I have a feeling this will be very hard for her. She was raised in a very sheltered environment that I don't believe prepared her to live on her own or pursue higher education so that she could do so. She will be surrounded by people that will pressure her to stay with Josh and forgive him at all costs. She would have to make the heart-wrenching decision to not give her kids the education she wishes they had and put them in public school, making them have to fight their own battles when it comes to their dad - most of which they probably don't understand (and shouldn't). For her to leave would be to go against EVERYTHING in her life to climb uphill on a difficult journey. With four kids in tow, including a newborn? I would completely understand her staying for a few more years at least.

Breaks, planning, and child input. I'm dead serious on the last one. We used to do conferences, at least once a month, where we'd sit down and just talk about what was working, what wasn't, and what each of us would like to change. The 5yo is much too young for that (his idea of change is to play Minecraft all day), but listening to him when he does come up with a rare idea helps us both get more excited. Yesterday he was in the middle of a long Playdoh session and asked why can't we do playdoh for math. Well, why not? Let's plan a bit and see how to work it in! He was quite happy doing fractions with blue pizza and making balls & worms for grouping. And sometimes, I just have to fall back to "if I hate this, why am I teaching it this way to a child who hates it, too?" If I'm not enjoying it, he's not enjoying it, I research until I find a way we can. There is never going to be a cure-all (the Doldrums attack at random times and sometimes for a long while). I wish there was. But recharging and keeping lines of communication open seem to ward off the worst of it.

Yep. Dh wants to fix it. When I vent, I have to add "just listen!" :laugh: But....I try not to vent to him. We both deal with enough stuff that we like to enjoy our time together. Venting to friends or writing about it is more cathartic for me.

Could something be underlying the laissez-faire attitude? When mine gets like that he's having a crisis of confidence. Nothing interests him, nothing he tries is as good as he wants it to be, confused and scared about life choices..it's easier to save face by pretending it doesn't matter than to care and fail.

We kept a blank schedule in a sheet protector. It had a block for every subject and a few extras, along with space for when the task could be expected to be done by and when it was actually done. Morning meeting had him filling in the subjects in whatever preferred order he wanted. I was available to work with him as needed, but setting his own schedule was the first step to learning independence in this area.

I've seen relaxed. I'm not it. :) Our methods are not the 'norm' (very activity driven in short bursts, low on the actual writing until about middle elementary, not wasting time with learning ABC's or other preschool nonsense) and it can look like we're not doing a whole lot, but the output is quite worth it.

I'd be questioning it. 1. I'd be more interested in how the adults leading it behave. If they don't walk the walk, how will the kids? 2. I'd be interested in what happens when there's a setback, and how the discipline correlates with what the program tries to provide. I've only seen one character education program work in a big group setting, and it was an every day, all day program with school and parents involved and having each other's backs. The kids start out with a set of traits to memorize, the teachers circle back to those traits/teach application and help what the child is having difficulty with when it comes to discipline, the parents reinforce the same traits at home consciously. That works. It's part of their life all the time. Cutesy education programs? They're mostly paper, no real long term effect or outcome.

My kids know if I yell, it's serious. I think I've only done it twice in the past year (child wandered into a dangerous area, child rode bike right out into the road without looking). It was necessary for the shock value, to impress how unacceptable that action, and the lack of listening, was.

A slightly different direction - The Color Of Friendship. It was a Disney movie about 10 years ago covering the story of a white South African child sent to be an exchange student at an African-American congressman's house during the 1970's. Based on a true event and prompted several offshoots here: Congressman Dellum's career, Nelson Mandela, issues the world was facing in the 70's..

If you can find a copy of Anno's Math Games or I Hate Mathematics, I'd probably build around that. Or even use the Sir Cumference books to build quests: make the materials, copy/rewrite the book onto smaller cards, and tell it as they go along trying to figure out the same thing Lady Di and the rest of them. I'd probably pick only 2-3 math topics a semester and just gather as many resources as you can for each one.

Depends. My husband and I snagged a great deal on a three-country cruise. We had the money in the account, and when we wanted to go we snatched up a last minute package for about $2000 - 7 day, balcony room, excursions, etc. included in the total cost. $2K is doable. Had we booked a month or two out, it would have been closer to $6000, but they really want to fill rooms and tend to drop prices at the last minute. I think you can't really know how a person's budget is until you're reading their bank account.

They used to have the TAKS tests online for free before Texas switched to the STAAR. I would give one about every year and after scoring, highlight the sections that showed he needed more work at. For the rest, listen to MysteryJen. ;)

I have found that the range often correlates with the values of the support community. I have been in some groups where it's seen as unnecessary to go above or do a rigorous study (or even keep records). Parents simply didn't do that. My son had one friend whose day consisted of 3 worksheets and a reading book in 9th grade. His mother looked appalled when I suggested he may need more than that to be considered a freshman. We've also been in groups that are more academically oriented, where each family is striving to do their best and the idea of not doing so is worrisome. Each group guided members in their own direction. Conversations were different, values were different..I don't think we always realize the effect our friends have on us.

Moving Beyond The Page? They use living books/fiction to teach concepts.

My son did Biology through Texas Tech. The lab disc was...well, it wasn't as good as it could have been, and with Bio the labs need to be sent in at testing time. Over all it wasn't a bad course, though teacher involvement depends on the person running it and how many questions you have. ;)

I think this is another area to make homeschoolers feel inadequate. There's this weird idea of magic in homeschooling that seems to be an offshoot of the mommy wars....if you just have the right room, the right tools, the right curriculum, you too will have children that are just like the magazines! :laugh: We look at the pretties and forget that educating is messy, children are human, and buying curriculum is like buying a dress. It might fit, but it wasn't made for you, honey, and you may have to get it tailored. I like some of the ideas I saw in there (were a couple using long planters on the table to corral supplies?) but oh, dear. The idea of being boxed into a room is enough to send me screaming to the outdoors! Show me a picture of organizing on the fly, or multipurpose tools that grow with a kid!

Vol 2 or 3 of this? http://www.learning-adventures.org/index.html

Yes. My thoughts exactly. I really enjoyed GSaW.

Well, what is the purpose of a written chapter review? If it is to study later, great. If it is for writing, is it going to serve the purpose you want it to?

12yo was the hardest year, imo. Totally sloppy, careless work, didn't care about school at all, no effort in anything (seriously, an assignment of a 1 page essay- after redoing the outline 3 times to make it a real outline- came back as 4 sentences). I cried through that year, figuring my kid would work at McD's for the rest of his life. Fast forward 4 years, and now doing his second year in a small public school. Everything drilled into him for 10 years is starting to click in his head. He will finish his junior year in May and need exactly 3 classes for his senior year to be able to graduate. He'll have at least 3 dual credit courses under his belt. He, my child who couldn't find his way out of a paper bag at age 12, rocked his ACTs. 8 years of a classical education gave him the ability to think critically and logically, and gave him a background in all the sciences and history, so he's getting straight A's with little effort. He's learning what it meant when I constantly stressed for him to do his best so he could keep all his doors open. Had I accepted age 12 of an indicator of who he would be, he would not be on the track he is. It dawned on him today that he really can do anything if he wants to. 12 is hard. It's an age when they need plenty of exercise and time to do their own thing away from parents. Many of my son's friends started their day running or doing hard labor first thing in the am before school. My son took long bike rides halfway through his day. He did classes and joined clubs and started answering to people other than me. I don't know if it helped, but it certainly didn't hurt.

We looked them up as we went along. I would type in "spelling rule" and what was needed "double consonant". Learning the why and how to use helped him a LOT more in the long run than previous methods of spelling lists or integrated spelling (like in Writing Strands, where you correct as you go through each assignment). We wasted about 5 years trying to find a fit with popular programs before deciding to break it down as much as possible. There are books and websites totally devoted to spelling rules, so you can probably find a resource you love. :)

Honestly? For my oldest we ended up memorizing phonics rules and Greek/Latin word parts (think CTC's Word Roots). Nothing else helped: Sequential Spelling, spelling with lesson words, word lists...we spent years wasting time before just breaking it down to the basics and now he spells quite well.

I may have misunderstood the question. Did you mean math manipulatives you buy or make or both? We use our homemade place value things a lot, too. Colored index cards cut to various lengths to show hundreds, tens, units, matching paper that goes from large (to use with the cards or blocks) to small graph (to organize numbers). I made a strip board that saw a lot of use while learning addition and subtraction basics. I'm sure at least half of what we use is homemade, and the rest is because I already had it.

Don't know where you live, but there are quite a few college associated high schools. Texas Tech charges $360 for their full year of algebra 1, Others are comparible.

This is a first grade grammar book linked in another thread - http://www.mhschool.com/reading/treasure_workbooks/national/g1/grammar_pb.pdf I find it handy to look at and see what is expected over the year, and then use the same outline to create our own program.