Too bad we can't have a little TWTM band. :)

We have a teepee that I string lights on and fill with pillows. (Right now it's down to make room for the christmas tree.)

Thanks! We originally skipped CE 1 when we did Town level, but I just ordered CE 1&2 because vocab was DS' lowest score on the DORA.

never mind. :)

I do prioritize school spending above everything else besides food. I wonder if that makes me "overspend?" I'm ok with it, there are far worse things to overspend on!

My son is also into writing music. He does suzuki music lessons but he is really into techno and rap music. He's been writing lyrics and then the music to go with it on garage band. There is a ton you can do with it, and you can buy an accessory piano to hook up to it. I'm not sure if that's helpful. I would try to get her into piano lessons and try to learn to read music. I really think it's a valuable skill, and will take her further as a writer.

We tested at 4 for early entrance to a gifted charter.

Has anyone ordered? WDYT? Thanks!

I think it was around $400? I'll have to go back and look.

I'm just thinking back to a thread on the Gen board last year about how much people spend pre kid on curriculum. I was definitely in the upper range, and it made me feel wasteful. I've been thinking about it a lot recently because I'm planning for next year, and I decided it's not wasteful because we do use it all, it's just that we use a lot! DS was going through math books at a lightning speed and 4 SM books a level add up! We also do a lot of enrichment stuff because he just needs MORE. Always MORE. :laugh: Anyone else feel this way or do I really need a 12 step program?

I'm not really an obsessive planner, but I'm a neurotic anxiety ball, so I'm channeling that into planning. DS will technically be 5th grade, but he will be doing mostly 7th-ish grade work. Math - Considering TWTM AOPS. He's working through Jousting Armadillos, we'll see how it goes the rest of the year. If it's not looking like AOPS will be a good fit, we'll move on to Crocodiles & Coconuts. Lit - We are working through the Mensa excellence in reading list for middle schoolers. I'll probably add in some as well. We love classics. :) Writing - Bravewriter Grammar - MCT Lit level History - Project of his choosing Science - Project of his choosing also classes at our History Museum and science center Spanish - researching what to do after GSWS Art - classes at the art museum Music - continue with Double bass and hopefully join the youth orchestra Swim lessons and community baseball in the spring. He runs with me occasionally so I might try to get him to be more regular with that.

Ha! i thought it came out in the summer!

1. Still working on it! 2. Finishing up SOTW 3 and Athena's and going on to SOTW 4 next semester 3. Also still working on it Also my twins ended up finishing up the 3 year children's house program at their school this year. They will start homeschooling Fall 2016. :)

Anyone? Buehller?

We did the WJ-III. It's not a scantron.

The DORA isn't really worth much in my opinion. I guess it's fine if you have zero idea where your kid is on a reading scale, but I found achievement testing to be much more accurate and useful as far as that's concerned. (Especially for a very young student.) It's more expensive to do achievement testing but for us, it was the right answer. I didn't feel like making DS do a fill the bubble test at 5. Only now at age 9 am I starting to consider it, but YMMV.

Nope on a nope.

Has anyone used this? Seen it? Heard anything about it?

Did anyone buy the whole set? I'm looking for next year.

I'm going to post my current, incomplete plan so I can organize my thoughts and see if anyone has any feedback. DS 9 (turns 10 next November) Math - Well, this one is up in the air because we bypassed SM 5 and jumped into Jousting Armadillos. I'm currently going through the MM subjects to see what I need to buy just to make sure he's solid with elementary. He was never getting any wrong in the regular SM workbook, and refused to do the CWP, so this is where we landed. Not exactly what most people here do, but I'm hoping it all works out in the end. Literature - We've been doing read alouds, up until this point. (He reads voraciously on his own as well) I do assign some random chapters of books when we start running low on time, but I need to figure out my approach to Lit as he moves into the middle grades. His decoding and comprehension is high, I just want to make sure the critical thinking gets done, which reminds me.... Grammar - finish MCT Literature Level Logic - need suggestions for some critical thinking resources! Writing - I need to figure this out History - no idea. I'm beginning to see a pattern here. :lol: He just finished SOTW 3 at Athena's, but I don't think he's going to do SOTW next semester. Science - He is really into robotics, so I hope to have him start a project soon, and hopefully that will lead to more projects. He takes a class once a month at out science center, and we Nature Journal as well. Art - projects and monthly classes at the art museum Music - continue playing Double Bass with Suzuki program. I need to get a real piano as well, as he has taught himself on his keyboard and regularly writes songs on garage band. This is his "thing" so I really want to nurture it. Spanish - depends how far we get in GSWS. Not sure what comes next! I think we'll try Keyboarding without Tears as well. DD & DS (will be 6) Writing - Jot it Down? Lit - Mom's reading lists Spelling - All About Spelling Math - I really want to make Miquon work but I'm going to really have to prepare for this. It confuses me so! They love cuisenaire rods and the education unboxed videos. Also they are coming from Montessori so this seems like a nice transition. If I can't handle it, we'll do MM because I am not buying 100 singapore books. :laugh: Science - Nature Journaling and Wild Explorers club History - SOTW 1? Handwriting - Getty Dubay French - Skoldo maybe? Hmm, this kind of seems like a lot, but we will only be doing reading, math and French daily.

Well, I don't feel so crazy anymore! (Or maybe we're all crazy? :lol: ) I didn't eve realize that online classes opened up, and filled up so soon! Now I really need to get serious! I only started planning to help my nerves about tripling my homeschooling duties. :huh:

Well, we skipped SM 5, and DS jumped into Jousting Armadillos yesterday, so I'm sure next semester will be spent figuring out how to correct this. :lol:

Was the subject the child loved/hated/was indifferent to? We chose History, which DS likes, but I wouldn't say he loves it.. Was the class in a topic of relative strength or weakness for your student? Strength, but nothing way over the top. Was the choice based on your needs as a teacher? Yes and no, I just wanted a nice intro to someone else teaching him on a regular basis, so that as my needs do become an issue, he's used to online classes/ classes with someone besides me teaching. In person or on-line? Online How old was your student? 8 Why did you make those choices? Answered above To what extent was the child involved in the decision? Very involved, I wanted it to be a pleasant experience. Were you pleased with the outcome? Yes, he wants to take the class next semester, and his writing has improved.

These are awesome, thank you!

My 9 year old is really interested in current events, but for obvious reasons, we declined his request for apple news. :) I'm open to any form of media, and I'm pretty liberal with what I allow my kids to see, if that helps.