I agree that they can't be too young to be taught if they want to learn...anything, really. My DD13 was 15 months when she and I 'played' with her letters and she began to repeat after me and within 2 days she knew all letters capital and lowercase by memory. I never pushed her but she taught herself to read by 3 as well. She is a very veracious reader still and the only thing I have a problem with is that she has usually outpaced what is appropriate for her to read. We get around it somehow, but I never withhold an opportunity to learn when they are reaching.

My kids are 11 and 13 and just really dislike being read to. Both are veracious readers and read many books per week outside of schoolwork. But we stopped reading to them about 4 years ago after failed attempts to keep their minds from wandering through FOUR books. They've even always chose the books to read but it finally fizzled out. We finally just ended it. They both claim their minds work way too fast to stay interested. I know there's probably a really good reason to keep it up but I was secretly glad. I am so 'talked out' by the end of every school day as it is. lol But anyway, I see many are still reading to theirs at this age. How do you keep their interest and if you have stopped, when?

yes, it's going well. However, DS11, who is new to HSing this year, has said that after doing block scheduling this last 4 wks, he'd like to try mixing subjects through the day to see how he likes it. I'll let him try for a while. He's the one with such little focus so I see it's working to give him lots of time to work through one subject..in a block. If only given an hour I foresee him truly settling in too far into the hour and not working much, but he may surprise me and make the most of it. DD13 said she likes it either way but I've noticed that this way, she's cranking out a lot of work.

This was US last year! I rambled on about it here somewhere. LOL We started out w/ AOPS and quickly moved to Saxon. She needed more practice and hated the whole to parts of AOPS. She quickly loved SAxon, but OH my the mistakes. I just couldn't figure out WHAT the problem was. I was advised here not to keep jumping around in math curr. Since she liked Saxon, I just stuck with it. I started having her check her problems herself, mark the ones wrong, and fish out where it went wrong and circle it in red for me. Then, she had to redo the ones she got wrong. She was consistently getting too many wrong every lesson. It was also suggested to me that maybe she is below her skill level. I did consider moving her up to Alg 1 but she really wanted to finish the Alg 1/2 book. So I let her. This year I started her out with Alg 1 in SAxon and she hasn't missed more than ONE per day!! I wonder now if she was bored and below the level she needed. She also doesn't want to do ALL that extra work of figuring out what went wrong and redoing so I think she is much more careful now. Oh and yes, messiness was a part of the problem so once we got that straightened out, that helped. Add a little maturity and things are looking up. So yeah, have her check, figure out what went wrong, re-do, then turn in. You might try a little Alg 1 with her in Khan. See if she's actually ready to advance. If not, no biggie.

For language arts as a whole I chose Moving Beyond the Page. it rigorously hits most all points so I don't have to piece together grammar, writing, etc. It only truly lacks spelling, which I do as needed (lists are created based on their misspelled words and the regular review and testing come from that). There's plenty of vocabulary in MBTP but for added root knowledge and some etymology, they use Vocab from Classical roots. We are trying out block scheduling this year so their LA day is Monday after math. They do a week's worth at once , about 3 to 4 hours which will include some breaks. They are so much more productive when they can just GO instead of stopping every hour to change subjects. Then they don't see LA again until next Monday, which totally floats their boat. LOL So far this has been a fruitful change in our week!

Independence was something I knew I wanted from DD12 last year..she's almost 14 now and in 8th grade. DS11 was added to our homeschool classroom this year and I knew I needed her to be able to do her thing without me so I could transition him. So the 2nd half of last school year, I started handing a lot over to her. She did so well that this year I barely see her throughout her school day. Only to clarify things, remind or help her to understand something. DS11 (7th grade) has caught on quickly and started applying some of my following suggestions on his own and is quickly becoming somewhat independent. Curriculum - I had already chosen curriculum last year that was written to the child and I liked how that worked out. (MBTP, SAxon Pre-a). So I stuck with that idea for both kids this year. I really think it matters regarding independence. And, I would recommend him breaking off and doing more and more on his own, if possible. Mine only do science together, and Vocabulary/Root work with me. CLARITY in expectations! Almost as important as curriculum choice. By this I mean: Visible Schedules - I typed one schedule that is the same every week, all yr long. It shows which subjects to do ea day of the week, and how long they have to do it. On their daily planner I indicate how far in ea subject I'd like for them to work. So if the wall schedule says Mondays, Language Arts for an hour, their planner will tell which pages. The wall schedule for ea day also tells them what time I want their alarm set for, what time breakfast starts, and what time school starts. Both are expected to set their alarm, get up on their own and come to breakfast on time a little while later. This schedule is in a page protector and put on the fridge, at their desks, in their rooms and on my phone homescreen. They are very clear about the times they have to do what and are expected to be good time managers to pull it off. Of course there hasn't been one week that works exactly that way, but I'm flexible as long as I see they are working diligently. And by now, they don't even look at the wall schedule b/c they know what each day's work is. They just refer to their individual planners for specific tasks. A planner per kid - They keep this with them through the day to view my notes on what that day's work is, and to check off boxes. Between the schedule on the wall and this planner, no one should questions what they need to do at any time. A heart to heart discussion on expectations - my kids work very well when they know what is expected of them, so this year we sat down and talked about it. They had plenty of input too, but the gist was: this is the year of independence and alarm clocks (this part was new). After the discussion I had them repeat what was expected. They understood the schedule (they helped build it), they knew how to use the planner, understood time frames and all that extra free time if they get it all done. I told them that the success and fun of their year rested right on their shoulders and their was much fun to be had and goodies to be earned for meeting the goals. They are really rising to the expectation. ORGANIZATION So much time was wasted last year as I searched for DD's turned in papers, supplies, books, etc. So at some point I bought DD a 3 inch Case It 3 ring binder, put tile tabs and blank notebook paper in it, put her curriculum books on one side under the Velcro enclosure and explained that all of her stuff was in that binder...ONLY. Luckily her textbooks aren't thick. She grabs a book from one side of the binder, picks a pencil from under the zipped supplies pocket, uses the blank notebook paper stored in the binder to do the work, and once she finishes her work, she is to file it under that subject's tab. If it's not under the tab when I grade the work, she is asked to find it. No more searching from me. No more searching for textbooks, no more confusion. they both wander all over the house to do their work, and as long as they are using their binder correctly, and filing finished work in it, we don't have to look in or under beds, behind the reading nook, outside on the porch, etc. It's unzip, do the work, zip it back, hand to me for grading. I grade, zip it back and put it in their space for tomorrow. It has streamlined our day. AND it makes it super easy to pick up and go when we want to take our work elsewhere. AND, it makes it so that all their work is neatly waiting for ME if I get behind and don't grade for a week. Instead of all that lost work from papers getting shoved all around the house. Oh and their planners are to forever STAY in the binder b/c how will they know what to do if they don't keep it all together with the work? So I gave them all the tools they need to do a full day's worth of school work on their own. I usually sit with DS a little in the morning for some math work as DD is off doing her math on her own. After math, DS checks his planner for the next thing and goes from there. I've only officially sat down w/ DD once this year to explain her change in history curriculum. But now, I only see her as she turns in her binder for me to grade. I love it! OH I almost forgot! REWARD TICKETS! There are things that will get you a reward ticket, like, getting caught really working diligently, no 'marks' on the board that week (you get marks by being disruptive or playing instead of working), etc. They love getting the reward tickets with all sorts of goodies, extra screen time, a book of their choice, $2 or $3 at Google play store, a day off of chores, their favorite dessert, etc. That has shaped their behavior up nicely! Also, poor choices will get a ticket taken away. Each way to EARN a ticket and how to LOOSE a ticket is on a little list on their bulletin board, so they are very clear on that too. :) And, just a note on each child, DD is an avid student and eager learner, and DS sounds a LOT like your son whose interests are ANYWHERE else. Also, my DS lacks maturity like crazy. Yet both seem to be responding to the set up. Reading back on it, it sounds militant. LOL But they had input all along the way and I think its the *structure* that they work well with. Mine came home from PS at different stages and I actually took a lot from the expectations the 6th grade teachers had of the kids. At the time I thought, OMG, sink or swim time! But if they could do it for the teachers, they could do it for me. HTH!

It sounds like you are narrowing down your decision, but our experience last year w/ DD12/13 (Pre-A) was that she started in AOPS, which I thought she'd do well with...but she hated it with a strong passion and so I switched her to Saxon, not expecting her to like it. But I thought the spiral might help, at least I hoped so, but I'd heard some negative things so I wasn't sure. Welp, to my great surprise, she loved it (uncluttered, clear, straightforward, etc). It wasn't that it was easy for her though. It was the style of math that she felt at ease with. She loved it so much that she asked me to keep her in Saxon this year for Alg 1; another super surprise. So I did, and since at some point this year she will outpace my Alg knowledge, I went ahead and bought the DVDs that teach the lesson. She watches the lesson, then does the work and is totally excelling and retaining. I have some Dolciani texts that I would have preferred her to at least consider, but the Saxon thing is working. They are all different, but I just thought I'd recommend it since you were considering it.

I don't think the resale is high enough to deal with the hassle of finding something else to write on and organize the work. There are pricey curriculums with high resale that we are using and not writing in for resale, but not this one. It did cross my mind but now that we're into it, I'm glad we are just using the book.

Moving Beyond the Page curriculum. <3

The Pi thing came up for the first time today, so thank you for the info on that. We haven't hit unit multipliers in Alg 1 yet, so I can see we have that to look forward to. lol

Expecting to get too much done and not recognizing child's pace. Not recognizing each child has a different pace. Focusing more on education related stuff and not the recognizing new needs occur when a child is transitioning. Not being flexible enough (regarding schedule, curriculum issues (poor fit/pace?), workloads). Not making sure exercise is as important as anything else.

we converted part of our basement to a school room where both kids have desks, bulletin boards, a chalk board, supplies, copier, etc etc. They usually start there but tend to float around and get comfy at different parts of the day. I also don't care as long as it gets done. They keep everything in a case it binder so that they can become mobile at any moment. lol They might also grab a clipboard to help out at times. During the long winters, when we get cabin fever, we do what I like to call, "Coffee Shop Hops" where we start at one and then end up at another, etc. Those are out lighter days but work certainly gets done. Library, parks, where ever they vote that I agree with. Where the work is done in the house is something I totally let them choose most days.

I would not say that I am confident in math, necessarily, so the tip you gave, Kiana, on how to check their work with the calculator is going to save me tons of time, and I don't mind adding that to the task. lol But reworking some of these problems from the beginning at the end of the day was something I was growing VERY weary of. Thanks, ladies!!

So for 2 yrs now I've been confused about some of the answers in Saxon's Solution's Manuals regarding how far they go to simplify the answer. Some simplified as far as it will go, but in other places, they do not. I have been telling the kids to simplify as far as it will go to stay on the safe side, and so that as I check their work, I won't have to do any calculations (hopefully) to see if their fraction matches, in a different way, the answer in the SM. At first I was doing that but it reallllllllly added to the time I spent correcting. An example would be Pre-A Solutions manual, test 7, number 9.... their answer is 4/3. My kid's answer was 1 1/3. Yes that's the same and it's easy enough to breeze through and visually see that's the same. But then there are these: Pre-A, Lesson 23, practice set, a.) 412 yd 3 DS11 wrote: 137.3 to simplify 'to the end'. That isn't so easy for me to quickly calculate to see if he's right. It happens quite often and sometimes it takes considerable time to do the problems myself or I flag it as a loose end and at the end of the day the kids and I go over something like that together b/c I'm unclear and don't want to mark it wrong if it's not. There have been times where I've marked it wrong b/c, well, it isn't the answer in the SM and it's not obvious to me that it's saying the same thing the kids said. The kids are required to re-work and correct math mistakes. So they come to a problem like that, where they know they said what the SM is saying, but a different way. So then they are frustrated and then I'm frustrated. I would love to know what Saxon is asking of us in this regard so we can just go on and produce it one way or the other. Am I missing something as to why it's not consistent? Or is it consistent and I'm not seeing it. Is it the type of problem that makes the difference? I've spent considerable time reading last year and this, trying to see if we missed WHERE Saxon tells us where to stop simplifying or if they do at all..I'm just not making sense of it. Below are the actual problems that belong to the examples above: Pre-A, Test 7, #9: 20 . 4 / 3 (that slash is a division symbol LOL) 24 5 6 = 4 3 (Saxon's Answer) Pre-A, Lesson 23, Practice problem a) Use a unit multiplier to convert 412 ft to yards. There are no 'solutions' for practice problems in the SM but the problem would go something like this: 412 ft . 1 yds = 412 (Saxon's Answer) Again, my kid's answer: 137.3 1 3 ft 3 ETA: sometimes either/or of the simplifications are in the kids' work, off to the side so I can see the work up, thus either answer. But, very, very often, the kids do mental math within the problems and the ending answers are very different, and I don't get the benefit of seeing the fractions leading to their answer, thus if their answer is different than the SM, it looks wrong. I don't want to ask them to write down every single increment of the problem b/c that frustrates them and their supplemental math (AOPS) has encouraged them to do the work conceptually, so often they are making calculations mentally that I can't evaluate on paper. And, these are just examples where Saxon doesn't simplify to the end, but there are many, many examples through each lesson where they DO.

Thanks for the quizlet mention. I checked it out and it will streamline a couple things I'm manually doing. THANKS!

I read that there was a new update for Macs, but I'm not sure the add on function is on there. The fact that all of our OneNotes sync (even on my Android phone) is a huge plus... but if your iCal syncs, I'd do that if I were a Mac user. I keep reading that ON just doesn't have the same functions for Mac users yet. Maybe soon?

I started to use OneNote with my middle schoolers to assign work but in the end, they preferred a small planner stuck in their binder with their assignments right alongside their actual work. They both have computers and could easily just open up ON to see what I intended for them, but they make notes to themselves and such that, they both ended up just ignoring ON and using the planner on their own. So, I just use it for household management and homeschool thoughts and links and videos of my own. BUT when I did intend for them to use it, I just downloaded the OneCalendar Macro add on (click HOME then look for Tools tab, it should ask if you want to download it?). Once it was added on, you can click to launch it right there on the Tools tab, and I chose to load from it a weekly template with the days of the week right on the screen. I typed in fun font colors the subjects for each day and put a check box in front of each. They would start the day by pulling up ON and looking at that day for assignments. They checked off the box when done. Each week I just unchecked their boxes b/c each week is the same schedule and most all subjects are just 'next thing'. But, like I said, they don't really go to it anymore. They said it was fussier than was required. lol We are also mobile w/ their schooling quite a bit and often dont' take the laptops but could always access their little planners. And, by NOW, since each week is the same they have memorized what subject goes w/ ea day and don't really look at the planner much at all. My goal was to really streamline the subjects and work and I guess I simplified ON right out of the loop. LOL Another cool option we use on our laptops is the 'homegroup' option. You can set up each computer in your home on the same network. If you go into your file folders (HP's here) you can select any of the computers connected to your home network (if they are on at that moment, that is) and access the folders you have given permission to access. I went to each computer and set it up and of course, we can all access all of each other files. When they do assignments and save the files, I can sit at my computer, pull up their computer in the homegroup and look on their desktop, or in their school folders (that I've set up to hold their assignments). DD will do an essay and file it in her personal homeschool file under Language Arts> Essays. At the end of the day when I'm checking work, I just sit at my computer, pull her computer files up, find the essay, grade it..make notes on it, resave it........which saves MY changes on her essay on HER computer. Later, I ask her to view the grade and make the changes ...she goes to her computer to pull it up and sees my notes/changes. Makes the changes, I pull it up from my laptop.. Same for DS and his laptop. They each know where to store their finished files so that I can find them easily. The homegroup set up is a way for me to manage all computer files on all 3 of the other laptops, right from mine. Now THIS has been more of a long standing management tool for us than the other online scheduling tools. I love the days where I just float from one computer to the other checking work and making notes for them within the work, all from my computer alone w/o getting up. :hurray:

this is exactly my thinking. It would just be such a distraction, and I'd probably have to consider the whole day a 'loss' as to what we'd actually accomplish that day. All kids and moms are different, but we just can't get stuff done with people here, but if you can, that's great! But yeah, just curiosity? That would have to be a polite 'no' here.

With a 7th and 8th grader home this year, my motto for the year has been "The Year of Accountability" lol. I mean, if they can do it, and they can, just please do it..... so! ....LISTS and REMINDERS. Both kids have a 4 inch Case It Binder with tabs for each subject's completed work. It also has blank paper and supplies in the zippered section. There is a list in the zippered section of the supplies they need to always have in there. On Friday's they are to clean up their area, then check to make sure all those supplies are in their binder, ready for the next week. On the left side is a Velcro section that holds all of their current curr materials. Any references materials like science encyclopedias, etc., is in the classroom. Just textbooks are in that section. Thankfully, they aren't huge. That binder is EVERYTHING. They open it, pull the curr, use the blank paper, when finished, file it under the subject's tab, go to the next thing...which should be in the binder. The binder has become such an asset here, that I have been using the 'binder set up rubric' that came with our History Odyssey curr to 'grade' them weekly on the upkeep of their binders. Now, they do have a separate math binder b/c their math curr has a bigger textbooks, teacher's manual, test booklet, etc..and it needs it's own binder. In the binder is a copy of the repeating week's schedule we use. Every week is the same. Also in the binder is a small planner (4x6 in). In the planner is where they can find instructions on what I want them to do. They turn to the date and do what it says. I sit down on Sunday evening and fill in their planner for the week. I have arranged *most* (though not all) of their curr to be 'the next thing" so it's fairly easy for them to follow. The planner also has a copy of our weekly schedule. They have desk space and there, on their bulletin board, they will also find a copy of our weekly schedule. If they every want to know what comes that day, all I ever say is, "Check the schedule". By week 2, all I did was point. I refuse to point anymore after week 3. I just smile ..b/c I know they know and will figure it out...and they have. On the fridge is..yes, a copy of the weekly schedule. The schedule even has what time I want their alarm set for any particular day. We had a discussion at the beginning of this year and we discussed: -the binder -the weekly schedule -the alarm (new this year, you get yourself up...on time...every day and meet for breakfast a little bit later). They are given plenty of time, they just need to do it themselves. -chore time (also on the weekly schedule). -the level of independence I expect of each this year. -their input and suggestions. Once we all become satisfied with the 'setup', and they were told exactly what was expected of them, and we printed the schedule a thousand times and stuck it around....it's been like clockwork. So much so that, the other day, a friend came by and I accidently talked with her for over an hour out in the front yard. I kept wondering what they were doing and worried that they were goofing off. During this time each kid followed their planners on their own, did what was written down, (which was Algebra and PreA, mind you) and was off onto the next thing, at their own desk, working away. I was like.......OMG..are you kidding me?? There was no break in their work and both said they knew just what to do since it was all laid out and in one place. I was just trying out some hunches with the schedules and the lists and as it turns out, it is helping them to gain independence nicely. I love this b/c it frees me up tremendously and I feel like they'll be ready to handle this type of responsibility and MORE when they get into high school.

Last year I only had my DD12 in 7th grade here at home and I split our year in to 4ths, then split her work into 4ths and tried to finish every quarter doing the sectioned work for that period. It created a race mentality no matter what I tried, and there was just box checking it seemed. I had to tweak out stuff since her curr was very rigorous, in order for us to finish. My first year back to homeschooling..I didn't like this method for her. That taught me that this year, I wanted a 'next thing' approach and time to sit in the knowledge and retain more. DD is now almost 14, and DS11 came home to school this year and have both decided to try block scheduling. Because, as mentioned, they feel like they get more done in each subject when they don't have sift through so many different subjects a day. So... Math is daily and first thing in the morning. Both seem to take right at 1.5 hours to work through a lesson of Saxon (7th grader..end of Pre-A, 8th grader, Alg 1). After math: Monday is language arts 3-4 hours. Tuesday is a shorter day so we do Vocabulary/Spelling and left over LA from the day before if there are loose ends to tie up. Wednesday is 3 hours of Elemental Science (they are doing this together). Thursday is 3 hours History/Social Studies. We also do an hour of art at the end of this school day. Friday is supposed to be only supplemental and for now that is coding/programming or Snap Circuit lessons (from included curriculum in the big 750 kit). We aim to end by 10 or 11 am and then we get with friends. To make sure we are on track overall, I let their LA lessons 'lead' them because it is, by far, the most rigorous (MBTP). MBTP units are supposed to take 15 school days to complete (there are 10 units in the year). I give them 20 to 22 days to complete each unit and their history and SS is tied in directly to those specific units, so if they can get ea unit of LA done in that amt of time, their history/ss will be also..math is 'next thing' day to day/year to year. Science .... there is no time frame. They enjoy it so much that they I have no concern they will get it all done this year. Vocab is 'next thing' too and we will be doing it for the next few years in some form so I'm not concerned about this pace either.

we do it 2x a week. It's brand new to us right now so I am teaching my 7th and 8th grader at the same table. They both have a tendency to skim and try to wing it on the exercises on stuff like this. It's the only thing in all of their curriculum I teach them directly.....for now. First day we start at the top of a lesson, familiarize ourselves with the 'theme'...then the roots in the lesson, then read everything together up to Exercise A. We discuss questions that come up, pull out interesting words, make connections with similar words/roots we can think of and keep a dictionary handy to look up challenge words we aren't sure of. If there is time left, we do the exercises. The exercises, all of them, take the kids like, 10 minutes, tops. They check each other's work as I call out answers. We discuss corrections. This takes about an hour to an hour and a half. It goes quick though. They really seem to like it. Day 2 - By day 2 I have created either a crossword puzzle, unscramble puzzle, fill in the blank, etc exercise for them to work on 'blind'. Without referring to the book. I want to see retention. They do this work in pencil. Then, when they are sure they can fill in nothing more, they choose a colored pencil, open their book and do the rest of the work in that color, so that when I check it, I can see how much they retained and needed no help with (pencil) and how much they needed to look back on (colored pencil) . I make the puzzles up here: http://www.puzzlefast.com/?gclid=CKjOpPu--LkCFeqDQgodVXYAaA I also carry every single word over to the next lesson. So, to date, every single word we have learned, plus this week's lesson is involved. The words are really adding up now so I do omit the ones they know well as I create puzzles. During day 2 sometimes I choose to do 'antonym' work, where I ask them figure out the correct antonym to each words and use it in a sentence. Sometimes I type out a sentence for each word and they have to do fill in the blank. Sometimes I have them write a 1 page story using all of the words in the current lesson, or every word we've learned, whatever I feel like. Sometimes I give them a list of the words and the correct definition and I have them go to the dictionary for each word I've listed and write an alternate definition below it. Sometimes I quiz them on the roots in the lesson PLUS suffixes in the lesson that I pick out. Sometimes we spend an extra day ONLY the suffixes (after we've completed the lesson). I take the suffix info given in the book next to the words/definitions.. and I make a crossword (or other) puzzle out of those. Extra credit can be earned sometimes by writing all the suffixes with new prefixes of their choice (they would have to really go together as a word lol), give me a sentence with the new word that makes sense. They love doing that one. This all comes to me sort of on the spot. They can do most everything through Exercise C in 1 to 1.5 hours so on day 2 I have to come up with things like this to do to use the words in a way that extends the lesson. It may seem that I am doing a lot of typing to do these things, but I just type out one lesson's worth of words/definitions a week then copy and paste as I need to. I only type extra if I decide to work on suffixes. Did anyone also order a teacher's manual? I've read that some don't but I don't see how you would know if things are being done right w/o the TM. And what does everyone do for tests? Quizzes? the reviews after so-many lessons don't seem to be enough of a quiz for mine.

Yes, there were all there, thanks! Now, once I close the desktop version, where is it located? Where do I find it to open it again?

ok, that downloaded, thank you! Now to figure out how to get my current notebooks transferred over. Thanks so much!

All I know is I bought a HP computer that had windows 8 and after reading here about ON, I went to the windows store and downloaded the app. Then as I started playing with it I realized I could go to onenote.com and manipulate it too. And it looks the same there. I don't know how I got this version and don't know how to get the other version. I guess I can try to reinstall somehow, but when I go to the Microsoft site and log in it doesn't give me a choice of versions to download.

Well, here are some pics of what ON looks like for me. The first is the app, the 2nd is the web, both are very similar, and not AT ALL like the tutorials or screen shots I've seen. My tabs are on the left and the whole entire thing is different and looks like very limited features. Is this b/c it's free? For some reason I thought the full featured ON was free now and thought that's what I got. I'm so very confused.