SCGS, that is really helpful. Thank you. I should really consider that approach. Even if I just "let it go" with them seeing poor spelling, how should I challenge her? She has never had formal writing lessons. She taught herself to read and write. I hate to say that since it sounds braggadocious, but it is pertinent to know, I think. I want to help her be the best she can be...

She is actually a *lot* like my brother, who was also homeschooled. (He is 28 now.) Left handed, retains nearly everything he reads and hears, but could. Not. Spell. To. Save. His. Life. My mom treated it as a developmental thing...so I'm not so worried about that. I just know that Charlotte Mason says no to let kids even see words that are misspelled...and Ebby is doing that to herself, lol. But she needs to keep writing...and I want to challenge her without allowing her to see misspelled words. (If I just need to keep typing her more difficult works, I can.)

Double post

Ah, yes. She is 10. Possible aspie. :-)

Thanks. I appreciate this list very much.

Hello, My Ebby is a poor speller but a fantastic writer. She also has figured out a lot of grammar on her own, and speaks well. I need some advice on how to continue challenging her with writing (so far she has just written things on her own, but I want to make it more rigorous), even though her speling is poor. In other words, I don't want her spelling to hold her back. Do I continue typing occasionally for her, and she dictates, and then have her copy it later? Do I buy a higher level writing curriculum that isn't spelling dependent? Do I work on spelling and just let her do her creative writing as she has been? I know I want to formalizge her vocabulary learning, so am in the process of buying Vocabulary from the Classical Roots. We are finishing FLL 2 (a formality...she is beyond this level but likes the style so I am also getting FLL 3). If I didn't have y'all to bug, and interrogate, :-P , I would place her in the correct level of The Complete Writer, and just help her compensate for poor spelling. Oh, and I would probably do Sequential Spelling or flash cards or something else besides Spelling Workout. (Not enough repetition with that....it just didn't click.) So....thoughts? Sorry for the rambliness. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this boat...links to other threads are cool too.

This is all helpful! Going to browse my library's online catalog ASAP! Now if I could just keep their papers contained....they are literally all over the house, and junking it up. We have quite a mess on our hands, and it is out of control.

I'm going through the same thing now. Here is sort of a note to myself. Somebody please remind me of this when I go through it again with the next five kids. Eek! It helps to remember that she doesn't hold my success/failure in her hands. I do, by the way I react to her. It helps to remember that behavior and academics don't need to conflict and vie for priority, cause sometimes, behavior *is* the lesson for the day. It helps to remember she doesn't need to like me or be my friend or be happy in order for me to be a success. See #1. It helps to remember that her behavior doesn't mean I've chosen the wrong path or curriculum. She's just eight, for Pete's sake. I'm four times older, and know better than she does what's good for her....no matter how linguistically gifted and smart she sounds.....she's still just a child. You say they get worse at nine? Hoo boy. Can't wait! ;-)

There is! I needed a way to break down different parts of art education. It would be so helpful to have a spine that fleshed this out. As we have history encyclopedias/spines, what I really need is an art spine with thoughts like you listed. I keep bringing up basics cause I want them/us to be able to use terms like "line", "perspective", etc. and be able to demonstrate these too. Those are in the table of contents from Art ABC's from Visual Manna, btw.

Oh thanks! I didn't realize that was a library book. It sounded consumable. Let's hope my library has better art books than other books. They didn't have what I consider basics like "Little House" or "The Hobbit." :-)

This is out of my realm of experience, so grab a grain of salt before reading more. :-) He reminds me a description in a book about sensory integration problems. "Too Loud, too tight, too fast, too bright." Sometines SID can just make people...tired like that, from what I understand. Or maybe it was "The Out of Sync Child." Both good books I recommend.

Ah, you mean like for art appreciation, not for helping them learn to draw? I think I should go back to TWTM and figure out when it is recommended to introduce the Masters....so far we've just been doing their own creations for art, so my brain is stuck on learning basic skills.

Aww, you're fine. And thank you! No, library books are fine, as I mentioned before. Having a list of beloved titles and/or authors you guys enjoyed would be helpful though. Are there any you particularly liked? As far as Netflix goes, we don't have that in the budget. Maybe YouTube instead....hmm.... Thanks!

Thank you, Erica. That wasn't entirely unhelpful. It's just that we cannot afford this now (dh is going on six years of little to no employment...yeah). The only thing close to outside help is Visual Manna, but like I said, the crowding around the iPhone is a problem. They're only 7 and 8. I'm not sure they're gifted. Just highly interested. What age did you start yours on outside classes?

I see that over a dozen others have at least clicked on this but haven't responded. Is there a better thread to put this, or some way to get a response? I know it's a rather mundane issue.... :-)

Hi! I'm slowly realizing that my kids need to be challenged more in art. It was going to be a "side dish", but they spend literally hours, every day, drawing. I feel it would be good to challenge them some more....introduce them to things they won't discover on their own. I don't know if they're gifted or not--they haven't really had the chance to find out. I just know I'm a tired mommy of 5+1 on the way, and have little girls who draw well, and draw a lot. Someone has recommended some Visual Manna curriculum...like the online art classes, but we only have an iPhone for Internet, and it's hard to crowd around that for lessons and still be excited about art. (We tried.) Any inexpensive workarounds, like library books, or online resources that would challenge them but not my budget and planning/preparation limits? If Visual Manna is good for gifted/highly-interested kids, I'll try the offline stuff...but since I'm shopping around anyway, is there something better? TIA, Sarah

What should I do for a 2nd grade girl who says she hates math? She can survive the regular lessons but the basic facts are what she really loathes. The short version: we started Saxon 1 with both girls (2nd and 1st), took some time off, and returned, only to test them and find out they were working a year behind their capabilities. Because the younger one was SO much more motivated and natural at math, we moved her to Singapore 1B and kept the older daughter in Saxon 2. Now nobody likes math. The long version: before I started doing more regular school, both girls would--on their own--do math. (Saxon 1) We didn't do the meetings; they could read well enough to do a lesson or two a day on their own. It was mainly the younger girl--the oldest is gifted in language, is left handed, and now hates math. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Time went by, and I felt the Saxon 1 was too easy, and therefore a waste of time. I am honestly pretty laid back, and don't care so much about what grade level something is, but more about "does this material fit" this child at this time? So it seemed a good idea to find something that "fit" them better. As stated earlier, we did the Saxon test, which said they were working a year behind what they were capable of. So naturally, I move them to the appropriate place in the Saxon 2 books. The younger girl, Ruth, was actually a little farther ahead than her older sister Elizabeth. This discouraged E, who started to develop a disdain for math around this time. She is so competitive and says she hates it because Ruth is better. "Okay, I'll split them up into different books" I thought. A lady at Rainbow resource actually suggested this and it made a lot of sense. It only got worse. The Singapore math wasn't as much fun for Ruth (we moved her to that and kept E in Saxon), and of course E thought Singapore looked great and felt jealous. Specifically, E has the most trouble with math facts. I'd love some games or activities that don't seem like math, for this. She can survive the regular lessons, just not the sheets with several rows of facts. We are doing unschooling for the next month or two and a major goal during this time is to salvage her math education so when we get back to more bookwork later, it is not as much of a struggle.

Ah, a topic near and dear to my heart. I totally agree that protein is my secret weapon for controlling behavior around here. I get a lot of recipes from http://www.formulazone.com. If you happen to be a member, you can sign in to see my success story on the first page. We have a chocolate milk recipe we like, canadian bacon sandwiches for breakfast, and chocolate peanut butter yogurt, among many others. When my kids eat a balanced meal too, it is SO much calmer around here because it maintains a steady blood sugar level. The one challenge is getting my son with chewing problems to chew stuff like meat. He does better with the special chocolate milk recipe. I'm collecting compatible recipes that can be frozen ahead of time so it will be easier to get meals. There are even somw ready-made meals at the store that are considered balanced.

That's helpful--to think about it that way. (Is this a BiG problem or just curiosity?) Random--I took my son Josh for an OT evaluation today for sensory issues. The checklist they gave me to fill out--wow! So many things apply to my oldest, Elizabeth. I knew that the things she does could be sensory-related but I just attributed them to her personality. I think I'll win the bad mom of the day award sometime, haha.

Hopefully it's not considered impolite to bump such an old thread...in the OP, does anyone know what LCC means? Thanks, Sarah

Yes--while an old thread, it should help get me out of a rut. We're in the middle of SOTW 2 now.

On Facebook today, I put "I'm expecting...." and then down in the comments I added "a box of school books in the mail today." I wasn't trying to fool anyone...just being silly. And we are excited about the books--some spellers, some grammar, and some story books. So exciting!

Maybe this is sappy, but oh well. I just want to thank everyone who posted. This has been very helpful. My connection conked out soon after I wrote my post and I'm just now finding myself here again. I'm going through old threads to see what I missed, and wow, thanks again. ~Sarah

Wow! It's amazing how detailed each category of skills is, especially in language arts. Way to go for going ahead even though the reading is a problem. That would be tough. My gifted daughter, who turns 8 this week, can tell fantastically complex stories, but can't spell to save her life. She knows it, and since she wants to be a writer, she's working on it. Aren't kids fascinating!

I'll check that out too. Thanks! Oh..biographies. Forgot to mention them. Sometimes I can't find ANYTHING about a certain figure, and it's a person mentioned in TWTM list. (And since it's a basic lost I figured everyone on there should be covered...) What should I do about that?