We used GP Jr History 1-3 a few years ago. I wrote a brief review: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143650&highlight=southern+ape+man We're currently using Latin Prep and are really happy with it. I'm also interested in some of the other materials -- the religious ed and English programs.

Fallacy Detective, on the other hand, is not considered secular.

Montessori schools focus on identifying the sound the letter makes, not the name of the letter. In fact, I remember a friend who was a Montessori teacher telling me that when her 5 yr old son was at the optometrist for the first time, the optometrist was laughing and laughing as he read off eh, ah, sss, vvvv, rrrr (and so on...) from the letter chart.

I think it's optimistic to expect him to do what you are asking... but I think it's a good thing for him to be working on. I expect my (nearly 10 yo) daughter to get herself ready for ballet and put her shoes and water bottle in her bag and collect her pins and rubber bands and hairbrush for me to help her with her hair. But I still do have to stand near the door saying "do you have your shoes?" "are you wearing deodorant?" "Where are your pins?" and "Are those clean tights?" I'd like to believe she can do it herself... but she still needs someone checking up on her.

I remember having an acquaintance nurse her 4.5 year old at my house. He stretched out across my sofa and begin nursing and he was just so... big... It felt too old to me in a kind of icky way. To be fair, if he was carrying a bottle or a sippy cup or a pacifier or wearing a diaper, I'd also feel the same way. I nursed my girls until 2 or so. It seemed about right. Once they could discuss my breasts, it kind of felt wrong. I do think that it might also be a context issue. It's a little different to nurse an older child at night when they were snuggling into bed and in a sleepy baby kind of place than when they are out and about and clearly not babies.

I thought homeschooling was for weirdos. It never occurred to me that it might be a viable option. I'm also an ex-public school teacher. I just eased myself into homeschooling. First I afterschooled (because of the dismal math program), then we moved to an alternative public school using it first full-time, then part-time and now just two art classes a week. It's really just come down to knowing I can do the job of educating my kids better... At least for now... Our local high school is really good and I anticipate sending them. But who knows?

LL it is then! I knew I could count on you all... Thanks!

Nah... I wouldn't worry at all. There's so much to learn in history and science... it's not as if one grade covers all of one area of science or history or that one grade even builds on another.

Sounds like Fred is the right choice!

My 8 yr old, was really disinterested in reading for pleasure until just a few months ago. Something sparked her interest (fairies) and I now frequently find her sitting around with a book for fun. I couldn't be happier! And yes, she may be reading insipid "twaddle", but there is nobody in the world that could convince me that I ought to take it away. For the first time ever, she *wants* to read something. So... just hang in there! Find what he's interested in and keep offering books. He may surprise you.

I love the Montessori philosophy... but in its truest form, it's not really suited for homeschooling. I suspect you're having trouble finding information about it in a homeschooling context because some of the key features of Montessori are specific aged classrooms (3-6, 6-9, 9-12...) with students working together, normalization of students, and hands on materials across subjects that are outside of the range of most budgets... I think you can be a "Montessori-inspired" homeschooler, but a lot of what makes Montessori amazing is how the classroom as a whole works together. It's just hard to take that element out. I'd definitely recommend reading "Montessori: The science behind the genius" if you haven't already. Also... check out some good quality elementary Montessori classrooms (AMS or AMI certified if possible) to understand what goes on in a class that makes it different from other educational philosophies.

The last time I taught pre-algebra was in a public school setting. I had a worksheet that I would make and photocopy and give to the kids to use to start their math lesson. Every month or so, I'd change it up a little bit depending on what they were working on or needed help with. It was tied to the "number of the day" so that on the 4th day of the school year, we used number 4 and on the 65th day, we used number 65. You could probably also tie it to the day of the month... Or just use any number. I can't paste it in here because the formatting goes too weird. But basically, there are 10 questions. At the top it says X=____. (X being the number of the day). Then the same questions are used each day. So the questions are things like: What is x squared? What is 3(x + 2)? What is the absolute value of X? Reduce this fraction: x/12. What is the square root of x? What is x(10) x(-100), 2x.... etc... Add these fractions X/3 + 4/5. What is the area of a rectangle with the sides x and 6. Anyway, my point is that you don't need to buy a book of 'warm ups'. It was easy to come up with 10 questions and it was more relevant than using a book from a different publisher who had a different sequence of topics. I found after a month or two they could do the worksheet in their sleep, so I would make another 10 problems. I'm planning on doing something similar with my older daughter in the fall when she starts pre-algebra.

I think my older daughter (and her 11 yr old friend who studies with us) are ready for some literature study. My ultimate goal is that they will be able to analyze texts in order to discuss and write about them. I think the samples look good for both series. What are the differences between LL and Galore Park SYRWL English? I know LL uses entire works and Galore Park uses excerpts... but other than that, are they comparable in scope? Is one more engaging than the other? More advanced? Are they consecutive --does LL8 build on LL7 and should you use Galore Park English 1 before using 2? Are they both full-year programs? Thanks!

Have you tried Avi's Crispin books? They were very good.

It sounds like he needs the pre-algebra... Another option that I've used that has worked well with some kids is the Key to series. It's very independent (and pretty cheap).

If it's winter time, and the book is a workbook... we'll let the child use it for kindling in the woodstove.

There are a lot of brainpop videos on the human body and disease. Could you use that (with the quizzes) and perhaps some youtube videos on different body systems? Throw in the Ellen McHenry free anatomy worksheets and I think they'd have a pretty decent education.

I remember you guys switched to MM fairly recently? Could it be that his honeymoon with MM is just over and he's not feeling it anymore? (Not that he shouldn't just get on with it anyway... just that it might explain the slow-down...) Anyway, I think my daughter is at nearly the same place in her math development. She does like the AOPS videos on topics we're working on, but also isn't ready to tackle too much on her own. She has liked LOF Fractions on her own and decimals is arriving in the mail some time next week.

My girls adore playing the "Renaissance Art Game" http://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Art-Game/dp/1889613029 (It's just go-fish but with a deck of renaissance paintings and a nice book to go with it).

I know there is an assessment book if you're interested in multiple choice questions based on the text: http://www.amazon.com/History-US-Assessment-Book-Books/dp/0195153480#reader_0195153480 Or the teacher's guide looks like it has worksheet type pages in it to photocopy: http://www.amazon.com/First-Americans-Elementary-Teaching-History/dp/0195168488/ref=pd_sim_b_17

Is this a homeschooled child? Drawing objects and crossing them out is intentionally taught in our district's math curriculum -- Terc Investigations. It's possible that she's not math-phobic, but has actually been taught that this is how you solve the problem. Edited to add -- I see she's an unschooler. I'd start by showing her some cool 'tricks' like how you don't have to draw all those circles. Perhaps moving her to base 10 blocks would be a good step too, since she's not getting groupings of 10 with her current system.

There's a young reader's version of The Omnivore's Dilemma which I think would be perfect for middle/high school. There are plenty of teaching materials that people have developed to go along with it... like this: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/penguin/omnivores_dilemma_tg.pdf Also, I'd definitely have kids keep a food log, possibly online like at fitday, so kids can see how much they're eating and what nutrients their food contains. Field trips to local farms would be awesome... or to supermarkets... you could make a scavenger hunt sort of activity in pairs in a supermarket -- they'd do things like try to find a peanut butter with only peanuts in it, or a cracker with no partially hydrogenated oils or find the grams of sugar in a can of soda or the price of a pound of grass fed meat.... that sort of thing.

:iagree:

I've used: HWOT - great for printing, but I dislike the cursive style Pictures in Cursive - Disappointing... (both the pictures and the cursive) Spencerian - For me and my older daughter, interesting in a historical way -- my handwriting is much better than it used to be. Pentime - I'm really happy with it!

It depends on the scope and sequence of any given math program or state standard or the whims of the teacher. I'd say that multiple digit addition and subtraction is a focus of the programs I've used. Also, you might get a little taste of multiplication, fractions, measurement, time, money...