I have a 5 year old who turned 5 in May. She has the ability to blend words, but not the maturity to sit still. She also gets frustrated easily. Last week was attempt #2. I also tried in early June. After 5 lessons, I could tell she still wasn't ready. I'm going to wait until January now. She'll get it eventually and I'd rather have it easy than have it be like pulling teeth. It is a little unnerving to wait since her older brothers were younger than her when they took off. But, is it really worth the frustration to teach a child not ready? Beth

Which math minutes are you doing right now? I can't figure out if I should get a 7th grade or 8th grade math minutes. That looks like what I need. Beth

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Try this: http://www.diannecraft.org/video_bob.htm I have and adopted child who was most likely given hoards of antibiotics during her 2+ years in China. She was prone to rages and was hyper-sensitive and hyper-irritable. She is sooooo much better a month into the program. She's become a very pleasant child overall. She'll still have her moments, but she can snap herself out of them instead of going into a rage. Beth

I like the looks of Discovering Mathematics. I like that geometry is integrated into each year. What I don't like is the lack of constant review. Ds really needed more of that when he completed the Elementary Singapore Math series. He had forgotten some things he learned in previous levels when he got to upper levels. How do you solve the need for constant review in this program? Beth

I like the looks of Discovering Mathematics. I like that geometry is integrated into each year. What I don't like is the lack of constant review. Ds really needed more of that when he completed the Elementary Singapore Math series. He had forgotten some things he learned in previous levels when he got to upper levels. How do you solve the need for constant review in this program? Beth

The histories are pretty horrible and gruesome - just so you're aware. Now on the other hand, if you just want gruesome, horrible science is a hit around here. Beth

He did Saxon for Pre-Algebra. I am less than impressed with the word problems however. Dh wants ds to have to use his brain more and think through problems - not just know how to spit out answers. Saxon's word problems seem to be one step - much like the practice problems- no thinking involved for ds. The dilemma is not being able to "buy a teacher" with DM. But, I've also heard Khan videos can solve that problem. Beth

I know that the two are very different, but ds has done a pre-algebra course. Looking at the DM placement test (which I know he wouldn't pass at all), I was thinking about putting him into DM 1A or breezing through that to see where he gets stuck and starting at that point. Or...starting in Foersters Algebra and just jumping in. Beth

Which is a better choice for Algebra 1 and beyond? Beth

I will be using Saxon Algebra with my upcoming 6th grader. He used Singapore math previously to Saxon Algebra 1/2 last year (and did very well). He does well with math. When he was doing Singapore, he really loved and did well with the word problems. Discovering Mathematics or NEM keeps calling my name. My hesitancy is his age and the lack of teacher resources in DVD/CD form in case I should ever need them. I want to give my math kid a good foundation in math since he seems destined to have a math type career ahead of him due to his interests at this point. I CAN teach him math (I was a secondary math education major in college), but am unsure about time commitments. Also, if I do go with the Singapore upper level math, how do I know where to place him? Beth

I will be using Saxon Algebra with my upcoming 6th grader. He used Singapore math previously to Saxon Algebra 1/2 last year (and did very well). He does well with math. When he was doing Singapore, he really loved and did well with the word problems. Discovering Mathematics or NEM keeps calling my name. My hesitancy is his age and the lack of teacher resources in DVD/CD form in case I should ever need them. I want to give my math kid a good foundation in math since he seems destined to have a math type career ahead of him due to his interests at this point. I CAN teach him math (I was a secondary math education major in college), but am unsure about time commitments. Also, if I do go with the Singapore upper level math, how do I know where to place him? Beth

We are doing a timeline this year for Dialectic. I had an old Sonlight through the ages timeline book that ds will use and then the timeline figures from the files on the yahoo group. It was soooo great to find those timeline figures and saved me $80. Beth

We go out for ice cream and every year I explain that the school kids can't do this. I'm sure people wonder why we're there also. We'll have already done two weeks of school by the time it's back to school time around here. Minnesota starts late because we wouldn't want to interfere with the state fair the last week of August. Gotta have your priorities! Beth

My friend has done that and it seems to have worked with her... Beth

So, because you homeschool, what have you noticed that your kids don't naturally pick up? For me, it's the whole reading an analog clock. They CAN do it, but not quickly because most of the clocks in the house are digital (microwave, radio, etc.). At public school, they would be looking at the clock all the time to know when recess, lunch, or the end of school was. This year, I am taping all the digital times out and buying an analog clock for my kitchen. If they want to know the time, they will have to figure it out! Beth

I went and talked to a friend of mine who has graduated 4 of her 8 children. I too am nervous about homeschooling 3, one of whom is now in junior high and this will be my 8th year. She said, "It looks like you're noticing that you are at the end of yourself. You now need more than ever to trust that God will lead you through this and give your children what they need." She was right. God will give you and your children all that you and they need. Trust Him. Beth

My 3rd was like that. Extremely active - always moving in vitro - and I thought I was going to have another high energy kid. Nope - he's the most laid back and quiet kid I have. He's an introvert and he was just trying to get some personal space. :001_smile: Beth

Since getting the Magic School bus dvd set, I've been wondering if there are any other sets out there that are as good. I would like to add educational DVDs to my younger kid's schedules during a co-op group that ds#2 has on Fridays. Any suggestions? They've seen all the Liberty Kids Videos. Beth

I just called around to banks in the area and my current mortgage company. The one that won out was a little bank nearby. They wound up giving me a 2.6% 15 year mortgage that is giving us smaller payments than our 20 year mortgage. I can't imagine it goes much lower. Beth

He's 40 and long on wisdom. He just has public school blinders on. I'm not sure how he'll adjust, but with him I think there's hope. Not so possibly with others. Beth

I just wanted to update with something God showed me about my son's "mission field". My son was outside playing kickball with his dad and the pack of boys (5-6 of them) that he runs around with. These boys want my husband to play with them. Anyway, as I was watching them play, God showed me that those boys are not my son's mission field but my husband's. My son himself needs to be discipled in how to pray for his friends, and just how to make his faith his own. He is not ready to disciple his friends, but my husband is. Just wanted to share in case this helps anyone else get free from the "send your kids to public school to be salt and light". Beth

I guess the difference is between visual and audible. What a child sees is harder to explain away vs. what a child hears. The things I remember vividly from childhood that scared me were things I saw with my eyes vs. heard with my ears. Yes, there is a ton of non G-rated things in the Bible and in our world, BUT, we as parents can talk to them on their level and help them understand. I have never had a problem with what they hear in church (not all G rated by any means) - but what they don't understand, they dismiss or we talk about it. But a video draws them in instantly. My children have heard bits and pieces of what happened in Colorado. They understand it enough at their level. Now, let's say I showed them even 1 minute of that disaster on a large screen with the lights turned off and the speakers on high. How can that do anything but give them fear? Can I keep them away from seeing something they shouldn't? Yes- on TV and movies - not in real life. But should they ever see evil in real life, we can deal with it at that point. It shouldn't be forced on them. Beth

I don't mind the occasional video clip. We have become such a visual culture that those clips become a "parable" like Jesus used to teach. I am only going to make stinks about PG 13 rated movies showing the reason they were rated PG 13. The ironic thing? Last Sunday, the youth group who went to Costa Rico showed a puppet show they had been performing in Costa Rico. The leader of the group (a different church) made it a point to show the kids that the cute fuzzy purple monster was really a puppet because it had scared some children previously. We go from purple fuzzy monster to huge scary monster (how is a child to know that is not real?) on a screen with the lights turned out and the sound up. Sure, the monster was defeated, but the difference in attitudes on how to treat children is shocking. Beth

This is also me...I hate leaving churches - so does my husband. I'm not sure what's going on and I'm not sure it's going to be better anywhere we go. I'm starting to wonder if homeschooling and protecting children's innocence for the most part is soooooo off the beaten path, we will never fit in anywhere and I should just count my losses and move on. We live in a small college town and our church is considered fairly conservative because we have the gall to believe that the Bible is God's word. I haven't felt we were that counter cultural until this past year or so. I don't want to hide in a homeschool bubble world. Just so you know - my 12 year old has seen LOTR only because my husband felt he was ready. We decided to show him those movies because he could handle them. He stayed in church today because he had already seen them. I don't like someone else - especially a church deciding for us when our children can handle seeing disturbing images. We have TVs, but will watch programs (like the Olympics for example now) with the remote in hand because the station's ads for upcoming programing is so violent at times. Beth