We went downhill skiing last week at Mt Shasta in California in t-shirts (and light jackets tied around our waists) and 60+ weather. It was weird. The conditions were very slushy (and slow) in the sun, and then too slippery on melted ice in the shade. It wasn't horrible though, and I'm glad we went. The cross-country was great in areas with a large snow pack, but in our more local area, the ground was getting patchy and too many snowshoers had torn up the tracks and with no new snow, it was horrible. We just got a bunch of snow in our mountains though!! So... I'd say go. You can always leave early if it's bad.

If the school is just starting, I would imagine that you'll find most of the kids are in the same spot. I personally wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure the teachers will take everything into account when starting a new program. Learning classical languages like Latin or Greek can take place at age 8 or at age 80, you still start at the beginning. I'm sure her English class will have more emphasis on grammar than she's been getting before, but it's nothing that she won't pick up. Math is math... Science is science... History will probably start at the beginning... I bet it'll all have a different flavor than she's used to, but I just wouldn't worry. I'm sure she's going to have a great experience!

The Fairy Realm by Rodda is exactly what she needs! It's gentle and well-written (not nearly as insipid as the other fairy books out there). I think it'd be perfect for your daughter.

Here are nice examples of real life ps 5th grade writing at a variety of skill levels. http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=529 If organization of thoughts is your son's biggest issue, I'd use The Paragraph Book by EPS If sentence variety is a problem, try Sentence Composing for Elementary. If mechanics and spelling are a problem, just do a quick search - there are hundreds of popular books and I'm sure you'll find something that works.

I think Saxon is pretty solidly grade level. Maybe your friends are considering Math 54 to be behind for a 5th grader, but I think it's perfect for 4th. As for TT, I think it is behind by a year. You can compare the chapters to your state's standards or to Saxon or another textbook and see what you think. I think TT4 would be a pretty good choice for an 8 yr old. We really like TT here (for my 3rd grader). My only complaint is that the focus is very much on procedure rather than on underlying knowledge of the procedure. So... a child will be shown how to do the algorithm, but not much about why they're doing what they're doing. It's not really a problem, just something to keep an eye on -- maybe just pull out a 100 chart or cuisenaire rods or some base 10 cubes periodically. Also you'll notice that there's little emphasis on memorization of math facts, so you'll need Timez Attack or some flash cards ready. Otherwise, it's a very pleasant way to learn math.

I agree the priorities are off... but, usually the money for something special (like laptops) comes from a different funding source. Most likely, somebody in the district wrote a grant and got HP or whoever to provide the laptops. They're almost certainly not in the regular budget that provides for teachers and staff and textbooks and libraries. It's like giving candy to people who are on rations of real food... Wrong, but still... If I were in charge of such a district, I probably wouldn't withhold the laptops (or whatever) simply because of the austerity measures happening in the rest of the budget.

"Balanced literacy' is a term that's been around for about 20 years... What I figured out while going through a teacher credential program years ago was that 'balanced literacy' was the compromise made when educational professionals realized that the 'whole language' movement wasn't really working. So the good bit of the whole language movement (focus on quality literature rather than 'Dick and Jane' type readers) and the very necessary direct instruction in phonics merged together. I think it's pretty unnecessary to name it... but what "balanced literacy" meant is that teachers were basically given the freedom to use any strategy that they could to teach reading skills to their students. I'm still waiting for "balanced math" to come and throw out TERC Investigations and Everyday math and CMP so that teachers can go back to focusing on teaching math and not on teaching "a philosophy of math education."

From a phonological point of view, they are both syllabified like this: mo.ther CV-CVC fa.ther CV-CVC because there is a preference (not just in English, but cross-linguistically) to have a syllable with an onset (that is, CV is better than VC). But there are a lot of reading or spelling books that show words syllabified in different ways in order to teach decoding or spelling rules.

How about Galore Park materials?

How about the Roman Mysteries? They're perfect for that age and have some good history and intrigue.

I was just looking at the "Homeschooler's book of lists" at the library today -- plenty of memorization in there!

I love this short story: How I Trumped Rudolf Steiner and Overcame the Tribulations of Illiteracy, One Snickers Bar at a Time http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/mtitledetail.cfm?textType=excerpt&titleNumber=694293

I started my first grader with the first grade book. It could be done at Kindergarten if your child is already reading. I'm not sure how much grade level matters. I'd probably start at Kindergarten just because the books aren't all that long and if you do a page every day, you'll finish long before the semester. As it is, we're at the end of the second grade book and will end up starting cursive in a few weeks (or perhaps taking a break from handwriting and start cursive in the fall).

I taught elementary school English in Poland, and my partner went through the Polish school system and #3-8 are definitely true. They did not wear uniforms and school sports were popular. My partner does say that it was, at times, a cruel system and lots of kids weren't successful. Also, with the high expectations and rigidity, it did encourage a lot of cheating in order to be successful. Still, at least the focus was on learning actual content rather than the bizarre "progressive" education which I was raised on in elementary school (unit studies on 'Thanksgiving' and 'our neighborhood' rather than on history or science). In my opinion, though, the best educational philosophy to model a school on is a good Montessori... the tracking is individual and variable, the focus is content heavy, it is gentle without being insipid or 'touchy-feely'...

We have it, but my mythology-loving daughter was not inspired as I thought she might be. She did a few lessons last summer... It's on the shelf and I may pull it out later.

I know Saxon is a solid program, but TT has been a lifesaver here. As long as you thoughtfully choose the level (rather than just taking the grade level of your child), you'll find that the instruction moves along nicely and the spiral review increases retention. I have no issues at all with TT and I can see that my daughter is learning math without stress. I plan to continue it as long as it's working for us.

I would probably start at the beginning of the Keys to... series. I haven't used it for 10 years or so, but the books are very inexpensive. It might just take him a few days to get through the first one and it could fill in any gaps he has.

No way would I take an infant on a kayak. Kayaks tip too easily and there is absolutely no reason to take them. There's a huge range in risk with kayaking -- is it an inflatable? sea kayak? Sit-on-top? Hardshell? Are you on a still lake? Bay? Sea? A class I-II river? Running class V rapids? Are you a beginner? An expert? But I'd still never take a baby or toddler.

My 6.5 yr old does only 1 page of MM each day and I think she's progressing really nicely. We've done Adding 1 and Subtracting 1 and Place Value 1 and are now working on Multiplication 1. She also does some online math games to solidify arithmetic facts.

I'd use either Keys to... or Math Mammoth. Both lay out fractions in very gradual doses that'll take your son to a full understanding. Life of Fred Fractions is awesome, but I think of it more as a fun extension of materials. Fractions can be tricky... I just don't think it's explicit enough for a struggling student.

There is a huge range of normal progress for a first grader... but for my daughter, I expect her to be able to: -write legibly -write sentences with a capital letter and a period and attempts at good spelling -read simple books -add and subtract Anything else is bonus in my mind.

ALEKS math -- www.aleks.com

http://epgy.stanford.edu/ Educational Program for Gifted Youth

I think Everyday Editing is a resource book to give you ideas about how to approach the teaching of writing.

Also... I can not imagine asking a child to 'unlearn' sight words. There are plenty of words in English that simply don't follow the rules taught in a phonics textbook -- and he'll need to learn those as sight words. I think there are a lot of popular resources out there -- we used Explode the Code, but Phonics Pathways and OPGTR are also very popular. I'd start with phonics first, then add in the other elements of language arts (spelling, mechanics, grammar, handwriting...) as his reading ability increases.