We spend 2 hours a day on Language Arts. We only do core subjects at home, plus logic and Omnibus. He attends a coop one day per week for the 'fun' subjects. So our routine usually goes like this; 9-10 Maths 10-12 Writing program and grammar 12-1pm Lunch 1pm Spelling and handwriting practice 1.30-3pm Logic or Omnibus 3-30pm Word Roots or Editor in Chief

Thanks Wendy; that kind of explains this whole mystery then. Perhaps they're just from a generation that finds the internet a bit overwhelming, and that their business has grown so much they don't know how to handle it. :001_unsure:

I love MCT books, but their customer service seems appalling. If you don't live in the US you have to email them and request an invoice, as they don't have an automatic shopping system for international customers. I've ordered 4 parcels from them in the past year, and each time has been a nightmare except once when I got fed up and had the books automatically shipped to a friend in the US who then sent them to me. So I was just wondering if others had the same problems? Especially if you are a non-US resident. The problems I have encountered are: 1. Not replying to emails. 2. If they do reply it can take a week or two. 3. Rude email manner. 4. Lame exuses for not replying. 5. Not answering questions adequately (which is strange as they're supposed to be a Language Arts program!! :001_huh: ) If I'm not alone, then let's speak out :001_smile:

Finella, we have watched a few units of the DVDs to Introductory Logic by James Nance (note: this is not the book/DVDs of Cothran's Traditional Logic), and I glad I got them. OK, they're dry and there are no special effects or fun video clips; just a teacher and a whiteboard, but they save my vocal chords and give ds another point of view, as I intend to do each section slowly and thoroughly. So, we will 1. watch the dvd, 2. read the unit, 3. do the exercises verbally and with a personal whiteboard (as ds is writing-phobic).

This is our first year homeschooling, and we did WWS. We are stopping at lesson 27 and changing to IEWB. I think WWS is a little too difficult for my son who is 12, who is otherwise average for his age (he was just tested). However, my son is not an independent worker; mostly I am 'parent at elbow' and 'hovering'. I wish I had started WWS with him when he was 14. One of the reasons I didn't go with IEW at first was because I don't really agree that some words should be banned; ie that the word "said" should be banned! In my writing classes it is the dialogue itself that should be strong, not the adjective that describes 'how' it was said. But I like the idea of a video telling my son what to do. Then he can argue with Andrew and not me!

Actually I was referring to formal logic. :thumbup1: Martin Cothran has written an article saying that formal logic should be studied before informal logic, because it is important to know how to recognise and formulate a 'good argument' before a bad one http://www.classical...ex.php?page=163 Further, informal logic can be better understood when syllogisms are applied. Deniseibase, The Snake and the Fox looks great! Formal logic can be really funny, and so far most workbooks I've been through, ie Intro to Logic and Traditional Logic make the subject way too serious. This book looks a lot 'lighter'.

I would have to respectfully disagree that logic isn't necessary. Having studied logic myself late in life (having read through, and done the exercises of, no less than 13 books on logic!) , I wish so much I had learnt this stuff during my teen years. Logical fallacies are everywhere in the media and social life, attempting to manipulate our thoughts and skew our thinking. Formal logic is great for working out what is wrong with a claim that sounds dubious, ie cirularity. It also helps you formulate and effectively express your own ideas so that you don't leave out a premise or a conclusion, something that is very common both in essays and in speech (and which often hides a logical fallacy). In fact, in one of my logic books it states 5 reasons why logic is life enhancing, which includes the ability to argue without becoming emotional, and even 'enhancing relationships'. It's also an awful lot of fun! :thumbup:

I agree; Discovery of Deduction is very wordy and too theoretical. We have done a few chapters but then changed to Introductory Logic by Nance. It's much drier, but it only gives small pieces of information before the exercises, most of which can be done verbally, or on a whiteboard - and it takes it one small step at a time. My son has had no trouble with this book so far. The other one went straight over his head. We have the Intro logic DVDs coming any day soon. The one part i love about DoD is the chapter at the end on Inductive Logic. I judged the whole book from that chapter. It's definitely worth reading just for your own education.

Another thing that has really helped us is a small whiteboard and pens. This is where ds writes his outlines and also does grammar diagramming and other short written exercises.

My son still has major program with penmanship - he's 12 but writes like a 5 year old still. I taught him to touch type at the age of 8. Don't delay this any longer or you will end up with a 2-finger typist, because often if they learn the 2 finger way, it can stick. This is the way I taught my son - I taught him myself since the typing games and programs distracted him too much. First, I put stickers over all the keys and then showed him how to feel for the keys where his hands must be in 'resting position' ie asdf jkl; The first day I just got him to type a a a a a a a a a a a a a a until he had mastered it. Then we added b b b b b b b , then ab ab ab, then c c c c then abc, cba, cab ... When we'd got through all the letters (after 3 months of very hard work) I got him to type 'the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' until he had mastered it. Only then did I introduce Mavis Beacon typing. Four years later and his typing speed is 25wpm! :hurray: We did all of WWE with typing, and we are almost finishing WWS now. Spending all that time teaching him to touch type was one of the best things I ever did for his learning.

Thanks!

It says in Day Three of chapter 23 that in the essay about Rikki Tivvi Tavi, that you are to identify the protagonist, but it say; "hint, try not to use the word protagnoist". What are we supposed to say? That RTT was the character who wanted to 'get, become or achieve something'? Or something else? thanks! Ds is supposed to start this essay this morning.

:lurk5: I'd like to hear about this too. We've finished SOTW.

Thank you!!

We are in Australia and my son will be 13 next July 2013. I thought with the American system he was just starting grade 7, but a friend also here in Oz, thinks that his age corresponds to just starting grade 5! Now I'm totally confused. Can someone please clear this up for us? :confused: Thanks

My ds was 11 when we did WWE4 and he would get upset if I didn't stop after just 3 words. So the only way he would agree to continue with WWE4 was if I dictated slowly as he typed. He does have ADHD though.

I read the book and didn't think much to it either. I won't be choosing it to study with ds. But there are some issues in it that can be tossed around, like the persepectives and insights from being a small person in a big world and vice versa.

If you want something that is not dry, try the Michael Clay Thompson books. Absolutely wonderful. Begin with the story book Sentence Island; about a fish who goes looking for grammatically correct sentences, LOL. Then move onto Grammar Voyage and at the same time, teach yourself grammar diagramming; you'll never be the same again! :001_smile: The MCT series doesn't diagram, but there are some great, low priced workbooks on diagramming. We've just started Grammar Voyage workbooks, where the child must parse one sentence per day. In the 'comments section' my ds diagrams the sentence as well. The reason why it's worth it, apart from it being lots of fun, is because when your child writes a sentence that doesn't sound right, you can get them to diagram it to see what's missing. Ds wrote a sentece today that went something like: "Burn, burn, burn, to White Dwarf to Black Dwarf to black hole." He couldn't understand what was wrong with it. When he diagrammed it, he realised there was no subject noun nor verb!

Pen, he definitely has no reading LD, and he is only behind in maths since this is our first year homeschooling, and we started from MUS Alpha. He has been tested for LDs and doesn't have them, though he does have HFA, and not having the right help in school made him get behind. We completed WWE last year before school each day. The work isn't too hard for him; he's just not motivated and doesn't see any point in it. I think one of the problems is that he has no competition with anyone. He loves being hs'd, but I think I need to start grading his work and giving him marks etc. I'm leaning towards LTW at the moment.

We're coming towards the end of WWS1 with ds12, and there have been some struggles on his part (though I love WWS). His main problem is lack of concentration and rushing through activities, and for me; having to be 'parent at elbow' at all times or there will be no work done at all. He refuses to read the lesson, so I have to read it to him, though I encourage him to take turns with me. As for topics, he will often refuse to do the topic listed in WWS and only wants to write about aeroplanes; so his essays all sound exactly the same, with no evolution or expansion. He also just does the absolute bare minimum work that passes as 'acceptable', though he's capable of a bit more. So, I'm wondering if a different program might help with these issues once we finish? I can't decide between LTW and IEW. Can anyone advise? thank you

We've had major problems with our son's handwriting, and now we've just let it go in the hope that it might improve by itself. He saw an OT for a year, but still not much improvement. If it weren't for typing he would be years behind. I taught him to touch type at the age of 8 and now he can type about 30wpm without even looking (whereas his handwriting is about the level of a 6yr old). Some things we also do orally. I've heard that writing Greek and Arabic also help, but as others have said, it's time consuming, and maths and paragraph construction are our main focus right now, and this takes up all of his mental energy at the moment. I'd say that if nothing works, just give up for a year and teach typing. Touch typing is a fabulous tool; it makes writing essays so easy.

It does sound like you're very down, and sometimes when we're depressed we don't have the energy to do anything or change anything. Perhaps you really do need to put him back into a bricks and mortar school for a while, as others have suggested; at least until you can find the energy to do it again. A friend of mine told me once "you've got to love homeschooling, you've got to be a bit of an intellectual and love books with a passion, researching and intellectual pursuits" .... plus have all the physical and mental energy that takes! If this doesn't sound like you, or if you think you have depression ...... then perhaps make some big changes! :-) <hugs>

I can relate to that! My son has HFA and ADHD as well. You can't just leave them to work on their own; it's totally hands on. I would begin by reading that passage to him and then get him to summarize either in handwriting or typing, and if that is a problem, then get him to verbally dictate to you. After he has mastered verbal narration, ie after 6 months of perfect narration, get him to write it, or at least the first sentence of the narration. Then reading the passage, you read one paragraph, and he reads the next. Eventually you work up to him reading the passage aloud to you, but it would probably take at least a year. I know how tiring it is, but it's worth it in the end. Mine is now 12 and he reads the passage aloud to me and types his narration. We're half way thru WWS and there are no more narrations, but I still sit on the couch with him before he starts work and we read the morning's assignment in turns, and then I sit behind him as he types. The scaffolding is essential when they're like this, and eventually you take parts of the scaffolding away. We're getting closer to the part in WWS where he is supposed to read a long story by himself (Rikki Tikki). I'm still not sure if he will do it if left to himself, or that I will be reading half of it to him while stopping when the story gets exciting, then handing it over to him. Or if I will have to read the entire story to him. We'll see in a few weeks! ....

My ds just uses the Thesaurus built into WORD - it's fast and easy. It's the one that I used all the way through university and I never had a problem with it. Fabulous tool.

Thanks Tahara! :-))) Glad you liked the DVD :-))) I decided that the Logic videos will be overkill, as ds is already doing well in understanding the concepts.