:lurk5: We'll be looking for the "next thing" mid-year next year....

Interesting that VP reads the literature aloud in class... We've done all of the literature and history assignments so far orally (this is our first year) except for those books that are specifically noted as "readers". So we haven't had any problems with reading level (and we are using them a year "ahead" of their schedule simply because that's where we are in history). We HAVE skipped a couple of books because I considered the content to be inappropriate for a nightmare-prone 7yo.

Ditto. It'd be cool if someone here won :) (Either way, what a blessing for those families!) I'd drop the MOH/VP/SL craziness if I had free TOG....

:lol::lol: My ds is JUST like that and was even before he was reading. "Mommy, how do you spell....." and he'd write little sentences (in all caps with the letters all run together) and draw pictures. I wish I could say it stopped when he stopped needing as much help spelling :D

AAS is nice and gentle (in case you deal with wiggly boy who gets tired of the lesson) but can also be condensed easily. You might also look at Spelling Workout A, depending on how much writing he likes to do. My ds is newly 5, but he's doing the SWO workbook at about 20 pages/day (only in spurts, though). He loves to write, though. Since he's your oldest, you probably could do more of the fun spelling games the pp suggested. My ds tends to have to wait until dd is finished with school...

:D That's how it works here too. The shower/tub combo in the public bathroom only gets used by company. We have a tiled seat in our shower and my 2cents worth is to run the hot water pipe under it or heat it in some other way. Ours gets used as a shelf/place to prop a foot when shaving because it tends to be COLD.

I edit everywhere. This is the first time I've ever posted on this board for just that reason. It seems that the majority of posters here (that I've read at least) have PG kids who are way way way above grade level. Here I'd feel like I'd have to justify why my kids are even gifted (and I've erased several sentences that sounded just like that ;) ). On other forums, I get accused of pushing too hard, forcing my kids to work above grade level for my own ego or something. On Christian homeschooling lists, I get accused of valuing academics over character. Seems like it never ends. I think that the "fitting in" issues are far different with PG children (which mine are NOT, just my general feeling from the posts I've read), but there are also issues when your child is gifted but not nearly so much, if that makes sense. No issues from family, though. They're excited to hear the latest things the kids are doing, regardless of age or timing of the event. (They're the same with my oldest who's more delayed than my other 2 are advanced.)

That sounds sacrilegious to me! (KIDDING!) I have dd do the problems on paper, but I guess I don't have to once 4-6 are out... (already own 1-3 of the old ones) Makes my day too! Thanks!

Ditto. The vast majority of the student pack is the cards (word, phonogram, key). If you come up with a tracking system to note which cards need to be reviewed by which child, you could probably make it work.

We're on day 107. I'm ultra-strict about what it takes to call it a "day", so we'll be dropping subjects LONG before we finish our "days". (Tomorrow is our OK history co-op and I'll consent to call it a 1/2 day IF we get half of our regular subjects done.) As of next week, though, we'll drop down to grammar 2x/week and spelling either 2 or 3x/week. I figure 4 AAS levels in a year is PLENTY and we'll finish FLL3 and head into FLL4. (So, why do I feel guilty about this plan?)

We did the mm in the HIG orally. dd stood next to me and told me the answers. Since we're doing Singapore as reinforcement and a grade behind the "regular" math, she found them easy, so I didn't think about making her write them.

I have a dd with DS too -- my oldest. She's a child, fun, ornery, delightful, frustrating, all of the things that kids are :) Additional ideas: -- Encourage her to breastfeed the baby. There are benefits to the baby that one wouldn't think of with a typical child (palate development, strengthening facial muscles) that will aid for the future, but she's not likely to get encouragement to nurse. (I heard "babies with DS just can't nurse" way too many times and it doesn't have to be true. dd self-weaned at 24.5 months.) -- Listen, realizing that her "new normal" with this baby is not yours. There will be differences between her new baby and her other children or yours. Let her be different and love her where she's different. -- Sometimes we think that life will be "normal" again. Really, life will settle into a new normal, but it's not the normal she had before. -- Try to stay away from the DS stereotypes. All children with DS aren't sweet, happy, joyful all of the time (just like you wouldn't expect it of your "normal" children). I think she is tremendously blessed to have a friend like you, who wants to be there for her and support her in the ways she needs.

I told chatterbox ds to fill in the blank "If I don't talk, I'm _____ " His response: dead Um, yeah, for him, that's true. Dead or sleeping.

You can buzz through WWE1. dd started about this time last year at 6 and we did 2 "days" per school day and it worked well. I'm glad we did that rather than starting with WWE2 (which we just finished) because it got her used to the "system" while the work was fairly easy. We did have to use our own paper, though, because the lines in the workbook were WAY too big and she informed me that she wasn't a baby ;)

Nope. We do most, but not all, of the dictation sentences. I must be doing something "wrong" though because we seldom hit a step that takes us more than a day (and less than 30 minutes). Perhaps we just haven't hit the level that is challenging for dd yet. We're almost finished with level 3 and will quit spelling for the year when we finish level 4.