Bump! :)

Hi BlsdMama! I've been trying to contact you via pm about the algebra book you have for sale, and my messages aren't getting read. I saw where some people have had problems getting or sending messages, and thought maybe that's happening? Not trying to be a pest, just super interested in what you're selling. :001_smile: If you are having trouble with your pms, you can email me at lucas and anna @ gmail.com (spaces removed). Thank you so much!

Most of the questions you asked are ones that his dad and I are discussing as we talk about this, and I think it's probably most productive if those answers stay between the two of us. I'm not sure what I said that makes you think he's not the kind of person I want to spend time with. That's not true at all. He's a great kid and I enjoy him. I realize that my list of concerns were all negative things (in a sense) but they're not a picture of the whole child, and they don't define our relationship. My whole purpose in posting here was to try to figure out ... is this just his personality? Or is there something more we should be doing to help him reach his full potential? Because I guess what I'm afraid of is that someday he's going to look back and say, "Why didn't my parents help me figure this out before now?" I want to do what's best for him, not just assume this is how he is and let him struggle. Because, yes, there are times he does struggle with the things I mentioned. And some of my concern is that I'm insecure - this is our first-born, so it's all new territory for us - and quite often I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. So I came here, where there are people who have experience, older kids, and more knowledge than I, to ask questions. I agree with the last sentence there that I bolded. We have a saying in our family ... normal is just a setting on a dryer. Not original with us, certainly, but we don't get hung up on normal vs odd. That doesn't mean, though, that I don't have concerns when I see quirks that may - or already do - make it difficult to have a happy, fulfilling life.

Thank you, kbutton! I'm not seeing a link ... am I missing it or did you forget to put it in?

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You could do a disc-bound book. Staples sells a system called the Arc - you would need a notebook to start with and a punch. I have several and I love them. You can get the discs in a couple of colors, or put one colored one in different places on the spine for identification. There are other brands, although I don't remember what they are off-hand. The punch: http://www.staples.com/M-by-Staples-Arc-System-Desktop-Punch-8-Sheet-Capacity/product_324688 What the notebooks look like: http://www.staples.com/M-by-Staples-Arc-Customizable-Durable-Poly-Notebook-System-Navy-9-3-8-x-11-1-4-/product_886316

I voted age 5. We start K then, but it's pretty laid-back. I have a K'er right now, and he can be done with his work within about 30 minutes most days.

Oh, wow, OhElizabeth, so much to chew on in your post. Thank you! I'll check out the LC board for sure. He hasn't been formally diagnosed - I listened to a Diane Craft seminar that described him to a "T", and he's responded well to the writing 8s and crossing-the-midline exercises. I do wonder if there are other issues. I will look into whether insurance would cover an eval, because I doubt it's going to happen otherwise. He does type quite competently, but doesn't use an voice-to-typing software. (I'm assuming that's what Inspiration is? I'll google it when I'm done here.) Thank you again for your thoughts! So Inspiration was different from what I was thinking ... looks super interesting. He's not using anything like that either, although we do use graphic organizers instead of typical note-taking.

I need help figuring out writing for my (going-to-be) 8th grade ds. He has some ground to make up before high school, thanks largely to dysgraphia that we didn't figure out until 5th grade. The good news is that he's made significant progress the last couple years. He likes to write creatively and is good at it, although he rarely does it for his own pleasure. He's doing WWS1 this year, and he does pretty well with his assignments. It's not particularly transferring to his other writing, though. The other problem that we're having is that he's a whole-to-parts learner, and he feels like he's spinning his wheels doing the same thing over and over. He needs to be able to see the big picture, but he also needs specific, step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish the task. I've been doing a lot of reading of the older threads, and have gleaned a lot of great information. I'm going to try to compress WWS for the rest of this year, moving through it a little faster and helping him to see the big picture. I'm looking for suggestions for next year. Should I just continue with WWS? I love how it gives students the tools to write instead of using a formulaic approach. Is there something that teaches explicitly and shares similar goals, but is more whole-to-parts? I love the idea of writing across the curriculum, but I need something to guide me through that. (Writing always came easily for me, and I'm struggling to teach it to a child for whom it does not come naturally.) Editing to add: I'm mostly concerned with essay/expository-type writing rather than creative writing. Thank you!

I really appreciate all the input, and I'm looking into all these mentioned. I do think knowing his basic facts better would help, and we are working on that. Part of the problem, too, is immaturity. So I guess time and patience will help with that ... I just would really like to find a math that doesn't reduce him to tears.

Thanks everyone. Paradox5, I used McRuffy with my oldest in K and it drove me batty, too. :001_smile: The only reason I'm thinking about going back is because I thought the bright, colorful, short pages would work well with this boy. But I've been showing him samples and he really dislikes all the different types of problems on a page, so maybe spiral isn't what he needs after all. :confused1: Back to the drawing board, I guess.

My 2nd grader (he's a very young 2nd grader, turned 7 in June) is struggling some with math. I *think* I have figured out that he needs a spiral or incremental math program with short lessons. So no CLE - four or five pages per lesson would freak him out in a big way. I'd prefer not computer-based, and teacher-intensive is okay. Any suggestions for math that would meet these criteria? Right now McRuffy is on my short list, but I'd really like some other options, too.

Hmm, Verbal Math looks interesting. Educationunboxed does, too. We used CLE with my oldest, and I don't want to go that route again. Thank you all for your input. The more I think about this, the more I think my hesitation is that I don't want a repeat of this year (math that is just. not. working.) and so I want a backup in the form of a second program. So if it's about wanting that security rather than Miquon needing to be paired with something to be complete, I need to approach this differently.

Math for my 1st grade ds has been a mess this year. We started out with Math Mammoth, which was horrible for both of us. After trying a variety of ways to tweak it to get it to work for us, I remembered that I had the Miquon Orange book as a pdf. The rods are helping him tremendously - he needs the concrete example right in front of him. So I have a plan for the rest of his first grade year, but I'm not sure what to do for next year. I think I want to keep using Miquon because it seems to make things so easy for him to understand. I'm not sure I'm comfortable using it by itself. I think he may need more drill, and it doesn't cover things like money. (I know I could do that informally as part of life. But I also know my weaknesses, and I want a text that does it for me. :) ) What would you pair with Miquon for drill and, perhaps, a more traditional S&S? I was considering McRuffy - I'm pretty sure that a manipulative-based program would work well for him. The two of those together would still be a manageable-length lesson. I am open to suggestion, though, including being told that Miquon is enough by itself. :D (I think it probably is, especially with something like Math Shark to practice facts. But this year has been so awful with math, I feel like I need a backup program.)

Hi all! I've been reading here for quite a while, and have appreciated all the knowledge shared here. Figured it was time to introduce myself and participate a bit! :001_smile: I school three boys, we use a variety of methods and materials, and we're in our 7th year, currently.