Yes, thank you for posting the Studio 4 Learning website.

Thought of one more thing. I have dd go through the addition and multiplication facts every school morning first thing. I keep the multiplication cards in order, because I think skip counting in that way will help them stick.

I dreeeaaaad writing. Bleh!

Because of your dd's age...is her bouncing around possibly due to hormonal changes? Is she doing her math at different times of the day? Maybe she does better a certain time? DD#3 has trouble with math facts too. I let her use a multiplication facts chart. She keeps it beside her and uses it if she needs it. Eventually she'll gain more confidence and use it less AND she won't memorize the facts incorrectly by guessing. BTW, which TT level is she using? Good luck!

A little update... I sent DH an e-mail pointing out my theory about my church attendance affecting his trust in me. He didn't respond, but it must have gotten through to him a little. Since then DH has been trying harder :) . He called me from work Monday to let me know that he was transferred to another position in the company. He didn't call his parents, but let them call him. Also, he's been calling me from work to let me know things. Hopefully that won't change when his parents return. When my in-laws called Monday night, I thought it was a little strange that they had their son-in-law make the call. Once I handed the phone off to DH, they apparently got on the line. Think they might be scared of me? ;) And lest anyone thinks I'm in-law bashing, let it be known that I'm a mother-in-law so I know what it feels like to be on the other end of things. It certainly isn't easy trying to find a balance between enjoying your adult child but not being intrusive. Thanks for all your help! Polly

Yes, thank you! I have noticed a shift with my two oldest girls around 12. The oldest had a great vocabulary but stunk at math until she hit 12/13. She has taken several calculus courses in college. My second oldest couldn't write two sentences without major tears when she was 11. At the age of 12 she decided to write a book! I'm still in shock that she is a good writer.

Thanks to everyone. I appreciate your feedback. It can be hard to think straight when you feel hurt. <sigh> And, you are right about tea. I know better, but I have to admit that it's hard to feel intimate with the person that you perceive is hurting you. Thanks, Polly

I had never heard of this. Thanks for posting the link. It was an interesting read. When I was a young divorced mom (lonely made me easy prey), I fell for a guy that I later found out was AWOL from the army. Apparently he had left quite a trail behind him. He had several aliases, left girls behind with broken hearts, and bought expensive gifts using stolen credit cards. Unluckily for him, even though I was in FL at the time, I had lived in his hometown in CA and was able to contact some people who actually knew his mom. He went to jail very soon after that phone call. I wish I could say that I was the one that turned him in, but it was my friends. Thank goodness for real friends!

If we were newlyweds I wouldn't be surprised, but we've been together 20+ years. Why is DH suddenly confiding in his parents (esp. his mother) first? Okay, so it has been a problem in the past, but after 20 years, I thought we pretty well had it ironed out. It is EATING at me:mad:! I've spelled it out to him and he swears he doesn't understand what I mean when I say that he is putting his family (mom & dad, and siblings) first. I even withheld tea for awhile to get it into his brain that it hurts me incredibly when he keeps putting them first. And if I'm not first, well then.... Here's an example: Tonight I asked DH if he remembers that his Dad's birthday is tomorrow. He tells me that he vaguely remembers and that he is supposed to call his Dad because his parents are out of town. He says they want him to call and let them know if he gets fired tomorrow. (Picture me with a surprised look on my face.) I am aware that layoffs are happening at DH's company over the next 6 months, but I didn't know that employees were being notified at his site tomorrow. BUT, his Mom and Dad knew????? Wow, he told them first...again. I know that example may sound silly to some of you, but there has been a rash of such incidents in the past 3-4 weeks. I can't think of anything that could have triggered this other than I decided to take a break from church for awhile because I'm tired. His parents aren't sick and they aren't going away. Nothing major has happened. I'm really ANGRY with DH and I don't know what to do. Every time I try to explain how this hurts me he doesn't get it and we start arguing. This is driving a huge wedge in between us and between me and his parents. I believe this is DH's fault, but I have less desire to be around his parents than ever before. BTW, they are very nice people. If you've made it this far, thank you for listening to a hurt wife's vent. I feel so much better, I've decided to put the frying pan back in the kitchen instead of taking it to bed with me. :smash:

For those of you who have kids who want to write a novel but aren't ready to try the One Year Adventure Novel, I posted about a free workbook on this thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59452

Yes, they really are free. The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) website has a Young Writers Program. Here is a link to their workbooks. There are three levels: elementary, middle school, and high school.

Yes, they really are free. The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) website has a Young Writers Program. Here is a link to their workbooks. There are three levels: elementary, middle school, and high school.

Oh, I would be sick! My in-laws had my dd and another older young adult house sit for them for a year. My dd tried to be careful, because she knows how Grandma runs her house, but the other girl did things like that. And, even though dd knew better she did some stupid stuff too. :glare: MIL said if she ever has to leave again, they'll just lock up the house (they don't have pets) and have friends keep an eye on things.

Wow! We received our package today. I didn't expect it come so soon, but they shipped it priority mail. DD and I have already watched the first lesson together. Of course, at this point we're still excited, so I can't give an accurate review. I will say that the quality of the materials is good and the teacher's instructions are clear and organized. It is a well put together product. Polly

Oh, you are a better person than me. We fled the Saxon scene after Math 54. It still makes me shudder. We are now using Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1. I love how the author walks you through each and every solution. I also thought Chalkdust would be great, but I wasn't willing to pay that much...yet. ;)

My 10 yodd is currently using the 4th grade book. She does as much as she can orally. The rest she works out on a chalkboard. My 13 yodd started doing R&S independently with the 6th grade book. I only required the written answers. She's moved on to Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1 and is now learning to write down problems and answers. There aren't too many problems, so she doesn't seem to mind. There is NO way I'm going to require my kids to copy all of the problems in Rod & Staff. I see that as me wasting their time. Just my opinion. Of course, some people may not have time to sit with each child to listen to them give oral answers. Hope you find something that works better and is less frustrating. :001_smile:

Thanks for posting. I went and checked it out and ordered it for my 13yodd. She is going to be surprised! I wish I could have seen more reviews. Oh well, it's a done deal. I'll try to remember to post a review in a year ;)

I cry every time I read Island of the Blue Dolphins. It's one of my favorite books to read aloud, but I can't do it too often. One thing that it can do for your children is help them to appreciate their family members. You know how they tend to take parents and siblings for granted. A "boy" book that we love here is Little Britches. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Britches

Heather, I've never seen CW, but I did try CC (Classical Composition). I'm not a confident writer myself and the terminology was a stumbling block for me. We are now using IEW which has been wonderful for us. Even though I'm not using a writing program suggested in LCC, I still consider our curriculum to be Latin centered. We focus on Latin, math, and writing every day. Maybe I'm viewing LCC too simplistically, but it makes me feel better. ;)

The answers to the worksheets are in the back of the TM - white section. Answers to the chapter tests are after those.

Thank you. That was cool! :)

My dd made it through R&S 3-5 many moons ago. We tried R&S 6 during her 6th grade year, but she just couldn't do it even though she had been through the previous levels. We picked it up again this year (8th), and it is going much more smoothly. I own 7&8, and I can't imagine trying to tackle those at this point. I would go with R&S 6. Your dd will be relieved, and I'm sure she'll learn plenty.

I have really enjoyed reading this thread. I have to admit that I'm hesitant to post, because I can tell that many of you are more highly educated than I am. I'm very average. :) I too was a student who needed remedial classes. I went on to finish college though sometimes I wonder how. I think it is a shame that so many need remedial classes, but at the same time, I'm glad they are available. I think that one of the problems in the USA is the trust that parents have in the public school system. My oldest dd attended public school, and I know that I trusted them with her....completely. They were the professionals, and I never questioned what they did. I believed that they knew what students needed to do to prepare for college and life, and I thought that they were doing those things. Now that I'm homeschooling my younger girls, I realize that I had NO idea what my oldest was actually learning. At times I am seriously overwhelmed by the great responsibility that I have taken on. I know my weaknesses in knowledge and skills, and I can guarantee you that I am much harder on myself than I ever was on one of my oldest dd's teachers. I recently posted on my blog about how thankful I am for the opportunity to homeschool. I think it ruffled a few feathers in DH's family. Most of them are very pro public school. To each his own, but I wonder if they actually know what their kids are learning? They might be in for a rude awakening when they send their children off to the university and find out their child is immediately behind a quarter because he/she needs to take remedial classes.

One more - have a cut off time. By 2pm I call it quits no matter how much we have left to do. There is always tomorrow. BTW, I have a general idea of what I want to accomplish over a year, but I only put weekly goals in writing. I was getting angry :banghead: when we got "behind."

Sheepishly chiming in here. We do very little. My main goal is Latin, math, and writing every day. I would LOVE to do more but with three kiddos, weekly counseling appointments, and church meetings, it is all I can do right now. I still have hope for the future. ;) A couple of things help. First, I try not to assign work in areas that she already does/enjoys. She is writing her own book and is reading The Lord of the Rings, so we aren't doing writing or literature lessons. The other thing that I do is try to find self teaching programs. For example: Latin - Lively Latin Math - Teaching Textbooks Alg. 1 Spelling - Phonetic Zoo The other thought I've had is to teach subjects like a university does .... only 4-5 subjects a term and M,W,F, or T,TH schedules for each class/subject. Good Luck!