Our oldest went back to school in 8th grade at his request. He wanted/needed more social time and more independence. Academics at our zoned middle school were not the best so he is now in 9th grade at a small private Christian school. Our 2 younger kids will likely go to the same private school when they’re in 9th grade. They are both looking forward to it - for sports, activities, etc.

I think this might be a Minnesota-specific question, so you may get better responses on another group. There are several MN homeschooling groups on Facebook. I’m also in MN and did PSEO myself, but don’t know the answer - sorry!

Having a medically fragile child myself, your posts often resonate with me. Praying for your sweet boy.

I am using it with my 4th and 7th graders. It is light, but they both have a decent grammar base. I was specifically looking for something light so we can focus on other areas of the language arts — composition and literature. They both really like it.

I highly recommend Derek Owens. I used his prealgebra for my oldest, who is now in private high school and doing very well in math. There are lecture notes, which one fills in as they watch the videos, with some practice problems which he works out in the lecture. There are also assignments and tests, which I chose to grade myself for the half-price option. My DS felt that Mr. Owens was an excellent teacher. Now, for my current 7th grader, I am hodge-podging things a bit because he hates video instruction and isn’t quite as independent- yet. We did the first book of Principles of Mathematics (by Master Books) but I found it didn’t have enough review for him. We’ve used CLE in the past, so I’m going back to that for the rest of 7th and 8th grade and filling in any gaps with selected lessons of Math Mammoth’s topical series and/or Learn Math Fast.

I have been happy this year with the science from Master Books for my 7th grader. Specifically, the course Elements of Faith. It’s billed as a pre-chemistry. I do pair it with a co-op class and add things here and there to beef it up. For history, I like CLE’s 7th and 8th grade history. 7th is world history and 8th is American. It is rather schooly, but DS will likely go to private high school so I am using it to teach study skills and test preparation along with the content.

I have a child with Down syndrome for whom the WTM approach would be highly challenging, if not impossible. My child is 7 and along with DS, he has significant and profound developmental delays due to complex medical issues. He is nonverbal and is working on early preschool content in a public school 1st grade classroom with pull-outs for math, reading, social skills, adapted PE, speech and occupational therapy. However, I know of other kids with DS whose developmental delays are not as severe and who may be able to do well with a classical framework. I really like the Simply Classical approach from Memoria Press - it’s a curriculum based on classical principles but adapted to those with learning challenges. If I were homeschooling my son with DS, I’d start with the first level. Take a look and see what you think.

What a shock. I’m so sorry!

My husband begrudgingly agreed to homeschooling our middle son when he was in first grade and dealing with some mental health issues/family trauma. Over the years, DH has funded homeschooling for 3 of our 4 kids but would sometimes make negative comments about it. However, last year our oldest son asked to go to public middle school for 8th grade in our district that has an excellent reputation. We agreed, in part because the plan always was for him to return to public school in 9th grade and I figured a trial run in 8th grade would make the adjustment to high school easier. We were completely unimpressed with our local “award-winning” middle school. Expectations were low and there was minimal classroom management. Our son tested extremely well on placement testing at the beginning of the year but actually lost ground when testing was done again at the end of the year. He liked school for social reasons and because expectations were low, but he also lost his innate love of learning and saw schoolwork as more of a chore than anything. Given this experience, we opted against public high school so he’s in a private school, but we are still working through some of the residual effects of public middle school. DS actually wishes he could go to the public high school (ranked in top 10 in an education-focused state) because it’s so much easier, but the private school will better prepare him for life - both academically and in terms of character development. My husband has a better view of homeschooling now, and we have two kids still at home.

I’m finding a need to thoroughly review the mechanics of language with my 7th grader - specifically capitalization and punctuation (semi-colons, colons, etc.) Any recommendations for resources? We’re fine on grammar - I just need the mechanics piece.

I was seriously not impressed.

I did a quiz recently and was surprised that I’m highly sensitive, too. It makes a lot of sense. I have 4 kids, ages 14 to 7. Three years ago, I was homeschooling 3 of them and regularly found myself overwhelmed. I found a weekly drop off coop for the middle two and that made a huge difference. I also planned regular field trips, often to the nature center where I could read quietly in the lobby while they were in class. Last year, the oldest returned to public school per his desire and while that created other issues, it did cut down on some stress for me and sibling squabbles. He is now in a private high school that is more in line with our moral and academic values. At the same time, #3 started at a lovely half-time private school that was absolutely perfect for her exuberant and extroverted nature. I still have her home a few days a week, but we both appreciate the benefits of her sweet little school. #2 thrives homeschooling, but the drop off coop is no longer an option. I’ve found another coop that is more academic in nature and it’s been a good fit. While I do have to volunteer, I enjoy it as a change in the regular routine. My youngest is severely developmentally delayed and so he’s in public school. So far, that has been a positive move and he’s benefiting from it. As much as I adore him, it is important for me to have a bit of a break from his very significant needs. So, I now only have 1.5/4 kids home and it’s a good balance. Every kids’ needs are different and I’ve worked hard to find situations that best meet their individual needs.

Yes! I’m also a special needs mom and I wonder how much stress has to do with it. Besides my special needs child who is both developmentally delayed and medically fragile, I also have another major source of stress in my life and it’s all so wearing.

I have very similar numbers to the OP with 0.93 Tsh and 0.92 free t4. My symptoms however point to hypothyroidism - weight gain, feeling cold, lethargic, etc. I’m also wondering if a pituitary issue might be at play. I’ve only seen my PCP and they say the numbers are fine. Anyone with more experience care to weigh in?

You can. Memoria Press, a classical publisher known for their strong academics, uses some IEW books and offers an abbreviated (2 hours, I think) video outlining the program. I personally have not watched the TWSS and have done fine. I’ve listened to several of their podcasts and use the teacher guides as well.