I have a friend like this. What I have learned is she likes to be a listener. I do 75% of the talking and then say things like "so I have been talking a ton! Tell me what is new in your life!" Which tends to work better than specific questions.

That is great 🙂 I think we can really make curriculum work for us when we are willing to stretch a bit outside the rigidity of it. This sounds like a solid plan 👍

Well, the way I dealt with it was to have 3 more kids 🤣

That is awesome! This is my grip too (ring finger rest) and I cannot imagine resting it on my middle finger...it feels so uncomfortable to me. She will be totally fine and you will save her from torture 😉

I am ok with it. When I was in high school we had a health clinic near the school that gave out condoms. We would go get them and safety pin them on our overalls and jeans (TLC days lol) yet I still ended up a teen parent. I appreciate their attempts but kids will make choices regardless of condoms. Not too many kids will decide to not have sex just because they do not have a condom anymore than having a condom will make them have sex. What does push kids into being callous to this important decision is exposure to explicit music, books, television and social media. That has way more of an effect than condoms at the nurses office.

Yep, they tell you what to do after the lesson and you can print the reading schedule. The cards they will be prompted to get out during the lesson and they read the card aloud to the student plus as they learn the song they will revisit the cards. The videos prompt when to review a card plus they continually do game style quizzes to review previous card material. We did the first 2 years and my kids remember everything. Retention has been high for us with those courses. We aren't doing Middle Ages this year and I am kicking myself for that.

I second this. Also, because BJU English spirals back around to the same topics each year, you can skip 3 and go on to 4 with very little issue. It is alot like Rod and Staff in that respect. Also, one thing we have done because we school year round is take the 8 writing units in BJU and do 6 of them in the summer. We throw out the poetry unit since they get that in other curriculum and we fold the chapter 16 research report into the school year in science or history. In this way they do all of BJU English writing (we don't need the grammar since we have another program). This way it leaves me able to spend the school year doing the progym in a settled way without feeling like I am missing something.

My little dude has ASD/ADHD inattentive and we tried Rightstart but he couldn't track the manipulatives...too much switching for him. MUS was perfect because of mastery, non cluttered pages and one type of manipulative. He did reach a point in Gamma where it became a battle to keep him focused enough to get through longer problems. We tried TT and that has been a magical fit. However, I do pull in pages of MUS each week once or twice to make sure he is learning and retaining. We also do fun logic based math games and pages as well. TT really has been a lovely choice for him but I do see TT as a last resort math choice for us.

You bet 🙂

I will say, BJU 2 makes me crazy but BJU English 3 is fabulous. There is a big difference for me between those two levels. I really like the ELTL suggestion because it feels painless but is a solid choice. I also will second Writing and Rhetoric suggestion. My current 2nd grader is doing level I Fable and he loves it to bits. You might also enjoy IEW All Things Fun and Fascinating since it breaks down classical writing basics into steps and adds more instruction for "dressing up" writing. I have found it a breeze to teach and not overwhelming for the child. MP also assigns it in their own 3rd grade core.

This is great advice. ELTL is really lovely and fun!

We really have loved this combo: Visualize World Geography, Draw_____, Geography songs, occasionally cooking from the Cook Around the World Book when it fits, board games that are map based, and then as we read lit and history we pull out a dry erase map and trace our travels. I also will find beautifully illustrated picture books set in different countries when I can find them at the library. We did this well when covering Africa as there are so many gorgeous and touching books for Africa. Treating it relevantly and organically has really caused my kids to not only love geography but be super good at it. I don't feel too many workbook things are necessary if you can fold it in to history and lit.

Ahhhh...Half Magic 😍 a childhood favorite and one I get every kid I am related to a copy of 😂 such a good one. I also want to add my kids have all loved Fablehaven series, Green Ember, Percy Jackson and Land of Stories just to throw out some more current ideas.

Yeah, we are kind of in love with Mosdos. It has enjoyable and varied stories, it tackles all of the important literary elements well, it includes fun and interesting writing exercises, vocab and so forth. It is a solid program. I wasn't expecting to like it so much because it felt schoolish but it has been a fast favorite. TGTB is The Good and the Beautiful. This was a program I didn't like last year and threw in the towel early just to later realize everything my kids had retained came from that program and all 3 kids begged to do it this year. Now I am a convert and love it immensely. Go figure 😋

So true. Nobody was the Doctor like David. He is just an outstanding actor in everything I have seen him in. Plus he is a really nice guy to his fans. He had a darling conversation with my DD at a comicon that made her giggle (I think she has a bit of a crush 😂)

They have always been super speedy for us...typically within a week. Even when I took part in their free shipping over the holiday it was still really fast.

What age and math level is your child? Even going through just B-D and then jumping over into another program after D can provide a wonderful math base. I will present a slightly different view than the other posters and say if your child is younger, go for it. I believe in the superior math teaching methods of Montessori and RS is based in Montessori math. That concrete foundation really shows itself in kids who have gone through a few years of it. They tend to shine in upper level math because they intuitively get it. I have taught level B and C to different learners and have found it completely doable. The lessons are not long in the earlier levels. Math U See is another great option and good for kids who don't enjoy many manipulatives. I just feel Montessori based math techniques can be profound for kids with disabilities. I am a Montessori nerd though so take that for what it's worth 😋

I agree with this. 87 is a hard place to transition. Super mathy kids can do it but average kids struggle. Typically though, when 54 is used as the transition point there isn't an issue. I would actually say at the very least, transition into 76 before 87.

Agree, which is saying something because Doctor Who has always been progressive and cutting edge in this way yet it always felt organic. David Tennant seasons had, what felt like a heavy dose of it at times but still done in a way that kept the story focused. This season felt like they ripped topics from news headlines and pasted a Doctor Who theme on it. If just didn't feel like it was done as elegantly. Again though...I know many don't share my view on this. I just take a while to like new Doctors 😂

I actually smiled at your unclogged toilet example because it is totally within a kids' ability at that age. My 7 year old grabs the plunger and unclogs the toilet if he overuses toilet paper. In fact he did exactly that 3 days ago. I like the earlier recommendation to ask her what she has tried or what solutions she may have thought of. Then I would go help but take the child with to teach/show how to fix it in an empowering way just as you did. When she does fix something on her own say "wow, I am really impressed with your problem solving with that. That's how I would have done that" or "that was a great solution for that" She may just be at an age too where she enjoys your examples and interacting. Not too uncommon for this age in girls.

As a long time Whovian I thoroughly disliked it. It felt...off...it just wasn't the same for me at all. My kids have enjoyed it but honestly, they love Doctor Who so much I don't think they are picky. My husband has enjoyed a few episodes but as the season went on he liked it less and less. I am trying not to completely throw in the towel because Capaldi's first season was not great for me either but after that I adored him. I am probably the only person on the planet who didn't want the Doctor to be female. I was perfectly happy with River Song as our female counterpart. I was really hoping for an Asian male doctor, I thought that could be awesome or finally a ginger 😉 I did feel this season was way over the top preachy. It felt like they were trying too hard and it wasn't organic or authentic in presentation. I will probably try it for a bit longer in the next season but if I still can't do it I will jump ship.

"F#$@ you fund" made me laugh out loud. That is hilarious 😂

Uhhggg... that is horrible. I am so sorry. Yes, take your expertise, talents and kind heart and find a school that will utilize those skills well and appreciate what you bring to the table. Luckily you are in a high demand field. Some people just enjoy making others feel small. Don't let this person rob you of your confidence

The theme books are great and I would go that route. I had a kid do All Things Fun and Fascinating first and another doing Fables, Myths and Fairy Tales. Neither have had any issues with learning the lessons from them. They are solid and fun programs.

Sequential Spelling on CD Rom is as close as you are going to get with mostly independent. It is a good program.