If comments were limited to the inherent weaknesses of any given curriculum, I wouldn't be griping. Generalizing about parents who choose a specific curriculum is ungracious. I'm not going on a quote hunting expedition because I need to go weed. Suffice to say I've chosen curricula based upon my son's needs, not the group best suited to my social needs. If Saxon and CC are the hallmarks of being a bumpkin, I'm the intellectual baby being thrown out with the bath water, and where does that leave me, an intelligent conversation loving mother? Depressed, I tell you. Stella ETA: it seems a post was removed? Well that makes my gripe seem a little crazy.

I am floored by the lack of generosity toward other homeschoolers. It's one thing to have different academic goals that force you into a smaller social circle. Its another to lump users of certain curricula/ programs into a less than complimentary category based on your own subjective study, and then hide behind "rigor" to justify it. Mocking of certain homeschool programs has become perfectly respectable on this board, and it's getting old. We all make choices. Own yours, I'll own mine. But the mocking generalizations aren't helpful. Stella

I agree with this. The anonymity offers an opportunity to be honest. But temper that with the knowledge that "forum people" are not a random sample of the population a board hopes to serve. Stella

I have several years of menopause under my belt. I'll just tell you... Your problem is totally normal, and Ive never encountered a woman for whom the natural therapies worked in that specific dept. The soy/herbal stuff did help some of my friends with the hot flash/ irritability/ heart palp symptoms... Just not the intimacy stuff. With a decrease in your s-x hormones, your s-x organs change. In the case of menopausal women, the v-ginal tissue atrophies, dryness is an issue, etc. the most effective therapy I've experienced is called V-gifem, which works in the same way a topical estrogen cream would, it's just a pill inserted rather than a cream applied. The amount of estrogen used in these products is so small that it's negligible (I was on it while breast feeding). It's definitely a change and you'll have to be more proactive in searching out what works, and get creative. DHs usually need some educating... His approach/expectations will need some revamping too.

I borrowed one from a friend -- 25 problems per lesson. It's a lot for where my son is right now, but three months may see some improvement there. One can hope! :) I suppose I'm thinking I've seen/ heard this question (the leap between K-3 to 5/4) asked a lot. But maybe I'm confusing the writing issue with the format change. For a homeschool curriculum as old and well known as Saxon, by homeschoolers of varying ages and ability, I absolutely expected to find at least some offering (workbook) to ease the transition for a younger student. YKWIM? As it is this issue has us considering departing the Saxon path for a year or two. A workbook could solve all our problems! Sigh. Stella

Yes, this was my experience as well. I've been listening to SWB's lecture on Writing in the early years, and she talks about this very issue. Putting thoughts on paper is a very complex task, and you have to budget your child's ability to focus and do this complex task across all subjects. My goal is to require some thought to paper in math, but not to the point that it gets in the way of the computation. My son has loads more computation energy than he has thoughts to paper energy, if that makes sense. Stella

Music is just like math and grammar. The novelty of a new thing lasts for a couple of months, and then... But we do tend to have a magical expectation of music. That it will enamor, fulfill, and do something magical to and for our kids. There is much we don't know about the benefits of music, but the study of it is simple. Just like any other core subject, it's about breaking it down, learning the method, and submitting to the discipline of what is required. That last part is where your kids are -- and it's just as whiny in my house as it is in yours. Only it isn't all my son, but my violin students too. Totally normal. And this is absolutely the time you change up some things, but abandoning music 9 months in... Just when they are coming to the end of novelty and about to develop the inner muscle that makes music so worthwhile... Keep at it!!! Work on inspiring... Summer brings lots of live music events that are more family friendly. If a drummer or pianist happens to be part of it, all the better. Listening... Expose them to great musicians in their chosen instruments. Look at biographies of great musicians. And then, Make music their job. Thirty minutes everyday before they get free time. Do sit down with them on occasion (even I can only do it once a week consistently). Ask their teacher for a method of practice that can be utilized instead of "performing" pieces over and over (not practice). Explore different kinds of music. My son has a five finger Star Wars book with accompaniment, and he gets so excited when I'm willing to indulge something he loves. Go backwards. Have them play older pieces so they can appreciate how far they've come. This is a real kick for my younger struggling violin students. HTH! Stella

I struggled through the pre k stage, but read alouds were my fave. I read all the Narnia books to my son when he was 5. (It was more for me than him). BUT, He enjoyed them!!! He begged me to keep reading. Now, we're reading them again, and he's understanding more. If the child is enjoying them, go for it! The Horse and His Boy was the only book my DS didn't particularly like, but he was happy to let me read while he played army men. ;) Stella

Thanks to both of these recommendations. I've seen the Fable book mentioned but had no idea it was for my son's age. Off to read about it! Stella

Thank you so much. I've started listening to the talk, and it's so helpful. I also called IEW to get the scoop on their two offerings for third grade, and both sound like too much for us right now. Moving to Saxon 54 next year AND an intense writing program would be... Ugly . :) I think we might just stick it out with WWE 3. Many thanks! Stella

I posted about writing curriculum earlier for my 8 year old son because I am angsty about writing. I'm just a smudge into SWB's talk Writing With Ease in Elementary ( or something like that), and it almost immediately addresses that fear of comparing your child to PS kids who are pushed to write write write... Maybe you should try listening, too? It's made me feel better in ten minutes! Anything that does that is worth the $3.99! :D Stella

My son, 8, will be a 3rd grader next year. Our LA program this year consisted of AAS(3), WWE (2), and FLL (2). We loved FLL and AAS. While my son loved the literature selections and the simplicity of WWE, the redundancy of oral quizzing, dictating, etc became an obstacle. Now, at the end of our 2nd year with WWE, I know DS can narrate and dictate but I don't have a clear understanding of how another year of narrating/dictating is going to connect the dots toward writing a paragraph. My understanding is that WWE 3 is more of the same. Is that right? A positive I can see with WWE is that it would give us some developmental time--DS can narrate. DS can dictate. But put those two together as one fluid process, and something disconnects. Time to grow and settle down while learning to memorize/dictate and communicate the point of a passage is indeed valuable. Sorry-- to the point --I'm looking for a writing program that won't nail my son to the wall in the area he struggles (thoughts to paper), but one that does ask him to stretch in that direction. IEW's Student Writing Intensive (A) or All Things Fun and Fascinating are my only other ideas right now. Because my writing education was poor, IEW appeals to me. But I'm open to other suggestions! In fact, I'd love to hear them. Thanks! Stella

How old is your house? Homes built in the 60s or earlier are most likely galvanized steel... Though some 70s homes might as well in certain areas. I went home for Christmas last year to my moms 80s construction suburban home, and marveled at her copper. She thought I was nuts! Seriously, bad pipes can be a bummer for so many reasons!

I have found that the rhythm of our school year generally goes something like this... Fall excitement, discipline, and consistency eventually become the breeding ground for an appreciation of spring freedom, exploratory learning, and travel. Late summer brings a longing for something consistent and steady. And so it goes. I am a creature of discipline and method. So, autumn rocks. But right around spring time, when DS is bored to tears with the monotony of our spelling and writing curriculums (we've finished math and have 4 weeks left of LA), I just want to explore something different. Right now, I want to encourage DS to write short vignettes of battle scenes, as building battle scenes are his JOY. My problem is that I tend to operate in "full on" teacher mode, or hands off. I know DS needs more from me than "Go write about that battle scene you built." He just asked me to dictate for him... I really want him to try to do this himself because it's a topic he really enjoys, and will motivate a little stretching. How do I facilitate this without getting in the way? What kind of general goals can I help him set that are achievable? I need baby steps. Many thanks! Stella

As a violin instructor, my early violin students usually have about 3-4 songs per week. One is a memory work piece for focusing on technique, one or two pieces that introduce new notes/ rhythms/ bowings, and one classic piece for focusing on style/articulation. That's what I expect they can master in a week... If they don't, we stick on it. Talk to your dds teacher... It may be that he/she is focusing on something other than musicality at this early stage, which sounds ridiculous. I'm totally speculating, but the basic physical requirements of the instrument might be the teacher's focus -- building stamina and breath control. Stella

We're level three, but I wanted to chunk it 1/2 way through the year for the same reason. So many words are pointed out as rule breakers that you would assume any word NOT exactly fitting the rules learned thus far would labeled. I did stick with AAS. I started paying more attention to doing exactly what was prescribed (word banks, periodic review of mastered material, etc) and it was very helpful. I'm glad we stuck it out but am not sure what I'll choose for next year. :) Stella

The search for truth is painful on its own -- but when it is precipitated by your partner, and then urged upon you on his timeline, Whoah. My heart is torn for you. I think it's vitally important that you separate your husband's questions from your own. You read his books, and they created questions for you... and that seems to be where you remain. Understandably so. It's created a deep and wide chasm that overwhelms and upends. But there's more to this than simply ceding to his questions with a "he's got a point there." He may have a point, but there's always another point of view -- go find it. I'm going to ignore his bad behavior as just that. Go, pray, read, journal about your own questions. I think as you become clearer on what you believe, and why, you'll find that it changes the relationship. I do hope for the better -- it could begin a dialogue in which you give him books/ new questions -- time to put on YOUR existential thinking cap, fella. But it could also give you a clearer sense of what's really going on here, faith questions being a symptom, not the disease.

If you like what you see, try it... That really is the only way you'll know. I'm mom to an only, and we started CC when my son was 4-1/2. He loved it. I loved the social opportunities/challenges it afforded us since other co ops wouldn't let us join until my son was in first grade. My son, an impulsive funny man, was able to listen to memory work while building Legos, riding in the car, etc. This was so freeing. There was no pressure for him to memorize ALL of the material -- but I was amazed at all that "stuck" that year and the questions the topics prompted. So if you ask me, I think CC is great for young kids! Now that my son is 8, I'm beginning to see how difficult it is to map out our history and science study to work well with CC. CC just moves too fast. So I can see us looking into other options at some point as we approach 4th grade. Stella

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Old post... Deleted!

My ds is a strong willed bright one as well. And boy have you hit the nail on the head with your question. That balance is darned elusive. Generally: I try to make sure he's regularly engaged in activities he does well in. When he does misbehave, as you mentioned, I try not to flare up while informing him of the consequence (fix it, lose priveledge, time out). I also guard against emotional distancing -- which can sometimes be my default when the behavior has embarrassed me or cause massive inconvenience. I also remark frequently that I love his silliness -- it's his inappropriate timing that needs work. As for consequences, last week my son stuck a stick threateningly in a little boy's face, he ventured off by himself at co op (a no-no he'd been reminded 15 minutes prior), he broke our front window after I told him not to smack the glass again, and he grabbed a little boy out of line at gymnastics and swung him to the floor for constant line cutting. He apologized to the boy and the boy's parents, we left co op early (no recess-- gasp), he paid $21 for the piece of glass I replaced, and his coach told him if he put his hands on a kid again he'd go home. I let the coach handle it and didn't say a word (My husband's input helped me make that call). I share all that because it was a consequence heavy week, something I strive to balance out. But his choices warranted each consequence. We ramped up the snuggles, hugs, and story time. I'm hoping that allowing him to make choices, to own the consequences, and yet to be immersed in our love and warmth in the midst of those trials, is the balance. I really hope so!

Intrmediate 4: http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=10&category=8152 My husband said the same thing re the writing. And in my less guilty moments, I agree. But it took me so dad gum long this year to realize it was the writing that was too frustrating (not the math) that I'm uber sensitive about this huge leap to no workbook! I feel a little nuts about clinging to the workbook! Thanks for sharing your experience... I'm a little less anxious about 5/4 as an option! LAR, my understanding is that the Intermediate and K-3 series both lead to 5/4 after 3rd grade. But the K-3 series is very different in set up, making the transition to 5/4 trickier. The intermediate series is a great deal like 5/4, so It should feel somewhat familiar! Stella

My son (8) is finishing up Saxon 3 and we need to make the move to 5/4 next year. He's ready for the math in 5/4, but the vast amount of writing would fall to me... Which will work part of the time, but not most of the time. I contacted Rainbow and they let me know there isn't a workbook for the practice problems in Saxon 5/4 (how can this be?). They suggested Saxon Intermediate 4, which seems to be set up similarly (practice probs need to be copied from the book). Any experience with Saxon 5/4 and a kid who needs writing assistance ? Any experience with Intermediate 4? Thank you! Stella

Were the offending jars near each other n the yogurt maker? I've only made yogurt using big jars, slightly warming the milk/yogurt, and then storing the warmed jars of milk/yogurt in a cooler overnight. They did require some refrigeration to fully set. My runny batches were usually due to a temp or starter yogurt problem. In a hurry, I would apply too much heat. If your bad jars were all seated near one another, could it be that the heating element gets too warm there. If your jars are getting getting warmer than 100 degrees F, it's too hot. The cheapest best yogurt to start with I've found is Dannon. I get consistent results with it. Hope this helps!

I'm a violin instructor. I've been playing for 30 years, teaching for 15, and have undergrad and grad degrees in music. Four is very young. I was begging for violin at 4, so I know it happens! And in that case, I absolutely agree with looking into lessons. But in most cases, parents of 4-5 year olds are looking for an enriching activity their child can begin. I suggest piano. It's a developmentally appropriate musical activity in which children start reading music from the beginning, and the successes come steadily enough to keep morale high. Violin requires a great deal of physical stamina and coordination, in addition to the new challenge of reading music. Developmentally, if your four year old struggles with holding a pencil, consider that a bow hold will be at least as challenging. It isn't impossible, but consider maintaining a proper bow hold, violin hold, and open left hand position all at once while moving hands in different ways. My experience has been that most four year olds can do a number of these things, even together! But in most cases, a four year old is developmentally limited in what they can hope to achieve on the violin, and this transfers to hard earned slow successes -- loving the instrument fades. Suzuki does break violin down into manageable chunks. Students listen and memorize pieces so they are free to focus on the technique of playing. It gets results! But note reading generally suffers. It isn't insurmountable, but... In the typical "enrichment" situation with really young students, I suggest parents wait on violin until age 7, and start piano first. Not because it isn't possible to do violin, but because I can do in 4 months with a seven year old what it will take a year to do with a four year old, AND they will be reading music. Even better, wait until your nine year old is pleading for violin lessons, and then give them. This was the case with a set of violin playing sisters I taught for 5 years... They were ready and eager. They've got concerto competitions under their belts now, and they did it in a relatively short period of time (8 years). Just my $.02. But again, if your daughter is already at the eager and ready place at four, go for it. Stella