Ok, I don't use MUS - but I understand that it is mastery - that you don't move on until the concept is mastered.... so I am not sure why you would be through with the addition facts part of alpha if he doesn't know how to add without counting? I use RightStart and think it is great... but I'm not necessarily saying you should switch over.

Congrats. My 6yo was born when I was 40, and my 4yo was born when I was 42 - no problems. I agree it is probably mostly the hormones talking - and if you don't enjoy pregnancies, I could see not looking forward to the process. But you will enjoy the baby. Take what time you need to get used to the idea.

No School in Two Years They are getting rid of schools? What are all the working parents going to do with their kids all day?

Well, I wore bifocals from age 3 to age 11 with no problems - you don't even see the lines after you are used to it. But I don't remember much from before them except double vision if I was trying to focus on something - so I'm sure anything was an improvement. I wore single vision glasses after that. I have been wearing progressive glasses for 3 or 4 years - I do find that it isn't quite right for where my computer monitor is placed.... I may go with plain bifocals next time as they are a lot cheaper... and as I wore them as a child I can tell myself it isn't age related... lol.

How many kids does she have??

I don't know.... if he has dyslexia then it wouldn't be way out there. My 11yo dyslexic son can do copywork, but still can not write an original sentence. I've been working on improving his reading abilities for now. Some dyslexics will need to use Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text even once an adult. That said, I do think she sounds overwhelmed or something. As she has talked to you, she may want advice.

I would tend to agree. Drop the stuff you are adding to math for the virtual academy. Just do RightStart. Do the timer idea - about 15 minutes lesson, 15 minutes games, and scribe when desired. Or have her write it with coloured pencil crayons or whiteboard or something else more fun....

For edition 1, level g - which is a nickname for their hands-on geometry - comes right after level e. Edition 2 will have a level f as well. Level G is designed to take 2 years. They recommend starting VideoText algebra - module A which is pre-algebra when they get about 1/2 way through. If I had a child finishing level e in 4th grà de, I'd probably do a bit of time with some other programs - I'd do a mix of Hands-on-equatins, Simply Charlotte Mason Business Math, and Calculus Without Tears.

Edition 1 (which I'm assuming you are using if you are in E now...) goes from E to Geometry which got nicknamed level G. (Edition 2 will have a level F before going into the same Geometry) Their Geometry is supposed to take 2 years - and they recommend starting VideoText Algebra (module A which is pre-algebra) about 1/2 way through their Geometry.) If I had that young of a student finishing level E, I'd be tempted to do a year of some other stuff - probably Simply Charlotte Mason's business math combined with Hands On Equations. Oh, and probably 'Calculus without Tears' which is designed to start after 4th grade math. My oldest is 11 and in Level D and I'm not sure what I'll be doing after level E.... he will be the age that RS recommends skipping their Geometry (or doing it on the side....) to go into pre-algebra/algebra. VideoText looks SO EXPENSIVE.

I agree that if TOS is too "campy" for you to start with TNG. That said - the first season of TNG the actors and writers haven't really gotten into character yet. I enjoyed them immensely when they first came out - but their quality isn't as good as later seasons. (They also had a few episodes where they brought in TOS characters, and there was 1 episode that was basically a re-do of a TOS episode - but that shouldn't bother you too much.) As I recall Season 2 of TNG was a bit wierd and there were a couple of episodes I really didn't like. By Season 3 everyone was comfortable with the characters/story and it starts getting really Great. In both TOS and TNG they are in the Enterprise (different generations of the ship) - in theory exploring new worlds - but mostly travelling around already known space.... really they seem more to be like a police force / science vessel to me. I also enjoy the first few seasons of Voyageur. At some point I didn't like it as much. Voyageur is different in that it is a 'Federation' ship that has ended up in a totally different galaxy trying to get home even though with the current technology that will take over 100 years. One thing I like - on most of the Star Trek shows the replicators can make anything they want or need (yet people don't seem to take it to excess) - but in Voyageur their resources are limited. I never could get into Deep Space 9 - it just never had any appeal for me. It is different that it takes place on a star-base, so they are always in 1 location. You definitely need to watch it in order or you get totally lost. I also couldn't get that into Enterprise - which goes back to the start of the Federation - back to the first space travel of Earthlings out of our own Solar System. For Movies - unless you get to like TOS, I'd just skip the first 6 with those characters. (I didn't even really like most of them... and I liked TOS.) Actually, I don't like most of the TNG movies either. The Movies I DO like are the 2 latest one where the timeline was altered so everything is different - and I think those would be good to watch even if you hadn't watched other StarTrek shows (although knowing who people are would probably help....)

Well, where I grew up / went to school Junior High was grade 7-9 High School in that province was grades 10-12 (ie, grade 9 didn't/doesn't have credits.) Where I live now, there are multiple school districts in the same city and rules and names etc vary from district to district. however it seems that.... districts could have a middle school - which is grade 6-8, and then grade 9 students are in the high school districts could have a junior high - which is grade 7-9, and high schools start with grade 10 - but grade 9 students do earn HS credits in the district we live, with the nearby high school - if you are in the English based program you would do a Junior High and start in the high school in grade 10 - but if you are in French Immersion you would go to a middle school and start the high school in grade 9...

Hello everyone! I'm a homeschooling mom of 4 kids (11yo with dyslexia, 9yo probably with dyslexia, 6yo, 4yo) who has been using Ambleside Online for the last few years - but it is now too much with 3 students that need so much of my time. I am thinking that I like what I have seen so far of the Well Trained Mind - although I haven't read the book yet (just looked at the website and the forums). I have the book requested at the library. I own (thanks to a library sale a few years ago) the Usborne history book and plan to do some of it to get from where my son is in history currently (about 1760's) to the start of the Modern period (about 1850 if I'm correct?) with the family. As he has mostly done history in order, I figure to start with where he is in history instead of starting at the ancients (which he has done in 2 different programs) I'd move the other kids up to his history period. I'm sure I'll have a bunch of questions... but for now, my main question is - Is WTM doable with 3-4 students, with some of them being dyslexic - or am I just moving from one frustration to another?