Speaking of the vision therapy...that was mentioned upthread too and I overlooked it. I do know one person who is taking her son for vision therapy. It's a couple of hours away from here. I may need to get more information from her. Apparently, from what she was saying, it's controversial around here. I don't know enough about it to know why, but there are no doctors near here that do that. The dyslexia, SLP, and audiologist, though, should be fairly easy to get locally. The dyslexia and at least an initial visit with the ENT doesn't take that long to get into. I'm not sure how long of a wait if we need to go somewhere else for audiology. And I'm hoping the SLP won't be too long of a wait either. I'm guessing though that the neuropsych though is a different story. But at least we have a starting place.

Yes, my eyes were crossing there for a minute. :laugh: Oh, and look....I can quote now!

Still can't quote, but OHElizabeth---thank you, thank you, thank you! That is very helpful (because I definitely would not have been able to put the questioning together like that! And, thanks again to everyone who commented---I still sort of feel like I'm going to battle, but now, at least I know how to use some of the armor :laugh:

I would normally say private school over public (but I know that's based on my bias from my particular area, where the public schools are consistently among the worst in the nation). With the info given, I would not hesitate to choose the public school over this particular private school. With 2000 students, she will find many that share her Christian worldview.

For some reason, I'm unable to quote today....sorry about that..... but thanks for confirming! That's crazy about the hearing loss. I'm going to call the ENT's office that did older ds's hearing to see if they do the complete tests. I know I can get in there in just a couple weeks or so. If they don't do it, I'll start asking around to see where to go. I know insurance will pay for the hearing (after small copay) so we are going to start with that, and go from there. In the meantime, I'm going to need to ask around and see about a SLP and the NP. I think the SLP will be fairly easy to locate. I'm a little worried about finding NP, but we'll see.

Ok....so in looking closer....and trying to understand not only who does what, but also what they need to do exactly...... I need to ask the audiologist or whoever we end up getting the hearing testing done with if they do the "Scan 3". And I need to ask a speech and language pathologist if they do a " CELF or a CASL". Is this right? Also, I'm looking back at the info from older ds's dyslexia testing and they did the following things with him (and will do the same with ds10). With these tests, would our direction be more clear with results with any of these? RAIS--2 "informal alphabet assessment" CTOPP-2 WRMT-III WIAT-III TWS-5 OWLS-II CELF-5ST And, I just noticed as I was typing those that the CELF mentioned above will be done with dyslexia testing, but it is denoted that it was a "screening test". So I'm guessing the SLP would do the "real" one. Does that mean that the if he were to "pass" this at the dyslexia place, then I wouldn't need to pursue this with the SLP? Sorry for all the clearly ignorant questions. I feel so lost. But y'all are making it better;-)

Thanks everyone! I don't know about neuropsychologists in my area. I will have to look around. He has a regular check up coming up soon, and I will ask his pediatrician. But we really don't have a good relationship with him. (There haven't been any issues really, just have never really "clicked" and we only go for checkups once every few years and ds has only been to dr for illness maybe once in last 5 years). Regarding the SLP.......He did have speech therapy for several years. I forgot to mention that earlier. So theoretically, they did the vision/hearing/etc during that initial visit to get set up for that. It was through the public school, and it did not take very long at all (less than an hour for everything they did which included large and small motor skills assessments). He was preschool age at the time. He received the therapy for speech only (normal childhood speech delay type issues). Once he could speak where others could understand him, they of course released him. Should I take him to a private place for re-evaluation? Audiologist.....My older ds went to an ENT place for hearing evals prior to the dyslexia screening he did, and that will be required before I take dd10 for the dyslexia testing also. So I will find out how extensive that testing is, and if it is detailed enough to get the information referred to above. I think it may be what we need. I honestly didn't know too much about what they were doing with older dd, because we just needed to "check that box" before they would do the dyslexia testing. But he told me that he was put in a soundproof box, so I'm hoping that means that is what we need as far as the audiological part--especially since that only cost 25 bucks! But this is definitely good info to get me started in the right direction. Someone above mentioned "receptive language" problems, and that is a term I have not heard, so I'm going to look into that as well. Thanks for this!!

Sorry in advance for the long, rambling post. I have had my head in the sand too long now, and really need to do something besides wonder what is going on with ds10. For background, ds14 was diagnosed last year with dyslexia. He's received dyslexia therapy and he does fairly well with school and quite well with "life" in general. Ds10, I believe also to have dyslexia, but I think there's more to it. For one thing, his dyslexia issues, such as phonemic awareness, and phonics/reading in general seem to be not as severe as ds14's. However, there are other issues, that I can't determine whether they stem from dyslexia or are something else, that make him have a harder time that his older brother. I have wondered about auditory processing, but when I read the symptoms, so many of them do not seem to be the case. But there is definitely something "wrong" with his understanding. He has me repeat things all the time. He cannot follow (and in comprehend) directions that seem age appropriate. He gets confused and has to clarify. But, beyond the hearing aspect, he also doesn't "get" other things as well......for example: We pulled in the driveway yesterday after a windy storm. A full trash bag (that had been by the garage waiting to go to the street tonight) had blown in front of the garage entry. I asked him to get out and move the trash bag. He got out, picked up the trash bag and walked into the garage, towards the door with it. I tapped the horn to get his attention, he turned around, and I pointed in the direction of the other trash bags. He looked at me, looked at where I was pointing, and then back at me. He had no idea that I was meaning for him to put the bag back with the others. (I have no idea if I'm painting this scene well enough, but trust me that a typical 10 year old would have understood what to do in the context). And, this was not a one time thing. Stuff like that all the time. He has started playing football, and it is clear that he is always one step behind everyone else after getting the coaching instructions/plays. He knows how to play football, and he knows the plays, etc. But he seems to have to look around at everyone else before he comprehends what the coach has just told them. Also, his vocabulary is no where near that of any of my other kids. I have always read aloud to him, and we talk about everything.....all the things you're "supposed to do". But he still seems "slow" (I hate even saying that, but I don't know how else to describe it). For a long time, I have thought it's just because he's the baby of 6 kids, and he was just late blooming, but I'm seeing that is simply not the case. So. I'm sorry this has been long and drawn out. I wanted to try and give a decent picture of what's going. We are going to definitely do the dyslexia evals soon, but that is at a specific dyslexia center. I know they don't "do" things like APD issues. We live in an area that does not offer a lot in the area of evaluations---or at least I don't know of much. What questions do I need to be asking around and/or what type of doctor/therapist should I be looking for? I'm just clueless at the moment with anything beyond the dyslexia. (This has taken longer to write up that I thought, and I've got to run. Please ask anything that may be pertinent, and I'll be back later) TIA!!

We are only up to Gamma, so I can't help you. I just wanted to say that the same thing happened at the beginning of our year with our Gamma dvd. We purchased it new directly from MUS, so I expected to get at least a discount for the repeat purchase. No such luck though. I had to fork out the $25 for the replacement. I have 4 youngers that will eventually use it, so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal. But it did seem like purchasing a replacement should have warranted at least a small discount--especially since I had purchased all 3 of the levels we've done so far brand new directly from them. Oh well, I guess every business is entitled to make their own policies:glare:. (sure would be nice if I agreed with all of them:))

Wow! That was fast. Thank you soooooo much:)

I love this program, but do not want to pay full price. The homeschool buyers co-op currently does not have a deal. If you have a code to share, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks

We started out with Shurley so my oldest knew all the jingles. My younger ones knew most of them. We have been with R&S for 2 years and they still sing the Shurley jingles sometimes while doing their R&S. They still like to put on the cd in the van (not really the olders, buy my 2 and 3 year olds always ask for "the jingles" and can now sing most of them) The only thing is that when R&S asks them to list something, like helping verbs for example, it asks for them in certain sequence--I think its something like the "h triplets" (have, has, had), and twins(will, would). Shurley's sequence is different (more jingley:)). This is not a problem for us because we do most of it orally anyway. So i would just say something like "list the helping verbs", and not have them fill in the certain blanks.

I don't think it was MUS that "helped" her. I think it was more the change of pace. Actually, pace is a bad word because we worked quickly through the first 2 books. I guess it was just the change and relief of doing something different, after becoming so.tired.of.math. Poor kid, she is the first, so she has to be the guinea pig;). I did give up on math facts--not completely, but definitely the timing part. We have tried drills and flashmaster, online drills/games....the list goes on and on. I have settled on the fact that she knows "how" to do it, and can come up with it if given the time. I think that if we had just stuck it out with Saxon, we would actually be in good shape right now. (oh well, hind-site, right??) However, going back to Saxon is probably not a good option, just because of the mental block against it. It really may be the visual appeal. I really, really, hate to switch programs in 5th grade. I know its usually advised against switching so much, especially in math. But part of me really thinks that may be the best thing to do. I am talking it through with her as I type this, and she actually perked up when I mentioned BJU. One of her friends uses it and "really likes math". I am trying really hard not to get the "grass is greener" syndrome, and don't want her to either. That said, I think I will take a look at BJU. In the meantime, we will plug away with MUS and supplement with some other things.

I don't post very often, but read the boards almost daily. I know math seems to be a downfall for lots of people. I am at a loss as to what to do with my 10 (will be 11 in Sept) year old daughter. Here is our history: Saxon K, 1, 2, and part of 3. She was doing ok with all of it. However, she could not memorize her math facts no matter what we did. We tried everything I could think of. She understood the concepts, and could borrow/carry, but it was taking forever to work a page because she'd have to think about the facts so long. We were both growing tired of all the repetition in Saxon as well. So, we moved to MUS. I thought maybe seeing it a different way would help her "see" the facts, and therefore be able to remember them better. We started in Alpha just to see the MUS way of doing things. She quickly moved through alpha and beta, and is now doing gamma. Where we are today: Doing ok on mathfacts for add and sub. (although she is still not as fast as one would think an upcoming 5th grader should be). Although I am not *really* worried about grade levels at this point, I am getting a little concerned that she will begin to get a complex (her younger brothers and sisters are catching up with her). I thought we were moving along ok until recently I started to realize that she can no longer do "simple" things, like read graphs, read numbers to millions, and other "mathy" things. I guess I've had my head in the sand or something. She could do all of that easily a couple of years ago. But since we moved to MUS, it seems all we have done is work on basic facts. It of course covers the place value, and she did perfectly fine on that part, but once it moved on, I guess she forgot. When we began preparing for achievment tests, I was floored at all the things she could no longer do that she could easily do in 2nd grade! My first thought was to go back to Saxon, but she has such an aweful, aweful taste in her mouth for it, that I'm afraid it would not be a good transition. I am afraid to change to anything else again, because we are so far along now, and I know its best to have a program and stick to it. She is doing wonderfully in all other subjects. Math is just her weak point. I do realize everyone has weaknesses, and I'm really ok with that. What worries me is that due to trying to memorize facts, she seems to have lost everything else. We have kind of been "shopping". She likes how singapore looks, but honestly Singapore scares me to death, and from what I read, is not really a program conducive to struggling students. Has anyone been in a similiar situation, this late in the math game. What did you do? What would you have done differently? Thanks for your help. Any suggestions?

I can't give any advise because we are in similar situation, but.... Just wanted to clarify that Writing TALES (that the above posters have recommended is a different program than Writing STRANDS. (We also tried Writing Strands, and it was NOT a hit, but we just switched to Writing Tales, and though it's too early to tell, so far, it seems to be great).

We are not new to homeschooling (this is our 5th year), but we are new to the Classical model. I have been browsing these forums all summer and was so ready to dive right in with my new philosophy. A little background: My school aged children are 9 (will be 10 in Sept), 7, and 6. I had known of Classical education early on and was intrigued, but thought it sounded like too much, so I elected a much "softer" approach. (Yes, I now realize that "classical" education does not have to be so difficult and rigid). We have been doing math (Saxon and Math U See) and Language Arts (Sing, Spell, Read, and Write, Shurley English, miscellaneous read alouds, A Reason for Handwriting, and Spelling Power), and Bible (misc). We did begin copywork with my oldest in the beginning, but it didn't go so well, so we dropped it. We've done virtually no history or science except what we've covered in our miscellaneous readings. Zero music, art, or foreign language. Fast forward to the end of last school year: I recognized that I had very little joy in homeschooling. I knew that it was what we wanted to do, and I really wasn't burn out or thinking of sending them to school or anything like that. It was just that it was such a "ho-hum" activity. We've prayed a lot for direction over the years, and see God's hand at work in the lives of our children. So I knew that all hasn't been in vain. However, I felt that little nudge pushing me and telling me there was a better way for us. I finally read WTM and a few other publications, including this board, and began to feel "empowered". We could do this. DD6 is just beginning 1st grade and dd7 will be 2nd, so I'm not worried about those levels...we will just begin at the beginning and move on. My questions revolve around my almost 10 dd. We are going to be using Rod and Staff English this year (we were already looking for a switch from Shurley--just didn't fit for us). Also, I'm going to "back up" a little on the writing and do WWE...not sure where we will being yet. Level two seems easy for her, but she may need to do it for a firmer foundation. Still debating that one. We will also all Latin (Latina Christiana--dd7 and ds6 will also join us for this, but it will be mostly geared toward the older one) We will be doing history (MOH) and science (Apologia Elem -Zoo 1) with all three dc, so that part is worked out. Haven't settled on art and music yet, but that's the least of my worries. My main issue is with literature....She is a good reader, but not accustomed to reading "real" literature. I have always been very particular about what she reads (or so I thought). I've found that my criteria was only based on content--not quality. We've never read all the "popular" reading series. She's read mostly non-fiction or at least historical fiction. She's read a lot of the Sonlight readers (though we don't use Sonlight, just use their reading list for ideas). I wanted literature to match up with our history (Ancients). So I *thought* I could go over the recommendations from WTM for 5th grade...well that is *NOT* going to happen---at least not yet---totally over her head---she doesn't understand it, because of the way it is written. She may as well be reading a book written in French. So.... then, I got on the CCH website and looked at the 3rd grade literature. We read the descriptions of those books. Together, we chose a couple that sounded interesting to her (The Door in the Wall and Five Little Peppers and How they grew). We checked them out and she began reading....about two paragraphs worth! Much too difficult...(not the words themselves...she could "read" it fine...but understanding was a totally different story)....I said, "it's ok...don't worry about it. I'll read them aloud TO you and it will begin to get easier to understand". Well, I read 3 chapters from Five Little Peppers...."HUH?!?!?!" So then I read 2 chapters from A Door in the Wall....."Still don't get it" The really sad part is.....I am having a difficult time myself. Unlike her, I do actually understand what is happening, but it is not enjoyable reading to me. I consider myself an educated person. I made the dean's list all through college, graduated with honors...I was a math major, so maybe that explains my lack of appreciation for good literature:confused1:) I don't even know what my "question" is. I'm not sure what I'm looking for other that some input from someone who's been in a similar situation. I haven't read aloud to her in a while. (At least not on a regular basis) The type of books I last read to her are the books I'm now reading to dd7 and ds6 (Charlotte's Web, Homer Price, Follow My Leader, and others such as that). I am still feeling my new-found joy in this, so I'm positive this is the direction I want to go. I just don't know how to proceed from here.

Generally, we memorize from NASB, because that's the version we read/study from. However, there are some verses that we memorize with another translations (such as NKJ and/or NIV). We do this for one of two reasons: 1-If we want to memorize a "popular" verse that is frequently quoted from a particular version, we would probably use that version because of the familiarity. 2-We would also do this if we just happen to like the way another version words a particular verse/passage. (Overall, we prefer NASB; but on occasion will read across the translations. If something from another translation seems to flow better, or use wording more meaningful to us, we would choose to memorize it in that version.)

Thanks! I am printing out the Colonial America Lapbook right now. We have never done one, but I'm going to let her look at it and see what she thinks. Looks like it will be do-able. She read several of the American Girl books a couple of years ago, and really didn't care much for them at that time. However with her newly sparked interest, I may get some more of these and toss in the basket. OhElizabeth--Great schedule! We will definitely use that as a reference. Our book basket is growing...I may have to get another one for JUST Am His books!!! My dd7 (who is not so interested in Am His), said this last night..."Where are MY books....All these boring books are squishing the good ones?!?!" If I could only get EVERYONE interested in the same topic at the same time!!!

Help! We are doing ancients this year, but my dd9 has just become interested in American History. She is okay with (and actually looking forward to) doing Ancients this year with dd7 and ds6, which I am glad about, because I really don't have the time or energy to add another history "class" into school time. She wants to do the American History study on her own (basically for her free-reading time). I know lots of biography, non-fiction, and historical fiction type books that would be appropriate. But I need some recommendations as to a book (or several books/series) that gives more of the "Big Picture". She has already read several of the books from the list I came up with, but she is asking a lot about the time-line of things, and needs a bit of a broader scope. She reads well (I'd say 6th grade-ish level); however, she does not mind reading below level. And in this circumstance, I'm thinking that would be best, since we have not done American History yet, and she will basically be doing this all on her own (of course, I'll answer her questions, but ykwim). Has anyone used the Story of the USA Books? I have seen two books from this series--Explorers and Settlers and A Young Nation Solves its Problems...I'm not sure if there are more...That's the only two I've seen so far... Would you say these would be an easy enough read, yet not too "light"? Any other suggestions?? Thanks!

I saw/read somewhere that you would not want to start WWE with a non-or beginner reader.... My dd7 is not a fluent reader (she *can* read "Frog and Toad" type-ish books; however, it is a struggle. She still takes a l-o-n-g time to sound out each word.--So is that considered a "beginning reader"? Should I wait till she's more fluent? I'm thinking *not* (as that could take forever :001_huh:). But I wanted to ask those who know more about it.... I was planning on beginning WWE with her this year (until I saw the recommendation not to start with a beginner reader), but haven't even ordered yet, so I don't have the book yet to see what it says about it. I'm ordering it (next week) for dd9 anyway, so I guess I can just wait to read it, but I'm trying to work out (finish) scheduling/planning this weekend Dh is taking the kiddos camping --I will actually have some free time:hurray:....Anyway, I'd like to go ahead and decide if I'm going to use it with her or just dd9. Thanks!

I am currently (and strongly) considering WWE. I have looked at it on the PHP website, and now I am going through the HUGE thread on this forum:-) It does look like something we may do, but I had already laid out (and bought) all of my "stuff" for next(this) year, and, when I did, I *promised* myself I wasn't going to look at ANYTHING else!!! (I have a bad habit of falling prey to "the grass is greener" sydrome, second guessing myself, and then purchasing tons of stuff to replace the "once thought perfect" stuff I already had:-}

I started, then dropped the ball, with copywork for my oldest dd. I would like to do better with younger dc. Here are my questions.... 1--I am assuming that copywork is to wait until the child writes well (can comfortably form the actual letters). So, once the copywork begins, do you drop the "handwriting", or are you doing handwriting AND copywork? 2--Are you having dc copy directly from the passage in the book or are you copying it yourself onto handwriting paper and then having them copy what you wrote? 3-- I don't know how to put this one into a question....The reason we gave up copywork with my oldest is that no matter how simple/short of a passage I chose, she ALWAYS made mistakes--LOTS--even with words she could spell on her own---it did not matter if she took her time or if she rushed through. She didn't mind doing the copywork, and works diligently on all of her school work, so it was not a lazy/attitude problem (At least it certainly didn't appear to be). I started out letting her do it on her own, as her handwriting was very good, and I didn't foresee any problems...... Then I began sitting with her and watching...I'd stop her at every mistake....this went on forever (or at least it seemed like forever--it was probably 3-4 weeks--I "think" we were doing it twice a week). This was a child who could write very easily. She would make up and write short stories, with near perfect grammar/spelling/punctuation. We went on to dictation and she did much better than when she was actually copying something. I never have figured out what the problem was....did I just not give enough time, but she went to dictation with no problem (we actually never did any narration either:blushing:) But I really believe the copywork "philosophy" and want to do better with the youngers, so I am looking for some direction..... Thanks!

I don't have any new suggestions on how to keep costs down. But, from a different point of view.... You mentioned that your dh had assured you it would get better. Now, I don't know if it will "get better", but this tells me that you have voiced your concern to him and he is supportive and okay with it. Not that it gives you "permission" to go out and blow lots of money, but if you and dh are on the same page and you have his support, I don't think you need to feel guilty. We tend to spend a lot as well. I do try to be as frugal (within reason) as possible and I do run the purchases (especially the "bigger" items) by dh, but as long as we are on the same page, I try not to worry about it too much. For the record....I had this exact same "issue" last year(and my school-age dc's were only 9, 6, and 5), and a more seasoned fellow homeschooler pointed this out to me--Different families spend different amounts on homeschooling, just like different families spend differing amounts on houses and cars and clothes. As long as both spouses are on a same page, all is well.... Anyway, that's what she told me, and to me, it made sense. It made me feel less guilty anyway:001_smile:

I don't know how qualified I am to answer. We haven't started "official" school with my dd4 (other than what she picks up from older sibs). But I will give my thoughts....She has an autistic spectrum disorder and epilepsy. Dd is my fourth child. As I have schooled my older ones over the years, I have seen "how it works" with neuro-typical/"normal" children and see that there are many adjustments that will need to be made for her, but that in the long run, she will still turn out "fine"--even if we don't do it like everyone else. I may (will probably) retract this statement when we really get into schooling, but right now, I think we are ok as far as *me* being mentally prepared to handle the many challenges and understanding the limitations. But, if she were my first child, or if we were new to homeschooling, and I had read WTM, I would probably have been very discouraged and felt it was all hopeless, knowing there was no way she was going to be able to do "all that". I don't know if you can get away with an entire chapter. But maybe an appendix with some recommended resources and hints that others have found helpful with specific issues. I think that would be very helpful...if nothing else, to let parents know that every child doesn't have to "fit the mold" to get an excellent education and that there are alternatives. just my 2 cents!

All About Spelling - (just started, but can already see results, and have that "intuition" that it is a perfect fit). Everything else we use is already reviewed/recommended in WTM. I would love to see a review from you regarding AAS....although.... I must say.... I believe it's keeper for us-- even if we have to "go against" a SWB rec! :)