err, not exactly weekly, but I finally updated!

My son's sort of the opposite of yours in that he doesn't have much trouble with dictation, but struggles with narration. In most subjects, he works at a 3rd or 4th grade level, but I started him on level 2 with WWE, and it's been a good fit. The dictation and copywork are easy for him, but he definitely needs to be where he is in narration.

a magazine. I hardly ever buy them anymore, but when I do indulge myself I get all excited about sitting down with it.

Well, that's the whole thing, I think. In theory I'm comfortable leading, and in theory I'm comfortable with doing a lot of preparation...but my worry is that when it comes right down to it it won't get done and science will be the thing we don't get around to. It's kind of a strange irony in that science is the subject I feel most like I need to "go off script" with and do something more open-ended, discovery oriented, unstructured, and all that...and yet it's the subject I feel least confident doing that with. either. I don't feel strongly one way or the other about it, so I'm happy going with whatever curriculum I like best, regardless of which approach it uses. It's going pretty well. A lot of it is over the head of my 5 year old, but he likes it anyway because there are games :). So they're enjoying it, but I'm kind of feeling like it would have been better suited for AFTER we'd done something like the Neber...I feel like they need a better foundation in scientific thinking before they tackle very specific things like valence numbers. Anyway, though, for a kid who is very interested in learning the nitty gritty of atomic structure, it's terrific. It's all explained in a very clear, readable way. The games are great. Lot of different kinds of activities to keep things interesting. I'm open to any and all areas, if I like the approach well enough. We've covered biology, earth and space science, and then chemistry this year. As far as preparation....I'm actually pretty good at planning in advance for the next year--it's the day to day, what are we going to do tomorrow?! stuff that I get slack about. It's always 10 PM and I think I really need to figure this stuff out, but I'd rather just read a book and go to bed. So. I'm thinking with the Neber it's possible, as Jessica said, that I can read through it and figure out what I'm doing when and then there won't be as much prep work day to day? That I might be able to try. I'm doing history from scratch for next year, but I'm planning to spend the next couple of months laying out a weekly schedule so that it will be pretty open and go once we get started. If I can do the same thing with science, I don't mind planning. I love planning, in fact, as long as there's not more of it to do every single day. Now I'm kind of rambling. Ideal lesson...hmm...the kids like a lot of different stuff. Geminis. So crafts and experiments and worksheets and reading, all in short spurts. Mix it up. I'd like to get them outside, with a plan, more next year than I have this year. And I'd like enough time/flexibility to pull in other resources and field trips and all that. no, but it sounds cool! I'll check it out. Thanks everyone--this is helping a lot! Now I'll go preview and see how much success I've had with my complicated multi-quoting...

This year we're doing Chemistry with Ellen McHenry's The Elements along with various chemistry experiments and books about chemistry. We really like The Elements, but I'm thinking we maybe need to back up and do something a little more foundational--our science up until now has been a bit of a mish mash, and I'd like to settle down and get a little more intentional about it, if that makes any sense. I have no particular attachment to sticking to a 4 year cycle for science, though we have up until now. So. Next year! My older kids will be 8 and 6. I've been looking at Noeo, but I've never felt entirely sold on it (I almost bought it for this past year). Now I'm looking at Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (Nebel) and Singapore's MPH. BFSU says it's for K-2, and my oldest would be a third grader next year, so I worry about trying to start that next year. Also, I worry A LOT about having something so unstructured. But the idea of it very much appeals to me. I like that MPH is all laid out for me, and I like what I've seen of the samples, and I like that I can stick with it for the foreseeable future if it works out. I've always kind of shied away from it in the past because of the workbook part of it, but, well, truth is my kids LIKE workbooks. Maybe I should stop fighting it. Thoughts? Experience with these programs? Things I'm not thinking of? TIA!

Mine are much younger, but we're doing the first half of American history this year and will do the second half next year. Before this we did the first two volumes of SOTW, so very tentatively my plan is to pick back up with that year after next with volume 3 (even though it will mean repeating a lot of the US history). Then we'll start over again with ancients with a 9 and 7 year old, and my then almost 5 year old will be able to join in for some of it. But I tend to change my mind a lot....

DH, the math teacher, says that there is not so much a standard definition with such things. "It depends," he says, "on whether you consider trapezoids to be a subset of parallelograms." It turns out he has actually had this conversation with his mathematician father before. DH prefers the second definition; his father made an argument for the first one. So, in short, you have to agree on a definition before you can answer the question. I'm kind of sorry I asked now. DH got really excited and talked about it for a long time.

MOST people who fail the first test pass the second. I can't remember the number--something like 80% maybe? I failed both tests with my first pregnancy, but then failed the one hour and passed the 3 hour with #2 and 3.

Breadbeckers has a recipe for drop biscuits that calls for oil. 2 cups flour, 1tbs baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 oil, 1 cup milk. They taste good and are very quick to make, but they're definitely on the flat side. They're not very pretty. And I think you can usually substitute butter for shortening...it just gets expensive to use it all the time in baking.

oh dear. I shouldn't have clicked on that link. Now I'M thinking of getting some Keens with my Christmas money. I bought Keens for all my boys on ebay last summer. They were all used and looked brand new, so they certainly seem to hold up well. I think they're super cute.

A five year old turning down ice cream?! Maybe he could bring along a (boy) friend and not actually come "to the party" but just be there to hang out with his friend and eat some ice cream? Or tell him you need him to be the "party assistant" and help you run things? Basically, make it so that he's not a party attendant, he's a big brother who's little sister is having a princess party.

King of the Road by Roger Miller. As in: I sing, Trailers for sale or rent Rooms to let, fifty cents No phone, no pool, no pets I ain't got no cigarettes Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room I'm a man of means by no means King of the road. It kept playing everywhere we went when we first started dating, so finally we were like, "hey--it's our song!" We had an alt-country band play at our wedding, so they were glad to play it for us.

Well, Civil War and after, that is. I'm trying to put together history for next year (my boys will be 8 and 6 then), and I have some ideas for fiction read alouds, but I'd love some personal recommendations. I've looked through book lists from Sonlight and Winterpromise so far and pulled some ideas from there. I don't necessarily need actual historical fiction--could also be books written in the time period or that take place in a certain time period and give a good feel for what life was like then. TIA!

That we're....quirky? Or, based just on DS #1, that we're Jewish. We're not, but my father in law is, so he also has a very Jewish last name. I ran the name by a (Jewish) friend in grad school to see what he thought, and he said, "I'd just be worried people might keep asking him to say Kaddish." Overall, our names inspire people to suggest to us the wacky names that they like but aren't quite brave enough to use themselves. When I was pregnant with Gus, a friend, whose kids all have names in the top 20, said, "I think you should name him Thor. If I ever had another boy, I'd name him Thor." Yeah, sure you would.

My seven year old does: Writing With Ease Growing With Grammar The Fun Spanish Singapore math Spelling practice from teacherfilebox critical thinking some days and then together with his younger brother we do: Winterpromise AS 1 Science Bible Spanish We spend 2 1/2 to 3 hours on an average day on all of this. And then he reads quietly for at least 30 minutes a day and we do fiction (not for history) read alouds for another 30-40 minutes.

I loved The House Without a Christmas Tree when I was a kid. I'm reading it to my kids for the first time this year.

I found some by doing a google image search for something like "blank US map" ....I wound up printing one off teacherfilebox, since I have a subscription, but I know there were some free ones I came across that would have worked--although I didn't save the links...

Well, I was referencing your posts. I felt like quoting them was the clearest way to make my point. I was also specifically addressing your suggestion that people interested in finding out more could search for the legislation themselves. I did search, and I couldn't find anything.

Given that Illinois already has some of the most relaxed homeschooling laws in the country, what "pro-homeschooling" actions would you like to have seen him take as a state senator? Do you feel like there is a need for legislation regarding homeschooling at the state level in Illinois?

I didn't mean to suggest that HSDLA was my go-to on the search. I mention them because I specifically remember searching their archives, after first doing a general google search looking for any controversial homeschooling legislation in Illinois. Again, I'm not questioning your memory here. I'm just saying that I've seen several people cite your posts as their sole evidence that Obama is against homeschooling, without any documentation and without having looked at the legislation you're referencing themselves. I'm not questioning whether YOU should be making decisions based on your memory of these events; I'm just suggesting that it might not be the best way for OTHER people to make decisions. As far as I've seen (and this has been discussed over and over again, here and elsewhere) the only concrete evidence one way or the other for Obama's position on homeschooling is his own statement in support of it in his book.

yes, it sounds like it would be a very good fit. My seven year old is doing level 2, and it's going very well so far. He actually doesn't have much problem with creative writing, but has a very hard time coming up with anything when given an actual assignment. Doing narrations with him have been like pulling teeth, but he's gotten much more confident about it just a few weeks into WWE. yes, I think you'd be fine without the text. The workbook is very much open and go. The narration days (days 1 and 4 each week) take us maybe 15-20 minutes. The dictation and copywork days are under 10. Parent pages are in the front; student pages (perforated) are in the back.

With all due respect, Rebecca, you've mentioned this "proposed legislation" several times on these boards, and your posts are the only mention I've ever seen of it. I did spend a good bit of time searching for confirmation of it awhile back, including searching HSDLA's archives, and couldn't find anything. I don't mean to doubt your memory on this, but I also would hate to see people repeat as fact one person's undocumented recollection about legislation as proof that Obama is or was anti-homeschooling, especially without even looking at the legislation in question. I know in my state I've seen homeschoolers start letter writing campaigns against legislation that I have no objection to myself.

I've always been a purist about voting on election day....but this year, with 3 small boys and, I'm guessing, LONG lines, I just can't face it. If I just had one kid, I'd make him suck it up for the sake of the lesson in democracy, but as it is I'm far too outnumbered :D

They kinda bother me. I am very hesitant to criticize other people's name choices, though (at least in public :D) since my kids have pretty funky names themselves. But, for me, I like standard spellings and names that are unusual but still have a solid history as names.

Well, okay then. I suspect this might be one of those areas in which a search for common ground would be an exercise in frustration ;).