we have instant streaming and we love national geographic programs. I have found quite a few programs that include 3 and 4 part series with a variety of subjects. I give my kids 1-2 visual aids on net flix or as a dvd from the library. from the library (because i can't find it on netflix yet) is of course Bill Nye and The Way things work the latter have 13 minute programs. the net flix programs tend to be greater than 22 minutes so I use them when I need to rest. my 8 yo ends up falling asleep with some of them but if I pick the right ones at the right times he can stay awake for the whole 1 with discussion. D9 loves them a lot and will watch them on her own. hth :)

So i am better getting a handle on disciplining my peeps and am really trying to stick to what i say. I get tired and end up forgetting the punishment or basically letting what ever situation get to far. I realized part of my problem was my lack of organization so I decided to have the kiddoes do one chore a day instead of once a week. these are our "special" chores. in addition to like making the bed, cleaning the room etc. I also realized i don't have like "steps" to escalate problems, i go from 0-grounded in like 60 seconds without warning. So at work (no, i wasn't particularly busy) i came up with a list of rewards and a list of steps of punishment. i felt bad though because the punishment list ended up being way longer than the rewards list and i had to really rack my brain with ways to motivate them. anyways, i gave them to my kids and today , though we slept most of the day away, it seems to be working. does this sound doable though? I want there to be more self motivation and self reliance. How do you guys do to keep your lives in order?

WOW! That sounds like so much fun. Can I live with you? :tongue_smilie:

What do you mean by this? I gave my DS the sample lesson and he l-o-v-e-d it. He already loves math and does it well but he hates writing like to the 10th power! I am planning on getting the TT and supplementing with Math for the Gifted Students by Flash Kids. He loves this as well. Lisa, your DO might benefit from that as well. DD is currently doing SM and we have AoPs Number Theory, but we have been using LOF as well so she kind of jumps around getting what she needs to not frustrate her with AoPs. We are using it as a supplement and only the text with solutions not the online course She really loves math... can you tell?:tongue_smilie:

I am actually not sure. It is made by the same publisher as the MCT curriculum books. They are more specific to each subject though. I haven't ordered them and I believe they are relatively new. I was wondering if anyone has used them yet.

sorry, but what is TT? After I saw this I googled chalkdust. I think it might be a good fit for my DS with SM challenging word problems. I like that it has an instructor and he doesn't seem to dwell very long on specific items.. I also found a gifted and talented book at barnes and noble which might be a good supplement.

OOH....this one looks interesting. I will definitely check them all out. DD really wants to do chemistry I am just intimidated by the thought of teaching it to her!

I have to second (or maybe third) the MCT recommendation. We use MCT with my DD and she loves it a lot. Especially the Building Languages which has Latin Prefixes as a formal instruction book. The books are humorous and do not require a lot of actual writing at this point. DD has also worked with Shurley, I just found the reading boring to be honest. But she didn't think so.

So I started adding "story time" for about 45 minutes where DS just sits on my lap and I read to him in addition to me reading to him before bed. we have really focused more on FLL which is really interactive. I have come home from work and watch t.v. with them, played card games and computer games and generally spent more "free" time with him. Things seem less tense but we still bump heads during math and I am wondering if it is not a good fit. He understands the work I think he gets tired out from it easily if that makes sense. Just about every word problem from his Review he literally said "I don't know what to do!". I looked at it read it for him and asked "papa, what do you think you should do?" at which point he was right with his guess could explain why and answered the question correctly. we are using singapore math btw. I notice he understands better if he reads questions out loud to himself. do you think it is an issue of the wrong math book? maybe that is why he is acting out...

I am currently using Moving beyond the page and while it is fun and keeps us entertained my DD LOVES science. I would like to find something that is a little more challenging as a supplement like 2 times a week. I like using MBTP because it keeps her little hands active and we get to discuss things and such but it is really not for advanced learners as far the breadth of the work. any suggestions? DD is 9. So I came across Dr. Dave's manuals, does anyone have any experience with them? I think they are relatively new.

we could always do e-mail....

Thanks, this is what i was thinking of doing. judging from the table of contents i thought it was something that she could pick up once a week and explore together. i had not even noticed any online courses, i guess i will have to pay better attention :glare: I gave her an excerpt from the site that seemed to intrigue her. if she starts to appear frustrated we will definitely stop tho.

My DD 9 loves math and I wanted to challenge her with more than just the singapore math we have. ( she doesn't mind doing it tho, its just that I feel like it is more busy work than a deeper understanding). I got her Life of Fred which she read through in a day enjoying the story but finding little interest in the math behind it. I hoped she would just pick up LOF like she does math puzzles. she would sit and do all the questions in the workbook if i let her! I just purchased the Intro to Number theory with solutions manual. I know this is a little late since i already purchased it but do you think I jumped the gun?

WOW!:bigear: Thank you all so much. There are so many good points I would like to "quote" because I agree with it and had not thought of it my whole post would be one big reiteration of what you guys said. I need to thank you for your perspective I had not considered maybe he just needs/wants me there. What harm am I doing just sitting next to him and helping him?( I gotta tell you, I feel really selfish now:blushing: ) My DD is not like this at all which is probably why I had not even thought of this just being his way to learn. Maybe I am pushing him too hard or expecting him to act like his sister when he is not her and they are two different people. I tell you what tho I will make more of an effort to schedule more fun non-pressure activities to do together. Now that I think of it he loves it when I read to him, we usually do it before bed but maybe we could work into into the day so that we have more time. Gosh, I just hadn't considered any of what you guys said. REALLY I am extremely grateful for the input I felt like i was :banghead: Silly as this sounds I feel like I am ready for tomorrows day of HS'ing because it won't be more self-induced stress!

WARNING I AM RANTING: I need some guidance/advice/ ANYTHING!! DS has been homeschooled with his older DD and my moms foster kids since the beginning of time. They went to "real" school for the first time last year and I was grossly unimpressed so I brought them home. It was mainly my mom doing the schooling since we had a big group of kids (greater than 30 in all). Anyways, I was usually assigned the older kids and she the older kids. I was married for the most part at the time and it didn't seem like to much to do it my own this year. Boy was i wrong!! DS has been rebelling so much on the one hand but wants me to sit next to him the rest of the time. i don't get it. DD really likes this. it seems like she is really thriving being home and doing things on her own time. but everything seems like it is a fight with him and to make it worse i have always felt like my mom is trying to "take" my kids affection from me for what ever reason and it seems like it has worked! he just keeps asking to go Nannies (my mom) because a. she is boring, b. she is hard c. what ever he comes up with that day. but i can guarantee you both are learning more from me than ever before especially since even when she was the primary educator I PUT TOGETHER THE CURRICULUM. I know what he is capable of and it is frustrating me to no end. partly because i am now single and tired all of the time and i don't have time for him to give me all this trouble but also because i feel exasperated. i really love homeschooling but i get so mad at him for example today he insisted on asking for help on just about EVERY math question. mind you it was a review of stuff he has never had a problem with and finally i was just like I AM NOT GOING TO THINK FOR YOU. and it took him about 2.5 hours to finish math. we didn't even really get to any other subject he took so much time with out back and forth. on the other hand if i sit right next to him he is pretty much fine. but i dont' have time for that. sometimes i just need to sleep while they work. sorry this is so long. i just want to make this the best experience for them and i want them to love homeschooling. i hid in my bathroom for like 20 minutes trying to regroup. i dont' know what to do. please help.

they have been homeschooled for most of their lives except for last year. for some reason DS is having issues "adjusting". I guess you could describe them as typical kids. we are in upstate new york. i would love some one out of the country but i don't think it really matters just to get the change to write on stationery,use a stamp and receive mail would be fun.

My son is 8 I think he could benefit from having a snail mail pen pal. it would definitely force him to write more. Plus i think he would enjoy getting mail just for him. he only went to school one year but for some reason he is having trouble this year. :glare: i will pm you.

@Lakota, I got my books new but didn't get any of the teaching resources. I wish I had because there is no straightforward start and finish to the lessons and I like this spelled out for me. Thanks for the link though. I have the Island series so far and am sure that my advanced 4th grader will have any trouble with it. I got it because last year both kids wanted to try "real" school and had a disastrous experience. I want to make sure she returns to where she was before. For DS I am honestly not sure where he will measure. I know I did FLL with them both and believe he too will fly through the Island series definitely through the Grammar Island. I am getting ready to get the Town series though because one day after buying the complete set minus the teacher books DD finished the Grammar book:tongue_smilie: but we will see. Thank you all for the input.:bigear:

Hello all, I am using MCT and FLL for both kiddoes this year. Has anyone used MCT in the past? What do you think of it?

MY DD is reading little women. she likes it because it involves girls and the book I have has pictures every couple of pictures. I know it is old school but she enjoys it nonetheless.

I pm'ed you about the program.

what district should i say i am affiliated with then?

i am just subbing. i want my children to be apart of the program when it is time to enroll. :)

oooh! i am interested!