That is NUTS! Off to share this COOL trick with the hubs and boy. Stella

TWells -- I was familiar with the multiples of nine/digits add to 9 thing... But I just NO WAY-ed out loud with the digits adding up to multiples of nine after 910, 920, etc. Off to read the casting out nines thread. The number nine--this should be a curriculum! Stella

Kiana, You've totally opened a new world to us! Thank you, again! http://www.felderbooks.com/papers/bases.html Stella

Kiana, Thank you!!! I am off to google bases... It's a vague memory I hope to revive! Stella

I love those patterns, too!!! I tend to notice repetitions. And I think somehow the patterns Im familiar with are related to DS's find today. I have never noticed a pattern with inverses carrying all the way back, in order, to the original number, though! I just called my DH and told him, 1) write out your 9s horizontally, in a straight line. 2) put a vertical line between 45 and 54. 3) why are the numbers on either side of the line mirror images? His response : (silence) Well look at that! Lol! We 're all going to start analyzing number patterns now! Stella

While skip counting 9s, my son asked me why the numbers invert themselves after 45. 54 (45), 63 (36), 72 (27), etc... All I could manage was a WHOAH, THATS COOL! I've googled with no results. Help! Stella

Hmm. It doesn't sound like he's passionate about piano. But, that could be driven by other factors -- a positive/ affirming school experience, teachers who excel in their field, and friends with similar interests could flip that around. My concern would be that by your description, your son seems to like piano and feels good at it, but it's not something that drives him. Placing him in music because nothing else seems obvious isn't necessarily a bad thing... But it's not great either. I'd rather leave his time open so he can find and pursue what he excels in. Since it's a "bird in the hand," I'd encourage the audition process. Nothing to lose in trying. And if in the process you learn he doesn't want to pursue music, you've still gained some info you didn't have before! Stella

IF I knew its use could not potentially be used against me (work, custody of children, etc), I would consider trying it privately. I don't plan on finding myself in those situations, but generally, one doesn't. Considering the responses on this thread, legality hasn't yet changed public perception, which tells me that trying it places me at some risk. So, for now, nope. When I'm 82 and cranky, have little on the line, and don't give a flip, maybe!

Oh honey bun. I hear you. We are Anglicans posing as Baptists. Our small Anglican parish closed in May and we found our local protestant liturgical church options generally aloof. So for now, my head is in the sand regarding doctrine while we cherish the warm fellowship and occasional nods to the church calendar offered by our small Baptist congregation. Oh my gosh. We are Baptists. Still processing that one, apparently! I also live in the Deep South and have an inclination toward immediate aversion to all things culturally rote. Football, what your mama said, how evil Common Core is, how God _________. (Insert most anything that isn't clearly defined by Scripture/Creeds). I don't have answers to those questions and generally don't find a strong sense of comradery with those who do. I feel as though I should say nothing more. My claim of "loner" seems far too well founded at this point. :). You are not alone, and I wish other homeschoolers with a healthy sense of skepticism would out themselves. (In real life). Perhaps this has nothing to do with it, but some of my dearest friends are Catholic -- on issues that don't confront doctrine, they are happy to say, "I don't know--let's call it mystery." Thank God for mystery and for friends who say "I don't know." I need more of THOSE people in my very linear orthodox set. ;) I was writing my post across the evening as others posted. Totally agree with befriending the snubbed Catholics!

Make her an offer! Someone offered me 2/3 of my asking price within the first 24 hours of listing my sons old bedroom furniture. I told them I was getting offers at my asking price, but would follow up if nothing panned out. Sure enough, the other offers flaked out and I offered it to the low baller. Go for it!

My seven year old son threw me that line this year too, and my reaction was the same. Only, he has no formal school experience from which to draw gratitude for his present circumstances. I agree with you on the fundamentals. I've come to believe the problem isn't that a child hates school, but that a child lacks vision for where they fundamentals will take them. This isn't every child. I didn't need to understand where the fundamentals would take me... I reveled in the short term goal of the worksheet. But my son doesn't. He needs the practical application to be clear before he can see the task before him today as relevant. Heavy sigh. In some things it's easier to do than in others. Every two months I remind him of the tedious nature of phonograms, that then gave way to reading, that then gave way to sweet stories like Mr. putter and Tabby, and more recently My Side of the Mountain and Treasure Island. He knows that every subject can build in this way, but I lack the ability and patience to express it for him often enough... So... I limit myself to two hours of actual table instruction. (DS is a second grader). I also began scribing for my son in math (Saxon 3). Having done this, I can share that I was surprised how very little my son needed the writing aspect to process and learn--I know this is hard to swallow as a methodical mama. But it's easier to understand when you consider that whatever he had gained in writing, was quickly lost in frustration and self defeat. By scribing, much to my surprise, I saw my son fly through math concepts. When he flew, he felt good at math. And here we are 25 lessons from being done with our curriculum, and he is completing 60 percent of his written work on his own after our table time is finished. It is glorious to be on this side of that struggle. I also cut myself slack on making things fun. I use humor a lot, but facts are facts, and when the goal of our fundamental exercise isn't clear, my son is happy to settle for just getting it done--as quickly as possible. I'm happy to make that compromise despite my own desire to bathe in depth. Also, I use a timer. As a method gal, I don't like time limits... Learning this step in the method takes as long as it takes, right? Well. Yes. But mental fatigue is real, and I've been known to inflict it. ;) time limits keep me on course and preserve my son's mental energy to get through our school day. As others have shared, I meet my son's need in these ways... But one thing I insist on is no negative talk. No complaining, whining, slouching, or dawdling. They are death bringers to learning. This means pouring our two hours of table time, I'm with him. I don't leave him. I help focus his efforts and am known to be a hair trigger for removing media privileges. I hope this is helpful in some way. Investing so much into an education only to have the recipient "hate it" is no reward! It can get better, though. Stella

My son (almost 8) is technically a second grader this year doing Saxon 3 (Larson). He's doing the math, no problem. But the daily practice sheets require my help (for focus) and sometimes I write for him. I want to keep going with Saxon, as it has become the "devil I know." But I know the step into fourth grade math is a big change with Saxon, and I don't want to bite off more than Ds is ready for in terms of independent work. I know others have faced this... Please let's borrow your wisdom! Stella

LOF cant be our everyday math program. But it's awesome for winter break, mom break, summer, etc. Having fun while doing math is an important thing. THAT'S math In real life... You use it to make, do, plan, figure... but early math study rarely has that contingent reward system going, unless mom is adding a reward (which rarely seems connected to the math itself). LOF has my kid doing math so he can learn more about Fred and do more math. I love that, even if I don't get it. Stella

Every year! I can't get my hormone replacement if I don't do the exam. And I'm not very nice without estrogen. It's best for everyone. ;)

Wow. Just wow. What an amazing quote! And how perceptive of you. Thank you so much for sharing. This is an encouragement to me and I hope as you learn to chill on the work front, you find joy! (I think you will).

I am really sorry to hear about your situation. I grew up in churches with similar authority issues, which ultimately led to me joining a mainstream denomination with a distinct polity. While corruption is in every denomination, the clear lines of authority offer me the hope of trust. It hurts so badly, I know. We are in a church search now since our parish closed its doors in May, and I am literally grieving the familiarity, the Dr. Seuss Christmas Eve service, the faces. It's hard. My grief isn't helping me be open to new churches so far. I will say that your former pastor doesn't surprise me... He seems the typical pastor of that type of church. He probably considers biblical tithing part of your Christian responsibility, and thus his pastoral responsibility to you is to remind you. That doesn't make him corrupt... But it does make him part of a church paradigm that invites suspicion. And that's what I really dislike, for him as much as for you and those in that church. It sounds as though the church didn't change as much as you and your DH did. BTDT, bought the T shirt, went on tour. I hope in time the anger gives way to thankfulness that you've moved on to a place where you can worship and give un encumbered.

LL Bean's Wicked Good slippers! My husband finally wore out the pair I bought for him 10 years ago! They still look great if he's wearing them, but the fleece is packed down and missing in the heel area.

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My DH is doing this with ds7 every morning while I'm getting ready for the day. There's a LOT to do beyond the "hour of code," too. So even if you aren't doing the formal hour, the resources are awesome. Stella

Thank you for this. That is all really helpful information. (Sigh of relief). I began moving backwards in AAS 3 this past week, reviewing. Points for mom! I think after 4 years, I'm finally getting the hang of this teaching thing. ;) And someone mentioned phonetic zoo... We loved IEWs early lang arts program! I'm going to pull out some of our old folder games. Y'all are just a wealth of info. ;) Stella

Thank you so much for all the helpful responses and commiserating! I do think this is the problem. Especially at issue is the growing number of steps required to spell a word. "Middle" requires us to spell phonetically, remember our syllable types, and -- this next step is where I lose him -- now we have to evaluate what the vowel in the first syllable requires to keep it saying its short sound - doubling the consonant. His attention span won't accomodate all that. The crazy thing is that ds has been doing really great with dictating the AAS sentences up to this point. It's just the WWE dictation we have issues with, and I think most of that is due to him not wanting to take risks with words he's unfamiliar with. He wants his words to be right and will not budge. I appreciate the writing resource recommendations. We havent tried much outside of our formal curriculums yet, and that might be just the thing to give his brain some growing time. ;) I so appreciate all your responses! Peace, Stella

I'm a violin instructor. My son, 7, is taking piano this year for the first time. When I was looking for a piano instructor, I knew I did not want a group class. I wanted 30 minutes of dedicated one-on-one learning time. If my son is going to learn a skill, he needs to be able to make consistent progress and feel succesful. That requires math-like focus, which is most efficiently produced one-on-one at his age. I got lucky with our piano instructor. He is an older gentleman with a PhD in music education who teaches through our city park system for $31/month for weekly lessons. I would send out an email/ask around your homeschooling community. That's how I landed this gentleman's name... I would definitely be looking for a college degree in music education, piano performance/pedagogy with experience teaching young children, not necessarily in that order. A weighted keyboard is generally OK to begin on. But I'll defer to a pianist on that one. As far as when to start... if your son is asking, then do it. At age 7, my son wasn't asking and he wasn't interested, but I insisted because I know it's good for him. And thankfully, he is really enjoying it. You can start your son, but I would advise discernment. The first taste of something like music is really special. If you start at a good age, make it a unique part of your week (a dedicated teacher), and make it a consistent part of your week, your kid will ride a wave of momentum. I wanted to aim for the wave instead of schlepping around and leaving a bad taste to come back to later. HTH! Peace, Stella

AAS is our only subject in which we break down words. With WWE 2, I help him spell words so that he's focused on the larger goal of writing. But I'm helping him spell every other word, and I'm beginning to wonder why I teach spelling! He isn't spelling! Argh. I guess I'm burnt out too... The discussion, on and on and on. I'm fried. The word "needle" nearly buried me this week. Why do we need double e if the syllable is open? The timing of that word was a perfect storm. DS was finally taking time to examine the first syllable, determining what he needed to do to make the vowel short or long.... And along comes "needle" and blows it all to smithereens. Bah. Stella

I'm working through book 3 with my seven year old boy, and I'm weary. It's just so... Cumbersome. This coming from the phonics queen and language lover. I love knowing all the rules! But it's burying my kid. He just wants to write without breaking down every stinking syllable. If that stood between me and writing, I'd say farewell. Suggestions to push on? To try something new? Is this a well known homeschooler frustration with AAS? The little magnetic tiles irritate me too. Thought I'd throw that in for good measure. Peace, Stella

I have a seven year old boy, and yup... That sounds par for our day! Was your son doing some work independently prior to this? That's my situation. My son started the school year strong, was doing his Saxon Math worksheets independtly (asked for help), but around weeks 10-12, the limp noodle fatigue hit. E-v-e-r-y subject was met with whine, and my early school year behavior focused correction was met with tears. That got my attention, because crying with this one is the exception. I truly believe this is a fatigue issue. Here's why... All of our school work starts out light on writing and review focused those first 8 weeks. This is heaven for my kid. But when we start adding a little more writing, and a few new math concepts, and a few new phonograms, the cumulative impact is mind numbing. Being the work-horse-with-blinders-on momma that I default to, I tend to follow the curriculum too closely. This resulted in what started as a 2 hour school day for formal subjects being a 4 hour school day by week 10 of school, and that's too much. I began writing math for my son about three weeks ago. It has improved things greatly. Math is back to being 40-50 minutes, and the pleasant upside to that is that My kid still has mental juices to do the subjects that come after. I still get whine, but it's of the good ole Tom Sawyer/ boys and school variety... I am sitting with my son for all of our formal schoolwork (math, writing, spelling/ grammar) except for copy work. It's just necessary, so I'm trying to accept it and embrace the time limit. :) Peace, Stella