bump

I have posted this program for sale on the swap board. Several years ago I learned about this program on this board, so I thought I would just mention it here in case someone is interested. It is a cognitive skills improvement program that you do one-on-one with your child.

You absolutely gave the right advice. I have four boys and three of them have ADHD. We had the comprehensive evaluation completed on all of them by an educational psychologist and it was very helpful. I don't remember the exact cost, but I know it was not anymore than you have mentioned for the dyslexia testing. My boys had some other issues, as many ADHD kids do, but the testing helped me to understand and work on these things. We did a year with a reading specialists to increase fluency and spelling. We have done some OT and then I went to a Handwriting Without Teats seminar to learn to work with them myself. The testing gave me the confidence and the direction I needed to understand and move forward with helping them. We do medicate. After I brought them home from private school 8 years ago, I decided I would not medicate. We went for 1 1/2 years like this and then I heard a ADHD specialist from Stanford speak at a local university and she mentioned that some kids really need the medicine to learn and move ahead. She also mentioned that you are doing your children a disservice because they will not be able to learn at their optimum. I listened and a light bulb went off! I went to the doctor and tried the medicine again and it made such a difference in our school days and the amount that they accomplished that I went back on it. We don't do it during summer months except with one of my sons. He has the hyper part and he really needs it to focus on anything. We still try to give him breaks from it. Anyway, I think your advice was right on.

SorrIy for not responding. Sophie Lu is the teacher and we have the book, but she really does not use it for class or for homework. They have posted a summer schedule on their site. I think they have a couple of options. I don't know that all the kids from my son's class will be going on.

I am looking for others to join us for Chinese classes on-line. My 13 year old son has been taking these classes for the past year and we plan to continue. The class size is 4 to 6 children. I am posting this because my son wants to continue class over the summer, but we need a couple more participants in order for them to hold the class. This is the information that I posted on my local homeschool co-op site. Thanks and e-mail me if you have any questions about how it works. I think the price is reasonable if you consider the cost per class. The summer program is 50 hours of instruction, and if you do early registration it is about $7.50 per class. If it is passed the deadline for early registration...just ask and maybe they will still honor this rate. Chinese for Kids - Is your child interested in learning Chinese? Guavatalk.com offers chinese classes for kids on-line. The teacher is located in Beijing, China and with the use of Skype and white board technology, your child can learn Chinese in a small group setting (4 students). The teacher will provide an on-line assessment after each class and homework is submitted on-line. In addition, the audio of each class and the whiteboard information are downloaded and can be accessed at any time. Guavatalk is offering summer sessions, as well as Fall 2010/Spring 2011 classes. Discounts are given for early registration. Here is the link . We have participated in the classes for the past year and plan to continue.

I have four boys, three of whom have ADHD, so I can completely empathize with you. Hang in there!! It will click sometime. My 7th grader still counts up to figure his multiplication tables, but he can figure out very complext two and three step word problems quite easily. I just keep playing multiplication games and doing flash cards and having do them for his younger brothers benefit (or so I say.) I know that if he were in a traditional school setting, he would think that he was stupid....when in fact he is very bright. It just takes a lot of patience and trying different things. There are many days when I throw in the towel. My kids cannot do anything on a systematic basis. Put shoes in a cubby???? I have tried numerous things to get this to happen. I throw the shoes out in the backyard, take money from their allowance (which they are no longer getting), take-away a weekend privelage etc. It just doesn't work. I have to realize that it is truly a disability. I have not given up trying. There are days when I lose it, but what are the options! Not many, so just know that you are doing so much more than anyone else could do with them. My kids are very kind and loving kids who know right from wrong, and I will take that over knowing their multiplication tables or putting their shoes away consistently (although I will not give up). My oldest is in 9th grade and I have seen the fruitions of my hard work. He is doing things that I thought he would never be able to do...like a Great Books course. He is reading Sophocles, Aristotle, Homer and understanding it. We listened to hundreds of hours of Books on Tape and I really think this helped get us to this point along with just requiring him to read so much per day. He was a struggling reader. Anyway, my two cents. I feel your pain!

Thanks for this post. My oldest of four ds's is a rising 9th grader, so I am new to this board. I can't believe I am here. I am still working on the plan, but this was... 8th grade TT - Algebra 1 Academic Writing at co-op (Included reading lit and literary analysis, research paper and 5 paragraph essays) PE at co-op (one day) Science- Real Science 4 Kids (fall) and Life Sciences spring (once per week with a science teacher and group) Loving Literature (co-op once per week) Sat prep with a tutor (once per week) Had lots of vocab homework Religion at home and once per week at church Rod & Staff and Daily Grams (periodically) Traditional Logic I - Memoria Press on-line (spring) Piano lessons once per week and practice Lacrosse team (spring) Basketball team (winter) Boy Scouts (Senior Patrol Leader and working on Eagle Project) Church Youth Group Archery (Hobby and passion) We took a six week cross country road trip in the fall and visited national parks and did all of the junior ranger programs, so they learned a lot of geology, botany, history, geography. Oh...it was so special. We all loved it and are so glad we made it happen. You can see most of his classes he is accountable to someone else. This was my 6th year of homeschooling and he is highly distractable, but competetive and wants to do well. He just does better when he has to be accountable to a group. 9th Grade This is still in progress TT Geometry Traditional Logic II - on-line Memoria Press Henle Latin - on-line Memoria Press Academic Writing II - co-op Debate - co-op (fall) P.E - co-op Teacher's assistant - P.E. 4th-6th grade at co-op Sat Prep with tutor - one hour per week Rod & Staff Grammar (still on 7) Vocab from the Roots Physical Science (At science teacher's house with other kids and sports/games after class) Piano Boy Scouts (He finishes his Eagle Project this coming weekend...Yahoo!) Archery and Riflery with local club (hoping to compete this summer..this is his passion) Doing a week long mission trip in-state repairing homes for elderly/disabled-(next week) I am considering a Great Books study...either at home with me or on-line with Oxford Tutorial......or an AP class from the Pennsylvania Homeschoolers group. Does anyone have feedback on either of these?? Also, I have a Spanish speaking friend (her first language) who is willing to work with all the boys on Spanish, but I think this will be more informal. I have three other boys 13,11, and 8 that I really do homeschool myself!! They are all so different.

bump

Still hoping to find some elementary children interested in taking Mandarin Chinese

Still hoping to find some elementary children interested in taking Mandarin Chinese

It is Mandarin and yes you were the one who posted. Thanks for your recommendation. They have been very pleasant and accomodating.

I am looking for a couple of children who may be interested in taking Chinese on-line with a teacher from Beijing. I found out about this program here on this board and inquired for my ds. We were all set to start class on June 8th, but today two of the students dropped out because of vacation plans. We need at least two more students to meet the minimum for the class to be held. The class will meet from 9-11 EST, M-F, June 8th through July 10th. If you are interested you can find out more by contacting Brian at sales@guavatalk.com My son was very excited about this and he doesn't get excited about much, so I am hoping to find a couple others. Thanks.

I have used Singapore with all four of my ds' and that is the way we have done it/are doing it. We just continue on. I don't really see that there is any big break or change in the topcis as you move on...I see the books as a continuum and we just keep going. If our math stalls over the summer we just pick up where we left off. A couple of my boys have been ahead of the grade number on the book and a couple have been behind the grade number of the book, but I have never been concerned because they have continued to make good progress. We also have used the supplements which are excellent, especially the Challenging Word Problems.

You can order the CD's for $12.99 on www.allegro-music.com. Shipping is $4.00 and once your order reaches $50.00 the shipping is free. I have ordered many times from this site and have had good service. They are all so good. We have a collection of them and my ds' listen to them over and over again at bedtime. We are fortunate to live in the same city as Jim Weiss, and we have seen him perform at our local library and schools. We jump at the opportunity to see him. Enjoy!

bump

I have Rosetta Stone spanish and my boys have never liked it, although I know many people who do like it. My 12 yo ds is wanting to study Chinese and has been quite serious about this. I found an offer for Tell Me More Foreign Languages on the Homeschool Buyers Co-op site. Can anyone tell me what they think of this?

I would really love to know the specifics of what is left out of TT and why it is not deemed as rigourous. We have used Singapore all the way from Pre-K through 6 and then my son went right into TT Algebra 1. He is my oldest, so it is my first exposure to this level (other than when I had it many years ago). I considered NEM, which I will probably do with ds #2 because he likes the interaction with me rather than the computer. Ds #1 likes TT Algebra 1 and is doing great with it. I have read on the Singapore forums that TT is not as rigorous as NEM. I guess I will find out when I start NEM with ds#2, but would love to hear more specifics if anyone has specifics.

We have used CWP for six years and I have enjoyed them. My ds's have grown to appreciate them. They are very challenging word problems. One son is currently using CWP 5, and I have had to use the Singapore forum to help us solve a few of them, and I am a math person (CPA). I have purchased other word problem books and found that CWP is more challenging than most. The problems in CWP 5 are multiple step problems. Though they are challenging, I do feel CWP has prepared them for any math word problems that come their way. My ds's tell me that the math word problems on standardized tests are easy after doing CWP. I usually have them work in the book one year behind their grade level, but if you are not using Singapore, I may even go down two years. They have a different methodology for solving problems.

I have been homeschooling for six years and have lurked on this board for a little longer than that. This board has helped me realize that it can be done! I have four boys 13, 12, 11 (today), and 8. Three have inattentive ADD and one has ADHD. I just smiled when I read the post. I have never posted about this before, but I feel your frustration. I have tried many different things over the years. They have listened to classical music while doing math, chewed gum (which they say helps.) They are very aware of their problem with focus and will sometimes have their own solutions. I often have them run around the house several times, shoot 25 baskets etc. We did have a trampoline for about 3 years... until it fell apart, and that was the best. They would go out and jump around for about 15 minutes and come back in with better focus. Sometimes on nice days I would take the books outside and let them jump while I sat on the edge of the trampoline and did math facts, vocab, reading, etc. They loved this, and it is still one of their fondest memories from school years past! Another way that we cope is with lists. I have to have lists for everything. They earn weekend electronic privilages or whatever is their thing by completing the list. For one it is electronics, for another it is going fishing, for another it is a sleepover or playdate with a friend. The list has to have everything on it or they don't get it done. It has ...get up at 7:00, clean-up room, make bed, brush teeth, bring down dirty clothes, etc...every step. If they come downstairs to eat and have to go back up to do one of these things...I lose them. They forget what they are doing, go into each others rooms, etc... I have a very comprehensive chore chart that tells them what day to do the chore and exactly what the chore is. If we are going out to co-op, we have to pack the night before or we are in a state of total chaos in the morning. We try to do math first thing in the morning while they are fresh and this seems to work best. The ADHD son always has to have something in his hands to fidget with. Often he will build with Legos or magnetix while we are doing lessons. I have learned that if I ask him to sit still and enforce this with constant reminding, he will not be able to focus at all, but if I let him fidget he comprehends most things (unless he deems it totally boring.) They all have swivel chairs and I let them swivel (as long as I can take it.) They often lay down on the floor near the fireplace to do work or move to a different place to do different subjects. Yes, by the end of the day our books are all over the house, but it is all worth it. They are learning and progressing, and their self-esteem is intact. In our early years, I think I was pretty hard on them because I didn't understand it all, and I thought the ADHD son had behavioral problems. As I learned more about it, I realized that he couldn't help himself. My only regret in looking back is that I wish I would have lightened up on the more structured schooling in the early years. I would have done even more read-alouds and studied things that interested them. These are the things they really remember...like studying ants, making an ant farm, making an ant cake, reading all the ant books we could find, etc. Good luck with your journey.

I was wondering the same thing. I am just starting Vocab from the Roots and I have looked at the Book 5. My ds will know the vocabulary words, but we have not talked specifically about the roots. I would like him to know the definition of the root. For example in the first lesson the roots are circ and cycl. He may be able to come up for a definition for the roots, but I'm not sure. I would like to step back and reveiw these with him. I was thinking about whizzing through these books, so he will know the root definition. I don't know though....I don't want him to just be doing busy work that doesn't do him much good! Has anyone done this?

We have the Flashmaster and my boys have enjoyed it, but we have also used Quarter Mile Math (CD-rom). This has timed math races. My boys will often ask to play this for fun or while they are waiting for me. We also use Calculadders. This is a workbook (by grade level) with math fact drill sheets that are to be timed. The book has several of the same drill, so that the child can work to increase speed and accuracy. I know QMM and Calculadders can be purchased from Rainbow Resources.

I tried CW, but I felt a little lost. Writing is not my strength and I didn't feel comfortable using CW. I love WWE because you pick it up and do the next thing. My boys like it too because the lessons are not too long, and they know what to expect. It works for our style and they are learning and enjoying it.

This year my 5th grader is doing WordSmart vocabulary Singapore 4B and 5A Singapore Challenging Word Problems Creative Writing at co-op R & S 5 Grammar SOTW 4 Science - Co-op (Birds, Simple Machines, Sound, Trees, Human Body) Violin at co-op Piano/Composers/Broadway Musicals PE at co-op Sports - Lacrosse and Basketball Boy Scouts Religion (Latin has fallen by the wayside for him, but we do intend to try to finish it):001_smile: Gosh...when I write this down it seems like a lot, but it doesn't seem like too much when he is doing it. My 6th grader is doing: Singapore 6A and 6B Singapore Challenging Word Problems Adademic I writing at co-op R&S (still finishing 5) Daily Grams 6 Wordly Wise 3000 Loving Literature at co-op (Although he does not LOVE it!) Science - Co-op (Chemistry, Genetics, Human Body using BJU books) Piano PE at co-op Sports - Basketball and Soccer Boy Scouts Religion at home and class at church on Sun. night We haven't been good about history this year, he has been listening along with 5th grader, but not doing much else. Need to get back on track with this. Next year my 5th grader will follow a similar schedule, but we plan to do SOTW 1 and Ancients with the whole family and not at co-op.

In the DVD's the teacher talks about the derivatives of the latin word, and I found this to be helpful when I wanted my son to do the lesson independently.

I have had the same situation. I talked with a seasoned teacher whom I respect and she told me to let my ds use the charts. She said not to hold him back working on the times tables when he can be moving ahead and feeling good about his accomplishments. She said it will come. I have seen this happen with my oldest. He is very good at math, but was very slow with times tables. We are using Times Tables the Fun Way. It is a mnemonic program with fun stories and pictures. I have used it with the first three and am now using it with 8 yr old ds. We just do one story a week and drill what we know. I told this ds that he could use the chart to do this work and he started crying and said "No. That is cheating." Sometimes you can't win!:willy_nilly: