Really, what a wealth of information and such words of encouragement. Thank you all so much. You have given me some things to look at, and have helped me see the forest for the trees. Hugs, Sandy

Dear Friends, We are finishing SOTW IV (or will, by the end of the year). My ds, 10, is a history fanatic. But he does not want to study the ancients again. He wants to go in-depth on American History. Meanwhile, dd, 7 has very little interest in history. (Perhaps big brother's shadow looms, I do not know). She is an animal lover and still in the "princess" phase of life. I started SOTW I with her this year and she was NOT engaged. So, I have just been doing some simple geography and corresponding story books along with ds's modern history. I do not know what to do for history. For dd shall I just try again with the ancients? Or do in-depth American history with both -- she is engaged by the Little House series of books, which we are reading right now. My ds is an AVID reader. I am slightly disorganized and do not have a reading list for him - so much opportunity wasted, I think. I do refer to TWTM and other lists (incl. the Activity Guide) and he reads what I give him. I wonder if I should go for some kind of "boxed curriculum" (not my style, usually) since I cannot seem to get on top of creating a good reading list for him. (Right now he is obsessed with baseball and reading shelves of books on that topic!) Any encouragement or suggestions would be welcome. TIA, Sandy

...I am not familiar with the book you mentioned, but we started at 4 with L&NFM. Before that I had some wipe-off books that helped with connecting dots and making curves, etc. HTH, Sandy

I let him choose the paragraph when I have 'nothing' else for him to do. He always gets so absorbed in the books, it can take a verrrrrrry long time! LOL Sandy

I repeat as much as he needs. Sometimes I need to repeat a sentence at a time. Sometimes he can recall the whole paragraph. After he has completed the dictation, I have him read it out loud to me. I ask him where the sentences begin and end, if he doesn't have the punctuation correctly. Then I may read it to him, with pauses, to help him remember commas. I may just remind him, "This was a direct quote. Where would you put the quotation marks?" Glad this was helpful. I have received so much from these boards! Sandy

I get a Page Not Found 404 error. Thanks! S. Date Group Grade SubGroup Memo Time txbActual txbPossible txbPct chkCompleted chkNormalLoc optNote optAttachment txbNA txbDOW txbLessonNum txbTot 03/17/2009 Language Arts 2nd Grade Literature Independent reading 120 -1 -1 0 0 Tue 850 of 1,589

Dear Nan - I will be interested to see the replies. My dd 10 is a reluctant writer. I figured out about a year and a half ago that his inability to spell was making writing a terrifying thing. So we have been using AAS and he is just finishing Level 3 (which includes the baby beginning of writing -- Writing Station, she calls it). We do dictation. Here is what works for us. I let him pick a paragraph from his favorite DK Eyewitness book (e.g. WWI). The first day he chooses and copies it. (I probably got this method from someone on this board!) The next day I read it to him and he takes dictation. (Sometimes it takes a day or two, if it is more than a sentence or two). When we started doing this last fall, it was a supreme effort for him. Now, he whips through this and it seems effortless. I need to challenge him with longer dictations -- and I think we'll start a writing program next fall. HTH, Sandy

...hard to pick a few, that's for sure! We own a lot of these (too many, maybe) -- but have listened to them over and over and over. I need to order some more... but these are some that we have listened to repeatedly Giants! Animal Tales Fairytale Favorites Shakespeare Galileo American Tall Tales HTH! Sandy

...just as others have said -- at lunch, after breakfast. My dc are 10 and 7. We always read at bedtime -- 15 - 45 minutes depending on how early we get started (and how tired I am). We are reading the Little House books right now, but have enjoyed the Olga da Polga books and some abridged classics (Frankenstein, 20,000 leagues, Polyanna, etc.) If we have a lot of outside activities -- music classes, sports, etc. -- reading aloud takes a big hit. Good thread! Sandy

Thank you, thank you, everyone! (so far) Obviously, a week won't be enough :). I'll check back. But thanks, tons! Sandy

Dear Friends, We are planning a trip to San Antonio in May -- the first family vacation "not to visit relatives!" Dc are 10 and 7. Budget is a concern, but we are planning to go to Sea World and could spend some money (not unlimited, I guess you could say). Thanks for any ideas offered! Sandy

...and so I stopped to look at the "similar threads" that popped up underneath your question -- there is lots of info. there. Thanks for posting this -- very timely for me! Sandy

We are using LL (Big Book 1) with ds 10 yo. I like it, so far. Sandy

I do need a summer break. But I have them do a page of handwriting and a math drill most days except when we are on a "going away" vacation. This year we are skipping spring break and ending May 15. I'll probably continue with Latin drill and some history reading over the summer, though. HTH, Sandy

...I have read it and referred to it. It helped me understand how children learn arithmetic. It helped me to stop and figure out "what's missing" if the children start getting frustrated with our math curriculum. I like how it gives the "big picture" and also some practical ideas. Sandy

I so appreciate all of your thoughts. Sandy

You will be fine. I've been hsing for 5 years and even now, while I gain tremendous inspiration from the hs boards and other hsers, I find that reading about others' successes and ambitious plans makes me feel like a failure. I am learning (slowly) to just look at my children. They're wonderful and amazing, and thriving very well! We are not "grade levels ahead" of other children. But we are just fine! My ds loved history at 5 yo. My dd still doesn't "click" with it at 7. So I'm just not pushing her. She's interested in other things and is doing just fine. Teach them to read, and everything else is cake. Yup, tailor the material to YOUR family and YOUR situation. And don't worry about buying books -- just use the library. Some hser's, you know, believe you can provide a fine education JUST reading and narrating through elementary school. Relax and enjoy, and do what fits you! Hugs, Sandy

...I have been homeschooling for 5 years. Some years I do plan. Others, I don't. We had a family crisis last July 24, and the fall was totally by the seat of my pants as a result. We just open the books (I do figure which curriculum to use for each course ahead of time) and do SOMETHING every day! I do use Edu-Track software, and when there isn't a crisis, it does help me to be more productive -- I put in everything I THINK we should do and then there is a daily list to check off. I don't think you need to plan much with younger children. Now that my ds is entering 5th grade (next fall) I will be planning a bit more for him. Hope that helps! Sandy

I was on the old board for a couple of years or so! I was just thinking about that -- and how much time I logged there. Fun thread! Hello, everyone from the old board! Sandy Sandy in CO

Just the encouragement I needed. Sandy

Dear Friends, I think I need help! We are on Lesson 6 (we started last Sept.) My ds is 10 and he seems to be doing fine on vocab and chants, etc. He isn't thrilled with Latin and is bored with the history component (he is actually a history buff and feels bored by this in-depth Roman history, as he is right now captivated by SOTW IV and related modern topics). I had 2 semesters of college Latin, but realize it was a whole language approach, so I sure don't have the declensions memorized, etc. Two questions, then - Ds doesn't have the declensions memorized -- he must refer to the chant sheet, etc. to complete the lessons. (But, then again, so do I!) Should we be doing more rote declensions, etc.? Should I be getting "in gear" and learning ahead of him? I actually bought Henle and started it, but it fell off my to-do list once school really got underway. Any ideas or encouragement will be greatly appreciated. I WANT to have Latin in our curriculum, but somehow it always falls to a lower part on the to-do list. TIA, Sandy

I'm coming in late on this and haven't read all the replies, but just want to say that All About Spelling has radically improved my 10 yo son's spelling. (He can read at high school level, but couldn't spell 1st grade words when we started this). Finishing up Level 3 and he wanted to perform at a spelling bee this year! (We couldn't -- schedule conflict). Good luck. Sandy

My 10 y.o. ds doesn't like it -- but I do! I think we are moving through it too slowly (Latin falls off our to-do list all too often), and thus he loses momentum. But he is learning Latin. I am going to re-evaluate this summer and try to re-invigorate our program :001_huh: You can view sample pages online, perhaps you already have... Sandy

We do a little each day -- read aloud the 1st section on Monday (20 minutes). Review questions and map on Tuesday (20 minutes) Ditto on Wed, Thurs for the next section. (40 minutes total) If we do a project, my ds (10) does most of it by himself. It might take him 20-60 minutes, depending on the project. I save this for an open afternoon or for Fridays, our "catch-up" day. Meanwhile, ds (10) does additional reading on his own -- perhaps an hour's worth during the week. If we're REALLY into a subject, we will do extra projects and lots of supplemental reading -- then, well, I haven't added it up. But 2-3 hours is our maintenance mode. BTW, ds is 10 and dd is 7. She isn't "into history" so I have her playing nearby or doing other things while ds and I do SOTWIV. If there are picture books listed in the AG, or ones that I find on my own, dd and I do these. Not more than an hour a week. And usually ds is listening to these as well. I wouldn't say this adds more than 1/2 hour to our total, so I still say 2-3 hours per week. HTH, Sandy

Kind of like Encyclopedia Brown books -- you can choose different "paths" to take in the book. Published by Captsone Press. www.capstonepress.com We found it at our library, by accident, I think! We just read Irish Immigrants in America. They have 6 titles listed on the back cover... Gold Rush; Bunker Hill; Titanic; Pirates; Underground Railroad. Numerous titles in the card catalog - too many to list! Reading level is 3-4. My ds is 10 and asked me to get the other ones for him :001_smile:. Enjoy! Sandy