and loves to write. I'll let you know how it looks when it comes.:001_smile: It does say for gifted 3rd grade or regular 4th grade.

I thought I'd ask some questions. 1.) How many kids do you have and what are their ages? Three kids ages ds 12, ds 10, and dd (newly turned) 6 2.) What is your favorite food? Chocolate chip cookies 3.) What is your favorite movie? Gladiator 4.) Coke, Pepsi or neither? neither- milk or water 5.) What is your favorite book? I have too many to name 6.) What is your least favorite household job? Laundry 7.) What is your favorite season? Fall 8.) What is your favorite sport? To watch collegiate wrestling 9.) What is your favorite holiday?Christmas 10.) What is your least favorite store you have to shop in? Walmart

and now am using it with all 3 dc. I love the ease of use, lack of busy work, and that I don't have to purchase spelling curriculum every year for 3 kids especially when my youngest went through 3 levels in one year and seems to be a natural speller which could be frustrating with busy work and costly. All of my kids learn in a different way and I am always able to find a method or game that works.

I think it is important in any learning situation to have a personality/teaching style fit between the child and the teacher. My dd took for a very short time (between "real" teachers) with a different violin teacher who was a "pushover" with her and allowed dd to run the show...it was disasterous technique-wise and as a non-player I didn't realize the problem until she began lessons with her current teacher. This teacher's personality and teaching style fit my dd perfectly. She knows when to be tough and when to relax and dd just soars under her instruction. Another thing that I never thought of when first looking for a teacher was to observe how her "top" students play. I would suggest observing another child's lesson or listening to a recital given by her students or just talking to parents of her current students.

right now. My kids have been hiking, rock climbing, rappelling, white water rafting, camping, and horseback riding, not to mention seeing beautiful sights, keeping journals, spending lots of quality family time, and learning a lot from ranger talks, etc... At home they wrestle, do judo, take their respective music lessons and practice daily 1-3 hours depending on the child and the day, wood working, etc... They are rarely not busy doing something whether it is schoolwork or following their own interests.

Saxon math- After starting with Saxon and trying numerous other programs including Singapore, Miquon, and MUS, I always end up back with Saxon. It is not always a good fit and I need to tweak it now and then but it is a good, solid program. Lightning Literature- This is the literature course I had been trying to put together on my own. Now I have a lot less work to do. Spelling Power- 1 book, 3 kids, and many years of homeschooling. Yeah!!

:grouphug: What an awful experience. At least he's okay.

Hi, my name is Donna and I, too, am a curriculum buying addict.

"P.S. I Love You" and thought it was good. I can't think of a favorite at the moment.

and I don't iron unless absolutely necessary (as in, I purchased something that needs ironing by mistake).

when they hit certain milestones. I was reading the books "The Wonder of Girls" and "The Wonder of Boys" and in both the author recommends having special rituals for kids when they hit certain age or maturity milestones (like start of period in girls- author talked about someone taking their 12yog to the beach with her aunt and presenting her with symbolic gifts to "celebrate" her becoming a young woman or something special you do when kids are old enough to be confirmed into the church, etc...). I was just wondering if others do these types of things and wanted some creative ideas for making certain times in my kids lives more special. Thanks!

She is reading the Junior Great Books and we discuss them together. There is no group near us and I don't really have the time to start one though it does sound like a great idea. I will look into the other books you suggested.

My kids have always used Saxon from Saxon 1 through where they are now (12b on Alg. 2, 10b Saxon 87, and 6g Saxon 3). Oldest scored high enough to be accepted by Johns Hopkins CTY and youngest scored above the 99.9% in math compared to other kids her age/grade. I have not had middle ds tested because I know he does not test well though he easily completes all his math work and rarely gets a problem wrong. I know if I were to test him, it would have to be of material he is covering at the moment. A standardized test would not show what he can do or what he knows. If he were to take a test on material lower than where he is working, he would overthink or would forget the information covered years ago. Maybe a review of 4th grade material prior to testing would have helped your ds. (I know math through Calc but I would have to review Geometry which I hadn't done in years before being able to teach it to my ds.) Maybe he would have done better on a higher level test or maybe he just doesn't test well. Was the testing given at home or taken somewhere other than home? Was he nervous about testing or did he not take it seriously enough? Was it a matter of not doing enough in the time prescribed or did he make silly mistakes because he didn't check his work? There are so many possible answers.

Maybe give her every other day with you close by (within hearing range) but not actively supervising practice. Or give her some part of her practice to have control over (like her review pieces or trouble spots on her new pieces or whatever area of practice you feel most comfortable with). My dd (will be 6yo tomorrow and has 2 more songs in Book 2 plus takes Celtic fiddle lessons with a different teacher) has been playing since she was 3yo and for the past 6 months has shown interest in practicing on her own now and then. I allow her to practice some on her own when she asks- it is usually only once a week at the most at this point. We write out a list of what she needs to accomplish (together chose focus points for review pieces, discuss sections of a working piece to practice prior to play through, etc...) then I sit close by and listen/watch without making comments. After her session, we discuss what she thought went well and what she might think more about during the next session (she usually knows what she needs more work on). She does have a better ear than I do (her fiddle teacher says she has the best ear of any musician she has ever known) and will even tell me if one of her strings is the slightest bit off plus her technique, for the most part is fairly solid. I don't know if I could do these type of sessions with her if she didn't "hear" slightly out of tune scales or arpeggios or if she needed constant reminders to keep her left wrist straight or to fix some other technical issue. As it is, these "independent" practices often end up being some of her most motivated practices and give her more motivation to work harder on days when we practice alone. Doing them now and then help to keep practice varied and fun. I imagine as she gets older, she will want to practice more and more on her own and we will assess her readiness to take over different areas as the need arises. Good Luck.

academically. There are many average to slightly above average children, who with lots of adult scaffolding, could easily work ahead academically. Sometimes the gifted child isn't ahead academically at all. Giftedness is more in the way they process inputs and make connections that are more mature than other children their age. One example, the smart child can learn to read when taught at 4yo but the gifted child does it seemingly out of nowhere deciphering phonics beyond what was taught. (Disclaimer...this is just one example and certainly doesn't pertain to all gifted children.) Check out http://www.hoagiesgifted.com for a lot of good information on gifted children. Also, I think this list is for parents of accelerated children because no testing is necessary to determine if a child is an accelerated learner or not.

I am wondering if anyone knows of a literature program (similar to Lightning Literature) for a younger child. My dd (will be 6 next week) loves to discuss what she has read and loves to write. She writes/spells very well though we need to work a bit on grammar which I am going to attend to in the coming months. I have been putting it off in favor of letting her creativity lead her. I was looking through Rainbow Resources' catalog and there are so many choices for writing and literature programs, I don't know which would be best. I have also seen the little booklets/study guides written for separate books but the cost of those for even half the books she reads would be overwhelming plus she goes through books too quickly to even use half the material in those guides. I just started using Lightning Literature with my oldest last year and I love it and think it would be perfect for dd with just a slightly different choice of books. She has read through the Little House books, The Hobbit, a few of the Narnia books, and now is reading The Secret Garden (not an abridged version) so that is about her reading level. I know I could put together something myself based on books she finds of interest but homeschooling 3 kids, I would love to find something less work intensive for myself. Thanks.

to Sunday School unlike the majority of people in my church who didn't mind their children crying as they left or had children who were comfortable without their parents for that short time. Each of my boys decided they would like to join other children when they were 2yo. My dd, who is more of an I than an E, initially decided at 4yo to join Sunday School then was ostracized by two little girls because she "didn't go to their school." She decided to come sit with me in church and color for another year then rejoined Sunday School... one day just told me she was ready.

I work Thursdays and Fridays (about 15 hours total). My dh school the kids on Thursdays and Fridays is catchup/personal interest day. With my job I can set my hours or change days as needed since I make my own schedule. It is a very ideal position.

9yo cat black, hence the name...Shadow. 2yo Toy Fox terrier...Tinkerbell or Tinks for short(dd was in the princess phase when we got her) rabbits...Peter (not, Peter Rabbit...Peter Pan) and Toki (Korean for rabbit...kids do taekwondo)

The Usbourne Book of Children's Poetry and A Family of Poems by Caroline Kennedy. My boys would vote for any of Shel Silverstein's Poetry books.

I started homeschooling 7 years ago with SWO but ds went through it too quickly, hated having to learn words he already knew, and the vocabulary and other exercises were just ridiculous because he knew the meanings for all the words he was trying to spell since his spelling level was below his reading comprehension level which was very accelerated for his age. I hated having to buy a new workbook for every level. I have been using Spelling Power for the past 5 years and just started using it with my 3rd child. I love that I have spent money on one thing I can use for all 3 kids for all their homeschooling spelling needs. I add in words they spell incorrectly in their writings and do separate vocabulary program with words on their reading level (their reading levels are higher than their spelling levels at this point). My kids love being able to pretest and only needing to study 1-3 words a day. The techniques work and their spelling improves every year.

This is what works for us... We school Sept-May/June 4 days a week (Mon-Thurs). Fridays are for anything missed, extras the kids want to do like hobbies, field trips, etc... Our days are a little strange because of music lessons and sports practices intermingled on certain days. My boys are older and fairly independent so I won't go into their school schedule except to day that they usually "do school" from 9am-noon/1 pm. My dd's schedule is very flexible as I follow her interests but she is a motivated kid and generally does schoolwork on a self-imposed schedule... 8:30-9am Computer time-Rosetta Stone Spanish/Music Ace 9-10:30am math/spelling/she reads to me and I do read aloud for her 10:30-11:30/12- violin practice Lunch Playtime until 1:30/2pm 2-3pm- fiddle practice Playtime the rest of the day This is just an idea of a day for her though the times vary. The only thing that stays the same or increases is the amount of time she practices her instrument. Some days she plays her violin all day long, other days she reads most of the day not doing any math or does math most of the day with little reading. Now she will join in on science or history with the boys when she wants but in Sept. she will do about a half hour of history/science on alternating days. I forgot to add...in summers we school 3 days a week. We catch up on history or science if needed, or do unit studies on subjects of interest. Math continues to prevent loss of skills and the kids are required to read daily. We take week breaks here and there like around Christmas, during vacation (though we often take work with us depending on where we are going), or when we just need a break.

"The Art of Mathematics" by Jerry P.King. If your son loves to read and reads at an advanced level, he may find it interesting. Otherwise, you might find it an interesting read and relate the information to him.

Their father is and their poppop isn't. Neither is their uncle. According to my father, once they grown...the skin stays back and it doesn't look that much different. (I have never looked so will have to take his word for it.)

They have yet to meet and make friends because of academic similarities though. Their friends tend to be made through their extracurricular activities like sports, taekwondo, music, etc... or neighborhood kids. They will play with anyone and always find some way to get along. They have even been known to make friends with kids who don't even speak English while camping at a campground with a lot of French speaking Canadians.