Ahhhh!!!! I'm so happy to hear I'm not alone in this. Both DD's have memorized the entire Frozen movie and sing the songs several times a day. Now I'm singing the songs too; I can't get them out of my head. I think it's brilliant that your DD is singing them backwards :) This obsession did recently come in handy when DD11 was casted as Beatrice in "Much Ado About Nothing". Although she desperately wanted the part and did beautifully in the audition, she was in a panic about not being able to memorize the lines, or forget them on stage, etc. To which I happily pointed out: "how long did it take you to memorize all the songs from Frozen?". Her reply - "good point, mom". :D

DD's levels of Reading and Comprehension are much higher than writing skills at this point. We are going through some great Literature at a pretty fast pace and I want to make sure I'm helping her get the most out of it and we are going deep enough. What is an appropriate level of discussion and reasoning output that I could expect from an 11 yo. Usually we start with her sumarizing, then we go into deeper questions about theme and character development. We compare characters to other books, I ask about challenges the characters face, lessons learned, etc. Right now is mostly me asking questions; how do I evolve into more of a debate and encourage her to disagree with me, express her own ideas and opinions more freely? I hope this makes sense. Am I doing it right? Any resources you can share?

This is our first course but this is what we are doing. 1. Textbook Problems on her own 2. Exercises on her own, she checks her own answers. 3. On two chapters, we needed more reinforcement, so we watched the videos. 4. We did 1 or 2 of the Review Problems from each Chapter per week.

I feel your pain! English is not even my first language so dd runs circles around me when it comes to grammar. :)

We are new in our neighborhood, so this morning we walked over to the house across the street to introduce ourselves and bring them warm cinnamon rolls. Our neighbor, who is a retired teacher was initially friendly. After she found our we homeschool she mostly ignored me and continued to talk only with dd. She "casually" asked her to spell several words in conversation and asked her about her subjects and how much time she was spending on each. I felt like she was assessing dd. Although I've received questions on homeschooling before, I always accept them as general curiosity and perhaps lack of information from the other party. But today felt plain weird.

Another person's situation may seem priviledged on the surface, but who are we to judge what this girl is or isn't entitled to struggle with? Wealthy people, educated people, those who are perceived as fortunate don't often have the rose colored life everyone else thinks they have. Just like anyone else, they have the right to grieve for whatever they feel they lost or traded for their "good fortune". The magnitude of our own problems doesn't make others' less relevant. 8, thank you so much for sharing this story. This is something that I constantly think about with my own dd. Having limited experience, I look to other families I know to get a sense of balance in my own life, reflect on my priorities, etc.

Do you mean the SCAT? They test a 5th grader with 8th grade material. The results don't provide much information or breakdown, except what percentile she falls on when compared to 8th graders nationally. At least that's how I understand it. What information does EXPLORE report back to the parents?

DD11 (5th Grade) took the SCAT through CTY in September, and I just had her retake it, as she was super-close to the cutoff for their Summer programs, and there was one she was very interested in. I'm puzzled that her scores were essentially the same, since I feel there's a huge difference in math skills from Sept to now. Things like decimals, fractions, percentages, etc. are all mastered now and she didn't have at all before. I was expecting verbal to not have much of a change, but math to go up for sure. I have to admit I find the format of the questions / answer choices a bit strange. Have any of you ladies had a similar experience with the SCAT? I'm really curious as to the lack of change in the math portion. What test do you like for above grade level assessment? My reason for testing her is to motivate her, help her feel rewarded for hard work, and also to better help me plan for next year. Before this she had only taken grade level tests (ITBS, GA CRCT) whis is no longer helpful at grade level. I'm wondering if it would be helpful to order the ITBS two or three grade levels above? My current state requires me to test and I'd rather it be useful for planning as well.

I appreciate all of your responses. Having had positive experiences with the top school grads I have come across (I hate calling them elite schools) it's difficult for me to reconcile the notion of an overworked, lifeless kid who has only been finessed to look great on paper, with the examples I have met. On the other hand, I am very close with a teen who floundered in a small state uni that was not a good academic fit. There are stories of both positive and negative outcomes from all kinds of schools. This is a girl who could have easily gone to a top 30 college, but decided (or parents may have decided) to stay close instead, and is now headed back home, unhappy, after Freshman year. While I understand that there is more than one school that may be a great fit for one particular kid, I also think there is a risk in not choosing a place that is challenging enough. I'd love to believe that any child can land in any school that is below his academic level and make the best of the opportunitites he's given there, but I think that depends largely on how wide the gap is, the student's personality, his/her upbringing. When dd first said to me: "I want to go to XYZ college", my first question was: "Why?" and she told me she just wants to go to college with people like her. (She was misunderstood in PS. Not one of her friends liked math, or homework, they thought she was weird.) Whether she ends up in XYZ or another place is not as important to me as making sure she ends up in a group of like-minded peers, because she's right. Thank you for answering my original question, and offering words of comfort and reassurance. It turns out curriculum decisions were the easy part, the guidance counselor hat, not so much :)

This is very interesting. I'm curious to hear more about the kids you've met who've had no clear focus after attending an Ivy. Can you tell me more? My exposure to Ivy grads mainly comes from my sister's classmates, whom I've spent time with regularly as I visit her often. I think they are wonderful! At least the 6 or so that I've met, all genuinely have a passion for medicine, and are interesting people of good character that I'm honored to consider my friends. With the exception of my sister and my sister's boyfriend, the rest went to Ivies or top 10 schools. My sister and her boyfriend are the two in that group who went to state schools.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful insight. You have given me so much to think about from both sides of the equation. Besides reading to her every day from her birth and chatting with her constantly, any success she has had with academics has been natural and self driven. I have never completed any IQ or psychological testing (should I?). All we really know is she is a self starter when it comes to learning and she'd score in the 99th percentile in yearly competency tests (which I know is not that exceptional when you compare her to some of the kids in the accelerated learner board, we are talking about grade level tests from the PS here). Honestly when she was in K and First Grade I thought: "so she is an early reader and she is good at math, that will probably even out with the other kids later on"; I didn't give it too much thought. Now that we are at home and she is comfortably working 2-3 grade levels above, I'm starting to think more about her path and how I can make sure I can provide her with what she needs. You read my mind!! She falls asleep at the snap of her fingers and I'm left tossing and turning until the wee hours thinking about her aspirations. :) Amazing! Thank you for sharing your inspirational story. I'm always in awe of people who find their passion early in life, as I was a late bloomer myself. I fear the day that she is going to have to go away. We have a very easy relationship and I would much rather have her stay close to me, but she has been saying since she was in second grade that she is not staying in the same state for college. She has always been independent and if she has a change of heart and stays home I will be very surprised. You couldn't have said it better. This rings so familiar and I'm so glad you shared a little about your son; maybe I'm not as alone as I thought. :) . DD is responsible and driven in her academics. She's such a fast learner, it doesn't take more work for her to grasp math and science concepts; she has so much information stored up in her little brain. She is brilliant chatting with other kids and with adults alike, but her room is an utter disaster, she is singing, climbing trees, scattered. She is distracted to the extent I think sometimes she is going to float away on a cloud. Thank you so much! This is so helpful!

Thank you so much for your insight, ladies. Being at home this year has been a blessing academically but also has brought this awareness about who she truly is. Before when she was in school we were both in auto pilot. Now that I have her at home and we talk all day long, these dreams have come to the surface. I want to get to know her well and guide her well. That was exactly my concern. I wanted to pull from you ladies on how to have that conversation with your children. We chatted this morning about substituting the dream of going to a particular school, with the dream of going to the best school she can get into for the career she wants. Thank you for sending me in the direction of the Accelerated Board. Since it's towards the bottom of the forums I had missed it. :) Thank you so much for recommending this. I purchased it last night and I'm a couple of chapters in. I feel better about starting to think about these things early. Thank you for the encouragement, and congratulations on a job well done with your DC. It sounds like you guided them well to find their niche. We are just starting to discover how much fun education can truly be, more than I dreamed off when I started a few months ago. She is jumping with joy at Literature lists and her eyes sparkle when she gets a math concept. It's been a night and day difference from my worn-out fourth grader last year. This is so true. I was talking to my sister last night about her experience in med school at a top school, and that of some of her classmates. One of her classmates was an EMT, sailed halfway around the word on his own, etc. Another was in the military in Afghanistan before deciding to become a doctor. It is their drive, experiences, and life lessons that landed them there.

My oldest DD11 is in fifth grade. This is our first year homeschooling and we are both so pleased with the way things are going. In public school, she was always above grade level but not being challenged in spite of having tons of busy work. At home, she has been able to work at her level; she's sailing through pre-algebra and is right on track to start Algebra 1 in 6th Grade in August. She is also doing great on reading, having covered some classics on Ancients this year with excellent comprehension and depth. In looking forward to continuing this journey, I'm not so nervous about me being able to provide her with the education she needs, as I am on being her guidance counselor. Although I realize we have time to let her be a kid, I want to help foster her true interests and help her achieve her dreams, find her niche. I want to serve her well. She says she wants to be a chemist, and for about a year or two, she has been saying she is going to go to a specific elite school, not something that I encouraged, but something she picked up from my sister and the process of applying to different med schools. She talks to all her relatives about going to this particular school and wants me to take her for a visit. This is rather scary to me. There was nothing spectacular about my own education and I'm not knowledgeable about getting a child into a top school. I would be thrilled if she made it to the college she dreams of, as long as it is the right place for her, which I'm not even sure of. When I think about the sort of student who does well there, I imagine a child whose idea of fun is doing math problems all day, or reading all day. My daughter is bright, but although she is comfortably two grade levels ahead, if you leave her to her own devices she is perfectly happy singing, putting together theatrical plays, and doing somersaults on the couch. I feel that in a way her life was more serious in PS, she had more deadlines and had to be more responsible. She is really enjoying her new found freedom with homeschooling this year and she is more relaxed about academics. Perhaps we are going through a transition period where she's decompressing from the pressures of a stressful schooling experience? Was there a point when your kids became more proactive and independent about their academics? For those of you whose kids were aiming high from a young age, how did you talk to them about their dreams? Did you encourage them to reach for the starts or tried to have a more realistic conversation with them? What's the right way to respond to these kind of goals? She has always tested well and is currently in the John Hopkins University CTY program. We noticed that they offer the SAT in middle school. Have you had any experience with having a child take the SAT early? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? I also wonder, with those of you whose children were in a more advanced track in Math and reading, when did they take the SAT? If she continues on this path she would finish Geometry and Algebra 2 by 8th or 9th grade. Are there any disadvantages to taking the SAT that early? Are there any books on guiding academically advanced children that you've loved? Any advice or thoughts on this are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

We pulled our oldest daughter out of school last August for 5th grade, with the same fears and trepidations that you mentioned. It has been the BEST decision! She is the happiest she has ever been. I was so afraid that I wasn't going to be able to help her with math in particular, but I am doing it and falling in love with math now even though I stunk at it in high school. When my brain can't take it anymore, there are plenty of online classes, dual enrollment, and tutors available. :)

My dd (11 yo, 5th Grade) just finished the online class for Pre-Algebra 1 (the first half of the book). We went through a move out of state during this time so she has worked independently 80% of the time. She loves AOPS and I've seen her grow tremendously in the past few months in her thinking skills. She is not intimidated by reasoning or difficult problems thanks to the program. She loves the way things are explained. That being said, the class is fast-paced. While she has an excellent grasp on many of the concepts, there are a few that I just feel she needs to have more drill/ practice than what the course offers. In our case, she needs more exercises on lcm / gcd, and on linear equations. I ordered a Dolciani text today to go over those two chapters and have her do more exercises. Once we feel comfortable we will continue with AOPS and hopefully finish Pre-Algebra this schoolyear. If not, we can finish in the Fall. I ordered Jacob's Algebra for next year and I will order AOPS Intro to Algebra as well. Our plan is to use both.

I'm mostly a lurker here but I thought I'd share our plans for dd who will be a 6th grader! Where has the time gone? Math - Jacob's Algebra Science - Rainbow Science Year 1 Grammar - R&S 6 Writing - write @home online class History - Medieval / Early R. WTM Method with History: The Definitive Visual Guide Reading from WTM Lit List for 6th Spelling - on the fence. We are bored with Spelling workout this year and not sure if we should have it. Any suggestions? Latin - continue with Artes Latinae Ice skating. Drama with local group. Cooking, sewing, and art with me :)

I love this post! I have moments of panic when I wonder if what I'm doing will produce the outcome I hope for. I worry that I will not serve my kids well, that I won't help them reach their full potential. Reading your posts keeps me hopeful.

I love this post! I have moments of panic when I wonder if what I'm doing will produce the outcome I hope for. I worry that I will not serve my kids well, that I won't help them reach their full potential. Reading your posts keep me hopeful.

This is amazing! Congratulations 8! What an accomplishment! Proud mama!

Hi! We just moved to Northern Dutchess County and would love to connect with other families in the Hudson Valley area! We are brand new here and would love to make friends!

My stepdaughter is currently a Freshman at ETSU and she is miserable. She is looking at transferring to a college with a focus in the arts, primarily one with a strong dance program, a college that does not require or place emphasis on standardized test scores or academics, and one who offers scholarships / aid based on talent. She would prefer this school to be a smaller school, and be located either in the South, or NY. Any suggestions on where we should start looking? She has AMDA on her radar but I've never heard of it.

I'm no expert, as I just started homeschooling this year. :) When I first read TWTM and was first exposed to all the curriculum available to homeschooling, I wanted to do it all. But after reading avidly on these boards, and following my own motherly instincts, I now believe in a less-is-more approach to Fifth grade. My focus this year is solidifying the skills learned in the elementary grades so dd can spring forward into more serious learning in middle school. Here is what we've been doing so far: Math: 1hr, 4X per week plus she spends about an extra hour a day on Math by choice, it's her favorite subject. LA: 1/2 hr ea. for grammar and spelling, 4X per week; 1-2 hrs reading per day, including weekends) History: 3 hours a week broken into two 1.5 hour increments, following TWTM's suggestions of outlines, timeline, etc. Science: 3 hours a week broken into two 1.5 hour increments. I don't do a formal science program, just reading books on selected topics. Latin: we started with 1/2 hr per day, 4x a week but increasing it to 1hr per day by choice. Instead of a formal writing program, she writes an essay per week on either a lit book she just finished, or a science or history topic. We review and make corrections together on Fridays. Logic is done as a fun activity in her spare time, she does 3-4 logic problems per week. So in total, we are spending about 4.5 hours on work we do together, and she spends 2-3 hours a day on independent activities, like reading lit, extra math, etc. This leaves her plenty of time to play with her sister and goof off a little ;) On Fridays, My two dd's, (5th and K) attend a Fine Arts Homeschool group where they take ballet, drama, and art. Dd 10 does swimming M-Th as well. So far, this schedule has been very maneagable. Swim team is two minutes away from our home, so it doesn't cause stress.

I love looking through these old threads! They are so helpful! :)

Great thread!

Thank you, ladies. All of the friends I know IRL who have homeschooled have sent their children to a private high school for the last two to four years of their journey. My intention right now is to homeschool all the way through high school graduation, but I do worry that acceptance to a good college will be more difficult coming from a homeschooling environment. It's nice to see other homeschoolers with real stories of college acceptance and success.