We are finishing up Math and Language Arts, but I did decide that we need at least 6 weeks off from school. So in 15 days, no matter where we are at, we are stopping schooling until August 13. We have always done math in the summer and I think we just plain need a summer break with no math.

6th Grade Hits- LLATL Tan TT7 SOTW1 Misses- HOD CTC Calvert 6th grade 5th Grade Hits- LLATL Tan TT6 SOTW1 Misses- R&S English 5 Write with the Best 3rd Grade Hits- TT3 MCP Phonics C Abeka Writing with Phonics (Cursive to Manuscript-very old edition) Misses- LLATL Yellow HOD Bigger Kindergarten- Hits- Sadlier Oxford Math Reading Eggs Reading Lesson Slant Handwriting (Benson) Misses- HOD LHFHG Ball and Stick handwriting

I finally gave up on HOD. I read something today that really fit my situation. It was an article and the writer pretty much said that the author's curriculum may really be what they need for their homeschool, but it may not be what your kids need from their homeschool. This fit our experience with HOD. I found the more we did HOD that while I love some of the elements...that there are also elements that I found lacking or that conflicted with our beliefs. The higher up we got in the guides I realized I want to expose my children to more theories and beliefs than HOD offers.

I don't have homeschool tracker online, but I have the hst+ for the pc. I have had it for 3 years. I like it, but I don't follow through with it and there isn't a way to keep up with all of our extras. I really like the photos and files feature in WPDS. I will be able to upload 4H and Scouts and such. As for the lesson plans features and such, WPDS is definitely a work in progress. While I have had hst+ for 3 years, I have been using a WPD printed planner for the last 2 years. I would spend so much time getting it all set up in HST+ and then I would only use it sporadically. I think the reason I am leaning towards WPDS is that I can really go in-depth with the kid's activities and it will give more than an academic overview of our homeschool years. It will be more like our homeschool yearbook that includes everything that we have done over the years in our home, clubs, church activities, and such. I will still be able to get all the academic reports and transcripts, but I will have so much more to give the kids as memories of their homeschool years and our family adventures.

When we were afterschooling, I printed from Donna Young's site often. Our first year homeschooling, I bought a Class Lesson Planner from Christian Liberty Press per child and it contained all the forms that I needed. I did have to fill in a lesson planner per child that way. Now that I have 3 kids in upper elementary/middle school, I use the well planned day planner for myself and the children have student planners from lakeshore learning. I really find the well planned day printed planner to be everything that I need to keep up with my school calendar, appts., schedule the kid's work, and has all the forms that I need for a pretty decent price.

Yes, I believe it is this way already. When you make an assignment, the thumbnails for each member are at the bottom sort of grayed out or without color (sepia looking). You can click all to include all members or you can individually click each member that you want to include. They turn color as you choose to include them in the assignment.

It is coming soon. I believe with the new interface that will be out in about 10 days. She talked about the hour tracking specifically b/c certain states require you to track your hours.

I found that the Seton CAT results did not tell me much. The ITBS break down was much better. If I were going to do the CAT test again, I would go with CLP's. I think the Stanford online from Abeka is available any time and online does not require a degree.

In case you don't have an hour to watch the video or just want some questions answered-here is a breakdown of the video New Interface in next 10 days and another webinar in about 10 days Lesson Plans Will possibly automate in the future Undated lesson plans in the new interface Auto generate lesson plans from 1-180 in new interface Sharing lesson plans with other users?? More info in Aug. after release Curriculum Access to database of ISBN's soon Course description option coming soon New interface will have option of choosing particular school days (ie-Jonny does Math on Tues. and Thurs.) per student and auto fill of lessons (1-180 lessons) Will have sort options soon Talk of autofill curriculum plans-not much detail given... Grading Option for weighted grading coming Will give option for letter, performance, or just completed as grade Attendance Will automate as assignments are marked complete Track hours spent coming soon Still have option to label sick day, snow day, vacation day in notes Calendar Individual appts. or items by day by end of this week Click week view to give items specific times (drag and drop to the time you want) Calendar is going to be central to organizer with menus opening from it instead of new pages opening. Possibly by August will link to Google calendar, ICAL, and other calendars Lay out school calendar in advance for duration of plan subscription + 6 months. So you can plan 6 months in advance of when your subscription will end General Info Once you purchase a subscription you will always have access to records and print ability, but will not be able to add to it without extending subscription after subscription end date Assign admin and students in new interface Menu is consolidating to 2 rows of buttons at the top instead of Custom lists on the side Will have to do list on right side of calendar after new interface Will have catechism, Bible verses, and quote of the day after new interface 10 days to new interface which will be more compact and consolidated Online tutorials (screen by screen) in the future Chores will turn to schedule items Printing options-calendar will be robust with reports eventually Alerts for finance section and possibly for the to do list In Aug.-3 types of users-admin, teacher/student (access to some admin items-high school student), student (not have full access) Transcripts will be traditional 9-12 grade with section for high school credits from middle school Recipes are coming in about 3 weeks-description will change to ingredients in menu planning Apps will have offline access to view and print planner I think they are working really hard and have some great plans. The glimpse of the new interface really made me feel better about trying it out early.

They are supposed to see the pattern that it is 20 more. 15-7=8 so 25-7=18, and 35-7=28. It is to help with mental math. I agree if they don't see the pattern, then it is time to slow down. In our Singapore HIG for 1A, it gave games and such to help with math facts as well as told us after certain lessons that the kiddo should know math facts to +/- whatever and that if they didn't have them to slow down and work on them. There are math fact drills in the back of the HIG's. I have never used c-rods with Singapore. We used base ten blocks, but I wouldn't stress the use of manipulatives in 1st or 2nd grade. If they need the manipulative for 15-7=8, then let them use it...but explain that they are wanting them to realize that the pattern repeats.

Thanks! Link to the Q&A http://vimeopro.com/homeeducatingfamily/my-well-planned-day-live-qanda-session/video/43947662

With a 10 yr old, I would start with the first level of dictation. However, I feel the need to tell you that dictation was only partially helpful to my struggling speller. She still made the errors after learning words in her writing. I like the dictation and plan to continue with it, but we also bought this http://www.christianbook.com/teach-child-spell-tricks-trade-pack/gayle-graham/pd/623777?product_redirect=1&Ntt=623777&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP The main thing you do with this is to have the child find the rule for the word that they mispell in their written work. This has been the most beneficial b/c it has taught my daughter how to look up the mistake herself and find the rule for the spelling of the word.

dd was 8 when we started remediating her handwriting. I agree with the pp's that you need to get an OT evaluation. You can get a referral from your pediatrician.

My suggestion is to go to therapro.com or your local school supply store (they might have it) and get a claw grip. They are worth their weight in gold. This is a great sampler pack where you can figure out which grip/pencil works for your child. http://www.therapro.com/Pencil-and-Grip-Sampler-I-P4316.aspx I would suggest a slant board as well. http://www.therapro.com/Better-Board-Slant-Boards-P28013.aspx You can make due with a 3" binder until you get a slant board. All student desks used to be slanted to help with handwriting and muscle development. I have done both of these things with my children. They were suggestions from an occupational therapist. I found the different handwriting programs did not really help as much as using these 2 tools. I also have right handed children and I am left handed.

For kindergarten, I would have had the child dictate to me what his story should say and I would have written it at the bottom of one of the story starter pages as he told me what to write. Then I would have had him draw a picture at the top of the page. I would have limited it to a few sentences. We do have "school" work that must be completed for my bridge kindergartener. They are definitely close ended activities. They have a definitive ending point. A story such as this could be worked on for days as the child shows interest. My kindergarten child is doing handwriting, Reading Eggs with the printed activity sheets, and Math. He is expected to finish his worksheets and we work through the Reading Lesson daily. My children went to public school Kindergarten and I still have their report cards with check lists for what they were expected to learn. Most school sites have a kindergarten expectations list or a requirements to go to first grade list on their kindergarten class pages. I would look to that to know what is normal for your area. Here is what my children were expected to know in kindergarten. Language Arts- Discriminates likenesses/differences in pictures, letters, word forms Recognizes sight words as introduced Follows one/two step oral directions Recognizes upper/lower case letters as introduced Knows consonant sounds as introduced Phonemic Awareness Standards- Recognizes rhymes Segments sounds in words Blends letter sounds orally Shared Reading Experiences- Predicts story events Contributes to discussions Recalls story details Sequences story events Written Expression (composition) Draws Pictures Uses scribbles/symbols to represent thoughts Copies letters and words Uses beginning sounds/letters to represent words Uses phonetic spelling Handwriting- Prints letters as introduced Prints first and last name Writes letters/words/numbers/left-right/top-bottom Mathematics- Copies, extends, and creates patterns Sorts and classifies objects/pictures Counts to 10, 20, 50, and 100 (went up each quarter) Recognizes numerals to 5, 10, 20, 31 Writes numerals to 5, 10, 20, 31 Counts sets to 5, 10 , 15, 20 Associates numerals with sets Demonstrates one-to-one correspondence Recognizes shapes Fine arts- Participates in musical activities Works with art materials appropriately Physical Development- Demonstrates small muscle development (tracing, cutting, lacing, holding pencil correctly) Participates in physical education activities Social Development- Listens and follows directions Is quiet at the appropriate time Takes correction well Stays on task and completes work Assumes responsibility for personal and school property Uses acceptable cafeteria/bathroom manners Works/plays well with others What my actual day looks like for my kindergartener (who was 4 and turned 5 in December)... -Wake up. Get dressed. Brush teeth. -Morning Chores -Breakfast -Recess -Free Play (lego table/trains...) -Reading Eggs (on pc-2 lessons a day) -Math K (k12's Sadlier Oxford Math) -Phonics and Handwriting (Reading Eggs activity sheets for lessons done on pc that day) -The Reading Lesson (2-3 pages read to me while snuggling on couch) -Lunch -Reading Eggs (on pc again 2 lessons) -Recess -Rest Time (not literally-more free play, audio books, pbskids...) -If all the other kids are finished with their school work, we go swim in the pool until supper. His day is pretty structured b/c we have 3 other kiddos in higher grades. We have been very laid back (if he doesn't want to school or gets fed up 1/2 way through the day-we stop) and he would totally fulfill all the requirements to go to 1st grade at this point.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/teach-me-to-do-it-myself-maja-pitamic/1006272740?ean=9780764127892 This book is perfect to set up a Montessori environment for preschool.

Hows it looking lately? About the same. They seem to be getting rid of lag times in one area at a time. They are working quickly on fixing things once you report a problem. I seem to have the best luck with it in Firefox. It works awful on AOL's browser though. Have they made any progress on printing it? Still says coming soon. Has any of you secular homeschooling ladies purchased it? I wouldn't consider myself secular, but I haven't really seen anything religious either. I don't think I have seen the catechism or Bible verses that are customary in their planners. Someone can correct me if I have just overlooked it.

This is a neat little pdf http://www.mhschool.com/math/2002/teacher/teachres/stateres/itbs/pdf/grade6/000BB21371_01_13.pdf We actually had our ITBS proctored last year by a teacher and she read the directions and it said to skip problems you don't know, but now reading over this pamphlet...I think it couldn't have hurt dd to put down a guess.

I received a lot of helpful replies from this thread, but I did come to realize that asking about a virtual school is not like asking about curricula. Every virtual school is different. Some states have really good K12 programs and some have really good Connections programs. You can't ask a person going to ps in Georgia what it will be like for your child going to school in Louisiana. The experience won't be the same. Some times the curricula isn't the same. The same way each state has their own home schooling laws...each state has their own virtual school set up and requirements. I found that the best way to figure out between the 2 charters in my state was going to be the same way we picked private day school. I was going to have to go to the information meetings for both as well as talk to people in my area already using the program. I was lucky and able to look at books for both schools and check out their online learning systems as well. It really helped me to make my decision. This is what I suggest to anyone looking at virtual schools. Sign up for online information sessions, attend an in-person event or information session, sign up for their talk to a parent using the program (this is the most helpful), join your local facebook group for the virtual school, and really look at it the way you would if you were going to send your child back to brick and mortar school. It isn't so much about the curricula used as it is the actual school philosophy, environment, and administration.

Leave it blank. That is what the instructions tell the proctor to advise the child. My dd took the ITBS last year at the end of 4th grade. We had a family emergency that caused us to essentially not school past February. She had not covered a chunk of 4th grade math and was still having trouble with long division and remainders. She skipped 5 math problems or so and still scored alright. The test instructions though actually prompt the proctor to tell the child to skip what they do not know.

Heart of Dakota has a really good Emerging Readers Set that really helps transition readers. You can get the schedule from the Beyond guide or Bigger guide. I really wish that they sold the schedule separately as a PDF or something. You can also go to their site and order the Emerging Reader Set and just go in the exact order they have them listed online or in their catalog. You don't get the schedule and questions that way, but we just read a chapter a day and it is some pretty good books. http://www.heartofdakota.com/emerging-reader.php I would also second the read alouds from longer chapter books and maybe even audio books.

Do you have the Phineas labels available on your blog somewhere?? I am thinking about using workboxes for my upcoming 4th grade son who loves Phineas and Ferb.

I had been using it within my AOL browser and it had lots of issues. In Firefox, those issues all but disappeared. So it matters a lot what browser you have with how many issues and how it functions. The bad part about that for me is when the multi-user log-in feature is enabled. My kids only use the AOL browser b/c I have it totally set up for them and with controls and blocks.

Well, I broke down and spent the $40. I think the home features are much more up to speed than the actual home school features. They aren't ready for beta. I have beta tested before with Microsoft and others and most of the time it is a fully functioning version for free that they need to find bugs and errors in code that makes it not function as intended. So far, it has taken me 2 attempts to set up my account in order to be able to log in. I have attempted to add subjects and curriculum. It is not intuitive and there is a big lag time between what you are doing and what you are seeing on the screen. I was adding subjects but could not see them on the screen or when I attempted the scroll bar within the subjects box. It turns out that I needed to click on the title subjects which did not have an arrow or symbol beside it for it to expand and then an arrow appeared. I only realized that the subjects were there after attempting to put in curriculum and again they do not just show up...you have to realize that you need to click on the curriculum bar to expand for anything that you didn't originally put in when set up occured. Although if log out and wait about 10-15 minutes and log back in...it will all appear. Also after they all appeared I no longer had the bar that I could expand??? Apparently, it has different issues in different browsers. I received an email reply from a query about the login issue and was directed to try it in IE, Firefox, and Google Chrome. I am not sure why my browser would change whether I could log in properly. For where they are at in the process, the beta should be free. But personally I think it should still be in the in-house testing stage. There is too many categories unfinished and some of the menu setup is not intuitive. It is very easy to think you have not created a subject (ie-reading) and then you have 3 subjects by the time it catches up to you from lag time. The same goes for deleting or editing the 3 readings into other subjects. The lag time is huge from what you are seeing and what you have entered. I can go to the add curriculum and it has changed in that menu but on the subjects page it still looks like 3 reading subjects. I would save my money for now. I think it might be to "true" beta stage by August. I would pay the $40 at the very last minute if I were really wanting to use it. From the setup right now, I do not think it will get to the point with batch scheduling and course re-use similar to homeschool tracker plus for a while or even if they intend to have those options. The cost is too high per year if they aren't going to offer those options. It is very much the well-planned day on the pc with lots of work to go. I am glad that I ordered a paper copy of the well-planned day also when I ordered the Beta.

We did day school for 3 yr old pre-k. DS has a Dec. b-day and was actually almost 4 when we enrolled. It was a really good experience for him. The day school was nice and child-led. They used The Letter People. He learned to listen and how to act in a group which I have to say is sadly lacking in homeschool groups in our area. I was very glad that we did it and it was academically advanced so he was able to come home and do kindergarten this year with no problem. It was actually called day school and wasn't day care. It was a private preschool at a Methodist Church. My older 3 did day school as well and then went to public school. We pulled to homeschool when ds9 finished kindergarten. I never hesitated to enroll my youngest in day school b/c we had really good experiences. It was also kind of neat that his day school director turned out to be my oldest's previous k4 teacher. I found it benefited us b/c I was able to focus on the olders for a good chunk of time. DS learned he was not in charge and that the world was bigger than him and our family. He is a very willful child. He had something that was all his own. As the youngest of 4, that was very important. The cons were there as well. #1 con-carpool!!! Carpool was horrid. We also had to schedule our home school around programs and holidays. It wasn't too bad, but those are the biggest cons. I will say that the homeschool co-ops and groups with younger siblings in this age range have not been successful for us. I actually was not putting youngest ds in day school until we started co-op and I taught the preschool class and saw for myself just how different it would be from my older children's experiences. I actually put ds5 into day school in October after 4 weeks of co-op once a week. Homeschool groups and co-ops are not the same as a day school environment. Our co-op only allowed preschoolers with older siblings and most of the time the parents were really only interested in the older child getting something from the co-op. I put my best effort into teaching and copied a lot of the day school environment for that one day a week, but it wasn't the same. I would really go and watch a day with a co-op or homeschool group and make sure it meets your needs.