I really like Bible Study Guide for All Ages. It just uses the Bible and goes through each story without adding in the doctrine of any particular denomination.

For the purpose of my post, I will soften the phrase to a parent's educational indifference instead of neglect. I don't know if there is really a solution to this problem. Often the solution offered for an indifferent homeschooling parent is to put that child in a public school. But students who excel in public schools are usually the ones whose parents are devoted to their success. Those whose parents are indifferent usually underperform in public schools. Here is my anecdotal perspective. For the most part, my homeschooling friends have been very conscientious concerning their children's educations. But one lady I know removed her child from public school to homeschool him because he was not progressing as he should. But after she brought him home, she did not really do much with him, so he didn't progress at home either. Additionally, the public schools did not do an adequate job teaching her older son the basics of reading or arithmetic, and he is struggling as an adult. So I don't see what the solution is for the younger child. Sending him to the local public schools doesn't seem to be the solution, and homeschooling doesn't seem to be the solution. I don't have the answer. Academically, I feel like usually the common denominator in a child's success is the parents' devotion to their success. Whether that is public school or the many varied ways of homeschooling. Even if the parent is not brilliant, the child can achieve success because the parent makes sure that the child does his public school trigonometry homework or completes her homeschool chemistry DVD lesson. Is there any solution for a child whose parent is indifferent?

I am not saying at all that it is a bad idea to reduce plastic waste. But thinking about it, it would be extremely difficult to give up plastics entirely. Just today I have used: my toothbrush, shampoo bottle, razor, (even toilet paper comes bundled in plastic), my toaster, refrigerator, my computer, and I am sure the list goes on and on like this for most of us.

I am really sorry. That sounds like a really difficult spot for him to be in. Praying that somehow everything can work out for the best.

Jacob, James, Jesse, Joel, Joshua, Judah

We chose the names together, but my husband was very picky about the names, especially for our sons. This is because kids at school often teased my husband as a child: "Why do you have a girl's name?"

My older children were about this far apart in age. It wasn't long before they were doing all subjects together, and it was great for me to be able to teach them this way. Comparisons between the two weren't really an issue because I didn't make it an issue, meaning I didn't do things like point out differences in their abilities to them. Then naturally, as they got older, they got more independent and separate. When the time comes, it will probably be apparent to you how much you can combine them in different subjects and how that is working for you. You can adjust then as needed.

I was also going to suggest checking into Teaching Textbooks grade 3.

Thank you everyone for the advice. It was very helpful, especially with so many responses saying the same thing. I will try to keep my comments to her completely positive and encouraging from now on and just enjoy her sweet little stories.

Do you correct a child's spelling mistakes when they are writing just for fun? My daughter (2nd grade, age 7) loves to write stories and is constantly writing for fun. She is a pretty good speller for her age. She often asks me, "How do you spell..." when she is writing. She loves for me to read the stories she has written. Occasionally, she makes spelling mistakes. Sometimes I correct her, and sometimes I do not. Is it good to always correct spelling mistakes, or will this take away from her fun when writing and sharing her stories with me? Thanks!

I haven't read the book, so I can't really comment on that part of the discussion. But as far as the quote above, I agree, and much of what you said has been the experience in our family. An early bachelor's degree and youth did not hinder employment opportunities in a professional field at the age of 18 for the two of my children who did this. So, I am sharing this to encourage anyone who is reading and has children who have chosen an accelerated path. I had my worries about this (how difficult finding and transitioning to employment would be), but I shouldn't have. The early start turned out to be a blessing instead of an impediment. However, early college graduation was their goal and not something that I required. At times, truth be told, I suppose that my preference would have been to slow them down and keep them young a while longer, but that would probably be as wrong as pushing them would have been. Thankfully, this has worked well for my children. But I don't push what my children have done on others. There are so many different ways to do this, and everyone has to figure this out for themselves.

Bible Study Guide for All Ages might work well for this.

I also vote to go back to MUS. If he now hates math, what he is using is killing his love for it, he finds it overwhelming, and it has become a fighting point, I feel you should go back to what he loved. Early elementary is not the time to worry about rigor, but it is a time to worry about killing the love for subjects, overwhelming your child, and fighting over subjects. There is plenty of time to consider rigor later. I have never used MUS, but I think this is what I would do in your situation. I hope you find a great solution for you and your son.