I had to call them and the guy I spoke with fixed it. I forget what the problem was, but it was not accepting our state homeschool number at first.

Life of Fred is open and go, and you and your student can decide how to divvy up any grading. The books are divided up into self-contained lessons, and the text is written to the student, and intended to be used independently. DH and I love our older son's grasp of everything he has been through so far (algebra I & II and halfway through a pretty rigorous geometry with proofs). The newer editions break everything up into daily lesson chunks for you and have added problems.

Thankfully our family doc is fabulous! This was one of his specialists :P

older child, now 14 and just started his freshman year: 9th: Ancient and Medieval world history/geography/writing History of the Ancient World (by SWB), History of the Medieval World (SWB), DK History encyclopedia, the Timetables of History, and a reading selection from the high school portion of The Well Trained Mind 10th: Early Modern and Modern world history History of the Rennaisance World (SWB), then ??, World's Greatest Speeches (book and DVD), Timetables of History, DK History Encyclopedia, and a reading selection from TWTM 11th: A semester each of American Government and Economics (books TBD) 12th: History of his choice-- he can take classes at the U, sign up for an AP class, or I can help him design 2-3 in-depth topic studies of his choice (ie Tudor England, WWII, Roman Expansion, etc).

One of my son's DOCTORS said to me, in front of him, "Well you ARE putting him into a proper high school, or at least joining an umbrella to tell you what to do, aren't you? There is no way you are qualified to teach high school, and then he'll never accomplish anything." Needless to say, I answered him all right. Then I fired him. We're looking elsewhere to cover that medical issue. He was clearly not qualified to interact appropriately with us.

How to tell the difference between an atypical learner and one who merely has to work harder? I would suggest a formal assessment is in order for any kid who is asynchronous. This is not about labeling a kid, or casting doubts on any parent's ability to adjust and "know their child." However, some disorders with medical implications sometimes present first as academic difficulty. For example, a boy with trouble hearing everything you say, difficulty writing, and a hard time staying organized (jumps all over a worksheet, can't usually process more than 1-2 instructions at a time, and/or other symptoms) may have an extra X chromosome, something best diagnosed sooner rather than later, but only actually dx'd 25% of the time in childhood years. Secondarily, for some issues such as dyslexia, there are proven strategies that work. Those strategies would be a waste of time if the child doesn't have dyslexia, or tremendously helpful to the child who does. In short, if you see something unexpected, you aren't handing in your homeschool rock star card if you go get it checked out! Jen, Mom to an XXY kiddo.

Oh! I would love to see a discussion on deciding when to graduate your student. I see quite a few homeschoolers who decide to graduate a kid pretty young, which may or may not work in a given situation. I have two academically gifted kids, but neither will graduate early. No matter the subject--math, science, history, writing-- you cannot possibly exhaust all there is to know about it, so graduating early "because they finished" may be squishy logic. I also look at physical and emotional development, practical skills (laundry, home repair, cooking, handling a doctor appointment without an a parent present, understanding finances including mortgages, credit cards, loans, stocks, buying a car, and taxes) and more when thinking about graduation.

I would love to see a chapter explaining the difference between TWTM and an ironclad guide, as I see too many parents who think they aren't educating classically unless they are doing something from the book :). TWTM is the best homeschooling resource out there, IMHO, and following it's suggestions is clearly an excellent choice (blatant suckup) but you are failing your kids if you don't adhere to it 100% at all times. A neat chapter might be one devoted to choices that lend themselves particularly well to group discussion classes-- I would include the Critical Thinking Company's "You Decide," "Philosophy for Teens" (and the other books in that series) and SWB's "Story of Western Science" in that category. I would love to see a discussion on planning longitudinally for different learners-- it's okay to do WWS1 in 7th grade instead of 5th. I would love to see a page outlining why IEW works well. So many folks write it off as too mechanical. They don't seem to grasp the idea of developing a writer's toolkit! For example, I was working with DS14 to edit a paper, and I mentioned that he had employed too little variation in his sentence structure, and had too many short, stilted sentences. He knew instantly what I meant and his edits were fantastic. Practicing different sentence openers in a very structured way in IEW meant that he had no trouble employing them judiciously when needed later. The idea of developing a writer's toolbox is too underrated in favor of letting kids just follow their bliss, IMHO. I would love to see more explanation of WWE and how it can be useful for different learners; I had no idea it would be as fabulous for my kiddo with APD and dysgraphia. I would lose Writing Strands as a recommendation. There are much better choices now (IEW, WWS, Bravewriter). I would have to highly recommend Michael Clay Thompson for vocabulary, grammar, and poetics. I would love to see Math Mammoth and Beast Academy highlighted, and Life of Fred lifted from supplement to stand-alone status. There are those for whom Fred does not work (it is quirky, and requires a lot of investment by the student) however my math professor husband and I love the results our sons are getting from Fred, the older (now in high school) using Fred as his sole math program (he has completed algebra I and II and is working through geometry). Some great math (and cross-curricular) books we have loved as supplements include Mathematicians are People Too (1st and 2nd volumes) Penrose the Mathematical Cat, and The Number Devil. The Singapore Math upper division courses are also outstanding (yes, including the CC titles). The upper level books come with a TM with the problems fully worked out, and the texts are pretty much written directly to the student. It would probably help many moms to see a discussion of mathematics as being fundamentally about logic, not arithmetic. Framing it in that manner removes much of the fear and misunderstanding about CC presentation (and Singapore Math for that matter). I would love to see an expanded section on science, particularly emphasizing secular materials such as Campbell and Reece, Hoagland, and the Science Explorer series (bonus: older editions are very cheap on Amazon, and the content is not really updated for those cheap editions; the sections are merely in a different order). You could find, with a little diligence, 4 years of logic stage science, including experiments practical for the home, for about $50. Excellent sources for science lab materials include Amazon, Nature-Watch, Home Science Tools, and The Home Scientist. The K12 Human Odyssey books, Pandia Press History Odyssey, and Pandia Press Real Science Odyssey are outstanding, and free of any religious point of view. Galore Park has great offerings for foreign language and a science spine for middle years. And speaking of Galore Park (and Fred, AoPS, and Horrible Histories) Horrible Ray is a bookseller who should be supported by as many homeschoolers as possible. He has outstanding customer service, and a great business model-- he offers a limited supply of titles, but they are sometimes hard to find. His pricing is reasonable, and you don't pay until after you get your books and decide to keep them.

I have one kid in Singapore 8; I bought it all up through the beginning calc course. The upper levels of Singapore are brilliant. This one is also taking a summer break to tackle Intro to Counting and Probability (AoPS). My older one is using Life of Fred exclusively, and doing quite well. Both are very math-oriented guys, and my math professor husband is always amazed at the questions they ask him and what they understand; both are top-notch programs. Either one can be self-taught at this level as well (Fred is supposed to be self-taught).

This is Singapore Primary Math, probably level 4 or 5.

If the data in the larger study hold up, I will have to overturn my long-held beliefs about AP courses and exams-- my experience tutoring shell-shocked university students who scored well on AP but still were not prepared for university courses notwithstanding (and those students lacked the basic knowledge they needed, since they merely crammed for the AP exam instead of learning anything; knowledge they would likely have picked up in a normal college-prep course). As I think about it, perhaps the answer is that the last bit of high school is more about learning how to learn than about acquiring knowledge, particularly from the study where it said that readiness-matched subjects showed a bump in college performance even if they flubbed the exam (at a score of 2, but not a score of 1). If that is so, then my long-held beliefs about the lack of value of AP courses for average students may have to tumble down. I will have to watch for additional data. It's not easy to say I was wrong about something I have been so adamant about.

I wonder if we could get Horrible Ray to stock them . . .

I have planned how my oldest would get through high school history since we started when he was in 4th grade. Of course I let him have a say in his high school planning, but so far, he likes my ideas. We are wrapping up our final year before high school, and the plan is still on track. last half of fourth-- Used Usborne Ancient History encyclopedia (the one that has only Egypt, Greece, and Rome) and had a blast with a giant unit study (literature, history, geography, science, writing . . .) based around the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans. At the time I thought this was my stalling tactic while I figured out what we "should" do, but in retrospect, it was brilliant. Both boys loved it and it got them off to a great start. 5th-- Pandia Press History Odyssey Level 2 Ancients, plus extra literature and writing 6th-- " Medieval 7th-- " Early Modern 8th-- " Modern Plans for the next 4 years, as of now: 9th and 10th-- a 2-year world history tour; I am putting this together now from accumulated resources and WTM recommendations 11th-- US Government, history, and Economics 12th-- his year to take control; he can design two semester-long unit studies that are more focused (ie, Tudor England) of his choice, take university courses, take an AP course, or do a longer tour through his favorite era. He LOVES this plan of giving him a year to choose what to study in history. He was also very thorough (for his age) during logic stage studies, and knows history better than most college grads, so I'm not intimidated by having him cover world history in 2 years this last time through. (Science will go the same way-- 9th grade bio, 10th physics, 11th chem, 12th his choice. He's already finished with algebra 2, so doing high school physics by 10th will not be a problem). Again, this gives him a chance to express his choices in a way that will show up on his transcript and allow him to explore some areas of interest before he hits college.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this. It's hard enough to deal with your kids without parents acting like kids too. Best wishes.

Actually, what the research shows is that all kids benefit from seeing information presented in a variety of ways, rather than just getting straight textbook/lecture presentation as happens in many classrooms; the claims that there are "learning styles" and that each kid needs some individualized single-channel method of learning has really been thoroughly discredited. Does that mean that some kids don't have some strengths and other kids don't have different ones? Of course not! But the fact that my one son seems to prefer learning by reading whereas the other one learns better through hands-on does not mean that they each don't benefit by getting some of the other learning as well. In fact, both have begun learning better since I drew on the research and quite trying to let them be all one or the other, but did as the research suggested and give them both a mix of presentation. No, it is not bunk. Yes, kids are different; the research does not dispute that. What the research disputes is the trend some educators were heading toward of extremism-- something homeschoolers would probably do well to avoid as well-- of thinking a particular child should learn all in one mode and only ever in that mode. It may seem obvious, but there is strong data to back up the notion that the majority of children will learn best when presented information from a variety of modalities.

I would hope not, but I really must wonder based on the specificity of what was said-- you "pretending to be a teacher"-- if some of the negative blowback they have heard at school about homeschooling has come from faculty who feel threatened by homeschooling. That would be a weird thing for a kid to say. I'd be curious to find out why they said it, once I had calmed down a bit.

Hi all! I have had an exciting few weeks reviewing Susan Wise Bauer's new book, being released by Norton in May! I'm sure I have not done it justice here, but here's my blog review of the book-- maybe it'll help anybody who is trying to get their plans for next year firmed up, if you might consider leaving space for science/philosophy course in your lineup for the rhetoric stage student. http://hillandalefarmschool.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-story-of-science-or-why-we-know.html

If he has already done pre-A, go ahead and start with the LoF Algebra. That said, we vehemently disagreed with the author's POV in the Economics book, but that did not stop us from letting both boys use the book. On the contrary, we used our disagreement with the author as many a terrific dinner table discussion. Not only have both of our boys learned quite a bit about economics (particularly from digging deeper to figure out what point of view they were then going to be more comfortable with, finding that their math author and Mom & Dad disagreed), but we had great dinner conversation about math and other topics for a while, and even more important lessons were learned-- namely that you can disagree with a textbook author if you do your homework and find your own facts, and that you can still learn good stuff and respect somebody with whom you disagree. In a sense, the boys learned more from that book because we disagreed with it than from many other, more straightforward, texts. FYI, our older DS uses Fred as his sole program. He hit a "bump" in the road for a bit somewhere in the algebra sequence, but perseverance won the day, which was excellent; as a highly gifted kid, he took running into difficulty in math after so many years of finding it easy pretty personally! But now that he figured it out and is sailing once again, he feels even better about himself than ever. The questions he asks DH (a math professor) convince DH that DS is receiving a superior math education from Fred, and that Fred is truly teaching him how to think about math, rather than just how to do problems. It isn't the right series for everyone, but when it works, it works. Good luck to you! Jen

We just had this discussion with our oldest, as he'll be ready for rhetoric stage work next year, and open enrollment closes in our nearby districts in the next few days. We told him we'd like it to be a joint decision, not completely his, but also not completely ours, but an open discussion. He (to my great relief) thought it over and said he absolutely wanted to continue to homeschool. He said he realizes this means a lot of work next year, likely more than he'd have to do in public school, but he figures it'll be "better" work and more engaging, even if he does not look forward to the work load itself (who ever said TAG kids can't stop learning to save themselves . . . did not mean they love to do school work that Mom defines as school work LOL. If I were and unschooly mom, maybe it would be different, but I'm only about 20% unschooly if that; I'm mostly aligned with classical). Not sure where we'd have ended the discussion if he'd said he wanted to go to school. I did have a suggestion or two to look at "just in case," but we don't have a lot of great options around here that aren't pressure cookers.

Martial arts can be an excellent way to go with this, but observe-- several classes. One thing you want to watch for is that you aren't sucked in by the "McDojo." The people who run these are absolutely smooth, they have amazing operations and they really know how to take you in and make you feel good about sending your kid there . . . and open your wallet, again and again and again. A McDojo will . . . . ...have more than 10 levels of belt colors "because kids need that much motivation to stay with it" (no, they don't, even 7 or 1 or 2 is fine with a good instructor, though the number of white/black belt dojos is infinitely small these days). They will have every color belt from camoflage to rainbow. Most common in a more solid dojo will be a progression such as white/yellow/orange/blue/green/brown/brown/brown/black (sometimes with purple or some stripes tossed in to fill it out to 10, and the precise order is not important; it can vary from one dojo or style to another). ...have an excessive number of programs aimed at the kids of all ages, including black belt clubs, tiny tiger times, zooland zeefers, breaking boppers, whatever (I am clearly making up the specific names-- but they will be cute, catchy names, the programs will cost extra, some of them will be REQUIRED after a certain belt level in order for your child to advance (in addition to the normal monthly fees and uniforms after the initial free uniform is outgrown/extra required equipment is purchased; others will be dangled enticingly in front of and marketed directly to the children, repeatedly. I once saw a young, well-trained "black belt" telling a group of 4YO's, "Alllll the cool kids will be here Friday night for Tiny Tiger Time, so Mom and Dad can have some time alone! Be sure you aren't left out!" There were tears when the one kid who wasn't going to get to go was informed of the fact after his Mom found out what this TTT was going to cost her. Get an up-front listing of ALL required fees, and press for an answer on whether it includes future "clubs" and extra classes or obligations required to get to black belt, even if that is not your child's goal. There is nothing like investing time into a belt rank, only to be told after your second promotion that in order to continue, you have to add a second class at double the cost (and time commitment). Ask other parents what charges they have had to pay in addition to the usual dues or monthly fees advertised directly. (NOTE: It is completely normal to pay a nominal testing fee when testing for a belt rank. There are good reasons for this fee, but it really should include the belt itself. Testing fees for colored belts should fall between $10=$30 in a decent school (upper range fees should include registration with the international organization and proper rank certificates bearing the international stamp of the organization). Black belt test fees carry a wider range depending on what, if any, national or world-wide organization the instructor is certified by. These fees can vary from $50-$200. If they are on the upper end of the range, find out why. The instructor should not be belligerent or defensive about such questions. IF he is, walk away. Legitimate reasons include flying in a large testing panel, certification by the international organization (which you can research to find out if it is really recognized-- for example, and Isshinryu practitioner is in pretty good standing if certified by either IWKA or the OIKA). ...have an excessive number of kids in the dojo at once. Watch the class. Are the kids focused, paying close attention? Are there enough instructors to guide and instruct the kids and help them get quickly back on track? Even the littlest kids, while having fun, should not be rolling all over the floor or performing unauthorized sparring on their buddies in a well-run club that is of the right size. Parents routinely marvel at how well-behaved and focused their kids are in a good class. ...have people doing stupid things, sometimes. Nobody needs to break anything with their heads in a martial arts studio, ever. It is completely pointless. Nobody needs to be sparring without sparring gear. Nobody needs to be sparring while wearing jewelry, and that goes for the instructors. Young classes do not need to be yelled at just because the kids are little. ...have very little contact between the head instructor and the students, with much teaching farmed out to junior instructors or suspiciously young "senior instructors" who look barely old enough to drive. If it is a franchise place, where is the owner? Is he the head instructor? Is he present for 90% of all classes? Why not? What does he do besides teach karate (it is not uncommon for teaching to be a side job; that is not itself a red flag, but an instructor should have hours open when he is there and can get to know his students, unless the person running the class is truly a senior instructor). My personal preference, which runs afoul of what some think of as just good marketing? Really stupid, flashy uniforms that have nothing to do with the zen part of martial arts or humility. That, to me, signals the place is more about marketing and cash flow than about teaching decent martial arts. Others argue the instructor has a right to make money. I argue if the instructor is any good at all, he will, without subtracting from his art (I don't teach littles, but when I do teach, I teach for free-- students pay dues to the organization for dojo upkeep and the like, but nothing for the instructors, so I'm a bit biased on that point). So, there are other red flags, but those, I think are the biggies. A good martial arts program can really do a lot for a kid. I have both of mine farmed out to another instructor, even in a different style from my own, whom I have come to trust. Both of my kids are essentially super pacifists, and karate has done great things for them in terms of confidence, learning to teach others, being able to speak up in a a group, and more. You are looking for an instructor with a good balance between making an honest living and passing along actual knowledge rather than making as much money as a business model will allow. Excessive fees, a ridiculous number of belts, too many add-ons as requirements for continuing along the path, junior instructors leading the pack, not allowing you to watch the class, marketing costly extras to the kids directly, unsafe practices (if it makes you shudder, they probably should not be doing it. Rules of physiology apply to martial artists too. We are not immortal beings), unclear fees, or unwillingness to answer basic programming questions should all send you straight out the door. Reasonable belt structure, reasonable fees, clear and upfront explanations, being open to questions, safe practices, open classes for parents to watch, certification by a national or international organization you can verify on your own, are all things that should invite you back to watch another class and take an interest. Good luck!

For something different, here's a chemistry Advent Tree! http://www.compoundchem.com/2014advent/

You mean like older DS, who for a year told the stunning knock-knock joke: KNOCK KNOCK??? Who's there? CATCH!! Catch-who? I CATCHING YOU HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Or younger DS, with the auditory issues, who for years gave us gems such as the great emancipator "Hammerman Minkin," slept in his "Jomamas," and fell down when he twisted his "foot-waist." (ankle). His best was his 2-year insistence that we the impaired parents QUIT insisting that 1 + 1 equaled 2 when he could CLEARLY see that it was obviously 11. These days he deals much better with the auditory stuff (with the help of reading the words) and his math is better . . . but the stubborn is in mint condition. Oh, and btw, I finally got where that knock knock joke was supposed to just last year, 11 years later! In my defense I was too distracted by the hysterical giggles bubbling out of the boy, and trying to stem my own from the nonsensical answer-- except of course, he wasn't as far off as I thought!! LOL!! ka-choo! So I guess the yolk's on me.

Are they different from the ones at Star Publishing? This publisher is not discontinuing them. http://www.starpub.com.sg/product-discovering-mathematics.php

The Common Core math standards pretty much read as if they were written with a Singapore Math text in the hands of the authors. :) And I think that the multi-faceted approach taken by Singapore Math (and by the Common Core, which encourages teachers to, over time, teach the kids multiple ways of solving problems so that each student can find the best way for him to solve the problems, precisely because not all students are alike) is one way in which both programs do fit learners of different abilities brilliantly. Not all teachers and schools are yet *implementing* this terribly well, but that is what the standards actually say to do. Now, I am a bigger fan of tracking students by ability than the core seems to encourage. I think it helps all students of all ability levels achieve to their best potential, when done correctly. But I also don't believe in chucking the baby with the bath water. I think tweaking is better than tossing altogether.

We have been homeschooling since before the Common Core, and no, it has not affected our homeschooling. We don't shy away or purposely adopt it; we just do what is right for our kids. I will say that the core math standards seem to be really excellent though, and are basically modeled on what Singapore Math has always done-- they are very well time-tested and when correctly implemented, superb. I think the core writing standards are not age-appropriate at least in the younger grades; there is no need for young elementary kids who are still mastering the physical aspect of writing, sounding out grammar and spelling, and learning to read to worry about writing a persuasive writing piece. Locally we still have state standards that seem to encourage teaching history in a very nonsensically patchwork and piecemeal fashion; I just encountered a second-grade teacher the other day who informed me cheerfully that it didn't bother her that SHE had no idea how to find Asia on a map (or that Russia was largely in Asia) because after all, why would a second grader ever need to know where Asia was? <head thump> Ah yeah, we'll stick with homeschooling and just ignore the standards, be they local or national. We got this. But if we ever get the opportunity to weigh in on how we've been successful, we'll be happy to consult with the schools on what we have found works, and what kids really can do when approached logically.