I own and use the Freshlife Sprouter and really like it; it works great! www.freshlifesprouter.com

My twin girls will be going into 4th grade next year and I've never bought a math curriculum. They are learning just fine without one, and to be honest, math for us this way makes for pleasant school days! Denise in FL what did you use for 4th grade? Ruth Beechick's booklet is great, and you might want to check out www.systemath.com Donna

Good for you! Keep going! I love Leslie Sansone DVD's.

http://www.addictinggames.com/50states.html

Julie in CA! Your post was so encouraging! I'm so inspired I want to declutter and organize the entire house before bed tonight! Oops, it's already past 9 p.m.! Tomorrow will be here soon enough! Two things that help me the most--1) I don't get the mail until I can DEAL WITH IT! By that I mean I don't get the mail out of the mailbox until I can give every piece of mail a new home--to the trash bin, to the "bills" folder, in the "read later" folder, onto dh's desk, etc. Just by doing this one thing you will feel and BE more organized than you are right now. 2) don't buy anything and bring it into your home unless there is a corresponding something else you are going to get rid of. (Of course I'm not talking about groceries.) This will also surprise you if you do it for a few weeks. Little by little the clutter will disappear. Don't give up! Donna

Thanks, Chloe. Just this week I started using Psalm 119 for dictation and copywork (about 3 verses per day). I tell my two girls that if I use a word that they're not sure how to spell, they should just try their best to write it correctly. It's sort of like a game to see whether they can use the phonics rules to figure it out. If a phrase ends with a semicolon I tell them to put one. (I plan to teach that another time). The nice thing about that particular psalm is that it has a lot of repeated words, and usually the "hard word" will come up again a few verses later. The girls have composition books which they use for this. After I dictate the verse (usually just half a verse at a time) they repeat it back to me and then they write it on the left side of the book. I then write it on the white board, and they copy it neatly on the right side of their books. I can see their pride in their work at the end of the day. (It is nice to have one side all neatly writeen to show Daddy when he comes home!) Happy schooling! Donna

http://www.triviumpursuit.com/articles/7_und_trs_hsing.php

http://www.bjupress.com/services/testing/

Have you tried sitting right there and just waiting? I don't know why this is, but some children NEED the silent support while doing certain assignments. Even if you're just reading or making your grocery list, it might be just the thing to keep him focused.

I wish someone taught me these roots before I took the SAT's! It is a good "extra" to help with understanding where English words come from. Go to www.amazon.com to get another 15 reviews

Maria/ME, Thanks for your #30 post. I really appreciate what you wrote. I think instead of calling it "delayed academics" from now on I will refer to it as "child appropriate" academics! I imagine some folks reading all this might want to say "duh", of course you slow down or speed up according to the child, but I think it is beneficial to read what is working for other HSers. And what subjects they have had success in even when the rest of academia might think they are making a mistake. Thanks. Also, if/when we decide to go slowly on a subject we have to be prepared perhaps for some raised eyebrows when the child doesn't know something in public. Personally, I don't care what others think. But I have explained to my girls that they don't know as many "math facts" as the kids at the other schools. "Daddy and I are teaching you the way we believe is best for this school year". A few weeks ago one of my dd told me that a fourth grade girl in her SS class snickered when she was filling out a paper and pondered aloud "how do you spell "was"". She knows how to spell "was"; she must have been in a hurry. (I mean if your parents aren't around and you can't ask your SS teacher how to spell a word. . . :confused:) Anyway, it was a good opportunity to teach my girls how to act appropriately when someone doesn't know something, or when they speak in an uneducated or rude way. Graciousness is a virtue that I wish I had learned earlier in life! Anyway, thanks again for the thread! Happy HSing! Donna twin third grade girls

PLEASE just say "leave a message". I LOVE children, but I can't stand it when folks have their kids on the machine. My time is precious!!!!

Have you checked out www.savingdinner.com ?

Our mail lady used to come to the door with packages until recently when we acquired an outside dog. Now she honks and waits. I don't blame her. I don't like unknown animals running up to me. we live in the country, BTW. Did you recently get a pet that might be making him apprehensive to get out of the car?

you might want to check out www.systemath.com and click on the "Mynah Bird Math"

Wow, I appreciate this topic. I really have mixed feelings about this, but I think the topic would be better for a logic/debate course, and not for writing at that age. Perhaps trying to persude someone to vote a certain way would be a good persuasion assignment. I believe the issue of abortion is this generation's slavery issue. Just like it is inhumane (and sinful) to treat people of color less than human, it is inhumane (and sinful) to treat unborn people less than human. This issue divides our country just as slavery did years ago. Maybe the authors of the curriculum take this stand as well. (aside) My daughters (8 y.o) know about abortion because we have had the discussion in which we esteem their birth mother for choosing to give them life (and not choosing the opposite). It would have been close to impossible to have the discussion without the "a" word. On the other hand, they know close to nothing about reproduction, except that a baby needs a birth mother and a birth father to come into existence. One of these days we are going to get the questions about that, and I'm ready to discuss it. That's one HUGE advantage of HSing . . we parents can see the subjects and assignments before the student and even nix one or two if we believe our child(ren) should not be discussing that topic yet. I love HSing!

a keeper!

My girls let me know that they really don't like SWO, so we started SP this year and all love it. Not one to waste things, I told them they had to finish the SWO book that we purchased and got half way through. There are only 10 or so lessons left to go. So just recently I picked out a SWO lesson on Mondays and told them it had to be finished by Friday. I don't care when they work on it, I just want to see it done (and done well) on Friday. So, I guess this could be considered "homework". But I don't do it for anything else. Not having to deal with homework is one of the reasons I love homeschooling! When we're done for the day they can just be kids and have a life, or do their chores, or help me bake or read a book or, or . . .

I have done just the opposite, it seems. We've been light on copywork (except for handwriting) and heavier on dictation. Dictation has many benefits for us. I dictate a sentence, "The sun is shining today." for example, and they write it to the best of their ability in their practice books. I tell them that they just have to do their best, keeping in mind punctuation, spelling and neatness. When they are done, I write it on the board and then we discuss what they did right and wrong. Then they write it one more time, even if they did it perfectly, "just for more handwriting practice". (I guess we do more copywork than I thought.) Anyway, this works well for us. It shows me their handwriting, spelling problems, punctuation all at one sitting. It's a good use of time for us. Donna Twin third grade girls

Thanks for all the replies. I've learned a lot. Donna

Have you checked out www.systemath.com ?

Then I started homeschooling myself I can't read this sentence without smiling! I love it!

www.systemath.com

Here is a cut and paste from www.triviumpursuit.com Have any of you taken this approach to teaching math to your students? We are following this advice and it sure makes for happy, peaceful school days. I have talked to several homeschooling parents and they say that their math lessons ruin their otherwise enjoyable school days. Since I am new to these boards I would like to know if there are others who have taken this approach, and if so, were you pleased with the results? By Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn Early Language Skills First So our focus before age ten is building language skills – speaking, reading and writing – especially vocabulary. This is the primary index of intelligence throughout life. Do things in a concrete way. At age ten, when the brain physically changes, and begins to make the complex connections, you begin the more complex and abstract learning. With this emphasis in the early years, we lay a proper foundation for a full academic load later. Early Informal Math Our Research We have often been asked about our suggestion that math before age ten is best taught "informally." This seems most uncustomary to many. At the end of this article we have placed our article History and Research on the Teaching of Math. This information also appears in the Appendix of our booklet series. We very much want to learn if there is any contrary research or historical evidence. Everything which we encounter on the question continues to confirm this common sense view on the matter. We continually receive positive and enthusiastic feedback from families which have followed these suggestions – though many at first followed somewhat apprehensively. We are still waiting for our first negative feedback. We’re somewhat surprised. We at least expected there would be some families which were generally lax or unschooling in their approach, and would try to blame their math troubles on our recommendations. But we recommend no lax learning. Lax learning lacks learning. What We Recommend for Math (and Grammar Too) It’s the Method, ______ What we and others recommend regarding math is basically what was practiced with outstanding success until the twentieth century, when formal math before age ten was largely introduced into the world. Cultural math failure coincides with the innovation of early formal "workbook" math. We argue that it’s the method. We believe in math before age ten. But we believe the evidence is against workbook math before age ten. The developmental evidence appears very supportive of that view. The same is true with grammar – not language, but grammar. It is best to learn to speak and read and write a language before age ten. But grammar – identifying Gerunds and Participles – is best left until age ten. (Approximately age ten.) The File Drawer Analogy Math and Grammar can be "learned" – and "learned" – well before this time, but it’s not the kind of learning we want. We compare it to putting information in the wrong file cabinet – you have trouble later finding it and using it. At age ten, the information is literally stored in a different part of the brain than before age ten. (Again, approximately age ten.) Learning math in an abstract workbook fashion before age ten literally causes the brain to be structured differently. If the child depends upon his early math learning drawer, and does not develop a new file draw for later math learning, he runs into a brick wall when he encounters algebra. (We like to mix our metaphors.) Now, if he learns abstract workbook math before age ten, then he will either develop a second math memory after age ten (and, hopefully, not have a cross-indexing problem), or else he will begin to fail in upper math. But if he learns math in a concrete – not abstract – way before age ten, and he begins to learn abstract workbook math at age ten, then the brain will develop properly, the right connections will be made, and – assuming normal abilities and developments elsewhere – he will advance in math at a regular pace without unusual difficulties. The same is true with grammar. The Computer Analogy Or, to put it in computer terms, some word processors can handle some simple calculations. You can type in the data, and it will work with numbers on a simple level. But if you want to do complex calculations, you have to load a much more complex program on the hard drive. Until about age ten, children only have word processors. About age ten, the more complex spread sheet program begins to be loaded up on the hard drive. If you enter all of your math information in the word processor, then it is likely that when the child switches to the spread sheet program, the data will not be compatible. Formatting errors will abound. You’ll have to re-enter the data. Why not do something more profitable until the spread sheet program is up and running? Time Better Spent We are satisfied that the time spent studying math – which the young child is not yet developmentally equipped for – could better be spent developing verbal skills – which the child is a sponge for at these early ages. Deal with numbers in a concrete and verbal way until age ten. Use actual objects when you can, and when you can’t, then use words and names for actual objects. Our culture is so full of numbers and measurements, that we let them pass without notice. Teach the names for numerical values with dominoes. Teach counting with cards or Rummikub. Teach addition with checkers or chess. Teach base ten and place value with money or Cuisenaire rods, or other manipulative math programs. Teach measuring systems with tape measures, measuring cups, weight scales, odometers. Teach fractions with pies and cakes and cooking. Teach area by garden plotting and room arranging. One mom who had struggled with waiting in math wrote us that her son wrote down on a Sunday school form that math was his favorite subject. Since they didn’t do math, she was surprised and puzzled. When she asked her son why he wrote down math, he said, "What do you mean, Mom? We talk about numbers all the time." When she sat down with her son and looked through a math program, she discovered that he already knew it all. This may be a little more intuitive and less structured than we have in mind, but it demonstrates well how these things are taught as part of life. The Ideal and the Real In our opinion, the ideal would be to learn to speak and write several languages and to become familiar with a wide scope of literature before age ten, which lays a wide and solid foundation for formal math and grammar beginning around age ten. Everything seems to point to this as the best course to take. But we have never said "don't ever teach math before age ten." The whole idea is as ridiculous as it sounds. You cannot avoid exposing your child to arithmetic concepts. They will discover it on their own at a very early age. Teach them what they are ready to learn. But teach them in a concrete way, not in an abstract way. That’s what informal math is. It is not leaving the child to discover what he wants. Also, we have never said, "don't ever teach formal math before age ten." We have always said that that was a judgement call to be made by the parent, and if you should have a precocious little tyke who wants to learn math and works well with workbooks, then you would probably be mistaken if you were to hold him back. But if you force him beyond his developmental capabilities, then you are more prone to cause developmental abnormalities. In other words And O ye fathers, do not aggravate [/exasperate] your children, rather, nurture them to full maturity in the correction and counsel of the Lord. — Ephesians 6:4, Very literal translation. O ye fathers, do not overstimulate [/provoke too far] your children, in order that they should not be broken in spirit [/disheartened]. — Colossians 3:21 Very literal translation.

A friend uses this with her students. She loves it, and it is wonderful for students who like to learn spelling independently. http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/?q=catalog/4/spelling