Hi all, Would someone be willing to share a sample narration from history (or really any subject) from your 8/9/10 year old so I can establish a realistic goal for my child this year? I realize every child is different but I thought if I had a sampling I could find our "lane" Thanks!

Hi all, First year homeschooling, first year for classical ed. I have a younger 4th grader (turns 10 in May). I have read the section from TWTM about starting in the middle but would love to hear from some folks who may have actually done that, and what your first year looked like--dictation and copywork is going ok; narrations are a struggle. Trying to maintain the joy and peace of easing into homeschooling, but also trying to play catch up (for instance, his reading/narration level is WWE level 2 at best) Anyway, just looking for some testimonials from this stage. How long did it take you to feel "caught up." Did it suddenly just "click" for your student (specifically thinking of the the narrations) Thanks in advance!

Good questions--thanks! He struggles more with non-fiction actually. Fiction he seems to handle better. He reads aloud to me and he *sounds* very fluent. He does better when he has the passage in front of him, but he does have to consult it often.

My 9 year old (first year HS--4th grade boy) struggles with reading comprehension across the board. Decoding is fine (does not have dyslexia) but has a very hard time answering comprehension questions unless the passage is read to him So far all I've done is just read constantly with/to him and we talk constantly as we go. This seems to help, but when I go back to a program like WWE, he struggles a lot. I backed up to WWE 2, but he still can only answer the questions if I read the passage to him. I'm basically using WWE as a reading comp program at this point because the passages are short and engaging. Help! Anyone have experience with this? Is there more I should do? Should I be worried?

How much written output do you expect from a fourth grader (9-year-old?) He has the assignments from his writing program (IEW) which amounts to approximately 1 key word outline and final draft paragraph/week, his spelling work (not really "writing"), his copy work from grammar book, and of course his math book. The rest we have done orally. I would like to switch to written narrations for history. Should there be more? WTM suggests narrations for literature. If he reads a rather lengthy chapter book (with me, i.e., Phantom Tollbooth), what do you expect in terms of narration? Thank you!!

Thank you so much for your reply! Opps--Yes, lol, we're doing MathUSee Epsilom. His math is strong, thankfully, so I am really concentrating on reading and writing. Did you do the IEW student writing intensive A before the US history course? We are watching the videos and following along with the lessons from WI-A. So far we have done about 10 key word outlines and rewrites from outlines. Topics are primarily animal-related (whales, pillbugs, oysters). He seems to "get it."

How often and what is the content?

Hi all, I'm new to everything this fall--homeschooling, classical education, these boards etc. Was hoping to get some feedback/guidance. Our schedule has been pretty lax so far as I wanted us both to ease into this new lifestyle. I am using the following: WWE 2 (4 was waayyyy over his head) FLL 4 Latin SOTW AO monarch science and geography Handwriting without tears cursive My son struggles with reading comprehension when he reads independently. He has trouble recalling info, summarizing, making connections--the whole thing. I suspected that already, and he did poorly on the LA section of our state's standardized test in public school. However, when I read to him (he follows along and "jumps in" when prompted) this process is MUCH better. As we're new to narrations in general, so far i have only asked him for oral narrations from our history readings, our lit readings, and the WWE info. Question is--do those narrations "count" even though I am reading the information to him? Should I be requiring more narrations from his independent reading? I'm hoping that by reading and discussing aloud so much together, he will build confidence in his own reading. But I want to make sure I'm not handicapping him by reading aloud so much. Also, his expressive writing in general is disjointed. I really like the IEW program because of the level of structure and mechanics it presents. Is that enough of a writing program if the rest is oral narration? Should I instead require more written narration from his other subjects? Sorry for so many questions--just would love to hear from some veterans! Thanks in advance

With advanced apologies...(I suspect this has been discussed many times)... I am brand new to homeschooling and completely overwhelmed with curriculum choices. I (thought I had) settled on a schedule that basically mirrored the WTM suggestions but have been waffling for the past 4 weeks. Would some of you mind taking a look at what we're doing and let me know if it's "enough": Grammar--First Language Lessons level 4 Writing--WWE level 2 (level 4 was totally over his head) Math--Math U See Delta (moving very quickly through it as it is mostly review) Spelling--workout E History--Story of the World, Volume 1, Ancients Science--Apologia, chem and physics He struggles with comprehension when he reads, but has sufficient retention when I read to him, and I make him follow along and "jump in" when I pause (in all subjects) He then does narrations for each history chapter, assigned science passage and 1 main summary per book (literature--Rats of Nimh, for example). Should I be more concerned about his independent reading skill? He does do "free read" but, as recommended, I don't grill him on what he has read. How will I know how he is progressing as a reader? My main concern: i want to make homeschooling enjoyable but can't help thinking I don't have enough to "show for it." As a reaction, now I feel like I'm the homeschooling drill sergeant--lol. Please someone tell me your first year was chaos and I/we will settle in??