This is very helpful thank you. I definitely feel frustrated as the audiologist's suggestions were more classroom management suggestions which are not applicable and not really addressing the root issue. I get that there is no cure here, but I want to help him in some way. The best I gave gotten is, there are apps that can help. There has to be more than an app!?! Nectar would not be addressing his APD in particular, they would be focusing on the deficits in memory. I have thought about OT-- why isn't there more guidance out there for this? I feel like OT would be very helpful, but I can't find any research to back up OT for APD, is this not a general recommendation? Why is his dr or audiologist not recommending this? As for ADHD, he does not have a diagnosis though we thought he might have it, the comprehensive eval with Nectar said that he did not-- there is one certain test/outlier that they look at for ADHD and my ds did not have it. I absolutely want to address the big things first, I just don't know where to go and with him turning 16 soon, I feel like I am running out of time. But....I am also tired of throwing away money. My dd is dyslexic and in the last year we have spent close to $15,000 in ridiculously overpriced Barton tutoring. I am thankful for the state scholarship that is paying for this but it is killing me to be spending that much. (We only have one option in our area). (Though we may switch to a cheaper online tutor soon). I see improvements but are they enough to justify the expense? I guess, any help is worth it? ugh...I just want to do the best I can for my kids...

IEW may be helpful. It is super formulaic which makes struggling writers able to simply copy the process. Natural writers would balk but struggling writers would find it helpful. I held off on trying it for years and now my dyslexic middle schooler is definitely finding her groove using it. I am going to try it with my ds next year to give some structure to his essays.

We had my ds do an evaluation last year through the Nectar Group. We had previously received a diagnosis for APD. We had planned to do the brain training program offered by the Nectar Group but were waitlisted for our states scholarship so are waiting until he is approved to begin. (Should be approved this summer). It is a very expensive investment so I was just wondering if anyone here has had any experience.

The major issue I think I am hearing and disagreeing with is her tutor sees no difference in reading "with ears" (what she calls audiobooks) and reading "with eyes." I think audiobooks are a great tool but I don't want it to replace actual reading. I will talk to her about fluency practice. At this point dd only reads books she chooses. Anything I assign I give her as an audiobook. I would like this to change for next year in 8th grade in anticipation of high school.

My last one will be in 8th grade next year. At a local Co-op: Apologetics/Cultural Issues IEW: US History/literature (BP year 4) History: Biblioplan Year 4 At Home: Physical Science: Education Exploration Spanish 1: Avancemos (in a group but taught by me) Easy Grammar (maybe . . .this one is still up in the air as I want to teach dd and ds together) Spelling: Barton Logic: on the waitlist for Schole for the only time that works for us for Art of Argument. Not sure what we will do if she doesn't get in as this class was my other kids highlight for homeschooling so it would be sad . . . Extracurriculars: guitar, volleyball, soccer, theater

I get that every family is different. We didn't start out intending to be a sports family but my kids bought in and are talented and competitive and here we are with 3 competitive athletes with the first graduating this year and going onto college athletics... We started all of our kids in gymnastics at age 2-3 just for balance, exercise, socialization. My girls loved it and ended up competing for years. They eventually moved on to other sports but we are forever grateful for all they learned in gymnastics. I enjoy going to their sporting events. I enjoy the lessons they have learned, the self discipline, the goal setting. We are ok being a sports family. We have some boundaries to protect our family time . . . My husband doesn't love it as much as I do, but that just means I take them more than he does. I don't think when you sign up for gymnastics at 5 that you are making a long term commitment. Plenty of kids do recreational sports. Even when my kids were competitive when they were little, I made them try one new sport every few months to be exposed to new things and just see if they really wanted to stay with what they were doing. For the most part however, we kept it to one sport at a time and one musical instrument at a time. In the early years I just saw it as part of our homeschool --PE and Music.

I am looking for a comprehensive grammar that isn't overwhelming that... 1. can combine a relatively advanced yet dyslexic 8th grader and a grammar challenged 11th grader (I know they will need me to best approach the subject and I only want to teach it one time a day) 2. Will be comprehensive --mostly important for the 11th grader -- and will help him prepare for ACT/SAT A few considerations: I like Easy Grammar-- using it with younger dd this year. Would Easy Grammar Plus work for this? I have Analytical Grammar. I remember it being a lot. but it has been years since I have used it. When I did it with older dd we did it over 3 years . . . would doing it all in one year be too much? and again, it seems tedious. Compass Classroom's Grammar for writers???

Her Barton tutor encourages her to do mostly, if not solely, audio books. She has even told me not to have her read along in the text while the audio is playing. I have not completely abided by this as to me it is not practical or beneficial. She does her literature via audio book mostly but we will rotate this. I assign a book via audio then she chooses one to read on her own. She just finished a pretty big book from the library about women's soccer and loves to read anything by Kate DiCamillo. So she can and does read chapter books. I have her do her history via audiobook and her science is videos. She reads her logic book. So it is a mix. I do think something to build the skill of reading out loud fluency would be beneficial...even just 5 minutes a day. Any suggestions on something for that? something progressive?

This is super helpful! I have a 13 yo dyslexic. We started in pre-k with AAR and progressed great from pre-level to AAR4 and she learned to read with minimal hiccups. After AAR 1 we started AAS, books 1-2 were ok, book 3 we restarted every year for 3 years and just couldn't do it. We tried a million other things and finally in 4th grade had her tested, diagnosed and started Barton in 5th. I tutored her myself semi inconsistently for a year and got a few lessons into Book 4 and then just couldn't handle it anymore (mostly the training videos) so we got on a waiting list for a Barton tutor. My dd has now been working with a tutor since spring of 6th grade (last year) and is now in book 6. She is definitely improving in her spelling. Her reading is still ok . . .but laborious and I think that is mostly because since she started barton she hardly reads. . . everything is encouraged to be audio books. She is going to Barton 3 times/week and it is absurdly expensive so I question constantly if it is worth it to continue . . . do I have her complete all 10 levels? stop after 8 and then maybe do AAS's last two levels? Any advice from some of you who have BTDT is appreciated!

We did it in 10th because that was the first year of high school we did American Literature. I would think 8th or 9th would be fine depending on the kid, but I wouldn't go much younger or I think you risk missing all that makes it so great.

Thank you! This is very helpful. I am not opposed to a synchronous schedule with mildly flexible dates . . . I have student athletes and we do a good bit of traveling for tournaments. They don't generally struggle to get assignments done on time but we do have the occasional, ugh we could use another day or two . . . and my senior just had her first real spring break since 7th grade because of live online class schedules so there is that also . . .

Not sure if I am missing something but Clover Valley looks to only have an honors option, also it looks to be live class with teacher grading or asynchronous with parent grading... I am not seeing an option for asynchronous with teacher grading . . . ? '? '

Thanks! What is the work load like?

I am looking for a chemistry program next year for ds. Ideally it would be asynchronous, short video lessons, notes that are available/fill out, labs, and that has a teacher who grades tests and lab reports. I imagine I can use one of the ones I am looking at-- ChemExplained or MasterBooks and just hire someone to grade tests, labs, and give feedback . . . but wondering if something like this exists? ETA: WE FOUND THE UNICORN! Excelsior Classes self paced Chemistry

I just pulled up the pics on homeschooldiploma.com and had dd choose one...she picked navy and we added an orange tassel.

This. It is just what my average students needed. Straightforward, set them up for success, but didn't overwhelm them. My dd went on to get a solid ACT score in math and had no problems moving on to College Algebra and Precalculus with trig (DE) . . .

I originally left off ACT scores but then a specific college required that the test score be on the transcript so I updated it and put it on there for that school. We didn't have CLEP or AP but I did mark all DE as such.

I updated my original post . . . I think we have a plan...I will hold it loosely even when we start . . .

This is helpful, thank you! ok, narrowed down to ChemExplained and MB!

@RubyPenn Did you end up using this? How was it? We haven't done much for grammar this year and I am looking at this again for next year to go through with 2 of my kids together.

It seems "light." I don't know if my ds will be in a STEM field, I doubt he will, and MB Chemistry may be sufficient but because it is significantly lighter than what we used for my dd, I hesitate. But in the end, they are different kids and lighter may be just what he needs . . .

Thinking back, I doubt my mom thought one second about how I would choose a roommate, lol. However, I have given this so much thought the last few months. At the college my dd is going to she will be on an athletic team and everyone on the team is in one hall and she was told that her roommate would be another teammate. However, an upperclassman on the team was losing her roommate next year and reached out to my dd (they met at a practice on campus) and asked her if she would room with her and dd said yes. Part of me is relieved she has it worked out but part of me is concerned she won't have another freshman as a roommate (although that is a semi moot point as dd will be a sophomore according to hours). But dd is excited to have it worked out and I am happy for her.

I am researching some options for next year and these look promising. I have found lots of reviews on Chemexplained but not on Journey Homeschool's Experience Chemistry. This is for a struggling learner who is college bound but no idea what he will study. He is likely to need NCAA accredited which I have seen that Chemexplained has been approved but have not seen anything about Experience Chemistry. I have also considered Berean Builders which is what my dd used but it may be a stretch for him...and some of his friends will be using Masterbooks Chemistry so that may be an option for him to join them for labs . . . but I am hesitant to use MB . . .

Is it bad that I am kind of intrigued by a digital format because i have a kid that probably won't "completely fill in the bubble" ugh.

We have been successful with Mr D.