I have met people whose religion forbid use of computers so there wouldn't be much point referring them to websites. I guess these days some people may consider it a barrier. It is an odd question but I tend to just put n/a to any questions I am not disposed to answer.

It is odd how people think to be paying attention you have to look at the person and sit still. That's not really how it works. I am watching tv now and I did most of my university assignments while talking to my flatmate and watching tv. If I try to just study I drift of into daydreams, same with music. My dd5.5 used to leap around the room but now mostly he just listens. Ds3.5 has always been good at listening but plays while I am reading to his brother.

Don't know who they are but I have a feeling I got an email from knowledge quest about sacajawea a couple of days ago. Eta. I am from the other side of the world.

Sounds like he can do most of the k stuff.

I can't start home schooling for financial reasons. Can't afford to pay private childcare while I work and can't afford to live if I don't work. Have you talked to him? If you explained to him the options and trialled them for six months? Could he go to someone else/the library/afterschool activities for part of the time you work. Eg if you could do a 2 - 4pm start he could work alone for a couple of hours in the morning, do a couple of hours with you then get dropped off somewhere for your husband to pick up. I assume you and your husband have seen a budget type person? Hope it works out.

I think you can't win and you will just have to do the best you can. But you could tell YE people to skip the first class and give them the pictures to show to their kids at home and explain however they like. Otherwise the these are the oldest paintings known and they are so old we don't have exact dates might be fine if the kids aren't too old. If they are older one is bound to say that their encyclopedia says etc.

I have read prolifically for almost 40 years and am quite capable of comphrehending complex texts and instructions. I can't read a chapter of my sons bedtime story without substituting at least on word a page and at least once a chapter I have to go back to the beginning of a sentence and read it again. If I was reading to myself though I would just correct mentally. My ds5.5 does the same thing as your children and it does seem to start when they become fluent. My main concern is that it will be used to stop him progressing (it was briefly last year I think). I think I will do some test practice before he goes back to school. Eta. Have you noticed that sometimes what they do is correct the text?

I think the concensus is that provided you clean them well nothing bad will happen by April.

I remember being told that in karate you need speed,power and accuracy, BUT; First you work on the accuracy, the speed and power will come in their own time with practice and experience.:-)

Can she find a challenge outside school? Or could you get her a super boring job that suits her current qualifications for the holidays. 16 months of boredom now beats a lifetime of boredom.

I now have a kindle. Yay. Am I alone in preferring the first edition though?

If my son does piano at school it is $120 for a 10 week term. I think that is subsidised and is for 20 mins a week but it might be 30 mins.

My son told his church creche teacher (at 4) that God must be dead because he couldn't see him. At least it shows she thinks and doesn't just go with the flow.

I agree with the others - there should be a policy for children affected by illness etc. If there isn't then they need to write one now.

I got one for Christmas. Our libraries use a different format but I haven't worked out the conversion yet but I am told it can be done. I was wondering the other day if their has been a revival in classics reading. I haven't bought anything yet but I think I might ask for amazon giftcards for my birthday. I love knowing I will have lots of reading choice wherever I am though. No more boring waits - though my phone is good.

Maybe the other children have not been in as much trouble previously as your son.

I don't know whether it is the same over there but here people have been over a number of generations taught to leave it to the school. The teachers do not want you to teach your kids - just help fundraise (they do have parent helps but if you work this is not an option) or provide transport for field trips. We don't have textbooks even so all I know about school is what my child remembers or the teacher chooses to tell me. We were also taught as children not to question the teacher. Is it really surprising that a busy and perhaps not very well educated parent would leave it to the school?

Would he understand if you explained that he is older than his years and he should treat other kids his age more like he treats his little sister? My ds3.5 has always referred to kids only a few months older than himself as babies. He went through a stage at about 12 months when he attacked everybody but it eased off when he could walk competantly. He does get worse when he is ready for a developmental step up though.

Me too. I don't know any Canadian history but I can often find typos.

Thanks to all. I think it is just a bit hard for me to just wait until there is a problem before dealing with it. I do not have fond memories of school - I think I spent a lot of the time reading while waiting for others to finish. At least my son seems to have inherited his fathers sports abilities rather than mine. happy new year

My ds5.5 likes them. He reads them on an ereader that is more like a VERY basic tablet. I didn't use them until he was in the early reading stage - knew all letters and sounds plus basic sight words. He had been at school about 6 months. I can't remember offhand but I don't think the child is supposed to read more than the words made up of the letters that have been covered - you read the rest.

At school ds5.5 does a row each of the capital letter and the lower case letter then a short made up sentence using as many of the letter as the teacher can manage. His handwriting has improved but it would have anyway probably.

With half days it should be easier, I find it hard to fit round full days so a lot of it is oral while we are doing something else. Alternating mornings and afternoons seems a bit like "a worst of both worlds" situation for working parents though.

Lots of things are available as PDFs. MM you have but also Miquon and other maths stuff. Prufrock press have a lot of their logic stuff on line, peace hill press if you want SOTW or WWE etc. I have expedition earth from knowledge quest and map trek. Their is a list somewhere if you can work out the search. Oh and Mr Q science, progressive phonics.

Lots of people plateau just before a rapid improvement too. My son was stalled at school while going through a rapid expansion at home. I think he got sloppy during the tests because he wasn't paying attention. Then he suddenly jumped up at school again.