I used about half of WWE3 with my 4th grader who came home from public school. It was great, she easily picked up the narration and dictation skills. Definitely use 3 rather than 2, the book selections are longer and may be more interesting to her. After about half the year, she did get bored. I think kids need to do narration and dictation as long as they need to do it, not necessarily for years and years or till the book is done. Once your dc gets good with the WWE skills, you should listen to SWB's middle grade writing lecture and start introducing those skills - basically it adds in simple outlining, and starting to talk and write about the books they are reading.

What you are doing is working: stick with it! It sounds absolutely perfect for a 5th grader. A lot of times people need a program because things feel like they *aren't* working - either the kid is struggling, or they don't feel confident in teaching writing. Or some other issue exists. At this point, I would agree that you may be overthinking it - easy to do here! I think you should trust yourself and your kid and the process that's working, and continue it! Later, in late junior high or early high school, you will want to introduce the essay form, and research papers, but 5th and 6th grade are a great time to focus on the mechanics and structure of good writing while developing the analytical and thinking skills you need in order to have something interesting to say.

Well, I'm flattered, but I'm afraid y'all would be shocked if you saw how I taught science, and it certainly wouldn't lend itself to curriculum creation! Because really, in the younger years - following the advice of moms with successful STEM kids in college - I've decided I really don't believe in curriculum. I do science focused on integration across disciplines, basic scientific literacy (in a wide range of disciplines, not just the Big Three), developing critical thinking and analytic skills, and interest-led. True, sometimes it's my interests as much as theirs! ;) But I do better when I either teach what I know, or approach it as an opportunity to learn together. I think the elementary grades are a time to learn how the world works and to explore rabbit trails. Watch lots of documentaries. Go outside a lot. Learn to grow food. Learn about the plants and animals in your watershed, and about the geological and ecological features they can see around them. Get lots of books from the library. Follow their interests, but go deeper - they don't know what all is out there to know. In middle school, focus on broad scientific literacy, math, analysis & critical thinking, and be sure to explore all the fun topics that don't fit into the high school science boxes! If you have a budding specialist, sure, let them go deep and explore that interest, but make sure they get exposure to what an educated adult show know about how the world works - including how to read and interpret science articles in the newspapers, magazines, and online, and fluency with statistics that lets them read critically and with understanding. In high school, try to figure out a way to integrate across disciplines, keep it interesting and relevant to things they know, and choose readable, interesting books and textbooks. While still looking comprehensible for college applications. Although honestly, I'm hoping that as the NGSS get more broadly adopted colleges will be open to more than just the traditional biology-chemistry-physics boxes. That's all I got, and with my oldest kid only in 8th, how do I know it even works? I don't. But I've got faith in my kids, and I think it's all going to be ok. :)

I finished The Magus by John Fowles. It was a chunkster. It was for my IRL book group, and it's a good thing, because if I hadn't had that motivation I might not have continued past the first 50-100 pages. It didn't get really gripping till probably 1/3 of the way through its 600+ pages, and that's usually longer than I give a novel to get compelling. It was . . . interesting. Interesting technique-wise, for sure. The narrator was an essentially unappealing and somewhat unreliable figure, yet you somehow feel sympathy with him, while realizing the fact that he's essentially a cad. It's a book firmly in the realist tradition, yet it was also almost incomprehensibly unreal. You, along with the narrator, are forced to question every single thing you think of as a "fact" in order to figure out what is essentially real about the characters and their situation. And despite the author's contention that he clarified the ambiguity at the ending in this revised version of the novel, I still found it pretty darn ambiguous. All in all, a book I'm glad my group picked to read, because I never would have read it on my own, yet I'm glad i did. Not a book for kids, definitely an adult book both in terms of content, literary illusions, and historical/life experience understanding required to appreciate. Not that i see this on many high school book lists or anything! But just saying. It has some fairly erotic scenes for a "literary" novel written in the 60s and set in the 50s.

This morning dd9 said to me, "Should I do some Dreambox and a typing lesson to earn my Poptropica time?" So apparently we have some system by which she earns screen time. I was not aware of the system, but sure, I'll play along! ;) :001_tt2: :D

They've only seen the play so far. In fact, I think we've had the movie version on hold at the library for something like 6 months!! I will have to break down and get Netflix DVDs at some point, I guess.

I've missed you too, Desiree, but I've had fun following your book adds on goodreads. And I wanted to tell you that Shannon has absolutely loved all the Brandon Sanderson books that you recommended. I noticed she just put The Rithmatist on hold again, I guess that one's ready for a re-read already!

Shannon's extracurricular passions are horseback riding and theater. Horseback riding is about 5-6 hours total, on two afternoons, each week. Theater, of course, varies from 0 between shows to 20+ during tech week. Which is only bearable because it just happens a few times a year! I've always been happy that she's been happy to stick to the two. It's felt unhurried, although of course there is some performance-related stress, but I think stress about a specific thing you are trying to achieve, and time-limited, isn't all bad. My problem is that as she's getting older, I realize how much we rely on these extracurriculars for her social/friend time, too. This fall the theater group is doing a ridiculous, very young show that she isn't interested in, so she won't do theater till January. So we are left with this gaping hole, social time wise. She's going to sign up for a community choir, which will meet 2 hours a week with a few local performances. I know she will enjoy the singing part, but I'm a little worried about the social needs part.

Oh man, I have edited this down so much . . . let the strikethroughs begin! Additions in blue Yeah, I think I crossed out more than I added! :001_rolleyes:

Wow, every WTM/BaW Mom's fantasy, having your grown-up child join a book group with you! I've taken Shannon to my IRL book group a few times, and we're reading Shakespeare's sonnets together at the moment as that will be the September discussion topic. It's always fun and they are all very happy to have her there - as we are to have you here! Welcome! ETA: I'll be interested to hear what you think of The Sparrow. I found that book absolutely shattering. A powerful, difficult book that has stuck with me for years, but I've never been able to talk myself into revisiting it.

I've been flirting with the idea of "The List" which has been posted about here before. Basically, the idea is: your kid gets unlimited screen time . . . after they have completed all the items on a list. The list can be whatever you feel is important, and can include academic stuff, chores, creative projects, physical activity, etc. The driving concept behind it is that how you begin your day is often how you go on: if you start out staring at a screen, it's easy to spend the whole day doing it. If you start out doing creative/outdoor/other things, some times you get absorbed in those projects and don't feel such a need for the screen time in the first place. Or if you do, you've at least accomplished a lot beforehand! The key to the list seems to be the choice/autonomy involved: you do not have to do the list - but you don't get screen time until you do. Once you've completed the list, your screen time is unlimited. This changes the conversation between you and the kids - instead of you policing how much time they've had, whether they've earned it, etc., all you have to do is ask one question: Is the list complete? Great, then yes, you can go online. No? Well, if you decide to finish the list, then you can go online. If you choose not to, then no. It puts the initiative in their lap and keeps you from having to count minutes. We'll see how it actually pans out in real life. This summer we've been so busy it hasn't been too much of an issue. But I'm going to institute a List for my younger dd when school starts next week. Some blogs about this concept: http://narrowbackslacker.com/2014/05/13/how-i-limited-screen-time-by-offering-my-kids-unlimited-screen-time/ http://www.yourmodernfamily.com/no-screen-time-until-free-printable/

Same here! i got started on the Wheel of Time in the 90s, and each time a new book was published I'd re-read the whole series. So the first few I've read multiple times! I've also read The Grand Sophy over and over, that's a comfort book for sure. I've read most of my mom's Georgette Heyer books multiple times. When I was really young, I can remember a few I re-read obsessively - The Empire Strikes back and The Hundred and One Dalmations are two. Go figure.

Amazon has a deal on a Simon Winchester book we discussed here a week or two ago - The Map That Changed the World http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SR2QD2?ref_=pe_1663260_146265200_kdd_2_img_3 I got it from the library and previewed it this weekend, and added it to Shannon's read-aloud list, so I was happy to get the Kindle version!

Oh, I was a big-time sneak reader. There were lots of unacceptable things in our world. I can remember our teachers coming around, while we were working, and reading the back of books on our piles and confiscating them if they seemed too risque. My dad got mad when my mom gave me Georgette Heyers to read - he didn't get that they were different from Harlequins, which she also read. I think she must have explained it, or I just learned to hide from him for awhile. The books I actually sneaked were the ones in a special box under my mom's bed. The Harlequins I just read a couple of, but I remember devouring the Calder books by Janet Daily and then the Texas books by Fern Michaels. They were so titillating, they made me feel things in places I didn't know got stimulated by reading books! ;) I also remember that one of my friends got ahold of a copy of Sex: A User's Manual and was afraid she'd get caught with it and busted, so she gave it to me. I read it avidly, cover to cover, and was after that the expert, ready with a clinical answer to my friends sex questions! I didn't get a chance to put my knowledge into practice for quite awhile, but I had the clinical explanation for how it all worked. Which I think is a good thing. Later I snuck the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. Other things too, I'm sure, but those are the memorable ones.

Hmm, I have a short name! Let's see, how about: R - Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier - from Shannon's to read list, and I never got around to reading her last month O - Overloaded and Underprpared - Denise Pope S - the Strangled Queen - Maurice Druon E - Excellent Sheep - William Dershowitz That was kind of fun! A different way to search my goodreads list. I'm currently reading The Magus, trying to finish it by the end of the month for my book group. It's . . . interesting. I'm desperately trying to finish reading/creating a study guide for Story of Science: Einstein, with school starting in a week!!! And I'm reading The Iron King and Your Child's Strengths. Books completed in August: 111. The War of the Worlds: Fresh Perspectives on the H G Wells Classic 110. A History of God - Karen Armstrong 109. March - Geraldine Brooks

Yep, she adores Mrs. Piggle Wiggle! She's read a bunch of them and we have the audio versions which she has listened to repeatedly. She's also a Calvin and Hobbes fan. Snarky, sarcastic, and misunderstood, that's her thing, for sure.

Everything by Percy Jackson. Multiple times. It's almost all she'll read at the moment. That's why I was jazzed when she pulled Dr. Dolilttle off the shelf and loved it - finally something other than Percy Jackson!!! Thanks for all the great suggestions, guys. I've put a bunch of things on hold and will strew them casually, and I'm sure I'll be coming back to this list. There are some titles she's read and liked, or that we've read aloud, so I know you guys are hitting the target area with your suggestions!

Amazon has some great titles on sale for Kindle today. Including the translation of Don Quixote I finally managed to stumble through when I first started working on WEM. Some good science and history titles, too. http://smile.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/ref=pe_170810_146103690_pe_button/?ie=UTF8&node=7533915011

I loved that interview - boy, the journalists must hate to interview her! It was brilliant.

Mental growth spurts can sneak up on you, can't they? The physical ones are so obvious that it can be hard to notice that a kid has really made a mental/intellectual leap too. We are experiencing that at the moment, a big maturity jump. Some of that stuff that seemed impossible or improbable a few months ago is starting to seem more reasonable now. I'm starting to see that my child might actually be ready for DE when she's 14, so I better be thinking about what I need to do to help her prepare.

Anybody? No suggestions for a 9 year old girl who loves Percy Jackson and Dr. Dolittle? I miss Lori D.!

Shannon used quad, bound composition style books. Office Depot was having a sale yesterday so I stocked up on a bunch of them for $1 each. They look plenty sturdy and it's a much better price than any I've found online. I never really got into "back to school" sales before, but I went nuts yesterday and got a bunch of cool stuff! It's so cheap!

:iagree: When we did WWS, that was plenty of writing. It is more sophisticated than "just" narratives, too. I would do just what SilverMoon suggests: talk about the reading, and focus on WWS assignments for writing.

Robin, I haven't figured out how to use Boorstin's books with dd yet. I love the idea of them, but they are a little above her head at this point, I've kind of been saving them for high school - meaning kicking the decision down the road! There is this one really amazing thread from awhile back where people shared ideas about how to use them, let's see if I can find it. Ah, here it is: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/207482-what-type-of-books-are-the-daniel-boorstin-trilogy/?hl=%2Bboorstin&do=findComment&comment=6149082 Totally inspiring thread. I still think about this - we did really super integrated studies last year and will do it for 8th, too. I can see using these books in some kind of uber-integrated way. Do let us know what you decide!

:iagree: I was going to read it, then wasn't based on all the hype, but now I am again. I thought that was a wonderful and insightful essay. Sometimes life, and people, and books, are complicated, right? That's what makes it real. March, which I just finished, portrayed Mr. March as a highly nuanced character with many flaws to temper his admirable qualities. And the difference between his self-perception, revealed in the sections in his POV, and his wife's perception of him and his choices, was so heartbreaking. Even when we love each other it can be so hard to understand one another, can't it?