I was just watching my son diagram a sentence today and thought, "this makes it SO much easier for him to understand the difference between an adjective and adverb." Granted, we're really early in the game of grammar, but I can see how he will get a visual understanding of parts of speech. FWIW...

Thanks -- that's what I needed to hear. He's my oldest, so sometimes I'm not sure what is "normal!" Not that we're striving for normal... I think we missed that turn a ways back :)

Hi all, My son (8) mostly prints, but in spelling we have a deal that half of his dictated sentences need to be written in cursive. He actually enjoys it, but it does take a little longer. BUT, I've noticed that almost ALL of the errors he makes are made in cursive. Is this simpy because he is focusing more on the formation of the letters and less on the words? He's a pretty natural speller, so I think the challenge is appropriate, but I was just curious if anyone else had run into this... Lee

I used to really hate putting an X next to a wrong answer (I really only correct math in that way). But I realized that it was my own issue -- I was emotionally attached to my son's work. And it's no surprise that he would get really upset to see that something was wrong. So I've worked on my attitude about it. It's important to me that he can make a mistake and see that the sky doesn't fall. We make mistakes, we correct them. And on we go... I don't know if any of this is relevant to your situation, but it's been interesting for me to explore.

Wow, so many thoughtful responses. I've asked myself whether a diagnosis would make me see the outbursts differently -- an outburst is an outburst and requires compassion and patience. Period. But, if what I'm presenting is not the most appropriate material, I need to know. I appreciate all of the perspectives! Thank you!

Hi all, I don't usually hang out here -- my older son (8yo) works well ahead of his age, but he's never been tested for IQ or giftedness. I simply put work in front of him that I feel is challenging but not overwhelming. I'll also admit to having the tendency of getting high strung about achievement and I worry that concern about "giftedness" would turn me into a crazy mom. BUT, I saw a book today about parenting the gifted child -- somewhere in the subtitle it mentioned, "handling emotional outbursts, perfectionism, and underachievement." Geez, that sort of got my attention in that we have a lot of emotional outbursts and a strange mixture of perfectionism and periodic unexplained underachievement. SOOOO, my question is, what might I have to gain in knowing if my son is technically "gifted?" I really don't like swapping listen-to-what-my-genius-discovered-today stories, but if there are emotional needs that are unique and need to be addressed, I'm game. Thanks for listening and I'd love any thoughts or recommendations for books. Lee

Thank you -- these are great ideas! Lee

Do you take it to somewhere like Kinkos to have the spine cut and have it spiral bound? We're just taking out the pages and putting them in a 3-ring binder as we go, but I'm curious...

I'm looking for a "newspaper" or other secular current events publication that is child friendly. I know this seems crazy and Pollyanna given that it is impossible to escape the current events frenzy, but we are fairly unplugged at our house. I would love for my 8yo to be able to read about current events without being barraged by accounts of suicide bombers and sex scandals. Any suggestions? Lee

I had an "aha!" moment after getting into narration with my oldest. He *needed* examples and some guidance to really get what I was asking him to do. :iagree: This was important for my son also (8yo). I read the examples in SOTW to him after many months of trying to get him to provide an appropriate amount of information. Also, I would show him what I would say as a narration. Now, just for *fun* he gives me his narration and then we read the examples to compare.

That is what we use too and we're having the same problem! I figured it was the cheap little sharpeners we use that caused the internal lead to break, but maybe it's a bad lot of pencils... Funny how the little things can create snags!

We are doing Minimus and Rosetta Stone Spanish this year (two days/week of Latin and 3/week of Spanish). So far so good -- the boys (6 and 8) are enjoying both.

I put a little basket by the school table that we call the "Fidget Basket." If I'm working with older son and the younger finishes his work, he can pick something out and play with it until I'm ready to work with him. I put mazes, dot-to-dots, finger knitting, beads to thread... In fact I need to restock it, now that you mention it!

We're trying cut-off times here too -- this is my first year to have both boys home. So far, so good (two whole days) but today I could see that my older son didn't want math homework so he was really trying to stick to it and get it done. I also have to be more willing to let something go if we don't finish it in a timely manner. That can be hard for me, but I'm trying...

Ma's book was on my summer reading list and I DID enjoy it -- as much as anything, it validated my approach to teaching math. But did anyone else feel that it was odd that the sample of American teachers was SO SO tiny? Yes, it was shocking that they exhibited so little understanding of what they were teaching, but Ma draws some pretty huge conclusions based on very few teachers. Just wondering what others thought... Still, I would recommend it and learned a lot.

You've already received a lot of great advice. I just wanted to support the idea that it just might take a little more time. If after 2-3 weeks it isn't clicking, maybe detour back a bit. We're just a few lessons ahead (started last year) and the concept of place value is very important moving forward.

Thank you!! One problem solved... I appreciate your help, Lee

Hi all, Quick housekeeping question... I'm starting Level 1 again with my younger son and was wondering if I really need to buy a new student pack. I have all the flashcards/tiles from before. If I'm remembering correctly, the only thing I won't have is a progress chart and I can generate one of those. Speak up if I'm forgetting something! Thanks, Lee

Hi all, I know that one area that I've slacked in this year is Spanish. We have Rosetta Stone, the boys love it, they do fine in it, but... So I'm brainstorming ideas that would put us face-to-face with someone to get us doing more than just clicking our way through Rosetta Stone. I've considered a native-speaking babysitter for a couple hours a week? Some sort of exchange -- we could bring someone in who wants to learn English and swap conversation time? Have you tried any creative solutions along these lines? Budget is a consideration, so I can't just hire a tutor... Thanks for your thoughts!

:iagree:this is exactly what we do. i use the yellow books as a supplement...

You have received so much good advice already that I completely agree with -- I just thought I'd add one little thing... As I try to justify the high price of a great teacher I remind myself that this isn't only about playing the violin/cello/piano etc. Your child will, hopefully, create a strong relationship with this person and the teacher will be a huge influence in your child's world. There are few opportunities for a young person to receive an adult's full attention each and every week for potentially many many years. It can be like going to therapy in some senses! So, YES, check out the technique to the best of your ability. And really listen to your gut when it comes to finding a great match for your child.

So, I'm a little bit of a freak when it comes to recording hours -- my husband says I'm waaaay too honest about when our day was 4 hours instead of 4.5... My question is if you try to account for the summer school time in your school year attendance. As I'm asking this I realize that it is pretty petty, but I'm curious how others handle it. I'm definitely planning on having a little bit of daily math and music practice and lots of reading...

As a violin teacher myself, I just wanted to chime in and say that average rates vary considerably from city to city. I would make sure that you get some responses from people in your area. I know that the "going rate" is quite a bit more in my area that any of the responses you've received so far (I even pay a good deal more to have someone else teach one of mine, so I feel the pain too ;))

We use MUS as our spine, but I assign 4 pages of MM for the week -- if it gets done by Friday morning independantly there is a prize. Otherwise we finish it up Friday morning during school time (and beyond if neccessary). I like the sticker chart idea because it is often "forgotten" during the week... We call it The Math Challenge.

Your comments make a lot of sense. So, now I'm thinking I might ease into the Latin world with SSL and/or I Speak Lating knowing that we'll want to introduce the grammar based curriculum subsequently. This is similar to what we've done with Spanish -- Rosetta Stone to get started with the goal of more formal grammar down the road. Thank you!! Lee