I started it with my kids when they were about 10 and 12. I wouldn't skip those early poems- they really developed a love of memorising poetry with my kids. In fact, now that we have got to the later poems, I pick and choose much more carefully because many dont appeal to us at all- but those first poems are all just a hoot!

Yup :) We loved it. It is not a well known book in Australia and I only found out about it from being on the international internet so much :) but we really loved it for all the above reasons.

Don'tcha just love them? :) I have just come home from 3 drama performances, 2 of which my kids were in, by 53 homeschooled kids. I just fell in love with all these incredible unique, amazing young people expressing themselves both on and off the stage.

I have my ds12 type many of his assignments. I have him practice handwriting still, although he is 12, and he also handwrites some shorter, 1 paragraph assignments, or note takes or writes outlines, or sometimes a freewrite. I want him to keep developing those muscles, but he definitely writes more when he types.

We start at 8.30 and go till around one, with very little in the way of breaks- or, if that is too long a stretch, we have a lunch break and go till 2 or so. But we tend to work not much more than a 4 day week. And, that is purely academics- doesn't include extra curricula activities. The kids are ages 12 and 14.

My step daughter was diagnosed ADHD about age 7. By the time she was 12 or so, her behavior was still difficult- always had been- her schoolwork was pretty bad- always had been- and her mother was studying psychology and put her on the drugs against my husbands very, very strong wishes- and knowledge. The drugs somewhat zombied her, so that the teachers were not always complaining about her behaviour, but in no way did they help her with her schoolwork- she did absolutely terribly at school all the way through. Basically she flunked badly, but with very little awareness of how badly she was doing. We didnt know she was on the drugs and only saw her 1-2 days a fortnight, if that (her mother would deny access for months over very small issues if dh disagreed with something). Now stepdd is 20, yesterday. She cant hold down a job, has been fired about 5 times already, doesn't seem to have a very high IQ- you wouldnt have said that when she was younger, just that she was precocious, but very bright. No one likes her, and we all find her very difficult to be around- she seems unable to feel or empathise. Her mother is extremely sorry she went behind her father's strong wishes NOT to have her drugged, since it appears to have damaged her, literally. Step dd is also sorry she kept being on drugs secret from her dad all her teenage years. Dh is classic undiagnosed ADHD, and felt it was very important his daughter not be "changed" in order to fit into the school sytem, no matter what. He values his uniqueness, he is entrepreneurial, doesnt think like others. He doesnt see it as a disadvantage to be different. Anyway, just sharing a negative story to balance all the positive ones. Who decides what a condition is? There is no blood test for ADD. It is not a disease, no bacteria or virus causes it. Psychologists/psychiatrists label a set of symptoms a condition with a name, and give out drugs for it, but there is no actual disease called ADD. They used to call women "hysterical" too- it was a condition once upon a time. I know there are extreme cases which can be helped with drugs, but when people talk about all the undiagnosed cases of ADD out there, it makes my blood boil.

Hard to know with my boy what is Boy and what is dyslexia/learning difficulty. He IS very different to my girl, and yes, everything takes longer. I started homeschooling him when he was 7, and looking back, I couldn't get a lot done. He was so writing reluctant. We did a lot orally, and I read aloud a lot. I had him read a little aloud, write a little, and do a little maths, every day. An hour at most. Then I would read aloud a lot. I used to reward him getting his schoolwork finished with kicking a soccer ball with him, or walking to the shops together and buying him a chocolate. In retrospect, I would worry less, enjoy the age more for it's exuberance rather than wishing it away, and I would do more physical games that required coordination and motor control to help the brain develop those pathways. A little schoolwork goes a long way at that age.

My favourite version is actually The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, but I would leave it for older children (12 or so) and it is probably not the pure King Arthur you are looking for. We actually were given this book for first year highschool- year 7 here, I was 11- and it just set my heart afire for King Arthur from then on. I am about to hand it to my ds12 to read as we start our next Medieval year. Then again, if you are considering Pyle, maybe it is not too hard for your 7yo. I wouldnt like to waste such a good book on a too young child though!

I have been doing this for 3.5 months, with success. I use about 2 tbs baking soda, mix to a paste and scrub it into my scalp for a minute or so. Then I rinse. I use lemon juice instead of vinegar, because I am blonde. I think the biggest mistake here is using too much and not rinsing properly. It leaves your hair greasy if you do this- the bicarb is alkaline, the vinegar/lemon juice is acid, and you want just a slight acid ph on your hair, not a lot. Just use about 2 tbs vinegar/lemon juice (I use about half a lemon squeezed), put into about a litre (pint? ) of water, used as a rinse, then rinsed out with shower water. It certainly makes my hair a little dryer than good quality shampoo and conditioner, but its worth it not to use all those chemicals. And my hair feels healthy and is shiny. If you have split ends, or just dry ends, you can just a tiny amount of coconut oil on your palm, rub your palms together and then rub onto the very ends of your hair. My hair is very fine so I can only do this sometimes, and only a tiny bit of oil- if youhave dark hair (which has thicker strands, generally) your hair can handle more oil.

It sounds like she's overscheduled and exhausted, to me- as in, her life is out of balance and its showing up in her behaviour. I would do whatever is needed to bring some balance back.

A few weeks ago my ds12 had 3 baby teeth pulled. It was quite traumatic, actually- two had deep roots- it hurt, he was in mild shock and had to take it easy a couple of days. He will need braces- he has teeth growing in completely the wrong places throuh his gums- he needed the baby teeth pulled to create space. I dont like "interfering" in nature very much, but I could see something needed to be done in ds's case.

Both my kids have a laptop for schoolwork and a games computer, each, all connected to the internet. It hasn't cost us much because dh builds them/buys 2nd hand and improves them. Neither has internet in their bedrooms and neither has access to internet anywhere where we couldn't just walk in and see what they are doing any moment. I think that's the best security- keep computers in fairly public areas. Both kids know they are not to take their laptops into their bedrooms, and they know why. However, so far, it also hasn't been a problem. Sometimes they look at funny or music videos on You Tube and I remind them that if I see them looking at anything innappropriate, they will be banned from fairly free internet access. But i also dont make big deal out of it- I dont "expect" them to cross the boundaries which they know are there for our family (and which are probably more relaxe than many families here). It hasnt been an issue. We have conversations about the dangers people get into on the internet. Dh has counselled recently a man who was p*rn addicted and downloaded stuff he shouldnt have and got caught by the police- I know dh will have some serious conversations with ds in the next year or two. A friend's daughter, age about 14 at the time, also chatted online with a boy from another state who ended up coming accross state to meet her and be with her. Not pleasant for the family to deal with- and I talked to dd about it. I am not naive enough to think it never could happen to me- but I do feel that the best protection is to keep open the communication channels, mention bad cases when you see them on the news etc so they realise some people get very messed up by looking at the wrong things- and trust your instincts if you feel something is wrong and your child is being secretive. Other than that, I certinaly wouldnt be looking over the child's shoulder all the time- I do think teenagers need to feel they are trusted too- unless they have proved they cant be.

Dh thought I was loony for thinking of it. We were separated at the time, actually, but not quite ready to give up on our marriage. He agreed to a 6 month homeschooling trial, (with me being on trial, of course) and looked after dsthen7 while I worked two days a week. The relationship with his son that blossomed in the first few weeks, and the change he saw in our son as he became sweet and innocent again, turned his head to telling me I HAD to take our daughter out of school ASAP. Which I did. And, soon after, dh and I came to live together again. It would have been very difficult to homeschool without his support. Each year, he has become more supportive rather than less, and frequently tells me he never wants the kids to go back to school. Homeschooling can do something for the heart, I feel. It heals. We saw it heal our son, and then our daughter. But it has also healed dh and I, as he was abused in a Catholic school, and I didn't like the institution of school and felt imprisoned by it. Hoemschooling satisfies us on so many levels.

I suspect it is possible, if you already know Latin and English grammar really well. You could teach the concepts in Latin but you would still have to transfer them across to English. I think its possible to teach anything without a curriculum if you already feel comfortable with the subject. My daughter has been telling me she learns so much grammar through Latin. But she also needs to and does learn grammar in context through writing. Its not like you could just learn grammar in Latin and that would be enough if you never used it in English. What's the point? Even though it is technically possible, the vast majority of us are not profficient enoguh in Latin and/or grammar to pull it off. If I had a younger child coming up, which I dont, knowing what I know now....I could/would maybe do it.

Yes, isn't the internet amazing? :) I think the sidebars may have been an issue. Too much information. I dont know, I suspect my kids are just not sciencey. I started to read the first book aloud, realised my son wasn't absorbing anything, then handed it to my dd to read to herself. She complained bitterly, and I dont like to make them read things they strongly dislike. A friend then told me her kids responded the same (and she doesnt have a problem getting her kids to read what they dont like but she let these books go ) so I let the book go too. But now it's another year or two later, they look really lovely sitting on my shelf, it seems a shame to waste them. So many books, so little time. I may just let them go.If I scheudle them in, they will probably be independent reading because I will already be reading aloud too much. I will leave it up to them whether they read the sidebars.

You are allowed to take knitting needles on planes? I thought that was banned internationally! It certainly is on any flight from or within Australia. Lucky you- I used to love to knit on planes. I like to knit socks, with a fairly easy pattern. They fit into a nice little bag and are not heavy or bulky. There is very little counting and if you can knit beyond a basic beginner stage, they're not hard at all, particularly after the first pair.

I wish my kids owuld like these books, but they dont. i am not sure why. I am thinking of using teh 2nd one next year along with our medievel year, but I may have to do it as a read aloud.

I look at each lesson as I go and include or exclude according to how I feel, how much time we have, and whether my son knows the material well or not. I have no formula. We often do the review for the last lesson at the beginning of the next lesson so that he is not distracted from the main lesson before doing the worksheet, if there is one. hth

We are in the southern hemisphere. Our school year starts at the beginning for February, after 7 weeks of Christmas/Summer holidays. We have 4 ten week terms, with 2 weeks of holidays in between each term except for the longer summer break. We coincide with the school terms because it works for us. So basically our year is 10 weeks on, 2 weeks off, with a longer summer holiday- but not as long as Americans seem to have. I do prefer our holidays spread out over the year rather than all at once.

This is pretty much what we do as well. I started with outlining, found with both kids that they understood the concept pretty quickly and were able to find the main points pretty easily. They practice it sometimes, but mostly my older uses it to write an essay. My younger hasnt got there yet. There is only so much time in the week- I still find a value in written narrations through these ages- more in depth- and various other types of writing. So no, I havent followed the outlining instructions in TWTM.

:iagree: Another response from the lighter end of the spectrum :001_smile: My 9th grader spends around 23 hours a week on academics this year. That doesn't include sports, a drama class, Scouts (including all the leadership skills, paperwork and communication involved), watercolour classes and much spare time spent doing art, photography,piano and guitar practice, pure socialising with close friends, chores and responsiblities at home including many pets, her well paid part time bookkeeping job, her part time cooking/serving job with me, part time babysitting work, and time spent on the computer playing creative games, building her webpages or communicating with friends. For this child, doing schoolwork all day would crush her spirit and I dont see her incapable of putting her heart into academics if she chooses a direction at any stage, but I dont want to shut out her passions to focus on academics too much, because it's our passions that feed us and often lead us in the direction our lives are to go. So, I do get her out of bed by 7am- she would rather sleep in- and get her into her schoolwork by 8.30am, and she is usually finished early afternoon. She does well academically- very, very well in some areas. My ds12 will be similar, but with different interests. He is a communicator, a people person, a peacemaker, he wants to be a business man. I am working with him on his weak areas so that he can succeed- he has learning difficulties. But that is what I do. I jsut think its important not to come from fear when homeschooling kids- fear that if you dont do it all, lots, everything, your child may not succeed in life, therefore more is always better. If you are following your heart and life is still looking good and you and the kids wake up each day happy and eagre for the day, I dont think anything can be wrong, whatever balance you have.

I only just came across this thread and it has me in tears, actually. I have a special affinity with and love for Hindus- I have been in India three times and Bali twice- and it is not an "exclusive" type religion, as Christianity or Islam can be- there's no sense of 'us and them' at all. It is so inclusive and warm. But I guess it's all a lesson- you are getting stronger, your daughter is getting stronger-the prejudice is what it is, as horrible as it is- and you will both be fine as long as you don't let it make you bitter at all. I doubt you will do that. I am just sorry, on behalf of a culture that has been doing this to people it perceives as "other" for a long, long time. It is our loss.

The chocolate my dh stashes in the safe for me for those times of the month,(he doles it out for me and has to keep it in the safe or i will eat it all) is either 70% or 80% Lindt dark chocolate. Its fairly commonly available here. I dont like the cheaper brands any more, I have become a chocolate snob. But there are places that sell beautiful organic dark chocolate nowadays and I don't mind trying different brands- often exotic ones. I like to support free trade chocolate growers, as it is one of those products that involves a lot of child labour and virtual slavery in third world countries (its pretty ghastly when you realise the horror that goes into getting that chocolate to you). Better to support the brands which pay their workers well.

Melissa I am no expert. I am using Haesse and Harris, a S.A. program with an excellent reputation (I am in W.A.). My daughter's Year 9 book is so full of things I never had to learn and she is getting beyond where I can help her. It is really challenging, and I actualy remember highschool maths and came top of the year in year 11. I never liked maths but I am not math phobic. I just can't see the use of much of those higher years, for most students. But its difficult to compare Aussie and U.S. programs, particularly Saxon, because they have a different way of teaching. Australian programs tend to teach one topic at a time and keep coming back to it and deepening the understanding of it, year after year. My friend uses Saxon, her dd is the same age as mine- some stuff my daughter is doing (they are year 9) her friend hasn't done- yet her friend's Saxon Algebra 1 covers up to some year 10 algebra. I wouldnt worry about it up to mid highschool- but then have a look at the Aussie programs if your child is headed to a science or maths needed career, as they are of high standard, and there may be differences that become significant with exams etc It may not be a problem, but as far as I have seen, Australian kids scored pretty high on international tests i saw a few years back, and U.S. kids didnt- dont know what programs they were using, but I don't have a problem using Australian maths programs. Of course, Saxon has a difference in the way it is taught and works for many kids- I dont for a minute think its a bad program.

Lol, that's how I feel about most maths past about 7th or 8th grade! I cant see why most kids are made to learn so much that they will never use for the rest of their lives. At least here in Australia, I dont know about over there, they have pushed all this university level maths down into highschool. I just dont get it and I am not sure I want to kowtow to it, either! I am having a maths rebel moment. There, I needed to say that. thanks.