I used SWO for 2 years and my son didn't retain anything. I switched to AAS (All About Spelling) and it's been wonderful. It gives phonics reinforcement as well and that has been great.

What I find fascinating is that some of the problems are easier to solve (and faster) using bar diagrams than using algebra! I sometimes let my son solve problems just with the arithmetic steps (no symbols) and sometimes require he use a bar model and show all work. Sometimes I show him the algebraic representation of the bar models. I think the more tools he has, the better off he'll be.

I used the iExcel books which are now out of print... but it looks like they're being replaced by something similar. The table of contents looks the same but in a different order and they're by the same publisher. May be worth checking out. Supplemental math at Singapore's site.

I'm not consistent about x weeks on, x off... We roughly do 5 weeks of school (5 days a week) and then have a week off. I plan out the breaks at the start of our year. I divide by quarters (45 days) and schedule 50 days, so we have 5 days I can use as sick days or just take a day as needed. We take May off and start our year in June. Of course, today my son said he didn't think he was able to work today, so we did end up taking today off. He loses his first day off of our break next week as a result. I think the biggest thing is laying out the work or the schedule and sticking to it. Kind of like a job... I let my son "call in sick" today... but he'll have to make up the work.

I would. I love our library and yet there are a couple books they don't have that our neighboring county does. I pay $35/year for membership to that library. I don't use the library that much, but I really like having it as a resource. Our county membership would be $57/year. (It's really good.) For the additional programs, yup, I'd pay.

We're taking today off because my son said he didn't think his attitude was up to doing school today. But he'll learn... consequence is no electronics until the day is made up. I can guarantee tomorrow he'll be saying, "I wish I did school yesterday." Grumble.

Second! ;) I was able to find enough at Greenville last year to stay very busy and I'm very secular and a feminist. Unfortunately with SWB not there this year, there really looks to be a lot less and I'm not planning on going. I may go for a day to see MCT but we'll probably skip it. Last year my husband only had to walk out of one presentation because he found it too offensive :) Don't remember what it was. I would LOVE a secular conference focused on academics with some of the "how do you handle balancing teaching with parenting" discussions too - but if the answer is to defer to my husband and read the Bible... well... not much use around here!

That's correct. I also seem to have lost the diagrams but I have them in the pdf I have on my computer (although not printable... grr... but joining the yahoo group got me those files). Yup. Nifty, huh? :D I was thrilled when I found that because the pdf was too small to read on the kindle. I have the dictionary access and can adjust the size. I can also highlight, add notes, and have the share feature. I figured I was going to get the kindle version and then maybe later get the print version, so $5 was much better than $10. For BFSU, you do lose some of the images by converting the pdf though... I don't know if they are in the Kindle edition or not. But the "convert" feature is really nice.

You can email a pdf to your kindle and get it converted to kindle format. That worked for the BFSU pdf for me (which had been unreadable before the change). Double check, but I think it was have the pdf as an attachment and either have the subject line or the first line of the email say "convert" and you email it to your kindle email address. It should say how in the user guide.

Well that's yuckky. As I'm not in NY, feel free to ignore me :D I still would wait to skip until the LAST minute. So in your case, go from 5th to 7th. I skipped 1st grade and was academically at the top of my class but was absolutely miserable socially. I repeated 7th and switched schools and was much better. I was lucky and still had a good educational experience. Academically, neither school was a problem. I just have a definite aversion to grade skips. With homeschool, I see staying with where my son is based on age for his assigned grade - until it's essential to make a decision. So with me considering having him repeat a grade so he's not the youngest in his college class, I'll make that decision before he starts high school courses, so middle school. You may have to make it earlier (before middle school) but I'd hold off until absolutely essential to do the skip. Best of luck in your decision.

Why not wait to make the decision until middle school or late middle school? He can still have the 4 years of high school, but wait to do the grade skip until he's ready to start high school. That keeps all options open longer. I'm considering going the other way... My son's birthday is Aug. 29. The school cut off is Sept. 1, so he's in 4th grade now but would be the youngest in class if he were in a traditional school. He's working at the appropriate level (or a bit higher), but I'm considering having him repeat a grade so he doesn't go off to college before turning 18. I think I'd like that extra year. We've started discussing it now as an idea and we'll make a decision sometime between 6th and 8th grades. I think the grade level will matter much more for high school than any time before. Good luck with your decision.

You also want to check on the battery (I think). My folks have a Honda Civic Hybrid from 02 (so an early model). I think the battery went out and it was about $3000 - so pretty pricey. I don't know if that'd still be the cost on newer models or how often the battery needs replacing (think it's generally as often as a timing belt... but definitely more expensive). They also now have a Prius, so they're happy with the hybrids overall.

We use the Standards edition but also use the IP US edition. Sometimes you have to skew topics slightly to match up (and some just don't) but the IP really adds IMO. I generally buy from Singapore Math. It ends up about the same as from Rainbow. They also have an errata list and forums. I haven't found the Extra Practice books to be very useful. For 5 (starting in a few months) I went with the tests instead of the EP books. If we need extra practice, I'll pull out a test.

I think the minimum passing goal for a keyboarding class at a cc is 35 wpm. You might check and see if syllabi are posted at local ones online. I got my son up to about 20 wpm when we stopped formal lessons (and I stopped painting over the keyboard as the paint wore off :D). I figure just typing will increase speed and I'll start testing him again in late middle school and work on speed then. I'd like him at 45+ wpm before high school, I think.

There also are Dell Logic Puzzle books. I used to find them at the drugstore with magazines. Lately I've had to buy them online. Small grids but tons of puzzles.

Nifty!

:iagree: We've got household tasks divided. I do laundry and bills; he does grocery shopping and cooking meals when he's home. I do still think pretty constantly about what I'm doing for homeschool... but I'd be doing that for any job. My husband does see homeschooling as my job and he appreciates me for it. We've got a good partnership - and I also know I'm lucky.

Or go buy him a heating pad if he doesn't have one...

Is there a movie that is "your" movie? Any games you used to play when dating? (Backgammon for us.) Music that you used to listen to together? Play the CDs while playing a game or just reading together... Happy Anniversary!

And be sure to get a home inspection!

68 in the winter... but thermostat is upstairs and we have a huge great room that is 2 stories. When you're at the 3rd step from the bottom, you can FEEL the temperature change... so upstairs is 68 but downstairs is probably closer to 65. I wear long underwear and a couple pairs of socks and sweaters. Oh well. In the summer, looks like I win so far... 82 ;) I'm generally comfy. Stay under ceiling fans and no need for long underwear unless you go to a movie theater (I swear they set their thermostat in the 60s in the summer!)

I think I read that there's a new edition of CE coming out that'll have some additional stuff. We're using the current edition (Jan 2011)... There are 20 lessons. Odd lessons have five Latin stems, discussion of the stems, an analogy, a couple of advanced words that use the stems, brief history blurb, a note on a writer, a roman fact, comparison between English and Spanish examples using the stems, a Latin sentence, a word search Even lessons have five words. Each word is defined and then there are a number of examples of where the word has been used in classic literature (this generally takes 3-4 pages for the 5 words... it's not just a sentence). There's a note on a writer, a Latin sentence, quotes from authors using the 5 words that you're supposed to discuss "What's the writer saying?", a comparison of the words to Spanish, synonyms for the words, sentences to rewrite, antonyms, analogy. There's a quiz that's cumulative at the end of each chapter. We use the Teacher Manual. I retyped the quizzes and I give them as we finish a lesson. It's definitely more than just word lists :) The stem lessons seem to move faster than the word lessons (mainly due to the rewriting assignments that I have my son write out). You only have the first page of Lesson One in their online sample. Most lessons range from 5-10 pages (evens are longer). The initial lessons are fairly short, but I think the program is very good. Text itself runs about 200 pages.

I read to my son from a very early age. We never did any phonics work. When we started homeschooling in 1st grade, he couldn't read independently. When I tried to get him to sound out words, he actively refused. He'd been at a kindergarten that used some whole language and he'd make wild guesses at what a word was. :banghead: We had some issues. Just before age 6, he really got into Calvin and Hobbes and when I wouldn't read to him on occasion, that got him motivated enough that he went from not reading to reading well in just a couple of weeks. I say he was self-taught because he sure fought me on any teaching I tried to do! In 2nd grade he read Lord of the Rings on his own. We had issues with pronunciation and lots with spelling. We used Spelling Workout for 1st and 2nd grades and nothing was being retained. In 2nd grade we switched to All About Spelling which includes phonics. We moved slowly through the levels (still using it) but I started to see improvement in pronunciation and in recent months his spelling has improved by leaps and bounds. I'd say I let him fly in terms of reading and that was the correct decision. I wish I had found All About Spelling earlier. That really filled in phonics gaps and has been great. I continue to read aloud to him (both with a school book he follows along with and with a family read-aloud in the evenings). I think having him read aloud is also good. I can catch any errors he's making with reading, but we can still have fun with the story.

We kept watching, but we could have done anything. My son's reactions were enough that he was on a steroid for the day and Benadryl. I was more comfortable at home but we could have been out.

My son has food allergies, so he avoids the foods. He still has the allergic shiners at different points during the year. In our case they are likely from the environmental allergies. They lessen when he's on benadryl or when he's not exposed to many allergens. Unfortunately, his skin testing has him allergic to just about everything, so he often has the shiners.