Actually, sometimes I've made them stand with their nose to the wall. Which, like yours, they hate. But for some reason it makes me laugh. So there is my kid with their nose touching the wall and I'm behind them, supposedly stern, but actually smothering laughter!

My 3yo has some things she can do, but she's an extrovert. She wants to play with us or near us. When she is playing by herself, she's loud. Talking loud, singing loud. It's great fun, but distracting to my kids. Some days she works better by herself than others. We're working on getting her to play by herself for a while at a time. I'd give her a video later in the morning, but the TV is where we work, so it would distract my kids, too. Grrr... Is there a "Super Nanny" for homeschool families? =)

I agree I need to better about consequences, but my problem is, I take Legos from ds8 then he rediscovers his train set and still has a great time. If I take away all toys, the Dc get creative in the back yard. While I love their creativity it undermines my consequences.:tongue_smilie: Do I need to just ground them to no free time, or assign yucky chores? My sister once had a jar of all the jobs she hated to do at home. She'd have her girls choose a "nasty" job when they got in trouble...

As a kid, we had a song for putting elbows on the table. When you see someone put their elbows on the table, you shout out, "Sally's got her elbows on the table!" Then Sally has to get up and run around the table while everyone sings, "Around the table you must go, you must go, you must go...Back around the other way....You've been naughty ..." I don't know how to explain the tune. Sorry... Have fun! Melissa

I think I've asked this before but I can't get a handle on this. I can't control my kids, dd10, ds8, & dd3. They're not ready for Nanny McPhee but they manage to avoid things I tell them to do most of the time. On a normal day, a homeschool mom should be able work on, say, the morning dishes while the kids brush their teeth and get their books out and start up with independent work. But for me, as soon as the kids head down the hall I've lost them. They might head into toyland, or start chatting with each other, or playing with their 3yo sister. Nothing naughty just not what they were told. (And I can't get the timer trick to work in them.) It's like that with most everything. I say work on cursive, they start telling each other jokes. I say work on spelling, dd10 starts drawing horses. I should be able to sit with dd3 for 15mins while dd10 & ds8 work independently, but they goof off. Yet if I sit between them, dd3 comes in and distracts. At the end of our day, we've done LA and math, and maybe history or science. Maybe. 9am-4pm most days. There's never time for creative, fun activities because all day long I'm working hard to get LA and math finished. I'm exhausted by 4pm and they never get to their math drills, typing practice, history crafts, LA projects, etc. I can see they are getting bored with homeschool but I can't get them to respect me enough obey. And my active 3yo only makes it more complicated. I think I just need to really take charge for a week, find a sitter for dd3, micro-manage like crazy, and be a drill sargent. Once I've earned their respect, and can keep them on task, then I can add in fun again, right? Or is this a case of choosing between being a friend or being a parent? Fun mom or firm mom? But can't be both? I know this predicament is of my own making. Its my fault, not the kids. My hubby tries to help but we both parent the same way. We assign tasks then assume we can work on our own tasks at the same time. And then we've lost them again. I know I'm rambling, but I'm so frustrated and exhausted. "Nanny McPhee, I need you!"

For writing this year, for my dd10, I purchased CQLA level A. But I'm just not happy with it. So I added Spectrum Writing grade 5 and am letting her skip most of the writing sections in CQLA each week. For ds8, I had thought to do my own assignments throughout the year but realized I was failing. So I purchased Spectrum Writing grade 3 for him too. Now I know for sure he's doing some writing each week. It's inspiring me to get out there and find writing projects now for both kids. Plus, a teacher we work with, I'm trying to get her to "assign" writing projects each month for us, to keep us accountable to get some projects done. I'm not doing well at finishing projects I start on my own. We tend to stop midway through.

Thank you, Pen. I didn't realize Peace Hill Press had trained people to help with this problem. I'll give them a call this week! Blessings, Melissa :001_smile:

I am looking for advice on placement in WWE for my two kids. This is for next fall. Next fall they will be 6th grade and 4th grade. My dd10 is strong in LA but is a bit behind in writing because I didn't push it much last year. I need to get her ramped up for Jr. high level writing. Do I start her in Writing With Skill or put her in WWE Level 4? My ds8 does great orally but is behind on his writing. Partly because I didn't push writing last year, partly because we were getting his fine motor skills improved. Should I start him in WWE Level 3 or 4? He's currently only writing single paragraphs. My goal is to get him up to three paragraphs by the end of this year. What are your thoughts? Melissa

I just wanted to follow up with my question re: my 8yo and his resistance to writing. 1. Following a teacher's advice, I am backing way up. For example, today I asked him to do a web diagram of Halloween 2011. He was to web out 8 (as in 8yo) different things he liked about Halloween this year. Tomorrow my plan will be for him to choose 2 or 3 favorites out of that list. Then I will have him write down 3 details about the each favorite. The next day I will have him start to form paragraphs from these topics & details... He didn't fight me one bit on it today. Here's to hoping! 2. The other piece of this challenge was that he has a hard time writing on paper. I had noticed weeks ago that there was an improvement in his writing: more size and shape control. Then it ceased. I believe his improvement was due to Dianne Craft's "Writing 8" therapy that we had been doing at the beginning of this year. After about 3 weeks I started to see that writing improvement. Then when things got busy I let him drop that item from his checklist. That's when I saw the writing slip back to his more childish writing. So this week we have brought back the "Writing 8" and this time I intend to see it through. DC recommends at least 6 months of 4 day/wk. If I saw an improvement after just a month, I'm excited to see what happens after 6mos and the connections in my ds's brain have been ingrained! It is tedious, for both of us, but I let him get creative with color choices in papers & crayons. =) FWIW! -Melissa

Oh, I forgot to mention, I got the idea that EM was close to SM from a math teacher I know. I asked for a recommendation of a program similar to EM because I didn't want to throw my dd for a loop by jumping to yet another math curriculum that was completely different again. SM was the answer I received. So even though it wasn't a match like I thought, I did find a good program. Just not for my dd, at this time at least. =)

Just a little update. I found out the old curriculum was Harcourt. I have no idea if any of the suggested programs are similar but I'll take a look at each. Thanks so much again for the feedback. The world of home schooling must have much improved with the invention of forums like WTM! I can't imagine being a hs pioneer and doing this alone. Yikes! My hat is off to you pioneers! -Melissa

Ha! I love the support out here in cyber land. You ladies are great! Keep the feedback coming. =) OK, let me try to answer your responses. - I thought to go back to 2nd or late 2nd anyway, because that's when she last had confidence. 3rd grade was a huge struggle that she never felt confident in. 4th grade was hard as she was playing catch-up and still had little to no confidence. - As for EM, I've heard from people who are newer to it that they hate it, but from those who've been in it for years that it actually works out in the end, once the teachers and students have all adjusted to it. But that doesn't help our situation at all. Although I tend to agree that it's cra* also after what's happened to my dd. :iagree: - I haven't broached the subject with my dd yet as I wanted to bounce it around out here first. I will definitely talk with her before doing that. If she likes the idea but wants to start in 3rd grade or 4th instead of 2nd, I'll do that. The whole point of a change is to bring back her confidence and comfort level, not make it worse. -And I don't know if I can find the exact same book. I have an email out to her old 2nd grade teacher to ask who wrote the curriculum they used and go from there. Ideally if I could use the exact one, I'm hoping for that psychological connection to better times... ;) I'll let y'all know what happens!

My dd10 is giving up on math. It's so hard to see. You know what I mean if you've had a child find a subject that they consider "just too hard". In 2nd grade (ps), dd LOVED math. Loved it. It was her favorite subject. Then in 3rd grade, the class size went up to 30 kids (from 20) AND the school changed math curriculum, from a more traditional math curr. to Everyday Math (which is similar to Singapore math). My poor daughter suddenly floundered. The class size intimidated her and the math confused her. She lost a lot of self-confidence, not just in math, but socially too. So here we are homeschooling now. Two years later and we're still reeling from the affects of her bad math experience. She gives up anytime she's slightly challenged; her whole body posture screams surrender to the 'math monster'. We have tried different math techniques, manipulatives, thinking outside the box, etc. So here's what I'm considering. I NEED FEEDBACK. What if I went back to the old curriculum she used in 2nd grade, or one like it. Went back to the workbooks at the 2nd grade level, back to what she was comfortable with. And started over. We would start back 3yrs ago in math, and, I hope, move quickly back up the ladder to hopefully being near grade level for next fall. My thought is if 2nd grade math is a "safe" math memory, a "safe" math book, dd wouldn't fear it; it's something she already mastered. Plus starting back that far would build up her confidence as she sees that she CAN conquer that math monster. Am I crazy? -melissa

Nikki, I totally sympathize. If you haven't already, try this. Tie the 8yo's attitude and work ethic to the fun activities. Plan some "not-quite-so-fun" things for the 3yo in the morning, that aren't as enticing to the 8yo. Then, as you start your day, share with the 8yo what the plan is for the little one that day, with the more fun things a bit later on. Tell the 8yo you would love for him to join his sibling, as long as he finishes his work in a timely manner and with a good attitude. You could even, say, reward him for every i.e., workbook he gets through with a good attitude and working hard, he gets 15 minutes of play with the 3yo's activity. Something like that... Best of luck! -Melissa

Could some of you maybe sum up the basic strategy to use when teaching writing? I mean, I know styles of writing we need to work on (expository, narrative, etc.) but what needs to happen BEFORE that. For example, before a 5-page essay you need to be able to write a paragraph; before you can write a successful paragraph you need to be able to .... We are doing Easy Grammar on the side already, so I don't need sentence breakdown help. Someone had suggested to me that all I really need to do at first is to get my ds writing SOMETHING down. Like a few sentences about his latest Lego creation. A few times a week have ds answer a specific question about something that interests him. Once we have him writing regularly and with "ease" then work on paragraph form. From there... I think I just need a visual diagram/scope & sequence LOL. Understanding the overall picture of what I am trying to do would help me. Anybody have one? -Melissa

Sara, do you mean this one? http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Writer-Level-Workbook-Writing/dp/1933339292/ref=pd_sim_b3 or the WTM store online has just the student pages... Melissa

My ds is 3rd grade, this is our second year home schooling. I'm pretty sure he's behind in writing now. Last year we were in survival mode, and since he was slow on handwriting, I did a lot orally. So, mentally he's got a lot to say, but physically his writing is improving but still iffy. I don't want to move him to typing just yet, until that writing gets under control. As such, I'm trying to do better at what I'm teaching, be more thorough in areas I neglected last year. I need to do more with writing, but know I can't just jump into 5 paragraph papers. I need to back up to the one paragraph level. Having no professional teaching experience, I'm a bit lost here. I just know the basics but not sure how to get there. Is there an easy curriculum to buy or workbook or website or even a scope & sequence for 2nd and 3rd grade writing? I need a specific plan... Help? -Melissa

My 3yo keeps us highly distracted too. I totally understand. And last year was worse! Some things I'm doing this year are 1. a plastic pool (4ft diameter?) with dry beans and sand toys, can be used indoors on the back porch. 2. Dot paints. You can strap him into a booster seat at a table prepped for dot paints and give him a few pieces of paper, or even tape a large piece of butcher paper over the table and let him at it. 3. We do one video a day; saving it for later in the school morning, near 11am or so. 4. Never use his "regular" toys; always set some aside as "special" toys for school time. Even now my 3yo begs for dot paints and at this moment, for finger paints. I only do that in protected areas for minimal mess & clean-up. Good luck! Melissa

Oh, I forgot to mention, one of the best pieces of advice I've gotten so far is to set a timer for math. Say 30-45 minutes only. Last year, math would drag on and on. My dd would get slower and slower the more challenging the math, or other days she'd be distracted or dawdle. By the end of the year I'd discovered the timer trick. It helps in many ways: - the child knows there is an end in sight! Math will not continue for hours and that takes some of the "dread" out of math time. - the child has a limited amount of time in which to complete his work. At the end of the time, if the child has not completed the work, the parent can decide if that is enough math for the day or if the incomplete work is due to a character issue. In which case, you can require the child return to the math assignment during his free time later in the day to finish it. It's a good natural consequence for a dawdler. However if your child is working diligently but slowly, you may decide to take it up again the next day. Good luck! -Melissa

Cassy, We are doing 5A this year. It is our second year of home schooling and PM. Last year, since I was finding my way, I focused almost entirely on the workbook and skipped the text book altogether. I was in survival mode and that seemed simplest. What I discovered was that the text had all the helps in it while the workbook had lots of practice. Too much at times. My daughter was overwhelmed by the number of pages some exercises had, and when she was already struggling with math intimidation that made things worse. This year, I am working almost exclusively out of the textbook (I am still aiming for simple but effective). 1) It includes helpful visual aids; 2) it's in color and that makes it "friendlier" to my dd, less intimidating; 3) since the problems are meant to be completed in a notebook, they are spaced closer together in the text, making each lesson usually only one page or less. This helped my daughter to be less intimidated by the "size" of her daily work. Plus there are plenty of problems in each lesson for me to see if she gets it or not; I don't need the amount of work available in the wkbk. If she needs more practice, THEN I go to the workbook for additional problems. Math is going significantly smoother for us this year as a result. 4) the text includes a Practice assignment to review that unit as well as a Review section to cover all that you've learned YTD. It's perfect for what we need. Hope that helps! -Melissa

Does anybody know where I can get domino math worksheets online for free? I was just given a binder full of Creative Publications Domino Math, but it is missing all the multiplication & division pages. I've googled it but no luck so far. Help? Thanks bunches... =)

I just received my first year of MFW in the mail (Expl to 1850) w/ enough for two kids (dd10 & ds8). I was so excited to get it. I love the heart behind the curriculum and the family that writes it. Because I already had SOTW3, Math books, and science curriculum, I didn't need to purchase the entire MFW package, though it was still expensive (~$260). Now that I look at the manual, I have to ask myself, "is what I'm getting worth all this money?" What do I have: study for the book of James, Teacher's Manual with lesson plans, notes, & ideas, US wall map, state report workbook, and a number of supplementary world/us history books. I still have to figure out our actual daily plan as 1) I have a preschooler to educate/occupy, 2) My ds's LA work is in all separate workbooks..... Aaaaah! All that to say I am totally second guessing myself. I do believe MFW is a great program. My doubt comes in that with what I already planned I could have saved all that money for other things. Any thoughts...?:confused: -Melissa

I am using the God's Design Chemistry books, published by ...oops. Answers in Genesis. Sorry... I knew it was one of those "A" publishers LOL! Good catch! We had already planned on the Chemistry before deciding on MFW. So we're going to keep it. Next time we'll use what's on the plan. Basically, my question is how often is Science on the Lesson Plans. I know I can tweek and add or remove items as necessary. I just want to know what they call for in their TM...as I plan out our schedules. Melissa

Thanks for the supplies help. :) Can you tell me how many days a week we'll do science? I'm not doing the animal sciences, but the Apologia Chemistry (per my kids request!). So I want to know how often I'll need to put science in our weekly schedules...

Hi, Ladies, I have a different question on MFW that I thought I'd ask since you all are here. I am starting MFW this month, Expl to 1850, but my very first year. We're moving from MOH 2. Since my order just went in today, I don't have my TM yet. Can anyone tell me what supplies I'm going to need to start up? Binders, folders, Comp book, etc.? Payday is Friday so I want to get my stuff if possible. Thanks! -Melissa