Beast Academy is a very different sort of math program - it uses comic books about monsters to teach the math, and then the workbook is full of math problems that involve a lot of thinking to get to the answer - so you practice math facts by using them in complex problems. It's not common - but it is new, so it gets talked about. For what it is worth, it worked very well for my child with learning disabilities in reading and writing, but I had to read everything with my child and there are always mistakes in the answers for my child to re-do. I expect this because while understanding the math comes more easily, writing things and keeping track of what is being worked on doesn't for my child. Copywork has kids seeing and copying a good example of writing. It shows them right spelling, punctuation, interesting sentences, etc. In some approaches to writing, it is used to lay a foundation of good writing by allowing the kids to practice good mechanics in writing before having to come up with good content. Often, copywork will lead into dictation, which is where you read a passage the child writes it down. Copywork and dictation help a child practice holding words in their mind.

Yes.

I'm sure you don't need another curriculum, but I'll show you one anyways. :) Spelling You See seems like it is working really well with my non-natural speller, and it is easy to implement. It involves reading a passage and clapping out syllables, going through and highlighting patterns, copywork, and then dictation of the passage that has been read for the week and copied for the week at the end of the week. I find it gets my child looking more closely at the words, and there is the bonus of erasable colored pencils. :) You definitely want the teacher's manual, or you will have to figure out and hunt for all the patterns yourself. Spelling You See

There are a lot of interesting ones out there. A few off the top of my head: Raising Resilient Children Hold Onto Your Kids Laying Down the Rails ETA: I forgot to mention probably my favorite, Sacred Parenting. In case the title didn't tip you off, it is a Christian book.

Hugs. I am sorry you are going through this too.

Well, if you put the equations by one another, d+m+c=12 d+m+m+m=14 c+m+m=10 You can see that the first two there are almost the same - that the c=m+m - 2 . Then you could fill that into the last equation and get an answer for the monkeys, and then you can plug that into the last equation again and get the c, then just hop to the top (or use the middle equation) and get the d.

Me too. Lots of good thoughts for the Cat family.

There are free language learning programs to start with. Our library has some, or there are ones just online. I'd start with that, and go from there if he puts in the time and effort and finds he wants to continue.

Depending on what your niece is like, this is a neat book. It presents imagined case studies of pregnancy/childbirth/parenting in different cultures. Alternately, there are lot of really fun board books out there now. Hoban makes many black and white ones for when babies are first seeing things. :)

This book is very good (and secular): http://www.amazon.com/Family-Virtues-Guide-Children-Ourselves/dp/0452278104/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1456078041&sr=8-4&keywords=virtues This website is a companion to the book. Focus on the Family has a Christian program about virtues that is available free online that might work for you. http://www.kidsofintegrity.com/ Simply Charlotte Mason also has a great resource - Laying Down the Rails. This is also Christian. In general, choosing one good character trait, focusing on it, and using it as a positive example we strive towards is a good approach. ETA: For manners, we have gone through books like this: http://www.amazon.com/365-Manners-Kids-Should-Know/dp/0307888258/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456078278&sr=8-1&keywords=365+manners It was a short, easy way to address various issues that come up regarding manners (and out of the situation it is handy to not have to be nagging, but to instead have a framework of expectations that has been discussed beforehand - but you still do have to remind kids). I am sure it would benefit us to go through it again to be reminded. :)

We found Writing and Rhetoric Fable to be a good book for us in a similar situation. Classical Academic Press has a good sample on their website to see if it suits you. I know I bought it one year and ended up holding onto it for a year before we were really ready to dive into it, but once we were it worked great. The book appears to have a lot of writing for the kids, but they use a fable as a direct example of what to write. For instance, there is a lot of work on summarizing, so they get to cross off portions of the story and write it out as a shorter version. The better they get a summarizing, the less they have to write. :) Amplification works well too because the story is right there and they just have to add in some adjectives, yet they can feel successful in making a story themselves.

I have it but haven't used it yet. I would say that it could go either way, but it would be slower and more work if you didn't have any Latin yet. It is learning through immersion in the student book. The teacher book - if you use it to prepare for the lesson beforehand - can make you look like you know Latin well and are knowledgeable about ancient Rome. It is short, but there is a lot of great information in the teacher's manual that fleshes it out. My plan is to use it with my kids after we finish SSL2, and I believe it will be a quick, easy thing at that point. It will be fun for them and a way to build into using sentences.

I agree with the steroids very possibly contributing. From posts you have made in the past and this I feel like the family dynamics in your home are somehow just way out of kilter. It sounds like there is a lot of pain and frustration for you as parents and for the older kids (I don't know about the younger ones). I don't know what the answer is, but Elliot's behavior isn't happening independently. There is a lot going on around him that I think is contributing to how he processes his life and feelings. For what it is worth, I don't think you are happy. I don't know how to solve that, but I do know that how I feel and handle the world has a profound effect on what my children reflect back at me. No, me being in a good place does not solve everything, but me being in a bad place makes everything even harder (which makes me in a worse place, which makes things harder, etc. etc.).

Well, I only did the program last year, and probably won't do it again, but I will tell you what I liked and didn't like about it. Liked: They gave good, age-appropriate books as some of the prizes (we are part of a small library, so probably about 50 or 60 kids do the program, and they bought books for various ability levels and let the kids choose one). The book prize was just from a "random prize draw" (which every kid won). Our format was you got credit for checking off each day you read. No time or page amount. They dropped the candy each week prizes for prize draws for better things (kids win often). The library activity each week is finding a little character that is hiding around the library - when you find it you enter a slip to win another random draw prize. The preschoolers had an easier thing to do - they identified an animal I think. Disliked: We read every day any ways, so it was just checking off a calendar for sort of no reason. The prize at the end was a medal - the kids get medals for everything they participate in. We didn't bother to pick it up. They also gave ice cream cone prizes, and my child who won one doesn't eat dairy (and would have really rather had a book!). It wasn't a big deal, but my child was mildly disappointed since the other kids had already won books and they thought they would too.

Usually the government has good, free resources. https://kids.usa.gov/teachers/lesson-plans/index.shtml

Remember that movie with Michael J Fox where he went around peeing to scare off the deer? That is the thing that came directly to my mind when I saw this thread! Sorry you have a deer problem!

I agree wholeheartedly about training for a "soft mouth". Our dog we got as a puppy was easy to do, our dog we got when older - well, that is a different scenario. One of our dogs was severely attacked, by a totally unprovoked pit bull. Well, I'm sure walking at a leisurely pace as a family was provoking, but that was all we did. It was a feeling of utter helplessness to see a creature that we love as part of our family, who looks to us for guidance and protection, be rag-dolled in front of our eyes. Our dog did live - but it was an expensive and long road to recovery, involving months of crating and the fear that we might end up having to put our dog down if it had been too negatively affected by the attack (because of our small kids we really couldn't risk edgy behaviour). I've been around aggressive dogs before, and they do communicate loudly with their body language, but this was beyond that. This was insanity. ETA: I don't know what the answer is as far as regulation, but I am definitely pro-more regulation when it comes to breeds over 30 lbs. and I personally can never trust a pitt.

Can someone explain Shakeology to me? There are a number of women I know who do this. I am sure they want to sell me their shakes, but the whole thing seems to be a health and exercise program. Do you pay people to be your fitness coach or something? I don't know what is going on with it, and I don't really want to ask because I don't want to buy whatever it is. But I am really curious.

Hugs.

FWIW, I have found that through the years the time spent building relationships with a consistent group of kids has been the best investment for us as far as socialization goes. My kids have done many classes, and enjoyed them, but classes have not grown friendships. You may find that a few consistent, well-chosen groups (after dipping your toe into many to see what suits you all) will be the best way to do things. Being out every day of the week isn't really a goal. Having friends is, and if that is every other week co-op, that really is enough.

SSL2 has been a great step up for my child with similar challenges to yours. It is faster paced and a bit more intense, but it isn't as intense as the other regular programs I've looked at. SSL1 and SSL2 are vocabulary building programs, and while SSL2 does start to get into a bit of the structure of the language, it doesn't go far. Royal Fireworks Press also has a neat program where the kids read in Latin only and they learn a bit about the history/culture too. Or for something that builds more quickly, you can look at the Getting Started With Latin samples on Amazon. So if I were you, I'd keep them together and do SSL2, adding in RFWP or GSWL or Minimus if you finish SSL 2 and want more during the year.

Often when I explain things, people seem to think that is an invitation to give input. So maybe your mom is terribly clueless and needs you to just firmly say NO to the various things she wants, instead of you explaining why it doesn't work for you. For what it is worth, it sounds like she may be trying to look out for you - help you relax or see the bright side of things. Maybe she thinks you seem overwhelmed or too busy? Maybe she thinks that in your shoes SHE wouldn't be happy and would want the things she is suggesting, so she doesn't understand why you would prefer to do things your way? Whenever someone is upsetting me with what they say, I try to take the time to consider why they might say what they say, and it often helps me figure out how I want to approach the issue with them. Congrats on your son's college admissions and all the best on the coming months. It's hard to imagine being there, but I understand the years fly by and we'll be there before I know it! :)

When I have to make a decision like this, I try to envision the results 6 months down the road both doing it and not, then see which I prefer. Personally, if it will not cause problems with how you school with your other kids, I'd go for it.

Yeah, I love them. I tried to get my voracious reader to read one this week and it was rejected after one chapter and I was slightly offended! :) Although I haven't read the English translation, so maybe it isn't as good - I should see.

Maybe the illustrations distracted you from the weird writing. ;)