Pros: Freedom and flexibility in what and how we study (reaching their learning style, their level, covering the things we value, creating an atmosphere of learning, etc) Schedule flexibility, especially in early years Close relationships with and between my children Dad can be an active part of school Cons: This is a hard job, with no pay, and little appreciation (sometimes outright hostility) Flexibility can turn into contortions that nearly break you (I had to learn to stand firm on some things) Costs Finding a peer group is difficult (smaller cross section of people, and with varying educational standards/expectations, and some people very exclusive especially on basis of faith) Dealing with the outside world that doesn't know homeschooling or has stereotypes/prejudices

Yes, and it is at times like this that there seems to be a need for distinction between receiving an education at home (with outside cover/charter/virtual/state-overseen help) and “homeschooling” (independently taking responsibility for your child’s education). I neither want there to be an expectation of an “official” transcript nor have uninvited intrusion from the state into what we are doing at home. I too have used state sponsored cover schools, and have no ill will or think they are any less, but think there should be a distinction. What distinction I’m not entirely sure.

Do they actually know how to compose an essay? You said “when they were Homeschoolers” so I’m assuming they are in public or private school. Could it be they weren’t given enough strategies for essays while at school? Or is it that they are trying to hold and organize everything in their head? That works for some. But others need to get bits out on paper first, even small notes, to organize visually. Or are they uncertain how to answer the essay prompt? Maybe need some guidance on generating ideas? I think simply stating at the computer is not working, but maybe they are attempting to work and just can’t juggle it all in their heads or need direction. At any rate, I’d get to the bottom of what is going on while they stare at the computer (what are they thinking about, trying, struggling with, etc) and go from there.

@Lori D. and @Tanaqui @Florimell Thank you each for the comments, and your efforts to help me find something I’m having a hard time putting a finger on myself. I’m an Earthsea fan myself though (I was actually listening to my copy of Tehanu as I washed dishes today!) but I have not read her Sci-Fi yet, so something to look forward to. I love CS Lewis, but Out if the Silent Planet somehow I disliked but maybe I should revisit it? I will look at the others mentioned, thank you. I had no intention of diminishing film as one of the humanities - nor well done TV. Those things can definitely be done with film, and you are right that many people consume books whole before thinking about them, and it is possible to revisit either media. I just know my boy, and know what he needs and some things he really doesn’t need, for the time being. And learning to stop and reflect is a big thing (not just for literature studies). Maybe I Robot really is good in this regard too because the vignettes are easy stopping points of discussion. Anyway, some things to think on. Again, thank you!

Learning style

Thanks for that insight. Rape, though a terrible reality, is not an issue I’m hoping to start with. I don’t dislike alternative history (or dystopian for that matter). I’m trying to avoid alternative history here for a similar reason I’m going for external discussion points - they’re much more hypothetical, sterile, or ex situ if you will, where he can begin to examine issues on their merits, objectively, without having to look inward or to things that have personally affected him/his reality. I know, it’s very limited and controlled. We will continue to move outward to the harder/bigger issues (and inward, to the personal, moral issues), but this is where I want to start. I sound like a control freak - that may be partly true, but it’s also about knowing my kid and my near and far goals.

Thank you for the many suggestions. I realize I’ve drawn some narrow margins. It’s hard to convey with complete clarity the parameters I am hoping for, so I erred on the side of caution (eg the personal violence in Enders Game is a part of the story but the majority of fighting is simulated group combat/war games, and that’s fine; but in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep the idea of personal violence is closely examined - and frequently committed or recalled - and that isn’t an area I want to focus on with this kid right now). And yes, most Sci-Fi does tackle hard things - it’s actually the biggest reason I like Sci-fi - I’m just trying to craft my part of introducing him to the big thoughts and how to go about discussing and contemplating them. I suppose I’ve drawn the lines tight because I’m hoping to go about this intentionally - not because I don’t want him to be “exposed” to things but because I want our discussion to begin gently, not with personal/internal things but with external things. Also, he’s gobbled up some things that had great beginning discussion points already that we missed out on while it was fresh (there are even more from your list he’s also already read). So your suggestion of I, Robot, for example, would be a good one to start talking about what is ethical use of AI, what is sentience, what delineates human and artificial intelligence, how to exercise caution with the use of science and technology - all general, external. And yes we can throw in some TNG episodes focusing on Data or watch Wall-E along the same talking points, and maybe that’s a good plan. But I’m hoping to start in a book, because a book is something you consume on portions, you pause to chew or set it down to digest for a while, whereas movies and TV you tend to only reflect upon completion. I know, I overthink things. I really do appreciate the input.

Thanks for the heads of.

Thanks, I had seen this a couple times in my searching but am totally unfamiliar with it. I will look closer. I will also look into Anne McCaffrey (I don't believe he has read any of her books).

I am looking for sci fi lit options for DS (8th grader). He's both mature in some ways (connects ideas between books, reads at a high level) and immature in others (goofy, likes things to be exciting). He has read some sci fi in the past (Wrinkle in Time series, Robot Wars series, Enders Game series, Jekyll and Hyde, several Jules Verne, The Time Machine, War of the Worlds) but when he read them he was reading for entertainment. I am looking to move gently into philosophical discussion with him using sci fi as a base, and new literature (I realize that several of those I listed are great fodder for discussion, but I am looking for new books to spark the discussion and he will then make the connections back to the books he read when he was younger). And I am hoping to stay away from plain dystopian, alternate history sci fi, fantasy, and from more mature content (we are not looking to explore sex and sexuality in this discussion; extreme personal violence is out, general war and fighting is probably fine; no focus on theology/religion exploration). I am hoping to explore other philosophical ideas (eg general metaphysics with virtual reality, or general epistemology with artificial intelligence. or ethics with alien life, etc). So the other thing I am really hoping for with all of this is literary quality, books that stick with you that you reread to get more out of. I am only looking for a couple of books to study one quarter this year. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Alcumus practice helps - DS works for an hour a day, doing some book work and the remainder in Alcumus.

Art of Problem Solving has only text (no video, but there are figures put up by teacher), and the comments are moderated before they make it on the group screen. Very LOW distraction level. Lukeion has no chat - you enter your responses and the teacher sees them and may even comment/share with class but there’s no conversation with other students. OnlineG3 is very strict about off-topic chat, and will call you out in front of the class if you are entering things which aren’t helpful/onpoint

It needs to be online to work. It sometimes asks if you want to share level ups on FB but you can always decline. Their privacy policy says it collects anonymous data - like just about any social media - but it isn’t as if anyone can see what you are doing by going to the website (or a search engine). If you post in the forums they can see your comments, just like here, but not tasks. Even though I’m in a party with family members I can’t see their tasks. I will say the app can be a little glitchy, but it’s fine for my uses.

I use Habitica ?

Not a curriculum but the thing that added the most value and got done was Morning Basket.

We actually did have to have a little talk with all the kids when my oldest started to do something similar. I overheard her once, and just pulled them together to explain right then and there. But all it took was saying that we have freedom as Homeschoolers to work where you are, and people are really meaning to ask what age group you are in. End of story. Mind if you have a gifted child you will likely have to have other talks, not about grade level but about how we are all different and some of us have more extreme differences, asynchronous development, how to relate to peers that aren’t age mates, etc. This is true of gifted kids in just about any situation - you will have to be more deliberate about helping them deal with differences so those difference don’t lead to isolation, anger, apathy, arrogance, or other states of poor emotional and mental being. And that is something they would have to deal with even without grade levels, because most people tend to include in their play a narrow band of age peers (eg most 10 year olds don’t play with 2 year olds and most 11 year olds are unwelcome to hang out with 18 year olds for social/development reasons).

For me, I can’t fully reject the idea of grades because 1) we live in a world that uses it interchangeably with age and my kids participate in that world (sports, drama class, summer camps, etc) and my kids needed a term to relate with public school peers on, 2) we are still compared to grade norms (educational evaluation, end of year testing), 3) it can serve as a guide at times when you are unsure of what to do next in homeschooling and need a starting reference (eg finding curriculum), 4) I have to do high school transcripts and many college want them done by year/grade level. If abandoned, do you suggest a replacement? i don’t see how it causes confusion to children working subjects at individual levels unless you are emphasizing the grade level of the materials. I never told my kids “your math is 8th grade level, your writing is 4th grade level, your science is 6th grade level, and your history is 5th grade level. Oh and you’re a fifth grader.” I just said “here’s what we are using for 5th grade.”

We used MCT grammar, practice books, and poetry, and read through the writing books (did not complete assignments). We did literature reading in addition to what’s in W&R. Lively Latin reinforced grammar and vocabulary. And we included critical thinking/Logic in our Language Arts rotation as well (that was our LA on Friday every week), penmanship/copywork, and poetry memorization.

We’ve done 4 classes online with them, and all “homework” is online (alcumus topics plus challenge problems, including full written solution for one). The book was used inbthag you were supposed to come to the class discussion having read the section for the week. My kids did some problems from the book, more so when it was the digital book for some reason. I think the book was valuable for us even if we didn’t do all the problems in it.

Grow a love of learning Read fluently at an early 2nd grade or high level Form letters correctly and write simple sentences (capital, punctuation). Segment words for spelling and attempt to spell by sound Know addition fact families/part whole relationships thru 12+12 Understand multiplication in various contexts (repeated addition, arrays, sets of, scale, etc) Understand base 10 relationships, and numbers to 1,000 Understand the passage of time and recording of historical events as a way to organize the past Basic map use (coordinate grids, compas, legend/key/symbols, etc) Expand understanding of different peoples all around the world and one’s own place in it Develop habit of asking “I wonder if...” and testing own ideas Routine (habit) of daily rhythm (wake, dress, eat, chores, school, etc) How to tie shoes How to make a peanut butter sandwich

MCT

MCT Grammar (we’ve used 4 different levels, love them all, and his poetics too) Singapore PM (each child used it at least one year, one for 4 years, always solid and reliable) AoPS/BA (the kids still read the guide books for fun, and oldest has soared in math because of AoPS) RightStart Math B (A was good also, B was dynamite, again each child has used RS outright or I’ve incorporated RS into their other math) SOTW 1 (we had less interest/success with each subsequent year but 1 was fantastic) I love LToW, my kids not as much, but it has been the best writing program we have used as far as what it teaches and what they have learned. 100EZ - simple, got them up and reading and confident with no fuss or busyness GSWL - almost forgot this one but it was perfect intro to Latin and a springboard to further studies

Usborn also has Where’s Will (like where’s Waldo). There’s a spread summarizing one play (with illustrations and text) and the next spread is a busy scene from the context of the play and you e got to find Shakespeare hiding in plain sight there. There are also some other things to find (characters, etc). Have you seen the BBC animated Tales from Shakespeare?

I highly recommend the book Some of My Best Friends are Books (as a resource for you), and using the ARBookfind website (which allows you to set reading level and interest level independent of each other, as well as topics of interest). I have had a similar situation with my kids. I can’t remember everything they read at 9-10, though there was a lot of non-fiction. There was also a lot of fantasy/sci-fi/mythology/legend/fairytale (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Golden Fleece, Pyle’s Robin Hood, White’s Sword in the Stone, Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). This was also when the love of Sherlock Holmes seemed to start. Black Beauty. Treasure Island. Though it isn’t a really high lexile level all my kids liked The Number Devil at that age because of the fun ideas in math. Classics tend to be a “safe” place as far as content goes (no impropriety, angst), as well as a source for advanced reading level because of the language (and that they didn’t dumb things down trying to reach kids).

You might like Build Your Library Level 1 for history, science, art, and literature. And with LOE Essentials you can teach to multiple levels, covering reading, writing, spelling, and phonics (and basic grammar). Math I really think you’ll have to split up? http://buildyourlibrary.com/purchase-level-1-curriculum/ https://www.logicofenglish.com/products