I would not force any additional reading "practice" or anything else academic that she doesn't want to do. She's only five and she's already spending HOURS sitting at a desk all day in school. K in school is no fun anymore. When my daughter went, they only had a 15 minute recess and "Silent Lunches" and half the time they were losing some or all of that recess for talking too much in the classroom. It was a very academic day, and they even brought home homework. The very last thing my daughter would want to do when she came home from such a long boring day was more schoolwork. And the last thing I wanted to do was enforce it. It was her time/our family time, school time was over. She needs to have as much time as possible, IMHO, to just run, play, be a kid, explore her own interests... not sit down for more academic stuff. Unless it's something she's loving and begging to do for fun, I absolutely would back off. Just let her be a kid when school's out, they don't get enough of that "kid"/fun time in school anymore these days.

I knew what you meant, I just figured that the overlap from book to book would be the same as the overlap from chapter to chapter within each book- it's going to keep going over past material, but not in an overkill do a million problems kind of way, and it's going to keep introducing new stuff, and the kids are going to end up knowing what they need to know in the end, all while having had a great foundation and lots of confidence and so on. :)

an audiobook, an educational TV show, an educational computer game, headphones and music (you could always do classical or something), a craft activity, a regular book to read, some sort of nature activity (sit on the porch and listen and write down how many sounds you hear/how many birds you see/sketch something you see in nature, etc), chores, shower/bath time, a puzzle, a journal entry....

I think there IS something to be said for the "Better Late Than Early" thought process (I enjoyed that book). Does that mean I'd strictly adhere to not doing anything til they are 8 or 9? No. Does that mean I'd rush to start formal math and learning at 4 or 5? No. I prefer a more non-academic, gentle, hands-on, creative, etc approach to preschool and Kindergarten. If you've got a kid who loves workbooks and begs to "do school" and wants to do that stuff, go for it, let them do whatever they're interested in. But if not? I would absolutely not push it. I'd give it another year or two and see how it goes. In the meanwhile, you can teach them VERY informally- or just sit back and be amazed by what they learn even without you trying. You might enjoy this: http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/190076.html

My daughter is using TT5. We read the lesson together in the book (it's short). Then she sits at the computer and watches the lecture. Then she does the five practice problems there at the computer using scrap paper. Then she does the actual lesson- those problems she does on paper one at a time, and then inputs each answer into the computer afterward. This gives her immediate feedback as to whether she got it right or wrong. If she got it wrong and can realize she just made a mistake and knows the answer, she gets another try. If she still gets it wrong, she'll "view solution" and will be told and shown step by step how to get the correct answer.

If you have any interest whatsoever, here are a couple of articles I did on thoughts about school in the pre-K and K years: Preschool Or Not? http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/120794.html A Kindergarten Dropout http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/190076.html :)

Don't get scared. If you make your kids "different," it'll likely be in a GOOD way. ;) They can definitely make friends at co-op, various extra curricular activities, and so on. It's normal to worry somewhat about whether you're making the right decision. But I'm sure you'd worry about it if you were sending them to school, too. It'll be fine! :grouphug:

My daughter and I read this last year (4th grade, when she was 9) for part of our 'health' curriculum. She'd also already read Who Am I? Where Did I Come From? by Dr. Ruth. I currently have "Asking About Sex & Growing Up" (revised edition) by Joanna Cole and I'm torn on whether to read it with her now or wait til she's 11. :D

:grouphug:

Breathe. Most public school teachers pick and choose. They don't finish every.single.thing. in their curriculum/textbooks. You don't have to do every.single.thing. either. :) Read aloud to him. Put on some educational shows. Play a game with him. Talk with him. These things are fine for a kid who is sick/recuperating. When you feel ready to get back into your curriculum stuff, start seeing what you can consolidate/shorten/skip/etc and just worry about the basics, and then choose which things you want to add on as you have time. But don't stress over whether you do everything. If it seems like "busywork" to you, don't bother with it! Especially if it's stuff he's already got a good handle on. It sounds like you've already done fine with the cleaning stuff, too. Now go relax a bit. :)

What if you guys make your own bug habitats? Everyone gets a shoebox with a lid (or can bring a widemouthed jar with a lid that can have air holes added, or, alternatively, a piece of mesh or screen with a rubber band to hold it in place). If you use shoeboxes, cut a side or two out and replace it with plastic wrap to make a "viewing window/s." Do the same with the middle of the lid, so you can see in from the top and side/s. If you want to let the kids decorate them somehow, you can. Then you add a layer of soil, a layer of sand (you can put a layer of aluminum foil on the bottom first if you want), and then go around looking for things like twigs, small rocks, tall grasses, weeds, etc, and arrange them as desired in each habitat. Then go on a bug hunt and look for bugs to put in the habitats :) Look on trees, on the ground, under rocks, etc. If you find some near a certain plant or weed see if you can include samples of that particular thing in your habitat. The kids can then each take their habitat home to further observe. It would be a good idea for them to mist the viewing window now and then or put a cotton ball saturated with water into the habitat for water. You could have on hand a bug identification book or website, magnifying glasses, sketchpads and colored pencils and so on. I'm sure you could easily find a bug themed cake or cupcakes. You could do some sort of "pin the tail on the donkey game" but with bugs instead. Sounds like a fun theme. :)

Well, we're only where you are- using TT5 now and looking at getting TT6 for next year. TT does have a lot of review but I don't know that I'd call it "too much." Each lesson, it introduces something different.. and then does review of older material. It's always adding something else on, but always going over older stuff to keep them refreshed and in practice and really understanding those concepts. I guess if it had like 100 problems per lesson like Saxon I'd get fed up with it haha... but TT only does like 22-24 problems per lesson... ...I don't know, it's working great for us. She's really getting it, really understanding it, really remembering it, really liking it, really building confidence with it, and, as I said in my recent post about our standardized test scores, she did really well with the math portion of her testing this year. Plus like you said she can be independent with it which is GREAT for me, because 1) it frees me up to do other things and 2) I hate math anyway heh. So I'm going to just keep going with TT, it's definitely worth every penny for us!

Well, 10 y/o dd and I are doing this together, as you may know, and it's going very well. We've so far managed to finish a book a week- although we're a little behind right now. We still have 41 pages to go in the book we're currently reading, which I hope to finish today, and then we'll start a new one tomorrow. We're also each reading independently, so, yeah, lots of reading so far this year! Here's what we've read so far: Week 1 Together: The Phantom Tollbooth (and also started "Ben And Me" for school reading) Me: Finished "Rose" by Martin Cruz Smith, and read "Flowers For Algernon" by Daniel Keyes DD independently: Two Nancy Drew Files books and the first book in the "Wright On Time" series Week 2 Together: Skellig Me: The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory DD independently: The second book in the "Wright On Time" series Week 3 Together: Ida B and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World Me: The Year Of The Flood by Margaret Atwood DD independently: The third book in the "Wright On Time" series, and a Nancy Drew Files book Week 4 Together: The Gawgon and The Boy Me: Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer DD independently: Streams To The River, River To The Sea, A Novel of Sacagawea; and a Nancy Drew Files book Week 5 Together: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (and also started Children Of The Wild West for school reading) Me: Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer (and some of Deconstructing Penguins by the Goldstones) DD independently: Finished last week's book about Sacagawea and read another Nancy Drew Files book Week 6 Together: The Girl With The Silver Eyes Me: Doomed Queen Anne by Carolyn Meyer (and some more of Deconstructing Penguins by the Goldstones) DD independently: Thunder Rolling In The Mountains; and a Nancy Drew Files book Week 7 Together: Tuck Everlasting Me: Zipporah, Wife of Moses by Marek Halter DD independently: read some of "Mystery Stories For Girls" Week 8 Together: Sounder Me: Finished last week's book (Zipporah, Wife Of Moses by Marek Halter) DD independently: Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist; and Iggie's House Week 9 Together: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Me: At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks DD independently: N/A Week 10 Together: Treasure Island Me: Patience, Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer DD independently: read more of "Mystery Stories For Girls" Week 11 Together: All-Of-A-Kind Family Me: Finished last week's book, "Patience, Princess Catherine" by Carolyn Meyer DD independently: Valley Of The Moon, The Diary Of Maria Rosalia De Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta California, 1846" (A Dear America book) for her library book club. Week 12 Together: The Midwife's Apprentice Me: Reading bits of "Nights In Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks here and there DD independently: Started "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" and read "Chocolate by Hershey, A Story About Milton S. Hershey for her library book club Week 13 Together: Surviving The Applewhites (trying to finish up this one now!) (and started "By The Shores Of Silver Lake for school reading) Me: Still reading bits of "Nights In Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks here and there DD independently: Still reading "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief," and "Caddie Woodlawn" (for supplemental school reading) Week 14 Together: The People In Pineapple Place (hope to start this one tomorrow) Me: Still reading bits of "Nights In Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks here and there DD independently: Still reading Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief and Caddie Woodlawn. We're also listening to "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" on audiobook in the car here and there as we have time for it.

Our goal is to just finish our chosen curriculum, read a lot of books, and do lots of fun activities and field trips and so on in between. :)

What if you do some sort of "interview" activity that would help them get to know each other better. Tell them they are going to be assigned to someone they aren't already good friends with or don't know well and have them interview each other and then maybe do one of those trust-building sort of activities together, that will help them get to know each other. You could even tell them to follow it up by doing some sort of pen pal or email pal or phone call pal conversation with their assigned girl over the week and that they need to come back the following week able to share something about their buddy that they just found out. The following week maybe you can set up some sort of roleplaying activity that helps them realize how it feels to either be left out or to be bossed around or whined at etc, things that address some of the issues you are having but without singling anybody out.

I'm liking "Just Can't Get Enough" by the Black Eyed Peas right now. And also "S&M" by Rihanna. Heh. And "Grenade" by, uh, I forget his name.

Sometimes I'm truly baffled by attitudes I've run across that seem to imply that you have to be Christian/religious to have morals. Non-Christian/Non-Religious people are perfectly capable of knowing right from wrong, harmful from helpful and of simply treating other people as they would like to be treated. I follow the "golden rule" and teach my children to do so, also. We refrain from hurting others. We try to help others when we can (community service and in day to day life). I don't do these things because I'm afraid that I'll go to "hell" if I don't or miss out on some big "reward" after I die. I do them because it feels pleasant to do so and makes the world a nicer place and so on. Some of the most "moral," kind, and quick-to-help out people I know are atheists, agnostics, etc. Some of the most judgmental and unfriendly people I know call themselves Christians. Then, too, I've got some GREAT Christian friends... We're all individuals, and we've all got our own innate moral code and in my experience, it really has nothing to do with religion one way or the other.

Yep lol... the last two years, I used a folder to submit everything in, forget about a binder. My first year, they tried giving me a hard time. The superintendent's secretary called me and tried telling me that I hadn't submitted enough and that he wanted me to "just bring in everything, he wants to see all of your work. Just bring in whatever you have." Cough. Choke. Sputter. YEAH, RIGHT!!!!! What part of the word "SAMPLES" do they not understand? Because that's what the law specifies. SAMPLES, not "everything." lol. I politely but firmly declined, saying that the law requires "samples," that I'd given "samples," and that I was not going to bring in all of our work. I said that if he felt what I'd submitted wasn't enough for him to determine that my daughter was receiving an appropriate education (despite my evaluation letter saying that she was), he could send me a certified letter saying so and stating what he needed to see more of and that I would get him "a few more samples" in that area. She was quite surprised and said they were trying to avoid going that route and that he just had the kid's best interests at heart, and that "everybody" always brings in all of their work (see?! See what those over-compliers do to the rest of us?! lol) and blah blah blah. We ended the conversation with her saying she'd pass my comments on to him. I then waited the whole summer with some degree of trepidation, waiting for that certified letter that never came. Finally, at the end of the summer/early fall, I got the standard form letter letting me know that my portfolio had demonstrated that an appropriate education was being received and that I could pick it up at any time. When I went to pick it up, they brought me out my little folder, and the woman was like: "Is this it? Is this all you dropped off?" Me: Yep. Have a nice day! The next year (last year) I proceeded to submit the same number of samples, again in a folder, only this time I included a sheet/printout with excerpts from the PA Home Ed Law (from Pauline's site) and I used a pink highlighter to highlight the word "SAMPLES"- I didn't get any phone calls or certified letters or unreasonable demands- just the standard end of the summer "your portfolio is ready to pick up at any time" form letter. Yay! :)

Sometimes a question comes up on this board that seems like it might be more geared toward Christians. If I want to reply, I might say, "I am not Christian, but...." Sometimes someone will wish start asking us about Christmas and we might say, "We don't celebrate Christmas." In actuality, I'm Jewish. But I don't always follow up by specifying that. Granted, I'm Jewish more by heritage than by religious belief at this point, I'm kind of a secular Jew who celebrates the main holidays with my family mainly for purposes of culture and tradition, I guess. I guess I might call myself agnostic these days. But when I say "I'm not Christian," I don't mean anything more to it than "I'm not Christian."

Even though I already feel confident about TT and happy with it, it's still good for ME to hear those of you with kids even older than mine posting things like Darla just did about how well TT served them even in high school. :) So thanks to you guys, too, for posting things like that! :)

For the most part, I do not use workbooks, no. But if I did, I would not submit the entire workbook because I would feel that that was overcomplying and that once I over-complied one time, they might start to "expect" me to do it every time. And what if one year we didn't do workbooks, and I wanted to submit less samples and they decided to complain about it because they were used to me just handing them more? I would photocopy 3-5 pages from the workbook and submit those. I never submit originals anyway.

Are you kidding? My daughter won't even flush her own, er, waste down the toilet- the kid NEVER remembers to flush. EVER. Fortunately, my son has never tried to flush anything unusual down the toilet, either. I must be lucky! :D

:iagree:

My 10 y/o sometimes has to write lines as a punishment. When she does, it can be anywhere from 10-50 times depending on what she's in trouble for. Average is probably 20/25 lines. This past school year, it tends to happen like once every couple of months, that she's writing lines for something or other!

:iagree: too (with Hillary). I'd be mad. But I wouldn't want to show that to my son. I'd have to tell MIL (or have dh tell her), though, in a very firm manner, "I am unhappy that you cut our son's hair without our permission. Please do not EVER do that again."