:iagree: I explain the minuend for the same reason that I explain the direct object. I don't think either are obscure terms or concepts, and none of my children have been intimidated by math or grammar language. In fact, correct terminology helps in teaching and discussing lessons. TBH, I'm a little surprised to hear so many say that correct mathematical terms are just so much esoteric language.

Oh, my goodness. I stopped receiving those invitations several years ago but I never noticed or thanked the Lord or anything! The key is probably to dress more shabby. Look poor. If you aren't quite poor, fake it, because the target demographic is solid middle-class.

Well, I have four students (all my children), but I'm in charge of their after-school hours activities and their character development as well as their academic life. That's the big difference between homeschooling and other settings. We do have teachers and tutors here, and I hope one of them will see your question and offer some good advice. :)

Oh. I didn't realize you were a schoolteacher seeking advice on how to motivate a student in your school. I'm afraid I don't have any experience with that.

If he couldn't do 30, how will he do 300?

Why not? He's totally addicted. His current life is being derailed and his future is being sabotaged. Why would you not pull the plug? He should have never had the opportunity to find out what it is like to play video games for 8 hours in one day. I'm a firm believer in doing anything to save a boy. I'd take a sledgehammer to the A/V equipment and take him on fishing weekend, for starters. Then set up camp in the backyard. He lives there, he works there, he studies there, he socializes there. Chop wood. Haul water. Go fishing again. Hike for several miles every single day, in all kinds of weather. Cook over an open fire. Be cold, hot, wet, dry, comfortable, and uncomfortable. Hard work, independence, and close personal association with the elements of wind, water, fire, and weather can change a boy's life. If you don't like the camp idea, find another physical outlet that will wear his body out. He needs to feel physically alive, and the ability to study will follow.

None of my boys have had any struggles memorizing math facts, and I've never made them repeat the whole problem. Answers only, as fast as possible.

:grouphug: :iagree: I'm sorry it has been so hard. I hope the potentialities with the charter school turn out to be all you hope for. Charter schools are booming where I live, and the competition is proving to be a very good thing. Suddenly the school situation doesn't seem quite so bleak for everyone.

Thank you so much for this! :grouphug: I might print it out, to live on all week. I have reasonable explanations for both cases. The first woman had just never known one single family that homeschooled through high school. She was trying to convince me to send #1 son to the gifted/talented boarding school her daughter attended. And the second woman had heard me say (last summer) that I would have considered a local Catholic school if it weren't for the high tuition, so she went and found me some cheaper private schools. Still, not what I want to hear right this very minute.

No? Well, it was worth trying! Tune in again next week for another episode of, "What We Tell Ourselves." :lol: What are your options to change things, for either your olders or your youngers or yourself? (My self-esteem is hanging by a thread. This weekend, two friends who don't even know each other each made special effort to tell me about private school options in our city. Does nobody believe I can hs for the duration? OK, I'm not totally convinced, either, but is it that obvious?)

That is awesome!!! My son would have loved to hear that conversation! Gilgamesh Gravy: Has your son seen the Star Trek (Next Generation) episode titled, "Darmok?" If he hasn't, it is available on google videos right now. Episode summary -----> here.

:lurk5:

I do see it as temporary, but I may be working with a different definition of 'season.' Justamouse has more children than I have, and she considers homeschooling to be a season of her life. My homeschooling season is a quarter of a century. Right now I have 12 years behind me and 12 years to go after this one. I still think it is a season. Here are my life seasons: 1. Child (1-12) 2. Teen (13-17) 3. Young Adult, working and studying (16-19) 4. Wife (20) 5. Mother of babies and toddlers (21-32) 6. Homeschooling mother (24 to 49) 7. Something productive, I hope? Most of my friends in their 50's and 60's are doing fulfilling and productive things with their lives. I have two or three ideas on how I will spend this time. (50-70) 8. Senior Citizen, Grandma, who knows? Maybe I'll write a book or take up painting. (70 to death) So I might get 8 seasons, even with spending 25 years as a homeschooling Mom. Not bad for a life.

Martha, thank you so much for posting that. I've been trying to word my response all day and you pretty much said it. I have two full-time jobs: Teaching and running this house. It is too hard, I don't do any of it as well as I like, I confess I sometimes cry in closets...but mostly I really do love my life. ( I don't have the money for online or otherwise outsourced classes, so this is my life whether I love it or not!) My teens need me more than ever and I'm going to be there for them. One is too social and extroverted to go off and work all by himself at a computer all day. He needs discussion, debate, joking, and face time. He and I have always been very close, and he thinks I am the best teacher for him even now because I work with his quirks. He'll be out of the house in a few years and I will miss him so much!!! He fills our home with laughter and music, literally. If he wants to share his homeschooling with me I will make myself available. He is smarter than I, so for his curriculum I chose materials written for the true classical autodidact (that still come with teacher's notes and answer keys) such as Tapestry of Grace. My other teen is a little slow to detach from the apron strings, but he's always been a little slow at developmental milestones. He's the slow-but-steady turtle who does win the races, but he needs a cheerleader and coach on the sidelines. That would be me. He works quietly and independently in his corner of the room, but he does check in every half hour or so. My main priority for this one is that he'll be able to look back on these years and remember being happy and content. For him, 'happy' means being near Mama and his brothers. For his curriculum I chose materials that I do feel confident teaching. Is he headed for the Ivy Leagues? No. He might not even go to college. Still, I think he will be well-prepared for life with Sonlight, Write Shop, Henle Latin, and other materials of that level of rigor. I am not going to tell these two boys, these two teenagers who actually want to spend the day doing schoolwork with their mother, to go to their rooms and study alone. They may be six feet tall but they are still my boys for this last fleeting moment. Our schoolroom has four desks that reflect the personalities of four very different children. Our schoolroom accommodates all of the classical stages: Lower Grammar, Upper Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. I think it is funny when the 7yo pipes up to contribute to the Formal Logic class. I think it is very, very sweet when the boy studying high school Biology stops to help the 11yo with his Latin. One messy loud homeschool. Enough to make me crazy, but the kids are happy as clams and can't imagine doing this any other way. The kitchen is next to the schoolroom so at least I can get them fed while we all study. I fold laundry while hearing recitations. The rest of the housework is catch-as-catch-can. The youngest boy is done by early afternoon but the oldest is still talking past bedtime at least three nights a week. That's how long it takes me to educate four levels. I only have four years of this level of insanity. Then there will only be three children. Two years after that, there will only be two children. Two years after that, just one boy who will only have high school left. I'll blink and this homeschooling time of my life will be over, having taken a quarter of a century in all.

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Leaving a post here with no responses is too much like walking out of the mall shop dressing room wearing only a slip. Some are bold enough to do that, and some aren't. :)

Post of the Day.

Did you see the fine print at the bottom of the first? "Written collaboratively with fourth grade students." I know what writing collaboratively means in an elementary school setting. Also, it was written with fourth grade students from the teacher's perspective about the teacher's dog. Whose writing is this, exactly? And the other one was about candy. An hour or two's work just to rhapsodize about candy. edited to add: I understand that the teachers are using methods that they have been trained in and have come to believe, and I know the children are working hard to learn. I just really hate that everybody's time has to be wasted this way when the western world possesses a written remembrance of effective pedagogy! Those old methods are straightforward, effective, and interesting...and known only to us. Sad and strange.

:crying: How awful!

I found this thread for you: PLEASE help with explaining number bonds and making 10

I think they are so important as to be critical and foundational, and I wouldn't move very much farther until my child really, really gets it. Step past this concept without mastering it and you'll be building a house on sand, even if she memorizes decks full of flash cards. What have you tried to help her understand? What curriculum, and what methods?

9th grade, TOG rhetoric year 1 booklist (obviously some of his reading will be excerpted): A Poetry Handbook Adam and his Kin Ancient Celts Ancient Egypt Ancient Egyptian Literature Aztec and Maya Myths Bhagavad-Gita: The Song of God Church History in Plain Language Foxe's Book of Martyrs From Distant Days: Myths, Tales, and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia Holman Bible Atlas Mythology by Hamilton Norton Anthology of Western Literature, vol. 1 Plato: Republic (Grube) The Analects by Confucius The Feasts of Adonai The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt The Punic Wars The Story of Architecture The Story of Painting The Universe Next Door These Were The Greeks These Were The Romans Warfare in the Classical World What the Bible is All About Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the Bible World Religions Other Subjects Apologia Biology Teaching Textbooks Geometry (he did Saxon Algebra in 8th grade) Henle Latin Biblical Greek Material Logic

Came back to add the direct link to the Decimal Arithmetic playlist. (youtube) :001_smile:

While you are waiting for these books to arrive, you could visit www.mathmammoth.com and watch Maria Miller's videos. (The 'videos' button is in the upper right corner of the homepage.)

My children have never been behind in writing, and most of them are very far ahead. They are natural writers and have hugely benefited from the focused and intelligent homeschooling curriculum and methods we have used. We've used copywork, narration, dictation, Webster's speller, and Rod and Staff grammar. We also write in our studies of Elson Readers, and we write across the curriculum. Write Shop is a good fit for us in the logic stage, and we are really enjoying TOG with Writing Aids for high school. I do keep track of what the local schools are doing with writing. I've been paying attention for many, many years. I'm just really not interested in teaching writing their way. I agree with others that quantity does not equal quality and a scatter-shot approach does not help the mind to develop logically. For my own children, I've never believed that they should be 'behind' at any stage, though. (I don't count lack of familiarity with novelty writing as being 'behind.') Their work has been more straight-forward and focused, and certainly different, but that's not the same thing.