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.

Thanks, Pen. I'll look into those materials today.

Her comprehension is pretty much flawless. If she can manage to read it, she retains everything she reads. Her decoding is hit and miss though. A lot of times she guesses what the word might be and then once she's guessed that incorrect word, struggles to decode the actual word- like her mind got stuck on the first choice and struggles to read what's actually on the page. She can handle basic phonics fine- short vowels, basic consonant blends & digraphs are no issue at this point- and has basic sight word knowledge, reading-wise (spelling & writing, not so much). But long vowel constructs and more advanced phonics knowledge just hasn't stuck yet. When I have her read aloud to me, she's reading about Grade 2 level material and still stumbles over about 1/4 to 1/3 of the material.

What a great topic! Balance is tough in our house full of weirdos. :) I'm a RAGING extrovert, so I have a huge need for heaps of intelligent dialog and debate with those who can hold their own with me. Sadly, these days I get most of that online. I have a terrible FB addiction. We moved overseas nine months ago and I'm still working on establishing meaningful connections here in rural Australia. I'm usually cautious about how fast I peel back the layers, so to speak, on my crazy need to deconstruct the world around me out loud with other people. I have to ease people into hanging out with me! Lol! If I let every scrape of dialogue in my head come out my mouth, I'd constantly have potential friends running away screaming! My kids are split. I have two introverts and an extrovert. All three are 2E in different ways, with an array of strengths and weaknesses, so that keeps me on my toes right there. Managing their educations requires an intense amount of research and creativity on my part. My DH is a strong introvert along with a hefty helping of combat PTSD he's slowly but surely working through. He also works 6 days a week, so most of the time it's me and the kids. Volunteer work in the community has been a good thing for all of us. I read and read and read and read. I am in a book club that reads pretty "literary" works and actually discusses them thoroughly, so I look forward to that every month. And I do some freelance writing at this point, which gives me an outlet for all the thoughts & analysis that piles up in my head waiting to get out. I also just began a distance learning program and I try to go out for coffee & dessert with new friends every couple of weeks. Oh- and I watch a fair amount of vapid reality television after everyone else goes to bed in order to give my brain a break and wind it down at the end of the day. Guilty pleasure. Just in the last couple of months, I re-engaged my creative, artsy side. I joined a community theatre production of The King and I and I submitted a painting to a local International Women's Day art exhibit/competition. I've yet to hit the perfect balance though. Heaps of times I either feel like I'm not doing enough for myself or I'm getting too wrapped up in my own passions and neglecting the rest of the family. It's rare that I step back and look and say, wow- check out the great balance! You do what you can, I think. The kids are always growing and changing so fast, so they're needs are always changing. It's a continual process of adjustment and growth for all of us.

I'm not sure how we'd function if they didn't work independently. Or how I'd get anything else done, for that matter. For two of my kids, I review the concept of that days math lesson, make sure they understand the instructions of the assignment and then let them loose. They can take it anywhere in the house they'd like to do it. They just bring it back when they're done, I check it and they re-work their mistakes. One of my kids does need me to sit with her through the entire process, but math is her weakest subject right now. I do the same sort of thing for various other subjects and my eldest does some work on the computer, which she does independently. History, art & science we do all together. But yeah, I totally turn mine loose whenever possible while I get dishes, laundry, mopping, or a free-lance writing project or my own distance learning assignments done too.

I'm experiencing some frustrations with our homeschooling lately. My eldest is falling behind in language arts, my son is very difficult to work with about half the days of the week and my other daughter is struggling with math. So, this weekend I'm feeling somewhat beat down and I'm searching for motivation & inspiration. What are your favorite, tried and true pick-me ups when you're feeling burnt and frustrated with how things are going?

About 2.5.-3 years ago, we went through the testing & evaluation process with our eldest daughter and confirmed what we already suspected. She is highly gifted, but also struggles with dyslexia. At the time, she was making slow, but steady progress with reading and writing (not the physical writing, the spelling/sentence structure/grammar, etc.) with what we were using. Since then, we've adjusted here and there and she does continue to improve, but her pace is sooooo slow. The gap between the learning she does easily if I read aloud to her (or we use video resources or I take dictation for her or we discuss together, etc.) or otherwise engage higher level material she is passionate about without reading, spelling or writing and the material she can read independently or write independently about is continuing to widen. DH and I have been pretty laid back about all of this up until now, but my husband, in particular, is starting to get increasingly concerned about her falling too far behind. Currently, she's 9.5 and her language arts program looks like this: WWE3- which she finds challenging FLL3- which she's doing fine with and retaining well AAS2- she's also doing well with this, very slow going, but she enjoys it Hooked on Phonics Master Reader- again, progress but slow Explode the Code (currently book 5)- she does the exercises just fine, but I don't see this learning translate to her writing/spelling very much. It does seem to help her reading I feel like we're doing heaps, you know? But my DH's concern in particular is making me anxious now. Are we doing enough? Is she ever going to read and write "on level"? Those sorts of worries. So, in general, any suggestions for resources for DH and I to look at as her parents? Other ways to view the situation? Encouraging words? Or a reality check and a kick in the arse? Or other program suggestions for her? I guess I'm trying to determine if we're doing right by her or if there is more or less or different that I should be doing to help her read and write fluently sooner rather than later. :crying:

We haven't belonged to one since we moved overseas, but our previous co-op worked on a trimester system year round. We registered every trimester for the activities our children would attend, so how pricey the trimester was depended on what the co-op had planned and how many kids you had. Our family usually paid $90-120 per trimester for 3 kids- so about $30-40 per child for each trimester. And that covered everything up front- supplies, lab materials, field trip costs, etc.

He actually did write some children's books too. I haven't read them, so I don't know about quality. They are adventure novels as well-- just much shorter and meant for kids. ITA- I wouldn't introduce a 9yo to Dirk Pitt at all. My DH reads them for mindless pleasure reading.

Before I end up re-inventing the wheel, has anyone ever synced SOTW Ancients with Susan Wise Bauer's History of the Ancient World? We're using History Odyssey Levels 1 & 2 Ancients with SOTW, CHOW & Story of Mankind to cover the various levels/abilities/interests in our house. Plus, I own a copy of History of the Ancient World for myself. My eldest DD, in particular, has a habit of asking questions that cause me to need to go research adult level materials to find her answers. So I thought I might read History of the Ancient World alongside their studies, hoping that might help me give her a little bit more depth here and there where she needs it. Long story short, has anyone seen an outline for coordinating SOTW and History of the Ancient World anywhere? Or made one they'd be willing to share with me?

Yup. That's what I'm looking for! Thanks everyone for the help.