My daughter did it last year and got the Athena medal, so I figured there wasn't much to work towards (in terms of improving)... or any reason to take it again. Maybe when she's 11 we'll do the Medusa exam. We'll do the ETC Exploratory Latin Exam, which she almost certainly won't get 100% on!

We've been focusing pretty much on medieval European history. Next year, we'll do world history without dealing with Europe, using http://www.amazon.com/Asian-World-600-1500-Medieval-Modern/dp/0195178432/ref=pd_sim_b_3 and http://www.amazon.com/Empires-1200-1750-Medieval-Early-Modern/dp/0195178394/ref=pd_sim_b_5, and http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-American-World-Times/dp/0195174658/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329527777&sr=1-10 I just can't imagine trying to fit everything in one year.

I don't know... but a language not used will be forgotten really quickly. I wouldn't count on a second year book to include everything from the previous year. If you don't want to repeat the same book, you might switch to another first-year Greek textbook.

I've looked at these books from the elementary to the college level one and there isn't all that much difference between them. With very few modifications, I'm sure I could use the elementary with a college student and the college one for an elementary student. The model sentences are more kid-friendly in the elementary one (Charlotte's Web vs. Stephen King) . I'd suggest, if you think you want to use more than one volume, you start with the elementary book first.... just so you have other books to use later on.

My fourth grader doesn't do a lot of subjects in one day. Today was typical for a Friday... BREAKFAST Chores History - 1 hr (Medieval -- art history focus.... today she finished taking notes on saints and their attributes, she chose two and drew a picture and wrote a few sentences about each in her portfolio. Math - 1 1/2 hr (watched a video, did a lesson and a half in SM5a on fractions) LUNCH English - 15 min. (Finished a section in excavating English.) Science - 1/2 hr (finished watching a documentary, answered some questions) Music - 1/2 hr piano practice Painting - 1 1/2 hr (at school) That's probably about 4 hours... Math, English, Science, History, Music, Painting. Also, once a week we do a writing lesson, twice a week we do Latin. We do handwriting whenever I remember. She also does ballet 4 days/week.

Yes... That is absolutely typical writing. I've taught 7th grade in "underperforming" low-income public schools and taught community college writing courses and that's about what you get... I'd imagine higher-income schools and private schools would do a lot better. I wouldn't exactly use the samples as a model of what to strive towards... more as reassurance that you're on the right track.

:iagree:

Do people in your area do the same thing? Maybe it's a regional thing that your son has picked up on... Or does he have other strange grammar issues with his speech? Would he say "Have you saw the duck?" or "Have you seen the duck?" Maybe he just hasn't picked up on the present perfect... and is still just regularizing everything in past tense. In all honesty, that's probably where English is heading anyway, perhaps you can comfort yourself that he's ahead of his time ;-) You could always drill him orally by having him answer questions: Have you been to Disney Land? No I haven't been there. Have you seen "Star Wars"? Yes I have seen it. Have you ever sent an email? Yes, I have sent one. Or tell him to say the opposite of you: I have had three slices of cake. I haven't had three slices of cake. I have known her since I was a baby. I haven't known her since I was a baby. I haven't been to Rome. I have been to Rome. I haven't cleaned my bedroom. I have cleaned my bedroom. Or try exercises like this (just google 'present perfect exercises") http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html and then exercises -- http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs5.htm http://fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/elt/catalogue/0-19-436621-9.pdf?cc=cz&selLanguage=en

My 9 yr old daughter insists on reading novels with female protagonists. I'm not too picky on whether the book is totally appropriate for younger kids, so you might want to pre-read first, but her current absolute favorite is Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men and sequels. I read it and enjoyed it too.

You might want to do a google search for rated standardized exams. For instance, here is Oregon's 8th grade writing samples for their statewide test: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=531

I'd suggest not buying three ETC (and beyond the code) books for each of your kids just yet. Don't get me wrong, it's a great program... I just would hesitate before buying three levels of any book. Try book 1 before committing. You can always order more later. Also, I'd get something like handwriting too. I've had the most success with HWOT and Pentime. Otherwise -- looks good.

Another option might be to continue with SM, but add in something like this... Just do one page every morning before starting your regular lesson. http://www.amazon.com/Third-Grade-Math-Minutes-Hundred-Better/dp/1574718142/ref=pd_vtp_b_3 or http://www.evan-moor.com/Product.aspx?SeriesID=37&ClassID=260&CurriculumID=4

:iagree: I didn't really know how to approach a lot of word problems until I saw the bar models that Singapore uses. I think we started using them around 2b or so. At that point, they weren't really necessary. But by the 4th and 5th book, I find it's a really clear and straightforward way of solving problems. I mean... of course I know how to solve problems algebraically, but I didn't really *see* how it worked until I got familiar with the bars. It's a very useful tool to have.

The two things I didn't like about CLE LA were: -The weird diacritical marks... why not use established ways of showing a sound to symbol relationship? -The religious/cultural focus was not a good fit for our family.

I'd recommend waiting to use LOF fractions until after the fractions section in SM 4b. I think it's a great review and solidifies understanding, but I wouldn't use LOF as an introduction to fractions.

I've used Megawords with older kids who still need work decoding. I've never used Rewards, so I can't compare... but I was happy with Megawords.

I use a textbook as a spine to give me the framework that I want to follow... So as an example -- for biology, I used CPO Life science to put together the subjects I wanted to cover -- classification, biochemistry, cells, invertebrates, vertebrates, botany, etc... Then I look for materials to supplement it - videos, books, websites, songs, experiments, etc... I put it all in a schedule -- a table in Word (which I never end up following exactly). I use the textbook as independent 'homework'. The supplemental materials I find from the forums or from browsing biology teachers websites. It doesn't take very long at all.

In PS, my daughter did a few research projects in 4th/5th grade, but they seemed awfully silly given the lack of writing skills that the class had. I think when a child can write a paragraph, they can write a paragraph based on something they researched... When the child has learned to write a short essay, they can write a little essay based on research.... when they can write a multiple page paper, they can handle the research side of it too. At 9 and 10 years old (my daughter and her friend), we're still working on perfecting paragraphs. We do some research, but nowhere near doing a longer paper --- just a paragraph or two for their portfolio. I'd imagine by 8th grade, they'll be able to tackle a longer project.

I don't really understand why grammar courses for elementary school teach diagramming. I taught my girls how to construct syntax trees rather than how to diagram sentences (which seem weirdly old-fashioned). At least syntax trees can be used in later linguistics courses, can be used across languages, and can be used to show movement.... plus they show hierarchical relationships between phrases which isn't a part of diagramming.

We do history and science separately, and we use SOS for fun reading together... maybe a chapter a week or so. It sometimes has lined up with history and sometimes with science. We've tried the quest guides but they just got to be too much for us. We're on Newton. I can't wait for the book about life science.

The Paragraph Book by EPS does a good job with struggling writers. http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?seriesonly=2671M

I just have my girls (a 4th grader and 5th grade friend who does history with us) read a chapter for homework. During our lessons, I have them work on their history portfolio on related topics, play a game, and watch a documentary or movie. We only meet together with the other family for one day a week. So yesterday, the girls had read ch. 9 in the OUP Middle ages book about the church in the middle ages -- popes and politics. In it, they had learned about the Dominicans and Franciscans. We ate a medieval lunch (we do this every other week or so). While the food cooked, the girls played a quiz game about the middle ages. After we ate, they watched "Brother Sun Sister Moon" about the early life of St. Francis. When they finished, I had them draw a picture of Francis in their portfolio, a picture of Clare, and a paragraph about each of them. So I guess we're just using the textbook to lead the direction of the other activities we do.

How about an awesome and free resource from one of our own? http://www.classicalhouseoflearning.com/logic-stage-literature.html Click on the teacher and student and calendar pages for logic stage ancient lesson plans.

ETC and Bob books (or other leveled phonetic readers like "I See Sam") complement each other nicely. I wouldn't bother too much about spelling (it's in ETC) or reading comprehension or anything like that. Early readers have a big task ahead of them in just decoding the words.

She sounds exactly like the mathematical long-lost twin of my own almost-10 yr old dd. I'd think it was puberty related, except it's been going on for some time. All I can suggest is Life of Fred and Murderous Maths. But it doesn't solve the problem of procrastination and daydreaming and complaining about math when she does SM.