My 7yo is in 2nd grade and we are doing SE Level 1 (we would have been on 2 but just started & I wanted 1 for my next son anyway). We did not get the workbook (BAD AMAZON TRANS!! Argh!), so we do a modified version - I write the first sentence on the board & we do it together, then I write the second sentence on a paper & he does it himself (out loud with the questions & then labels it). For the last sentence, I dictate it to him and he writes it down, then labels it himself. So, yes - I do have him do a portion of the writing, and he has no problem with it. I find it fairly beneficial - he's very advanced in LA anyhow, so it allows me to also incorporate additional spelling and writing in without it feeling like "extra" work (since it is part of "ongoing" work instead!). I think we'd both be very bored if I actually walked through all 3 of the sentences with him...

The biggest problem I can see with a situation like this is that it is comparable to boarding horses (which I do a little of) - you basically can't make the money at it that you would make at a traditional job, so you have to have OTHER incentive that compensates. For instance - I board 1 horse & have 5 of my own. Works out great - I have to do all the work anyway, so it isn't that big a deal to do an extra, and I love horses. However, if I were boarding 5 and owned 1, I'd be making something like $3 an hour for lots of hard work taking care of other people's animals! Say you work 6 hours a day for 5 days a week - 30 hours a week. If you charge $7 an hour (under minimum wage!), that is $210 a week. For 4 weeks, that is $840 a month!!! I seriously doubt you can charge her THAT - so if you charge half that, you are basically making $3.50 an hour. Ugh! There are definitely other considerations - you get to stay home, and school your child, do something that (hopefully) you enjoy...

A threat if it was a neighbor that you are not on close, joking terms with. Even on such joking terms, there is generally a salty grain down deep (or maybe... not so deep!). My FIL lives with us & he's prone to saying things like this - he's mellowed in his old age and actually doesn't mean it (mostly) any more (especially since I'm more of an animal rescuer!), but many years ago he was more prone to shooting dogs that came in the area rather than talking about them (to be fair, this was out in the country & most dogs were wild strays looking for free goat or chicken meat). ETA (after reading your additional post!) - my little dog is currently in the crate behind me hooked up to an IV drip due to what we think must have been a toxin he ingested yesterday. I have absolutely no reason to actually believe anyone went out of their way to poison my dog (lots of ppl with annoying dogs around here, and mine is one of the less-so), but I also have no idea what he might have gotten into... so it is there in the back of my mind, wondering... Not to say that would happen, but if this escalates you will ALWAYS wonder what might happen! I suggest you make sure your fence is as secure as possible and invest in a padlock for chaining the gates shut (to make it less likely he'd just leave the gates open). If they don't bark excessively, I guess an anti-bark collar wouldn't do much good... As a side-note - can you keep them until 5:30 or 6, at least? I'd be pretty irritated if a dog kept waking me up at 4:30 every morning... later is better! Perhaps you could turn them out only in a small side-pen to potty early, then bring them right back in until later. I get mad at my OWN dogs if my FIL lets them out really early and they go making a fuss :)

We're doing fairly well with Rosetta Stone, but I am doing it with my 7 & 5 yo (all three of us sitting together and supporting each other & taking turns). That works well for us! We're about 3/4 through Level 1, and they are genuinely getting it (the 7 yo is doing particularly well). I think next year maybe we'll go through Level 2 together & I might have the 7yo do Level 1 all on his own... We only have Levels 1 & 2 - I'll be tempted to get higher levels in the future, although we'll have to see about the price!!

Doesn't the nook color NOT have the eink screen? I'd be concerned about it being too much like a computer screen (with the eye strain) rather than like a book (which is the main thing I love the idea about for these!).

Sounds like a reasonable response to me - I'd go a step further and remove all toys from his room, then make him earn them back with good behavior...

My 5yo has been able to read for awhile - he started sounding out the words on his own while listening to his big bro's reading lessons awhile back! :) The biggest time I really sat up and thought "wow, he really CAN read" was when he was doing a book with multiple characters and used different funny voices for each one!! I figured that showed a certain comprehension of what was going on and the connection of the words to actual events :)

The PG13 movie, I'd be mad about - HELLO, *13* - says so on the label!! The "stupid" stuff I'm afraid is just a drawback of children interacting with other children in any situation - we do a weekly playgroup with children/parents that we know & approve of and still end up with stuff like that :(

Geez - yet another reason I wish we had a Tractor Supply close by!! <sigh>

We school year-round, but take periodic week-long (or so) breaks. Since I do taxes, our main vacation time is during tax season - my plan for the upcoming year to implement this is to take 3 weeks off in March/April and start our new grade in late April when we begin school again. We also only do school 4 days a week throughout the year (since I work 2 days and need 1 day of down time!!). So - school year April to March with 3 week break between, schooling 4 days a week year-long, and taking an additional 4 weeks during the school year is how ours looks! Those 4 weeks are usually 1 for Christmas, 1 or 2 for Summer camps, and 1 or 2 random "extras"!!

I read "shift...well" - made perfect sense for a car movie! :)

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/kodu/ Kodu!! Very fun :) It is a free computer programming learning game that my bro (a computer programming professor at a good university) recommended for my kids. My kids are younger (7&5), but really enjoy it - and I personally played with it for awhile at first (so I could help!) and enjoyed it also! I think that an older child would still get a lot out of it, and be able to learn quite a bit.

My boys are also 2 years apart and in 1st & 2nd grades. I try to combine for all the readings and non-core subjects, but even at such a young age there is a definite need to split them for certain things. My 5yo is a decent reader (has enjoyed reading since 3ish) - but my 7yo reads and comprehends at a much higher level yet (3/4th grade). Math is also something I need to split due to different abilities/learning methods. The things I DON'T split for: Spanish Health History Social Studies Various readings Science (but I basically do it with the older and the younger can hang around if he wants)

We're doing Math Mammoth 1ab & 2ab with RS A & B, and they seem to connect fairly well.

Depends on what makes sense! I learned German in HS (3 years!) because I have German relatives, and I've practically never used it. Now we're very close to Mexico, so the kids and I are learning Spanish together. If I wanted to visit a specific country, that would be my focus! :) I understand that ANY language learning is good when they are young, though.

Honestly, if I didn't have the workbook and an assigned "do this" deal, it would likely move WAY WAY down on our to-do list (even though I do think it is important!). For me, having the workbook is a must!! It certainly CAN be done (and easily) from anything you are reading over any subject and with no cost at all. Just pick a passage, as some qs & dictate something! You just have to DO IT - and I know I would for awhile and then likely fade out. I'm much more committed when it is a specific book that we are actually working through.

I usually just have my 7&5 yo at the table together & have one working on "non-mom" during times that the other works on "mom-intensive". When the 5yo gets antsy, I send him off to play (he's more studious than his bro, though, so he likes to sit with us most of the time!). So - I'll have the 7yo write in his journal while I do reading with the 5yo. Then - the 5yo writes in a journal (he wanted to be just like his big bro!! He mainly does pictures, though) & maybe does an art project while I do AAS with the 7yo. We use WWE1 & 2, and I just it at two different times. My 7yo actually really likes hearing the passages from WWE1 & will usually stop to listen in (since we didn't use it with him). He is very good about NOT answering the questions for his bro, although sometimes we'll all discuss things together - like today, when he wanted me to talk about who my favorite character in the passage was! :) I also try to arrange several things that we do together and can just hang out on the couch or by the computer as a group doing - in specific, we do the following together: History "What your 1(&2!) need to know" Health & Activity Book (I work with the younger for his) Spanish - Rosetta Stone (we take turns with the mouse & mic) Social Studies Math is the only subject I usually make 1 or the other leave the room for, since it is the hardest for the 7yo, at least, to focus on!! :)

I'm using the Usborne IL Ency of the World, and both my 5yo & 7yo really enjoy reading it with me & looking at the pics. I don't do anything more formal at this time, although when we move to the Ancients section I plan to add some misc crafts and other that I already have around...

I have only the workbooks and not the main book! :) We are using WWE1 & 2 - I'd put your kids straight into WWE2, which is what I did for my 7yo son and it was a fairly quick transition to being able to do it well. I understand the WWE3 starts to get quite a bit more difficult.

Must be just you <g> - I didn't have any problem opening the link...

Ariats are my all-time favorite paddock shoe - but I refused to buy them for my 7yo, since he wears out shoes FAST & will also grow out of them quickly (WAY to expensive!). My Ariats are the only shoe I've ever paid over $120 for (twice!) but they have lasted a very long time (well over 7 years now). I got a knock-off once for about $40 & will never ever ever do it again - they literally fell apart within 6 months. For kids, I recommend just going with a standard lace-up boot from someplace like Tony Lama - they are perfectly nice for riding and much cheaper than traditional "paddock boots". We got my son a pair for $40 - good quality, good heel, lace-up boots. Later, I sent my friend there and they were having a sale & got several pairs of regular western boots for under $100! From my experiences over the years (riding since 8yo & have a 7yo son now; own 5 horses) I would either go with a regular lace-up non-paddock boot (or traditional pull-on boot, but I don't really like the ankle support of those) OR a high-quality (expensive) paddock boot. Stay away from the cheap paddock boots like the plague, even when "cheap" is still a lot of money!! :)

My 5 yo has short sentences for his narration (like the one above) right now, but he LOVES to re-write them! His brother is in WWE2 and has to re-write, so J decided he had to as well :) His favorite part of the WWE is probably giving me the sentence to write down & then re-reading & re-writing it himself! Isn't it funny how different each child is??

My first thought was... "BORING!!!" I'm afraid I always found Girl Scouts to be dull dull dull - I was NOT a very "girly-girl" and I didn't like crafts very much... seemed like that is pretty much all they did in GS when I was there, so I dropped out before too long. Now, as an adult, I have talked to several ladies with girls in GS and it sounds like it is still pretty much the same. My 7yo is in CubScouts right now, though, and I think that is very cool! They do SO MUCH hands-on stuff (stuff I would have loved to do as a GS) - our pack especially is always doing field trips and building things to race, etc. My friend's 11yo girl comes with her brother to do the "sibling group" (basically the sisters of scouts who want to do the same things as the CS) - she says it is way more fun than the GS group she is in. On a side note - they are implementing trials in a few areas of allowing girls into CubScouts - I think that is GREAT and I really hope they expand it. When kids get a bit older, I think that there is a BS off-shoot that allows girls (I can't remember the name right now). If I had a girl (2 boys, here!) I would go for either the CubScouts sibling group or a 4H group.

By narration - are you talking about the sentence that the child gives back to us as a "what do you remember about this passage?" answer? My 5yo had a good one right off the bat today in WWE1!! :) The passage was an excerpt from Mary Poppins where she is giving medicine to all the kids, and his narration sentence was: "Mary Poppins gave medicine to everyone." Which I thought pretty much nailed it. :)

I actually have liked it from the first (my oldest is Level 3, my youngest will start Level 1 this year), but I also have dropped a large number of the "extras". We do a quickie review each time and a more thorough review periodically, and I only use the tiles for new concepts & otherwise just write things. We also don't do ALL the sentences - if he is doing well on a concept, we do 4 or so & then move on. We do spelling 2 times a week and it takes 15-30 mins MAX each time. The first day we basically go through the entire lesson and do the 10 new words. The second day we do a quick review and 4 sentences or so (depending on how well & NEATLY he does it!). My son does very well with learning and applying the rules, so this works well for us. As others have mentioned, the silent e book & the "jail" are both highlights that he enjoys - he actually asks me once a week or so if we can skip XXX that we are doing and move on to the silent e book & AAS! :)