Make sure he is getting enough exercise. I have a friend who has her children run laps around the yard. I realize that it sounds a little like the dog whisperer, but I do know that my son focuses better after execise. If you have a trampoline, let him jump daily to work those large muscle groups. My friend has hers to swim several days each week. Also, discuss your sons outbursts with him, while your ds is not angry. Let him know that it is alright to be angry, but it is NOT alright to vomit those emotions (verbally or physically) on others in the house. Be diligent about instructing him to leave a situation when you see him becoming frustrated. Send him to run or jump on the trampoline. Sending him to his room or time out will NOT work out the adrenaline that his body has already released. The goal is to teach him to remove himself from a situation and release that energy somewhere acceptable before he does something that his future employer or family would find unforgiveable. I realize that this is not a book or website, but I hope it helps. Mandy

14yo DS used Apples 1 last year and is using Apples 2 this year. Technically I let him skip 7th grade, so he transcript says that these were used in 8th and 9th. The lessons have Day 1, Day 2, etc. written at the top of the page. Apples was set out and completed (maybe not quite every day), but there are only 150 days and it was a no-brainer, feel-good to add in again this year. HTH- Mandy

I am using CKS history, What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know, with my PK ds. I am not sure what you mean about the money. I bought What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know ($15) and My World and Globe ($15). We have also used these, books off my shelf, and the library. MCP has created a social studies program that is based on CKS that is about $150. I might buy this next year, because it will make my life easier. However, it certainly isn't necessary. You could just use What Your "blank" Needs to Know and the library or even the internet. Scholastic even has a list of their books that correlate with the CKS and you could check them out from the library. HTH- Mandy

16yo DS (dyslexic, dygraphia) Used Orton Gillingham-Riggs (1, 3-4) went to ot to develop muscle strength in hands (1) 1. Handwriting- Handwriting w/o Tears- Can Do Cursive will cover handwriting and some LA and ditation. 2. Composition/ Outlining- IEW! IEW! IEW! 3. Grammar- If you are interested in covering systematic concrete grammar, Winston Grammar (no punctuation, just basic sentence components); Walch's Steps to Good Grammar (this is a comfortable step-up from Winston and it covers usage and mechanics) HTH- Mandy

Last summer I started Kumon with my then 4yo, because 1. His brothers were out of town for the summer and he needed something to do. 2. Most of the hs community (like 90%) is white; My husband is Persian; the Kumon center is owned by Indians; most of the Kumon students are Indian, Asian, or Middle Eastern (more like 90% at my center); I wanted my ds to see more people who looked more like his dad. LOL Sorry for the rabbit trail- I just couldn't help myself- Mandy

Also, ds did Keys to Fractions, Keys to Alg (most of them, but not all), and I have an old Dolciani Alg2 TE still under my bed that he hated and all but refused to look at. He has been working through MUS Alg2 with a tutor. And still... Hi Ho Hi Ho it's back to Kumon we go. However, maybe it really is timing or positive peer pressure. My son wants to do well enough on the ACT to qualify for dual enrollment like so many of his friends and Nancy said that her daughter "was so embarassed to still be in Algebra when her friends were in PreCal." Hope you find something that works- Mandy

Funny to see this now. Here is the not-so-funny Kumon story that I just posted on the accelerated board. Five years ago my oldest ds did Kumon Math during his 5th grade school year. He completed Math levels A-D. This year in 10th grade he has been doing Kumon English (while the little guy does math) and is currently working in English Level J. Yesterday I had him take the Math placement test. Guess where he placed. Yep, the last placement point in D! I told the instructor that I would think about it and let her know when we return on Sat. As infuriating as it is, I have decided for him to start Kumon Math again on Sat. Good Grief! I know he has made progress since fifth grade. He is doing fine in Alg2, but when I had him take an ACT practice test it wasn't the Alg/Geometry/Trig problems that he missed. It was fractions and order of operations. So, after nearly 5 years he will be starting back in Kumon Math almost exactly where he left off! So my answer would obviously be that I would use Kumon in high school. However, my ds HATED Kumon in 5th grade. He literally did a happy dance at the end of the year when I told him that we were finished. Now however he is more focused on the skills he needs to acquire to do well on the ACT. He has agreed to postpone the end of Alg2 and instead complete 20 sheets of Kumon each day to try and complete G (pre-alg) before the ACT. All this being said, I would not try Kumon with an unwilling participant. Hope my rather sad story was some help. Mandy (who lives very close to the Kumon center)

Christy and Moira, thanks for your suggests. I now plan to purchase the 2A/ 2B intensive practice books along with the 2A/2B textbook/workbook. Thanks- Mandy

Thanks for the encouragement and here is a not-so-funny Kumon story. Five years ago my oldest ds did Kumon Math during his 5th grade school year. He completed Math levels A-D. This year in 10th grade he has been doing Kumon English (while the little guy does math) and is currently working in English Level J. Yesterday I had him take the Math placement test. Guess where he placed. Yep, the last placement point in D! I told the instructor that I would think about it and let her know when we return on Sat. As infuriating as it is, I have decided for him to start Kumon Math again on Sat. Good Grief! I know he has made progress since fifth grade. He is doing fine in Alg2, but when I had him take an ACT practice test it wasn't the Alg/Geometry/Trig problems that he missed. It was fractions and order of operations. So, after nearly 5 years he will be starting back in Kumon Math almost exactly where he left off! :eek: Mandy

Although this quarter he will probably fail physical science at tutorial for non-participation in the manditory science fair, my 14yo ds- 1. is basically on-target to finish a very full 9th grade year after skipping 8th grade! 2. keeps the kitchen clean. 3. spends untold hours kindly playing with his 5yo brother who idolizes him. -Mandy

I so need to do this! Because my 16yo ds is such an under-achiever, I will have to think. LOL 1. Although he is behind in virtually all of his classwork, he still loves to read. He locates and reads sci-fi/ fantasy books- most of them at or above high school level! 2. He enjoys painting Warhammer figures and they look wonderful, but he has explicitly requested that this not be made into an art project. 3. He loves on and is usually kind to his younger brothers. 4. Oh, and his article on Valentine's Day (which I didn't even know he had written) was on the cover of the monthly tutorial newspaper! That's a biggie! -Mandy

Anyone familiar with Kumon and Singapore? Prior to enrolling him in Kumon math the middle of last summer, I had not done any formal schoolwork with my then 4yo. Since then he has completed Kumon Levels 4A-2A and is 3/4 of the way through A. I am not pushing him. He is only doing 5 sheets/ day, but doesn't seem to be having any problems. He started Singapore 1A a month ago today and will complete it tomorrow. I will also allow him to fly thorugh 1B. He is just using the textbook/ workbook combo. When he hits 2A, I would like to slow him down to ensure retention and mastery. From that point I would like to view Kumon as drill/ mastery of computation and Singapore as introduction of computation concepts. Singapore would also need to provide mastery of the concepts not presented in Kumon. At this point that would be everything except the 4 operations with whole numbers. Which of the optional materials (extra practice, intensive practice, challenging word problems, home instructor's guide with manipulative activities) would provide this? Thanks- Mandy

DS 16yo/ 10th grade grifted, dyslexic under-achiever :confused: SL 200 Lit, Toolbook for Prose and Poetry, Journalism tutorial, Kumon LA; MUS Alg2; Apologia Marine Biology; World Geography; Latin DS 14yo/ 9th grade lovebug, not-so-average joe :rolleyes: McDougal Littell Lit, Fairview Comp, Steps to Good Grammar, Apples 2 Spelling; MUS Alg2; Apologia Physical Science; Holt Biology; Power Basics World History 2; Spanish Culture and Conversation tutorial; Art Classes DS 5yo/ PK driven, motor-mouth, wiggle-worm :p OPGTR, Bob Books; lots of math (because it is his second love right after running fast)- Kumon Level A, MUS Alpha, Singapore PM finishing 1A, Kumon Workbooks Telling Time and Money, Flash Cards, Worksheets based on What Your First Grader Needs to Know; children's books for science; social studies based on What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know; Farsi Appreciation; 1-day/ week homeschool enrichment

My 16yo ds is using SL200 lit. He is also using Walch's Toolbook for Prose and Poetry and he has used IEW TWSS. I'm glad that I added in Toolbook as the descriptions of literary terms are minimal. We are not using the writing assignments, because ds is taking journalism at a tutorial and is working through Kumon LA. However, I did look thorugh the writing assignments and if your ds is familiar with IEW then the writing shouldn't be a problem. I haven't looked at the sample online, but I would say that the discussion questions for The Story of Christianity are mostly recall. (We didn't use the rest of the history. He is doing World Geography.) On the other hand, the writing assignments do delve deeper. This combo should be easier for you to manage. Also, it is recommended that you find your child a mentor. Maybe there is a youth minister or someone that he could meet with once or twice a month to discuss how he feels or any questions that he may have. This would also make it easier on you. HTH- Mandy

A step up from Figuratively Speaking is Walch Toolbook Series- Prose and Poetry: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Literature. My 10th grade ds is using it along with SL200. The SL IG does briefly describe a lot of the Prose information, but I think that it has helped my ds to interact with these terms a bit more. HTH- Mandy

I agree with Lorna that you should get a spine. I like the Usborne Science Encyclopedia, because it is interesting, it covers all branches of science in one text, it is only about $20, and it is appropriate for the grade levels mentioned, it is internet-linked (if you want to find more info quickly without waiting to go to the library). There 8 sections, so you could cover one topic (materials; mixtures and compounds; energy, forces and motion; earth and space; light, sound, and electricity; plants and fungi; animal world; human body) each month. The back contains 30 review questions for each of the 8 sections that you could use as a test (oral, open-book, or whatever) at the end of each month. HTH- Mandy