If she is doing it during regular instruction, what about giving a token for every correct answer and taking one for every wrong answer? At the end if there is she has "won" she gets a treat / privilege, etc.

not double, but triple post. sorry...my computer was extremely slow!

sorry, double post.

Not to hijack the thread, but to the OP, have you been satisfied with AG? We are in the first season. My son finds it to be tedious and it just takes a long....time....to do all the parsing and diagramming, but I find it to be very effective.

Mine is up. It was a good week.

One thing is that she may not be an auditory learner. I have a friend who is an avid reader who, when I discussed certain audiobooks with her, she just laughed and said, "I cannot listen to audiobooks. I cannot stay focused at all!" She would much rather read. I am quite the opposite. I love to be read to (though I am also a reader). In answer to your question, I agree with what the PP said who mentioned that they have to learn how to answer in complete sentences. This has been the first discussion of subject and verb for my dd. If she doesn't answer the sentence completely (usually without a subject) I just stare off into space as if she didn't say anything at all (it's become a kind of game) and wait. After about 3 seconds she realizes her mistake and repeats her answer with a complete subject and predicate. Since it takes a little practice to know what kind of things to listen for, I sometimes also read the questions ahead of time and cue her as to what she needs to listen for. This has helped a lot and I almost never do it anymore.

I do BA with my dd7 as a supplement to MUS. I would just go for it. It is an exceptional and fun program, but it is challenging. It is definitely not a thing that I can hand to her and let her do on her own. I have to help her read it, then she solves the problems with me right there to help bump her back onto the path if she should get too stuck. The problems are challenging, but they are fun, and we sort of approach it like a game. Her big brother (age 11) gets involved too. We all love it.

Another suggestion I would make is to let them read comic books. They are good transitions between independent reading because the pictures are so engaging and they have to work out the words to interpret them correctly. My ds was crazy about Calvin and Hobbes. My dd's reading is somehow much better whenever she reads Garfield! These were also very helpful when my son was at this stage.

My son and daughter said the same thing at 7, so I totally understand your fear. My dd 7 (will be 8 in a couple of weeks) has only JUST found a series of books (a fairy book series) that she loves and is voluntarily sitting down to read them. They are (IMO) the goofiest stories in the world, but she loves them, and they are very easy. It has only been in the last few weeks (she is 2nd grade) that her interest in these stories has led her to pick them up on her own and read them on her own time. I thought the same thing when my son was 7, and I remember him saying that he didn't like to read, too. Now he devours books (he's 11). He started loving reading when he read a book I had when I was a kid called "Let's Get Turtles" (go figure), and from there his reading really took off. He would listen to anything I read and enjoy it, and I almost always read aloud and listen to audiobooks far above their vocabulary level. Harry Potter was his first "I can't put this down" series and he started that when he was 9. He read the first half that summer and the second half the following summer, then the whole series again as soon as he finished the last book (age 10). Since then he has read the entire Wizard of Oz series, The whole Great Brain series, The Mysterious Benedict Society, he has listened to the entire unabridged LOTR series more than once including the Hobbit, which he has both read and listend to, all of Narnia more than once. Right now he is eyeing Percy Jackson for the summer and he is currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, which is one of my all-time favorite books--not a kid book. He always has a book for pleasure on his bedstand and if he doesn't he kind of frets until he finds a new one. I was worried about both of them. I am not worried anymore. OTOH, my sister is an even bigger book-worm than I am and would describe the same scenario that you did--she reads all. the. time. and is surrounded by books, but her husband is not a reader at all. She homeschooled her daughter who never developed a love of reading, but was an incredible athlete and artist. She is intelligent, well-informed and incredibly gifted as an artist (link to her gorgeous website!) but she isn't a reader--at least not in the same sense that we are...but the funny thing is that her husband is! It all works out in the end. You're doing all the right things so put your fears to rest and let them be little rough-and-tumble puppies for a while. :001_smile:

I love the quote, "When I have a little money I buy books. If there is anything left over I buy food and clothes." :001_rolleyes: This has pretty much been my life's philosophy, however, when we were in a place where things were tighter than usual, we actually had a budget for books and curricula set at about $100 per month. It was fine most months except the months we had to buy the next year's curriculum. Then it would go over of course, but some months I didn't spend that much so it all worked out. I would say that now we are doing Tapestry of Grace and my son is getting older (middle school age) books are getting more expensive and more in sheer number of volumes, so we try to buy used whenever we can. I always consider that what I would be paying in school tuition is so much more than what we spend, and we really keep things as simple as possible, so it is worth it.

we bought huge laminated world and u.s. maps at costco.

I'm not sure about the HSP-thing...but I am easily overwhelmed. Sometimes being with my children all the time is overwhelming and tiring and I feel "mommied-out" and I tell my dh so. He steps in and gives me a break. I agree with a PP who said that if you need quiet time, work it into the daily schedule for everyone. Generally speaking my kids and I run off into our corners periodically through the day and get the space that we need, then we come back together. It is a nice little rhythm we have developed. We can't promise you that you won't be overwhelmed or stressed at times, but the goal is not to have a picture-perfect homeschool. It is to be with our children, loving, educating tem, and teaching them how to cope with life in a safe environment. It is important to keep the big picture in mind. The kids don't remember the "off" days, but they do cherish and remember the overall happy things that you do together and build into your life. As for socialization, I had only to read that post on "corndogging" to understand that if this is what is going on in schools, then I'm happy for them not to be socialized in school. Sounds more like a zoo to me. My kids have great friends, are very well-behaved in public, have good manners, and can have wonderful conversations with adults as well as play nicely with children younger than themselves. Isn't that socialization?

:iagree: I like having both. I just need to read what is going on from paper and not a screen. I mostly use a desktop computer, though, so that is part of my reason. If I were using a laptop I might feel differently. I would love to know how to "reformat the pages." Do share... :bigear:

we had a great day, too. After feeling very disorganized and frustrated for several weeks, I finally put together some workable lesson plans for the week, and the kids responded well. My DS 11 finished his first ever essay and dd7 stayed on task and didn't go off into LaLa land too much. They managed to check off everything on the list and even went to art class for 2 hours this morning. Good day. I really needed that.

We cannot speak for the older grades, but it is the only science program I have used for the elementary years, and the kids and I have been very happy with it. I am trying to decide what to do for the middle grades at the moment...I don't know if I will continue using Apologia or not.

:o thanks.

My DS 11 finished his first 500+ word essay today. He wrote it on our Japanese family's experiences during WWII based on interviews he did with his grandfather (who spent the years of the war in the internment camps) and other research he did about their situation. This was particularly hard because it was so personal and he really wanted to his dad and grandfather to be pleased. I am so proud of him. I just wanted to share my excitement. I hope you ladies don't mind the brag.

This. I think that there are kids who have brains that do math. Everyone else is equipped with regular brains that grasp math at certain developmental points along the way. I think there are concepts that "click" just like some kids can struggle with reading one day and be reading chapter books the next with virtually no logical progression of learning. Everyone seems to be on slightly different timelines, and I think it is risky to try to push beyond a child's ability in order to have an accelerated learner. I believe these children self-identify and a parent will not be in the dark as to whether their child could handle a faster pace or more complex material.

Mine is up at Accidental Homeschooler...

I have this problem too. I have been to several chiropractors and the curve has never improved. I too had neck pain and headaches and constant muscle tension in my neck and shoulders. The adjustments help in the short-term, but the thing that has helped me the most, except for the very occasional menstrual headache has been a paleo diet and intense exercise. Strengthening my core, neck, back and shoulders and eating a diet that does not promote inflammation is the best cure. No more headaches, no more neck pain, no more shoulder pain (except after a hard work out--different kind of sore and temporary).

You will never stop being Mom. You will have plenty of days like this. Don't let it scare you. Decide now how you will handle days like this. Will you get angry and huff back or will you respond with a gentle touch and loving guidance and help her along the way? Most of home schooling is learning how not to react but how to respond in ways that are useful. You will get in a groove, don't worry. Most likely this will be the toughest job you've ever had, and the one you love more than anything. No suggestions...just live it and love it. Grow together. It'll be okay.

not too hard, but I agree that it is very badly worded.

I agree with the PPs who said not to get hung up on which year they start what... I came late to the party and my 7th grader is doing ancients next year. If you really do want to be on the recommended cycle, though, I agree that I would do a geography and cultures year, not cover the modern era. We covered the modern era with my kids this year, and I really did very little with my 2nd grader, and we are only covering to WWII. So much of it is just more complex than they need at this point. When he gets to high school I will have him covering the entire 20th century.

I cannot add anything to this except that I completely agree with this answer.

sorry. double post.