I started HS'ing DS midway through 2nd grade. Since I started with SOTW1 at that time (wanting to start in the beginning), we started WTM Science with 'Grade 1' (animals, plants, humans) as well. Science has been DS favorite subject thus far. I used a few corresponding CLE LU's (Habitats, Mammals, Birds) to supplement our readings and rabbit trails during our animal 'unit.' We've gone off course briefly for a Solar System 'unit' (DS's request) and we'll probably go back to human anatomy/health when we finish up with that. Plant life I plan to cover over the summer with our garden as a focus. Anyway, I really like the way she lays it out in WTM. DS loves having some say it what he learns about. It's been good for us so far.

:iagree: Just FYI, there is a "Mythbusters" quarterly magazine with great experiments running from the simple to the complex. "How It's Made" on Discovery is a fascinating view into all types of manufacturing for the mechanically-minded. PBS has opera, ballet, and concert specials from time to time. The History Channel has some great shows (suggest pre-screen for age-appropriateness). We enjoyed "Barbarians," "Alexander the Great," and several of the Roman specials.

Thank you all for the information, article, websites, and the mention of dysgraphia. I'm trying to figure out why spelling is such a nightmare for him and this may be a clue. Thanks again.

What are signs one would look for to determine if their child is dyslexic? My son is primarily an auditory learner from what I've seen. He can read above grade level but cannot spell well to save his life. He spells phonetically or from memory. He can do copywork (although he makes mistakes when he chooses to spell phonetically rather than copy the sentence given). Narrations are a nightmare because of the spelling so I write them out myself. He is good at math but will still switch subtraction problems so he doesn't have to carry (i.e. 72 - 35 will become 75 - 32). Thoughts?

I'm in Olympia.

We use Wii Fit Plus and Wii Let's Dance to get the wiggles out. We also have Billy Banks Tae Bo Kicks DVD (made for kids) that is a lot of fun.

I'm picky about shoes (fit, function, support vs. style). I second the recommendation of Nordstroms but have also had positive experiences at Famous Footwear (I know OP, you said you were done there) and Big Five as far as brick and mortar stores. Zappos.com is my favorite for online shopping.

I guess I should be specific. He struggles with spelling... He understands punctuation and to some extent grammar. I have been working to remedialize him since we started HS'ing in January since it seems these things were not well addressed in PS. He has a good vocabulary for speech but because he struggles with spelling his written work is limited. His ability to do narration work is also limited by his poor spelling skills. OhElizabeth, I feel like perhaps I should forego Latin for another year not only to spend extra time on LA's but also because the thought of one more mom-intensive subject feels overwhelming. He is primarily independent with math (beyond new concepts of course) but it seems he needs a lot of help with every other subject. Adding Latin at this point may just push me over the edge!

I would normally agree wholeheartedly but since I pulled him out of PS at Christmas I have been trying to bolster his confidence. If that means he breezes through the 200 level and feels like a genius, all the better. His gears grind so much during LA that smoke should be coming out of his head. I will let him have his math 'moment.'

My inlaws are in San Diego (El Cajon) visiting relatives. Yet I learn about the quake here. Hmmmm.... Protocol is that those in the danger zone let others know they are OK. Now I have to worry.

He's a whiz at Math... He can breeze through 2-CLE lessons in 30-45 minutes (doing the speed drills for both lessons and one trip through the flash cards as well). He loves Math. It's LA's that takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Listening to him read makes me want to drill a pencil through my eardrum. And I am horrible because I make him write legibly, follow the directions, and correct his mistakes! HORRIBLE PERSON!!!! :D

and we average 2 lessons/day. Math takes DS about 30 minutes most days, 45 mins if he is dawdling.

I pulled DS from PS at Christmas knowing that he had met their 2nd grade goals by October. Therefore my goals were not overly loftly. I wanted him to start enjoying learning again, which he has through SOTW and Science. I wanted to encourage his love of Math. I wanted to 'start from the beginning' with LA's so he has a real foundation for grammar, phonics, penmanship, and so on... which he is slowly gaining. The only area we are still lacking in is having him read for fun... which he still won't do but I blame PS for that since their answer for an advanced child was to make him sit in the reading corner for literally hours on end while the rest of the class caught up. He is, however, finally starting to enjoy readalouds again thanks to Jack London and Roald Dahl.

I was thinking ahead to next year and remembered that SWB suggests beginning Latin in the 3rd or 4th grade. However, since DS struggles with LA's as it is, I wonder if I should start next year or hold off. If you were going to start Latin knowing that your child struggles with LA's, would you suggest Lively Latin, Prima Latina, or some other curriculum and why?

I've been told we do a lot. I don't think it's that rigorous my friends who HS do. DS is a 2nd grader. This is a typical day: Math: Two CLE lessons per day. We do the speed drills and flash cards. We go over any new information together. I go through the lessons and if there are areas covered that I know he has struggled with I supervise him for those problems. The rest he is responsible for on his own. He can do this when we are finished with the other subjects. LA: Two CLE lessons per day. We do the review and instruction on new information as outlined in the Teacher's Guide. LA is his weakest subject so generally he needs guidance through the lessons. We also do WWE 1-2 days/wk to work on narration and summarization skills. Penmanship: 1-2 CLE lessons independently. Geography/Maps: 1-2 pages independently Social Studies: 1 CLE lesson/day, primarily for reading comprehension. Science: 2-3 days/wk loosely using WTM guidelines. We were coupling CLE Science with WTM when doing our studies of animals but currently we are studying the Solar System (DS's choice) through use of library books, videos and building a model. Notebooking involved. 60-90 mins 2-3 days/wk History: 2-3 days/wk per SOTW and AG. I use history for narration, copywork, and handwriting skills as well as art. 60-90 mins 2-3 days/wk. Music: piano lessons with daily practice Reading: 15+ mins assigned reading on either a history or science topic and then 15+mins reading of his choice. ETA: We also do readalouds and shared reading for History and Science.

I've used the 2nd grade LU's as they fit in with our unit studies of animals and their habitats. They are pretty much open and go workbook-style learning (I didn't order the teacher's guides). I was able to assign a lesson to DS and he was able to complete it with little to no help from me. There was an occasional "go outside and observe" writing lesson but for the most part there isn't any hands on unless you choose to add it. I did supplement the 2nd grade level by taking him on field trips (zoo, farm, wildlife preserve, etc) as well as by getting library book and doing internet searches on animals that interested him. I also ordered some of the 3rd grade LU's over the summer and into next year (specifically human body, animal, and plant related LU's). I just pulled them out and leafed through them. There are few hands-on things (growing plants, dealing with senses, measuring your body, food group planning, etc.) in each LU.

We will probably continue with math and LA 2-3 days/wk as well as daily reading. I'd like to work our way through the Magic Treehouse Series, using the available research guides to tie in some science and history.

We use the Complete Book of Maps and Geography. DS actually gets excited when we pull it out.

My son dislikes LA but I lump spelling and reading into this as well. Dislikes all of those related topics vehemanently.

My husband is an extremely picky eater. It drives me crazy. He will refuse to go to dinner at someone's house unless he knows what they are making and it's one of the few things he likes. He won't go to most restaurants. He will demand that his parents cook something different if he doesn't like what they are serving on Sundays. At our house, he can eat what I cook or have a bowl of cereal. He used to make himself chicken nuggets or some other 'fast food' type food but when he realized it detracted from whatever I was serving, he stopped. I think he didn't like the fact that the kids would want some of his food too. I grew up in a house where the most negative thing you were allowed to say about dinner was "Thank you" without a compliment attached. We didn't have to clean our plates but we were expected to try everything. And there weren't alternatives offered if you didn't like what was served. You ate it or you went hungry. My children are not picky at all. They will have a 'no thank you' serving of anything someone puts in front of them. They might not like it, but they know enough to be polite to whoever has served them food. We did have some issues with DSS early on (when he first came to live with us) but those were nipped in the bud. He would complain about something at every meal (from "you should have put xyz in this" to "Jamie Oliver would have used fresh herbs from his garden" to "next time you should blah blah blah"...). I told him fine, since he knows so much about food (he watched the Food Network incessantly but never cooked a thing in his life) that he was in charge of the menu and cooking for the next week. I told him he had to cook in such a manner that everyone would eat the meal (i.e. not too spicy for the little kids, sticking within the things his dad likes or at least could eat around, limiting the things I am allergic to). I don't think he's complained once since that week!

We typically do M-F but if we take a 'field trip' or a vacation that involves school-appropriate activities over the weekend, I count those too. For example, we went to the Zoo on my birthday. While there, we attended educational shows and seminars. We went to the the learning center and touch tank. We watched zoo keeper talks and animal feedings. We counted the day as a school day even though it was a Saturday. We have done similar trips to nature refuges, salmon hatcheries, police academies, farms, National Parks, and so on. So generally we don't do workbooks, texts and so on during the weekends, but we will count trips that are educational toward our days of school.

I also found some very nice Animal Planet coloring/activity books at the Dollar Tree... so don't forget to check places like that for inexpensive resources!

The Activity Guide for SOTW has a lot of opportunities for coloring, cutting, pasting, etc... I normally have my DD4 and DS8 work on the coloring pages while I read the chapter to them. Dover has great coloring books for science as well (human body, animals, plants)... I will read a book or the pages from an encyclopedia while the kids color the matching animal. Lapbooks and History Pockets use a lot of color/cut/paste. I use the Complete Book of Maps and Geography with my son and it does a lot of color/cut/paste... There are several other books in "The Complete Book of" series available at Amazon and I would imagine hands on is prevalent.

We own a small business and times are tough. Our clients are struggling and therefore so are we. For at least a year, we have only been able to pay ourselves about 1/2 a paycheck. Fortunately, we have my husbands retirement from the military (which used to be for savings and 'extras'--vacations, meals out, new clothes, etc) to make up the gap. However, we also help support my inlaws (pay for their cell phones and buy their groceries) and I don't know how much longer we can do that. My mother-in-law has hinted around at the fact that they may lose their house and need to move in with us. That would be very challenging to say the least since there are 5 of us in a 3 BR 1500 sq ft house as it is... and obviously we homeschool... and run a business out of the house as well. Additionally, my DSS's mother committed suicide in January so we are dealing with that emotionally, spatially, and financially. The inlaws moved up here from CA after selling their condo. They were without jobs and lived with (and off) us for 8 months. They bought a house twice the size of ours based solely on the size of the down payment they could make. My MIL found a job at a daycare (not great pay) and my father-in-law went another year without even really looking for a job. They blew through most of their savings and that is what inspired him to take the job a friend of ours had offered nearly 2 years earlier. Anyway.... Sorry for the vent. The point is they might not have been in this situation, and therefore we wouldn't be in this situation, had he swallowed his pride and taken the job 2 years earlier AND if they had bought a smaller house/condo. Oh well, by gones. But all of this together means a lot of stress, financial and otherwise. Hugs to all.

I haven't even considered Abeka because it's the curriculum my mother-in-law insisted I use (because they use it at the Christian school where she teaches).