CPO middle school materials are available free here. The files are probably heavy though as they are in full color if I'm not mistaken.

I feel like you are describing my soon-to-be 9-year-old guy. What I'm doing this year is to introduce more of The Great Courses into our lives. I don't expect DS to take notes. We watch one or two lectures daily and if it's something I can discuss with him orally I will (e.g. math) and if it's something that's better left for hubby to take on (physics/chemistry) we wait till hubby gets home for discussions or they watch the lectures in the evening together and talk about it right then or afterwards. I give DS age-appropriate science kits to play with and various math/ number theory problems (Khan/ AoPS) to keep him occupied. He takes 2 foreign languages to keep those gears oiled. At other times, he reads exactly like how you describe your son does or works on Critical Thinking puzzles. Writing skills are grade level so I just work with him at his level for writing. All the best to you as you figure this out!

If you'd like them unabridged, try the audiobooks narrated by Rob Inglis. We found Fellowship very engaging. http://www.amazon.com/Fellowship-Ring-Lord-Rings-Book/dp/0788789813/ http://www.amazon.com/Two-Towers-Lord-Rings-Book/dp/078878983X/ http://www.amazon.com/Return-King-Lord-Rings-Book/dp/0788789848/ http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0788789821/ Not cheap though.

Oh, I didn't mean anything negative towards you and I apologize if you thought I did. I want to thank you for your posts. I found them enlightening and instructive. I've not been able to say much anywhere else about our experience and am grateful for this opportunity to share without it being considered bragging. It has been exhausting and humbling and educational to me more than anything else.

I believe you could be referring to my post (Post#70)? We did have a child who was very easy to anger and cry and have meltdowns. There was a lot of pent up frustration in that little body and now that you mention it (I haven't been the best at making connections about this period in his life, I was so tired all the time!), I wonder if it could be because of the uneven stuff going on in his head. This disappeared almost instantly at age 3-ish...possibly that's when I think the skills could have caught up with each other? He was an early talker but I do suspect he could put things together in his head before that. I don't really know. I'm not sure I have the best memory either. But my main point wasn't that you could teach a child to read at 6 months old or younger. It was that you could begin to teach (maybe teach is not the word I should use) at that age if there was interest and the child was receptive to being surrounded with sounds and words and the loving attention of a mom holding him close reading to him and singing to him every night. We read to him from different sources, not all books meant for children. I do know for sure that the reading aloud and the word games did wonders to calm meltdowns. I think what I really want to convey in this thread is this. There's so much negative feedback in the world at large towards parents who "work" with their kids at young ages to teach reading or math etc. There's a lot of judgement heaped on these parents. A lot of silly remarks like 'why bother, they will level out'. Or 'why are you doing this to your child, he needs to spend his time playing and being a kid'. 'Are you drilling your kid to put him in an elite school?' Why that immediate assumption that the parent doesn't know what s/he is doing? Yes, there are parents who do this for the wrong reasons. And there are parents who do this for the right ones. At least their gut is telling them it is the right thing to do because they see the thirst and wonder in their children. Does this mean their child is gifted? Not necessarily. But then again, who is to know what that child is truly capable of given the opportunity?

If you're run out of town, I'd join you. I feel exactly the same way. I don't place a lot of stock on phonics. I didn't use a phonics curriculum to teach my son to read. I know it works for others. Just saying it wasn't what we needed.

We did the same. I suggest using a good sized whiteboard for math (about 3x4 feet should do the trick). And I third/fourth the audiobooks, videos suggestions. My son, who will be 9 in a few weeks, isn't exactly 2E but he does have issues with writing. There is something going on in his head that stops him from being able to focus his thoughts for written assignments and I don't know what it is. But helping him write (taking turns writing things down) seem to be working for us. I assign only odd numbers in worksheets/ workbooks for example. Or I may write for him and sometimes, if he's looking closely, I may purposely write a wrong, silly answer. It makes him laugh, lightens the moment and he will often take the book from me to erase and write the correct answer himself. This semester I have let grammar go. I really wanted to begin a grammar curriculum (we've done very little grammar so far, it hasn't been a problem because he reads a lot but I felt we should start focusing some time). But you know what, I figure I'm not going to achieve anything by forcing him to do grammar when he's reluctant to. Ask yourself if there are some things you can let go for now. Or keep them short and focused, with a maximum of 2 skill-based areas back-to-back. I'm also breaking up our schedule so that he has clear rest periods between subjects. I plan to purchase some beeswax or silly putty and have him play with it while we do read-alouds too. I've noticed how it helps some boys focus and stay on task. Hoping these work for you too. Hang in there!

I echo this. Anyone have a child who consistently chooses to read a book that is consistently one level higher every single time? Ha! I don't have one of those. It could be Roald Dahl one day, Sherlock Holmes the next, Penrose the Mathematical Cat or Murderous Maths or Moomin several days in a row and then wham! A psychology text for college bound students! I have no personal experience with the DRA but based on what I've seen with other reading level testing, :iagree:

We were the ones spending a few minutes a day. Or skipping whole weeks and then resuming few minutes a day and then skipping whole weeks again whenever mom got lazy or bogged down by WAHM work. I wanted to add though that I don't think the world will end if all a toddler wants to do every day is learn to read or play with reading software or audiobooks or whatever. I'd think once they had their fill for a certain period of time, they'd naturally move on to something else. Some kids are just different that way.

I think (and know from experience) that it's completely possible to start teaching an interested child (ETA interested) to read from as young as 6 months old (possibly younger). The aim wasn't to have him reading at a year old or to hothouse him. The aim was to give him every advantage necessary in a gentle, loving way. We didn't know he is gifted. We just wanted to surround him with words and show him their power and see if he was interested to learn. He was. I'm not going to defend what we did because I don't need to. The results speak for themselves. But my question is how do you know that a young child doesn't want to learn? What makes one assume that just because a child is not yet verbalizing his thoughts, he won't want to learn how to put sounds together or learn how written language works and discover all these wonderful, intricate patterns? Something must have worked out right. Our 8yo has never disliked reading. He would make up word games with words he read on airport/ bus/ subway terminal signs when he was 2. He loved it. He still entertains himself with words. I don't know if we'll be able to replicate results for another child. Although repetition was used, he wasn't "drilled" or asked to read aloud flashcards or anything such thing. We taught him in response to his natural inquisitive personality. So I know it's possible to teach reading in a pleasant, fun way. It doesn't depend so much on the materials IMHO. It's the method of delivery parents choose, the motivation to keep it meaningful to the child, and the innate willingness of the child him/herself. In our son's case, we saw an intense thirst to learn and catered to it. If he hadn't been as interested as he was, we wouldn't have pursued it.

The same as Staceyshoe. I am involved in a regional homeschooling group for all flavors of gifted. Also, if you homeschool there's the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum yahoo group too where you can post a shout out to other homeschoolers in your area. For homeschoolers and non homeschoolers alike, you can apply to join the Davidson Young Scholars (there's the public forum as Staceyshoe mentioned, there are e-lists and there may be a regional group for informal gatherings in your area as well). There's also PG Retreat. Or you can hook up with others through talent search programs: BESTS Duke TIP Numats to name a few.

We used the forum that was linked to the boy's online class page. But I believe you can also ask on the Alcumus forums. I often see C&P questions there, e.g. this one: http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Forum/viewforum.php?f=545

Horrible Science series? http://horriblebooks.com/ http://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=horrible+science

Good for you! I gave up after committee-type problems. There was only so much mindbending that I could achieve without getting a headache. :) Wish I had stuck with learning it with him. Second the suggestion to ask on the forums. Very helpful!

:iagree: :iagree: Also agree about testing till she hits 90-95% and going with it. All the best!

I know how it feels. We had a significant change in attitude after we accelerated DS from elementary math to algebra I. I had to throw in the towel and admit defeat after trying for 2 years to close gaps and keep him close to grade level. He had started to hate math and that was so not what I desired for him. And we were already accelerating by 2-3 years at the time but it was obviously not enough. The gaps (at least in math) have now magically disappeared after he started algebra. He finished algebra last week. Seems to understand what I thought were prelalgebra gaps just fine. Still makes computational errors here and there but I think he will do that regardless of whether or not we accelerate him.

I've tried these: HS Tracker HS Skedtrack HS Day Book Scholaric Home School Inc. Simply Charlotte Mason Found Day Book to have the easiest learning curve. Scholaric second. HST was the most detailed but also most difficult. Homeschool Inc wasn't suitable for a reason I now cannot remember. Loved SCM's but wasn't willing to pay $99/year. I settled on Skedtrack because it helps me print reports in a format that I like (Day Book doesn't) and it's free and I can print/ look at schedules in advance. Easy to lay it all out.

:iagree: Or include fun conditions/ restrictions! We love Unjournaling and have been using it for the last 2 years. This year, I'm adding a fun condition. My son will choose his prompt but the condition is that he has to involve Calvin and Hobbes as characters in the writing assignment. It's a win-win for him! :)

Not being American myself, I assumed she, like me, wasn't familiar with exams/ tests and their abbreviations and might have mentioned CHSPE etc after her research led her to a CA-based site. It happens! Her need seemed genuine to me.

There's some good stuff here for secondary/ high school writing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

FWIW, I'm glad you listed this. My son is about a semester behind yours and it's helpful to look at what others have done and are planning to do, esp. how they've followed their kids' math passion. I think someone mentioned either here or elsewhere that AoPS C&P and NT can be completed in one year. I agree! It's fabulous to just take that time to enjoy and discover the number relationships and patterns. My son immensely enjoyed C&P for that reason and will take the NT online class in the fall. We're stepping back from introducing formal geometry for a while because he's requested more time to just enjoy the whole number theory experience. Wishing you all the best! I think I'll be following your journey with interest!

Have you seen The Know Your Gene/ Fun With Gene series? There's a religious as well as secular version. I haven't used it personally but have looked at it and think it might be something worthwhile to explore when my son is older.

:lol:

No you don't sound nuts. Unless I'm nuts too then we're in good company ya? :) This is a WTM board so I'm not sure if you don't mind a non-WTM method of doing things. I haven't examined how much of what we do is WTM-related. I had to give up using the method halfway through our homeschooling journey so I have to admit that although I love what is suggested in the book it doesn't work for my child to follow most of it. We've also been mixing grade levels for the longest time...ever since we started homeschooling in fact so it feels very natural now and I often forget not everyone does this. I will give you the example of math as that's the only subject that I truly structure/ schedule. Our math at ages 5-7+ (about 60 minutes a day, 3x a week) looked something like this: We used 3-4 different curricula. About 20 minutes of arithmetic practice to keep skills sharp (I chose what was fun to him e.g. MEP, number-based codes and ciphers and we used a little bit of Math Mammoth and Singapore too). About 20 minutes of Life of Fred or living math books (he finished the LOF fractions, decimals and got an overview of middle school math this way by age 7+). Then about 20 minutes of 5-6-years-above-grade-level math (our own whiteboard-based math puzzles) for stretching his brain and truly challenging him. I can't say for certain that we used a particular curriculum to completion because 1/3 way into it he'd have understood most of it or would have made some sort of mental leap that would have made insisting on completing the curriculum redundant and too frustrating. Our math at age 8 looks like this (about 60-90 minutes a day, 3-4x a week): One section of an Algebra chapter a day from the Brown, Dolciani textbook + related homework. I will compact/ extend the homework depending on how well he understands it. He writes all of his work out. Since he won't write for other things I use math to show him how to communicate clearly. So although he solves the math quickly, the writing slows him down. To me this is a good thing. If he has an AoPS online class, I reduce the algebra to 45 minutes and he uses 30-45 minutes for the AoPS work. Numbers are a passion so he spends about 3-4 hours of his free time every week at least to work on his number theory pursuits. All our other structured stuff takes about 90 minutes in total. This may include a chapter of history/ language arts and about 45 minutes of reading/ writing/ discussion or science experiments. He reads a lot of nonfiction on his own so I don't need to structure it. We read classics/ myths/ fun literature either aloud at bedtime, independently or we listen to audiobooks in the car. I was very worried about starting him on Algebra because to me he still had many holes in his math education (e.g. was just beginning to understand percentages, had barely touched paper-based geometry or ratios and was just learning to divide decimals) but he had displayed a mental leap about 10 months ago involving situations much like what you describe in your son. Algebra comes easily to him. He understands it better than I do. I think it would have really broken his spirit if I'd delayed it any longer. I'm sorry if I'm writing too much. But I really wanted to say this because I see others struggling with the decision to follow what they think their child can do, just like I did, and I want to say that if your gut feeling is telling you to do it, you could at least try. I am hesitant to say this to anyone IRL because they jump to all sorts of conclusions. "Oh your son must be an allround gifted guy, mine is not" etc. I know it's hard to get through to them. And they won't understand the asynchronous side in that he can't do the same in other subjects. He can go far in math and science. But I haven't accelerated him in writing output or other subjects because he is not yet ready. So I've learnt that when he IS ready for something I should encourage and let him go as far as he wants to. It's very fulfilling and confidence-building for the child to be trusted in this way. Besides, I strongly feel (now) that many prerequisites in place for higher math/ sciences are unnatural. They are there to make it easier for schools. And we're so used to thinking we have to do X before Y because we're conditioned for so long to think like this. But I'm not saying this is true in everything. About simple things being complex and complex things being easy...I see this a lot too. Something that seems obvious to me is not to him. I feel that it could be because they don't have as many life experiences as we do in what we consider the simple stuff. It could be a disadvantage but also an advantage isn't it? They haven't been conditioned to think in the same way everyone else does. Good luck wapiti!

My guess--and entirely a guess based on my experience with my son at that age when I too felt so overwhelmed--is that you could be trying to do too much. It was when I started asking questions like... - Why are we doing this? - What would happen if I tweaked WTM to suit the pace I'm comfortable with? - Why is Ambleside Online important to me at the moment? (not putting it down, just using it as an example here) - Why do art, music, foreign language now? Is he asking for it? Would the world end if we waited a bit to do crafts? - What would happen if I focused on just math, spelling and geography for the next 2-3 days/weeks/months? (again examples and geog because you say he likes it) ...that things started to make more sense to me. Perhaps it sounds crazy. Just perhaps...even at 6, he may have some valuable input on exactly what he wants to learn right now. And then you could see how you can combine his input with how you want him to learn it? Good luck! Been there...and not done yet.