My oldest is gifted in Math, and EM makes her cry. The doodling and guessing and all the other EM nonsense sent her down false paths constantly. What helped us was convincing her to find the right answer, and show how she got it. We also used computer games to drill basic math facts. She finally regained confidence in her own math abilities and is doing well now. Tracy

My district uses this, and have added some drills to it. It has killed any joy of math in my GR 5th daughter, she gave up after several years of getting marked down when she had the correct answer but didn't do their dance. Now she makes an educated guess at what they're asking for, with no actual effort put towards working out the answer. I am adding in number games at home. I am hoping to make that part of her click again, without having anything to do with school. I've never one math work with her at home, since her grades are good and she had this little engineering type brain from birth (like her dad). I watched her try to do a worksheet last week (the only math homework I've seen) and it was painful. With my two youngers (age 7 and 4) I will not let it slip to this. The baby is numerically minded, the middle just makes her way with whatever she is given. I'm starting to get paranoid now about the fact that I have never seen homework or texts. Could it be they are trying to avoid having a parental revolt? Tracy

This is what our school uses. My daughter, who was doing math while playing as a toddler, has been squashed by it. She would know the right answer, but get penalized for not drawing boxes and grids. She'd draw the boxes and grids, and get distracted by the drawing and not come up with the answer. She is now in 5th grade, convinced that she is bad at math, and just guesses at what the teacher is asking for instead of solving problems. Funniest thing is she gets good grades. Saddest is she can no longer do quick mental math, she thinks there's a trick in there that she's not seeing. I'm not sure where to begin. I have printed out a bunch of ten minute drills, and ordered some software that has drilling interspersed with advancing levels. If have to keep it light and build confidence I think. Argh. For the teachers, I have this comment. Some kids learn differently. Some are visual, some need the gimmicks, some need the repetition, and some need something else. To me, forcing every child to do fuzzy math is just wrong. If the kids are not learning in big numbers, even with their parents being involved and trying at home, there is something very big missing. Sigh. I'l take any advice you have.

Martha, this is an *excellent* post on afterschooling. I think I'm going to save it to re-read. We are doing some of the same things as you, but I could lean a lot from your approach, and your grace. Thanks! Tracy

I have had several people recommend "What your __ Grader Should Know" series. I have the 1st grade and 4th grade books out of the library now. I may end up purchasing them, since they don't contain vauge guidelines and bibliographies, they contain fairly detailed sections. Tracy

I'm going to seek out those books, and reteach myself the concepts of structure. WTM and this board have been a life vest for me in trying to figure out how to aid my childrens' education. Tracy

My daughter is in public school. She loves to read and write, and is encouraged to do so. She is way above grade level, so is left to her own devices. My concern is there is no instruction or guidance. She is willing to look at all sorts of enrichment topics with me, but on reading and writing she has become quite convinced that she knows everything she needs to know. What does she need to know? How can I convince her it's worth learning, or trick her into learning it while not realizing it? How concerned should I be? I have brought my concerns to the school and they are baffled at why I would want programming for an above level kid. Would Classical Writing be too dry? Can she absorb a lot just from reading the classics and other good literature? Should I be inserting my self at school or just keep doing our own thing outside of school? Any help is appreciated. Tracy "afterschooling" ELA gifted 10, Science bug 7, and their little grimlin sister

My head is spinning at the moment. I appreciate the starting points.

Sorry, my head is a mish. I just found the post regarding reading level assesments, so I guess if I can't translate the existing tests, I can judge by the others.

My daughter (9,GR4) just had a psycho-educational evalution (Woodcock Johnson IV, WISC) done through her public school. How can I use the results to translate into what to teach her? She was average in maths, superior in anything to do with language arts. I am new to all of this, and can use some guidance. Thank you very much, Tracy

I haven't been a part of a home school community, I can only imagine the conflict the decision might make. Some people are very convinced that their choice is the only one for everyone. As parents, we do what's best for our children and our familes. It may not be perfect, it may not be what's right for other families, but if it's right for you it just is. It sounds like you have reason to believe some people might react negatively. Take that for what it's worth (genuine concern for your children or blind defense of their own choices) and do what you must. As parents, we try to teach our children these lessons, sometimes it can be just as tough as adults. Good luck and best wishes, Tracy

Just wanted to add, we do have a "Challenge" program, but it's only a weekly pullout. The district's stated goal to to bring "Challenge" to every child in every grade. Which leaves us again without any meaningful G&T programming.

We are trying to implement some supports in the classroom for disorganized behavior, anxiety and social skills. We are in the process of IQ testing, although I don't have a lot of confidence in this since when dd says "I'm bored" they interpret it as the material at this level is too hard. I know this is just her favorite phrase. Our district owns Compass Learning software, which makes differential programming simple. I've asked the teacher to make more units available, but so far haven't seen it. She'll be ten soon, and I'm afraid of her falling into a trap of "I get good grades without effort, so why exert any effort?". So I'm really hoping to spark her with out of school stuff. Tracy

I am just starting this journey, and it's because my oldest (4th) does not have enough to do from school. She is bored to tears, literally. This year she has been reading free range fiction, with no guidance from her teacher, who is just pleased that she likes to read for pleasure. So for her, school is many hours of reading whatever amuses her, interspersed with social interaction, gym, chours, art, and music. There's an awful lot more that she's interested in, and I don't like that since she isn't ever challenged, she is not learning to learn. Her natural curiosity is seeping away, and she's getting into some thought patterns that I don't think are healthy. I'm looking to supplement what they are doing in class (in order to make it more interesting for her), as well as explore that multitudes of things she is never exposed to in the classroom. Tracy mom to three girls (9, 6, 3)