Has anyone done the Minecraft Mod Design class that is being offered though the Homeschooler Buyer's Co-op? I know it says grades three through eight, but wondering if anyone has done it with younger advanced kids? How was it?

Ronald Dahl Alice in Wonderland Gulliver's Travels Anything by Jim Weiss Aesop's Fables by Dover pub.

The way I see it is that Pre-A is the review. It is pre-a that preps you and warms you up for Algebra and makes sure that you are sound in arithmetic, with only a little minor algebra throw in. But since most elementary programs cover variables now quite early, that stuff is really hardly new. I don't know what program you have been using, forgive me if I missed that info somewhere, but if you need feel you need more work at the elementary level you could always run through the last two Life of Fred books. (Fractions and Decimals). It seems those ought the shore up any weaknesses. And they are fun and pretty easy to go through.

Yeah, we might be in the same state, which for our locations might make us close enough to be neighbors. :)

We listen in the car and that is it. I'm amazed at the retention from just that. We have gone through the whole series, 1-4 that way and are halfway through the second round. DS asks to go on drives just so he can listen, then hates to leave the car if we arrive somewhere:). I don't plan on doing anything extra with it. DS hates coloring or worksheet type stuff.

When we moved to a small town a couple of years ago I was so saddened by the tiny library that was a half hour drive away. Even sadder, to find a bigger library I'd have to drive 3.5 hours. In fact I think to find the next closest library I'd have to drive that far:) I'm just grateful that we can buy a lot of books and that Amazon delivers to the front door.

DS also learned a ton from Stack the States and retained it. He also loves to read his alas to learn things about states (and countries). Also when he was very young (3-4) he loved a series of books at the library about all the states.

Okay, this is an older thread, but since the new grade at the public school starts here in two weeks, then I guess I should plan something. We ended up doing a summer break so it is going to take us a while to get into a schedule. And really that is my main goal--getting DS used to a schedule. We free wheel everything, which is good to some degree but I am pretty sure we are way past the degree to which it is good. DS and I need more self-discipline. First grade going on sixth ;) Handwriting- need to work on more. He is wanting to learn cursive. Already have HWT cursive, so I might pull it out. Pair this up with spelling practice-start going through spelling in a more systematic way. Math- finish off last 8 chapters of LoF Decimals and Percents. Then go back and finish SM5. Do what BA we can. By end of year expect to be done with elementary math and ready for Pre-a. But not in a hurry, really want to make sure he is ready for Pre-a before we hit it as I wants to do Aops. No shortage of books we can work through. Lots of CWP problems still sitting around. LA- start MCT town. Start some sort of dictation, longer writing projects. Read and analyze one or two great books. Read everything else just for fun and do a lot of it! Lots of good read alouds- at least one a month. Goal- start him writing creatively. History- we just listen to the Jim Weiss SOTW and he likes to read the books on his own. Science- read through a physics and chem book we have. (RS4K). Thinking about The Elements by McHenery. Lots of questioning and experiments mostly instigated by DS. Watching Mythbusters! (Does that count?) Extras--Piano, hiking, swim, etc depending on the time of year. Oh yes, and Minecraft, Scratch and computer programming (just beginning) with dad. Did I forget any major subjects? My year includes going through Aops pre-a to prepare for the math before DS gets there as well as trying to read more for myself.

Why not just buy a good science book--not a curriculum exactly and read it? Maybe DK has some really good thick comprehensive volumes that might work. Throw in a loosely related science experiment book for a weekly (or more) fun break. Maybe you could just orally test him on bold words to make it easy on you, if you want to develope the vocab. Talk about science a lot together. Watch a bunch of Nova shows too. This is what I'm doing anyway. I just find that the science curriculums that I've looked through don't really hit it out of the park for us. And since we have always had so many science texts around anyway, from when he was younger, we might as well go through them in a systematic way.

Where I come from we say, four hundred 'n two (402). No one says and clearly, it get muddled to an "n".

I used to want to stash stuff away until I was ready to use it. However, for a stubborn autodidact like I have, if it is something I pull with the intention if using it then, it will be regarded as something mom wants me to read, and hence must be avoided. If I just leave them all out and let him discover them himself he will love and enjoy them. But that is coming from a mom of a child who hates any sort if direction or being told what to do, ever! If I had a more "easy" kid I would put things away so they wouldn't be old when we got to them, probably.

Thanks guys. Anyone know if there is going to be a US history? Or if the world history will be available as an audiobook? I'd love to listen as I drive.

I second the Wizard of Oz series.

So I just saw that Bauer has an adult version of SOTW. Can anyone tell me about it? Is it appropriate for a child to listen to? Is it designed to be used as the second round though the history cycle? Is there an audio version available? How do you like it? Thanks!

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I haven't read all the responses, so I might just be adding on to an already satisfactorily answered question.... We used Fractions and are over half through Decimals and DS has read through but not done problems in Physics on his own. Fractions was easy for us, but I felt he'd already had most of the info presented through SM4 and other living math books/life. I didn't feel like it would be a good book to teach from-- unless you come up with lessons on your own and are comfortable explaining it. However, I like the problem sets and feel like they really show how math is used in real life in a fun, related way (I like how the bridge probs all relate to one story). There might not be enough practice for many/some children and there is little practice between presentation and unit bridge test. Decimals has been a little harder-- primarily because the problems use larger more unwieldy numbers. Answers frequently don't just come out nice and even. I don't feel like there is very good teaching within the chapters of why. I feel more like that comes from me within the discussions we have after reading. I would never use these as a first intro if child hasn't seen these topics before at least in some degree. For that reason, I'm happy with fractions and decimals, but think pre-a/physics will be set aside and not formally woked through until we have gone through a different program first.

Yeah, I was thinking of subbing honor books in for books with questionable content at this age. I love so many of the Newbery books, but realize there are a lot of heavy emotions in many of them. I think I may have to just read ahead of him and do the challenge myself. Thanks for the thoughts.

It is about time for me to start thinking about the upcoming school year. DS is nearing 6.5 and thus far, school has been very pared down. We do math, listen to SOTW for history when we drive, and handwriting. We have done MCT, but took a long break from any sort of LA. Reading is big, but not technically school or required. So this year I want to add in a little more structure. I expect him as he nears seven to be able to do seat work for about two hours a day-- but not all at once. Maybe in four, 1/2 hr segments. That is on top of free reading time, listening to SOTW in the car, and piano practice. Does that sound reasonable for a 6.5-7.5 yr old? What should I include in that time frame then, if it is reasonable? Math, HW..... Our current schedule usually takes about an hour, less if he is very cooperative:). If I up the time as he ages should I spend more time on each subject or just add more subjects. This is not my strength because, I personally like one thing at a time. However, I don't want him to learn this multi-tasking weakness from me. I want him to be able to immerse himself in more than one thing at once. It is something I just cannot do, so branching out even farther than our math and HW daily is a challenge for me! But what essentials am I missing? Spelling, art, science? It's hard for me to figure out because I don't know if I should look to a fifth/sixth grade public schedule or a first grade schedule to figure this out. I don't really know what I'm asking-- just trying to get an idea for what to do this coming school year--I'm thinking about it again already after a month break:) What was your 6.5-7.5 year old doing for fifth/sixth grade might be an appropriate way to ask it-- though in other places I'd get weird looks;)

DS has expressed an interest in reading all the Newbery Medal winners. (We came upon a pamphlet at the library that listed them all.) What books on that list are inappropriate for a very young reader in terms of content? The Giver and Number the Stars deal with some heavy stuff, I already know. Bridge to Terabithia is out I think. Any others? Maybe it is going to have to be a joint goal where I read the books just ahead of him to okay them.

I love read alouds and plan to continue well into the teen years. I pick out books that DS could read, but for some reason might not be drawn too for some small detail--the font size or tight spacing, looks too lengthy, not super drawn to the subject matter, etc. I pick books that I know he'd love if only he'd give them a try. I also pick books that I'm very interested in--something I'd want to read myself, without being forced. I also try to pick books that will stretch his vocabulary, or his dialect tolerance. I haven't run out of books yet and don't think I will. Any classic book list for children is a great place to start.

There are so many great books out there that don't have that mature content. Oz books are wonderful-- though they are on more of a 6-7 grade level. Older books (+50-75 years) seem to be more appropriate. Oz, Mary Poppins..etc. --Stuff or that era and fantasy type. Sometimes seemingly innocuous books like the Romona series still deal with social situations that are too advanced. Even though we loved Roald Dahl, he has a lot of anti-authority sentiments and name calling. I love the goodreads list linked above. It has books that every child should read at some point on their journey.

Absolutely dealing with this. Ds gets so angry when things are hard at all, angry if things are baby-ish (anything he already knows), and angry about just about everything. He back talks like a teenager. The only thing I can put it down to is that his brain is just frustrated with his asynchronous development. For us taking a break for the summer is a bad idea, but we always run on lite mode anyway with school. Like today, school was seven math problems. That was it. If we ever do school above his output level that makes the anger worse. So we coast along making great leaps when his brain is more balanced I guess and up for it. Those times just happen...it is like suddenly his emotional state hits a growth spurt and he is good for awhile and gobbles up info...the there are times when he is just out of balance and doing the bare minimum is a huge struggle. My tactic has been learning to be flexible and when there is a spell of days or weeks or even months of anger and frustration, just cut it back to bare bones to keep up fluency and then get out and go hiking or running or anything physical and peaceful. Get away from the computer and get some fresh air and sunshine. Good luck. It can be rough!

Agreed, the font size and layout in the IP makes the WB much more workable for us. We have the IP but just haven't put them into the rotation yet. If you end up doing multiple curriculums, as many people do, then I don't see them as that important.

How about an option for: "Haven't read it cover to cover, but I have heavily browsed it or read significant portions of it. " That's my vote.

I just ordered the Pre-A book. I feels odd to order a math book of a level that I completed in 7th grade. I hope though that it will enable me to teach it better but at the very least I will have it for when DS is ready. I'm excited to see what aops is all about. BA has even taught me new things--or things in a new light of understanding. So I don't doubt that Pre-A will do the same thing. I love the idea of working simulateously through the higher books. I hope to do that when he is older. As for now, I will just get to know the aops approach better so I will know when he will actually be ready for it. Pre-A he will be ready for within a year, but I have no intention of starting Aops that young.