We're using WWW3 and I like the methodology. Each weekly lesson has a new concept; the first few days are examples of good and bad writing and then ds creates his own writing the last couple days. Although the conceptual lessons are open and go, the original writing does require my supervision. For example, ds read a paragraph about the differences between crocodiles and alligators, then had to come up with his own question. His first pass: Where do crocodiles build their nests? Great question; it had nothing to do with the paragraph he read. So we talked about staying on topic and discussed a few options to guide his thought process. He came up with a good sentence and we copied it down. Although I find WWW to be a gentle guide for writing effectively, I don't think WWW is enough as a stand-alone program. In my personal opinion, writing takes practice so I want my ds9 writing everyday. We were using WWE3 combined with WWW3, but I found the additional reading in WWE3 unneccessary. We use the WWE principles for other subjects; he narrates three to four sentences of reading and history three times a week, plus dictation the other two days.

:bigear:

Cornbread stuffing with sausage. I make a huge vat of it and we eat it for days. It's the only thing I like once Thanksgiving is over. I thought I was the only one with a completely set menu. My parents would try something new every year and it usually didn't work out which made for many hit-or-miss meals. I haven't changed my planned dishes in years, although I'm always tweaking to improve the recipes. Last year, I made dry-brined turkey, which was delicious and much easier than a wet brine.

I bought the kindle version after reading the library version twice. Since I like to read on down times, it goes with me everywhere. It takes some getting used to, and I use a notebook for making notes, but the ease of carrying around hundreds of books makes the e-book worth it.

I was concerned about the colors as well, but it was not an issue. I always refer to the rods as the "dark green six" and the "purple four" but like a pp, if we have a problem like 10-5, my dd will grab the yellow rod while saying "five!" I created a color chart for each number, but dd has quickly grasped the color associations. I think the child would have a harder time distinguishing between the rods if everything was the same color. We started doing the behind-the-back-game (from the youtube videos: see other threads on c-rods.) If I ask for the three, she will pull out the light green rod. It's amazing how quickly she picked up a concept I thought would confuse her. Lesson for me: don't underestimate a child's ability to grasp an abstract concept. Also, this is one manipulative I let my children play with after school. They consider it a great treat. So far they've created the Eiffel tower, the Empire State building, cars, log cabins, robots, and others.

This is the way many girls this age act. Your dd homeschooling is just an excuse. If it wasn't homeschooling, something else would pop up to trigger this reaction, whether its boys, clothes, etc. If you do sleepovers, I'd recommend having dd pick the girl she's closer to and have a girls night: pedicures, manicures, popcorn, and a movie or whatever would make the night special for dd and her friend. Make an active effort to keep one of the girls in dd's life and the other may follow. I don't intend to demean your dd's real fears re: her friends dropping her. As adults, it's easy to say, "That's what happens in life," but for your dd this could be very traumatic. Be there to talk and understand if she lashes out at you. Like the other pp, you made the decision to HS for adult reasons. The immature behavior of children shouldn't sway your choice.

:iagree: Math is more important. I think there needs to be a fundamental understanding of conceptual math. If you don't write well, it probably won't ruin you, but if you don't understand math, it can make your entire life challenging. Right now, we see situations where young adults made college decisions independent of potential income or tuition cost, and it's devastating their lives. Personally, I think everyone should have a course in personal finance early in high school so they can see how math is vitally important and make life and college choices with the proper education.

Although I afterschooled for a few years with my eldest, I'm new to HS as well so I'll just pass along a few tips from veteran HSers that I've found work for me. * Make sure the curriculum fits both you and your children. It could be the most perfect fit for your child, but require hours of prep from you. If this is not something that you are able to do, don't use the curriculum. * Prioritize your subjects. For our family, math, reading, writing and Spanish are the priorities. Our day is not done until all the children have completed these subjects. If we've had a rough time, I may pass on other subjects like history or science. * I planned the whole school year over the summer using HST+. I can input supplies required, add literature tied to our history study, and keep track of our daily assignments. I didn't use it for several months, but now that I have it, I don't think I'd stay on track without it. By looking at our daily assignments, I know exactly which subjects we've completed and which ones we need to work on. I also request library books a week or two ahead of when we need them. * If it's not an open and go workbook, I print out all the worksheets at the beginning of the year. In a milk crate, I have a set of manila folders labeled CHILD Week 1 to CHILD Week 36, and everything is filed away right after printing. Each child also has another milk crate where I keep manila folders labeled MONDAY through FRIDAY plus their workbooks, textbooks, pencil boxes, etc. At the end of the week on Friday, I pull out the file folder for the week following and put the sheets in the daily folders. Every night before the school day, the daily assignments are put in the child's plastic folder, one with pockets. Once assignments are completed, they go back into the weekly folder to be filed away. * For example, ds will be in Week 13 of the school year and his manila folder contains notebook pages for spelling, geography, science, and history plus the week's WWE and FLL pages. I also include any extras, like projects, crafts, or recipes. Math is open-and-go, but if I was using MM, I would print out the pages and file them. This has made my life extremely easy. I use to shuffle among the different workbooks and papers. Now, I look over the week's assignments to plan for any materials needed, and my son can open his daily assignment folder and see how many pages of work he has to do. The only thing I'm changing is adding a weekly assignment planner for my eldest. I want him to start working more independently and he likes to check the box when his work is completed. I hope this helps. There are many threads on the boards about planning and organizing. The above is what I've gleaned and works for me.

Pregnancy tends to bring out even more of the crazy than usual. When pregnant w/ ds, I nearly broke the speaker box at a McDonalds because we came 10 minutes after they stopped serving the McGriddle. Not my finest moment! If it's dh brother, have your husband mention something. Otherwise, avoid her until the pregnancy is over. I wouldn't feel comfortable having someone say things like that about my child, but talking to her probably won't do you any good while the hormones are raging.

I think you should assign him to the age-appriate grade and test him based on his age. If he's only partially through first grade when you test, he won't be penalized for not knowing all the material. I'm doing the same thing. My dd is doing first grade work, but she's age-assigned to kindergarten. We are required to test every year, starting in first grade. I wouldn't want to subject my dd to a test that requires "seat" time above her age tolerance.

SM teaches through skip counting, grouping, and easier times table order (2-5x, 10x, then 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x). The HIG also offers tricks: 4x is double 2x, 8x is double 4x, 6x is double 3x, 9x is one unit less than 10x, etc. The concept of skip counting is introduced in SM1, reinforced in SM2, then multiplication is really worked on in SM3. Ds got the concept pretty quickly. I didn't push on memorization for some time but after a few months of working the concept, we did times table memorization. I made the times table sound like a rap and we danced around to it every morning for a few weeks. I started with 9x and worked backwards. Now, he's got the timestable down and I just do a refresher once or twice a week. I also made the consonant song in OPGTR into a rap. It was the only way dd would do it with me. The silly things I do for my kids' education...

Even if you don't give your child a popular name, watch out. Dh and I named our son after scanning the SSA lists, making sure we picked a name that wasn't even top thirty. The year ds was born, the name moved to top 5. For dd, we did the same, again making sure we picked a name that wasn't top thirty and a nickname that wasn't top thirty as well. No luck. Again, the long name zoomed to top ten and there are a bazillion derivatives of her name.

I dislike our Bosch. It is VERY quiet, but it does not clean well. The detergent doesn't rinse completely so we often have to run the thing twice. The salesman sold it to us claiming we didn't need to rinse the dishes. That has not been the result. Even rinsed dishes come out dirty if only one dish isn't completely clean. Also, the dishes come out wet. I've come to expect plastic will be dripping wet and porcelain items must sit in the open air for thirty minutes or so immediately after the cycle ends. I wouldn't buy another Bosch.

Reading: library books - there are plenty of reading lists available for each age group. Science: Real science odyssey e-books for the eldest and everyone participates History: if it's a short period of time, American History. Fifth grade is the usual time for studying American history and most libraries have plenty of resources re: American History. Break it into different periods: pre-columbus and "discovery," colonial times, pre-revolution & revolution, pre-civil war & civil war, reconstruction & gilded age, WWI, great depression, WWII, and post WWII. Have the mom go to wikipedia (no, no, seriously!), use it as a basis for names, dates, and significant events; I don't recommend using wikipedia as a SOURCE for history. Use the library to find books; read them and discuss. Or ask the eldest what time period he wants to study and buy used resources.

We read this every Christmas! My kids adore it and my dh just shakes his head like we're crazy...

It sounds like everyone has come to the conclusion that every child is different so do what works. I will advocate for some drill when it comes to multi-step algorithms. My ds immediately understood long division conceptually, but kept skipping steps at pencil-to-paper time. As the problems became more difflicult, he grew more frustrated because he kept making mistakes. We spent extra time doing "booorrrriiiiinnnnngggg" long division problems so he could practicie each step successfully before moving on to the fun stuff.

I have two children using SM right now so I hope I can help. I have an older ds for whom I've used SM 2 and 3. With him, I found the HIG, textbook, and workbook the most helpful; the EP, IP, and tests were unneccessary. There are plenty of free worksheets, games, and activities available online if I find he needs extra practice. On a daily basis, we do a brief skills exercise: a quick game, facts review, or CWP. If it's a CWP day, I open it to a subject he already knows. We do one problem together and he might do 1-2 problems alone, but with me beside him for guidance. I've found too much CWP can make the rest of the lesson challenging. We move onto the day's lesson, using the HIG and examples from the textbook Then, he's sent off to do the workbook on his own. My dd is using SM 1A. In the front of the HIG, there is an 18-week schedule for each level. I use this as a guide when I input the lesson plan into HST+, but I skip the EP and tests days as I don't use these. Our lesson is similar to above, excluding the skills exercise. She doesn't know enough yet to need review. Using the HIG, I teach the lesson with manipulatives then we do the workbook together, again using manipulatives to answer the questions. Once we're further into the year, I will add in a skills exercise. In short, daily schedule: SM1: HIG & textbook w/ manipulatives ==> workbook exercise SM3: supplemental materials (like CWP) ==> HIG & textbook ==> workbook exercise This has made the program open-and-go for my kids. I'd recommend following the HIG schedule, but dropping the IP and CWP until later. If you get to the point where the lessons are progressing quickly, then I'd recommend bring in CWP as a "fun" activity before the lesson. On a weekly basis, the HIG and workbook parts don't change, but I try to follow this schedule for supplemental activities for SM3: Mon & Wed & Fri: CWP Tues & Thurs: Fact Drill/Game Satori Smiles also has a fantastic blog post on her SM lessons.

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Everyone has given you great answers above. It doesn't sound likes it's an issue with the curriculum. My ds9 has just started doing his workbook problems independently; we still go through the textbook problems together. Even then, I have to keep him in eye sight or his attention will wander. He also requires frequent prompting to get the independent work done. I'd encourage you to try assigning half the problems. It gives your child an incentive to complete the work correctly. If my ds sees a page full of problems, he tends to zone out, considering the amount of work insurmountable. Sometimes, it can take a bit of coaxing to get him down off his math ledge; reducing the problems and requiring 100% accuracy makes the task easier for him.

We started homeschooling in April (afterschooling in the previous years). It took a few months to adjust. Definitely enjoy your time with the kids, start slow, and give yourself a grace period. I found my kids were happy to HS, but struggled with the different routine. We are doing much better now and enjoying our time together.

The CWPs are fantastic. Last year, I bought everything but the CWP. What a waste of money! There are plenty of worksheets online for drill so we didn't need the EP and I quickly found tests to be unnecessary. I'd recommend the HIG, textbook, workbook, and CWP.

If he hasn't done narration/dictation before, I'd recommend WWE3. I've heard WWE4 is a big step up for dictation (2-4 sentences), which I think would be a lot for a child new to the idea. I found my initial use of WWE very helpful, but since we've used it for a few months, I found ds unable to create a logical flow to his narration, even with the prompts provided. There is a chance my children will go back to PS as well so I'm using WWW as a " how-to" model for composition. I was getting ready to create my own curriculum until I found a WWW recommendation from SatoriSmiles. Currently, we are using WWW3 (ds is a third-grader). It starts out with sentence order, then progresses to paragraph order. It follows the traditional 5-sentence paragraph (topic, 3 supporting details, conclusion). It looks like in year six the essay is introduced. If your ds was in PS, he might be able to start in year 5. Although formulaic, I've found these common writing structures are expected on standardized tests and are a good basis for writing in PS high school. The best thing for your ds is feedback from you on his writing. If the sentence is unclear, the paragraph muddled, or the essay illogical, the best thing you can do as his teacher is to encourage clarity in his writing. For my ds, I pick one great thing, one good thing, and one thing to work on. This way he doesn't get overwhelmed, and he understands that the feedback is intended to improve his writing. I think one reason PS writing is so poor is the student has never had a serious critique of their papers. A good critic is invaluable. My mother was a gentle, no-nonsense reviewer of my writing and I had a brutal English teacher my junior year. I never received a single paper back from her that wasn't covered in red ink. She challenged my assertions, tore apart my supports, and would line-out any sentences she felt were particularly heinous. In my PS, her students in their senior year were known for their writing. If you're uncertain about your critiquing skills, I recommend Strunk & White's Elements of Style and Stephen King's On Writing. These books will be very helpful for your ds in high school, so you'll both get use out of them.

We're using Winning With Writing after using WWE for most of the year (started in April). I like the philosophy of WWE but decided to use the principles for history and science and purchase a curriculum dedicated to composition. My child is a two grades younger, but I've reviewed the other levels, and I think we will continue with it through grade 6. I've been very pleased with it thus far and I think others on the forum have liked it as well. It goes step by step through sentence order and paragraph structure (including the various forms). I don't know if it has a creative writing component, but I agree with SWB in that original stories and poems should be a child-led activity. Some people have a creative writing gene; others, don't.

I dropped grades almost immediately. It made my children anxious if the work wasn't an A and I didn't want them to focus on the grade, I wanted them to focus on the mistakes. We re-do mistakes and review the subject if I don't feel they have mastery. Plus, grading is a huge hassle. How much to assign to what assignments and what's the weight? Blech! I also don't give formal tests. I agree with the other posters. Grades are a communication tool between the teacher and the parent. You are the teacher so why talk to yourself? Assuming you don't already do so...

:iagree: We are using RSO and it drives me BONKERS! I do like the stories and lab sheets. But I'm tempted to write the publisher and ask them to please reformat the books. But then, I'm a bit OCD when it comes to fonts and presentations. Don't get me started on people who love to explore the world of fonts in their PowerPoint presentations. I get really worked up. My office had an assistant who wrote everything in comic sans. Every email seemed to scream, "I am unprofessional!"