Do not make a curriculum decision based upon a fear of leaving gaps. You will leave gaps somewhere. No school option is perfect. This is a gifted kid? I really wouldn't worry about gaps...especially not in 2nd grade. In a traditional textbook method, the book is like the timekeeper, keeping you on track. When you have a different paradigm, you need a different timekeeper. I find it best to set aside the actual time. Make a date. Tues/Thurs at 10am are time for _______. and so on. Once you have the routine, you can lax on the actual clock. Do what you can do in the time allotted. Have clear goals. That said, I don't think there is anything wrong with sticking with a graded curriculum and going through it faster. After teaching math at home with my kids, I'm beginning to think there is some wisdom in accelerating through first, and then stagnating for a year or two right before pre-algebra with those deep and difficult programs. My plans (after messing up 3 kids... :lol: ) for my youngest are Miquon in K-2nd, CLE 3rd-5th, Singapore 6th-whenever they are ready for algebra. The grade level of books used may not match up to their grade (age) levels....I'm thinking developmentally, that this pattern fits my kids spurts in growth. Miquon begins with conceptual understanding so they will have that firm foundation. CLE is very process driven and reviews like crazy. What they know will not be forgotten. Then Singapore stretches what they think they know, applying it in difficult problems. That is just my rambling...so take it fwiw.

That may be a thing regional to you. I have taken years of voice lessons, and the diction lessons that go along with the voice lessons. I probably think too deeply about these matters. Ha! It should say _____, but we pronounce it _____. Why? Because English is wierd. Because English is like the little kid who never did follow any of their own rules. "I'm feeling like a shwa today..." :lol:

I gave up on doing Morning Circle in the actual morning. I have one child that is excessively grumpy at that time of day, and a toddler who is not the typical early riser, and it just turns to chaos if I try to implement the Circle in the Morning. We have a long bedtime routine of reading aloud and touching base with those things that many do in the morning. I do memory work and such in the 1-on-1 times. I like to have everyone gathered at 7pm (after dinner) so we can get showers and get to bed at a decent hour after storytime. Sometimes life happens though.

The Treadwell Readers are worth looking into. The content is old folk stories, fairie tales, mother goose rhymes, classic children's poetry. The vocabulary begins very small and it is controlled, grows gradually and then exponentially, but it is not controlled by phonetic pattern. The first story in the Primer is The Little Red Hen. These might be a top choice, not only for the ease of use in teaching to read, but for the content. It's sort of an introduction into American/English culture as well.

Sometimes we do say "thee." When the next word in the sentence begins with a vowel, it is "thee earth" and "the sky," "thee apple" and "the banana." Common pronuctiations change over time and through different places in the world. When my kids were learning to read, we were midwesterners living in the south. It was a very simple explanation. When we visit grandma people say things one way, and at home they say things this way. I don't get into the shwa with little kids, but I do carry out the "It's just the way people have changed the pronunciations over time." We say ______, but when we spell it we should think ________.

I believe children need more Masterly Inactivity to properly grow than is allowed in the after school hours, especially if they are involved in any extra-curriculars. A half-grown child should be able to entertain himself safely and have projects going and plans and lists to make their plans happen. I think many of the executive function issues harped about today are a result of adults plotting their child's day from begininng to end, not allow the child any chance to flex those mental muscles. They need time, time to get bored, and time to dig themselves out of that boredom. By themselves. We have some special needs. Even the best public schools are bound by laws, and though well-meaning, they often prevent the teachers from doing their job. The IEP process is a nightmare. It's less stress to simply teach at home.

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How did she get a Doc. in Music if she can't play polyrhythms? How do you know she can't play them? That is odd. I can understand a teacher trying to multi-task too much and make mistakes...but....odd. I've had embarrassing moments where I was so intuned to a kid's behavior, but my mouth was still teaching, and things didn't come out correctly. But in a private lesson, IDK. Actually, they do come up. Even instruments that play/sing only one line have to be able to do their part against other instruments in different patterns. I've got a BSE Music Ed. vocal/choral. We had to be darn good at it to get the bach degree. What is her Doctorate in? Music history?

Other ideas: Take Fridays off. Or Mondays. Give yourself 3 day weekends for a while. I thought the advice to stop cooking and cleaning was actually amazingly awesome. For a month, at least, serve food that is super simple. Make your own sandwich. Grill burgers. Pack up random junk and put it in totes to clear the space. Go through one tote per weekend this summer...or assign that work to kids. Sleep more. Eat more raw fruits & veggies. Drink more water.

For math, I recommend Miquon or Rightstart. Both are heavy on manipulatives and play to the strengths of many dyslexics while allowing kids who struggle with following a worksheet to keep up with the math. Miquon uses the Cuisenaire Rods, and RIghtstart uses an abacus. Miquon is cheaper, but RS goes farther in grade levels. For science & history, keep things interesting. Read books aloud together, watch documentaries, go places, do stuff. You have to actively work to keep the content & vocabulary growing if they aren't reading for themselves with ease.

BD and A&P are wonderful! I have a student who couldn't keep up with A&P. I eventually just started making my own materials for him, and you can find links to reading & spelling resources in my siggie. Killgallon grammar for elementary. It is NOT an independent thing. Go slow. The focus is on making interesting sentences through imitation. The grammar is constantly reviewed b/c we discuss things like "This phrase starts with a present tense verb, so how are you going to start the next phrase?" We might spend 15 minutes on one sentence. It's a fruitful 15min.

Yes, the practical biology goes a very long way! Many of us homeschool in situations that are less than ideal. You can make it work. Take time to think through your priorities, your kids' needs, and put some blinders on to outside input that is not helpful. Use what you have as far as resources, time, energy.

For pre-K, I would just make a table in a word doc. Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Read alouds Fine Motor Play Gross Motor Play Letters Numbers Shapes & Colors Chores Other And, I would NOT do every category every day. The chart would be more of a reminder to me than a rigid schedule.

You could also squeeze in some extra school time when hubby is home if that works better. It might help to make a short list of ideas of things he could do with 1-2 of the kids at a time and let him have some input. He might enjoy doing science experiments with the kids or reading to them or building dioramas to go along with history lessons. Even finding and watching history/science documentaries and discussing them in the evenings would help. If he's an artist or musician, I'd tap into that. If he's a farmer (guessing b/c you are 70mi from a grocery store), take them out and teach them things on the farm leaving one at home to work on school.

I couldn't find one that was perfect, so I made one. I put it out for sale so others could buy it too. My kids needed a little nudge, something beyond endless blank pages, but nothing too regimented either. My Nature Journal Blog post.

Outsource the business office work before outsourcing their educations. Your dyslexic is going to need the lion's share of your time, and likely always will. Be at peace with that. It's OK. Your 4th grader CAN do fun and engaging without you. It's a bit :crying: for you, but she will not be harmed by learning independence. Check out Project Based Homeschooling. Find materials like science kits that she can do alone. Better yet, she can lead those things with her siblings. I have an advanced kiddo, and I've handed her the teacher's guide ot the Science in a Nutshell kits when baby started crying. By the time I got back to the room, she was in the middle of a great lesson and I sat back and nursed the baby and watched. Those moments are HSing WINS!!! (not mother's failures!!!) Assign your 4th grader to read aloud to your Ker for 30min each day, and align that time with your working with the dyslexic child. Take YOUR family and create a schedule around them, and feel no guilt about it.

At that point, I cover phonics through spelling. I also do daily exercises in decoding larger, rarer words through the Companions for the Treadwell Readers (in my Lulu store linked in siggie). I like to see the kids keep up with decoding words outside of their context, building up words by morpheme.

I have to agree. Single moms are not going to be able to afford your rates. If you are taking a child for a whole day, you need to be a combo babysitter/tutor and feed the child. I used to do childcare. It is not a great way to get rich. It is a great way to make a little extra $ if you enjoy working with kids and it fits into your family structure right now. I like the idea of charging a few moms a reasonable rate, and then scholarshipping in one or two kids who truly need the help. Then...I can't imagine taking on an extra HSing kiddo without feeling a strong attachment to the family, and at that point I couldn't charge $ for that.

Try Happy Phonics for both the Ker and the 1st grader. It's a series of games that they can play together. It is zero stress (after everything is laminated and cut...LOL) and it really works. For the Ker, consider my Pre-Primer. I've taught 2 dyslexics to read, and when my youngest was born with brain trauma, I began writing this series. (1st grade is coming soon!) The Pre-Primer starts at the very begining with introducing letters and ends with students blending 3-4 letter words, short sounds, open vowel words, and the silent 'e' words. I take the whole K year to do truly master reading and writing at this level, pulling in visual and auditory skill practice as we go. (Then 1st grade is a whirlwind through the remaining phonograms, attaching phonics to poetry.) The Pre-Primer is scripted out, so there is little learning curve. It's also fairly repetitive, so once you know how to teach a section you won't need the script anymore.

What do they want to do when they grow up? They probably can't give exact answers, but will likely have a general idea. (My dyslexic wants to work with his hands. He wants to learn carpentry, welding, mechanics...he'd like to be an engineer someday.) I take what he says into consideration. He wants to do things that require excellent visual-spatial skills and math. He needs to get through enough language arts, gain enough skill so that his dyslexia does not hinder.his hopes. He has a little workshop where he can tinker around at the things he loves to do. I make him complete a list of things before he earns time to tinker. He knows that I make his list of things to do based upon what he needs, not what he likes. His schoolwork is NOT tied around his interests, but it is geared towards shoring up weaknesses and capitalizing upon his strengths...aiming at future plans. Give them a rough routine to work with. Work with 6th grader for 45min, work with 8th grader for 45min...and see saw like that through the day.

If you play piano at all, just start teaching them until you find another teacher. I like to teach the note values first. You can do a lot with a child who only knows the note values. Jot down 4 beat measure patterns on 3x5 cards. Have the kids pick a card and pick an "instrument" and see how long they can keep the pattern going together. ("Instruments" = oatmeal container, spoons, squeeky toy, whatever...) Lather, rinse, repeat with 3 beat measure patterns. When I start teaching notes on the staff, I stick to quarter notes for a while until they gain some confidence. Play it, sing it. Can you sing it before playing it? Once they start bonafide piano lessons, keep them singing what they play. Can you sing the melody line? Can you sing the harmony? I have some sight-singing books that would work for teaching note reading, but they are as dry as bones. Look for a book of real nursery songs instead. For older kids who are too mature for such nursery nonense, encourage them to write parodies for the lyrics to keep it fun. Look for Kodaly inspired material b/c those will build up in skill gradually using real songs.

Fuming over ridiculous In-Laws That is one way to get rid of them. It works for pesky insects too.

I had a child who taught herself to read at 3yo, so I understand where you are coming from with early academics. That said, I think our kids are the exception, not the rule. And, even for my early reader, my original post is how I would prioritize and plan her days again. It's a world of misery to have an academically advanced little person who doesn't manage life well. Those things I listed are not a holding pattern, those things lay down patterns and habits that enable success. We cannot take a child back to the sandbox with the eyes of a 4yo. If that 4yo picks up reading with that gentle intro to letters, that is great. If not, the sandbox is priority. The reading will come later. Happy Phonics is a great program that can fill the gap for little ones determined to read.

I have a few thoughts. #1 - You are in the first half of Level B. Just keep going. #2 - Consider going back and repeating things and doing extra review. An easy way to review is to go back to Book A and dictate those sentences again. Any words missed will be orally reviewed before the regular lesson. If she misses a ton of words, repurchase Book A and do it again. #3 - I'd recommend doing doing a beefy review as in point #2, and HALF of a new lesson per day. The amount of writing isn't the issue. A brain that struggles can only be pushed so far before shutting down. If you haven't had a dyslexic child, that might sound like coddling or excuse making...it isn't...you want to maximize efficiency which involves more review so that you hold onto words already learned and it means introducing new things slowly so they have more brain space to take hold. #4 - The Essentials in Spelling that I reformatted began as a result of having done SWR and A&P and ds STILL not retaining any spelling. His spelling was way worse than the samples you posted. Teaching him is a matter of teaching explicitly and reviewing frequently. Essentials has 2 new words per day. That said, A&P will get a child spelling at an adult level much faster if that child can hack the pace.

No. Before each semester, we have a big meeting. I ask the parents to come with 2 lists; a list of desired opportunities for the children and a list of things that they could and would teach. We get together, eat a meal, and let the kids play while we compare our lists and see who can teach what. You really get a wide variety of ideas this way. The only $ that changes hands is about $20 for supplies. When you ask for those 2 lists, classes get taught by people who have most of the supplies already. (eg. I teach music. I already have a closet FULL of supplies for teaching music.)