I usually just say, "Since the beginning. And she's 12 now...so..." :) Some people will interpret that to mean, "Since birth," and others will interpret that to mean, "SInce she was school age." Either way, it answers whatever question they're trying to ask. I think, generally, the people that I speak with, are asking if we sent her to school for a period of time and then switched to homeschooling, or if she's always been homeschooled. They're not actually interested in number of years.

With my 12yr old (7th grade) I aim for 4 hours/day. Some days it's more, and some days it's less. We do *not* have the same schedule every day because of swim team, homeschool co-op, Bible study, book club, etc...

We were going to wait until DD was 11 to start her on the series, but her best buddies had a Harry Potter themed birthday party the year they all turned 9. So, we read the first book aloud before the party. After that, she was totally hooked. Over the next 2 years, we read all the books aloud as a family. She's listened to them multiple times on audio since then. During the time that I was worrying over reading them too soon, another homeschool mom asked me, "Do you really believe she'll never read them again?" That helped me relax about the decision to go ahead and read them. I knew she'd be reading them again. I've always been a re-reader, too, and I'm always amazed by what I notice, even after several times through the same book.

Have you seen this website about Windows 7?: http://www.gcflearnfree.org/windows7 And have you checked out Youth Spark at microsoft.com?: http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/youthspark/youthsparkhub/ In particular, Youth Spark has a free Microsoft Digital Literacy course for learning to make documents, presentations, spreadsheet, etc... Click on "Get Started" and then click, "Choose a Youth Spark Program."

Soooo, what type of computer education are you looking for? There are great sites for learning to code and making 3D designs, others for learning specific computer languages (html, java...), still others for basic computing (identifying operating systems, learning about computer hardware, doing searches, setting up email, word processing). We are currently using: tinkercad.com - for playing around with 3D design code.org & tynker.com - for the basics of coding (both great for elementary through middle/high school) ETA: Ooops! I see that you were asking about your operating system and Microsoft Word. ...I'll be back!

I'll play! I love ideas to keep my blogs moving! This is my homeschool blog (with a Wordless Wednesady right at the top): http://peregrinhouse.blogspot.com/

We love Costco's book selection at Christmas-time!

Oh, I had no idea theyhad the Great Courses! Thank you!! We already have an audible memberhsip, but I've been putting off using my credits for the last few months because I wasn't sure what to get.

Agreeing with IsabelC: I found that my oldest (she's 24 now) really *wanted* to participate but couldn't always. So, I typically would say something like, "Hey, we're lighting Advent candles now and reading some stories. Want to join us?" She'd either come or say that she really had too much to do.

We used cloth & loved it!

Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend written by Julie Stiegemeyer, illustrated by Chris Ellison - This is my favorite children's book for explaining how Santa Claus came to be. The Legend of Old Befana written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola - an Italian folk tale. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening - Robert Frost's poem illustrated by Susan Jeffers. This is more of a winter time poem than a Christmas poem, but the illustrations are so lovely, and it's a great book to read at this time of year. A Forest Christmas written and illustrated by Mayling Mack Holm. My DH grew up on this story. He used to sit and look at the drawings for hours! The Night Before Christmas - Clement Moore's poem illustrated by Jan Brett - or really, anything by Jan Brett is going to have lovely illustrations, espcially if you enjoy Scandinavian art. The First Christmas written and illustrated by Carol Heyer. We LOVE the illustrations in this book! The Mark of the Maker written by Tom Hegg, illustrated by Warren Hanson. Owl Moon written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr - A winter time book. The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco - A Christmas and Chanukah story. The Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco - Also a Christmas and Chanukah story. Elijah's Angel: A Story for Christmas and Chanukah by Michael J. Rosen and Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson.

How old is your daughter? I agree with not letting other kids hang out in her room when you have people over. We have always made that a rule in our house, unless DD expressly invites someone into her room. If there's something from DD's room that she wants to share, she can bring it out into shared space without inviting people into her room. I also agree that it may be important to make a social gathering more about the activity than about "making friends" or "hanging out." Having something structured to do takes the pressure off deciding what to do or what to talk about. Planning something outside of your home may also take some pressure off. Then you can leave when you need to leave, and your DD doesn't have to feel so much like she's hosting a party.

Oh, yes, definitely. We are not tied to Saxon math, but I'm also not actively looking to switch right now. I'm just wondering what's out there. I like to spend some time doing the research and letting the information simmer for a while before deciding. I feel like I have a good handle on how DD learns and what works for her. Right now, Saxon is it. DH & I were also both successfully Saxon educated. So, I don't have some of the concerns about the program expressed by others in the Saxon thread. I see DD progressing just fine. Her skills and understanding are both above grade level. She's been known to exceed her supposed skill base on standardized math tests because she can reason out the answers to problems she's never seen. However, she does enjoy some outside-the-box challenges. Right now, we feed that interest with logic puzzles. I'm wondering if we want to switch math, at some point, to something with more of those challenge/puzzle type questions OR if we want to add more math-type questions into our logic studies.

You said she's part of a minority of kids not invited to other social outings. Could she invite that minority to her own social outing? Sometimes what it takes to make friends in a group is being uncomfortably proactive. It's the perfect time of year for having a cookie bake or an ornament-making party. Is it cold & snowy where you live? Maybe a skating or sledding outing? A board game night? I wouldn't make her go, but I'd try to find a way to help her forge some connections.

OH! The AoPS/Beast Academy connection clarifies a lot!! I didn't look it up the other day because I thought AoPS was more like a supplement of math challenge problems (from what I was gathering on the other thread). I couldn't find the high school math books on the Singapore site yesterday, but now I'm seeing that I had to just keep clicking. There's a page that comes up that says they are not carrying some certain books because of trademark violation, and I stopped there yesterday, thinking that was it.

I have been following the Saxon math thread with a fair amount of interest. I know it gets a little contentious, but I'm interested in the information I'm gleaning from there. We used Math U See (MUS) Alpha, Beta & Gamma when DD was younger. Then we switched to Saxon, and DD has done 54, 65, 76, and is currently in 87. I know that Saxon goes through high school. I am inclined to stick with Saxon, but I'd like to know what other options are out there. I started looking around at the other suggestions in the Saxon thread, and it seems that many of the curriculum options do not go through high school. I saw so many people talking about Beast Academy that I looked it up, and I see that they only have levels 3 & 4, which, I assume are roughly 3rd & 4th grade, though I hear people saying it may be a bit higher level that than that. Still, Beast Academy will not carry a child through middle or high school. And I was surprised to see that Singapore does not appear to go through high school. Am I right about that? So, what *does* go through middle and high school? And could you pretty, pretty please *not* use abbreviations. I don't know what most of them mean.

I have a 12yr old/7th grader in Saxon 87. We've been doing Saxon math for 4 years. I nearly always do the mental math with her and take the answers orally, read the lesson with her, and stay nearby while she does the practice problems. For the actual problem sets we have done a variety of things over the years. Sometimes I let her skip problems. Sometimes she does all the even numbers one day, all the odd numbers the next. Sometimes I have her do entire lessons, but only half a lesson a day. This year we have primarily done the latter. I feel like we have the freedom to take the math books slow because Saxon has so much review at the beginning of the next book that we typically skip the first 40 lessons of the new book. This reduces the total of lessons we need to complete to get done in one school year. Do you get the sense that you son knows how to do the work but isn't motivated? Or do you think he's struggling with the math itself? Is the struggle more about copying problems down into a notebook? (I don't know how Singapore works, but if he's never had to write his work in a seperate notebook, that can be a challenge all by itself.) Did he fight math homework in previous years?

We used Essentials, and I think it's totally worth the money. I cannot imagine doing it without the workbook, though. DD was a struggling reader for many years. So, we used Logic of English (LOE) for remedial work. We spread it out over 5th and 6th grade, and we *just* finished at the beginning of this school year. She is making a fine transition now to Saxon's 8th grade grammar & writing! If you ask me, that's amazing evidence of the effectiveness of the program! LOE includes spelling and grammar rules, spelling lists, parts of speech, dictation, and basic composition skills. I think the lessons are rich and meaty, and the games are peripheral. We didn't use the games pretty much ever. (We did use Write with the Best for more composition instruction/practice than what is included with LOE.) I have a friend, who is just getting started with an emergent reader, and she decided to use Foundations because the Essentials book does not have a lot of explicit instruction in the early emergent reader skills - phonetic awareness, syllables, etc... It seems to me that the Essentials student workbook assumes basic writing ability and letter recognition from the beginning. It does not start with the basic phonograms. There is a chapter at the beginning of the teacher book describing some ways to introduce and teach those things before beginning the program, but it's pretty minimal.

We have index cards with meaningful quotes and verses on the door and window frames in our kitchen, which is where we do most of our work. I didn't think of them as mottos, but certainly they are words that speak to us. "If you're making mistakes, it means you're out there doing something." 1 Peter 2:21 "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." Isaiah 43:1-2 "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.'" 2 Cor. 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: "Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life." I also find myself frequently quoting from Each Little Bird That Sings, "We live to serve." And for DH: "Remember, we're madly in love, so it's alright to kiss me anytime you feel like it." B)

My DD is 12, and we regularly spend time with my friend and her children, who are 5 & 2. We both homeschool our kids. AND my 12yr old is moderately dyslexic. So, I'm finding myself drawn to your posts. :) My DD loves audio books...but also retains a lot more if she reads along while listening to audio. I think audible.com is now doing some kind of deal where you can purchase audio books and then get the ebook at reduced price. I don't know how that works, in terms of getting your mobile device to run both programs at once, though. DD is currently working her way through the Lord of the Rings on audio, while following along in a paper book. Games we play include: Izzi (This is something both the 12 & 5 can do together. It's a geometric puzzle game, sort of like tangrams.) Scrambled States of America (This is kind of low level for the 12yr old, but can include both the 12 & the 5. The 12yr old is learning some geography.) Prestel Art Game (This could possibly be adapted to include the 5 yr old, but it would take some work.) Rummy Roots (This is a Latin & Greek word roots game. It's definitely for older kids.) Bible Challenge (This could be adapted for both 12 & 5.) Mad Libs card game (This one is for kids who are reading. I'd rather have You've Been Sentenced, but I haven't been willing to put out the money yet, and I got this one at a thrift store. I don't like some of their word choices.) Blokus Trigon (This is for ages 5 & up, but it's fun for everybody. Older players will use more strategy than youngers.) Goblet (The game description says it's for ages 7 & up. I like playing this with my adult friends! It's a 2-person game. Good strategy skills involved.) Rummikub (I haven't tried this with the 5yr old) Quiddler (for readers) We haven't been using computer games or apps as much this year. So, I don't have as many suggestions there. In the past, I've researched "Brain Games," rather than educational games. My daughter enjoys logic puzzles and the kinds of things you find on Lumosity. These seems more "fun" and less academic to her, but they're still exercising the brain! I sympathize with finding videos everyone could watch. My 12 yr old enjoys the TV show "How It's Made." That's totally appropriate for younger kids to watch. I don't know if it would keep your 5yr old's attention. It depends on the 5yr old. I think you can find a number of the shows on their website. So, you're not at the mercy of finding it on TV or recording it off TV.

I was also going to suggest laid-back fun educational stuff for the interim time - to keep the brains alert and active without being a drain or a bore. What about watching a science or history series? Do audio books work for your DD? Do you have a mobile device or computer that she could use for educational apps? Does your family enjoy games? (We've found a number of fantiastic educational games this year.)

What great ideas! I know I'll be using some of them this year!

I think some of this comes with realizing the high school is really right there on the horizon...in a way that it wasn't when our kids were in elementary school. It seemed so far away back in Kindergarten. But, in the same way that is seems like it was just yesterday that they were born, we realize that it won't be so long, and they'll be all grown. We adults know just how quickly time passes. Having said that, I find that it slows me down a lot if I remind myself that we have SIX years before graduation (7th-12th grades). We're only in our 8th year of homeschooling (K-7). So, we're just barely over halfway. That shifts my perspective. Also, I think it can be hard in Western society to relax and take our time. We are very much trained to hurry and focus on productivity. Sometimes I have to remind myself of what my real goals are. Is it really my goal just to get somewhere as fast as I can? Or is it my goal to build a relationship? To build a strong foundation for learning? To teach meaning and character?

Thanks for posting this. I enjoyed looking around the website.