Just starting to think about this & work this out for my eldest. Reading through other posts is helping me brainstorm & explore. Right now, I'm looking at: Literature- Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading list for 7-8th graders, general discussion & exploration of those titles together Spelling & Vocab- Finishing out AAS 5/6 & Word Roots Grammar- ??? No idea yet. Need to research this. Writing- WWS2 & CW2 (Dependent on finishing WWS1 & CW1 by autumn.) Math- Still looking for a primary to move to after finishing MCP Mathematics, but thinking Khan Academy to fill in any holes & we might try out Jousting Armadillos for fun to start with at least. Logic- Continue assorted workbooks with fun puzzles, looking into a more formal option. History- We've been out of the country for a few years & been very internationally focused in our history/poli sci/sociology/anthropology type studies. So I'm feeling strongly about a in-depth return to US history next school year. Still screening resources for this. Will probably put something together myself as I'm very picky about history. Will do this all together with her two 5th grader siblings & just differentiate specific assignments for them. Science- Some combo of Joy Hakim, Ellen McHenry, Mr. Q, & GreatSource Science Daybooks, along with documentaries, random experiments, field trips, etc. Will also do this all together & differentiate where needed. Latin- Latin for Children A Spanish- Duolingo

Thank you for posting, because we're in a sort of similar situation with a similarly aged child. My DD1 is finishing with Singapore Math US Edition Grade 4, but math has become an absolute battle. I'm looking to switch her to something else at this point to prevent any further math trauma. So, I can here today and on RRC- hunting for reviews & ideas. I'm also looking at Horizons (or MCP Mathematics?) but unsure at this point if it would be the right fit. And where to start her. We've used Singapore since Kindy, so while I do believe she needs a switch to get her through to middle/high school, it's totally strange to be looking at other options now.

Yes-- I started out hopeful that I could have everyone using Singapore, but their minds just all approach maths differently. My eldest will stay with Singapore probably through 6A/B. But I've had to switch my twins at this point. The struggling one to Miquon-- for some reason it clicks for her in a way nothing else was even though I find it cumbersome to teach. And the accelerated one to Beast Academy-- Singapore bores him. Kids approach different subjects in different ways. It would be lovely if I could just use one for all three, but it would be a disservice to them. So, we've made the adjustment and I've figured out how to balance it all as the facilitator. The reward is that they are all making great strides now that we've found what clicks for each of them. It makes the extra teacher work worth it.

I read, as well. Readers have different approaches, so ask ten readers how to read and you might get a couple dozen answers! Lol! I do use mine in my spiritual practice, but like a few previous posters mentioned, I've met readers of all sorts of faiths (including Christians- there is a lot of Christian imagery in the Rider-Waite-Smith decks) and readers who come from more academic places focusing on Jungian themes. I have a collection of decks as well- different artists interpret the forms and themes of the cards differently and those nuances come in handy different ways and different times. I view them as a way to seek counsel and receive guidance.

No, we don't allow it, but it's because of the Queensland sun. We all wear rashguards- longsleeved or short, whatever I can find that's affordable and has broad spectrum UV protection and either regular bikini bottoms or boardies. Our wimpy American skin cant take a UV Index of 15 otherwise and we would all fry in anything less. Plus, we have family history of skin cancer. So it's a health thing, not a modesty thing. Although, I will say that I generally think little girls in any kind of swimsuit that is cut for breasts before they actually have them, making the fabric hang weird, just look silly to me.

I'm feeling generally lost with DS these days. Instinctively, I suspect something is up with him and that "something" has a name. I just don't know really were to start in figuring out what it is. In general, labels make me very uncomfortable. But if I can better understand what's going on with him, maybe I can help both of us figure out where to go from here. I feel sort of silly posting a "please diagnose my kid" thread, but I'd really love some help on a starting point or a direction or ballpark to start researching & exploring, if that makes sense. Here are all the pieces the best I can explain them written down. He's my only boy and I'm struggling to gauge whether he's got something going on or whether my expectations and understanding of typical 7yo boy behavior is out of whack. DS will be 7 in June, is strongly visual-spatial, and is very, very, very mathy. It's, I'd venture to say, the primary way he relates to the world. He thinks in math problems constantly. He's progressing pretty normally on level with language arts, but does still have one or two speech issues- w's for r's, that sort of thing. He use to have more, but we've eliminated most of them. He's pretty social and usually initiates conversations with both children and adults in a variety of social settings. He does competitive gymnastics and his coaches say his dedication and focus is admirable in the gym. He works hard there and excels consistently. He does struggle with negative emotion though. I've always taken the approach with all of my children that emotions are not to be repressed, but that the focus does need to be on healthy, constructive ways of processing them. But he has regular outbursts that he has a very hard time winding back down from. A couple of examples: 1) He goes over to the neighbors' house to see if they can play and they can't. He comes back in the door, tears streaming down his face, screaming about how unfair it is and throwing his shoes across the entryway in frustration. 2) He wakes up to find someone ate the last piece of leftover quiche he wanted for breakfast. Tears, screaming, possibly hitting or kicking the person who ate it. Also, he swings from being hyperfocused, like when he works in his math books or plays a video game to being impossible to focus like when I give him simple directions and he can't seem to retain or process them, much less do the task- like "please get your blanket off the couch and put it away in your room." I might have to repeat the directions four or five times before he retains that I've asked him to do something and does it. Getting him out the door is a huge challenge. He's always forgetting things he needs, etc. And he generally moves at a much slower pace than the rest of the family (something I am working on accommodating giving him more warning that we're transitioning to something else, planning for things to take longer with him) When he does his schoolwork, he often turns his paper sideways or upside down, but still writes so that the work is right side up when you turn the paper to check it. He does work standing in his chair sometimes and generally has a very hard time sitting still unless he's watching a kid tv show. That's most of the pieces I'm trying to find patterns in right now that I can think of immediately. So, I'd welcome any suggestions as to where to go from here because I'm exhausting my patience with the fits, but also feel guilt that we don't seem to be figuring out the right way to help him either.

Thanks, Bill. I gave him the 3A assessment and he did the first 5 or 6 problems before he had to go to gymnastics. Listening to him talk through solving them, he basically solved them in the same ways the answer key proposed, so I'm thinking we will most likely order this for him soon and see how it goes between the two once it finally gets here. Very glad I found this for him!

I'm working on reading through all 12 pages of this thread, so please forgive me if this is redundant. I'm considering BA for my son who is extremely mathy. He talks about numbers all the time, processes life via every day math problems he talks to me about. We're currently flying through Primary Math 2. He could probably jump to PM3 except for the fact that I wanted him to get the hang of some of the problem solving methods & tools introduced in 2 just to be sure he had those under his belt. But the further we get, the more it seems PM is too prosaic for him (which kind of blows my mind because I often wish I had learned math the way it's presented in PM!) He does 3 digit addition & subtraction in his head with and without regrouping without a problem. He also knows most of his times tables, understands basic division (can usually work it out in his head single digit) and has a handle on the concept of fractions. I already intended to move him from PM to AoPS when he was ready for Prealgebra. So now that I'm looking at BA, I'm wondering if I shouldn't switch him over earlier. It just seems like BA material is presented the same way he thinks about numbers. Thoughts from anyone using it already about whether or not BA has a good chance of being a good fit for him?

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm off to research all of these, start The Dyslexic Advantage which I put on my Kindle last night, and find the room in the household budget to either source or ship new materials in or to Australia.

Yup- mozzies are what the locals call mosquitoes. I sometimes forget to translate fully back and forth between Australian and Yank these days! Lol! I say something distinctly American to an Aussie and they look at me weird. I use something distinctly Aussie on a mostly American forum and people ask what the heck is that? I'm getting to where I can't keep it all straight in my head anymore. And to be clear, not all Aussie beaches are an icky mess during the summer, just the central and northern Queensland ones near us. Today feels very autumn-ish though, so that's already lifting my mood somewhat. I probably do need to pop over to the Learning Challenges forum and post a "what the heck is going on with my son?" thread. At a minimum, it would probably help me shift my perspective somewhat. I totally agree that homeschool mums can be brutally hard on themselves sometimes, expecting constant perfect and flogging ourselves whenever we dare to fall short of it. I try not to fall into that trap too often.

It's the multi-sensory aspect of AAS that really made a huge difference with my kids. Using the tiles, the markers, the cards, the oral work and the writing helps them engage the material visually, audibly, and kinetically. That sensory trifecta goes a really long way with my kids. It is pricey, but since I started it with my first child, I'll use it for three and it makes me feel better about the cost. Not only has their spelling improved, but I've seen it strengthen their reading, as well.

The New Bee link looks veeeery intriguing! Thanks for sharing that one! I'm going to give it a go for our next term.

<3 this! I realized while reading this that I am chronically dehydrated and really need to pay attention to that better. I'm also missing the beach. We were doing a fortnightly "beach schooling" day where we packed up that day's school work, our shade tent and all our beach gear and go do school at the local beach. We'd draw all our math out in the wet sand and read on our beach towels and have a picnic lunch. But the summer here is unbearably hot and that's also peak jellie, sea lice, shark, mozzie, sand fly, etc. season so the beach is really gross in the summer in Central Queensland. Hopefully it'll cool off enough in the next couple of weeks to return to regular "beach schooling" outings! Until then, maybe we can do a "pool schooling" day instead. Hmmmm. Now that I read this, I think it's the same for me. I have been known to wallow in a down mood, but forcing myself to get up and get something done that I can *see* accomplishes something really does lift me back up. Yes, it's the end of summer/early autumn here and the end of the wet season. It's been raining constantly for the last few weeks. It's hot and gross and the mosquitoes and sand flies are regularly chewing up my legs. Ugh. I'm very much looking forward to it cooling off a little and getting back out and about more. I honestly have a hard time sorting with DS what is or is not within the realm of normal. I really need to dig into that more and do some more research to see what I can do to help us both. Heaps and heaps and heaps of that helps, actually! Thank you soooooo much! I know what's going on with my DDs and am already actively working those issues. I just switched DD2's math curriculum and have high hopes that will help her there and I've started troubleshooting DD1's LA issues (she's dyslexic, we already know, but we're working the nuances now.) So, really it's DS who is the mystery and probably the biggest outward frustration for me because after a day of struggling with him all day long, I'm just so spent. Clearly, what we're doing isn't working for either of us, so I need to rethink the situation and come at it from a different angle for both our sakes'. We have about 7 school days left for our term and then my parents arrive and we're travelling all over Queensland with them for three weeks. There will be all sorts of wonderful experiences and life learning going on then and I'm hopeful that we'll start Term 2 all rejuvenated.

Marie- This is something I appreciate hearing. Since she's my eldest child, she gets stuck being the guinea pig in a way. Poor girl! I'm always questioning in my head what's "normal" for these kids (her younger sibs are also 2E, but in different ways) and whether my expectations are reasonable for them. I have no idea if Learning Ally or Bookshare are available, but I'll look. Shipping anything from the US to Oz is usually crazy "exy" as they say here. We do use heaps of free mp3 resources from Librivox and through free iTunes podcasts and the like- which she loves. And we check out audiobooks and DVDs from the really lovely local library here all the time.

Yes, we have had her vision checked and it's basically perfect, so we've ruled that out. I'll re-look at the Barton materials too. I remember that I looked at them when we chose between them and AAS and I chose AAS. Can't remember why at this moment, though. She did fabulously with AAS1. It really, really helped her *finally* master those basics and I totally saw the impact in her reading from doing that work. It helped her move forward with nothing else had. But maybe it is time to review that decision again. As far as testing or evaluation by a certified teacher, that'll take some research. With us being in Australia now, I'm actually not sure where to look or whether I could find the right educator to consult with. The small town we're in really doesn't have much of anything in the way of TAG programs in the public or private schools, so I don't know how easily I could find someone who understands 2E. In general, it looks like time for me to shift back into research mode. :) Thanks for the detailed responses and feedback. I really appreciate that very much. I lost my tight-knit community of fellow 2E homeschooling parents when we moved overseas, so it is really encouraging and helpful to re-connect with this forum and receive such lovely support and guidance to a post.