How seriously does everyone take the annual tests that we’re required to give our kids? I have an 8th grader who actually did fairly well despite minimal effort. He scored at the 11th grade level for science and at the 12+ for vocabulary and social studies. What exactly does that mean? He certainly would never be able to handle an 11th or 12th grade text book. We’ve been using curriculum that is several levels below his grade level. He seems to lack motivation and everything takes him so long to do. He also has Asperger’s and some anxiety. He scored at 4th grade level for sentence mechanics and spelling. What would a good grammar curriculum be to catch him up quickly since he’ll be going into 9th grade? I feel as though we don’t have time to go through the 4th, 5th, etc. grade levels. I’m what really at a loss as to what curriculum to use for him. Whenever we’ve used textbooks, we’ve rarely get half way through by the end of the year. Yet if he’s testing at a higher grade level, shouldn’t he be able to handle more difficult material? Thanks in advance! This will be a cross post.

I have a son with Asperger’s and although there have been many challenging moments, I have learned so much from him and it’s made me a better person. One thing I like is how affectionate he is. He hugs me almost all the time (except when he’s having a really bad day or if he’s mad at me) and tells me how much he loves me. We HAVE to hug if we leave each other, when we first see each other again and at bedtime. He’s really become expressive lately and tells me how much he appreciates me. However, I do get the exact opposite many times also. He’s so curious and busy all the time. He’s helped me to see the world in many new ways.

I agree with one space. Although you can use two spaces, one space is considered ‘correct.’ About 25 years ago in typing class, I was taught to put two spaces after a period. It’s been very difficult to break that habit. Using two spaces was a temporary American practice. On a typewriter, every letter occupied the same space, so using two spaces after a period supposedly increased legibility. Computers have proportional spacing, so the width of any letter (or punctuation mark) varies, which makes legibility much easier. Most (if not all) major style manuals (MLA, APA) specify using only one space after a period. There are many reasons for using only one space. There was never proof that inserting an extra space improved readability. Publications in print use only space, so if you ever submit your work to a publisher, they will request using only one space. Using an extra keystroke for every sentence is not very efficient.

I second the ‘time-out’ for myself. I also have a very good friend who also has a special needs child that I can call at any time. She understands exactly what it’s like. It’s very helpful to get all those negative feelings out, so that I can then move on. I’ve also avoided talking with those that don’t have special needs kids, because they just don’t seem to get it. I also want to recommend a book that really helps put the difficulties that special needs kids struggle with in perspective. It’s called The Explosive Child by Ross Green. The basic premise is that our kids ‘are doing the best they can.’ I keep telling myself that no matter how frustrated I get, my son is having a much worse time. He also wrote another book about Collaborative Problem Solving which is also a wonderful resource. I still may get frustrated once in awhile, but after reading those books, my attitude changed. I then found that my son’s behavior actually changed. He still does ‘things,’ but by learning to control how I respond to a situation has helped me to not get as upset.

My son has Asperger's and we've been using Teaching Textbooks. There are short lectures and the problems are presented one at a time on the computer.

It seems like something more than dyslexia. Have you had her evaluated by a neuropsychologist? I would start there. Your daughter could have many different issues or a combination of them. Until you know what is causing her difficulties, you won’t know how to treat it. Another possibility could be dysgraphia. Many people think that dysgraphia is just bad handwriting, but it is actually a neurological impediment in which the brain had difficulty with “output.” So when asked to name something, your daughter may know it, but she can’t quite articulate it. Educational therapy treats the “underlying causes of learning difficulties rather than simply treating the symptoms.” It’s not tutoring, but more of a remediation. You can read more here. http://discoveryprogram-inc.com/EDTHERAPY.html

I don't have SWI so I'm working through it on my own. I guess we really are stuck since we've been working on KWO since last spring. I just want to make sure that he is learning the skills that he needs to learn. He HATES writing, and that is a skill that he will need throughout his life. I liked your idea of mixing it up, so he isn't doing kwo for everything.

I use Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia with my 8th grader. I love the internet links and the way the book is organized.

If I were the new wife, I wouldn’t want to be the one that threw away her things. Sorting and choosing what to keep should be your husband and/or kids job. For now, I would keep everything, boxed away. After I lost my mother, I wanted to look at EVERYTHING from her past, only to find out that my dad had thrown away many items. As one of the children, I think I might feel resentful if I knew you threw away my mother’s things. As for the picture, I agree to put it in the kid’s rooms. If there was just a pic of her and the kids, I wouldn’t mind displaying that. I don’t know how recent the death was, but I can personally tell you that it sometimes takes several years to be able to actually look at things without feeling a lot of pain.

I just realized that I forgot to include the sample sentence. The heading on this Usborne page is: Assyrians at War Around 2000 BC, they were taken over by invaders who made Assyria into a kingdom. He choose the words Assyrians, taken, over I would have choose 2000 by, invaders, kingdom When I asked him to tell just look at his keywords and tell me the sentence, he said â€The Assyrians were taken over.â€

I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to teach outling or summarizing to a 14 year old. He hasn’t had much experience doing this or any type of writing. I started him on IEW towards the end of last year, picking out three main words from a sentence. This is very difficult for him. For Example, the sentence We’re using RS4K which is a simple chemistry curriculum. Even though he knows what atoms and neutrons are, he has difficulty defining them. I’m trying to teach him write a definition by summarizing what he read. I’m having him read the definition and try to put it in his own words. He just can’t seem to do it. He is very intelligent and has dysgraphia. He does have difficulty with “output.†This is something that is probably taught during the grammar stage, yet my son is in the logic stage. Although he loves history and science, he is very discouraged with school. Any advice would be appreciated.

I see it there now abbreviated . . . I guess I should familiarize myself with abbreviations. Who is Paula?

Has anyone here made a schedule that correlates Usborne Encyclopedia of World History with SOTW?