I'm totally okay with this... I've definitely been sitting next to her (often puzzling them out at the same time she is) the whole way through. Where I was going wrong, it's clear to me now, was the amount of solution I was willing to give as she worked through it.

I don't really have a school day, but I do have a "no recreational TV/video games/screen time until 3pm" rule, that's basically meant to delineate the school day as a time that we're active and interactive. They play and talk together plenty during that time (though my kids are younger and don't have as much work, so they have plenty of free time), but I guess I consider their active/imaginative play as educational in its own way, whereas staring at preschool TV shows quickly becomes a time suck.

Yeah, that makes sense, and I suspect it's how it was supposed to work, but it wasn't really our experience. Both the first pentomino and the first toothpick question remain unsolved, though most of the others have been. I think it mostly taught frustration, and lessons were taught in the ones that she could actually solve. But I think that if we had used the answer key to solve the first one, more lessons would have come from that. And it sounds like this is maybe how it's supposed to be used. And, if so, it makes sense to have the harder one first.

I've reread Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights in the past couple of weeks, and somehow this doesn't surprise me at all. :lol:

Okay, I think the last few posts are really shining light on my issue, and making me understand what I'm missing. I think I'm too used to the emphasis being on the question, and the answer is just what you quickly check to make sure that you did the problem right. I've been treating the answers as a closely-guarded secret, only revealing them when she's figured things out. I clearly need to shift my way of thinking to spending more time on the answers. Thank you, everyone. I feel much better about all this, and will shift the way we approach the curriculum now.

I have no idea how to multi-quote, so I'm going rainbow. I guess I don't see this AT ALL. I assumed that this was how it would work, but it doesn't. Both in the pentomino set, and the toothpick triangle page, the hardest for any of us was the first one. When we finally skipped it and went on, other ones were easier. This has happened throughout the book for us... on one of the pages, the one my daughter had the easiest time with, and which I thought was really easy when I read it, was a double-star one. I seriously question the order of some of their problems, and how they classify them as easier/harder. The solutions teach how to solve that particular problem, not how to find the solution. When I read about BA, and bought it, I was expecting more something that taught how to find solutions. In exactly the way that the textbook teaches about the checkerboard trick. But then the toothpicks and pentominoes come out of nowhere... I mean, the logic puzzles on restaurant placemats sometimes come with solutions, too... I was hoping for more from a textbook. This is clearly where the "they figure it out as they go along" comes from, but I guess I'm not convinced that this is actually how it works at this level, nor do I particularly see it working. This is affirming, though not what I usually look for when I buy a curriculum :) I'm really glad that a bunch of people, including apparently the AoPS authors, seem to agree with this, to some extent at least. Well, I'm glad for me. It's kind of making me wish we had started with a different chapter, or that I'd known ahead of time so that I could have approached it a little differently. Thank you everyone! I'm not meaning to sound as negative as I think I'm coming off. I want to like it, and I like a lot of it. I guess I'm feeling pretty frustrated by the fact that this chapter is holding us up, and that we're moving sooooo slooooowly because I'm expecting my daughter to find the answers herself (with minimal help), and I don't want to totally burn her out. We'll start chapter 2 next week.

What specific subjects are you looking for? Do you want formal curricula for everything, or just for english/math? I'm only into 3rd grade, but so far really like the Writing With Ease/First Language Lessons series for grammar and writing. They're not free, but they're PDFs that can be reused for multiple kids. I use the Zaner-Bloser handwriting workbooks: they're about $12 each, but last the year, and I tried to save money by just printing out worksheets and writing out copy work and decided that it was worth paying the money for a professional product. But I'm also sort of anal about handwriting :) MEP is great, but teacher intensive... we kind of gave up halfway through year 2. Math Mammoth costs a little (buy it through Homeschool Buyer's Coop for a deep discount), but is great and I can't recommend it enough. Pandia Press's science programs are great... I wouldn't call them cheap, but you could definitely buy one a year and use them with all of your kids... the older ones you might supplement with extra reading and maybe writing, but I think they'd still like the experiments. Story of the World is great for history, and not expensive. ETA: If you're not adverse to textbooks, I love everything that Galore Park publishes. Their "Junior" series starts in about 2nd grade. The books aren't terribly expensive, and are non-consumable so can be used by different kids (though they're paperbacks, so don't stand up to a ton of wear and tear).

Thank you. I totally missed that in the FAQ. I guess I get why they opened with this chapter, because it's fun and different and eye-catching, but it's really hard, and I feel like we were just plunked in the middle of it. Maybe the 2nd grade book will have more specific tools? We'll just move on to chapter 2, and maybe work more on this over the year.

I sort of dread posting this, because I only hear raves about it, but I'm having a tough time here. Maybe we're just not very smart? I kind of think that's it, to be honest, but I'd still like to plug through. The first chapter of 3rd grade is all about geometric puzzles. The reading was clear and interesting, and we made all the cube shapes out of actual wooden cubes, and my kids are loving playing with them, but then we got to the workbook puzzles later in the chapter (particularly putting together the pentomino shapes, and the "move 2 toothpicks in this triangle to make another triangle" type of problem), and it's just not working for me, or for her, and I'm disappointed. I kind of thought that the point of this was to teach HOW to do these sorts of logical thinking puzzles, and not just to present page after page of them, with no walk-through or suggestions or breaking down of how to do each problem. Even if the break down explanation was just "try to move random toothpicks around and see if something looks promising" (which is our strategy, because it's the only one I know how to explain), it would still be an explanation of sorts. But instead I just feel like I'm really missing something, and have just bought a book of the kind of logic puzzles you see on restaurant placemats and either feel dumb or smart when you can do them. I guess I like it as a book of logic puzzles, though I kind of feel like there are better, cheaper ones out there. And the textbook clearly teaches some good math concepts. They're just not the logic concepts that seem to show up in the workbook, and I don't really understand why there's a disconnect, or how people use this. Do you give hints to your kid? Do you make them get the problem right before you move on to the next one? Because even doing the first, and not the next one (though I've generally been trying to get all the problems on the 2-page spread done before moving on to the next one), my formerly logic-puzzle-loving kid is starting to hate this and think it's a total slog and not even worth trying (though she's still enjoying reading the textbook). And I've read all the posts on here about how AoPS is for a specific type of self-motivated learner and all that, and that the way it teaches is by making the kid figure things out for themselves... but I guess I don't really think that "move random toothpicks until something starts to look right, and Mom winks and nods" is actually teaching anything except to take random stabs and hope that something works out... which, I mean, yeah, sometimes life is like that, but it's not really why I buy math curriculum. I guess I'm just disappointed. I was looking forward to a book that taught processes more clearly. Can anyone walk me through how they use the book, and what their expectations for their kids are? Are mine just unrealistically high? I admit that I'm feeling pretty dumb right now, and kind of clinging to my LSAT score as proof that I can't, objectively, be THAT bad at logic games.

These threads come up every once and a while, and it really bothers me that the reaction is the exact same thing that the person is complaining about. Original person: I know a couple extreme cases, and it's awful to watch and they drive me crazy! A bunch of people: This is just like my case, which I will describe, and which isn't an extreme case at all, and kinda only tangentially related to what OP is upset about. Are you saying that I'm a bad person/mother/homeschooler? Mob: OP is clearly a terrible busybody and says that a bunch of people are are terrible people/mothers/homeschoolers. I find it pretty upsetting, tbh. It seems pretty clear that OP isn't talking about 6 year olds who can't read at a high school level yet, or about over diagnoses, or about unrealistic expectations. And as someone who had 2 kids with delays, who was told by everyone that it was no big deal, that I was an overbearing helicopter mommy, that "that's just how boys are," that I was just comparing him to my older daughter and needed to let him develop at his own rate, and a bunch of not-actually-true stories about what a late bloomer Einstein was, I get really angry when I hear people say that discounting and disbelieving aren't actually the norm when children are clearly having issues, and that it's no big deal to enable situations where earlier identification and appropriate therapy will help. I'm really glad that for my 3rd child, who also had similar delays, I ignored the people who rolled their eyes, and said "It's just because she has 2 older siblings to do all the talking for her!", and got her the therapy she needed right away. It made a huge difference, I think.

I like the 2 version, because it's so random and weird, and how often do you really get to write it? So I always make a point to, on the rare occasions it pops up. Perhaps this is the worst reason ever, but it's good enough for me :)

I really like the Zaner-Bloser workbooks.

I'm 36 and think of it as a common phrase.

Has anyone here ever been to the ER with an injury? They ask you when you're admitted if your accident occurred in a car, in someone else's house, in a public place, etc. And if you answer yes to any of those things, your health insurance company is going to try to recoup the costs of your treatment from someone else's auto or homeowner's insurance. This is so common that you don't even really think or know about it, but it's not like it's a hidden fact.

I have a friend who is a medical professional, as is her husband (well, he's a dentist, but still), and they didn't notice that their daughter's arm was broken for something crazy like 3 days because they were so used to her making a big deal about every single thing that they basically just ignored her when she was sobbing that her arm hurt. That's the most extreme story I know, and I swear that these are really nice parents who love their kids dearly and take excellent care of them. And my daughter spent a day limping around and whining that it hurt to walk on her leg or bend her knee, and I thought she just didn't want to go on a hike with Scouts... because she miraculously developed some sort of limp every time the word "hike" was ever said. Thank goodness the hike was called off at the last minute, for weather-related reasons, because I totally would have made her go, and she probably would have really damaged her leg. That night, when she was still whining, DH actually rolled up the leg of her pants to have a look at it... and her knee was roughly the size of a grapefruit (and she's a skinny little kid). We went straight to the ER, and it was 3rd stage Lyme disease. So, I think you're probably not the first that this has happened to, and you won't be the last :) She's probably a bit young for this lesson to stick, but it's a good lesson for her, too. I will say that ever since the leg thing, my daughter (who is older than yours... she was 7 when it happened) has been MUCH better about claiming injury when none exists... we talked a bit about it, and she fully understood that the reason we hadn't really believed her because this was not the first time she'd claimed injury on days that hikes were planned.

I agree... I would probably do something like this. I'd consider it social studies/"community helpers" instead of health and safety, though.

I think it could be interesting for a high schooler. I think it's always a good idea for older kids to learn about career opportunities, and about what people at different jobs do even if they're not interested in that job. It could also to make them aware of a serious social issue, and how they can help/support families and children (in a community service sort of way... for example, to learn about safe houses, where mothers and children often end up with only the clothes on their backs, and such safe houses usually need to discretely raise clothes, toys, toiletries, diapers, etc). And, maybe, if the social worker was trained on these issues, realistic and practical ways that they can deal and/or help if they suspect that a friend is in an abusive relationship (either with an authority figure, or with a peer). But I don't think that kids the ages of your kids would get much out of it. I agree with the person above who says that teaching about child abuse in elementary means telling kids to find a trusted adult if they're being hurt (and here you cover physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in age-appropriate ways), that it's not their fault and nobody will be mad, etc.

My daughter did this, and my son does it now, and IME it's a sign that they're enthusiastic but mentally exhausted, and so the part of their brain that wants to read the sentence is going full steam ahead, and the part that can actually do it is saying "I don't know! I don't know! I see an 'L'! Think of some words that start with L!" And, I mean, even as an adult who is literate, the longer you stare at a word, any word, the weirder it looks and the less it starts to makes sense. It must be even more confusing when you're still trying to figure out the sounds and the rules and the directionality of the letters and all that. When it happens, I put it away and read more later. Sometimes I just distract for a few minutes (by talking about the pictures or the story) and letting their eyes and brains take a rest from decoding, and sometimes I just put it all away for later or for another day.

It's a pretty clear matter of historical record that Columbus treated the Native population he met abominably. It was so bad that I believe Queen "Spanish Inquisition" Isabella got upset and told him to knock it off. He didn't listen.

I read it in 8th grade public school, and it was a pretty conservative district, content-wise... they didn't read To Kill A Mockingbird until 9th grade, and Lord of the Flies in 10th. I remember the part about the concubine, but I don't remember anything graphic. ETA- Reading the synopsis above, I remember it differently, which surprises me, because she just read it, and I read it 20+ years ago, so I assume her synopsis is far more accurate than my memory! I remember the teacher talking about how sorry the main character was when his first wife died, and how he wished he had been kinder for her. Maybe they just stressed that to make it a more moral book for 8th graders? LOL.

I don't feel saddled with my father's name. I have a name that I was given at birth, and it's been my name for my entire life, and I felt no need to change it. It says something about my family's cultural and ethnic origins (and both of my parents come from that culture, making this simple for me), and it's the name that I've had and have been perfectly happy with. I don't have particular generalized opinions one way or another, but I find the "didn't you know it's actually your father's name?" accusations (which ALWAYS appear in these sorts of discussions, so I promise it's not a new and never-before-heard thought) to be kind of belittling, as though people who kept their name didn't think through their decision enough, or else they would have come to this "obvious" conclusion. I don't find it obvious at all: in fact, I find it a bit nonsensical. The logical conclusion of this is that it's not really my father's last name either, or his father's, or his father's, and so on, but the random name someone chose or was assigned 400 years ago when some bureaucrat decided that it would be easier to keep track of people if they had a last name. Personally, I'm happy to go with the name my ancestor picked, and that I was given and have made my own, over the name someone else's ancestor did... and I also realize that there are tons of valid reasons to pick the spouse's name, or even to pick a combination or a hyphenated version or something else entirely.

I went to Kenyon, and it's an amazing school. It has one of the best English departments in the country, and a pretty impressive list of novelist alums (John Green was a class ahead of me). Classes are small, and professors actively encouraged students to push themselves, and to take on personal academic projects. In the sciences, it was common for undergrads to help professors with their research, the way that grad students do at larger universities. The price tag is high, but they give a lot of aid.

Are you planning on having him stop studying the language after the AP level, or can he move into studying more literature in that language?

This is something I NEVER saw coming... but I happened across a set of reading textbooks (like this, but an older edition) at a book sale once, and bought them, and have now used them with 2 kids. I totally disapprove of them in later grades, when they just take chapter excerpts, but the 1st and 2nd grade ones are wonderful. High-quality children's books, starting super easy (like, one word on a page) and getting gradually harder as the year goes on, printed in a book that's larger than "easy reader" type books (so, IMO, easier to read and more interesting to look at). And there are craft projects and poems and "fun facts" about the authors that my kids like. For my second child, I went one step further and bought the matching workbooks on Amazon, because I wanted to try out a phonics program. It would have killed my oldest with boredom, but it seems to be at the exact right level for my current first grader. I know homeschoolers usually don't go this route, but it's worked very well for us. And older editions are available for pennies on Amazon.

Wait Till Helen Comes was one of my favorite books as a child... really spooky, but I reread it over and over, and then every year at Halloween until I was well into my teens!