I know there is an afterschooling group, but I was wondering from the moms who have planned already (as I have)....if you had to send your rising seventh grader back to school, what would you keep in? The school system where we live is adequate, some consider very good... He is solid in Math but a weak writer and horrible speller........I had his year planned out at home, but unfortunately I won't be able to use all the awesome stuff I had planned and purchased....

She was an English major in undergrad, so I think it's along those lines. I was so excited, I forgot to ask! :laugh:

This just tickled me pink. She is an amazing young woman, and was homeschooled K-12. Just thought it would bring a little inspiration.

Another beautiful book that we actually bought is Song of the Water Boatman and other Pond poems - From spring’s first thaw to autumn’s chill, the world of the pond is a dramatic place. Though seemingly quiet, ponds are teeming with life and full of surprises. Their denizens—from peepers to painted turtles, duckweed to diving beetles—lead secret and fascinating lives. A unique blend of whimsy, science, poetry, and hand-colored woodcuts, this Caldecott Honor-winning collection invites us to take a closer look at our hidden ponds and wetlands. Here is a celebration of their beauty and their mystery.

I make my DS (11) run laps, around the house. Whining drives me crazy more than anything else in the world. 5 laps for each offense. It gets him out, getting his blood going, fresh air, it usually works great if he whines about the 5, it becomes 10... They also have to run laps for saying mean things to their siblings, or putting their hands on each other in a mean way. I am a meanie!! If nothing else they get some exercise, some days LOTS of exercise!!

The articulation chart was very interesting....I am huge on letting kids develop skills when they are ready....maybe I just need to slow my roll and go back to basics.....both of my boys are extremely articulate, which might be the reason it seems so glaring with her. I feel much better about our path now.

You guys are so wonderful...thank you. I've been going round and round in my head with what to do. I called today to have her evaluated. I realized that was beyond my skill set. Once she has been evaluated, we'll go from there. She can say a sound wrong, but know what letter or letters make the sound she is saying. Like, she was going through all the initialed cups for my sons Boy Scout meeting the other night and noticed out of the 8 cups we were missing the "L" for Lukas, but when she told me she said Wukas. A little more about her challenges: Some sounds she physically can say, like 's' and 'r', she just doesn't. So with those I enunciate them back to her when she says them wrong (like if she says, "I want to go for a wide" I say "Oh, you want to go for a Ride, I'd love to take you for a Ride) with those sounds, this method is really helping. I don't outright correct her, it's exhausting and frustrating for her, and I don't 'make' her say it the right way, she wants to and does when she is aware. But the soft sound of "G" and "J" and "CH" she can't figure out what to do with her tongue and teeth - I think once she gets one she will get them all, but I don't want to frustrate her. She can't place her tongue right for "L" or "TH". And if she talks fast saying multi-syllable words, it all gets really jumbled. There seems to be a couple of things going on. I am going to start researching some of the curriculum you guys suggested, so I'm ready to support her when we figure it all out... Thank You!

Thank you tranquility7! I have often wondered about this with him, and it's just been lately that it has been become more evident with him. I am very much the opposite. Any suggestions for curriculum you have seen and loved? Crimson Wife - thank you, this looks awesome! I already put it in my cart. My husband is a little hesitant about giving him those kind of "tools" going into his teenage years! lol!!

My daughter is 5 (going to be 6 in October) and as we delve into our reading program, I am wondering if I should be working on correcting the sounds as we go, and not move forward until she has corrected it, or move forward with our reading program, helping her as we go? She has trouble with MANY sounds, digraphs, blends, etc. It's not going to be a quick fix. Thank you!

My son, is a strategist. He excels at chess, battle plans, risk, anything and everything that he can analyze and weigh scenarios. Is there a curriculum or program that he might like to help him develop these qualities in a positive way. I know this is vague, I'm just not sure how to support this skill. TYIA

How old are your kids? DS 11 & 7, DD 5 When do you get up? 6:00ish When do the kids get up? My sons get up between 6 and 6:30am, my DD around 7:30am When does school start? 6:30am Any tips on starting school on time? Getting school started was a nightmare for me, I felt like our day was being held hostage by the 'must-do's, my oldest son was a nightmare to get focused after breakfast. I decided I would try getting up with him in the morning and do all of his 'mom required' work before the rest of the house was up. We snuggle on the couch and read MCT and go over the days assignments and what is expected of him. We have been doing this since the beginning of the year and it has been so unbelievably fantastic for all of us. He is usually done before 11am!! In order for this to work the following needs to happen: 1) My husband is up by 6:30am to make the kids breakfast every school morning before he goes to work. 2) I must have his stuff ready to go in the morning or it all falls apart. 3) I had to adjust my bedtime from 11pm to 10pm - otherwise I'm a grumpy Mommy in the morning.

I started getting up early in the morning with my distractable DS (11). This has completely revamped our entire homeschool dynamic! We do our together work from 6:30am - 7:30am, I review what is on the agenda for the day (as well as put it on the whiteborad for him) then he continues working all morning until he is done, usually finishing up by 11am. We do Science and History in the afternoon. He knows that I work with his little brother from 9am - 11am and if he needs me for something else, it needs to be before or after that. Before implementing this he would get up start playing and then want to continue playing after breakfast, it was a nightmare to get him focused on school work, and every time there was a lull or I was helping one of his siblings, he would run back to the bedroom and start playing again. It started to get pretty ugly...like I was contemplating sending him back to public school. This has also freed up our afternoon's for anything we might want to do as a family, we do lunch and science/history and then we are off!

I was also contemplating going to a 6 day school week, my DS (11) is also the king of distraction. However, he is also the first one up in the morning, so instead of extending the school week, I set my alarm to get up with him at 6am and we start school right away (well maybe after my first cup of coffee, so 6:15am). This has worked out better than I could have hoped, he is usually done with his school day by 11am, with the exception of history/science which we do as a family. I also work, but mostly the weekends, so if he doesn't have his school work done by the end of school on Friday, he has to finish it up Saturday morning. I don't approach it as a punishment, just a reality, he knows what is expected of him and his work needs to get done before his weekend is officially 'his'.

We use electronics moderately in our homeschool. Netflix/Documentaries, etc. My oldest DS does his typing, drawing and Khan academy online, plus we have a BrainPop subscription. We do not have "tv" other than our netflix via our television. We have tried a MILLION different methods of structuring their 'free' electronic time. Inevitably they have been exposed to games such as minecraft and clash of the clans, through peer relations, and even though they don't thrill me, I'm not completely opposed to some moderated electronic time. Lately we have decided on one hour Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But they obsess over it (especially my two boys DS (11) and DS(7)) My oldest son has been checking his 'Clash of the Clans' account when he is supposedly listening to an audiobook (so he's been lying to us) and our other two kiddos have a fit when it's time to get off, complete with fussing, stomping and whining. ERRRR.....I don't know whether just to give them unlimited time and let them get it out of their system or nix all the free time?? Do your kids obsess over their time? How do you handle 'free' electronic time at your house? Is it about teaching boundaries...moderation...I feel like I'm failing here and I'm not sure what to 'try' next... Thank You!

I have a 6th and 2nd grader. We do science together and I have found it very easy to modify things for my 2nd grader, My older DS is required to do the writing assignments and more supplemental reading, while my 2nd grader just narrates it back to me. I think it would be very easy to do it with a 4th grader.

Thank You! I really like the look of "Understanding Geometry" from Critical Thinking company, it's been hit and miss with their stuff for me, but this book seems pretty intuitive to me (meaning I'll actually be able to teach it the way it's shown). We started MM 6 today, and I have a feeling a lot of it he is going to fly through. So I am going to use both MM and Jousting Armadillos, we also use Life of Fred and I've been holding back the decimal and precent book, to use it as review. So we'll toss that into the mix too. Thanks for the help.....we actually used RightStart Math up through E, and it was a great fit for my DS, but he did not want to do the Level G which is geometry based, maybe we should have stuck with it!

If I had taken the geometry part out he would have scored over 90%. He still technically 'passed' with an 80, but the geometry part was a total BOMB. He has a good understanding of all the other concepts, yet he is in 6th grade and just finishing MM5, because we slowed down last year to concrete some other topics - obviously geometry wasn't one of them. I was going to move him onto Jousting Armadillo's (pre-A) but now I'm not sure, what would you do? 1) Do another year of Math Mammoth, finishing level 6 2) Reinforce geometry concepts then move onto Jousting Armadillo's (possibly starting of 7th grade) 3) Start Pre-Algebra and work in Geometry with a supplement He is (11) and in 6th grade with all other subjects. Thanks!

Wow! I knew I was missing a piece! I already prepped the kids for a change in schedule next week! I think 90 minutes would be perfect! I watched both Susan Bauer videos on 'quiet time' and LOVE the audio book suggestions! My oldest DS (11) loves books, he will read for hours at a time. I think you guys are right about the schedule, I need to schedule times for each kid, I have been hesitant at trying this and failing miserably, but at this point it can't get much worse, and the time away from siblings is an added benefit I hadn't even considered!! THANK YOU!!

What does it look like at your house? I feel like my kids are running me ragged, and I need some scheduled downtime so I can refuel....I have three schooling (5,7,11). My oldest DS does not stay on task if I am not sitting with him while he does his work, so we all sit at the table. Then of course I have the seven year old decoding, and the 5 year old talking to herself, and the 11 year old yelling because he can't concentrate, then the 7 year old yelling because the 11 year old is yelling! Ugh!! For me to keep positive and not loose my cool, takes every ounce of my being, and by the end of the day I feel like I've been to the rodeo! My first step is to schedule "mom" time, so I only have one/two at the table at a time. This tends not to work, because it is then hard to get the "loose" children back to refocus....any advice.... :bored: ...

He says he wants legos, because his big brother got legos for his birthday in July, but this DS much prefers to deconstruct and reassemble things the way he wants them to, he has a woodworking bench (we tried wood kits, but he just makes his own design, so now we get him stacks of varying length wood), he takes apart EVERYTHING. Sometimes he puts them back together, sometimes not... Thoughts....

Anyone......? If you have used them in the past and stopped, how come?

I found a great notebook for my preK and 2nd grader from Confessions of a Homeschooler, but I'm trying to make a modified one for my 6th grader. If you do one for your logic stage kid, what does it have in it? How do you have it organized? How do they use it? I think this would be a great tool for him but I can't seem to wrap my mind around the flow. Things I want to put in it: - Daily 'to do' list/chores - Book Log - Book List for Literature study - Spelling Log - Poems for memorization - Monthly/Weekly calendar for him to keep track of his activities - allowance log - things in relation to yearly study (timeline, weather predictions chart, etc) I have a list somewhere but this gives you the gist of it. Does anyone do this with their older kiddos? Thank you!!

My mother and stepfather like to purchase a "big" family gift for my two boys (going to be 11 & 7) for their summer birthdays, Christmas, etc. Last year they got a fantastic outdoor swingset/fort for their birthdays, and a computer for Christmas. She is asking what to get them this year and I'm trying to think of something that can be used educationally, because our budget gets tight. We are doing Chemistry next year, so I thought maybe a Thames & Kosmos Chem 3000 set... any ideas?? We are constantly studying geography, will be working through middle ages next year, and my kids are HUGE naturalists! Thanks!

Two more that we are working through while we do Ancients: Ancient Science: 40 Time traveling, world-exploring, history-making activities for kids (Wiese) String, Straight-Edge, and Shadow: The Story of Geometry

Ohh! I could have written this post! I'm in the same boat! A series my DS (10) enjoyed even though the main character is a girl is: Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris All the books are over 350 pages, so this my satisfy your DS for a little while. Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green - a little dry, but my crew (10,6,4) enjoyed it as a read aloud The Odyssey The Eagle of the Ninth The Tale of Troy The Illiad Of course he could read the abridged classics for kids. I'll be following this thread. Vanessa