Thanks for posting this. I have been looking for some summer reading for my twins. I think they will love this. :)

It is so hard when your oldest is little. I remember thinking my twins were so old at five but really they were still so young. I think that may be part of the problem. Five is a very young age and what you may perceive as being rude is actually quite normal. Also your son may have some social anxiety which may be adding stress to the situation. I would not force him to participate at this age. I would keep bringing him to Tae Kwon Do for a while and see if he eventually becomes interested. If he does have some anxiety he may feel better the more times he goes because he will become familiar with the environment. In the meantime I would probably read up on anxiety and children to see if he has some of the traits. You may need to have him evaluated at some point if the anxiety becomes too much.

Thank you!!

I appreciate you posting this.The CK12 text was one of my possible choices for next year, but now I have marked it off my list. Thanks. :)

DS 10 has been enjoying The Kane Chronicles the past few weeks. He also loves listening to Hercule Poirot stories by Agatha Christie.

I'm so sorry for your loss. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

My teens and I watched The Importance of Being Earnest with Colin Firth on Netflix this week. We all enjoyed it. They also watched Waking Ned Divine and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain on Netflix. They loved Waking Ned Divine.

Thanks for starting this thread. We love The Great Courses here. Most of our favorites have already been mentioned, but my daughter recently started a new course that has not. It is Heroes and Legends, and she seems to be enjoying it. It is a lighter literature course and I think it would be perfect for someone new to TGC or for a younger student. I am going to have my sixth grader watch it next year.

I agree that most teen boys would not answer the question on par with the example answer. Had you discussed the book together prior to the question? Did he know that his answer should have been longer? I only ask because maybe your expectations for him were not realistic. English at this stage is better when there is a discussion and an exchange of ideas. Honestly if I was in your shoes I would enroll him in classes at the CC. He will be able to enroll in classes on his level. Maybe he would have to start with a few remedial classes but that would work because he is still young and only in high school. If he did two years of classes before graduating he would probably be at the level you want him to be by the time he does graduate. In addition he would be accountable to someone else which I bet would motivate him more. Hugs to you. It does not sound like an ideal situation.

I always thought On My Honor was a quick, short read that would interest older kids. It is not for a sensitive kid though as it is about a child drowning.

Our goldendoodle is named Kingsley. We sometimes call him King. We also have two cats named Apple and Callie.

Let's make a point of doing something this summer. All the kids would love it. :)

I would also love to hear this. :)

ENFJ :)

We used MBTP for many years and my son loved it. This year we tried it again (the 10-12 level), and it was a disaster. I am not sure if my son changed or the curriculum changed, but it felt very strict and time-consuming to him and not as creative as the previous levels felt.

My son is in the same place as your daughter for math. He is most likely going to take a similar path as your option 1.

As a mom of two freshman I appreciate this post. I feel overwhelmed by the whole process quite often, but I believe the kids and I are on the right track. They are taking their first two SAT subject tests in June and are enrolled in two AP classes next year. The one area that I am weak on is in keeping detailed notes on everything they have done for the year. I am going to spend some time this weekend working on this. :)

My son's favorite read-aloud recently is Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio. I am actually surprised by how much he loved it.

My son is very creative and needs time for his passions. Because of this I try to get curriculum that does not take up a great deal of time and that interests him. We use Bravewriter/Arrow for language arts and Life of Fred for math. History and science is mostly unschooled around here often taking the form of a movie or audiobook. He loves to listen to audiobooks while he works on the computer or is drawing so I try to get in some learning that way. His schooling takes only a few hours a day, the rest of the time he is free to pursue his passions. It is not my ideal but I have learned that I have to let some things go if I want to support his creativity. :)

My son writes all day long and he has written several books already this year. What I do for that is leave him alone. It is his passion and I don't want to mess it up by making it feel like school. However during school we do work on language arts to make sure his skills stay sharp. We primarily use Bravewriter and he enjoys it. This year we also began reading books about authors when they were young. He loves reading biographies of writers, and I have enjoyed seeing him so engrossed in these books. Other resources we used this year - Life of Fred language arts (the books were an easy read and review but he liked them) and Cozy Grammar punctuation. I will say that I also find it hard to accelerate a child that is strong in language arts. Next year we plan to do Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, and I am hoping that will be on his level. We might add in some MCT books too. He went through several of those a few years ago and enjoyed them. :)

It was a terrible fit for my oldest son who is quite gifted in math. The program did nothing for him but slow him down and frustrate him. I know it is a great program and works for many talented kids. The problem I have with it is that so many people believe AoPS is a must for any child gifted or highly interested in math. I don't agree with that, and it irks me that so many do.

Voted! What a great kid you have!!

I went from a Scion XB to a Scion XD and have been very happy. It is small but doesn't feel like it. I highly recommend it.

We are going to do them all in a week this summer as this is the only way we will get the labs done. The reality is the twins and I are not motivated during the school year, so this is the only alternative.

I lease my car due to the fact that I put very little miles on it and for the low monthly payment. My experience has always been positive and I love having a new car every three years. I think for some it is a bad idea but for others it can be a very positive experience. As far as down payment, I have always made a small one around a $1000 or so.