I plan on adding GSWS to my oldest dd's list next year & alternating work in that with Spanish in 10 Minutes a Day that I have lying around. We have access to a library with lots of children's books in spanish after we get through the above stuff. However, I'm mostly posting because I saw your note on LC1 vs. Prima and I'm hijacking this thread! We're using Prima. What is your new pattern & how was it so much different? I plan on continuing on with LC1 next year with my two olders and need the heads up now! Spill the beans, woman!

My oldest three are 9, 7, & 4. So, I'm right there with you. My 9 yr old doesn't like to write but read great. My 7 yr old is still in the 'beginning reader' stage. My 4 yr old doesn't do a whole lot of 'school' stuff - mostly crafts & filling in workbooks (from the store) for fun. Things that help me: I have a schedule - with times on it. We mostly stick to it. I have my 9 yr old doing "assigned" or "free" reading when I need to be working with the 7 yr old. Or, she has 15 minutes of practicing the piano or doing some short (15 min) activity by herself --> Sometimes that is a grammar workbook, map skills workbook, some sort of flashcard review, etc. I let my 7 yr old draw/color (her fav. activity) or play with special "school only stuff" in the school area -- at our table when I'm working with the 9 yr old. I sit near both when they are working on the "same subject" (math, spelling, etc.) so I can answer questions from both. We also combine history/science/religion/Latin/geography/memorization in the afternoon with the kids working on the same subject together with mom. I just require more from the older one. (For example, in Latin, the older one has to write everything. I write for the younger one & she doesn't have a workbook that she has to do the exercises in, she does them orally with me while older sister does them written by herself.) Not everything will work with all kids. Some things I can't do with mine might work with yours. Good luck!

I use SWR. I like it. I am only using it with two of my kids (school age) right now. If I had five kids to use it with all in one day, I'd ... um, swoon? I personally couldn't do it with five kids (unless three of them were all at the same level) at once. I can see doing three levels in one day ... maybe. It is definitely one of the more inexpensive methods of OG-type programs with the WRTR being the least expensive, IMO. I do 45 min of teaching with my child who is doing SWR for the second year. I do 30 minutes of teaching with my child who is doing SWR for the fourth year. I spend about an hour (broken up in chunks during the day) the year a child starts the program. They say you can teach a reference page to two kids at the same time to cut down on your teacher-time, but it doesn't work for me in real life. Good luck!

:iagree: Knowing names & characteristics of the families (metals, metalloids, noble gases) & being able to point to them on a Periodic Table (as in, these are the non-metals, this column is the noble gas group, etc.) is very helpful info to know & not that hard to memorize. Symbols corresponding to names of the more common (perhaps the 8-10 most common) elements would also be helpful. If you want something else, knowing how many electrons are in the different shells (first three or four) is another easy one to add to the list. Knowing some facts like which element(s) is/are the most common in the universe? On the earth? Etc. You could keep going with things like, which elements are usually di-atomic? But science-y kids (which would mean not mine) pick up a lot of this in a good chemistry course. :D

:iagree: I was teaching the concept of regrouping in subtraction (ten's place) to my dd#2 today. We used money. She *hates* the base ten blocks, but I do "force" her to use them sometimes. She much prefers money and it is easier to teach a reluctant child with something she likes. That said, she could do the problem every time with money (while writing down on paper or the white board what she was doing and using the terms "tens" and "ones"). When we did it that way seven times, I asked her to do the final problem without the money (manipulatives). After much whining and "freaking out," she indicated that she couldn't do it because she didn't know how. :001_huh: Anyway, manipulatives are only a start. Make sure your child understands place value and *I* found it was helpful to use the proper place value terms when teaching it rather than single digit numbers. I.e., the "20" is 20-tens or the "2" is 2-hundreds. Zero tens. Three ones. Etc.

I will agree with the fact that it is "behind" most other math programs out there that homeschoolers use (BJU, Horizons, ABeka, Saxon, CLE, Singapore, etc.). My "mathy" dd solidly tested into TT6 after completing ABeka 3. (An RL friend was looking into using it & I wanted to give her a real life example of how different the level # is from other math programs.) I am currently working with a homeschooled 'senior' who used TT for the last couple of years. Both her & her (currently-in-PS) brother found they did not retain what they 'learned' and I have found there was no transfer of ability to apply the problems they did in TT to non-TT math or real life. This sweet girl works hard & is now going through two math programs (advanced algebra & geometry) at the same time to try to get her math skills up to where she thinks they will need to be for college next year. Lest I be unfair, I must point out that it isn't just the two years of TT she used that caused her to be behind and have glaring gaps in her math knowledge. However, TT did create a false sense of 'everything is alright now' in the kids and their mom. Knowing what I do now, I wouldn't ever recommend TT as a main or sole math program. And, unless you can get it cheap (used), I personally wouldn't spend that type of money on a supplemental math program! Good luck!

I do live out 'in the middle of nowhere.' I know that most of the kids we interact with have screen-time in their lives. However, my kids haven't run into this issue too much yet. I'm sure they will as they get older and the other kids won't do as much "pretend play" and active play with them. That's probably why it doesn't come up often - my kids are always pretending something & running around to play it. They just figure when someone mentions something they haven't heard of (pokemon?) that it is a character from a book or movie they haven't seen. They ask about it & are fine with pretending including that figure in their pretending. We don't receive a TV signal. My cell phone (which is a Tracfone) doesn't take pictures, get on the web, and I didn't know how to send a text message until about a year ago. We have no video games & fondly refer to ourselves as neo-Luddites with regard to 'new' technology (except for my computer which is my Achilles Heel). My older kids get very limited computer screen time - maybe 15 minutes two or three times a week and only for memory work on things they are currently struggling with in school (geography, math). I think the comment about boys having a different attraction to (highly visual) videogames is right. Guys (in general) are very drawn to visual (stimulating) content. I'm still fortunate that my boys are young. I know I'll deal with this at a later time. I have no advice for you, just support. I don't think you are doing anything "wrong." I think that this, like parenting (at least for me) in general, is hard. DH & I continue to do the "hard things" we think are best. I'm sure there will be compromises down the road. Good luck. :grouphug:

Forgive me if someone already posted about this, but wanted to share a great deal (vs. regular price). The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (heavy Christian orientation) has a special a couple times a year on their subscription. Normally, their four quarterly issues (annual subscription) are over $30. Right now, they are offering an annual (4 issue) subscription for less than $8. Subscription Specials I wouldn't pay for this at the regular price, but the special price is how I subscribed & renew each year. It is a thick magazine (full of homeschool ads) and always has a few interesting articles.

:banghead: I have a stare-off-into-space type. She used to complain about how many problems she had to do with Abeka Math. (I crossed some off each day before the complaining. She would try to get me to cross more off by whining. It never works, but she never gives up hope.) Now, she does CLE Math & instead of one page front & back, the lesson is sometimes two pages front & back and a little on a third page. She's begging to go back to Abeka. :lol: Anyway, my current rule is she works for her entire math time (30 minutes) with any teaching/remediation at the beginning by me. If she _works diligently_ for the whole time, that's it for the day. She either finishes up the next day or we go onto the next lesson (as the new stuff is always at the beginning & the rest is spiral review) on the next day. If she goofs off, she has the rest of the lesson as "homework." She hates "homework" with a passion. Most of the time, she goofs off, hoping to "get out" of finishing the lesson. When she can't get some positive thing (like watching a movie this weekend or dessert) until it is done, she'll whine, get into gear, and finish it. Since she has to fix her mistakes, it doesn't do her any good to write stuff without doing the work - she'll have to do the work the next day PLUS another lesson. She doesn't like to think. So, if the problem (especially word problems) requires thought, she's likely to skip it. She's an auditory learner (tested as a mildly dyslexic) and understands the word problems much better if I read them to her. (I will read them to her if she completely missed the point the first time.) I've tried timer/certain amount of work, etc. I'll probably have to try something different next year - maybe a candybar on a stick in front of her nose for when she gets done with her math lesson completely (more like educational 'screen time' as a reward). I will keep listening for other ideas as well. :bigear:

I love mine & refer to it often, HOWEVER of all my HS-mom friends IRL, I am the only one who feels this way (I think). Most of them own it and wish they had spent the money on a different book. The more time that goes by, the less relevant the info, IMO. I know I had always put in my head that I would do the Stobaugh Literature for high school based on the review in there. When I looked it up (on here especially), I was VERY disappointed because it wasn't nearly as good as she seemed to indicate & after much research have 'penciled in' a new possibility in my head. I wish she'd do a revision. While I refer to the website for updates, the "always positive" reviews bug me. I read somewhere that unless the product was really bad, they almost always do a "positive" review (while pointing out any glaring issues). I like the "top 100" aspect of the book, even though I think it would be even more difficult to do now with all the great curriculum out there. I loan mine out to new HSers & recommend going through the first part of the book in depth before choosing curriculum and starting with their kids.

I did it as a read aloud last year with my 6 & 8 yr olds (ages then). It is written from the perspective of an older teen/young 20s-ish boy for much of it, if I remember correctly. My kids really liked it, but there was a really tough section about whales being beached & someone coming with a chainsaw & cutting them up. There was a scary section near the end (where you think the main character died) and some disturbing imagery. My kids enjoyed it, but we did stop periodically and talk about things. I have never seen the movie. My younger dd is very sensitive and was disturbed by the whale scene. The writing is very vivid and made it seem very "real" to her. I'm not at all familiar with the movie.

:rofl: I can't even get through them in ENGLISH, Katie! Jenn- Take a look at Latin for Children or Lively Latin. Each has their own +/-. Both should be more on the level your 10 yr old can do.

:iagree: Today was hard. But tomorrow will be better. *crosses fingers*

IMO, you finish when you finish. If you find a topic that your kid already knows well, you could combine two lessons here & there. However, in general, I wouldn't be concerned about when you finish up the book(s) as long as you work on them consistently. I wouldn't rush through. I definitely wouldn't overstress the kids with two lessons per day & make it drudgery just to "get done."

:iagree:

It would help if you told us what you've already used with her (if anything) for phonics/reading/spelling. Aside from that, I wanted to let you know that sometimes you just have to keep having your daughter practice reading every day. Work on phonics & spelling every school day. If it is frustrating, maybe it is only 15-20 minutes at a time several times a day (trying for 45-60 minutes per day for reading & spelling combined). My 2nd grader misspelled "make" on a spelling test earlier this year. We go over the rules for misspelled words (for example, "ck" is used only after a single vowel that says its short sound) or in my daughter's example - she spelled it "mace" ("c" says /s/ before e, i, or y). We go over the words again & again in fun ways & formally requiz 5-10 of them each week on our weekly spelling test. I have found that reading is like potty training. You keep working on the process & the fundamentals so when it finally "clicks" in their brain, they have all the tools they need to be successful. Good luck! :grouphug:

I would start with something that is a fraction but more understandable. 1/2 of a candybar (Hershey's chocolate works pretty well for this) Now, you want 1/4 of 1/2 of a candybar. (Break the 1/2 into 4 equal pieces) Ask your kid how he would describe that as a fraction of the whole candybar (should be 1/8th, but let him work it out himself by putting the candybar back together if necessary) Now, ask him to write the "math statement" based on what you did & your answer. (Don't help, but it'll be the 1/2*1/4=1/8 as an answer.) You could also say (1 divided by 2) and that statement divided by 4 OR (1/2)/4 = 1/2 * 1/4 (dividing is the same as multiplying by the inverse) = 1/8. Once this made sense, I'd give a rectangular piece of paper and have him divide it into 10 equal pieces. So, one piece is 1/10 of the original. Then, take the 1/10 and divide it into two pieces. What is the answer as compared to the original rectangle? (1/10 divided by 2 or 1/10 * 1/2 = 1/20) You can get increasingly smaller and show the same concept works no matter how big or small it is. I think the key with fractions is remembering that dividing is the same as multiplying by the inverse (which is why you can "flip and multiply" when you are dividing by a fraction). This is where understanding the concept is so important! Thus, 0.09 (9/100) divided into 12.5 equal pieces = 0.0072 0.09 * (1/12.5) = 0.0072

You don't need the text if you have the workbooks. I got it because I like reading the ideas & methodology & such. But you don't need to spend the $$ on it.

Is there a spelling or vocabulary program that divides words by topic rather than by difficulty? I have a friend who is new to homeschooling. She has a child who is about 5th grade level ability in language arts who is a 'natural' speller. She wants to integrate spelling and vocabulary with some of their other school topics and the idea of random spelling/vocab words isn't to her liking. She's just picking words out of their current science/geography/history work that she thinks might be difficult or interesting, but wondered if there was a program that has them sorted already. :bigear:

My oldest dd took the Saxon placement test (not because I was going to switch her, but because I like to know these things) last spring when she finished Abeka 3. She tested into 65 but only missed going into 76 by a couple of problems -- mostly stupid mistakes but a couple of ideas she'd never seen before. She tested into 54 when she was done with Abeka 2 with a couple of points leeway. She tested into Saxon 3 when she was done with Abeka 1. She's mathy. Her non-mathy sister did not repeat this, however. (She tested into Saxon 2 after completing Abeka 1.) FWIW, she also tested into Teaching Textbooks 6 after Abeka 3. Now that I've seen Saxon's Advanced Mathematics in person (helping an older student review for the ACT), I wouldn't ever use Saxon materials because I know they aren't for us. I've always been tempted, but not anymore. I know some people swear by them, though. :-)

:grouphug: Something to consider: Have your older three kids, DH, and yourself make lists of things that have been positive and/or they have enjoyed (learning) over the last year/six months/whatever. IMO, it is amazing the boost this can give you -- especially for the laughs that some of the things on the list cause. You won't be able to give the DC a good education if you're burnt out - or, heaven forbid, dead from a heart attack. :chillpill: Rest, recoup. I've really gotten a lot out of SWB's "Independent Work" audio thingy. It talks about what the kids should be able to do on their own, at what ages, and how to get them there if they aren't. My thoughts & prayers are with you during this tough time.

I don't think there is anything at the lower levels of CLE that is offensive to Catholics. The 4th grade CLE math that my oldest has about the same or even less religious material than A Beka math texts. There are placement tests for CLE Language Arts online. My kids would probably place a grade under where I have them. (The second grader would be in the 100-level, the 4th in the 300-level.) The work looks pretty rigorous and definitely multi-faceted. What I don't like as a SWR (WRTR-like) user is I would have to explain the different terminology & teaching style like - "r-controlled vowels," and digraphs. But that is pretty minor. My oldest used Growing with Grammar 3 last year and I would agree it is pretty independent if your child can read. (It took us a couple of months to really get "independent" because my kids want me to sit next to them for everything, even when they don't actually need me.) You could use Explode the Code (ETC), but I think you get the most out of it by really being right there with the child while they are doing it. Good luck!

:iagree: You just described me. I'd be scared. But it is the kids who will set the schedule now. You have very little to lose by trying it for a semester, IMO. You don't need the boys & schedules. The kids will be running their learning. If it works, you'll be miles ahead. If it doesn't, you'll have learned a lot. ;-) Good luck. :grouphug:

I was taught that you could do it, but it wasn't required. I put the (optional) comma in. The curriculum we use has always said to put it in (so far, at least). I will teach the children to put it there. My sister is an English-major-type who does copy editing & desktop publishing stuff for her livelyhood. I think I remember that she does not use the (optional) comma and probably marked up all my papers in high school that way. :tongue_smilie:

We use Carbonite, so I don't have to even think about grabbing the computer. I keep a spreadsheet of my curriculum (and my next few year's thoughts on curriculum), so that's in my backed-up files & can be used for my records of what I have (for insurance purposes). I wouldn't grab any of my curriculum. I can't say I even have any favorite real books that I would grab. My husband would want me to grab his journals which have memories captured in them (like written pictures). Most pictures are saved via Carbonite or on a photo service already (like Shutterfly). My kids would try to get back in for their snugglies. We had an unannounced fire drill the other night. (DH stood downstairs out of site & hit the smoke alarm testing button.) I was so proud of the kids. They grabbed their shoes & coats and ran to our meeting place away from the house. I grabbed the baby. One minute, 14 seconds from start to finish. (They thought it was real. One was crying because one of her snugglies was still inside and they thought the cat would burn up.) Good to have those fire drills sometimes & to do the mental "what would I grab" question. What a depressing thread.