Thanks, I like that idea. At the moment, even simple adding and subtracting cause him to second guess himself but I will look out for a part of math that he does better in and see if we can repeat more of that. :)

Its always nice to know I'm not alone in this. I think you're so right about kids being ready for it when they are ready for it. I hope his math catches up and he gets over the fear but if he doesn't then I plan on being creative about getting him out there into the real world without a college degree.

Yes, he is a 7th grader. He was in PS for the first 3 years of his school career and they took any confidence and passion he had for math and obliterated it. His issue is entirely psychological, he second guesses himself constantly. We have spent the last few years trying to find the right math curriculum for him (which we seem to have now) in order to build up his confidence again. It has been slow going and still is. I would love for him to be able to catch up to where he "should be" but at the moment its not a priority. I am focusing heavily on keeping him moving at a steady pace and not falling behind any more. If I push him, he will fall back again. Its a very sensitive area for him. I so hope that we can do this for our son too. I know most kids have strengths and weaknesses. I am talking about extremes though. Or at least I thought I was. If its normal to have 2 - 4 grades disparity between subjects then I have nothing to worry about with mine. :) Since its a psychological issue and since we have tried what seems like every math program going before finding MUS and him finally being happy. Its not something I have asked the community about of late. We stopped going backwards and started moving forward when we found MUS (almost two years ago). After all the struggling, I'm so afraid to rock that boat. I am very concerned about entrance to college (if college is something he wants to do) but I feel like he is at the best place with math that he has been in years. No more stomach cramps, throwing up, crying - all the horrible things he went through in PS. Also, thank you for the words of advice! :)

No, you were right, I do mean getting them to one grade level in all subjects and I'm particularly concerned about the one subject with the biggest disparity. Thanks for the advice! :)

Well, if ds can get into college and still take fourth or fifth grade math then I truly have nothing to worry about but I don't think thats the case.

He has been using it for almost 2 years now (I have only just realised it has been that long!) but prior to finding it, we were changing math curriculum every few months and he was getting nowhere. Now we are finally making progress. :)

:bigear: I have a 7th grader who LOVES MUS, we don't plan on switching, since it took this long to find a math program he actually enjoys. :)

I tell my 4 and 7 year old boys, who share a room, that they should stay on their beds and read or write/draw quietly. They are usually pretty quiet and quite enjoy their peaceful time. When they were younger I would separate them if they were having "one of those days" or have them play with a toy quietly or look through the pages of a book. They would often fall asleep. We all still have quiet time, including my 11 year old and I have to say that some of the best ideas and inspiration come out of that hour. My 11 year old writes scripts, plays his guitar or keyboard or reads. I don't allow laptops in their bedrooms during quiet time. It has become a bit of a crutch for us! They love it and so do I.

Ok, thanks for the info! Sounds like we don't need to worry about them at all. :)

I hate to be so clueless but what are they? My son is 11 and a rising 7th grader. He has always put in a few volunteer hours in the local community but has lately started doing more. This time he was asked if he wanted to receive "service hours" for his volunteer work. Are they for college entrance? Or is it an "in order to graduate high school" thing? At this point we don't even know if he is going to college. Is there any point in collecting these "service hours"? I feel like a dummy for asking but I want to understand it.

Pizza (cooked at home) and maybe chicken and salad. Its Friday and movie night.

My kids are all over the place. I couldn't use a single grade boxed curriculum for them. My eldest is *at least* 2 yrs behind in math than his age grade, my middle son is 4 years ahead in math than his age grade and my little one has been reading for over two years now but yet can't write! All of them are really asynchronous like that. The super genius' and accelerated learners around here don't bother me at all but I am always baffled as to how other peoples kids seem to be on one solid grade level for everything? I don't have a clue how to level my kids out by college and highschool.

Secular here! :)

We work year-round but we never work longer than a couple of hours a day. We like to play a lot around here. The kids are still working 2+ grades above where they should be so atm I think our schedule is fine.

http://www.allposters.com have some really affordable ones but some others are expensive. Its worth a look.

Done. :)

Did it once and got ripped off pretty badly. Dh says he never wants to rent out again.

I wouldn't be too worried. Its a different test, different scoring, different format. He probably was a little thrown off that it wasn't what he is used to.

We sometimes use a drop in daycare center, I pay them $15 per hour, (I have three). When we get a babysitter (17 year old home schooled girl), I pay $10 an hour.

Do you have any good home school groups that you attend? We're in South OC. :)

Orange County. I haven't met or heard of one homeschooling family here in our city yet! :(

Mine too! I'm always looking on these boards for people who live in our area. Our area has really great schools and people live out of pocket, in apartments and take on jobs they don't love just to send their kids to school here. Needless to say, homeschooling is not the popular option by a long shot. My boys are always complaining that they don't have enough friends. :( I'd really like to see my 7 year old have more friends, actually just one would be great at this point!

I don't believe in holding kids back at all. I believe in differentiation, I really think that can be a huge knock to their confidence. :(

This is exactly how we do it, netflix through the PS3, no cable TV or telephone. We pay about $50 a month, all told.

My husband and I saw a mother in Target crying her eyes out, someone mentioned that she had lost her daughter, we left the store and as we were walking out of the doors a little girl by herself sauntered past us, obviously looking for someone. DH and I both knew it was her but dare not get involved. Had she been walking in another direction we would have said something but as long as she kept going, she would have found her mum (and obviously did because we didn't hear of anything). It was a scary on the spot decision to make though.