I agree with WendyK. Maybe take a week to work on test taking skills, get that out of the way and then resume your plan as it was written. This will allow your son to also hone the skills you want him to work on before moving on. You really do have plenty of time. Take the time you need to get the results you want. Rushing through won't really solve anything. (Although I totally get being anxious to start the shiny new books & plans!!!)

We just finished My Hippo Has the Hiccups and it was hit with my kids! It's animal poetry and really quite humorous.

We take one week off per month and the entire month of August (so I can get my lesson planning done). I *love* this schedule. Some of the benefits include: never being "behind" (if we need to catch up on 1 subject, we catch up during our off week), a bonified week of guilt-free field trips, prevents mama burnout (only 3 more weeks until the next break!), guilt-free travel (we got to visit my brother in CT, my sister in TX and will visit my uncle in MA in July...and I don't need to take any books with us!) and no brain drain (they don't forget much in 1 week off).

wow! That is one oppressive environment for learning!

Medication worked wonders here too. My son said "Mom, usually my brain is going super fast like this (and he would run in place as fast as he could). Now, it's moving like this (and he would run in slow motion). Now I can think!!"

My DH still thinks I'm the hottest woman in the world. And I have more than 50 lbs extra after 3 children. But you know what? My husband isn't the most muscular man in the world and that doesn't change my attraction to him. He's there for me...always. That's what's sexy. He knows I'm always there for him (and part of "being there" is not letting TeA be infrequent due to my own hangups) and that's what makes me sexy to him.

First of all :grouphug: . Does your child have anything that you can use as currency? For my oldest (also gifted with ASD/ADHD) he loves his DS. He knows he has until noon to complete his schoolwork or he doesn't get any video games that day. The short time between behavior and reward/consequence is what he needs. If he were to lose it for the week, he would not have any connection to the behavior. I guess I'm suggesting having very short-term goals with a clear benefit program to start out with. Then, build from there.

Yes! With convention this weekend and free shipping offers in April, I kind of need to be obsessively planning to take advantage of the deals! And shipping on the books I order is a significant amount of money so I really need to finish planning!

I am going & would like to meet up with you all again (my husband & I met you all last year too). But, I can't access anything on the social group. I'm listed as a member, but when I click on "View Discussion" I get a "sorry, you don't have permission to view this page" notice. So, if you could PM me where everyone is meeting, we'd love to connect again.

The problem I see with a trial run, is that it is usually done while the children are expecting to be on break. It is typically done during spring break, Christmas break or summer vacation. Since the expectation (and excitement!) has already been set that they will NOT have to do school for x amount of day....trying out homeschooling during this time is typically not successful. If you *really* want to do a trial run...call your kids in sick for a day they would typically be at school. Tell them they get to do school at home today and then see how it goes!

I really appreciated her points. I especially liked her pointing out that they were done with their school day in the same time it took her to drop everyone off and pick everyone up. This was "her" list of 18 reasons why homeschooling worked for her family. She wasn't trying to preach to the choir, just show that professionals can homeschool successfully. There is still a very strong stigma that teh only reason to homeschool is for religious reasons. I thought the article did a good job in dispelling that particular myth.

You have to give yourself permission. Set aside a certain amount per month that is only to be spent on fun things. Make sure there is money in that account for you too. Then, if you see something you children or yourself would enjoy...give yourself permission to indulge with funds from that account. I have also seen this with mom's and clothing. They will spend oodles on clothing for their children while they still wear shirts from high school. For some reason, they feel guilty spending money on anything other than "essential". I don't know if that is exactly the hangup you have, but hopefully you get some suggestions that allow you to release the pressure and just enjoy.

I don't know if I qualify as having a "large" family, but with 3 it seems large to me! I try to always start with the youngest and work my way up. My 9 year old is able to do some of his subjects by himself (ie math & literature). So, I'll do an activity with my 3 year old while he works on math & the 5 year old plays. Then, my oldest will switch to literature and I'll work on math with my 5 year old while the 3 year old plays. When that's done, I'll get my oldest started on grammar or history while I work on reading with the 5 year old and the 3 year old still plays. Eventually the 5 year old runs out of subjects (for K) and the 9 year old can get my undivided attention for his harder subjects (latin, science, etc). I've also signed up for Reading Eggs and The Simple Homeschool so if a subject takes longer they have something to work on independently while I finish up without them losing focus. Next year I'll start the youngest on Timberdoodle (which is play based). My plan is to start the day with some kind of circle time where I do a read-aloud...or let the older ones take turns doing a read-aloud to practice their fluency. Maybe too you could try dividing the day by age? The younger 2 could have the first 2 hours while the older 3 get their strongest subjects done? Then work in the afternoon with the older ones?

Thank you for all the feedback. We're going to continue going with him and will re-address in a few years. It's hard to balance between preparing them for independence and keeping them protected from the truly awful things in the world!

The Jesus Storybook Bible would be great to read through with him. My child is also very sensitive with the stories of the Bible. After the Fall story, he actually sat me down and said we needed to talk. "The next time you pray to Satan, could you ask him not to tempt Eve?" :blink: We talked about how we don't pray to Satan, but I did switch to the above-mentioned book after that!

My philosophy is to repeat, repeat and then repeat as long as necessary. I am working on long-division with my oldest. For every.single.problem we go through all the steps. He still doesn't have it down pat. But, that's part of the learning process. My middle child has the same thing. Plus one, minus one. Doesn't matter. We get out the 100 number chart & pennies and we work it as many times as it takes until they "get it". No, it's not as quick as I would like. However, I do believe that going through those steps over and over again will be beneficial. They will eventually get it. Just keep helping them as much as they need. (This is not to say do it for them. If they are simply trying to get out of doing the assignments, crack down on that!) I haven't been homeschooling very long, but I have learned that you cannot rush the learning process. Concepts take as long as they take. Just keep presenting the information and steps and one day the lightbulb will come on!

We don't laminate them and they've held up really well! I do hold punch the top corner and put them on a ring. For Genesis-Joshua I looked through and combined all the repeats so we weren't doing them twice in the year. I followed the History sequence and if there was a different Bible story, we would do Bible that week. For the first cycle there is *so* much overlap I thought it was overkill. We love all the songs, so we listen to it every day and have a dance party.

These are all reasons that are keeping me hesitant. I just want to be sure my expectations are reasonable. If he were going to school, he would walk there & back every day and that's even further. So, what age do you think *is* appropriate for walking to the library?

If you would feel better with the DVD, I would have no qualms about asking for a refund and buying that instead. Some apps though don't allow for refunds, so I would also check that.

My oldest (9) is ADHD/ASD but has made huge improvements over the last year. He is doing so much better with awareness and responsibility...but he wants to walk to the library by himself and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Here's why I would allow it: 1. The library is located less than a block away. 2. He would need to cross a fairly major street. We walk over all the time and he know how to push the "walk" button and to wait on the sidewalk away from the street. 3. We have a fairly active neighborhood watch. Here's why I am hesitant: 1. This same library has has some issues with grown men exposing their genitalia to girls. 2. I'm afraid the neighborhood watch would call the truant police on him if he goes during school hours. I'm afraid the kids that "hang" at the library would be cruel to him if he goes outside of school hours. 3. Even though he has made huge strides, I'm not sure how he would handle anything unexpected happening. So, my question is should I let him walk over and just wait with bated breath? Or, is there some way we can both ease into it? I thought about letting him run into the library by himself while I wait in the car. Or, should I let him stay there for various amounts of time by himself and increase the time? He really sees this as a way to be independent. He is an avid reader (like 25 books a day avid) so he would make good use of being able to go over by himself. WWYD?

The facts are there to make sure your child knows their facts. Nothing else. Since she's proved to you she knows them, only have her do it if the fact sheet changes (ie subtraction instead of addition) or if you feel the skills are slipping when she's doing the lesson practice.

:chillpill: Don't borrow trouble.

My 9 year old boy just had to start wearing deodorant. I'm hoping the early start will prevent smelly teenage years!

Thanks for sharing this! I'm checking out their physics stuff right now!

:grouphug: Sorry you weren't able to get the rest you needed! I hope the night goes much smoother for you so you can sleep.