You know, I was going to say no to lollipop for a 8 year old. My 4 year old likes them and they are on his level. My 6 year old did 22/52 pages in one the other day in a sitting (I have them in a binder with sleeves so we can dry erase.) BUT.. If you are thinking she really has something going on with space, orientation, and parts of images, they might let you see what is going on from the very very beginning. It would be a good way to identify difficulties as long as cost isn't an issue. You don't get much in each book for what you pay. Your daughter might not struggle and finish all three books in under a week. The logic safari books (next series that is more appropriate for 8 years old) is more word based. Not the same type of problems. I kinda think all my kids stink at jigsaw puzzles though and it doesn't extend to anything else. They are very good at other types of puzzles but jigsaw gets low practice/low interest here. My 8 year old just started Will Shortz's Monster Book of Sudoku for Kids and loves it. He's progressing independently but you could work them with her more deliberately and slowly if it's a challenge. It starts off with an example he works through and explains and then has 35 easy 4x4, 35 6x6, then moves into full size puzzles in increasing difficulty. I think 150 puzzles in all. I'll probably purchase this book for each of my children. It's such an easy way for them to learn the game.

Aren't they both the object of the sentences, one being an example of a verb that requires a gerrund (arriving) and one that requires an infinitive (to swim) even though the to is understood. Grammar isn't really my thing though :)

We don't do a ton of workbooks, but when we do finish one we have a "book party" ice cream party with dance party in the living room. I think I'd rethink that if there were a bunch going on every year. My 8 year old pretty much only has singapore IP books as workbooks. 6 year old does more because she loves them and everyone is happy she is such a hard little worker and earns them ice cream ;)

My 8 year old extrovert won't do a single thing without me by his side with only a few exceptions. He'd never ever do a Singapore mid year review by himself and if he did it would be full of errors. In fact we don't ever do them in one day because it is so boring to do pages of stuff you know how to do. To an extent, the easier the problem the less willing he is to do it on his own. Left even slightly ignored, he dawdles, stares off into space, starts taking about something that he did in Minecraft the other day. I know he knows his stuff because I sit there and say "hey you have been on this problem for over a minute and I know it is easy." And he'll say "ok fine" and I'll have my answer on paper in under 5 seconds. He just doesn't find arithmetic fun. Can you really blame him? :) Even when he does like the work, careful and accurate are not words I would use to describe his efforts. Those are skills needed for higher math, specifically by algebra, but also things to work on as he matures. I wouldn't dream of holding him back in math because of that, just like I didn't hold him back in K and 1st because he couldn't write a single number. He could do it in his head and I scribed. Now he is just fine. If you find yourself actually giving clues and breaking down problems, re-teaching continually there may be a issue. It is completely normal not to be able to leave a 8 year old alone though and come back to perfect work. I do point out errors as they happen because he doesn't have a personality that can deal with thinking he is finished only to have to redo work. It's usually only a nudge though, "uhm are you sure?" Or "that's weird I had no idea 123 - 57 was 76". I don't have to break down the problem and say "let's go back and see what you did wrong" almost ever, exception being new content that I suddenly realize he didn't understand. Well that was more than I planned to write. Hope something in there was a little bit helpful.

Here's a Penny is the worst. It was the last Sonlight book we read. I felt like I couldn't trust any recommendation after that. Glad you are finding something more enjoyable to read.

My early reading 6 year old did and still does that since she was probably two. She can write a full page, either copied or her own composition (in a church class this week she copied the entirety of Revelation 5:9-10 just because she felt like it. Was not an assignment). But she still "writes" letters to people with systematic scribbles in the middle when she wants her letter to look longer or wants to make something but doesn't actually feel like putting in the effort at that moment. She fills notebook after notebook that are partially scribble mock-writing lines, partially drawings and partially real writing. I really think the scribbling serves a purpose and allows some space to think with the hand motor connection. I wouldn't mess with it or assume it means you need to push anything outside what you think is right for her right now. Plus it is super cute :) She won't do it forever.

Not everyone is that strict, especially with a family, and olive oil is easy to add to almost anything.

I have never heard trouble reporting fraudulent charges but you do need to be very specific and use the word FRAUD. Disputing a charge is different and would mean you did business with the vendor but they charged too much or didn't deliver etc. Of course then they want you to try and resolve it first. Often times the rep you get isn't listening so you just say "I need to be transferred to the fraud department" at that point they don't even hesitate.

Well, I personally think you should always be able to defend yourself and call out bad behavior toward you. I have caused some ugly family situations.. Wait no. I didn't cause them. I stood my ground against an immediate family member on my husband's side who everyone else tiptoes around. My boundaries are pretty straight forward. I will not be cursed at. I will not have my kid endangered (aka being alone with unsafe relatives among other things) and I will meet the physical and emotional needs of my family as necessary. Outside of that I am super polite and as cooperative as possible. It was super hard on my marriage at times but now DH understands that I don't hate his family, I just have (sane, healthy) boundaries that I will not let be violated without acting. When you grow up in an unhealthy family situation, it is easy to think the expected behavior should be the continuation of that situation. That's double the reason for me not to let my kids see me functioning that way. Sorry if this doesn't match your situation and please ignore. Your rage just sounds all too familiar

I didn't see it mentioned, although I only skimmed.. They make these little circles for socks. They are rubber with teeth on the inside. When you take your socks of you stick them in. They go through the washer as a pair and you can put them right in the drawer in the band. I expect all laundry to go down the laundry shoot every day so mesh bags wouldn't work for us unless we had a ton. If DH wants matched socks he knows what to do :) And I am training DS 8 to use them too.

If I get to day dream and I don't need to worry about crazy cost of living I'd pick Switzerland in the canton of Valais. I am also day dreaming (slightly more seriously) of spending a month or two there and putting the kids in school to fix their horrible French.

Amazon Prime takes about 2 weeks to get to me and they won't ship half or more of the regular foods to my address so there is no comparison. Costco is also about 50% of the price of the local grocery store for basic items. We could not eat nearly so many vegetables if I had to pay $2.50/lb for onions and $5/lb for lettuce. The joys of Alaska :)

I love reading this. No teens yet but nice to have some ideas when we get there. I used to lie about food when I was a tween and teen because I just didn't like people being so nosy. As a mom who has already spent over 4k on just one kid's teeth, I'd probably consider tooth bushing a hill to die on but that's just our experience.

Yes that is correct. It would have to be a small backpack or only half full with no "structure" so it can collapse down. Let her check her real bag. Carry on just needs one change of clothes, toothbrush, phone, charger, book, wallet with important papers, and a gallon ziplock packed with dry food -- two sandwiches, two oranges, bar of chocolate etc. Whatever works for her allergies and won't get too crushed and gross. Some flight attendants are really strict. The bag needs to completely fit under the seat in front AND the foot space in the aisle needs to stay clear so peoplee can walk past in an emergency.

She can't text you on the plane with or without wifi. Text is a cellular service, not data. She can email you if she has a smart phone. Or chat via Google hangouts via wifi again... With allergies, she needs to bring her own food. As much add she will need. Save the hassel and don't have her bring any liquids, even under the 3.5oz limit. When she goes through security, she may want to go through family and medical liquids lane just because they are usually nicer over there and used to kids (even if she's a big kid). Personally, I'd be sure her carry on is small enough to fit under the seat (exact dimensions posted on airline website) so she does not have the risk of having to gate check her bag and need to decide what to grab at the last minute etc. If her allergies are serious, know that epi pens can go through security without hassel and should be kept with her at all times no matter what.

Thank you this is really valuable. I don't *think* I am trying to push him into something he isn't or is not ready for. (I read these boards and I am embarrassed by how little school we actually do and how little I actually do push my kids). I just want to avoid screwing up where I can ;) I admit I have dreams of him doing AOPS but that is just because I want to play with AOPS. I'll survive just fine if it never ends up being a fit for him.

Agreed. I fact, I won't be using A anymore and we will just work slowly through the first 30 lessons of B until they are mastered. If you know how to teach the material, the essentials are all there. If your child is old enough not to need full instruction on that material, you can jump right in and use the review lessons to get up to speed the RightStart way. I think the only case where you would want A is if you don't know the method AND you have a 4-5-6 year old just getting started with math.

Well he does challenge math every day. "Average challenging" he finds fun. He and his dad are in the midst of a running pattern problem competition right now. (I think he's better at patterns than my engineer dh :) ). We have a pretty good selection of broad and challenging stuff including Zaccaro but getting better at solving challenging problems isn't exactly the same thing as wanting or being willing to work really hard, ya know?

My side of the mountain, Misty of Chincoteague,and Indian in the cupboard were favorites of mine as a kid. I haven't read them since then though so I can't be sure of every detail but I think they should be safe. My Side of the Mountain I read as a 5th grader though so give that recommendation the least weight :) We read Treasure Island when my son was 5 but he thought it was a bit scary, just that the language worked up too much suspense. Paddle to the Sea is great. We read one page at a time and stretch it out with our geography work. Adventures of Pinocchio is on the Ambleside Onlne reading list for either Year 1 or 2 meaning it should be safe for 6-7 year olds, but there is *something* contentious about the book that always comes up, (Can't remember but I bet you can find it easily on their forums) and enough people dislike it after reading it that we chose to pass. Tuck Everlasting is about life and death. I think it could be read now but you might get more out of it to wait. Have you considered using the Ambleside Online reading lists for guidance? I know they don't contain as many modern classics as your list, but all the books are fairly advanced read alouds as students aren't expected to start taking over any of their own reading until year 4 or 5.

Teaching my oldest to read was painful. We started at 5 (as required for kindergarten). It was grueling. He hated it. Tears and tears (maybe more from me than from him lol) but we stuck with it even though nothing was sticking AT ALL. And then we plodded through 1st grade like that with OPGTR (only up to lesson 60 maybe? The one with soft and hard g) , and he learned CVC words.. kinda sorta. Still couldn't get the vowel sounds right. Then suddenly in second grade he started reading. Lots of reading. For pleasure. I finally had to say "Put that book down and come do school" which felt completely wrong and completely joyous at the same time. :) I was so terrified he would secretly have undiscovered learning disorders if I didn't plod along careful -- I honestly don't know why I was so afraid. Learning disorders that don't show up in ANYTHING else? And what exactly was I going to do about it by continuing to nudge through curriculum. Here they wouldn't do anything diagnostic for him until late second grade/third grade anyway. So I tortured him for 2 years before he was ready, and as soon as he was ready it was fine. I have decided to gauge future kids on readiness, at least up until 6.5 years old when we can make a decision about whether an evaluation is needed. That 18 months makes a huge difference.

Well, we do everything glued at the hip. He is an extrovert and will not do an oz. of work all day long without me (exceptions being piano, free reading, and anything on the computer) so I am always right there, teaching as needed and catching little errors so he can redo any problems before moving on to the next. He doesn't need much for the basic Singapore problems. The "Take the challenge" problems and some of the harder problems in CWP I will work out with him, but honestly those problems are so random in the extra skills they need that if I solve one, it's all over and he didn't learn anything. I do talk them out but he usually tries to wait until I talk close enough to the solution lol. I could use real details if there is an art here that I am missing. One thing we are going to try is adding a cork board to our school area called "hard math problems" and letting him pin up some of those stumpers so he can come back to them, maybe in a few ten minute sessions a week. Haven't started this yet though so I don't know how it will be received.

I have an 8 year old, 3rd grade DS who is a year accelerated with Singapore right now. We have pretty much achieved this "only one year" acceleration by taking long breaks of not doing any curriculum (sometimes because of family stuff like moves and babies, sometimes because of extended travel. I feel very guilty about this although I don't want him further accelerated, but more enriched). We are just starting our school year now after coming back from a 2 month road trip and DS expressed some regret that he had taken yet another break from math and could have been done with these books already. We decided together just to let him finish SM books through 6b, which if we don't detour and he doesn't have trouble (which I don't anticipate at all) he should finish some time this summer, give or take. We only do IP and some CWP and each book takes him about a month. So that's the background. I am not too worried about where we will go next. I'll probably "decelerate" him into BA 3a. (Maybe I should have posted this on the main board since we are not planning on being accelerated for very long lol). We tried BA this past spring and it was not a fit because he didn't really want to work that hard, even when he had all the skills needed, in the very first shapes chapter for example. He mostly just wanted to draw funny monsters and the constant "that's a cute monster but you need to work the problem now" line got repetitive, which was met with mounting frustration in his response, "I tried it already. You said it wasn't right so I don't know what else to do". I have dreams of the AOPS track but if BA doesn't go well a second time I am thinking about MEP 7-9 and Foerster's. My only BIG PAUSE in this plan is that I am wondering if I am failing somewhere to teach him problem solving stamina and methods to tackle really unknown/out of the box/unexpected application problems like you find in AOPS. I know that not everyone prefers to learn by figuring out the details on their own, many prefer to stay with the details and then move to the whole (Ã la Foerster's I suppose).I just don't want his lack of hard-problem-tackling to be my own teaching failure or failure to provide an enriched enough environment. So I guess my real question is, do you wait for maturity and adjust the challenge of the curriculum for the child in front of you, or do you teach problem solving and stamina in some methodical, well planned way. If it is the later, please do enlighten me. :) FYI: I have a degree in math, but my elementary and middle school math education was terrible, high school passable, so I taught myself everything in college. I have been reading, researching and learning to try and offer my kids something much better. Edit: Oops! Totally meant to post this on the AL board. Not exactly a curriculum related question.. Is there a way to ask to have it moved?

So this is for a current 7 year old? Isn't Galore Park for middle/high school? Have you been keeping up your French at all? How is your ability to read in French and will DH be helping at all? Something like Alex et Zoé is far more age appropriate but the teachers guide only comes in French.

Thank you for the suggestions. I am not sure if this is the link you meant? I get redirected to a dating site :lol: I am going to pick up a mots contes for this year. What age is your child? I guess I can try my son on Duolingo but I just don't know that he can handle reading and translating. He can barely read accurately in English. :) We have Alex et Zoé going which is French as a second language (FLE) program but I think I hit the same problem - he wasn't reading last year in any language but he is really visual so he lacked the reinforcement the program had built in when he really needed it. I am going to try again this year and hope to complete level 1 and 2 in one year (it is designed that way so it is reasonable) Now that I have calmed down a little I have been able to make a new plan. I also remembered that last summer I had this same freak out and told the kids wet were going for full immersion and I was going to stop speaking English during the day. My son at that point had complete meltdowns and and with true fear in his voice told me he'd never be able to talk to me again. So this summer I said we were going to have French only during the day and his freak out only lasted about three minutes where he said he was going to make his brother and sister translate everything he needs to me, and then he decided it would be fine as long as he can watch Buffy and the Avatar cartoon during the school day. So that's a HUGE change that I will count as a very small victory. I am going to make a commitment to at least 4 hours a day that are entirely and uncompromisingly in French, even if that has to start off very tv heavy. I think my biggest failing this past year was using English with him when things were important and he got the idea (rightly so) that if it was important enough I'd use English. He didn't have any great need to understand the French. (Posing from my phone, sorry for any oddities)

Not this year. I am trying to work out how to do that next year but it is no guarantee yet. I thought so for a long time so perhaps his comprehension was better or perhaps I was overly optimistic (he used to translate jokes out of movies to talk about them when he was little so I thought we were on the right track, but lately it has become clear that he understands nearly nothing and just guesses based on the type of sentence. If I ask for a variation on what he expects he will typically respond to what he expected to hear, or just be confused by clarification. Simple stuff like "get the forks and put them on the table". If I switch it to spoons during dinner, or if I had asked for forks during breakfast he would be lost or guess something else we needed, knife, napkin, water cup. I am not sure he can handle duolingo because he is not a strong reader yet, although he is improving so it is worth a try. I had been reading to him in French and requiring him to read me one short (really really short) book per day but that has fallen by the wayside this summer. In the sense of balanced bilingual, yes I don't expect to be able to do that. On paper, my goal is to get him to a balanced B2 by the time he is ready for college so he could go to a French speaking university if he wanted to. I still have plenty of time to work with that but in my heart I want to do better, sooner. I think Paul Noble is supposed to be like Michael Thomas without the accent. I could try that I suppose. I had forgotten about the petitshomeschoolers blog. Thank you for the reminder.