When I am sick, I do as much as I can. But that is my general rule for everyday because life just has a way of competing with home school and if I wait to feel up to it and the house is clean and the errands are done, etc. and everything is just right to do school, I may only do it once a week, you know? :tongue_smilie:There is never enough time or energy! But there have been many days when I felt so, so sick... but started school anyway and ended up doing more than the day before when I felt fine. So I do as much as I can... which means I just start and then plug along as best I can... but if I collapse on the couch, at least I tried. If all I can do is read books with my preschooler on the couch while I have my oldest read silently... that is what I do and those days can be really special, too. :grouphug: I hope you feel better soon!

We listen to it. I like not having to read it out loud. I have to read so much anyway. :001_smile:

:iagree: Well said! Note: I suggest to everyone to get the newer version of FLL. I had the older one and it was so difficult to use compared to the newer one. We use both FLL and WWE (Level 1) and we will continue through all the levels. WWE is heavy on handwriting. That's on purpose since it's teaching kids to get used to good language by copying it, etc. FLL has short handwriting assignments at the end of lessons, but it's not a workbook like WWE. We usually skip these writing exercises because it is often something simple (and somewhat pointless like) writing the names of family members in an effort to review that proper nouns have capital letters, etc. My daughter still gets the benefit of the lesson in grammar without doing the writing. I think FLL is good because it teaches parts of speech, has poems to memorize that teach days of week, months of year, etc. All around, it is very useful and can be done in ten minutes or less every day.

Your schedule seems totally reasonable to me. The only difference I can see is that we wouldn't do "45 minutes of math." We'd do math but it never took that long. We do a lesson a day (or a test) and it rarely takes longer than 20 minutes. We'd also do Bible but never takes "30 minutes" to read and talk about a certain amount of Scripture everyday. :grouphug:

Someone recently recommended to me Jessie Wise Bauer's audio lecture called "Teaching Students to Work Independently." You can download it for only a few dollars from Peace Hill Press. I listened to the version for the early years and found it very helpful. I believe there is a version for parents with middle and high school students as well. You may want to listen to the early and middle versions if your child is in between those stages. :001_smile:

I don't expect perfection (even though the copy work is only one sentence, etc.). I can tell if my daughter did her best. After enough time and copy work, her best will be (and does get) closer and closer to perfect. :001_smile:

Backstory: I have a two year old who is requiring a lot of attention and I am pregnant again! We are thrilled that our family is growing BUT my current home school plan for my seven year old requires more attention than I can give her being sick all the time and eventually having a new baby, etc. What subjects do YOUR kids do on their own? What programs, curriculum, etc. do they use for these subjects? I need to revamp my plans to help my daughter do more without me. Thanks! :001_smile:

If you love your science program, if it's your favorite part of the day, etc. what is it? Thanks. :001_smile:

Math U See had been a perfect fit for us. My daughter never struggles with math. Another approach would probably confuse her, but Math U See makes it so easy, it's almost boring. :D She just ALWAYS understands, ALWAYS knows the answer, ALWAYS sees the picture perfectly in her head... even word problems are EASY!!!

I think you can call and ask for it back. It's probably as much trouble for her to get to you and it is for you to get to her... if that makes any sense. So, she probably hasn't thought to call and offer to bring it back. But, if you want it, she probably will make a trip. If you don't want to wait and cooperate with her to get it back, then I'd just get a new one. It stinks. But, I don't offer to let people borrow things I know I can't actually give them... because people aren't great about getting things back... at least in my experience. Well, maybe one out of ten times they give something back within a reasonable time frame, but most of the time, people don't return things. Me included. It took me two plus years to get a paperback back to my friend. She moved to New Hampshire, going to the post office was so much trouble, she didn't ask for it back, etc... I ended up visiting her and taking it then. But, she'd totally forgotten about it by then. :tongue_smilie:So it goes. I was glad to get it off my hands, but borrowing usually means keeping. :001_smile:

Apologia Users- Please read the below and comment. I have started using Apologia's Human Anatomy and Physiology with my first grader. She's a very capable kid. But, we have only done two days of science and I am already finding several negatives with this program. NOT with the point of view of the program. I like what they say about the Creator God, etc. But the design of the program is not as user friendly as it appeared to be. Negative #1. It's ALOT of reading. I like to read to my kids. But I read "Mr Poppers Penguins" and Bible story books and things like that. This is dull material with lots of names of scientists that are hard to pronounce, etc. My daughter sits quietly and listens politely and even responds when I ask her what she just heard, etc. BUT... I fear half of what I am saying turns into "Blah, blah, blah" when it is all said and done. This is a big negative to me. I don't think home school needs to feel so much like traditional school (where you just sit nicely and wish for it be over as soon as possible) to be effective, if you know what I mean. This is how it feels after reading a few pages in the textbook. I'm the adult and I find myself just wanting it to be over. Negative # 2. It is often unclear what the note booking journal is supposed to look like. For example, why are there TWO boxes on page 16 in the note booking journal? Why two? What are kids supposed to draw in these boxes? The design of the page leads me to believe the authors had two pictures in mind... but what are the two pictures? I told my daughter she should draw a human covered with skin in one and then a human you can see inside of in the other. But, is this correct??! And what are kids supposed to write on the lines under these boxes? I have my daughter writing the definitions of anatomy and physiology right now, but they don't even provide enough lines to do this. I had to give her a piece of paper to fit it all on. If this program works for you and your little ones, PLEASE let me know what you are doing and how you are using it to make it work well for you. I don't want to scrap this program, but if I don't figure out a way to actually make it work for me and my daughter, I'd rather move on to something more user-friendly. Comments please!!! Thanks. :D

For those who have managed to teach your kids to use other languages, even though you didn't speak those languages already, how did you do so? I studied a little Latin in high school, a little Spanish in college, but never retained anything more than what I needed for the tests. Can I teach my daughter languages? I am willing to learn along with her... How do I do it??! :confused:

Thanks for everyone who replied. I feel better about the "problem" my dd has with reading well, but not spelling... I feel like it isn't a huge failure. And I have a lot of options to explore now... let me get to work. Thanks again! :grouphug:

My daughter is six. She is reading well on her own. Right now, her favorite books are The Magic Tree House books, etc. I used Abeka's Handbook for Reading to teach her phonics. But, I was never able to use the teacher's manuals and phonics workbooks, etc. To me, they were not user-friendly. I always ended up throwing them down in disgust. I tried using Abeka for spelling last year, but that did not go well either. The book was arranged with lists of words grouped by similar sounds or spelling rules with practice and practice, yes, but in the end, my daughter had a hard time seeing the connection between the words on the list and just had to remember the way each word looked and that was not working for her. Even though she is reading all the same words in books, she is not remembering what the words look like or how to spell them. So I am wondering now what I should use to review phonics, if anything, for 2nd grade? And what should I use to teach her how to spell? Thanks.

Great. Thanks for the opinions everybody. Sounds like these books are pretty beloved. My daughter's feisty like you all described Ramona. She often means well but finds herself in trouble with the adults in her life anyway (including her dad and I). It sounds like she and Ramona may become the best of friends and the books may really minister to her little soul. Thanks again everybody. :D

Are these good books? Why? Do you think they are bad? If so, why? Thanks. :001_smile:

My daughter loves history. She begs for it. (We use Story of the World Volume 1. We listen to the audio version and do the students pages, maps, corresponding literature suggestions, projects, etc.). She isn't mastering everything... If you asked her the difference between the Assyrians and the Akkadians, she might have a hard time telling you... But, I think she is learning the basic things... She is getting a better idea of how big the world is (and how small our little part of it is) with the help of finding the maps on our globe, etc. She is learning about how writing has progressed, how people had to live near water to grow crops, travel, etc., how leaders took control using force, how civilizations needed to cooperate to survive, how they went from temporary buildings to better and better ones... all this is important and not too abstract or difficult for a first grader, in my opinion. History is just about the best part of our day and it really broadens my daughter's understanding of the world and her place in it. :001_smile: I am beginning to think it's one of THE most important things I will ever teach her.

The Tale of Despereaux was a favorite. This made a BIG impression on my sensitive, little girl. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2009/07/blog-post.html We listened to all of EB White's books on audio cd. He is incredible. I'd get the versions read by him himself. Note: I didn't like Stuart Little as much as Trumpet of the Swan and Charlotte's Web, though. Actually, we took a field trip to Boston Public Gardens after listening to Trumpet of the Swan. Very cool. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/07/were-headed-to-boston-for-day-we-just.html and http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/07/we-took-field-trip-to-bostons-public.html All of the Narnia books and the Little House books are great for that age, too. These stories are great fuel for the imaginations and good food for their spirits! http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2009/04/when-i-see-bad-guys-doing-bad-things-i.html Some books on my to-read list include: Mr. Poppers Penguins, A Dog Called Kitty, Summer of the Monkeys, Wind in the Willows, The House at Pooh Corner and Family Under the Bridge. I've got to get crackin!!!! :D

This is right on!!! :iagree:

I only ever feel like an underachiever when I read the blog http://www.SatoriSmiles.com :lol: I am totally kidding. I mean that as a compliment to Satori's mom. :D It's amazing what the two of them can manage in a day. But, I get what you are saying. I feel that way sometimes, too. Just keep pushing forward/ plowing through. Chances are someone out there thinks what YOU manage to accomplish is pretty amazing. :grouphug:

If you are looking for something to open and go: Abeka's Handbook for Reading. If you are looking for something that works: Abeka's Handbook for Reading. If you are looking for something that isn't dull... look elsewhere. :D ;) All my friends who have used Explode the Code say it's fun... but they have all also gone on to complain that even though their kids love doing phonics this way... their kids aren't becoming book readers/ book lovers. At least, that has been their experience. I remember how dull phonics was... but it was SO worth it. :grouphug:

If my daughter isn't doing school work or reading or playing outside or doing crafts, she's having screen time of one kind or another or another... She watches DVDs, explores Usborne quicklinks, uses Typingweb, plays with her Webkins, plays Nintendo DS or Xbox360... I don't use screens as a reward since they are basically a "given" for free time. But, I take them away if she misbehaves. In my opinion, screens are not a negative unless the content ON them is negative. One can make an argument that they are inferior to books, arts and crafts, etc. but since my daughter reads two plus hours a day (not counting school work) and since she draws constantly... I have no problem with screen time. Homeschoolers have a ton of free time to fill... We fill a few hours with screens. We just make sure the games, DVDs, etc. we allow aren't negative (in our opinion.)

In the meantime, I am planning to cont. teaching my daughter Spanish... I will just set my goals a little lower (for now.) She can't go through Rosetta Stone, but she can learn vocabulary, poems and songs. I am using this List of Attainments for ideas on what my goals will be for my daughter right now. (Look at #16 and 17, etc. on this list) http://www.amblesideonline.org/CMAttainments.shtml And, we will add more Spanish poems, songs and vocabulary every year until she can start Rosetta Stone. And, I am assuming that as I go through the program myself and learn and speak to native speakers, etc. I will find out what we might need to add to our studies as we go. Enjoy! :001_smile:

I asked this same question a day or two ago... "When to start Rosetta Stone?" ...I just started going though the Spanish and I allowed my daughter (She's 6 now. She'll be 7 in Sept.) to try and she is having a really, really hard time. I assumed she'd do fine because it's so easy for me... but I think I will need to wait another year or two or even three to let her go through it on her own. My daughter is very bright, but I think it's just a bit too much for her. If I sat with her the whole time, she'd do fine... but I want her to benefit from the program as it was designed and when I am sitting with her, it is obvious she depends on my cues to gather what should be obvious at this point... So, she just isn't ready. I believe YOU'D benefit from Rosetta Stone. But, from what I've gathered from other people's criticism, you will need to do all the levels and you will need to speak to native/ non-native speakers and perhaps even find other programs to use that will help you practice the things Rosetta Stone doesn't do as well. Good luck. :D

I think you should explain HOW your condition will affect your training (especially if you plan to do more than one session with her/him.) And a good question to ask is how many calories you should be eating, etc. Should you warm up before doing strength work? What do you do to warm up, etc.?