Ummm, he might just be repeating what he heard his parents saying? Or some version of it.

This is our first year, but I'm planning on continuing school throught the summer. For the reasons everyone else has mentioned. More field trips though. My main goal is to finish Singapore 3B. Jen

Math Talk-Mathematical Ideas in Poems for Two Voices, by Theoni Pappas The Joy of Mathematics, by Theoni Pappas Tha Man Who Counted, by Malba Tahan The Number Devil, by Hans Magnus Enzensberger Just some ideas. Jen

Have you had them allergy tested? I had my ds allergy tested so I know exactly waht he's allergic too. Then I dealt with decreasing his exposure to those so we'd be less likely to reach his allergy 'threshold'. One of his allergies is dust mites, so we replaced the carpeting in his bedroom w/wood flooring, covered all mattresses and pillows with allergy covers, wash all bedding in hot water weekly, and try to have minimal dust-gathering things in his room (that's a tough one LOL). Just doing that has helped so much that he rarely needs any allergy med anymore. He also takes a shower after he's been outside if it's high pollen season. Our allergist gave us many suggestions like these--cleansing was never on his list of things to try. I don't know what cleansing involves, but personally I wouldn't try out any alternative treatments on my kids. Jen

Maybe Bill Nye has a DNA video? Our library carries a lot of his DVD's. Jen

Just some ideas- The Edge Chronicles The Misadventures of Bartholomew Piff (by Jason Lethcoe) The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman series) And my childhood favorites- A Little Princess and The Secret Garden

Sunscreen!! Apply generously every few hours. My kids missed a few spots applying sunscreen on our last beach trip, and they had some painful sunburn spots. Have fun! Try to catch the sunset. Jen

Thanks for all the great ideas everyone! I've been planning one week at a time, usually Sunday. Otherwise, like someone else said, I would be searching for some page or paper and my kids would be off with their legos. I enjoy my planning time-I actually get to go into my office and close the door while dh watches over the kids. Jen

I've done the 'regular adult' language, but more soothing or more animated, with all my 3 kids. I talked to them A LOT. I think that's important. Sometimes if they weren't with me I'd forget and start talking. Jen

I love the Living Math website!! I've gotten a lot of good math reader ideas and we can find some of them at the library. We do a lot of 'hands-on' math to break up the workbook stuff. Measuring with rulers, yardsticks, a small scale, and also cooking. I also have a clock with hands (not digital). Several calendars hanging on the walls. Jen

I think the Singaporemath website suggests starting 1/2 year earlier than the 'grade' in ps. My kids were in 3rd grade math at ps, and we ended up going through 2A and 2B in about a month because there were a few concepts (like 2-step word problems) that they hadn't covered in ps. Then we were ready for 3A and 3B. Jen

nt

Well, ds1 wanted to learn Latin. We did one lesson from Prima Latina-it wasn't horrible for us but we had no enthusiasm. Then I found Lively Latin and both sons and I love it. They're motivated because they like it. They had started Wordly Wise 4, said they liked it but it was too hard, so I ordered WW3. That was too easy. They did a few lessons and now say they don't like WW. They say it's too work-booky. I'm thinking if they don't like it, they aren't going to learn as much. And they've already been learning new words from derivatives that come up in Lively Latin. (On top of that, I bought Vocab. from Classical Roots which I don't want to try now because it feels like overkill) Jen

We've hs'd less than 6 months, and the curriculum choices are overwhelming! I try to buy carefully, trying samples first if I can, but we've already given up on several items that just didn't work for us. I'm wondering how everyone decides to stop a curriculum? Jen

Even though our IQ's more than qualify us, I still just see us as 'average'. I think I already gravitate to intelligent, sensitive friends. So I don't feel the need to join a group like Mensa-I guess we're just not joiners. Jen

I don't think I'm up for any pricey purchases right now-unless I absolutely knew it would help. Jennifer, thank you so much for the perspective. I did read some parts of TWTM awhile ago, before I started homeschooling. I think I'll find it at the library again. Copywork, etc. has always been something I've never considered as useful. But I'm always willing to try something new when our current 'way' isn't working. Thanks again. Jen

We used to have a house in Cobbly Nob (just north of Gatlinburg). It's a nice, peaceful neighborhood, safe, golf course, 2 pools, mountain views, cabins aren't on top of each other, and away from the 'craziness'. Several companies rent cabins there, just google it (Greenbrier is a good one). Some of the rental companies' houses aren't great, but I've been in many of the Cobbly Nob homes and they're all nice and unique. The Arts and Crafts loop is really nice too. Hope you find a place and have a great time! Jen

We have similar issues...one ds needs minimal instruction in math, the other needs more help and gets easily frustrated when he doesn't 'get it' as quickly as his brother. Some days I have worked w/each dc separately on the day's lesson. Then we do Primary Math Challenging Word Problems...I work a problem with ds1 while ds2 works the problem alone. Some of them are quite......challenging! Sometimes ds2 gets the problem correct, sometimes not. He enjoys explaining to us how he solved the problem. So basically my strategy is to give ds2 more challenging work (as opposed to more busywork). I really need to stick with the same curriculum for my own sanity! Good luck, I feel for you. Jen

I always sit with my twin ds 8 during math. I can see when they're making mistakes right away. I can also see when they really already understand the topic and don't need to continue the worksheet. Some days we just need to do something different for math-Primary Math Challenging Word Problems can be fun. Or books like the Sir Cumference series, or How Did Numbers Begin? (by Mindel and Harry Sitomer) followed by a casual discussion. I occupy ds3 with his own dry erase board set, which he only gets at math time.

We're doing Lively Latin, and more informally conversational French. I'm learning Latin along with the kids, but I already know French. We haven't had any problems, but we're taking a different approach for each language.

I found "Creative Homeschooling-A Resource Guide for Smart Families" by Lisa Rivera helpful.

I try to have my 8 yr olds in their bedroom by 9pm, and if they aren't tired they can read. I used to say 'lights out' at 9:30 but lately it's been more like 10pm.

I am at a loss how to guide my ds, 8, with writing. Does anyone have any suggestions for strategies to try, etc? We've tried journal writing (like pulling teeth to get him to write one page), Writing Strands (no one in our house really liked this), reading Ralph Fletcher books (enjoyed his books but the enthusiasm didn't carry over to writing), and writing reports on his favorite topics (did lots of reading but ended up w/less than half a page typed). Also, he constantly makes capitalization errors and I'm not sure why. He is highly gifted and excels in math, art, building things, coming up with creative solutions. Maybe I am expecting too much of him in this area? He was in ps for 2 1/2 years and his writing skills improved the first 2 years, and went downhill the last 1/2 year at school. I'd love to hear anyone's suggestions!!! Jen

I'm Jen- we've been homeschooling less than 6 months. I have 3 gifted boys and I'm still trying to figure everything out!