THanks so much and lol about the transcript. I watched a bit and was so glad I could read it. (He 'gets' me.)

Not everyone likes Mary Pope Osborne, but she wrote a Magic Tree House book about the Olympics and a higher level Fact Tracker that explores the topic of the Olympics in ancient Greece. I think these would work well w/the ages of your kids.

We used both pre-alg books last year. We loved the bio but found a couple of economics topics not as engaging (still enjoyable). Some of the topics a bit much for my dd. It might have been her age (10) or just lack of interest. It was not a big deal as I just walked her through the exercises, but I know she doesn not have full understanding of comparitive advantage. I feel she was prepared for algebra, though. I wouldn't say they are simply a review of the two previous Fred books. There was more to them than that. Of course, the former order was to proceed from decimals & percents right into Fred algebra so they may not be necessary, but useful I appreciated the different approach and the application of the math that gives purpose to the practice. The pre-alg books have a bit of different feel to them that the other Fred books, imo. I would recommend both. If you don't want to take the time perhaps using just the 1st book would be beneficial for a bit of review, reinforcement and expansion before going into alg. hth,

I loved Noeo level I, but level II was a lot of note taking and not nearly as much fun. DS completed one level I and all 3 level IIs. I would think it might be fun to use level I and add in some library books on topic for the 4th grader.

Math: AoPS + Life of Fred History: Sonlight H LA: Sonlight (trying...) if not we'll use CQLA Science: CPO Lang: Tell Me More Spanish

DS 13 Math: Life of Fred + AoPS (maybe) Hx: SL H LA: we're going to try SL and add in what we need Sci: Undecided....maybe CPO Lang: Tell Me More Spanish DD 10 Math: Life of Fred + Challenge Algebra Hx: SL H w/SOTW AG, etc. LA: some CQLA (www.tfths.com) and MCT (Michael Clay Thompson www.rfwp.com) Sci: CPO...not sure which one Lang: Tell Me More Spanish DD 7 Math: living Math + maybe Beast Academy Hx: SOTW + AG LA: maybe CQLA or a combo of what's on my shelf Sci: lots of fun stuff! Now that I've written it out, I realize I'd better get moving on some decision! Oh no, I have to do curriculum research?? <gasp> :willy_nilly:

We enjoy the text very much. Hakim expresses a lot of opinion and adds personal comments, but we recognize that as different from the factual parts of the text. We often discuss that we don't know people's motives and that one person's view of history is only one view. We have the Student Quest. Some chapters are interesting and helpful to cement what they just heard/read. Others seem like busywork to me.

How about Challenge Math by Ed Zaccarro?

Art of Problem Solving for math. They have "free" online videos for each topic. It's a rigorous math program, but ds enjoys the breadth and depth. artofproblemsolving.com

FYI, Rainbow Resource (and others, perhaps) sells Snap Circuit Student and Teacher books. I don't think you will need/want it yet for a 4.5 yr old, but I thought I'd let you know in case you want it for yourself.

We used it...our version, of course. There are many great book choices and it helped me make some good choices. I just used our library and it had most of GH selections. It's so nice that it's free!

Good for you for letting him test ahead and finding such good math experiences! For math we always end up using a basic math program (for us, Horizons--not much reading), something with a different perspective (eg, Life of Fred, Challenge Math) and some living math books (eg The Sword and the Cone). Once you find a program/series that you like, it's easier to implement rather than cobbling something together each year. Having that basic spine helped me to feel we are on track and dc won't graduate w/o knowing some crucial math skill. Six years into homeschooling, I know there is no way he could have done all he did in the 'other' math programs if he didn't. I keep it broad and deep. I read this early on and it altered my view of math education. I have enriched my kids' math experience heartily when I realized that I didn't/shouldn't have to follow the route I took in school. While it might be nice to get college credit in HS or jr. high, we really ought to be sure they play with a variety of topics and methods to encourage life long love and understanding of math. http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/articles.php?page=calculustrap

My friend's family has coxsackie. It starts as small blisters. If that's what it is, since it's a virus there is nothing you can do about it. WebMd has a nasty description, but we know several families who have had it over the years and it's not as scary as all that. It was kind of like Chicken Pox in that there was discomfort & fever, but nothing horrible came of it.

I like a curriculum to follow. If I didn't, we'd probably want/need more meetings. I let the kids choose their science topic. Often, I will recommend a few programs that I like or think will work. Sometimes a child tell me she wants to study chemistry so I find some way to make that happen. We evaluate curric that we've used and discussed what we liked and didn't. We usually plan when we need to find something new and evaluate as we go along. Generally, we both make great choices so dropping curric is rarely needed. I've had to change the pace of some, but as long as it's solid and the child is digging in I don't mind at all whether s/he finishes in half the time or double the time.

Don't bother sharing with most people because they won't understand. Even my dear, well-meaning friends just don't get it it (like I don't fully understand having a child with anxiety or autism.) It's different path. You'll probably have to get real support from a gifted group or virtual group of parents of gifted/accelerated. You will have to breathe and talk to dh about what you are going to do with it. Personally, I tried to support my dc to excel at that age, not guide how/when they would learn things. Obviously your dc is motivated so let him run with it. Use lots and lots and lotslibrary books!!

Well, I can't try to convince you to drop one, but you could make your lives easier by reducing the workload. We often use 2 and do 80-90% of each along w/enrichment math. Some years we'll follow one to the letter and add others into the year. It's important to skip the stuff they don't need to practice, test ahead, etc. I think you can acheive mastery without doing 50 problems (that you already know how to do.) See if you can pare one down or reduce both if you can't bring yourself to drop one entirely.

While I don't think it's an ideal way to homeschool, workbooks seem like a great choice. Spectrum, Basic Not Boring, and others cover many topics and are easy to check. Lots of visits to the library will encourage the kids to learn. Tell her to have them choose a biography, science book, folk tale, etc. when they visit. Then they can tell her or dad what they learned. I've never used bookadventure.com, but I think kids can get "points" for answering questions about the books they've read. It used to be free. Have her subscribe to Diane Flynn Keith's daily email. She offers websites w/free content daily. Perhaps the kids could explore those w/supervision from a parent. She can do this and the kids will learn. She will probably be very tired!

I've used it through 6th with 2 kids and I have one more on gr 2. I think it's fabulous and I highly recommend Horizons. I supplement with living math books and others (Challenge Math and Life of Fred), but that's not because Horizons is lacking as much as I believe in using a variety of resources. We all like the amount of review (not too heavy, but it reinforces concepts). It has a good pace.

We used The Usborne Book of Art. It goes through art chronologically, but a with a heavy emphasis on the impressionists. There are also good links at the Usborne website. Good bang for the buck!

I agree that problem solving is a life skill and is often ignored in many curricula. We use a lot of "living math" books so problems are seen as part of life. We like Zaccarro's books like Challenge Math. My son used Life of Fred and moved right into AoPS. There is a Yahoogroup for Living Math and she has a great website: http://livingmath.net/ The suggested book stretch and challenge the kids to think outside the box.

To be honest: TOO MANY! Yes, we are able to do more because we homeschool. The kids get enough downtime AND there are so many cool programs out there for homeschoolers. I used to let them have one choice (eg, sport, art lessons, etc.). Then we had to add in a really cool class....then youth group.....Girl Scouts changed from once/month to twice/month + activities....karate (because one never like sports before and I'm glad she found a way to be active)....Odyssey of the Mind because it's such a great experience...etc.! Part of the reason it's too many is because I have so many kids. If I could choose, I think a spiritual/character activity and a physical activity would be a good way to narrow down the choices. Some selections might be youth group and soccer, Girl Scouts and karate. If a child is taking a co-op class or something you don't have to teach, that shouldn't count as an 'extra'curricular activity. Sorry for rambling....tough subject at the moment! :)

To be honest, some days are smooth and some are really rough! My 13 and 10 yr olds can distract each other again and again and again. There are some days that they just get to work, help each other and it makes homeschooling a pleasure. That's what helps me through! Sorry I couldn't paint a perfect picture. Yours may not be like mine.

Saxon Math is too much for *me.* The quantity of work is way too much, imo. If you don't want to change curric at this point in the year, give yourself permission to skip some of the work. I used Saxon 3 for the first year I homeschooled. By the end of the week we had done what they asked at least once (coin cup, calendar, adding, multiplying, etc.), but we didn't practice each skill each day. If you want to change entirely I think Horizons is a good choice (some Christian content).

I think a simple e-reader would work. The Fire is very cool because you can dl music, watch movies, internet etc., but at $200 I wouldn't get it for my 3 yo.

cute!!