My 9yo started taking Tae Kwon Do lessons when he was 7 and I think that's a great time. I've watched many classes at the school and around 6 or 7 is when they can really start to pay attention in class and truly participate. The ones that are 5 and under usually have a bad case of the wiggles and giggles. But there are exceptions. My son loves it and I would describe him as 'driven'. He will probably receive his black belt when he's 10 and begin teaching classes. My oldest daughter is 3 months away from her black belt, however, she didn't start taking lessons until she was 14 (she's 17 now).

It would depend on whether or not your Kindergartener has any fine motor skills issues. When I used it for my 9 year old when he was in Kindergarten, I just bought the workbook and the slate w/ chalk set and it was plenty. When I used it with my now 14yo and my 6yo, who both have special needs, I bought the music tape, the teacher's manual, the wooden shapes, the flip crayons and the short pencils...because they needed more help with learning how to write.

I have two high school students and they're as different as night and day!! My oldest (17yo senior) is a procrastinator and I have to check with her quite often to see that she's doing what needs to be done (and the only subject she's learning at home is math!). But when it comes to her community college classes, she's on the ball. She's about to start her 5th semester and she's made all B's, except for 1 A and 1 C. My other high schooler (14yo freshman) is a very diligent student but easily overwhelmed (he also has special needs). If he doesn't get something, he always comes to me and asks for help or further explanations, etc. I very rarely have to check on him because he does what he's supposed to do. I guess it comes down to their own personalities. My oldest daughter puts things off until the last possible minute, whereas my oldest son would rather work now and get it done so he can relax.

Too funny!!!! :lol:

Right now, Math-U-See goes through Precalculus, and someone posted on the high school board the other day an announcement that MUS will put out a Calculus text next year. My 14yo son has been using Teaching Textbooks, but I just purchased Chalkdust for him, as he would rather see the teacher than hear a disembodied voice. We'll see how it goes once it arrives! (I figure that I'll give it a whirl. If he doesn't like it, he can continue with TT and I'll then have Chalkdust to use with my 9yo son when he's ready, because he's my math and science boy!)

Thank you sooo much for the Prealgebra ISBN numbers!!!! I already ordered a complete set -- $88 including shipping!!! :w00t: I'm so thrilled!!!! I'm hoping you can find the ones for Algebra I, too!!

I would say that TT puts a lot of review into the beginning of their programs (I've also used them for my older two from Prealgebra up). The first 30 lessons or so of TT was pure review for my 9yo and that made it easier for him to make the transition. I know that their sequence is a little different in the upper level maths (topics introduced later than is 'usual'). But I love TT because math was my worst subject in school and I love the fact that the solutions are there for every problem -- this is especially important to me at the high school level. And, because I own all the TT books from Prealgebra through Precalculus, I know that I plan to keep my 9yo in TT all the way through high school, so I went ahead and transitioned him in, once I saw that TT Math 5 had plenty of review. He was able to jump in and get his feet wet, so to speak, before new topics were introduced.

My oldest (17yo) helped me to take down the Christmas tree and all the decorations; so it's all put away for next year! She's now off to play X-box. My 14yo and 9yo have been playing Candyland and Chutes and Ladders with the 6yo for at least an hour! -- How sweet is that?? :) I'm just about to fix lunch. Then I'll put the 6yo on the computer and the boys are going to play out in the woods, since it's such a nice day out!! I think they're enjoying the break!! We're homeschooling again on Monday and my oldest goes back to the community college on the 12th.

PE is outsourced here. Tae Kwon Do for the 17yo and 9yo; Baseball for the 14yo and the 6yo. The boys (14yo and 9yo) are in an art co-op with our local homeschool group, but it's only once a month, so we still do art as a homeschool subject -- the group is just for fun and a chance for them to learn from an actual artist. My 17yo takes classes at the community college also. She started this during her junior year; she's now a senior.

I'm switching my youngest (almost 7yo 1st grader) from Explode the Code to Modern Curriculum Press phonics workbooks because she loves color (the black and white pages of ETC just weren't doing it for her!). We're starting with the K book, just for review purposes, and then moving on to book A. Nothing is changing for my boys. My oldest dd (17yo 12th grader) starts her next semester at the community college in two weeks and she now has a driver's license!!! :w00t: So the big thing for me is that I won't be leaving the house two days a week to drive her to school and pick her up!!! So that will allow my schedule to relax and I can spend more time homeschooling my younger three!

My 4th grader is also using TT Math 5 and we've been quite pleased! (We used BJU math prior to this and he went from BJU 3 into TT Math 5 without a problem). My son loves the fact that there's no writing involved!! He keeps a notebook next to the keyboard, to use as scratch paper to work out problems if he needs to, but all the answers are typed into the computer and that's a real plus for him! I haven't seen Math Matters, but TT is working out beautifully so far!

My 17yo dd has the following: A Zune (she bought this with her own money) A cellphone (we bought her one when she started babysitting at 14) A computer (it was my husband's computer; when he bought a new one for his business, we gave her the old one) An X-Box 360 (we bought this for her this Christmas) My 14yo ds has the following: A cellphone (we bought this for him this Christmas, as he has started babysitting for us when our oldest isn't available) A PSP (we bought this for him last Christmas; he really only plays it in the car, esp. for longer car trips) A Playstation 2 (he bought this with his own money) He doesn't have his own computer. He uses the family computer, which is in the school room, and shares it with his two younger siblings. We also have a Wii that we bought last Christmas, and that's in the basement and all the kids (and sometimes mom & dad, too!) play with it. My 9yo ds has a Nintendo DS that we bought him 2 years ago for his birthday. And my 6yo dd has a Leapster 2 that we just bought her this Christmas. The TV question! All 4 kids have a TV in their room, but no reception! They each have DVD players (and the older 2 have game systems in their rooms that are hooked up to it). The only TV that actually airs television is in the family room and we all have to share it.

My parents are both deceased, but here's a little bit about both of their academic backgrounds. My father was born in 1918 and raised in rural Kentucky. He attended a one-room schoolhouse (and his mother, my grandmother, was the teacher!). He attended school several months per year (when there wasn't work to do on the farm) and he 'graduated' in 8th grade. Yet my father was able to help me with my algebra and geometry homework when I was in high school! He never studied Latin. My mother was born in 1923 and graduated from an all-girls private high school and she was required to take Latin all 4 years. I remember finding her yearbook and her best friend had written, "Latin is a dead language, that's plain enough to see. First it killed off all the Romans, and now it's killing me!" And I remember thinking that saying was just hysterical when I was a kid! :D

We always take our family vacation in early October. We usually go to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and it's still fairly warm (70's-80's) and you can still go to the beach without freezing. This past October, we rented a 4br oceanfront condo in a building with an indoor pool for an entire week for $500. We brought our own food and linens, etc. and ate most of our meals in, except for a few times that we went out to eat. All the restaurants and attractions are still open and it's not crowded at all.

We always take ours down New Year's Eve.

Not shopping tomorrow (it's our family Christmas get-together at my SIL's house), but we'll definitely be there on Saturday!! Grandma sent the kids some Christmas money and they can't wait to spend it!

No losers here, but these are the big favorites around here! Me - A set of Calphalon cookware!!! :w00t: DH - New golf balls, tees, glove, etc. for the upcoming season 17yo dd - A docking station for her Zune 14yo ds - Lasertag 9yo ds - Lego City Police Station 6yo dd - Leapster 2 with Dora and Finding Nemo games

Does she like music? I was thinking something like a Zune or an Ipod. Then she could have the fun of downloading her favorite music and / or videos. Or a digital camera? Those have really come down in price these days!! (I'd also give it to her Christmas Eve so she could take pictures of the family during the celebrations!) Jigsaw puzzles are an excellent idea! Or a board game -- my 17yo dd loves Pictionary and Scrabble.

:grouphug: My 1st grader is struggling through the 1st set of Bob Books, so I can completely relate!!

This is terrific!!!! Thanks for posting it!!! (My 14yo and 6yo both have autism)

Same here!!! Christmas and birthdays are the only time we buy them toys / games / puzzles / books, etc. (except for school-related books / curriculum, of course). Therefore, my kids usually have a fairly large Christmas!

This is a definite possibility!!! My oldest did this once, when she was 14. We weren't aware of it, but one of her girlfriends was a cutter and my daughter tried it, to see 'what it was like'. We were absolutely terrified, and my daughter was horrified afterward. We did take her to a psychiatrist, just to make sure there wasn't anything more to it than that. She met with him weekly for a couple of months, and he reassured us that she was fine and that, sometimes, such experimentation is a part of growing up (just as some kids experiment with drugs or alcohol or smoking, etc.). We did feel that she needed a positive outlet for her energy and that's when she started taking Tae Kwon Do. That gave her confidence and an increased respect for herself and others. We never had another cutting incident and it's been over three years since it happened...and my daughter is 3 months away from receiving her Black belt! But I do strongly recommend taking her to talk to someone about it. :grouphug: Please keep us updated.

WOW!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!! :party:

When we were paying for our OT, it was $75 per session (50 minutes). My dd now receives OT with the public school system, even though she's homeschooled, so it doesn't cost us anything.

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