post. I will be ordering Book 4 in the next day or so. I plan on using AAS's tiles to assist me! Dd6 loves to use the open/closed door tiles and I'm not even using AAS with her!

Ds13 is a struggling reader. For free reading, he has read two Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and The Kid Who Ran For President. For me, he has read From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler and we're working on Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. What is waiting in the wings (for me): Island of the Blue Dolphins The Westing Game Roll of Thunder, Hear me Cry Where The Red Fern Grows The Giver Catherine, Called Birdy Crispin I, Juan de Pareja King Arthur The Number Devil The Measly Middle Ages A Single Shard Excerpts from Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Arabian Nights, Robin Hood Free Reading (waiting in the wings): Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Shredderman: Secret Identity The Wednesday Wars The Thief The new Diary of a Wimpy Kid Tangerine

What I would give for a little bit of cleavage - so feminine and beautiful when done tastefully...;) (Coming from someone who is a 34AAA (not kidding) after nursing for almost 10 years. I would love to feel like a woman again.)

bump;)

That's a good idea! Thanks. ;)

We are currently using Spelling Wisdom and while I love it, ds is having trouble with the "old-fashioned" use of punctuation, words etc. Is there a source you use with modern literature? I know I can pick and choose from what we're reading, but I know myself. I will spend WAY too long trying to find the perfect passages. :lol:

I am sure you can! ;)

Are you kidding me???? That is awesome. What talent you have!! Yowza! Thanks for sharing that!! :)

My ds is 13. We completed REWARDS Intermediate, found a cheap, used copy of Secondary and used the last half of that. DS jumped at least 2 grade levels. It was awesome. At the same time, I used Don Potter's Blend Phonics Reader with a notched card - training him to go left to right, with no guessing (he was taught with only sight words in ps). I also used phonogram cards daily. Now, I am using Webster's Speller (1908). I will also be using Reading Assistant (through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op) when the headphones arrive in the mail. But, he can read now! And he feels like a strong reader. And, being hs, he has the opportunity to read and improve every day. Very exciting. It is amazing how the fluency and comprehension fell into place after the phonics were in place. For spelling, we are using Spelling Through Morphographs and Spelling Wisdom for dictation. I felt like I needed another approach to spelling, on top of what we have, so I've been trying Megawords for a week. I am not feeling the love - it feels like busywork. It's very easy for him so far. I think I'll let that go. We'll see. I hear great things about Apples and Pears, which is based on the same method as STM and cheaper. I haven't done grammar yet, but have Easy Grammar waiting in the wings. We use IEW for writing and we love it. I also supplement with Intermediate language lessons. Good luck to you. I remember being stuck at the same stage!

REWARDS by Sopris West!!! There is an intermediate and secondary book. I used this for my 13 year old and he immediately jumped up two grade levels in reading. (I also used Don Potter's Blend Phonics Reader with a notched card, to train him to read from left to right - no guessing). I am now using Megawords for spelling, but find it to be a lot of busy work. I'm not sold on it yet. It definitely would take a long time to remediate reading. REWARDS takes 20-25 lessons only, depending upon which level you get. I have the teacher's manual, if you'd like to buy one used. http://store.cambiumlearning.com/ProgramPage.aspx?parentId=019005266&functionID=009000008&pID=REWARDS&site=sw

Yep - this is what we use when the kids are young. We call them safety scissors!

I gave my kids scissors at that age - but what we call "safety scissors". Gotta see if I can find a pic...

Dd is in ps 1st grade. These are books she brings home everyday from the classroom library. They must be read and I must sign. We're doing plenty of reading on our own, but it just makes me sad that many kids are being taught the sight word way. Thus, the reason I am hs my 13 year old. Thanks for letting me rant! ;)

Anyone else? You know, the books that say... Listen to them pop. Listen to them sizzle. Listen to them drip. Listen to them rattle. Noisy Breakfast. And the pictures give it all away! Just memorizing. I can't stand it!

Unfortunately, it causes him to make unnecessary mistakes while doing everything else! He actually is math-minded, but can get many wrong in his work, because he adds/subtracts incorrectly. How are you liking Connect the Thoughts by the way? We need a change, I think.

Just had to express my excitement! :hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray:

REALLY enjoying your blogs ladies!!!! Thanks for sharing!

Ds is being hs for the first time. I knew he had trouble with multiplication/division, but he cannot get addition/subtraction facts down either for the 5s, 6s, 7s and 8s tables. We do a 5 min drill every day with flashcards and also play addition war for 10 mins everyday. I know this has been asked many times before. But ds is not young - he needs to get this down!!! I mean, when we do a fact like 6+7, he says 15? 12? 14? Aaaaaah! How long will this take? What else can I try?

I love you for asking this question!! My 7th grader is just that in the last few months - sluggish, with no curiosity or drive whatsoever! ;) Looking forward to some great answers!

Thanks everyone. I ordered the numbered (graded) ones first. Because ds is a struggling reader, his vocabulary is somewhat limited. Thanks again! Lisa

Oh no! And we don't have her. She would have been my fave if I got these dolls when younger. Thanks for letting us know. AG is certainly a different company since Mattel showed up...

Elizabeth, I started using the 1908 Webster's with much success! Thank you for the suggestion! Luna, I also like your idea about the audio books. I will definitely try that as well. I have also added Megawords as a spelling/reading/vocab supplement. In reading, he's ahead of book one, but I have no idea how to implement two books at one time - one for spelling, one for reading. I've heard of people doing that. Thanks all!

My dd6 will do about 5 pages a day. Yesterday, she did 6; she has been known to do 10. Just the kind of kid she is, as well as the age and ability. I think your kid will lead you into the appropriate amount. Yours is only four. I wouldn't expect more than 1 or 2 pages, unless he has great fine motor skills and likes to write.

:iagree:My seventh grader is using these, as well as Megawords, Logic Liftoff and Mindbenders. This is his first year being hs.

Thanks for posting your question. I just had ds13 start his notebook as WTM lays out. Not quite sure what we're doing...