I am thankful we have a break from long division this week. I don't remember what we're scheduled to cover but I'm just happy it's not long division. Basically all we got done this week was math because my daughter who is perfectly capable of doing the work doesn't want to do them so she just sits there and stares at the paper. She managed to get dh to do every problem for her one day this week by playing dumb. My point is,..I feel your pain:confused:

I let dd6 use the electronic dictionary on the iPad while reading or if we're talking and she asks what a word means. If looking up a definition is part of a lesson we use an actual paper dictionary. I think the one we have is the Webster Student or College version (it's at my office where we do lessons so I can't check right now). For example, almost every Latin lesson includes looking up the definitions of at least two derivatives. I don't make her look up words for correct spelling. She is a good natural speller so doesn't spell much wrong but when she does I just correct her and have her fix it.

I just answered your pm but will add that mus is great for learning math facts.

As a person who had been responsible for selecting curriculum and teaching and a parent I agree with your assessment. Unfortunately most people seem to be looking for entertainment. We just changed churches after being at the same very small very conservative church for 15 years. Even there it was hard to implement a serious curriculum. What we used was Generations of Grace and it systematically went through the Bible over three years. It was great and used real Scripture and was challenging. Unfortunately it was still difficult because the reading level of the children in my classes who were in ps were such that having them read from the Bible was painful. We just movd our membership to a large church in our neighborhood. They cover Scripture in my daughter's classes but there is an emphasis on fun. I feel that SS is a lot like ps in that it's not the greatest learning environment so anything dd learns is kind of a bonus. I view it as a social hour and we make her attend church with us periodically to see what real worship looks like. Anything I want her to learn and retain I need to teach her myself.

We did a lot orally also. I would go ahead with the books if he is capable of doing the work and the handwriting is the only hang up. There are enough activities that are just circling or drawing lines and the rest can be done orally with you writing. Also, I would check out handwriting without tears. My daughter could read well at that age and was frustrates with her inability to write. I tried several things but HWOT really turned things around for her and reduced frustration.

I think your best bet is just being honest. We are traveling with friends to Disney world next month. I was upfront with them and made all of our arrangements and told them what we planned. We are only paying $600 for 7 days at a condo. They actually decided to stay with us but of they hadn't it would have been fine. We bought homeschool discount tickets without the park hopper option. We just bought 5 day tickets so we could do a few half days at other parks. They were only twelve dollars more than 3 day passes. We're also bringing meals in to the park (which is allowed per the website as long as they don't require heating). I would just be matter of fact...make your arrangements, let them know what your plans are and coordinate getting together at the park when you can.

As someone else mentioned the chant portion of the DVD is available in both ecclesiastical and classical pronunciation. The quick grammar lesson does include some classical pronunciation but so far in the lessons we've covered he's used both. The differences are minor and it hasn't been a problem for us. We are using lfca now and dd is enjoying it. We did song school Latin, then prima Latina first. Prima Latina was good for learning derivatives but dd definately prefers the cap materials. So far it is just challenging enough but still fun.

You seem to have the girly stuff covered and said they got lots of craft stuff for Christmas so how about some out of the box alternatives. We bought Snap Circuits for Mikaela for Christmas. She gave it a strange look when she opened it but spent 2 hours building stuff this afternoon. We also bout the 10 Days in Africa game as a family gift and the whole family has enjoyed playing with it. We have been doing Africa in geograophy so we picked that but there are other options. http://www.amazon.com/10-Days-in-Africa-Game/dp/B00008ZCGX We also bought a robot to out together from Super Droids. We haven't put it together yet but it was inexpensive and seems like it will be fun when we do. I sent these to my 9 and 10 year old nieces and they enjoyed putting them together. http://www.superdroidrobots.com/

:iagree: I think we take for granted that you either are a believer or you have decided not to be and are offended by any reference to God or th Bible. I was in my twenties before I ever heard John 3:16 so sometimes the point is just for people to hear the Scripture. Along those lines...I read three or four secular news articles this week that quoted John 3:16 in it's entirety and one that quoted a long list of other Scripture tied in to stats from last weeks' game. Things like their were 6 plays for 10 yards...Luke 6:10 says.... I don't remember where the article was or the specific verses and the point seemed to be making fun of people talking about the 316 yards and John 3:16. It is rare to read secular articles with extensive Bible quotes so while the intention might have been humor I found it encouraging think that people reading the article would be exposed to Scripturenpossibly for the first time. Those kids sure were adorable in the commercial.

We role play a lot and it helps. We role play proper responses when we tell her to do things. We also role play being polite in social situations and how to properly respond to adults.

We attempted to try a loop schedule this week but just didn't get much done. I was out of town Monday and we had a funeral Tuesday, we have a class in the middle of the day Thursdays and Friday we had unexpected company until 1pm. I was frustrated because "my plans" didn't get completed but now when I look back on the week my plans were ridiculously unrealistic. I think we'll do better with the loop next week. Dd is excited about getting to pick the order of the loop. We were discussing school over dinner last night and I realized she likes every subject except math but we spent all our time this week on math. No wonder we were both unhappy. Fortunately we are doing her math test today and then we have a break from long division for a while. I loved long division when I was in school but she clearly doesn't.

We are delta lesson 25. We started LOF a month or so ago. Dd probably could have started with the fractions book but because she likes to read I started her from the beginning of the elementary series. She loves the books so I'm glad I did. If I hadn't slowed her down she probably would have read the first 4 the first day we had them. She re-reads them because she enjoys the story so much. So far the math in them has been easy but there are some tougher concepts and ideas thrown in there so I don't feel like it's a waste of time. She is good at math but hates it so this has been a bright spot for us. She actually wants to do it. I would say if money isn't a big issue just start at the beginning.

We also traveled from Texas but didn't stop much on the way. I know there are some fun museums and places in Louisville because my SIL lives near Cincinnati and they've done field trips to Louisville. There are a lot of nice state parks in and around Cinncinnati. We visited several beautiful areas when we were there. We stayed with family but you might check VRBO.com or homeaway.com for home rentals Ipin the area. We are considering a trip with some friends and there were a few nice rental homes last time we looked.

You know it's a bad idea when you have 5 plus pages of people agreeing here. Has that every happened before?

LOL. Isn't that thoughtful. My daughter also comes up with lots of good reasons to skip math.

I have not been to NY and we talked again and dh has thankfully come to his senses. DD will have to be happy with 5 days at Disney because NY is going to be an adults only trip.:D

This doesn't even make sense to me. I can understand the simulated persecution idea but there should be some communication to the parents about when/where who is going. You can make it a mystery for the kids without being ridiculous about it. My dh doesn't go places without my knowing where he is much less my child.

I'll have to check out our conference schedule but possibly. When do you leave? I know I have to go to Disney to pick up our homeschool tickets before the 6th.

I am totally on board with the adult vacation. DH will probably come around when I start pricing plane tickets and shows.

We are getting there mid-day on the 2nd but our daughter isn't coming until the 5th. We're attending a conference and then extending the trip to go to Disney. Our friends are bringing our daughter along with their kids on the 5th. We're saying at the Bonnet Creek Hilton until the 5th and then a condo close to Disney the 5th - 11th.

It looks like we're taking a trip to New York in March. I'm super excited because I've never been. It looks like we'll be there for 3 days maybe 4. I will have free time the entire time but dh will have one evening and one daytime meeting he has to attend. A few friends' wives will be there to hang with us. So for those of you who've been to New York I would love tips on what the best options are for shows right now and any other tips/suggestions you might have. We are currently disagreeing over whether we should take dd6 with us so I would appreciate knowing what you think is okay with or without kids. I say she stays with grandparents and we have a grown-up vacation. Dh wants to take her. We're going to Disney in early February so she's getting a vacation.

I just posted in the other thread. We arrive on the 2nd so couldn't do the meet-up but I'm wondering if anyone else is attending homeschooling classes.

We're going Feb. 2nd - 11th but probably won't be going to Disney until the 6th - 10th. We're signed up for a homeschool class on the 7th.

It's always math isn't it:001_huh: We're having a bad math week here too. I think you hit it right on the head with the worry about moving too fast and not doing a good enough job. We always struggle to get back to our routine after the holidays but it seems to be taking longer than normal...for both of us. It seems like all we've gotten done all week is math because it's taking her SOOO long! So I go through the whole, it's too hard, I'm pushing her too much, I need to teach it differently emotional roller coaster. She looked at me yesterday after staring blankly at the same problem for who knows how long and said, "Mommy, I know how to do this, it's not too hard for me...I'm just daydreaming a lot because I don't want to do it".Well, I'm so glad I spent the whole week anxious and worried about this. Couldn't she have told me that, Monday? I need your sign with an extra line that says "she's only 6 stupid, she's acting her age, relax!!"

I've often had the one about it not being smart to shake your hieney (sp?) at a bear stuck in my head because it's a favorite of dd's.