-- only have the briefest moment right now -- I really liked this thread and found it useful ... eta: I never end up using Harmony Art Mom's projects, either; I especially wanted to use the nature studies, and for various reasons it didn't gel for me. But she has such rich resources, and is very generous with her ideas, which I appreciate.

Thanks for all the good feedback. I don't use the tiles, but our lesson structure has been : review rules; sometimes review sounds; review some old words; write 5 words, 2 phrases and 2 sentences. That's b/c AAS suggested (I thought, at least; frankly I've been skimming instructions lately :D) having the child write some phrases and sentences each day. Looking at the schedules y'all sent has been so very helpful. I don't think there's any reason to make him do phrases and sentences every day, esp. 'cause hs insists on doing them first and words later which means more errors on the phrases and sentences. It seems like setting a 10- or 15- minute time limit, having Button read the new words with me and visualize/orally spell them, and finally working through the lessons in order doing all words first, then phrases, then sentences: this should be a much more satisfactory experience for us. I'm sure that plan will require tweaking but it's a good start. thank you all so much!

Well, we were in love with AAS but Button really really hates spelling right now. I was thinking of switching to Wheeler's Elementary Speller -- I think it would be right up Button's alley -- but thought maybe I ought to persist with AAS, and just restructure the lessons so that we read the words, imagine them with eyes closed, say them out loud and then copy and write them. Which I think Button would prefer to the AAS method. ??

Just a little note: after I bought PLL, I saw an Amazon review referring to a version with color pictures, which Button would much much prefer. So anybody looking at this might try hunting the color pictures down. -- we haven't actually started it, am waiting 'till Button's seven (and maybe until I get the color pictures -- it makes such a difference for him!)

I know at least one who hated it when he stopped to think about it ... though I'm sure many don't. He was doing undergrad at Harvard, and for the first time thought, "WHY do I spend hours a day playing violin?" and realized he hated it. But of course many stick with it ...

We've just added Apologia Astronomy (Exploring Creation through Astronomy), with the Junior Notebook and the experiment supply kit from Rainbow Resources. Button loves it, and I'm having fun too. -- we are not Christian, though I was raised in a conservative Christian home and am comfortable working with the Apologia materials so far. ETA: what didn't work: BFSU -- Button liked it fine, I disagreed with some things and it really bugged me for some reason; Sonlight: it didn't feel systematic enough for me and I didn't think Button was getting much from the readings, which were often from science encyclopedias or science "readers" that didn't capture his interest and attention -- that was for K. But many other families love both these programs. I _do_ like many of Sonlight's read-alouds for grade 1 science and may add some of the titles to our work this year.

... it's well-named for the problem! I'll give it a try, and keep it off the throws ...

-- Button doesn't seem to. I've just received an order from Sonlight, and their tips incl. to let a fidgety child color or work with blocks during reading; but Button doesn't seem to retain what I read while he's playing. Even just futzing with a Rubik's cube dropped his comprehension astonishingly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Maybe it depends strongly on the child? :bigear: ETA: he wasn't trying to "solve" the cube, just playing with it ...

For what age? Diary of a Worm (also Diary of a Spider, and of a Fly) are great for the younger set (they are picture books; maybe K-2? Button loved these). Dawkins' Magic of Reality had a thread recently; for this children's book he's holding a secular line (dividing scientific things from matters of faith) but folks say he's not doing his anti-Deity thing. Have you looked at the lists for Sonlight's science programs? I don't like their experiments, or the science "readers", but the science read-alouds include some very good books. Also Beautiful Feet's History of Science Through Literature has a strong booklist. there are more but that's all off the top of my head ...

thanks for the clarification! I feel less dense. Still seems a pretty elegant solution ...

... I never thought of copying the table of contents ... this seems so useful and simple; who knew many folks here do this? :):):)

... I haven't read the PPs, so am not up on the thread ... When Button gets complainy, I let him know I'm cracking down, I start by timing out unkind, whiny, or complaining comments and then we stop school for the day. If we stop for the day the usual consequences ensue: it was loss of all his "upstairs" toys (in the living areas, not his bedroom) but lately that's not been so feasible, sometimes he has to be in his room for the time that would have been spent in school; I hear of families that do "no work, no food" but my MIL lives upstairs and this would not go over well ;) even if I were so inclined. We haven't got it all figured out yet, but I am disciplining him toward positive and pleasant speech, by doing my best to enthusiastically notice and appreciate his good attitude and by helping him to stop his negative attitude. If he can't be reasonably happy in his current situation he will not be happy in any life I can imagine for him, and I've told him this gently and explained that we are trying to teach him how to live a happy and good life. I also try to model a good attitude and a great deal of appreciation for the blessings we have, and am very very positive about the things he does correctly in school, very very gentle in correcting mistakes, and I thank him several times a day for the good work he does. -- My actual techniques and consequences are flexible but the goal of a happy, disciplined child is not :). The good news is that he is becoming more appreciative of his life. On average. I think. ;) But he is definitely a child who tends toward whining so the issue prob. won't disappear for years, if ever. Bright side: he's super sweet and empathetic. -- good luck! ETA: we did drop Phonics Pathways b/c he truly hated it (we're doing Reading Pathways, which he enjoys), and when I tried incorporating Singapore Math he hated it too (though the level may have been wrong ...) so I dropped it; now that I've scanned the PPs I have to agree that sometimes a different approach or curriculum is in order ...

:iagree: I wouldn't read it to _myself_! Unless I knew what I was in for. It is unfinished -- she died before editing it -- and full of casually dismaying events. Looking for a sweet way to spend an odd hour last week, I read through this at the library: took me a few days to recover. Though it made me even more grateful for my own life ;).

If it's any format, I'd start with essentially journal entries for each day, what you've covered. If you need "lesson plans" you can leave empty pages at the front, and list resources for major subjects; the plan can be to work through them at the student's pace. I'd say that it's really hard to find a good planner until you've lived through some homeschooling and know what you are like. Stay away from the software and online planners, probably, at least until you are less busy after the holidays. When I started I kept a google spreadsheet document for each week, with days of the week in the left column and topics across the top, and filled in my plans when I knew them ahead of time and checked off or entered what I'd done each day. If you want a planner of some official sort, it's hard to go wrong with the FergNUS planner mentioned by a PP. The basic format is two-page spreads for each week, with five rows (for days, but without specific day-names), six columns for subjects, and a generous lined column for notes. I never use the day/subject part for some reason, but enter each week's work in the notes section instead: so it is a very flexible, and inexpensive, system.

... I think RegGuheert's comment hits on why it is important to actively encourage women to be scientists; Regentrude makes the important point that people shouldn't be pushed into fields that don't interest them, but encouraging women and underrepresented minorities to pursue scientific fields will benefit the whole society (if some of them discover a true love for the scientific fields, and if it is clear that other career options are not inherently less valuable. Like homeschooling :)).

:iagree: We have the unifix cubes, and haven't found them terribly useful. Except for making patterns, but even there I've seen some at Delta Science that you can stack in 3D and I'd go for that first. Currently the main use of unifix cubes for us is that Bot-bot likes to pull them apart and he also blows through the holes like they are tiny trumpets. So I'd go with C-rods for actual math intuition (and will, for Bot-bot when he's a bit older).

I can relate to that ... I have insecurity issues from childhood (DH and a college friend are the only people who know -- apparently I seem confident!) and at the least little thing I find myself worrying that DH is unhappy in our marriage and may be looking for a way out/some other change. Which, given my husband, is just ridiculous. He's sweet about it though. -- once he cheered me up by pointing out how much time it would take to have an affair: he claims he doesn't have the energy :D.

Mine are so little, lunch is NOT a lingering affair ;). We eat at the kitchen table, ideally they listen to the day's poems or Bible story; sometimes I just try to keep the baby's food going IN and Button reads to himself or subtly undermines my parenting by trying to get baby's food to go OUT; on a bad day I shut myself in the pantry with the chocolate and tea until somebody hollers :D.

... this has nothing on Steve Martin :001_smile: but I've been eying it ... Music of Ancient Sumerians, Egyptians and Greek (sic)

:iagree: Rosie also touched on why I find myself sometimes sounding so harpy about experiments :D: kids sometimes think that science is a thing found only in experiments. That there are doing-science times, and not-doing-science times, as opposed to science being something like language, like thought, like faith, that runs through everything and informs one's entire existence. Someone once challenged DH, "Do you raise your children 'scientifically'?" and he [of course] said, "Of course!" and they laughed "Good luck with that!" People seem to think that raising children scientifically means, I don't know, treating them like _experiments_ or like lab rats or trying to reason with your toddler like she's a grad student. Really, it means paying attention to whether or not they are thriving; applying to them what you know about how humans like to be treated, what little people are like, what their limits are, how much sleep they need and affection they are getting and how desperately children need approval and discipline too. People who aren't thinking "scientifically" often do all this, but to a scientist it's just part of science and dealing with the real world (well, it can be. Scientists, like other folks, can be horrid parents). Also, much of the value of science comes in our everyday interactions and I am grateful for a more scientific understanding of my own behavior. I happen to know that "studies show" that when a person needs assistance, if there are more people around she is _less_ likely to get help: it's a weird crowd psychology effect, plus everybody thinks if help was required somebody else would give it. Since I know this I was able to help a mentally disabled adult in a crowded coffee shop, who had spilled his drink and was quite distressed: he gave a loud shout, used some fowl language, and then was silent. He was far away from me, and when I saw that the folks at nearby tables didn't do anything for him I started to assume that he was fine -- and I was a put off by the language; but then I remembered the studies, and went over to ask if he needed a hand, and found that he did (this is when it became clear that he was mentally disabled) and wasn't able to get assistance for himself. The incident stuck with me b/c of how near I was to ignoring this person, and how the science helped me be more human, more humane. It's why I love science :).

I agree that students should be empiricists -- that they should get a handle on making predictions and testing them -- but I think that proper "experiments" are often counterproductive and may drive some kids (like me!) away. Never would I discourage a child who liked experiments from doing them. But when I see people do science, and from the science I've done, it doesn't start with a hypothesis or an experiment; it starts by learning what people have already learned, finding what isn't known that interests you, finding how you can build on current knowledge by using available technology and tools -- or figuring out that the standard model is wrong, and how to overthrow it; or building the tools you need to get the info. you want. Some folks just jump in the experimental end, of course. :) My DH and I go 'round about this a bit too! I suspect there's a bit of a gender difference here. ;) -- on average, of course; there are several gung-ho experimental folks who post and are very female!

... this sounds like it may be one of your children? do you have a diagnosis, or maybe it's something you've identified yourself? Is she able to master material, but it takes longer; have you worked with mnemonic training/techniques? If she loves science, learns it well, is strong in math but has a working memory problem it would be a shame for that to deter her, but more info. would be helpful. DH is a scientist (he runs a research group studying learning and memory :)) and sits on the admissions committee for the graduate program. I remember him speaking of one excellent student who is ADHD: she had strategies to help herself, and was very transparent about her challenge and got help from the faculty. Another student had a speech disorder which made communicating very hard. So programs are interested in cultivating talent, and people with these disabilities can be successful in science. It's also possible that she would want to study science, and perhaps pursue an advanced degree, and find work outside of academe -- as a writer, editor, consultant, etc., depending on her particular challenges and what she loves to do. RE the OP, it seems to me that even here, in threads very interested in teaching science, there is often a focus on doing experiments young which doesn't seem at all necessary to me for development of science interest. I know heaps of theoretical scientists who detest experiments. It seems more important to me to cultivate the interest; to read about the natural world, what is known, what isn't, biographies of scientists, popular science etc. and if the child loves hands-on then experiments are fine. The scientists I know don't worry about their kids doing experiments, they tend to think the best knowledge is gained (in the early years) by building stuff, playing outside, futzing, etc. Obvious caveat here: their children are raised in science-rich homes. Also it seems like many (SWB comes to mind :), I must say, despite my gratitude for her work) don't think of science as what is true about the world we live in and the people who inhabit it. THAT is compelling. The WTM goal of understanding "laws and principles"? not so much.

I have two children, right now 6 and 1 1/2 yo, and we do school 6 days a week but Sunday and Monday are both lightish: Saturday is the off day. DH takes the littles on Saturday, unless he's traveling, so that's my day to run errands w/o the children and do anything on my own. Sunday we only do a little or nothing in the AM, depending on how the previous week's work went, and that's when I've been going shopping. Sunday PM we do history, science, reading or a game when the baby's napping. Weekdays we have a chunk of AM daily school that's done btw. 10 and 11, and then I can run little errands or whatever, we try to go on a hike/long park morning at least once a week. Baby naps roughly 2-3:45, and Button does some work while I settle baby and then we do more intensive math, history, science, art, etc. except Mondays when we have a play group in the PM. We hit the library after dinner once a week, that gives DH a little evening time to himself which he likes :). -- Button's one of those who really thrives on structure, or else I'd do 4 or 5 days!

It's been marvelously reassuring to hear that everyone agrees covering the basics, daily, is essential. We're in a community of (very lovely, very kind) unschoolers here and, esp. given that Button's intense and temperamental, I sometimes feel like the most Draconian mama ever! I also appreciate the perspective on relationship-building, since that's a hefty chunk of my motivation for home schooling. :lol: I had a moment recently when I was angsting about our progress, and then I realized I was accomplishing all my most important goals (these are more gestalt-y than the daily basics: moving toward discipline, service, a great knowledge of and affection for the world and its inhabitants ...) This reminder to draft a plan is timely. We're trying to prepare the boys for serious academic achievement ... This thread has been great for reminding me to be accountable! Hearing advice to make sure I do my part, and do it honestly (I've also tried to fit a child to a curriculum) and regularly. I just ordered a Sonlight core b/c Button's still happiest with the literature we bought from them last year; I don't know how we'll incorporate everything, but what he needs most is to develop a love of reading. I'd prefer WTM recs, or Ambleside, or maybe TOG (for some completely idiotic, show-offy reason these options make me feel like a More Hard Core Mama ;)), but Sonlight fits this goal best for us now ... Also: the amount of self-discipline required to homeschool well has been a bit of a shock :D. And Button's math (a subject he's accelerated in) has been a terrific ground for character development, for both of us! I have a good amount to think over. I'm so encouraged that the thrust of the comments here overlap so strongly: basics; pay attention to the actual child and how they are doing/responding; hold your end up; keep the goal in mind, and work toward it consistently; more basics :).

Maybe you don't need memory work for K math? For MathUSee, the place values should be well understood by the child, I wouldn't say they need to be "memorized" since the concepts will be revisited again and again through the program. The same for "right angle", which if I recall correctly is only defined in the vaguest, most intuitive way (a "square corner"?). The memory for MUS is, I would think, learning the math facts and relationships. I wouldn't fret about anything more.