She is young for a 6th grader but her 11th birthday is before the cut off date in our state. Which if she had gone to ps would have made her a 6th grader. This isn't a problem for me to have her be a 5th grader but she knows she should be a 6th grader. Most of her friends will be 7th and 8th graders this year and this really bothers her. Tina

Thank you again everyone. I will be persuing how to go about testing soon. But before I can do that we have had a major issue pop up. This past Friday night my dd had a major injury to her eye. It was a very freak thing but she almost lost her eye. We were at the hospital until 1 am Sat morning. She had to have a cat scan and various other tests because of bleeding in her eye. We have been to the doctor for follow up once and will be going again today. He was worried about her vision because of the fact that things are still a little blurry. She has 3 different drops that are done at various times during the day some hourly. She seems to be getting better and the doctor thinks it will heal correctly but we need to keep having it checked. She has to keep from doing much physcial activity which is hard for her. She is suppose to start summer dance tonight and will probably have to wait at least a week. We will find out more in about 1 hour when we go to the doctor again. Thanks everyone. I will be trying to figure it out once we get though this injury. Tina

Thank you all so much! It has been so helpful to read about others feeling the same way. You have all given me so much information to read and links to check out. I will be having dd's vision checked. We have had it done before but it's been a couple of years so it's time to do it again. I will also be checking into testing. One problem is she is a little shy when it comes to talking to people she doesn't know. Last time at the eye doctor he had a hard time getting her to tell him what she saw. Hopefully we can work through that. I think she is a visual learner. She has always had trouble remembering peoples names. She will have known friends for years and still can't remember their name sometimes. She can discribe them to a T to get me to know who she is talking about but names are hard for her. She will also sometimes forget what something is called but again can discribe what it looks like and what it is for. I wish there were a homeschool store close by because I think she would enjoy picking out some of her on curriculum. There is one store but it doesn't have a lot. We will have to check things out online as best we can. The grade level thing is more of a problem for her. Almost all of her friends go to public school so they ask her what grade she is in. Since she is so advanced in dance they ask why she is only in that grade? She said no one ever makes fun of her or really cares but she feels stupid. Most of her friends are on 1-2 or more years older then her because she is in their dance classes since she is advanced. This year at the end of the dance year they were asked to fill out surveys. She was terrified. Not only did she have to read it. Which she could but it took twice as long as everyone else. She then had to put her thoughts on paper and do it all quickly so class could get started. One of her really good friends helped her out but she was mortified. She has since worked much harder at school but it just isn't easy for her. On the bright side she thinks she is going into 5th grade because she thinks we repeated 4th grade this year. We had talked about it last summer but never really resolved anything. But she was under the impression that we did. When I just talked to her she said I wish I was going into 6th grade like I should be. She does understand but most of her friends will be in 7th and 8th grade this fall so it is hard for her. I told her we can just dump the grade thing and just move ahead. Well maybe she said.... I talked to her dance teacher and she said they will not hold her back no matter what grade she is in. The pre-professional division is for high school and advanced 8th graders. When she is the correct age(not grade) she can audition. So dd is very happy about that. They know her and what she is capable of so they aren't worried about what grade she is in. Wow this turned out long. I am going to do some research on what works well for visual learners. Any suggestions? I'm thinking Mathusee would be one. Thanks so much. Tina

Honestly, I think even when she applies herself she struggles. I did say she doesn't apply herself and I think she needs to work harder on that. I think I exaggerated a little in frustration. But when she does try (and she did better this year) she still struggles. She has been working on reading since preK and is still struggling. I think what is happening now is she has tried and tired and it still isn't working so she hates it. She does like math most of the time which is why she is doing better there then other areas. But she has struggled with reading and writing since that start. Last Sept I'd say she could read at about a 2nd grade level now probably a begining 4th grade level. She has made progress but it is so much harder for her then it was for her brother and sister. She can watch a dance once and remember almost all of it, but she can't remember phonics rules and multilplication facts.... Do you ever wonder if your child would be better off in school? Maybe they would do a better job of teaching her. It is so easy to get frustrated with them when they don't seem to get it.... Tina

I don't know if I can even explain my questions so they make sense. I have a 10yr old dd who will be 11 in Sept. She "should" be going in to 6th grade but she just isn't there academically. She reads at probably a 4th grade level, Math probably 5th, grammar we finished GWG 3, spelling and writing ahh. History and science it's hard to tell. She really has no interest in school. Hates to read and only tolerates read alouds if they are fun, she hates historical fiction. She like science experiments and lap booking but that's about it. LOL She has been homeschooled from the start and has never really enjoyed any of it. The hard thing is her older brother(16) and sister(14) love to read, love history, they use to love math and science but now they just do it because they have too. Both dh and I love to read so she is the only one that doesn't. I think part of it is because it is such a struggle. But she just doesn't apply herself. I don't believe she has learning disabilites. I'm just not sure what the deal is. This girl is bright but just doesn't care about school. All my kiddos are dancers and that is what they all love to do. We just finished our recital and she danced in 8 different pieces and did an amazing job. Lots of comments from the audience and no one can believe she is only 10 and can dance like that. She is a performer as are her siblings. But what do I do with her? Do I say she is in 5th grade again or let her move on to 6th grade and just keep plugging along on her level? She can't wait to be able to dance in our local pre-professional school which you have to be in 8th grade to do. If I hold her back it will take her longer to get there and make her hate school even more. We have always used the literature approach but it just doesn't seem to be working for her. Should we try textbooks or would she hate it even more?? Everytime I come to the boards I hear about kids her age and they are so far ahead and it is discouraging. That is how my oldest two are so it's hard to figure out what to do. Any thoughts or opinions? Or just encouragement LOL would be appreciated. Sorry this got so long. Thanks, Tina Who would like to figure out what to do for next school year.

Last year my ds turned 15 while he was at ROTC leadership camp. He wasn't even allowed to call because not cell phones were allowed at all the whole week. It was very hard for me. He was pretty busy and knew we'd celebrate when he got home. They all sang to him at camp and he got extra chocolate cake. But I was home missing him and wanting to at least say Happy Birthday. He may go again this year and we'll miss his 16th birthday. Ahhh. Then he's off to 6 weeks of ballet summer intensive. Blessings to you.

I've been reading the Do you plan to send your kids to college thread and it got me thinking about posting this question to you ladies. My two oldest children plan to dance(ballet) for their careers. They will both be going away this summer to intensive programs away from home. This will be the first time they are gone more then a couple of days. Ds who will be 16 when he goes is going on full scholarship. He was offered full scholarships to two Ballet schools for the summer, Nutmeg Conservatory and Boston Ballet. One full tuiton scholarship we'd pay housing to Joffery Balley in New York. He is extremly talented and gifted and really could do this for a career. Nutmeg Conservatory also offered him full scholarship to their year round residency program. This would cover housing, academics(Keystone High school), dance training, meals etc. This is a huge offer since it costs as much to go there as most colleges, if not more. The training he would recieve would be very benefical to his career. He trains at a wonderful studio now, but has been the only guy for most of his life(he started at 5). This would mean he would have daily mens classes taught by a male teacher, which he also has never had. He will be attending Nutmeg this summer to see what it's like. We were not ready to send him off to New York city where he would have to prepare all his own food and get back and forth from housing to the studio. Ahhhhh. He almost chose Boston but with the residency program offer we decided to go with Nutmeg. Anyone have children do this there last two years of high school? What shock at first to realize that instead of have two more years with ds he could be leaving in the fall. He isn't sure he is ready either but isn't sure he wants to pass up this offer. Anyone use Keystone High School? This is what they use for academics. My dd who is also going to Nutmeg this summer is equally talented and gifted. She also was excepted to all of these schools,but being a girl didn't get the same scholarship offers. Plus she will only be a 14yr old freshmen next year and isn't going anywhere yet. LOL She thinks he's crazy for not signing up immediatly. She would love to go away her last two years of high school for ballet. But we'll have to see what happens since the tuition to these place is extremely high. Hopefully this all makes sense. Blessings, Tina

Wuthering Heights by Bronete. I read this about 8 years ago and keep wanting to re-read it. After reading the Twilight series I figured I really needed to read it again. I just bought it today so I plan to start it tonight.

I'd like to do this too. I mostly lurk but have decided to come out of lurk mode. Hopefully I can keep up with everyone, I'm not a fast reader. Tina

Thank you very much. I'll wait to sign up until Monday when we start school again.

I've reading how people have tried Aleks math for free for 1 month. All I can find on their website is a free trial for 3 hours during the next 48 hours, once your register. Do they no longer offer a 1 month trial or am I going to the wrong place on the Aleks site? Thanks, Tina

Our family will be praying for him and you. Blesings, Tina

Ahhhh! He is on a field trip with his ROTC class (KC-135 flight which is very scary to me) and I don't know when he'll be home. If it's past 2:45 then I'll be at work and won't get to see the scores until 8:00 tonight. Not fair. Not fair. LOL Tina

We are in Maine and still haven't received ds's test scores. I think I'm more anxious to receive them then he is. He takes one class at the high school (ROTC) but he said he wrote down our state home school code so I'm hoping we get them in the mail. The high school said last year they got the scores right before Christmas break and didn't pass them out unitl after the break. Ugh!

Thanks ladies, I'm looking over the programs and trying to decide. Has anyone used the new Rosetta Stone homeschool version3? Is this more worthy of high school credit then it use to be? Thanks, Tina

Thank you ladies. I'm still praying on it. You have been very helpful. Blessings, Tina

Hi Ladies, I'm trying to figure out what to use for french for high school credit. I will have a 10th and 8th grader that want to do french (I also have a 4th grader). My oldest tried to do SOS Spanish this year and we didn't make it very far. He had some trouble and really just didn't want to do it. I asked him what he would rather do and he said French. Both of these dc did French when they were younger but not to much. I asked them why French and not Spanish since Spanish seems more benifical to me. But they all do ballet and have since they were 3 and 5. So to them French is more exciting. Plus I am French even though I don't speak it. Since oldest will be in 10th and I want him to have 3 years of a Foreign Lang. on his transcript we need to make it work this time. Rosetta Stone just came out with a Homeschool version is this any better then the older version? We own the older version which they used when they were younger. I know it doesn't include grammar plus not much writing. Can it be supplemented? What about So You Really Want to Learn French, is this credit worthy? I am considering letting oldest do French at the local high school, he already takes Jr. ROTC there. But if I can't get the classes back to back it would be crazy to run back and forth. Sorry, now I'm rambling. Thanks for you help. Tina

I'm trying to decide what to do for our next school year. I was considering TOG but we will be up to modern times so we would have to use the year 4 classic. Since we have never used TOG would this be a difficult place to start? My dc will be in 10th, 8th, and 4th. I've been pursuing the TOG website but I couldn't find any samples of year 4 or much for booklists. I'm guessing that's because they are updating all the years and this is the last one to be updated. I would like to get an idea how much money I would need to spend to use TOG. But couldn't find any booklists to help me with that. Thanks for your help. Tina

Thanks again ladies for the resources I will check them all out. Jean, I you said your daughter did 1.5 years of SOS Spanish. How many credits did you give her for this? I'm thinking it will probably take us 3 years (at least) to get through SOS I and II do you think it is worthy of 3 credits? How did you list it on your dd's transcript? Thank you so much for all your help. Blessings, Tina

Thank you all very much. I sat down with ds and looked through his notebook and he just isn't taking enough notes. I agree that part of it is his attitude, I hate Spanish and this is stupid, he also hates taking notes. Well he liked it at the very beginning when it was easy. LOL We are going to try to keep plugging along. Making sure ds takes plenty of notes and let him use them for the test. Thank you all for your help. Jean and Mabelen I truly appreciate letting us come to you if we have questions. I have a couple of more questions. What is the best Spanish/English dictionary and is there a book that helps with conjugating the verbs? Since we will probably only finish half of this program this year should I award him half a credit and call is Spanish 1a on his transcript? Thanks so much. Blessings, Tina

Ds(9th) is having a hard time with this program. He is getting an okay grade(91%) but is struggling mightly it takes him at least an hour to get through a lesson. We haven't even done it since Christmas break was over. I know we need to get back to it so he can get through it. The problem is if he has any questions or doesn't get something I'm no help to him. About the only thing I can do is look up the answer but I can't tell him why. He is only up to the end of the second unit and it is very difficult. He feels like he is just not really learning anything but just guessing. How do you help your dc with this? I know I should be doing it too, so I can help him. That is a great idea in theory. LOL But I also have a 7th grader and a 4th grader and there just isn't enough time for me to do it all. I've thought about switching to Rosetta Stone but I have heard SOS is so wonderful. Any thoughts? Is it just us that is struggling with this program? Would love to hear how some of you use this program. Maybe we aren't using it to it's fullest????? Help. Tina

You could try Gonzo, it works on lots of stains. I help every year with taking care of costumes for a professional ballet(Nutcracker). The lady in charge always has gonzo for stains. I'm not sure it works on permanent ink but, it works on grease, lipstick, sweat marks, blood and loads of other things. She told me she gets it at Wal-mart. Hope that helps. Tina