Thank you, very sincerely! I don't know why it felt like such a leap to just move up into the more advanced materials... But it did, and I didn't know quite where to start. I asked her if she wanted me to use a Christmas B&N gift card on some older college textbooks about marine biology and comparative anatomy, and she got the biggest grin! Then I used charter funds to order some high school level coloring books for marine biology, zoology, biology... Off to do a library search without the child-level filter!

I have a very science-motivated 7 year old, accelerated in reading, a bit in math, but pretty on level with writing output. She's been obsessed with dolphins for a while, to the extent that (I think) we've read most of the k-8 related stuff in the library, watched documentaries, done little reports on cetaceans (dipping into Venn diagram representations of animal classification), talked and written about Sea world and animal activism, gotten an annual pass to the nearby aquarium, gone whale and dolphin watching... Last night's comment was that she'd like to learn more about their digestive system and how they're related to cows with their multiple stomachs... To broaden a bit, I'd hoped, we have been trying RS4K chemistry, and while she likes the cartoons and filling out the simple lap book study guides, I think it's a dud otherwise - just too simple conceptually, boring experiments, and way too expensive. I've been fleshing out with library books and a different lab kit... So I'm back to thinking go with the interest... But how?? Any thoughts on where to go with dolphin obsession and science from here?

The freedom to skip around and to play with concepts before things are memorized are some of the best things we've picked up about learning math from Miquon! Learning multiplication facts seems much easier, much more motivating, for a kid who already knows how useful they can be for solving complicated, interesting problems...

I read the annotations as needed, sometimes you can get it just by looking at it... and sometimes I think that, and regret it later :). I also found watching related Education Unboxed videos helpful in learning how to talk math better! Depending on your child's math understanding coming in, you might need or be tempted to skip a little, but that takes careful looking at the pages - lots of interesting things are snuck in early on, that you build later! We did a little skipping, more of me scribing, and also would work in several places in the book at once to keep it interesting and fun until we got past the review point...

My daughter is a little younger than your son, but despite being mathy, we've taken lots of detours between different math books, from Miquon to Beast to Zaccaro... Sometimes she just needs a break, and when we come back to whatever she got stuck on a month later, it all clicks and she zooms on. Sometimes I think it's her, truly maturing a little in that month. Other times, it's what I notice and figure out during the break... Like she prefers problems to have a visual context, like much of Beast, or story context, like Zaccaro. I have to invent those for Miquon when it's just a page of numbers... Or she can do some challenging problems if I scaffold, like letting her use a multiplication chart, so I'm making one small element easier. All that to say, I'm a fan of unschool-ish breaks from math :). Sorry it's tough! I'm with you many days!

Throwing another option out there, that's free with a library card :). Wee Folk Art http://weefolkart.com/content/homeschool-companion-guides. I saw it recommended here, and am planning that next for my little guy, as we finish up a nice mellow letter of the week plan. The Wee Folk Art plan is seasonal, and recommends two books a week, fiction and nonfiction, plus art study, projects, etc.

By the way, for practical help, Rivero has a great chapter in her Creative Homeschooling book on student-led unit studies and "the project cycle." I think it is a great, practical complement to PBL, esp. for slightly older kids ready to do some of their own "documenting" of what they're learning.

Doesn't Pickert suggest setting aside and protecting a certain amount of time for project work? I suppose if a child is in between projects, the key is not forcing them to choose something, just maintaining the routine and letting them putter and explore until they find a new interest... I admit in my house, I've protected the time for projects, but sometimes supplying the parental support energy is tough!

I think you could get a lot about the philosophy of the program from one back issue of the Arrow (or whatever level your student is on), and a sample like this from whatever writing project level you're on... http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.bravewriter.com2/page_attachments/214/PartnershipWritingSAMPLE.pdf If you like those things, it might be worth investing in TWJ when it's on sale with HSBC... And as has been said, the monthly products/guides offer a lot of handholding. I bought a bundle last year from HSBC, and now I feel like they're nice but not necessary. The one thing I wish for is a clear list of literary terms/devices to make sure I notice/cover in a BW style... I'm sure it's in TWJ somewhere, but I haven't been motivated to go digging yet...

My relatively non-physical 7yr old daughter loves her karate class. I love how it's structured, that the senior students help coach the junior students, and help lead exercises, that the sensei is firm but kind, holding them to high standards of behavior. And I love how it's teaching DD to react more quickly and decisively, to be more aware of her body, and just to be mentally tougher - bouncing back up without fussing when someone knocks her down and getting back to the drill. She showed me once recently how she would get someone's hands off her neck if they were choking her - I thought, oh man, I hope you never need to use this, but I'm so glad you're capable if necessary! We have found she needs some practice at home to improve consistently - a combination of iPod videos of the various katas she reviews each morning and some practice with DH in the afternoons has been enough so far.

Yes, these books would help! So would googling unit study ideas for particular interests - not for you to take control, but to present some options... If he says no to everything, I might ask him just to think about how he wants to keep track of what he's learning (blogging, note booking, lists, cataloguing, photos, blogging, v-logging, other creative options/responses - keep the bar really low for this at first), and/or how he might want to share what he's learned with others eventually (you, family, friends, some other audience...). I think the second question is a little trickier sometimes at the beginning of a project, but can give purpose to tracking what you're learning. This is part of what Rivero calls the project cycle... Edited for typos :)

Would you be interested in reading about some child-led methods? Project-Based Homeschooling, or there's a great Big Ideas approach chapter in Creative Homeschooling by Rivero... I do direct a fair amount in our homeschool, but I really value and try to protect and support the child-led project time, too. Maybe you could communicate hey, this is the bare minimum on my list each day/week, and it should take about X hours. After that, let's figure out what's on your list to explore and do, and see how I can support you in that.

It's definitely a balance for us, because like you said, it's so psychological! Personally I don't correct journals or free-writes because that's confidence building for her, that she can communicate in written form -and even enjoy it! - even if it's not perfect. With the word banks, she'll have more correct spellings than errors. I don't do spontaneous spelling lessons if I sense it will stress her out. The confidence has translated into more willingness to go for it with letters and other spontaneous writing, and there she's usually motivated to revise her work when she's done. Assignments, I usually request revision of spelling after I appreciate the content of her communication. Sometimes offer her the chance to look for her own mistake after I give her a hint, and often that seems to encourage her, too - that she's capable of finding her own mistakes. These days we're doing spelling in the context of copy work and dictation a la Bravewriter, and I've really enjoyed that approach of applied, contextualized language arts! She studies words she doesn't know from a passage on flash cards after we talk through the phonetics and works with them on Spelling City as well. I want to try reverse dictation occasionally in the coming months to mix things up...

Could it just be a perfectionism issue? I have a reluctant writer/speller, and it took some practice for her to be willing to write and potentially make mistakes. When she does write, I'm usually comforted to see that her mistakes are in the realm of normal. It's just her resistance to getting started that makes things seem extreme! We do Friday free writes where I encourage her not to worry about spelling, just to get her ideas down on paper, as well as journaling. White boards are preferred because it's easier for her to fix mistakes on them than paper. Often I offer to write a "word bank" for her if there are a few words she knows she'll need ahead of time. But usually even then or when she asks for help in the middle, if I encourage her to try the first sound, etc., she knows more than she thinks she does.

I'm giving up on Spanish - unless my husband who's bilingual wants to pick up the ball on that one. Trading it for coding at code.org! That I can be a bigger help with. Just started RS4K Chemistry - since I tend to like lean programs that we can flesh out with various rabbit trails, I'm liking it so far. Other than that, we're mostly staying the course, just adjusting the schedule a little, trying to get her to do a couple things like cursive practice a little more independently. I am feeling a little tempted by CLE language arts, spelling that would not be mom intensive. But DD is not a natural speller, and doesn't really gravitate toward workbooks, so probably not a good fit. Anyone know of computer based spelling good for a non-natural speller?

Code.org had a few free 20 hour courses on coding, and I think Khan, which I see in your sig, has a few as well. My 7 year old needs a little help with code.org, but I bet a 10 year old could be pretty independent...

We supplement for variety, extra problem solving and to slow down our pace through the main curriculum. If I was trying to get through a full year's worth of her main curriculum, it would feel hard for us to do as much supplementation. I would probably still use one, maybe a couple times a week...but it would be much less.

Jump around. Sometimes I let dd have the option of reading more on her own, other times I ask her to wait for me. Often the rationale for me putting off the other books is that the themes in the later ones get more mature, and I think she'll get more out of them in a year or so.

My daughter did the Frozen lessons from code.org, and it was great! She's motivated to start one of their 20 hour courses for kids...

I don't know if our days are super fun in a mom-directed kind of way, but I think they're reasonably happy and peaceful :) We have little routines they enjoy, fun books to read together (usually from the library), we have fun Friday each week with field trips and library visits and free writes where we light a creativity candle (did I get that from Bravewriter? I can't even remember.)... If I think of something reasonably low-maintenance to add in (Oreo moon cycle models, or making 4 ingredient raspberry cordial to go along with Anne of Green Gables, for instance), I'll do it, but I honestly try to keep things simple. They have games, creative play stuff, art supplies and a backyard - they can make their own fun!

School lite in December yesterday meant DD pulling out tangram and pentamino puzzles spontaneously, finger knitting a scarf present to Christmas tunes, having time to prep a little more for her karate belt test (she passed!) and me not feeling overwhelmed as I prepped for a big women's advent event last night. Today it meant time to take them on a joy-filled rain walk (almost as good as a snow day here!) and to recover a bit from the busy evening... DD is looking through cooking and craft books and is asking about making potpourri later. Yes, yes, I'm liking this plan.

I love all those replies, I'm feeling more and more relaxed :)

I haven't yet moved to a point of assigning literature, so I'm interested to hear everyone's replies. We usually have two high-quality read alouds going, and my DD usually reads along after me (not jumping ahead) because she wants to. Some of them have sequels, and I usually tell her the sequels are for reading on her own, because her interest is already piqued. I don't forbid the twaddle, because there is something to practicing your reading with easier books, too, but I try to keep her exposed to other options. Last summer I reserved a bunch of those Early Start classics at the library, abridged versions of classics like Pollyanna, and found that by reading one chapter aloud to her I could engage her interest to keep reading on her own. Then when she finished, we'd watch the movie version together in lots of cases. This year about every other week I need to do the library trip without her to fit it in, so I usually pick different kinds of books for her to try than she would pick for herself. She probably only reads 33% of my picks, but it's still introducing a little variety :)

December tends to be such a busy season in our house! Part of me wants to push to get through some things before we take a big break for vacation... The other part of me, which I'm leaning towards indulging, wants to ease up and do more to enjoy the season together, let the kids get into baking, note writing, crafts, etc. So I'm thinking of trimming language arts down majorly, focusing on read alouds. That's an area I don't feel much pressure to get to the next level or complete something by the end of the year... Maybe lightening up a little with math... How about you? How do you handle the holiday season?

Nm :)