Thanks for the recommendations. I need something more formal than just reading bible stories. My daughter decided by age 3 that she hated bible stories (or anything with the mention of God). She may be the world's youngest ardent atheist. Church has always been a huge fight with her. A real curriculum with facts, activities, and quizzes may peak her interest better, because she loves memorizing. I'll check out Memoria Press! PS, We have many wonderful children's bibles but my favorite is the Children of God Storybook Bible by Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hi, I'm looking for a curriculum or course for a 10 year old that teaches Bible knowledge without trying to teach a "Biblical worldview." Basically, I want my daughter to know what is in the Bible and it's effect on the world, but don't want the aspect of applying Biblical lessons to her life. Is such a thing available?

This cracked me up. I live (and teach public school) in Massachusetts and constantly complain about the schools. I think how good a school is depends on which students you're concerned about. MA spends a fortune on Special Education. Families often move here because the services are so good. However, MA doesn't spend a cent on gifted and talented education. Many of our top students are languishing in unleveled classes that are much too easy for them.

I will check with her doctor about the eye issue, but I don't think that's the cause. She had no problem learning to read and she'll read the occasional non-fiction book about animals that is short but has small type.

My 9 yr old dd is a lazy reader. She can easily read harder material, but refuses to read anything that doesn't have large print and lots of pictures. If a book looks long, she'll announce that she doesn't like it without even starting it. Right now her favorite is Captain Underpants, and she only likes funny books. She reads her required reading time each day and not a drop more. It's killing me that there are so many good books out there that she won't touch. Did anyone else have a reader like that at that age? Did they eventually broaden their horizons? If so, when? Any suggestions?

My daughter's brain has been rotting for the last month of school. There have been endless days of coloring projects and review. She's been out of school for 2 days now and it's sad to see how starved for learning she is! So far she's: Read books about plants and hunted for seeds that travel in different ways. Done 8 pages of sunshine math. Read about Ancient India, made rongoli chalk designs, and learned to play parchesi. Read about Ancient China, solved tangram puzzles, and made pottery. Created a timeline for SOTW and played a jeopardy review game for chapters 1-10. She' already gone through a week of my plans in 2 days. I guess I better hurry up and order a Latin curriculum! Are anyone else's kids ready to take off? I'd love ideas of what you're doing. (I have a feeling I'm going to need them!)

My daughter's brain has been rotting for the last month of school. There have been endless days of coloring projects and review. She's been out of school for 2 days now and it's sad to see how starved for learning she is! So far she's: Read books about plants and hunted for seeds that travel in different ways. Done 8 pages of sunshine math. Read about Ancient India, made rongoli chalk designs, and learned to play parchesi. Read about Ancient China, solved tangram puzzles, and made pottery. Created a timeline for SOTW and played a jeopardy review game for chapters 1-10. She' already gone through a week of my plans in 2 days. I guess I better hurry up and order a Latin curriculum! Are anyone else's kids ready to take off? I'd love ideas of what you're doing. (I have a feeling I'm going to need them!)

I have a 7 year old who is similar. She actually gets grumpy when her mind is unchallenged the same way some kids get grumpy with too little sleep. I've found Story of the World a lifesaver, because it sparks so many new ideas. For example, we'll read about Ancient India, then I'll take a few minutes to google "Ancient India activities for kids". We ended up learning to play parchesi (based on an ancient indian game) and making rangoli chalk designs outside. This works well for my daughter because there's always a new craft, game, recipe, idea to try, and she remembers the history we read too.

Taste of Home magazine has an article this month entitled "50 Shakes for 50 States" with milkshake recipies inspired by each state in the union. Just in case you needed a little motivation for your geography studies. ;)

Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are made up of separate sounds. Usually this is something covered in pre-k or k. Basically, before a kid can learn to read, they have to be able to hear that the word "cat" is made up of the sounds "c-a-t" Once they get this they move on to phonics, which is learning which sounds are represented by which letters. I don't see how this could be helpful for an adult. If you can read, you've already mastered phonemic awareness!

Not sure what ages you're looking for, but my 3rd grader and I just watched an awesome documentary on Mt. Vesuvius called Pompeii: The Last Day or something to that effect. It's available on amazon instant video. Extremely interesting, but now for the very young or highly sensitive. It really shows the stages of a volcanic eruption so kids don't think a volcano just means a big, fast squirt of of lava.

I agree that it depends on the kid. Outlining can be an invaluable tool for weaker writers who struggle with clarity and organization. What seems obvious to those of are naturally strong writers often needs to be explicitly taught to them.

Thanks for all the support everyone! Good to know my dd is not alone. We'll try typing for her and see if that helps!

We've tried using xtra math to help our daughter memorize her math facts, but she's just not coordinated enough to use it! She keeps hitting the wrong keys and is getting very frustrated. Is there a similar program that gives slightly more time? Or if we just use old fashion flashcards, what kind of speed should we be aiming for? Anyone else have this problem with xtra math? Or does my kid just have really shaky hands?

It depends a lot on the town where you live. At my daughter's school, that's not unusual. At the low-income urban school where I teach, it's practically unheard of. So much depends on who your "normal" group consists of.