IMO, one of the best ways to accelerate in math. "Math" is really many subjects. I divided math into strands , so yes you can be doing arithmetic, geometry, probability, and measurement all at the same time (even same day) just fine. I think it's definitely better than 6 weeks of memorizing math facts or doing umpteenth incremental versions of the same darn thing. :D

It's not really a "choice" -- even if it was spelled out in your divorce decree, the IRS wouldn't' give a with. They only care about what the tax code says (and most of all that only one person claims a given kid), which generally gives it to whomever has more than 50% custody. What did your tax advisor say?

clear your cookies at least once a week. :p

There is a belief of some that if scripture and science disagree it is because of an error in our understanding of scripture. I just wanted to point out that the Catholic Church hasn't had an issue with evolution since Pope Pius XII in 1950. Pope Benedict has rejected "intelligent design" and instead supports the idea of theistic evolution (evolution in the presence of a deity). The Episcopal church went further, stating that "the theory of evolution provides a fruitful and unifying scientific explanation for the emergence of life on earth, that many theological interpretations of origins can readily embrace an evolutionary outlook, and that an acceptance of evolution is entirely compatible with an authentic and living Christian faith."

:iagree: My 8yo doesn't know the details, but she does know that MIL didn't take very good care of her daddy when he was a boy and because of that he doesn't feel about her the way dd feels about us. She also knows that's dh and I will always keep dd and her siblings safe and that's why mil doesn't stay at our house when she visits, or is left alone and that we've made it very clear to the kids that mil doesn't have any authority over them. Sounds harsh, but it's honest. We don't vilify MIL, we just say she can't help how she is and we can't change her, and we try to set things up so everyone can enjoy her visits. As the kids get older, more details will come out and I expect to do a whole semester of psych on MIL when the kids are MS/HS age. :D The phone calls is the one area MIL can drive me nuts -- we'll have this nice once a week for 20 min thing going and suddenly...push, push, push. SHE wants to talk to dh 3-4 times a week, now for 45-60 minutes a time. She really wants dh to be her BFF and talk daily with her. If we don't pick up, she starts calling every 5 minutes until we do or turn the ringer off. DH is a busy man! Plus he doesn't really WANT to talk to MIL. Once a month would be plenty for him. His one area of passive-agression is he works while he talks to her (washing dishes, etc) and does his best to not listen to a word she says. I found a better solution: Google Voice. We switched from our landline (which didn't have caller id) to GV and when dh and I have had enough, click a button and her calls all go directly to voicemail. Boundaries: a very good thing. ;)

Actually, I think those details explain a lot. My dh had a lot of those same issues, he did a lot of work to understand the past and move forward with his life, but it was still hard for him to understand that the coping mechanisms he had used as a child just weren't going to fly anymore now that he had a wife and kids. I had a hard time understanding how my inherently honest dh could deal with his mother in easy that I felt were dishonest. I just didn't understand how powerful those coping mechanisms were. I think as you can tell from some of the other posters, not everyone will understand how toxic a relationship with an adult parent can be and how important establishing boundaries and holding to them (versus "meeting them halfway") can be. If your MIL is anything like mine, no matter how much you give, she will push and push and manipulate and push until she gets things how she wants them (return to that incestuous emotional relationship that worked well for her regardless to the cost to her son). My MIL constantly bemoans that she doesn't understand why dh won't just "remember the good times" and forget the past. The trouble is that the past is the best predictor of future behavior, and no matter how much MIL breaks down and cries, within hours she's back to her manipulative ways and push, push, pushing. We've seen her snap at our kids the same abusive way she treated dh -- is it any wonder she will never be left alone with our kids?? Should we "meet her halfway" and let her babysit? NOT gonna happen. She had her chance to make good when dh was growing up. SHe had every reason and opportunity to change when she had her own son, but she didn't. At this point she's lucky to get whatever crumbs form our table dh feel alike offering. Forgiveness is great, but I won't let OUR kids pick up the tab on our generosity to MIL. That may not be comprehendible to those with good family relationships, but trust me MIL is just reaping what she sowed. My loyalty is to dh and the kids. Period.

One more thought: before things go any farther, I think you and dh need to have a serious talk. In-law issues aren't about the inlaws, they're about the spouse. He needs to KNOW what he wants form his relationship with his parents and their relationship needs to be on HIS terms, not his parents. It has to be healthy for him and your whole family, not what makes them feel good. And more to the point, your dh LET his mom satisfy her emotional needs on him. I guess the term is "co-dependent" and he needs to own up to how he contributed to the situation in the past and have a clear idea how he will avoid being drawn into those behaviors in the future. He needs to have his priority to "protect the nest". If you feel like the bad guy, he's failed at his #1 responsibility in this situation he helped to create. His parents, his problem, he needs to take responsibility and leadership to making you comfortable. In return you try to be as supportive of his forming a *healthy* relationship with his parents...and you have to feel safe to point out when things slide down that "other" road.

I would take it as an effort to make sure you felt included. That said, I'd just ignore the Skype part. :D My MIL is a boundary pusher and one thing I realized is she's never going to change. She's going to want what she wants (like dh's undivided attention and to be the center of our universe) and I have to accept that. All I can do is work with dh to define specific boundaries, and it's dh's responsibility to enforce them. And if he doesn't, I WILL. :p I think it's also ok that if they push you straight out tell them that since they didn't respect boundaries in the past they'll just have to wait until you're ready. Good luck!

Why do you think she does it? Control? Enjoys doing it *with* you? Something else? I'd think about what her motivation is and work with that. If she fears you'll hand her a stack of workbooks and walk off, then make reading to you a cuddly activity. If it's her way of having some control over her lessons, maybe you can she'd be motivated by, "if you read X to yourself, then you can choose which project to do." But before I *made her* do it I'd try to figure out what needs are being met by her current behavior and find a more appropriate outlet. ;) ETA: CW has a good point: I'd only make her read laud what was necessary. I was thinking this was not reading her math workbooks or such, but if it is just balking at reading her reading books out loud, I'd just ask her to read a page from her regular reading so I could gauge fluency but otherwise let her read to herself. Maybe I'm still misunderstanding ??

The Island level "whole package" (with all the student workbooks) is $190. THe Basic package is $150. If you JUST get the TMs, it is $110 (Basic package minus the Grammar and Practice student books). I did the only-TM route since I'd rather write the sentence on the board anyways for my 2 kids to work on together (1st and 3rd). BTW, I think working with the TM works great for us -- we sit together on the couch and we read it together. I don't find the sticky-like notes to the teacher a bother (only difference between student and TM). If you DO get a package and are interested in his lit books (3 classics with his annotations, vocab, sentence analysis, etc plus a TM) you can get to for $10 less ($30 instead of $40) if you buy it at the same time as a LA package. So, don't forget to check his lit section. :) ETA Newbie's thoughts: I'm doing this with an LA-advanced 8yo and a 6yo with little grammar exposure (but reads well). I don't expect too much from my 6yo (and not sure how I will handle the writing parts when we get there), but I just go at the younger's speed and they are both really enjoying it. The main thing I've learned os far is to just LET IT BE as gentle and "easy" as it seems and fight the urge to add more detail. It really is dense and if we do a couple pages and they get it and enjoy it -- well, that's enough. My 8yo says it's way more fun that the drill-and-kill worksheets she did before. IMO it's really about getting them to THINK about language and words, how they sound and work together, rather than just memorizing rules or definitions. That requires a gentler hand and giving them time to make it their own.

Blunt, but correct. In science this is no more debated than whether the earth is flat. By any measure, there is far more evidence for the theory of evolution than the theory of gravity. This fact can be upsetting to people since the although 99.85% of biological scientists (in 1987 poll) affirm evolution but only 32% of the US general population do. I believe a lot of that is due to how poorly evolution is taught in schools (60% of high school science teachers are afraid to teach evolution, and less than half even had a working understanding of evolution)? I'll be lazy and point folks to wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_of_support_for_evolution <<excerpt>> The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has stated that intelligent design "and other claims of supernatural intervention in the origin of life" are not science because they cannot be tested by experiment, do not generate any predictions, and propose no new hypotheses of their own.[36] In September 2005, 38 Nobel laureates issued a statement saying "Intelligent design is fundamentally unscientific; it cannot be tested as scientific theory because its central conclusion is based on belief in the intervention of a supernatural agent."[37] In October 2005, a coalition representing more than 70,000 Australian scientists and science teachers issued a statement saying "intelligent design is not science" and calling on "all schools not to teach Intelligent Design (ID) as science, because it fails to qualify on every count as a scientific theory".[38] >> The American Assoc for the Advancement of Science and NAS are very clear where they stand. So, i fyou want to teach that creationism and ID are TRUE -- that's your belief and that is fine. But it's not science, it is not a scientific theory, and to my knowledge there has been ZERO peer-reviewed scientific papers published asserting YE, OE, or ID. To the OP, I sincerely laud your desire to educate your child about the scientific view on this issue. A nice, gentle book on evolution is, "Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be" by Daniel Loxton. I think it's fine to point our to your dc that the scientific method doesn't allow for God to be considered as a cause because God cannot be tested or used to make predictions. I don't think science and religion are inherently at odds, it's just two different ways at looking for truth. I do think that when some creationist curricula choose to misrepresent evolution, it does a great disservice (as you discovered in your own life). The theory of evolution has contributed greatly to our lives, esp in fields like medicine and research into the human genome. I think everyone should understand: what science is (and is not), what evolution theory says, how it has been useful, and (last but not least) here is what we believe is the truth (whatever that may be) and why.

I'll chime in since I think I was the one to start using it in the other post. I use the term precocious to mean, well, exactly what it means: pre·co·cious/priˈkōSHəs/ Adjective: (of a child) Having developed certain abilities or proclivities at an earlier age than usual. I like to use the word here because it is an exact "measurable" term. By comparison, words like "bright" or "gifted" (EG, PF, 2E) are both less well defined (our at least the definition can vary from person to person, especially if you choose not to have your dc tested) and just more loaded emotionally. I also think precociousness is just as easy to see in academics as athletics *if* you know the "norms". Pick up any book on developmental psych or pediatrics and you'll likely find a nice list of when certain skills are accomplished by the 25th, 50th, and 75th %iles (sometimes they have the 10th and 90th as well). They are the basis of the handouts from your Ped on what Johnny should be doing at age X. ;) I'd point out that a precocious child is likely gifted, but may not be. A gifted child may not be precocious at an early age. So it's really not a euphemism. Plus I can KNOW if a child is precocious pretty easily (by comparing the performance to the "norm") without getting into the more murky issue of opinions on what it means or WHY or HOW MUCH. :D My 2cents.

Not a lesson plan per se, but there is a presentation on their website by MCT. Basically, you are "supposed" to do GI until it's done, then start Practice Island for the rest of the year. The other books are worked in simultaneously and you provide a lot of other good lit books on the side for reading/read-alouds. SatoriSmiles has a more detailed plan: http://satorismiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/MCT-Island-Schedule1.pdf

You might want to download Funnix while it's free (first 2 weeks in Feb). I taught reading with 100EL when my dd's were 5yo. That was pretty much all my eldest needed (now a great speller at 8), but my now 6yo needed more. I got ETC, PP and RP, and MCP Plaid. If I had to choose, I would go for MCP Plaid and Reading Pathways first, PP and RP second, and ETC 3rd, just because MCP and PP are more variety of activities/worksheets and more colorful.

Jello counts as water. Will he eat soups or broth? If he is acting normal ad his mouth/nose isn't dry, cries with tears, etc -- he's probably fine. When we moved to a dry climate a bottle of 50/50 milk and water (warmed) worked with my kiddos. They just need fluids, not water. Even toast has contains water.

If he is content with his current math, but you want to give him more challenge and stretch his mind, try supplementing 3B with some challenging problems (and maybe cut down on how many problems per page in 3B). If he is bored and starting to dislike math, you might want to speed up thru Singapore or try a different curriculum. With my 3rd grader I found that breadth of problem solving is probably better than straight acceleration. That may just be my child. :D I found she really loves doing Zaccaro's Math Challenge books and Math Olympiad problems. It encourages thinking about problems instead of just computing over and over. Primary Grade Challenge Math is aimed at grades 1-4 and Challenge Math is grades 4-8. The books are ~$23 at Amazon and you can add them to your regular curriculum. Again, if he LIKES Singapore, I would try first to spice that up rather than change what works, kwim? ;)

:iagree: I love animals -- I have always had "rescue" animals..except when we decided to get a dog (now that we have kids) I opted for a small (12lbs), companion breed from a breeder. To do again I'd go with a 7-8 wk old puppy since I did spend a month dealing with the lack of proper socialization of a submissive dog. Heck, I can take a dog biscuit right out of his mouth without the slightest concern or resistance from the dog. He's sturdy and energetic enough to be fun and small enough that he can't do much harm. But if for one moment I thought the dog was a threat to one of my kids, he'd be gone. It's a DOG. Not a human. Not my child. It is a huge responsibility, but not a fur baby or the love of my life. It's a pet. Geesh. I highly recommend the book, "Katz on Dogs" by Jon Katz for some reasonable, non-preachy info on working with dogs. As he says, sometimes rehoming is best for the person and the dog. Realizing that doesn't make you irresponsible. It'd be like dating a guy for a month that bit you and peed on your rug and saying, "Oh well, I guess I have to marry him since I dated him this long." Don't throw good after bad. Learn what you can from this experience, do more research, get a nice companion breed with a middle-of-the-pack personality, and consider either a purebred rescue (where they put them in a foster care and are picky about placing the right dog with the right person) or getting a 7-8wo puppy where all the problems will be on YOU, not their previous experience (actually what our trainer recommended).

Well, the same book claimed 73% of the time screening tests in K are wrong, so that would be MOST. The biggest problem appears to be trying to distinguish between the top 10%, 1%, and 0.1% and missing the highly gifted altogether by screening too early. Similar conclusions were drawn in Medina's book, which I have more trust in (he is a professor of neurobiology and not a journalist, for one thing). I also didn't say that MOST exceptionally gifted will score lower than the average, just that they may not get flagged as gifted in early tests. Also, regression to the mean is only relevant if you assume the high score was a result of luck or guessing and not an accurate measure. The term in statistics has to do with things that have a normal distribution and random variability. As to MOST vs MANY vs SOME -- you're focussing on one word in a post. If I was trying to write a scientific paper I would have used numbers and citations and I would have defined "extremely", etc. My point was simply that you have to remain open to your child's developing abilities and not get caught in the label/expectations trap, either by expecting too much from a precocious child or by labeling a child as neurotypical before they've had a chance to excel.

Two books I found interesting that address this are Nuture Shock (a book I like the science parts but often disagree with the opinion parts, LOL). I found this excerpt online from Chapter 5: << According to the research, a child’s intellectual potential cannot be accurately gauged until they are in Grade 3. This is because brain development is variable – rather than falling into a bell curve, it follows sharp spikes in growth that are difficult to predict. It has also been shown that some children who later turned out to be gifted were below average in kindergarten – Einstein was one such child. There are currently no tests available that can accurately predict how well a child will perform academically later in life. Any academic inclination demonstrated at such early ages merely suggest that the child has a good background. There is a correlation between intelligence and the thickness of the cerebral cortex of the brain. Generally, the thicker the cerebral cortex, the better and the cerebral cortex peaks in thickness before the age of seven. In other words, the raw material for intelligence is already established by the age of seven. However, research by Drs Giedd and Shaw from the National Institutes of Health found that while smart kids did have a bit thicker cortex at this age compared to the average child, the most intelligent kids had much thinner cortices early on. They did not reach their peak thickness until the age of 11 or 12 – the age at which IQ test authors claim that IQ tests become more reliable for testing a person’s IQ. >> and my favorite, Medina's Brain Rules and Brain Rules for Kids. Mind you, it isn't so much that a child who is extraordinarily precocious early will become an average student later on, rather that what appears as the top 1% might end up being the top 10%, for example (can't remember the exact numbers). It is more that the profoundly gifted often do not "show up" until later. Plus like you said, early excelling can also just be a sign of hothousing or just a stimulating early environment. Also, I suspect most early excelling is mostly a matter of the brain being innately wired to handle higher levels stuff. For example, my eldest dd could think abstractly by 4yo -- I recognized this since my brain is wired the same way. :p Because of this, early math is trivial and she was happily solving algebraic problems in 2 variables in Kindergarten. Most kids can't handle that kind of abstraction until late elementary. So does that make her smart or just better wired for higher level problem solving? In comparison, my ds could identify letters from a puzzle even if they were upside down or flipped before he was 2yo. And he understood their symbolic relationship to sound. So his precociousness/giftedness seems to have to do with great spacial and pattern recognition abilities, and likely will also be good at abstraction. It could be the OP's dc has similar gifts that make reading seem easy to her. Not taking anything away from the abilities of our dc or the fact they are outside of "normal". :D I think the OP's response said it well that the challenge exists between taking excellence for granted and expecting them. For me it's a constant battle of tweaking materials to engage and challenge my dc and yet not push or start expecting too much. Around here the focus is definitely on focus, work ethic, and attitude. ;) I believe those things determine success in life more than anything (with a little luck thrown in, and being bright doesn't hurt :lol: ).

That sounds early and a natural reader, and I'd use the term precocious. ;) She sounds outside the norm and there's certainly no reason for you to feel silly! ....but I think it is important (esp at these young ages) to meet the child where they are. Keep in mind that most extremely gifted kids don't display abnormal brain development/skills until they are older (reading about this I think it was ~7yo) -- their brains just seem to develop longer. Some kids who do math or reading precociously will always excel at it, while others will "level out" around 3rd grade or so. They'll likely stay "ahead" but they won't be accelerating any longer. In my case, my 2 dd's both showed phonetic awareness around 4yo. My oldest started 100EL right at 5yo and completed it in 4 months before K. I introduced addition at the same time. A year later she was reading novels and doing long division. At 4yo, she was clearly "bright" but not especially accelerated. By 7yo she was reading 8th grade material with perfect comprehension at over 450 wpm, reading 1,000 pages per week, and 3 grades ahead in math. By 8yo she was well ahead in math and LA, but now advancing more at a grade-per-year. Her sister is the same, except running about 5mo behind her sister. Ironically, she's probably more gifted and thinks more "outside the box" (which is probably why she's less interested in her lessons, lol). Their younger brother is a whole other kettle of fish -- he taught himself his letters and sounds months before his 2nd birthday and is reading CVC at 3yo. He counts to 10 forwards and backwards and can add in his head. I have to relearn how to teach everything since his maturity and attention span are so different than his sisters when they were learning these things! :lol: Down the line, will he excel more or less than his sisters? I have no idea. I just try to keep aware of where he is now, provide him learning opportunities without pushing, and follow where it leads. I will say, having advanced readers can be a challenge -- it can be tough to keep a steady supply of good but age-content-appropriate books on hand. You probably don't' want a K'r reading most books written for an 8th grader! Reading early does make a lot of teaching easier, since they can read their own directions in math books and such. So, a child that doesn't read until 6yo may still be gifted in reading. A child that excels at reading as early as yours may continue to accelerate, or may "hit a wall" and slow down later. My advice would be to acknowledge that dc's reading is unusual and advanced. You may be on the road of continuous acceleration, or dd may just be "early". Provide the enrichment, but just try to enjoy the ride wherever it leads. :) [ETA: I guess I'm saying, don't get sucked into the trap of labeling and then expecting her to continue or grow in certain ways. She's on her own path, and that seems to be a significantly accelerated path, but it can be tricky to not let your expectations distract you. I think it is awesome that you just view her as normal bright. ;) ] WHatever your dd's path, enjoy the wild ride! :D

I find ancients LESS upsetting than middle ages and modern history. Ancient history can focus on how/why people moved from hunt/gather to village to city. Why the Egyptians left great ruins and writing but the mesopotamians generally did not. Why people lived by rivers, how civilization spread, different experiments in governing philosophy, the accumulation of wisdom, etc. Once you get to middle ages, it seems to mainly be about kingdom building, wars, and death on a far more massive scale. I also think that death, murder, war, and mayhem in ancient times seems so far more removed from "real" life than more modern equivalents. Kids can be remarkably blasé about it. ALL of history is important, but I actually dwell in the ancients until the kiddos are older. I agree that eventually you need to cover the less happy parts, but early on there's plenty to discuss without going into the details (where most of the death is) and still provide a useful structure on which to build deeper knowledge later. So, you don't need to go into the nasty bits at this stage. You need to find the level that you and your dc are comfortable with. You might opt to focus on topics like how manages developed/spread or inventors/inventions. Best wishes.

Hmmmm...I'd say zero with short term bursts to 3, but those burst are always on the periphery (about family but not directly affecting us). It used to be predictably 8-9 whenever it involved our families. Our solution was to move over 1,000 miles away and life has been pleasantly nearly drama-free ever since! [especially when we turn off the phone ringer!] :lol: I wish our extended family provided still waters, and we hope to be still waters for our children when they grow up. If they want drama, they'll have to make their own! :D

"time for learning" here! My 8yo dd even knows sign language for "time for a lick of learning" (probably from hearing me say they hadn't done a lick of learning yet that day). Beyond that, it's specific to what they are doing: I put on the board what each ofht em needs to do that day, and so it's math time or reading time or journaling time or time to practice phonics... So we don't "school" but we have a "school room" (which is were we mainly keep our school stuff or do coloring, since most of our school WORK is done in other rooms). I don't use "lessons" because for me it still sounds too "me-teacher, you-learn!" but I may just be weird about that. We are trying to instill the idea that learning is a lifelong, all day, all week pursuit. The kids overhear dh and I talk a lot about what we read or "learned" that day about something unrelated to the kids' studies. We also school year round and 7 days/week (but plenty of uber-light days just reading in a book and doing some fun project). Every homeschooler will find their own way of viewing hs, and I think it's neat that you're thinking about it and the power of language! :)

How old is your dd? The perfect curriculum IMO is the one that adapts to your child. It's a continuous process of adjusting since perfection is a moving target. ;) I agree that standardized testing won't be very helpful with curric placement. Have you been reading any hs books yet? There are a number out there and Rupps book is good for considering what you need to core and making a blueprint. The process I recommend usually goes: 1) make a clear statement of WHY you are homeschooling. Consider writing it down -- you may want to refer to it from time to time when things get tough. 2) decide on your "style" of homeschooling. Consider your personality, goals, and dd's personality. There is a whole spectrum from classical (like WTM) to unschooled with most people somewhere in-between (eclectic, meaning mix and matching) 3) consider what style of learner your dd is: visual, kinesthetic, auditory, etc. Does she like to dive into the meat of things or need glossy pages with colorful pictures to stay engaged? Is she motivated by working WITH you (in which case look for more interactive stuff) or prefer to work on something by herself (more independent programs) 4) make a list of subjects you want to teach and put them in order of importance to you. 5) now go down that list and pick your curric one at a time. With each choice, consider how it will fit with what you already have picked. As you research, it's a good idea to write down in a notebook or spreadsheet all of the OTHER programs you considered and what you liked and didn't like about them. Odds are sooner or later you will be referring back to this when either you realize a curric is incompatible with everything else or down the road just isn't working for you or dd. Having a list of "runner-ups" with your evaluations will make changes easier. If you come across programs too advanced now but interesting in a future year, jot that down too! Nothing as frustrating as trying to remember the name to "that program" that sounded so interesting last year... 6) Now you have you list. If you need to do placement, look at the scope and sequence or each level (or the table of contents) and see what your dd knows/doesn't. [ETA: some programs have placement tests, too.] It can be better to start a little easier and move through the first level faster than to start with material way to hard -- better to start off hs with success!! When you start up, some start as they mean to go on, make their schedule, and do their whole program. I'm a fan of starting first introducing your core (3 Rs: reading, writing, math) and do them for a bit until you and dd are comfortable. If there is a "fun" subject, like history read-alouds or crafts for art, do them too. The idea is to start with guaranteed success and get used to the new arrangement. Then start adding in the grammar, lit, science, history, etc. But, as usual, take from this what rings true and ignore the rest. ;) Good luck!

I especially agree with the bolded part: sometimes helps to calculate the yearly cost, or think in terms of what else that $$ could buy. Getting sucked in to recurring costs is a budget killer. I think harder about spending $8/mo than $50 today. ;)