For early elementary, no reading involved if possible. I'm not very good at playing "games" that aren't completely scripted for me. Any ideas? ETA- just saw the thread below... Ha! Should've looked around before asking.

Well it's been 7 or 8 days and she's improved exponentially! It is CRAZY to see progress and a skill gained this soon! We are still going over each mini step multiple times but her ability to remember and manipulate the sounds is already far better than it was just last week. So thankful for this program and all you ladies pointing the way!

Thank you all. We're moving to Northern CA. I did ask on some local homeschool groups and it sounds like we're going to be fine either way. As mentioned, her scores won't really impact us at all and supposedly it's our legal right to opt out of testing if we choose. We will see how DD feels about it when the time comes. In the meantime, though, she will really love to gymnastics and music options, and I can order the next few levels of Barton.

Dance Mat typing a few times through and then on to typing.com (also free and great)

We are in contract on a property in California, set to close March 21. From what I understand, within two weeks of that date I have to either 1) file with the state as our own "private school" and basically have no regulation or 2) file with a homeschool "charter," meet with a teacher once a month, take annual tests, and get generous amounts for curriculum (enough to cover almost everything) and extra curricular activities ($120/month per child). I can enroll some of my children one way and others another also. For the time being, we are leaning toward the charter. We could use the funds for things I've drooled over but never been able to get (plus pay for how ever many levels of Barton we need) and the extra curricular vendor list is amazing. I am slightly concerned about yearly testing, though, and being in "the system" in general. My older two children are accelerated and will test very high, but DD7 (8 in May) isn't reading and is just starting remediation. Obviously, she won't even be able to complete a typical second grade standardized test. How does the school district handle this? Will she get accommodations through them and be able to have the test read aloud to her? Is the hassle and potential impact of her scoring low worth the financial benefits?

I've always overlooked BF for its reputation of being light, but the Jr. High program looks like just what we're looking for. We love the reading selections. Most are also on Ambleside lists which is perfect because we wanted to include those (we will add in a few more). Wondering if anyone has experience with this program? How much time did you children spend in it every day/week? Is it pretty involved for the parent or more independent? What are the writing assignments like?

Wow that's helpful OhE! So many great ideas... Off to research and plan. I'll update here as we go. Yes, once the school district can get her in for full evals we should know more about math... I guess that gives us time to focus on Barton!

Would LIPS be beneficial for working memory then? I wa sunder the impression that it focused on differentiating sounds but I don't know much about it as I'm a total newbie. Or is there any other programs that could help with this? Also, is working memory in this context the same muscle/skill that she would use memorizing other things? She had a more difficult time memorizing letters, numbers, etc. but then sometimes she's done really well. She blew me away last year in school when she memorized Psalm 1-5 and Catechism questions 1-32 word perfect. She was only 1 of 2 first year students that did it! BUT, she worked really hard to keep up with her older siblings. Thank you again for all of your help and suggestions. It's such a relief to have others who can somewhat relate.

Your post brought back a random memory-- I took a test to skip third grade and the questions were similar to what you're describing. I thought the test was a breeze, and then I got to one that referenced the Wright Brothers; I had to answer, "I don't know." I can't believe I still remember the reference, and the feeling of complete failure...

DD11 is just beginning AOPS PreA. I bought it, but I haven't had time time to work with her so it's just been sitting on the shelf while she worked through MM. Well, she really wants to do it and thinks she can do it mostly independently. Is this likely? Also, would it be detrimental for her to check her own answers in the solutions manual? She's a strong math student, really motivated/hard-working, and can stay on task for extended periods of time. I am available to help some, but not one on one every day. She loves the way it's written to her and feels she's understanding it well, but again she's just starting and I know it's tough.

Outdoor Hour Challenge is great. But we've Probably learned the most and had the most fun just with accurate local field guides and our nature journals.

She actually did great on the pre-test/student screening. She didn't miss any in Task A, one in Task B, and then needed two in task C repeated. She seems to do great hearing the sounds well, but the trouble comes in manipulating/switching those sounds around.

We just discovered that DD7 has dyslexia (Posted here before). We are starting Barton 1 and in lesson 1 she's struggling with break-replace... She often forgets the sound that she is supposed to keep. Or she can't let go of the sound and says it along with the other two. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else had trouble with this? It's amazing to see this early that she clearly needs work on these skills. It makes me hopeful about the program! But, it also makes me wonder how much work she has in front of her... Anyone else have a student that needed lots of time to get through Level 1?

I have some pretty awesome excel schedules (well, google sheets). PM me your email and I'll share them.

How fun! What's the name of your shop? We'll have to stop in!

Thanks for all the responses! So I have another question- Can I "charter school" some of my children but file as a private school for others?

Please read Thomas Dubay's Evidential Power of Beauty... Astounding. Also N.T. Wright is very good as well.

We close on our acerage on March 21!! When do I register with the state? I've heard CA is generous with amounts allotted for materials, art lessons, etc. Is this true? Do my children test yearly? Older two have aced/excelled with testing but youngest is dyslexic and just starting remediation... Will the district interfere with that if she tests below average in reading?

Swiss Family would be far too difficult. DD11 is reading it as part of Ambleside Year 6 selections... Ambleside is a great resource for advanced lit that is appropriate maturity wise. If you are looking for classics, there would be many to read before Swiss Family. As mentioned above, The Little Princess, The Secret Garden, The Princess and the Goblin, etc... Also, The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle is more difficult than The Story of Dr. Dolittle. The Story of Dr. Dolittle would be a great choice though, as it's an easier chapter book that still well-written.

That's a great idea! I hadn't even thought about using the language we're learning to his other studies. I think that'll come more naturally as we go. Yes, I think testing might be in order eventually. The dysgraphia is definitely a possibility... I'm sure I would be surprised either way. Thanks so much for these recs! I just ordered Smart but Scattered-- sounds like just what we need.

I'm no expert, but there is a basic Canon DSLR kit at Costco right now that would be a great "serious beginner" camera.

This... Sooo good!! Still, since my kiddos are younger they need a bit more of a helping hand seeing their plans become reality. They dream it, but I try to help them bring that dream to life.

I haven't read on so I'm not sure what others have suggested but here are my thoughts: -Definitely tune in to the wildlife photography aspirations! If you can't go on field trips to see the wildlife then maybe you can take some steps to bring more wildlife to you? She could create a window birdfeeder, plant a small butterfly garden, take care of outdoor rabbits, indoor reptiles, etc. She could also arrive at horseback riding lessons a bit early and take photos of the horses every week. If she's willing to take a photography class, great, and if not there are plenty of tips and tricks online or she can just learned she goes! Then she could spend the year creating some kind of major project based around her photographs. She could make a blog, or design a professional portfolio either digitally or in print. I also just read a post about nature journaling with photographs instead of always drawing. She might enjoy that too! You could tie her zoological studies in with this as well. -she might also enjoy making an interactive geography notebook to go a bit more in depth in that area. A couple years ago we did a geography year, and my oldest used a large blank art notebook to freehand draw/write about each country we studied. She can also cut and paste from photographs/magazines as well.

Here are some quality beginning chapter books: Tornado Little House chapter books (or actual series if she's ready) The Bears on Hemlock Mountain The Courage of Sarah Noble My Father's Dragon trilogy The Boxcar Children book 1 Stone Fox Dolphin Adventure Hannah Pioneer Cat The Littles The Storm series McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm Sarah, Plain and Tall

It's hard to say what exactly we're dealing with. No testing, and honestly I'm not sure anything would come up... He's incredibly kind to strangers and respectful to adults/teachers. He's mostly functional and "normal" around other kids even. Mostly, his issues are with seeing things in black and white, not understanding personal boundaries/invading people's space, overreacting and getting really emotional over tiny things (like running out of milk), things not being fair... While his issues are more social than academic, he does have a hard time completing work independently. Sometimes I feel like he should be able to work on his own, and try to create external standards to help him (set a timer, continually to check in/remind him to focus). Other times I just go with it and hold his hand and he FLIES through material. Yesterday he did 6 lessons in Singapore orally, me writing his answers, in about 30 minutes. Fractions even! He does fractions with different denominators as mental math... He's bizarre! But to sit on his own and complete one lesson will take FOREVER... He does work independently on things he initiates himself. He is writing two nonfiction books completely on his own, one about endangered Rhinos and one about the 50 Greatest Quarterbacks of all Time. He reads dozens of books on these topics and works for HOURS obsessing over them. He created his own formula to determine a "point rating" for QB ranking based only on statistics and not on opinion. He wanted it to be "fair" lol... I ordered some social thinking and self-regulation curriculum, and we've read/talked about some of it together. When he heard the part about wearing the "magnifying glasses" and "make-believe glasses" his eyes got HUGE... it really resonated with him and he felt like he gained a lot of self-understanding. He asked me later if we could read more. In the Superflex curriculum, the "unthinkables" Glassman and Rock Brain really resonated with him too... He is asking for more of this stuff and I can see it helping him already. Just hard to find the time while we plug away with school...