Hello all!! I have 13-year-old 7th grader that works hard and does well in school. She does, however, struggle with mild dyslexia. I have not had her tested, but I plan on getting her tested this year. If they say that she is dyslexic and needs extra test time how long can I use the assessment? Do I have 2 year, 3, 4 from the time that she is tested until when she takes the ACT/SAT? Thanks so much!!

That is a good idea. I will work on doing that. I think wording it that way will help tremendously.

That makes me feel so much better. You know, the mom thing is hard, especially the homeschool mom thing. I am glad to know that I am not the only mom who is pushing and prodding and she is not the only kid dragging her feet. Lol.

Ok, moms and dads!! What do expect of your child that will be a senior in high school? My daughter is almost 18 and I am wondering if I am expecting too much of her. I expect her to handle life except payment of activities and a little help navigating college admissions. The college admissions are hard for me, so I know it will be a little over her head. She is applying to the school of music at several schools, so it is a lot of extra stuff. She has everything done for the silver Congressional Award, but I can't get her to finish the write up. I feel like she is old enough now to decide if she wants to put forth the effort. I have been pushing her to finish a math class (as her "teacher" I feel justified in pushing for her to do her math), but I think the rest is her responsibility at this point. She handles her own piano business. I try to get her to focus on cashing checks and putting money in the bank once a month or so, but otherwise I leave it up to her. She is my oldest and I feel like I have always expected a lot out of her, but at the same time I want her to be able to handle life. She has struggled some with social anxiety, so sometimes she expects me to handle things for her. I don't want to leave her alone in the cold, but at the same time I don't want her to get to college and feel unprepared because I did too much for her. There is such a fine line. Any thoughts out there?

Thank you for everyone sharing their curriculums. It helps me to see what is out there!! I could never do all the research myself and when I see what you have it helps find new ways to learn!! This is my hard working kid. She is so sweet and dear. Reading and writing have never been easy for her, but she gives it her all! Reading-- She loves to read Warrior Cats with her 10-year-old sister, but I always have her read about 20 minutes a day some sort of "finer" literature book. Next year with our study of the Medieval time period we will do books like The Samurai's Tale, The Shakespeare Stealer, and A Door in the Wall. I also like Reading Detective for this kiddo. It teaches her test-taking skills which I don't love, but are necessary. Writing and Grammar-- Wordly Wise, Writing and Rhetoric, Sequential Spelling (being dyslexic this is one of the hardest things for her, so we will keep on working on spelling), Grammar Town (I love this series), and probably a few other things to work on grammar. We may start Caesar's English... Science-- I know that we will continue with History of Science and do some Anatomy. We will see what else after that. I like to keep science fun for as long as possible. History-- Story of the World Middle Ages-- use a lot of books and maybe do a little From Adam to Us. Math-- Pre-Algebra Spanish-- Rockalingua and my own mixture of different books and worksheets. We may even start some real Spanish grammar next year! A little bit of Logic, sewing, adulting, dancing, choir, and she and the 10-year-old love acting classes. I have joined a co-op for the first time ever. It is a short easy-going fun every other Friday affair.

I agree. I really like Notgrass.

This is my baby and it's killing me that I only have 8 more years until they are all gone. Math-- Last year of Math Mammoth. I changed my older daughter to Mastering Essential Math Skills for 6th grade and she likes it so much better than Math Mammoth, so I will do the same with this not math-loving kid. We also supplement with Beast Academy and Reflex math. She still struggles with some of the memorized facts, but gets most concepts really well. Geography-- Where in the World game. They love it and it makes it easy for me. We also play Stack the States and Stack the Countries. English-- MCT Grammar Town (We did Grammar Island this past year and it is so good and teaching basic grammar.) Writing and Rhetoric 4, Editor in Chief for review, Sequential Spelling (which I highly recommend-- cheap and easy), Wordly Wise, and Reading Detective. Tons of books that she reads alone, audio books, and read alouds. History-- Story of the World 2 in the car. We add tons of medieval literature and biographies that are available. This is my favorite subject, so we discuss current events and have discussions around the dinner table. Science-- We have loved A History of Science. We also add some Anatomy Coloring, different units about weather and such that I like to throw in. Not my strong suit, but the history part is very appealing to me, so it works better for us. Spanish-- I love Rockalingua!! I was/am a Spanish teacher and this website is so awesome. I also use various materials that I have from my teaching days. En Vivo is also a really good workbook. Chinese-- I need help with this! She loves to learn it, but all I have right now is Duolingo. Any recommendations? I want to get her to know enough to use a tutor on italki. Choir, horseback riding, acting class, and piano as her extra-curriculars.

Are you hosting the student from Turkey through Rotary also?

I run short-term exchange student programs and oversee year-long students. I have hosted 12 people short-term and been over about 100 kids and adults. I think for someone with the time to put into the exchange, that year-long exchanges can be incredibly rewarding. I have not year done a semester or year-long exchange. I may do it after my older 2 kids graduate and go off to college and then again I may not. I take things year by year and with a senior next year, I don't think I can. An exchange student, though independent in so many ways, is like having another child. You have to give hugs, encouragement, help with homework, carpools, parties, and all the rest. It is a big commitment. If you feel like you can incorporate another child into your family then I would say-- do it!! Make sure you carefully pick out the student. Find a coordinator that will go through your application and the child's application and see if it will be a good fit. It may not always be a good fit. I have had kids that fit into my family as if they were one of my own. I have had kids that I have had to work hard with to make sure they felt like part of the family. I have never had a bad exchange, but I have only hosted for a maximum of 6 weeks. I have had kids I oversee not work out with their host families. This year though, I have had 2 very successful year-long exchanges where the students don't want to go home and their host families adore them. I just finished a 3-week exchange where I had 9 kids come from Germany and hang out with host families and attend a local school for 7 days. It was a wonderful program and I would say that there was only one student that was "negative" in the group. The host family has hosted before and was not deterred from hosting again because this one young lady was a little negative. I love to host in the summer when we have all the time in the world to play and have fun. My oldest daughter was able to visit one of our exchange students last summer in Germany. It was nice for her to see the German culture from that perspective. If you are able to find someone that does short-term exchanges I would say to start there and then if your family loves that experience then definitely do a long-term exchange!

We took it on the 13th. She got a 31. My question for all you veterans is (this is my oldest)— do we focus on the ACT and bringing her score up or do we also take the SAT? She had a perfect score in the reading section and a 35 on the grammar. Her math and science are the ones we would like to bring up and I’ve heard that’s easier than the English section. Thanks!!!

For those of you using Megawords curriculum... Do I need the teacher and student guide? Can I get by without the teacher's guide?

I know that this has been thoroughly discussed but I wanted to get insight into other wonderful curriculums or websites that I have missed out on. I was doing some Spanish work with my kids today and thinking I love the Rockalingua website. My kids were singing entire Spanish sentences. Their accents were good! I am going to have to get a new subscription. This website has been a gem for us. Mind you, I can help them because I speak Spanish, but I think it would still be a good add-on for most homeschoolers hoping to get their kids to speak some Spanish. We have also loved Beast Academy!! We are not a math family. I have loved, however, learning the problem-solving math in Beast Academy with my kids. It has brought more confidence to both my younger kids in math. There have been some tricks that I have taught my older kids also. My oldest daughter has needed to hear a native Spanish speaker for her Spanish class and we found that very reasonably priced on italki.com. There are tutors for all ages and languages on the site, so we can also find a tutor for my younger girls when we need too. Some of my other favorites are Wordly Wise and anything by Royal Fireworks Press. What are your favorites? What should I go check on the internet??

That is so cool! Thank you!!

I am creating a course for my daughter where she can take the AP exam if she would like. I am using this book (I need to read it over the summer). Does anyone else have any books for movies that they recommend for this course? Thanks!! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312554605/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I loved Harry Potter as an adult and sharing with all my magic loving children. The Giver, Anne of Green Gables, The Princess Academy, Where the Red Fern Grows (many tears, but loved it), Amos Fortune, Series of Unfortunate Events, Tom Sawyer (as a read aloud and they laughed all the way through), Ella Enchanted, and Maniac Magee (is one of my all-time favorites). Have you tried anything by Brandon Mull? My kids LOVE him. He is fantasy and has several series out-- The Beyonders, Fablehaven, and The Candy Shop War. I love Beyonders and Fablehaven. Many noble characters in these books and you can relate the stories of heroism.

I have 2 younger girls--9 and 11 and then 2 older-- almost 14 and 16. So, I am looking for a range. I agree that many books are American centered. I would like to hear from voices all over. I am particularly interested in the Middle East, Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia.), and the former USSR. I like first hand or historical fiction accounts-- straight history book is a little boring for kids. There is nothing about Cambodia and Pol Pot for children-- I guess because it was genocide. There is so much about the Jewish genocide (Holocaust) in WWII though, so the subject can be breached for younger children.

Thank you so much for this. It is very helpful!!

Yes... duh. I meant 20th century. Thank you for the book. ?

I love history. I love for my kids to know and understand what the different forms of government are around the world. I like them to see how other people live. I want them to understand wars, governments, people, culture, etc.. That being said-- Where the heck are all the history books about the 20th century? There are some (plenty on the Holocaust, WWII, Segregation-- thank goodness) but some topics are almost non-existent. Anyone have any more luck? I have found the following, but I would love more ideas!!! The Wall: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain, Mao Zedong- The Rebel Who Led a Revolution (National Geographic), Breaking Stalin's Nose, Red Scarf Girl, I Am Malala, A Long Walk to Water, I Am David

I will keep you posted if it ends badly ? Here's hoping it's great!!

Thank you!! That is the kind of information I need. ?

I saw that before and wondered if my daughter would enjoy. I just bought it and am going to give it a try. ? Thanks for the extra heads up.

My daughter wants to major in music. She has had 11 years of piano, 2 years of violin, and 2 years of voice instruction. She has done theory all along but I really think a good theory class would benefit her. I am not a musical person at all (other than I appreciate it) and I am at a total loss. She says that she is not good at theory but she seems to play some hard pieces. Any advice? I don't want to break the bank either. Thank you!!

In case anyone else needed a subscription. Better deal than buying outright. https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/reflex/?source=134598