Well. It sounds to me like AAS is working great for you. But you're not completely through it yet, so naturally he doesn't know All The Words yet. And he doesn't like trying to spell them without knowing how. I don't see a problem with that, frankly. The dictation part of it is that *he* needs to remember what the next word is to ask you for the spelling. He's still holding it in his head, and you're providing the spelling. I think that's fine, honestly. So with what you describe...how fast are you getting through AAS? If you're doing only 3 days a week, for instance, I'd probably increase it a bit to advance faster through it. But other than that, I'm not sure I'd worry about it. Except that maybe I'd challenge him to attempt to spell things, in a NON-writing setting. To give him the idea that he already has tools he can use to figure out sounds, and could probably get close to a lot of those words.

I tend toward covering history chronologically. I should point out that I am not American, and to be honest the intense focus that American schools tend to put on their own history escapes me a bit, so no doubt that colours my viewpoint. But I agree with the "begin at the beginning, tell the story, can carry on to the end" perspective on history, especially for the youngers. When we start running into Provincial standards for older grades that include Canadian content, I may start running basically two separate streams: "History" and "Canadian History/Geography" or something. Since I'm not locked into that in the younger grades, my current plan is to do more focus on our own history as we get to where it fits chronologically.

Hm. Well, for science, Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding is great. It's not specifically Christian, but I've always found it easy to point out that science is the study of how God made the world to work, so we haven't needed overtly Christian science curriculum.

Are you using first or second edition? First edition, B is also considered entry level, with A going slower. So yes, if you're using Edition 1, just pick up B and go with it. But I don't think it works the same way for Edition 2. I'm pretty sure Level B Ed. 2 is not designed as an entry level. So you might need to see what concepts would be needed before it.

What grade? Can we pick a different option? (I haven't used those two, but really love Rightstart for how it explains things.)

I haven't used Singapore, so I can really only speak from the perspective of Rightstart. We love it. It gives a really solid understanding of numbers. I love the way they introduce concepts and them come at them from a different angle, to reinforce it and deepen the understanding. I have heard the complaint about RS that it jumps around. Well, it does--but those jumps are pretty carefully planned, and work well. They are either to approach from a different angle, or sometimes to allow the mind to work on a concept in the background while looking at something else, so that when you come back to it again the student is ready to leap forward. I just took a look at the Singapore website, focusing on the kindergarten page (not sure what age your student is?) The manipulatives are simialar in some ways. Rightstart uses more of them, I think--tiles, cubes, tally sticks, balance (I like the balance for RS better, from the looks of it.) But no "readers", for instance, not sure what they are.

When there is a huge line and everyone is moving through stalls in whatever order they come free, you bet your boots I'm going to use the accessible stall if it's the one that comes open. If it's the only stall open and there's no line, I'll use it. If I go in with children, I'll use it most times. Otherwise if there are other stalls to choose from, I'll use them instead.

I haven't used OPGTR, so I'm not sure where the overlap would be there, but I just added AAS on top of FLL and WWE. They're very different, AAS is phonemes, FLL is grammar (and some overlap with narration) and WWE is copywork and narration. AAS at first is VERY easy, just some review of phoneme cards, mostly.

I haven't looked at TGS, so I don't know how it would work, but do you need curriculum? Can you just use the Bible? Maybe do some entry-level inductive study with them? (What does it say? What does it mean? What does it mean for us?)

I only have two using it right now...except that the 2-year-old keeps demanding to do school too, so she does the "Yellow is the Sun" book with the abacus. So cute! Yes, it takes time to work through it, but for me, that time is *worth it*. I love how Rightstart teaches, so I consider the time to be an investment that is valuable.

Mmmm, cupcakes. Yum. ;) I'm a relative newbie, and I have never used Abeka, so I can't speak to that. No idea. I *can* address the "covering everything they need" part though. Who decides? Who decides what kids "need" at what age? Are they right? Who gave them the right to decide? I have no idea if WWE and FLL cover the same stuff as Abeka, more, less, whatever. No clue. The question is: does the curriculum you are choosing give your children tools? Are they learning and progressing? If your children go to public school at some point, I *guarantee* they will be behind in some area or other. There is absolutely no way that you could manage to teach exactly what the schools teach--and more to the point, do you want to? They will also likely be ahead in some areas. For instance, in my area the schools require writing. Tons and tons of writing. The idea is that they write lots and the amount of practice makes them good writers. From what I've been reading, that idea doesn't work. So, I'm not requiring that my children write and write and write. I'm requiring that they do copywork and narration. Therefore, they are "behind". Oh well. If something drastic happens and they go to school, they will catch up. And if we keep homeschooling, then they will develop their writing skills. Hopefully they will learn to write WELL, if not copiously. That matters more to me. The math we do is drastically different than our local schools to. That's fine. It covers different things at different times. The history we do is drastically different...wait, who am I kidding? The local schools don't even DO history until...grade 4? Don't worry about "behind" and "ahead". Worry about "progressing, learning, mastering." It's much more effective anyway. And you can worry about, "learning to love learning", because that is a viewpoint that will stand them in good stead their whole lives.

Card games? We use Righstart and that's what it uses for practice--not free, since you buy the card games book. But I imagine you can find card game rules online using regular decks that would do similar things.

How timely! Guess which chapter we're on in SOTW 1? (I still want to do the clay ones, because I think comparing them to the paper scrolls under weather conditions is very cool, but I am sure the kids will not object to doing *two* kinds of cuneiform...)

Families Where Grace is In Place by Jeff VanVonderen.

Oh, mama. Huge hugs. I'm appalled at your paediatrician, frankly. Appalled. What you are describing is not "they grow out of it." I mean, maybe she will, as she ages, manage to find ways to control them herself. But *right now* she needs help building those coping skills, or getting help for anxiety, or changing her diet, or something! Probably several things. I have a 5-year-old who shocks people with how strong-willed he is, and how...well, defiant, for lack of a better word. But his "rages" only lasted for...maybe 10 minutes max for the one or two very worst of them? And they certainly were not daily, not even multiple times a week. And already at 5, they're very rare. So at 8, what you're describing is definitely in the "needs help" category. Whether it's food reactions (gluten? Big culprit. Or corn...) or whether it's anxiety, or who knows what, your daughter needs help. And so do you! This isn't something that you've caused, it's NOT bad parenting, it's an issue that your family needs help with. And I agree, your daughter does not need punishment. She's not acting that way because she *wants* to, and punishing won't help her. However, taking away things she's trying to break or hurt with in the moment is totally fine! That's not punishment, that's just damage control. Once she's back in control again, they could be returned. (Unless they become the thing she goes for every time she rages, in which case removing them totally while the rages are still frequent seems wise.)

I had a friend in a fully motorized wheelchair with VERY limited arm movement. She used one of the horrific mass-produced "bad" kinds we all love to hate. And you know what? I'm totally cool with that. Special circumstances get passes on the normal babywearing lectures. ;) I wouldn't recommend a pouch for use with a newborn. It's very difficult to use them safely for a newborn. I would recommend asking on thebabywearer forum for input from moms who've done this. They may have some good input and tips. I would also recommend working with a sewing friend to see what you can rig up that's personalized for your situation. Once you have an older child, I'd design a front-facing cloth harness or seatbelt system for them that's easy to buckle/unbuckle for use when they're riding on you--might save you having to grab for them!

Are you using shampoo on her? Can you stop? Really, read Curly Girl. Get it through your library. And, maybe look at a satin pillowcase. They help with nighttime tangling. If you want an easy way to contain her hair in the daytime, what about a snood?

Another vote for Righstart. It's a great curriculum for hands-on kids, there are lots of manipulatives used.

Mental math might be one part of it. Spatial/patterns?

Wow. I'd finally (mostly) managed to wrap my head around non-integrated math, and how to cope with curriculum for it. Now I'm going to have to work it out for science too? Sigh.

Have a look at the article Math and the Young Child too. Totally not what you asked about, but also very cool.

So I don't really understand this. I'm Canadian, and we took Science 8, Science 9, and Science 10 (all in Jr. High School) and then in Grades 11 and 12, we took Biology or Chem or Physics or Earth Sciences (if we weren't science-major types.) Do you not do integrated sciences for 8/9/10? You split them out that early? Could you find an integrated sciences curriculum for 9 and 10 instead, and just do Chem/Physics/Bio/Earth sciences in 11 and 12?

Well, you already *have* both, right? So it's not like it would cost you anything to switch. And if, in two months, you decide BA isn't working either, why, you still have SM. If you decide by then that neither of them works, well, it hasn't cost you anything in the meantime, so...why not? As to how to school him...if you've got a workbook heavy program that's going to be tough. A high-energy kid needs something that is ENERGY. So if you're doing workbooks, can you at least break them up with trampoline, running around the block, pogo sticks...

Has he had a good assessment done? Does he have any vision problems?

So I guess I don't understand being "behind" in math. You are where you are. You are where your child has mastery. If you're behind because you're just not *getting* to math, that's one thing. But if you're behind because that's how fast it goes, then what needs to change is the expectation, not the progression through the book. So...either slow down, take a breath, and work for mastery of concepts. Or decide that this particular curriculum isn't the best fit for your child. Or take a break and wait for maturity to catch up to child, with math games and activities in the meantime. Or realize that while the level may be good, the child's attention span hasn't matured yet, and while a work in progress, it's just going to take more time for math right now. What does your daughter want to do for school? Could you let her? How much time does school take of your day right now?