:iagree: We love FIAR. We are using it with dd5, but it is definitely appropriate for an older child, as there are many lessons of different levels to choose from. In addition to the regular lessons, we use it for vocabulary, copywork and narration. But you would need to add in a math program at bare minimum. We also do spelling and science programs. Tracy

Well, Horizons K is a fairly advanced program, so if they are not challenged with it, then I think you should look at something that is often considered for gifted or mathy kids. I would look at Singapore. We are using Horizons K this year, and we are going to use CSMP for 1st grade with our dd5. Tracy

It depends on where she is now. My dd was only 2yo when she learned phonics from watching SuperWhy. We worked with her casually (no program) on phonics for about a year. Then I bought the first Nora Gaydos book, and we worked through one book per day. These are nice because they are the simplest books that you can find, and they come with sticker incentives. I bought the next three books, but we really only got through the second book before she started to read books from the library. Tracy

I think that you have to avoid trying to "fix" his feelings, because this implies that his feelings are wrong when they are completely normal. Often, all people need is validation and understanding. I would tell him that I wish I could be smart like his sister, too. I would tell him about other gifts that I wish I had but do not and how I came to terms with not having those particular gifts. I would ask him what gifts he thinks he has. (These may be different from what gifts YOU think he has.) You also have the good fortune of having a big family whose members do not all excel academically like your dd. You can point to an older sibling that ds admires and say he/she did not read at age 3, either, but can do xyz. We have a very bright dd4 who is just starting to realize how intelligent she is. We often tell her, "It is nice to be smart, but it is better to be nice." Intelligence can help us do better in life but it does not make us better. Tracy

It has come up on the Yahoo group. It is not a very active group, but the author responds to all questions personally. Originally he was saying it would be out in spring. Now he says it will be out in summer, but it will two books, one for 3-5 and one for 6-8. So I would be prepared with an alternative in case the date gets pushed out further. Tracy

We are doing K this year. Our favorites are Five in a Row, Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding and Critical Thinking: Reading, Thinking and Reasoning Skills. We like FIAR, because it is simple and easy for me, and dd loves books, loves reading them over and over. (Last week, she announced she liked the book so much, she wanted to make it 8 in a row! LOL!) With it, we incorporate vocabulary, copywork and narration. BFSU we like, because it utilizes the scientic method and the Socratic method. My husband is a physics teacher, and he said he wished the author were writing his textbook. It delves very deeply into scientific ideas while keeping activities easy to plan and on the right level for little ones. DD just loves the Critical Thinking worksheets, although she doesn't like the paperwork in her other curricula. I think it is just more interesting. We are also doing Horizons K Math and Spelling Workout A--no particular accolades, but they work. We do unit studies for social studies. DD picks a country or a person, and we get books to read about them and mark them on our wall map. She is taking piano lessons for music. She is not very artsy, so we do the art lessons in FIAR and call it done. We will start Tapestry of Grace for 1st grade.

:iagree:Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding is what it is called. The K-2 book is very detailed, very thorough. It is not scripted, but it guides you through what to say and do. And in addition to the scientific method, it very strongly incorporates the Socratic method, as well, which I really like. But you do have to take some initiative. Although the book walks you through everything, you have to do a little planning. For example, you will need to gather materials for the activities. Often you are given a list of possible things you could use, but you have to decide what you will use. Also, the recommendation is to tie each lesson into the child's life somehow, so you don't just sit down and "do science." You have to plan (at least in your mind) when to take advantage, or even create, those "teaching moments."

How about doing a little Life of Fred? I haven't used it, but I understand that it is great for the verbally gifted.

You have gotten some great responses, and I agree with the phonics-based spelling program approach. I started both phonics and spelling with dd4, who was already reading. But when I saw that her reading level was accellerating faster than the phonics program, and we were having trouble finishing all of our work, we just ditched the phonics program all together. I got Spelling Workout based on the WTM recommendation, but it is a lot of writing. DD writes well, but doesn't have the stamina or the attention span for the Spelling Workout assignments. So we do them orally, and I write the answers for her. It is working fine, but there must be something out there that is less writing intensive. BTW, I put her spelling words on www.spellingcity.com, where she can play games and take tests. It is really helpful to not be present when she is taking her spelling test. Tracy

Is there any particular area that you want to challenge her or that she most wants to be challenged? I would start there. Tracy

Most people think of AP classes/tests as a way to prepare for college, but many don't realize how it effects your education after you get to college. As someone who took several AP tests, I thought I would chime in here, FWIW. I took every AP class in high school that I could reasonably fit into my schedule, and I ended up with about a full semester of college credit. Coming from a poor family that wasn't going to help me pay for college, I thought this to be a great boon. However, this meant that most of my classes as a freshman were sophomore or junior level. While I got AP credit for the freshman level classes, my AP grades were not included in my GPA. Consequently, my entire GPA was made up of higher level classes, whereas my classmates without AP credit were able to include easier, lower level classes in their GPAs. Additionally, I had to take more higher level classes to complete my degree requirements. I am glad that I took the AP tests, because it did save me a lot of money. But I do wish I had contemplated the consequences so that I could make the choice with my eyes open. Tracy

Here is how I would answer these with my dd5:

My oldest is only in K, so take this FWIW. When this happens, I think about what would happen in public school, or even in college, for that matter. When life happens, you don't get all the work done, or the quality suffers. You have three choices: (1) Don't hand it in at all and take a zero; (2) hand it in as is and take what you can get; (3) finish it and hand it in late, if the teacher will accept it late, and take the lower grade for handing it in late. I wouldn't fret so much about the assignment. I would use this as an opportunity to teach about real life, responsibility, priorities and maintaining a balance between our many obligations. Let your child take part in making this decision. I learned a very important lesson in college when a friend with 6 children had a family emergency one Friday. She was packing up her family when I realized how hard it was going to be for them to take all 6 children. But I had a paper due on Monday. I chose to take care of the kids, prepared to possibly fail that paper, which was a good chunk of my grade. On Monday, I explained what happened to the teacher, and he gave me two more days. I ended up getting the highest grade on that assignment than on any other. I don't remember what the assignment was, and were it not for this experience, I wouldn't even remember the class. But I remember well the choice that I made. Tracy

I've never been tested, but I just assume that I am. Perhaps that sounds arrogant and presumptuous, but it helps me to explain a lot of things, both bad and good. It explains why as a child, I could never understand why we spent so much time learning things and why I was bored in school. It explains why I was getting in trouble for not doing my school work but instead was doing the work of the older kids (but not turning anything in). It explains why I had a hard time relating to other kids my own age. It explains why when I started dating and had my first boyfriend, we argued all the time about the vocabulary that I used and which he didn't understand. Most gifted grownups do not go around saying they are gifted or smart or whatever. But having these explanations can really help to put things in perspective. For years, my self-esteem really suffered due to a lot of these issues, and having this perspective really helps me now. I also think this knowledge will allow me to help my gifted daughter to avoid some of these issues herself.

When I first started, I found it very difficult, because no one seemed to be able to help me find the resources that would work for us. Lots of people had recommendations, but I wanted to know more than the fact that they worked for someone else. I blogged about this and included the resources that helped me really research my curriculum. http://myfamilyiseternal.blogspot.com/2009/10/finding-my-first-curriculum-or-scary.html Good luck! Tracy

:iagree:We took just one month off between Pre-K and K, and it took a couple of months for dd to get back to where she was with both handwriting and math. Five in a Row is great for this age. I also use it for vocab and copywork. It is a very gentle program that incorporates five different subjects. So if we don't make to science, for example, I have at least done some science with Five in a Row. Tracy

I have seen some secular folks start off with the Big Bang. Personally, I think this belongs in science and not history, but I can see the attraction.

:lurk5:

If you are looking for story-based math, you might want to check into CSMP. It is free online and utilizes lots of storybooks, as well as characters within the program. Here is a blog about it: http://puzzler.multiply.com/journal/item/12/Show_and_Tell_3_CSMP. We are doing Horizons K now but will switch to CSMP for 1st grade. As far as spelling goes, I don't know anything about AAS, but I would just caution you to choose something that is not writing intensive at this age. We do vocabulary with Five in a Row. It works really well, because we choose our vocab words on the first day we read the book, and the each succeeding day we read, dd enjoys finding the words. She now finds those words in other places, as well, without being prompted. DD also really enjoys Critical Thinking: Reading, Thinking and Reasoning Skills. Also, you didn't mention science, but I put a vote in anyway for Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. It very inexpensive (less than $25) and covers K-2. Even if you only do it sporadically, it is well worth the cost. It is inquiry based, meaning that you help the child form the question and then you help him answer his question by doing experiments. It is not a classical approach, but I would classify it more as a spiral program, as you spiral through the different areas of science, but in an ordered, integrated way so that everything is related to each other. HTH, Tracy

We read with dd4 for 1 1/2 - 2 hours per day total. My dd5 did not want anything to do with chapter books until I got the short books that are divided into chapters. I think the first was a Dr. Dolittle reader. Then I found a Black Beauty reader divided into 4 or 5 chapters, which led to reading the full Black Beauty book when I found one with a picture on every page. That was last summer, and now we are on the full Dr. Dolittle and are planning to do Wizard of Oz next. She just needed to be eased into chapter books. HTH, Tracy

I know that you feel bad that history has not been done this year. But before diving into history or a foreign language, I think I would consider getting the kids on track in the 3 R's first, unless history and foreign language is something that your family really loves to do or is really excited about. Remember that the many suggestions in WTM is an ideal that few people will ever completely realize. Don't lose sight of the fact that the 3 R's are the foundation for the rest of the classical curricula. You mentioned that you have been curriculum hopping, so I presume that all of your curricula are new right now. I would get settled in all the new curricula first before adding more new things into your schedule. Tracy

We just started Kindergarten this year, too. First, I have a schedule of what we do each day--not by the hour, but just what subjects we do each day. Each weekend, I use Homeschool Tracker Plus to enter all of the assignments for the week. I don't have any reporting requirements where I live, but I do this largely so that other people can see what we do, if ever they need to, whether it is because of a change in our state law or because something happens to me and someone else needs to take over the schooling of my children. I used to print these out, but now that I know more of what I am doing, I just have them in the computer. I also have a binder with folders for each subject, but I think I may be better off changing this to folders for each weekday. At the end of the week, I keep the most noteworthy item from each subject and throw the rest away. I do the same at the end of each month and then the end of each quarter. So then for each quarter, I have a small file folder with representative work in each subject. Part of this is so that dd can cope with throwing things away, and part is once again in case someone ever needs to see what kind of work dd is doing. Tracy

I am subscribed to a WTM yahoo group, but it is secular. I have seen some talk about there having been some disagreement about what was appropriate to discuss and there having been a spinoff group from that disagreement. But apparently, the spinoff group didn't last for some reason.

I really recommend The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It has book lists divided into picture books, short and long novels and gives age recommendations. Here is the website: http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/ Tracy

I think it is going to depend on the child, but we just threw a big map on the wall, and my dd4 has just run with it, not needing any instruction on map skills but just learning as she goes. I think it makes more sense to learn mapping skills as they are relevant to what you're doing.