I'm using it this year with two 5th graders. I think your son would be the perfect age for this core. I have to do some hand holding with the EHE mostly due to the fact that one of my students is dyslexic. This is my third year with SL, so I have learned to tweak it to fit our needs. All in all we are enjoying it. I don't think there's another program out there like it. (core F that is) SL has a great return policy, so I say go for it, try it out, if it doesn't work, send it back.

Ditto! Love my expedition! It's a 2004. Mine will actually seat 9 because my front seat is a bench seat, but I would never put someone in the middle of the front because it only has a lap belt. Love it!!!

Could you go and visit the one you're thinking about joining? The one here is having Open Houses. I'm going next week to observe the Essentials class.

I use it with a 5th grader who I tutor that is dyslexic. I call it "phonics". I like the layout and the activities in the book. I wouldn't use it with a child who has average or above average abilities in reading/spelling. I think it works well as a remediation program.

I asked this exact question to a homeschool mom in our support group. She has a degree in English and teaches a research paper class at our co-op. She suggested 8th grade as the earliest. High school ideally.

I don't think so. I bought from them last year and I don't remember getting a discount. No shipping of course, but that's it.

Is he seeing an occupational therapist? Has anyone mentioned "brushing"? My son has sensory issues and he went through this technique. It's supposed to help to desensitize(sp?) them. I can't think of the proper name for it, but if he's seeing an OT, I'm sure they have heard of it. You might could even find info. if you google it. Mine has issues with clothes also. When he's inside, he wears no shirt and soft pajama pants or shorts. I find that his "issues" change constantly, so what bothers him today may not be an issue in a few months, BUT something else will take its place. :glare: Best of luck on finding something that works for your son!

I think it sounds great. I'm doing core 5/F right now with my fifth grader. When we finish, we'll move on to core 6/G.

We're using it this year. I have the 2011 version. It is my understanding that it was majorly revamped a few years ago. I haven't seen the old version, so I have no idea if it's more clear or less frustrating. From what I have read on the SL forums those who use it with older children seem to do fine and those who use it with younger children talk of being more frustrated. I am doing it with two fifth graders, one is dyslexic, so we "cheat". I use the answer sheet and we discuss the questions and the kids write down the answer. So I guess for me, I don't allow it to be frustrating. I use it how I want. :D

I'm not LDS, but this is what our church does also. All of our classes are lead by volunteers from the congregation. We have "shadows" for our special needs kids.

My son is 11 and has been on zoloft for several months now. I have been very pleased with the results. It really helps him to regulate his emotions. He started at 25mg and is now on 100mg. I know that seems high, but the doctor says it is still a low dose. Don't be surprised if you have to increase the dose to see a change. Be patient, it will take a while to see any change. (I kept notes the first couple of weeks.) My son has had NO side effects. :001_smile: I will say this though. I forgot to give it to him one day and both of us noticed. It was not a good day!:tongue_smilie: Zoloft is definitely a medicine you do not want to stop taking abruptly. I hope it will bring relief to your ds.

Charleston, SC SC Aquarium Fort Sumter (depending on the weather, it requires a boat ride, so I wouldn't want to go if it's raining, cold etc.) Charleston Museum The Market USS Yorktown (if you have little ones, this might be difficult) All of these places are right downtown except for the Yorktown. I would find a place to park or stay downtown and walk as much as possible. Lots of old buildings and churches. Have fun!

I haven't done Core A science, but I have done Core D and E. I find they come in handy if you are not sure what to do with an experiment. Other than that, we don't watch them.

My ds is 11 and he has sensory issues. The biggest thing I had to do was to work on how my son reacted to things that bothered him. For instance, my ds has some real issues with food. When he was younger, if anyone just offered him some food, he would yell "NO". Well, obviously that is just not acceptable. I had to work with him on saying "No thank you." He also has issues with light touch, clothes etc. My ds does not like jeans either. I have found some at Land's End that he will wear. They have an elastic waist. If he's at home, I can almost guarantee he will not be wearing a shirt. Of course, if we go anywhere he knows that wearing a shirt is a must. So, yes I do accommodate some, but there are some things that he is just going to have to learn to cope with the best he can. With maturity, he is able to communicate his needs better.

The rules have changed. You CAN test your own children now. BJU sells the Stanford/OLSAT and I think the IOWA. I use the Stanford. It is easy to register as a tester. I do believe you have to have a college degree. I tested my son at home last year. Many of the standardized tests are very similar. I think the most important thing is to pick one and stick with it. This way you can compare progress from year to year.

We have been using Sonlight for science for the past 3 years and they use TOPS books. We used Radishes and Corn and Beans when ds was about 8 or 9. He loved it! Of course when growing things, it does require daily attention. I did have to help him quite a bit, but overall it was a good study of plants. Last year, we did Electricity and Magnets. Electricity was awesome! We did one experiment a week. We did most of the Magnet experiments, but ds did not like this book as much. All of these books require some copying. I did not like the format of the corn and beans book. It required the most prep because you had to cut and paste and put a journal together. I'm not sure why the format of that book is different from the radish book. I was surprised that about 99% of the experiments worked exactly like the books said they would. Sonlight does include a DVD with someone demonstrating the experiments. This did come in handy some if I could not understand the directions in the book. I would definitely recommend using these books as part of your science curriculum.

Why do you need a spelling program? My ds sounds a lot like your older two. He learned to read really well at age 5. He is also a great speller. I just use his vocabulary words as spelling words. To me, only students who struggle with spelling need the structure of a spelling program. I tutor a child who is dyslexic. She really needs the phonics and spelling rules.

We're at about the same place in the core. I also had the same feelings about Torches of Joy.:tongue_smilie: I'm doing this core with 2 fifth graders. Depending on your 5th grader, (directed to OP) you may or may not have to do some hand holding with the EHE. We do it together. We're all learning alot!

I laminated the constuction paper and used metal rings to hold it together.

This is exactly what I do with my ds. Spelling and vocabulary are very strong areas for him. Spelling wise the words are a challenge for him, but that's exactly what he needs. BUT even with the WW, words he can usually spell all but two or three on the first day. If you want to try it, go for it. It works for us. Beats having two separate lists!

My ds is also a natural speller. I just use his vocabulary words as spelling words. This year we started using the website www.spellingcity.com. It's great. I just create a word list for him and he can do it completely independently. The computer says the words and he does the test on the computer. There are games for him to practice with the words during the week. It makes it real easy to get spelling done!

This is our third year of homeschooling. I have used SL for all three years. We have completed core 3 and 4. This year we are doing core 5/F. I did alot of research about this core before we started and decided not to let the EHE be an issue. I'm doing this core with two 5th graders and we do the EHE together. I really like the books used with SL. My ds has read books that I never would have thought to have him read. When we finish core 5, the plan is to move on to core 6.

I paid for it this year. My ds loves it! He really has learned alot. He really has impressed my parents with knowledge he has learned on BP. My ds is 11, so we have the regular BP. I don't regret paying for it at all!

Are you taking any kind of over the counter meds or dietary supplements? I was taking Pearls (acidophilus, probiotic) and it caused an abnormal result. ALL of my paps had been clear except that one.

The reading doesn't take very long at all. A couple of pages per day and a couple of questions if you are using the activity sheets. As far as experiments go, they were "related" to what we were reading. Core E is electricity and magnetism. The core starts with electricity and you work through the TOPS:Electricity book. Then you move on to magnetism and work through the TOPS:Magnetism book. If you go to the Sonlight website, you can get a 3 week sample of the Science E/4 instructor's guide, so you can see how it's scheduled. There is a 4 day or a 5 day schedule. I bought the 5 day. The only thing that I didn't like is that M-Thurs. we would be reading the same book and doing an experiment. On Friday, we read a completely different book. It was only scheduled on Friday. Because my ds loved the Friday book, we read it during the week and finished it early. Not a huge deal, we just changed it to suit us.