Thanks so much everyone! Sorry I haven't been around, been so busy and sick at the same time. Lots of good ideas. I'll be looking into that Bridgeway math for both boys, that sounds like it might be just what we need. He's doing much better now, but I'm sure we'll struggle on a regular basis in the future unless I can get this figured out. It really helps if he eats protein and takes a multi in the morning. I just have to stay on top of him about it. I'll check out that ADD forum too, I'm sure I'll learn a lot.

ADD is definitely a possibility. My other son has it much worse and he's on curcumin and fish oil which seems to be helping. I need to get this one on it too. It's not easy to get him to take stuff, he's pretty stubborn. I'm convinced I need to try though. I don't want this misery to continue. As it is he can't function in the morning without coffee. Not normal for a kid.

I have MCS. I'm working on it, but I can't afford much in the way of help. I'm sure it does play into his learning issues. It makes me so sad for him. And now that he's a teen, it's incredibly difficult for me to control his diet. He knows what's good for him, but at 14 he just wants what he wants. At least he's not reacting to chemicals every day anymore like he was in school.

I agree, no curriculum can fix a problem with compliance. I just feel so wrung out trying to deal with him. We can't afford outside help really, so I feel pretty trapped. I belong to a local homeschooling group, so maybe I can ask there if anyone knows of inexpensive or free resources that we could use to help him with his math.

Never mind..

He never wants help. He throws a fit if I try to teach him. But at the same time he often doesn't get it and won't ask for help. He just leaves it undone and refuses to finish. I'm so frustrated I feel like just giving up on him. He also has a fit if I tell him I'm going to hire a tutor because he's painfully shy and can't stand being with strangers. Public school is not an option because he has chemical sensitivities and he gets really sick from things at school. Last year we did Math U See. He refused to watch the instructional videos as well as refused to let me teach him. When he used Teaching Textbooks, he often skipped the tutorial and all the practice problems and only did the problems on the lesson that he already understood. So this is as much a behavioral and parenting issue as it is a learning problem. I'm out of ideas. But I still have not read all my responses here so maybe I'll pick something up.

Where can I find a Mammoth placement test?

My ds had a really bad 8th grade year, in math especially. He only got through about half the curriculum and even that was done badly. How can I get him up to speed so that he can start Algebra 1 and actually understand it? We used Singapore last year, which he didn't like much. We used Teaching Textbooks before, which he also didn't like. I'm not sure there is any math curricula that he would like, as he just seems to hate it all. We're trying Kahn academy this year, but I'm beginning to realize that there's no way he's going to get what he needs just with that. Suggestions please!

I just found this: http://www.northwestuntest.com/ through Washingtonhomeschool.org. It's hard to believe it could be that easy, but if it is, I'm very happy!

Okay, thanks guys. So helpful. I'm so glad I came here for help!

Can't we just test for free with the public schools? And what is the CTBS? I thought my only option would be the MSP.

I'm in Washington where they require either annual state testing or an assessment of progress written by a certified teacher. My concern is that I don't want my kids having to take the common core standardized tests. Last year when we were enrolled in online public school, I opted out of state testing. It was not easy and I was made to feel like I was breaking the law (I wasn't). I just asked to be allowed to have my kids assessed in some other way, and the school capitulated. This year we're homeschooling. Whenever I've homeschooled before I've skipped the state tests because I wasn't aware that WA homeschooling law required them. I don't want to break the law, so this year I'll have to either make them do the tests or find a teacher who's willing to assess them. I don't want to do either, really. I wish I lived in Idaho or Texas! So my question is: how do you feel about the common core standardized tests? And do you think it's worth it to submit to an assessment to avoid the tests?

Thank you all so much for sharing. Every comment is helpful to me. I've struggled so long with this and I'm so ready to try to make things easier and more enjoyable for him. OhElizabeth, thank you so much for your input about the transcript. That is actually very helpful. I think I read years ago about non-traditional transcripts, but I guess I hadn't thought about it in awhile. That sounds like a great option because it validates his interests and shows him that they are important, not just a side issue. Also, I had had that idea myself about encouraging him to blog about gaming and gaming PCs. I'm a blogger myself and I know it's a wonderful way to improve writing skill, especially with the editing software available at Wordpress.

Thanks! That's definitely going on my reading list. I've already read some of the samples provided on Amazon and it looks very interesting.

Oh, I know he'll probably do fine. I just want him to understand what education can do for him. I don't want him to get to a stage where he's really frustrated that he didn't do the kind of high school work that would help him get into college or tech school. He's capable of doing most conventional high school curriculum, I think. In spite of his discomfort with reading, he still manages. I just don't want it to be so uncomfortable or discouraging for him anymore. I want to find a way of doing it that removes some of the obstacles so he can truly enjoy it. Or at least some of it. And yes, I'm convinced I've got to get him evaluated one way or another.

That looks excellent but, oh my goodness! Why is it so expensive?? Amazon has it for 54.95! I would love to read it though.

Yep, those jobs sound just about right for him. I just don't want him to be limited to something like that. You're right about not trying to force interest in things. I try to be casual about it. Hopefully he doesn't feel pressured. But I want him to know what's out there in the computer field.

I lost my post, so this will likely be shorter. OhElizabeth, thanks for that. I needed to hear that. Sometimes I get so worried about the fact that he doesn't learn like other kids and doesn't have any interest in the things I wish he would learn. His interest lies almost exclusively in the realm of PC gaming and gaming PCs. In fact, he's gardening all summer to earn gaming PC components so he can build his own. I support him all the way in this because I think he's learning valuable skills. I'm trying to also interest him in game design and computer programming. He's really smart. He just doesn't seem very smart when he tries to express himself because of whatever cognitive problems he's got going on. And he doesn't learn much outside of his narrow field of interest other than what he's forced to read (which he promptly forgets most of the time anyway). I'll have to see if our insurance might cover an evaluation. Likely not, but it's worth a shot.

So could I have him do course work that's at a lower level but still call it high school, make him a transcript, etc. Or should I hold him back?

I've had my three boys in either online or alternative public school for the past two years. This year we're going to switch back to homeschooling with the younger two. My youngest is well beyond grade level and will probably do great with a classical curriculum. But my middle child seems to have great difficulty with speaking, reading and writing. He hasn't been evaluated, but I know there's something going on. I asked for an evaluation when he was in 2nd grade (public school) but his teacher didn't think he needed it. I should have insisted. Anyway, is it even reasonable to try classical education with a child that struggles as much as he does? If I do, I know I'll have to tweak it considerably until it probably won't resemble classical education very much. But I want this for him. I want him to learn to reason logically and to love books and foreign languages and art and music and to be interested in the whole wide world, not just the world of the internet, video games and Netflix. Maybe that's totally unreasonable and I should just do what's easy. I don't know. He's going into 9th grade and he's not even remotely ready for that level of learning. But I don't want him to be held back for years trying to catch up on all the things he should learn in a classical curriculum. How do you do it?? How much do you tweak? What do you sacrifice and what do you stick with? What curricula have you found that works for your LD kids?