I think I'm pretty much going to be easing into the same thing here with my 5th grader. I've had it with writing curricula! Right now I am trying to collect as many strong examples of brief, non-fictional writing as I can find. I am hoping critique them as part of our studies?!

OK - that sounds right. I will tell him that. Thanks! Brownie

Sort of. When I looked up dialect I found this definition on wikapedia. While it applies to a book like Huck Finn, it's not exactly what he was talking about because the characters in his book are all upper-middle class, educated people. However, 1 is Asian, another a child, etc...Some may speak more formally or eloquently than others or use different words. Pronunciation spellings are frequently used in narratives to represent nonstandard dialects or idiolects, often to create an impression of backwardness or illiteracy. This is called literary dialect, or often called eye dialect, though originally the latter term was applied only where the resulting pronunciation is the same as the standard one, e.g., "Pleese, mistur," said the beggar.

I need some help and I can't seem to find the answer on the internet. DS completed an assignment where he spoke of the strength of the "voice" in a book. However, he was referring to the fact that the different characters had different ways of speaking, which made them more believable. I do not think this is considered under the umbrella of "voice"? But it must have a name or way to refer to it. Can anyone name this for me? Brownie

You son is amazing and his passion is a beautiful thing. I would let him specialize as long as he can write reasonably well (he will have to write in whatever field he is in...so not necessarily lit essays but I would make sure he can write about science or math, present his work at a science fair, etc...). I would also include some science as you are doing because often scientists will need help from mathematicians, and the fields often cross. Brownie

OK how do you guys do this? We started yesterday. DS was on the "dashboard" and I had recommended some topics where I thought he could use review, but he has finished pre-algebra and I would like to see the program targetting some early algebra concepts. Either I need them listed in order so I can recommend them more easily, or I thought it would figure out where he is ability-wise and plunk him into an appropriate series of topics. He did do a bunch of mastery quizzes as well. I have been trying the do the dashboard myself to see how it works, and despite the fact that I mastered 20% of the topics, it still just seems to give me random problems...some elementary level with the occasional pre-calc or cal thrown in?! OOOH - I see what ou are talking about now. I did put ds in "algebra" but I am still in "world of math"... whoops! OK - I hope this works. It did seem to be giving ds harder problems than I was getting :) so does it recommend in a reasonable order then? If so, I will let the software figure it out from now on unless I see a concern! We're only doing it once a week but I don't want the time wasted!

I'm not fond of Apologia in general, but my 11 year old is doing their physical science right now, and I have to say that there is quite a bit of math once you hit the 2nd half which deals with physics. (1st half is more earth science and there is some math but more unit conversions as I recall). This book is geared at 8th grade or so I believe. He is working through the text on his own with a class 2x a month for labs. We've used Prentice Hall for middle school "physics" and I like it but it's definitely not as thorough with the math.

It is amazing. But then I wonder if the differences are exaggerated in my mind since I'm only comparing them? I was shocked when ds1 and ds2 ended up with IQ scores only 2 pts apart overall, but even more surprising, if I had plotted the subtest scores, they would have followed identical patterns up and down. I think they are so different!

I do think some kind of picture-based reference sheet for each subject is worth a shot. I made flash cards based on the biggest culprits today but I can't flash card everything. Pretty soon he'll need to remember too much stuff! We made a bridge picture for "preposition" months ago and I can kind of get him to remember what a preposition is when I ask him to remember the picture. It's just painful! Maybe if it was front and center every day it would sink in.

I am posting here because I don't know what is going on...and I believe ds8 to be highly visual-spatial and ADHD. We do not have a diagnosis, but his older brother is Asp/ADHD-inattentive&gifted. This child can remember anything he has seen in his environment (he can find any lost object as long as he has seen it, he notices if a tree has been cut down on the edge of a parking lot, he says he replays amusement park rides in his head). He is advanced in math...just finished Singapore4B today. He makes intriguing observations and connections between things he's learned (or not learned!) His reading is finally trucking along. BUT his memory stinks! We've made strides in spelling thanks to suggestions on this board. He is on track now. We struggled through rigorous math fact practice daily for months and now he knows his times tables. But daily I face the issue of needing to know terms such as "sum", "factor", "Verb", "preposition". We've gone through First Language Lessons 1 through 3 and he still can't remember what a verb is! Once I tell him, he can identify it but I must sit next to him and explain every instruction because I must daily explain these terms to him. I even have a song for the helping verbs and a song for the prepositions. He knows the songs, but he can't figure out which song is the preposition song unless I start it for him. It just seems odd. Does anyone else have personal experience with this and what I can do beyond constant flash cards for every term that comes up? Brownie

Wow! so cool! I wish I was better about doing this.

What kind of feedback have you received from these classes? I am looking for a way to get some outside "coaching" in writing for my 11 year old (maybe next year when he's 12). However, I see that on Brave Writer all the comments are public so they do no "embarrass" the kids. I definitely want feedback. How can my kid move his writing to the next level, regardless of what level he's at? Would I get that from Brave Writer? Brownie

Wow! Organizing to do a science lab/observation every day seems like quite an undertaking! Does it usually coordinate with what you are studying? I love science but I find it's the hardest to teach because 1) it should be hands on and 2) the available resources for homeschoolers are the poorest of all the subjects. It takes me hours of prep to come up with hands on activities and organize them. Then there's the lead time to order supplies. Can you give an example of what a week of activities might look like in your house? and how much time you need to devote to this? Brownie

Do you just use the books, or do you do the online class? and what is your background? DS11 is going to start running through the pre-algebra book next week but he finishes Saxon Pre-algebra. I don't think he has the frustration tolerance to do it up front, but I am hoping since he already has a solid pre-algebra background that he will now be able to handle it without tears. But even I find the thought process in the pre-algebra book confusing and I'm an engineer.

I have all these grand plans for project based learning and half-way through the year, I again find myself mired in workbooks and traditional assignments. There are a couple of things I am particularly pleased with as far as homeschooling goes. Would you share yours and how you accomplish them? 1. Reading: We have children who will be lifetime readers. The boys are each on track to read 250 books during the school year. These are primarily self-read and I allow time during school, mostly for assigned books, during the school day, but they read voluntarily mostly. We also listen to books on tape in the car all the time. We do a few read alouds. Mostly we just read the books, occassionally they need to write a summary of the book, and occassionally we go in more depth using Teaching the Classics for Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn so far this year. We also are in a lit club where we study short stories more in depth 2x a month. Good books are ALWAYS lying around the house and when we get stuck for good material, we reach out to their friends for recommendations. But I find even when they won't read a good book, they will listen to it on CD while trapped in the car :) 2. Writing Style: We use IEW for at least a year with each child. While I don't see it as a comprehensive writing program, it has given both them and me the tools we need to understand writing style and how writing and grammar integrate. A year of IEW has paid huge dividends. e.g. understanding that when you are trying to add sentence variety beyond the tradtional compound sentence, your main options are to add an adverb, adverbial clause, or adverbial prepositional phrase to the front of the sentence and understanding why this is, which dull words to avoid, how to close a paragraph,... We do OK with math, science and history, but I think we could do better, and I wonder if the traditional grammar, spelling, and vocab are just a waste of time. What do you do that you believe has made a big difference in your kids' education?

Looks like I forgot to mention that they bring an old electronic item and totally dismantle it. My youngest at the time got a kick out of that!

I signed my 11 year old up under me as coach. His page says "current mission: the world of math" and there is a dashboard with a tiled board supposedly showing what he's mastered and what he hasn't? I can go in as his coach and recommend topics. We haven't started yet other than to take the pre-test. We will be using this once a week in the spring as long as he likes it....First as pre-algebra review and then hopefully getting into some new topics.

Just want to say how awesome it is to personalize the education to the child. DS8 was struggling to finish up Singapore 4A so we stopped for a few weeks at least and did review, review, review. We finally went to move on to 4B. I gave a lecture (which I rarely do) on place value to lead into decimals. He was totally getting it. I was feeling good. Then we opened the workbook and....the floodgates opened!!! He said he did NOT understand and was not willing to receive help. I think he was just tired. So we shut the book and put it aside. We did word problems for 1 more week. Last Monday I pulled out 4B again with anxiety, and wouldn't you know, he started flying through it at triple the recommended pace, more than making up for the "lost week". Where else could you follow this kind of pacing but at home?!...nowhere! Timing is everything. Brownie

Sorry - we skip. DS is finishing up pre-algebra right now. I used to pick the problems for him, mostly choosing the hardest ones, but now I tell him to pick the ones he needs practice at and he does about 15 a day. Then we move on to the next lesson. It is a good lesson for him in being accountable for his own education. By the test, there is never a concept he misunderstands. He does make some careless errors for which I dock ALL points, but really there is no pressure for a grade and he is pretty detail oriented so I think he will get there with time. I think for the last 8 lessons or so I will make him do all the problems just to make sure he's got it all down pat before we move on. But it takes him 1 hour to listen to the video and then do the 15 hardest problems. I don't want to torture him with 1.5 hrs of math nor do I want to slow his pace because he is totally getting it. We did Saxon to make sure pre-algebra was solidly in his memory banks. Before this we did Singapore through 5B standards. We are going to spend the rest of the year (mid-jan through May) doing other stuff and I am looking forward to it...math contest problems, AOPS, hitting some pre-alg concepts Saxon doesn't hit on...fun! Brownie

ds11 read the first 5 or so at 6yrs old. At 7 I told him as long as he promised to put them down if he was scared he could read the rest. He read them and was fine. Sadly, I miss those days when it was easier to find something to challenge him. Now I cringe when out of boredom he picks up Encyclopedia Brown to read.

I am trying to make the same decision with my son for next year. Right now he is taking introductory 9 week courses in French (we wanted Spanish but did not get our preference) and in Latin. He has some LD's (very slow processing speed) and had speech issues while younger. My thoughts are similar to what people have said above. Spanish - pros: I can help to some degree, it is more practical and easier to practice with outside resources, is it easier grammatically? cons: I don't think he'll ever trill an "r" (I never did and I don't have a lisp), I think he will struggle with oral language Latin - pros: It seems to include some Roman history and he LOVES history, it is primarily read and written (not spoken), it will help in the sciences cons: He regularly fails grammar wkshts in English class despite having an excelling working knowledge of grammar (he is not detailed oriented in the least) Really my objective is to determine where he will get the higher grade bc I don't see this as a critical part of his education, seeing as it will not be one of his strengths, but he is overall a very bright, well-rounded student.

Getting involved with service projects/scouts/church seems like it might fulfill his desire to have a purpose to some degree and provide a social outlet at the same time? The holidays are coming up - this often provides countless opportunities at our church to bring cheer into the lives of the less fortunate in a huge variety of ways. We also have homeschoolers go work for worldvision(?) and we've worked for the food bank.

8-3 for middle school. But they have a study period 2-3 days a week at the end of the day and 20minutes free reading on the other days. I should add that they only get 30 minutes for lunch and no recess, which seems odd to me as I know I had middle school recess (i.e. time to walk in groups around the play yard and chat), but better that than HW! They theoretically should have just over an hour a night according to the school district, and that must include study time because most days he has about 30minutes written work, but on occasion a couple of hours.

This doesn't seem like a huge issue for essays (if they're brilliant and it is not causing stress), although perhaps you could try assigning "bigger" essays that cannot be completed in one day. However, it can become an issue with studying for tests. It is a bad habit to leave studying until the last minute bc you can easily get into the cycle of in one ear and out the other just in time to get an "A" on the test, but not remember anything you studied a week after the test. DH and I both wish we had spent more time learning and less time grade grabbing in school. Stuff doesn't stick in long term memory as well when you only learn it the night before the test. I am trying to teach a very stubborn ds to at least look over material 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there over time for French, history, vocab.... It even saves more time than was spent when it comes time to study I think.

Same situation - I am supposed to have one in a 7th grade "gap year" this year. He passed their math placement test with flying colors. We made him repeat the course anyhow. He just got a "C" on his latest test - sigh. Assimilation into ps is about more than smarts. DS is struggling with following directions and careless errors. Now I knew this going in bc it has always been a problem, but just a warning not to rely on standardized tests when you know what you want and you know what your kid is capable of. It's just a test. Mom knows best.