Thanks Jean! Another pick of your brain...when is good time (age wise) for a compound microscope?

Here is my 2cents: My youngest daughter started reading at 3yrs (like yours) however it took her awhile to really read on her own. She is 5yrs and reads about 3rd grade level. What I did not know was that she was reading along with me when I was reading to her. For example, I was reading Pippi Longstocking and she started following along with her finger out of the blue. So, even if she doesnot start reading books on her own for awhile, she may be reading along with you. Also, I find that she can read words that I didnot know she could read and she seems to have memorized them for she is not sounding them out. Keep up the read alouds!

Thank you for sharing....your family's love for science shines through! We do similar science activities/experiments and it also reminds me that we need a new microscope. Would you still recommend Sonlight for a microscope?

I have been thinking alot about grammer these days. Next year I will have a 1st/2nd grader. They have done a little dictation with science, a couple of sentences each week, written out poems memorized and on their own they have copied beginner reader books. I read the tagged links above and like the idea of doing copywork from Charlotte's Web but I do not think they are up for dictation. So my question, how much copywork (sentences) and how often? Would it be better to have them copy from the blackboard famous quotes? Or is this too limiting? I have left writing for them to explore. They write little notes to me and lists of holiday gifts. I know that they will need to write more as they get older however I am a little concerned that the "fun" will be left out. Ideas?

Natalie is about 3wks from finishing Singapore 1B and I am a little hesitate to get her going on 2a just because she has not mastered mental math well enough such as 54-10=44 added a few in here for examples such as 54-20, 54-30, etc. She still wants to use ten piece rods but I think a developmental wait is needed for the light bulb to go on. Once the "oh, I get it" happens we are using rods. Your Becca may be the same....just a little bit more time. Natalie conceptalizes fractions, mutliplication and telling time just fine along with counting by 5' s and 10's to 100 but is working on counting by 2's from 50-100. She understands money values/names but she is not comfortable with adding large amounts of money. Like I said we are not finished with 1b and we may need to slow down to really get money and mental math down before moving on. I hope her story helps a little, at least to know you are not alone.

We use SWR however we do not follow all the guidelines of the book. The kids seem to like it and weekly tests have become kind of a competition between them.

Thank you Nan....I like your method for it is realistic for me. I found a weekly schedule that I can use to note down chpts read in SOTW/Science and activities, field trips, spellings, various poems memorized and a Read Aloud book count. Since my kids are young I have just been going on to next lessons, reader books of their choice and plugging along with History/Science. I decided to just do a X for pgs completed in math and yes, note next books in my weekly planner. I think weekly logging is just more realistic for I know that if I try to daily track I will be unsuccessful. Thanks again!

Thanks everyone! I got several ideas for tracking verses planning ahead which is what I need right now. In our state, we fill out a letter of intent begining age 8 and then kids take yearly progress exams or assessments. I am putting together a 6 month report card for my kids as we speak and have found that keeping records would have made my job easier. We have just been moving through curriculum and notebooks. It sounds like I just need a little prep to get myself better organized.

My kids are getting older and I feel the need to start documenting what we actually do for school. Can anyone give me some helpful suggestions?

Intensity, boy do I hear everyone. Some days I feel like I am running answering questions. The library seems to be the one place we can go where things quiet down for "all questions can be answered." We started a list of questions in a notebook which I would refer to, research and then answer as well. It is a great keepsake. My kids do a lot of play acting (creating their own plays) and crafts. I do envy those parents who have kids that will work on legos for hrs.

My 5ker- Spell to Write and Read-spelling, writing, reading Reading- Rocket Phonics then to leveled books from the library(weekly trips) Singapore Primary Math 1A,1B, 2A plus math games Biology- human body studies, animal and plant life Chemistry-Science4RealKids plus OMSI science labs History-SOTW and lots of crafts Geography- basic map skills, country unit studies & presentations Memory work-simple poems and prayers Calendar-awareness, daily Swimming, ballet/tap and keyboard classes and of course daily practice. Read alouds-1 to 1 1/2 daily Tons of field trips to the zoo, OMSI science museum,theater plays, science labs, parks, and playdates. Gosh, when I write it all out we have done a ton this year in our little school hours.

My girls work at their own pace. They tell strangers, when asked what grade are you in? "First, kindergarten and we homeschool." I donot really talk to my children about being ahead in areas rather we just keep pluggin along. I have thought about naming our homeschool so the questions will stop from strangers. I am not that interested in defending or explaining what we are doing. My dd5 is all over the place she reads 3rd grade material, 2nd grade math and science somewhere between 2-4th grade. I do not want to explain all that to a stranger. My dd7 has struggled with learning issues so I donot want to explain that either. My mother-in-law, a former school teacher, gets hung up on the age/grade thing. She was visiting when our children finished a country study on Vietnam. We video tapped their presentation. She asked "why are you studying Vietnam?" Not like, verses another country but why are you even teaching this? My husband responded "why not?" My dd5 is one of those kids that needs a lot of mental stimulation. My kids ask me when are we doing history, science or biology, not do we have too? A homeschool parent is like being the principle of your homeschool. I wouldn't let a game/curriculum box decide at what age I should let my child play/learn it nor will allow others to "box" my children in a grade. At this point, I feel it is easier to tell others what they want to hear (grade by age) yet do what is right at home (grade by interest).

I must be a slave driver like TreeHouseAcademy. My 5 1/2 dd--we school for 1hr (reading,spelling, math) and 1/2to1hr in the evening either doing SOTW, Biology or Chemistry. Likewise I do read alouds for 1hr in the evening. My 5dd does tire from a 1hr keyboard class, luckly it is only 1x a week. I think the best way to get kids ready for school (sitting) is to read to them. They practice being focused. Build up the time spent and grab as many books as they will listen to. I would also encourage you to read nonfiction as well as fiction. There are many great nonfiction reads.

We daily review phonemes orally, get familiar with 10 spelling words a week (write them out, play memory game, oral spelling) and then the kids read for about 15min from a book of their choice. We spend about 30mins daily on reading/spelling exercises. I give them a weekly spelling test and every 3wks go back and study for another week words missed. My 5dd has really thrived with this method however my LD 7dd has been plugging along with some improvement. I would suggest seeing how much they will do and then go from there. Most important for reading is the phoneme introduction/reviews.

A work of art is an understatement of this element chart---thank you! Our $1store element chart is put to shame with this beauty. We will get this one soon..thanks again!

It is often said the children are like little sponges when they are young but do they really grow out of this? Is it different for homeschooled children?

Thank you for the book link, we love experiments. We took three weeks off from school-winter break and started up with school on Monday. The first subject wanted was Chemistry, so we are observing and mixing. Recently, my dd5yr has been interested in electricity and atoms. She has watched a Bill Nye the Science Guy video on electricity 3x in two days. She wants to try out the video experiments...I just love homeschooling!

We have used a number chart begining with 0-100. I would also use flash cards and break up numbers into groups of 20 to arrange in order. Also we looked at numbers in groups of tens and ones along with counting by ones, tens, fives, twos. Kids need to be able to tell the difference between the value of 34 verses 43 etc. which is more or less and why? Getting the kids really familiar and comfortable with numbers was our goal.

making letters in pudding or with playdough. She may not be interested in letters right now. However you could introduce her to letters with her name....introduce all the letters one at a time(one a day), then put them together for her to "read." My litttle one started liking letters because of her name. She soon memorized the order of the letters and then tried writing them which she did on her own and said "Mom, look I can write my name!" She was 2 1/2 yrs old. I never taught her to do this...I finally figured out that everyday she saw her name which was printed on a towel in the bathroom. She just keep seeing this day in and day out. Read, read, read to your child. I remember her asking me when she was really young, "Mom what are you doing?" I was reading a book to myself. I said "reading" for which she said "but you are not saying the words." I explained silent reading thus reading in general. No use in forcing your child to read. She will learn soon enough!

Maybe I am off base (maybe 5th grader is too young) here but what about sitting down with her and talking about her learning experiences. Make a list or outline of what she is required to know for the year and ask her how she thinks you and her can accomplish it. Explain any of your concerns about holes in her education. Ask her to help plan her school year; what is she interested in learning? Maybe putting her in the driver's seat could encourage her to be in charge of her own education. Just a thought.

My father was offered a full scholarship to MIT when he was 15yrs old and turned it down to go surfing! He was gifted in many areas including music, arts, chemistry and math but he choose not to live up to his potential. I know another young man who scored a perfect SAT and had an IQ of about 160 but works as a dishwasher. I think it is important, in some ways, to down play giftedness so that the child feels they have worth as a noble soul rather than just for their brillance. Whether a child is gifted or not, every child should know they are a spiritually valued member of our global world. How they contribute in the way of their life is entirely a spiritual question.

My 5dd is facinated with homophones (words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings and spellings such as bear vs bare). She is not reading them and then asking, she is out of thin air asking if words are spelled different such as dear/deer, flower/flour, pea/pee, bear/bare, etc. I am not seeking this information from her and I simply spell the differences on our little chalkboard. I guess I just find it a little strange considering her age. Anyone else have a kiddo doing this?

Thank you....I guess I just need to bite the bullet and get her evaluated. I have to say I am a little nervous but I would be better able to help her if I knew what was really going on. I have been hoping she would grow out of some stuff but it may be best to shine the light on things rather than deny problems.

My dd7yr was born premature, weighing 3 1/2 lbs. She did not walk until she was 2yrs, continues to have speech delays (seeing a therapist) but improving. I know that she has a learning disability however I do not know what kind. She is slow to process verbal responses and often times will repeat herself as she rotates her head. She is learning to read, plays the piano and is in 1st grade material at home. My question, where can I go to get her tested besides ps?

your child is only 4! Many very smart children/adults did not learn to read at 4. I have a friend who unschooled her son, she did not "teach" him to read and at age 9yrs he taught himself. Yes he is "late" however he very quickly caught up to 9yr reading expectations. Best advice do not push too much. A fun learning to read website is starfall.com Your little one is 4yrs so many developmental changes will occur in a year or two. He will be reading soon!