Oooh! I've got an article for you to pass along..... http://classicalconversations.com/cc-connected/guest/articles/211-confessions-of-a-homeschooling-dad.html

I was looking into Saxon for my 4th grader (in the fall). He's doing Math in Focus right now, but if we stick with Classical Conversations (that we start in the fall) then he'll be using Saxon eventually in the Challenge program. Currently he is using Math in Focus. Anyway, I was surprised to see all these Saxon Intermediate levels. Apparently they are pretty new? Can anyone tell me about them? Does the 4th grade level pretty well match up to 4th grade? Will he be ready to either start 5/4 after the 4th grade level, or jump to 6/5? I'd like to keep him on track so that he'll be ready to start 8/7 or Algebra 1/2 when he's 12 or 7th grade (that's what CC uses). Thanks!!!

I guess there really are just varying opinions. Its hard to pick one. I keep going back and forth in my head! I see that FLL stops after the fourth level, and then I'd have to get a new English program anyway. I just see FLL as being a lot more "gentle" on my DS. Also, I think it will go well with the CC program. I'm just wondering if I should stick with R&S 4 for next year, but also do WWE 3. hmmm

What are your state laws on owning Mountain Lions for pets? If he has one or not - he did SAY he had one, so you can turn him into your state wildlife department. lol

Hello all! I'm making plans for the fall already - my DH likes to know ahead of time what to expect and plan for as far as $$ goes. So here is my question. We are doing Classical Conversations (CC) in the fall for the first time. My son will be doing only Foundations for the first year at least. He's doing R&S grade 3 this year and is doing fine with it. It does seem like a lot of writing, but I have him do just odd numbers, or just the worksheet if there is one for that lesson. He's been diagramming sentances and learning about compound sentances, subjects, predicates, etc. BUT I'm thinking of going more along with FLL and WWE. My son gets frustrated easily with too much or too hard of work. I think the gentle approach is better for him. Would FLL and WWE (along with what he'll do at CC) be plenty thorough enough? What level of FLL would I start him on? Would level 4 be okay? We're doing WWE 1 this year, but I want to start him on WWE 3 in the fall. Is is okay to skip WWE 2? I want to give him more challenging and "on target" work. Thanks!!!

Yes, I'm going on Tuesday, with my kiddos, for Foundations. :)

You ladies are awesome! Thanks! :) Can I ask another question? For Challenge - What other curriculum do I need to do at home? Or is it pretty thorough? Have you added curriculum to it, if so - what? For Foundations - I know they said math and langauge arts to be done at home. But what is included in "language arts" since Foundations does work on grammar also? What have you done at home? Thanks!!

Thanks so much for the info so far! I went to the info meeting last night and it all sounds really good. Unfortunately they didn't have much info on the Challenge program because this is new to our area and there is not a Challenge program director yet. One question I had that wasn't really answered was if parents were required to be there in the building ALL day while the child was in the Challenge program. I ask because my four younger children will be done with Foundations at lunch time, and have NO one to babysit them for about 2 hrs while I were to stay with my oldest son at the Challenge class. I know its strongly recommended, but I really can't see any way to do it if I have to stay the second half of the day with him. :( Thanks!!

Hmm well if it was near tax return time, it would be very quick. :) But not using tax returns...it'd probably take about two years, and that's just saving enough after each month's salary after bills, food, and every other necessity and fun, non-necessities are paid for. However, more could be saved if we really buckled down and cut some non-necessties. (sorry for any sp mistakes...typing fast because I have homework to do!! lol)

My son does well with listening to other authority figures - such as at scouts, church, co-ops. Sometimes he still gets into trouble and still has issues with following directions, but he does not even dare try to talk back or throw a fit if the teacher calls him on it. In FACT..his teacher last year at PS actually told me that she worried about his mental state because he seemed to show NO emotion, guilt or remorse when he got into trouble. I guess she wanted him to cry? I don't know. Her punishments didn't affect him, he would just say, "okay" and sit his recesses out. It was because he gets so intimidated by other adults. Even adults he knows well, like his grandparents, he will be more his true self but he's still a LOT better for them then me and my DH. Group settings don't work for him though because he gets easily bored and overwhelmed. Sounds like a contradiciton, but he'll act out because he's bored so he finds things to do, even if its bad things like being goofy or showing off for the other kids. And he acts out when he's overwhelmed after being in a classroom all day, Mon-Fri, 8-3pm. He NEEDS those frequent breaks away from not just the classroom, but away from everything I've found. He's in a homeschool program now where he goes a full day (9:30 to 3pm) one day a week and a half day (9:30-1pm) another day of the week. He's been doing GREAT. Not perfect, but a lot better. I haven't had many complaints from the teachers yet. He got a bit goofy and off task in a math fun/games class, and he got into trouble once for going to the library during class when he was supposed to have just gone to the bathroom and back. Yet thinking back, about his work and abilities in PS, he was behind in reading, barely grade level in math, and often didn't get his work finished. I think it was because no one was sitting down with him making him do it. He'd just space off and do what he wanted to do. At home, I'm seeing a lot of frustration because he's having to focus on the work and actually do it.

:grouphug: Dh isn't totally anti-medication, I think its just that he wants to be sure the child *needs* it first. Basically all we had done was a visit to his pediatrician who had us do a worksheet test with his teacher at PS at that time. The results came back in the ADD/ODD range. Then a few months later we did a experimental program with the Children's Hospital in which they are trying to see if teleconferencing could work for psych. evaluations so that children in smaller towns wouldn't have to travel to the Children's Hospital for appt's. Anyway, my son got put into the group that only got one 1-hr session with the ped. pysch. I wasn't impressed. He literally spent the whole hour asking me questions about my son's behavior, talked to my son just a bit, and then he said my son had ADD and he'd fax in a prescription to the local pediatrician. That's it. I would have prefered a more thorough diagnosis, based on at least one or two more visits. Also, I'd want full info on the medication, what to expect, other things we can try at home..etc. I literally got much more info from you ladies here then I got from that one session. grrr! So my point I guess, lol, is that we're not anti-meds - we just want to be sure and know everything about it before jumping blindly and filling the prescription. The same with diabetes or any other disorder, you'd want to know about the medication, side effects, etc before you take it. You'd also want to be sure you actually have diabetes before taking medicine for it...and by more then just answering some questions to your doctor. Thanks again everyone for the help. Its given me a lot to think about. I've heard of taking out preservatives before and tried it briefly one summer. It was hard! I would need to change the whole family diet, and that would be a struggle. Still though, I'm going to look into it and see if we can at least try it for a couple months to see if we notice a difference. I'm also going to talk to my Dh about just trying the meds to see if they work. I heard that they are out of your system very fast, so we can have him stop taking them if we don't like the effects and it will be out of his system quickly. Thanks!

Major stress. Uggh! My 8 (almost 9) year old is the most difficult of my five boys. He was the intital reason we decided to homeschool. He has been "diagnosed" ADD and ODD (I use that term loosely because I don't feel that it was a thorough enough diagnosis...just asking a few questions and then slapping a label on him isn't enough to diagnosis him in my opinion. I'd feel more comfortable if he had a few thorough sessions with a ped-psych who got to know him on a more one-on-one level before diagnosing him...okay off my soap box LOL). He's not on medication because, well mostly because my DH just doesn't feel comfortable with that at his age yet. However I'm starting to see maybe how its effecting his learning more and more. We already have a prescription called into his pediatrician that we just have to call and ask to be filled when we're ready for it.... He's starting to develop these violent rages when he gets stressed out. He's started to bang his head against the wall or another surface (not hard enough to hurt himself, never leaves even a red mark) or hit himself on the head. Today he threw some school room chairs when no one was in the room because he couldn't figure out his cursive. Needless to say....he takes all of my time. He can do very little indepdant work. The positive though- his reading has improved by LEAPS since the start of this school year. Major progress in just four months. He's reading at grade level! yay! And while his math really frustrates him, when he calms down and thinks about it he knows the answers. He really has actually very good penmanship for a boy (lol!) compare even to his oldest brother. But he seems to get so stressed about making it JUST RIGHT that it causes these rages. On a typical school day, most of the time he does his work just fine as long as I'm there with him through the tough stuff. However, every day there is at least one thing that triggers these violent rages. I don't know what to do!!!!! My Dh is seeing this and thinking that I have no clue what I'm doing and its all out of control and maybe the boys are better off in PS. We've only been homeschooling for 4 months...I keep telling Dh that it just takes major adjustment and learning how to do it. :( My other two boys (my oldest - 12 and third oldest - 6.5) are doing just fine. Would medication help this stress and major frustrating my 8 yr old has? Or maybe more frequent breaks for him? Its VERY hard not to lose my temper with him when he acts like that. I have my breaking point too before I start getting angry with him. :( I know it doens't help to get angry, but its a lot easier said then done in the heat of the moment. Anyway, I'd love some advice....BTDT stories, etc. THANKS!!!

Major stress. Uggh! My 8 (almost 9) year old is the most difficult of my five boys. He was the intital reason we decided to homeschool. He has been "diagnosed" ADD and ODD (I use that term loosely because I don't feel that it was a thorough enough diagnosis...just asking a few questions and then slapping a label on him isn't enough to diagnosis him in my opinion. I'd feel more comfortable if he had a few thorough sessions with a ped-psych who got to know him on a more one-on-one level before diagnosing him...okay off my soap box LOL). He's not on medication because, well mostly because my DH just doesn't feel comfortable with that at his age yet. However I'm starting to see maybe how its effecting his learning more and more. We already have a prescription called into his pediatrician that we just have to call and ask to be filled when we're ready for it.... He's starting to develop these violent rages when he gets stressed out. He's started to bang his head against the wall or another surface (not hard enough to hurt himself, never leaves even a red mark) or hit himself on the head. Today he threw some school room chairs when no one was in the room because he couldn't figure out his cursive. Needless to say....he takes all of my time. He can do very little indepdant work. The positive though- his reading has improved by LEAPS since the start of this school year. Major progress in just four months. He's reading at grade level! yay! And while his math really frustrates him, when he calms down and thinks about it he knows the answers. He really has actually very good penmanship for a boy (lol!) compare even to his oldest brother. But he seems to get so stressed about making it JUST RIGHT that it causes these rages. On a typical school day, most of the time he does his work just fine as long as I'm there with him through the tough stuff. However, every day there is at least one thing that triggers these violent rages. I don't know what to do!!!!! My Dh is seeing this and thinking that I have no clue what I'm doing and its all out of control and maybe the boys are better off in PS. We've only been homeschooling for 4 months...I keep telling Dh that it just takes major adjustment and learning how to do it. :( My other two boys (my oldest - 12 and third oldest - 6.5) are doing just fine. Would medication help this stress and major frustrating my 8 yr old has? Or maybe more frequent breaks for him? Its VERY hard not to lose my temper with him when he acts like that. I have my breaking point too before I start getting angry with him. :( I know it doens't help to get angry, but its a lot easier said then done in the heat of the moment. Anyway, I'd love some advice....BTDT stories, etc. THANKS!!!

Those are fantastic! Great job! :)

No! Not that I know of! Even the church gym can be used for events for free. I have a friend in another church, and rooms are used all the time for things like baby showers, etc. I *think* non-church members may have to pay a deposit or something, but not church members. hmmm

Is is because maybe they want to keep the group at a certain size? Maybe if someone leaves and a spot opens up, then you'll..your friend...will be the first to be considered? Can you share how you..your friend...was passed over? What was said? That may give a clue too. :grouphug:

No, we've had a lot of debate with our family...mostly my side of the family. We are lucky enough that my husband's brother and his wife already decided to homeschool their kids a couple years ago, so my husband's side of the family is familiar with homeschooling and don't have anything negative to say. However, I am the "pioneer" on my side of the family, and my family has very dated opinions about homeschooling. They don't realize all of the wonderful opportunities and how many homeschooling families there are now. My mom is more "concerned" but supportive. My dad and brother were totally against it. My sister and her husband were the most vocal against it and still like to get into debates about it. OH its so frustrating!! I hope I can be a good example and change their minds!

I know how to update my original post,so I'll just post my update in a reply. I finally did get up the guts to just invite myself to that preschool group. There was no problem, and they seemed happy to have me. Now I just am trying to work on myself, and my tendancy to dwell on things and read into things too much. I am trying to get over my issue of inviting myself a long. I feel awkward about it and like I shouldn't have done that. :( It also still bothers me that no one ever thought to invite me. I don't think they purposefully left me out, but maybe that they just socialized more together and that's how they found out about it. I'm trying hard to work on not taking things so personally all the time. BUT On a postive note, today was the first day my 3 yr old went and it turned out great! There are about 8 moms in this group and they rotate who's house hosts it each week (its one day a week). The person hosting it has a helper and then the next week its the helper's turn to host. So the other parents don't hang around, they get to drop their kids off for two hours. Woohoo! LOL Today they made some crafts on the letter P and circles. My 3 yr old seemed to really enjoy himself and LOVED showing off his project he made. I think they are doing the letter a week program, but I'm not sure .I'll find out next week when I am a helper, then the week after that its my turn to host! anyway, just wanted to update and thank everyone for the helpful comments.

Thanks for the info!!

I am planning on enrolling my kids in the new CC program opening up this fall. I'm going to the info meeting on Wednesday (yay!) and my SIL is already in on the pilot program that has been running since this fall to see how much interest there would be. CC for free...I wish I had gotten in on that!! Anyway, I seem to be getting mixed comments on whether I should start my oldest DS in the Challenge A program in the fall. He'll be 12 and in 7th grade. My SIL told me that there is a 13 yr old boy doing the Foundations program right now. So I wonder if maybe I don't "need" to do Challenge A right away? Maybe since it will be our first year with CC it would be better to wait a year before doing Challenges? Is the Challenge program more challenging? lol Because I really want a strong, challenging program for him. That's what really drew my DH to the CC program in the first place. Anyway..just curious on the thoughts on this... OH side note...I know there are tuition fees for my kids who'll be in the foundations program, but my babies who will be 2 and 4, do I have to pay for their classes too? My SIL said she'd probably be teaching in the 4-5 yr old room next fall...and it got me thinking about tuition and if I had to pay for my 4 yr old's class too? Thanks!

Hi! We are on a very tight budget too. Dh makes about $32,000/year GROSS. I am a stay at home mom and we have five growing boys who like to play soccer and take piano lessons. ;) We just had to find ways to be creative. There are a lot of great curriculum out there that do not cost a lot. Singapore and Math Mammoth are two favorite math programs, and both are very inexpensive. Also, I don't know about you - but we get a big tax return each year because of our family size. Setting aside a couple thousand for homeschool expenses is what we plan to do this year. And another thought, I don't know about where you live, but here we have a public school funded homeschool program. Its a school for homeschooled kids and gives them up to 8 hrs a week of elective-type classes. If you take less then the full 8 hrs then you don't have to do any of the state testing either. They have an extensive library of curriculum that you can check out for FREE. There really arent much for consumables like workbooks, but they also pay for those. You can buy it and get reimbursed, or you can fill out a purchase order and have the school order it. That's how I got my expensive Math In Focus program for my two youngest. They do have stipulations on religious materials, but religious-based publishers are fine. I checked out Story of the World from their library! Other ideas..you could do family fundraisers throughout the year for their school expenses. HTH!!

Thanks for all the replies! I'm going to first have him take a placement test for 7/6 and see how he does. I'm glad to hear that we can give him the tests in the book to see if he should skip lessons or if he needs more work on certain areas, etc. Thanks!

There are ways to test for Dwarfism that are usually apparent at birth I believe...although there are several types of dwarfism with some being more rare then the others. I saw a family who had adopted two children with dwarfism, one of them had the most common type and the other had a type that was very rare - she was perfectly proportioned but was just miniature. Usually with the most common type of dwarfism, it isn't just about size/height, but there are disproportions with the ration of the leg bones to the arm bones, or something like that. Did your Dr. seem alarmed enough to want to do more testing? She could just be petite. :)

I'd probably try it out, to see if the group turned out to be okay or if they had any more weird rules. It wouldn't be such a big deal to immediately turn me off though. I don't know which email program you use, but I use Hotmail and I have a signature on my email. Sometimes I email people who I don't really want to include my signature on (like people from Craigslist lol)...so its really easy to just delete it before I send my message. HTH!

:iagree: Yes that's how it is here too. English 101 is basic first year English that all first year Freshmans take here.