I have three at home for school - they will be in 3rd, 6th, and 7th grades next year. They each have their own desks that are all in one room. They do writing work at their desks, but can end up anywhere in the house for reading. For things we have to work on together, I make sure they do it at different times (like math, I always do math with them). For my older two, they bring things to me as they get done or if they have questions. I sit in one spot (like the couch, or upstairs in our room if I needed to do laundry), and they would come to me. For my youngest, I would go over directions with her and let her work on her own when she could. It's not perfect, but it works better than me distracting all of them by helping one (they will all listen to what I am saying). They know not to bother me if I'm with another kid. I decorated index cards and laminated them (personalized for each of them) - if I'm working on something with their sibling, they would come to me and set the card down where I could see it (I don't do well with being interrupted, bad thing with 4 kids). I would know they need help when I was done or at a point where I could break for a question. We also made a rule that only quiet things, like reading, could be done until everyone was done or I declared the school day over. That meant there was no reason to rush and get done first. I have two that work really fast and it would bother the other one that he took longer, until I made that rule. Now my oldest will help his siblings with questions so that they can all get done :)

I read Nancy Drew books at that age - my mom had the series through #64 from when she was a kid, I would read through them and then read through them again. I loved Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. I think that's about the age I got into Dean Koontz and Stephen King. I can't remember when I read Babysitter's Club, it might have been more like 4th grade. I doubt your son wants to read any of that. I am going to try my daughter on Nancy Drew, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women in a few years. The new Babysitter's Club books are graphic novels, I just can't get myself to buy them (I loved the originals so much).

How does the raise in minimum wage affect those that make more than minimum wage? My husband works in the insurance industry. He had to get licensed, in multiple states, in order to do his job. His job requires specific skills and knowledge, and he has worked hard to make sure he is good at his job. He gets paid a fair wage for his skills compared to the wage of someone with no job skills. That would change if the person with no job skills gets bumped to $15/hour. Does it de-value his wage if someone at McD's makes $15/hour? Does his company give him a raise because his skills are worth more than the typical entry level McD's worker? If they don't give him a raise, the raises for unskilled workers will increase costs and our ability to live on a previously livable wage is taken away. We aren't rich - we have a child with special needs and another child with diabetes, we are killed every month by medical costs. If not everybody gets a wage increase because minimum wage goes up, doesn't that make the situation worse for people who are not at poverty level? Prices will go up with a $15/hour minimum wage. If I'm a business owner and my wage costs go up, I have to make up the lost profit by cutting hours, increasing costs, or both. In all of the articles I have read about the minimum wage increase, I haven't seen this addressed. It's a big concern for us.

What I'm getting from this is: Relax, mom, just let them read :) We just discovered the joy of audiobooks a few months ago. The kids really like to listen to them going to bed, but then my second son started having weird dreams and talking in his sleep (he would fall asleep while it was playing). I should really let them listen to them in the van. Reading aloud... My daughter would probably be on board with that. My sons would look at me like I was nuts. I read to them when they were little, but stopped once they started reading to me. If I could go back and fix it, I would...

Thank you for all your help, everyone! And my kids thank you for convincing me to drop book reports :) Any good reading lists that anyone can recommend? I'm going off of what I remember reading and I'm running out of ideas. Since we are going the just reading route, we'll go through a lot of books in a year. One last question: Do you have them read x number of chapters, or x number of minutes a day? Chapters will mean I know they are reading a certain amount, but minutes could mean they actually read more.

So scrap the book reports and just discuss... I can do that. I looked at Deconstructing Penguins on Amazon, it looks really interesting. I think I'll be ordering it shortly. Figuratively Speaking also looks interesting. Is it directed at the child or parent? There wasn't a sample of it and I couldn't tell from the description. My biggest concern is that they will be able to read more advanced literature in high school and beyond. Two of them read at advanced reading levels, one is struggling a bit on comprehension (or it could be from complete lack of interest). I think I've picked a good mix of books they'll like and classics that might be interesting.

I have three kids coming out of public school curriculum (did virtual school last year, public school before that) that hate reading. After seeing the questions asked daily and tests they had to do on each book that they weren't interested in, I don't really blame them. Is it okay to just do reading for the subject of Reading? They are in 3rd, 6th, and 7th grades next year. Can I just give them some good books, some that are their choice and some that are my choice, and have them read a certain amount each day? I was going to give them vocab words for the books and have them write a brief book report on each book that summarizes they story, what they liked and didn't like, and if they would recommend the book to another kid. I'm hoping, by backing off and giving them books they like, that I can make them interested in reading again. Please, let me know if this is a bad plan. I love reading and it makes me sad that the kids don't :(

He sounds like a 9-year-old boy who has gotten used to looking at a screen all day. If he just wants to sit there when nothing is going on, I don't see anything wrong with it. Not everyone is meant to be going all day, every day. Some kids are way more active than others - my friend's boys are crazy compared to my laid back boys. If he wants to play tablet/watch tv/play video games, make him earn it. It's all about motivation at this age. If he knows he'll get time on a screen, he'll get up and do something. We tell our boys they have to do what needs to be done before they get to do what they want to do. Take a family walk, go to the park, don't make it an option to not participate. 2 hours playing at the park (really playing, not sitting on a bench) gets him 2 hours of screen time. We don't go all the time. I can't imagine only being allowed to sit for 15 minutes at a time. I have one son that takes awhile to get to sleep at night - he's a lot like me, I stay up until the wee hours often. We let him read as long as he wants, he stops when he can't keep his eyes open. He's not an avid reader, he just reads at night because it's better than just sitting there looking at the ceiling.

We had a preschool teacher who would take all of the new crayons at the beginning of the school year, and have a crayon breaking party with the kids. I thought she was nuts, but it worked really well. Now I'm the only one with a screwed up grip in our house...

You can get lots of instructions online for free. Here's a website: http://letsbuilditagain.com/index.php .

I also do Instant Ink through HP, and I will also be printing a lot of stuff for my three kids this next year :) My plan is to start printing this summer on the 300 page plan, then print as I need things every week once the school year starts. I'll just give them their work as it is assigned and then put it in a binder once it is completed. ETA: I have thought about a laser printer at tax time next year, but I haven't researched any yet.

Calvert is about $1500 if you just buy the curriculum and do it yourself (no teacher oversight). We did a Calvert virtual school through our district last year. It's not a terrible curriculum, I just didn't like the amount of work some days. There was a lot of busywork in 2nd grade, which was terrible for a get-it-done child. My boys in 5th and 6th grade didn't have as much busywork, but I feel like the writing instruction was very weak. 5th grade had far more work than 6th, which I found odd. I was wanting to get my kids out of public school a year ago, and I decided to go the virtual school route because I was afraid to do it on my own. After a year of virtual school, I feel like I can do it on my own with less stress. I have spent a lot of hours on this computer, finding awesome homeschool curriculum and planning next year. If you decide to do it on your own, these forums are a great resource! I hope you find peace with whatever decision you make! Good luck!

I also plan to use 6-trait writing for a struggling writer. He knows how to put thoughts to paper, but they are a mess. Evan-Moor also has a book called Writing Fabulous Sentences and Paragraphs. It starts with sentences, goes to topics/main ideas, and builds from there. It's for grades 4-6. Here's a link: http://www.evan-moor.com/p/549/writing-fabulous-sentences--paragraphs . I don't know if that's what you are looking for, it does go over several different types of writing (descriptive, narrative persuasive, etc). Maybe that would give a jumping off point for another writing curriculum?

My soon-to-be third grade daughter does a bit on her own. I try to go over the math concepts with her, but I usually get, "Mom, I can do this by myself!" Next year, I plan on doing a morning meeting with everyone and then letting them do their thing. They come to me if they can't figure something out, or if I note on their assignment sheets that they need to do a particular assignment with me. I always look over their work at the end of the day, and I make sure to correct any mistakes with them. I think it depends a lot on the child. If I tried to work on everything with my fiercely independent 8-year-old daughter, she would hate school. She tied her shoes, rode a bike, and took a shower without help A LOT earlier than her brothers. Everything has always been, "I can do it." With my boys, it was, "Can you do it for me?" I attribute that to her being a girl and the last child :) What kind of personality is your daughter? How much would she like to do on her own?

My husband will if I ask him to help out. He usually takes over as much as possible if I'm sick, or if I need to run errands. He only runs if they want help with math :eek:

:iagree: My kids would consider it a victory if I did anything like throw away the book. I have an 8-year-old that isn't doing this (yet), but her oldest brother does it. I take away screen time and assign extra chores when I catch him skipping work. Maybe she does need more supervision, too. Good luck, and hang in there :)

I haven't had time to read all of the responses, I skimmed through a lot of them. I saw some really good suggestions! We did a Calvert online school last year. I have a 5th grade struggling reader and I also didn't see any advancement in his reading level while doing Calvert. While I think it's a good program overall, I don't think it's right for kids that are struggling with anything. We had thought about doing 5th grade again, but doing it homeschool this time. My child that is having trouble reading is my agreeable, go along to get along kid. He readily agreed to staying in 5th grade and it didn't seem to bother him at all. Then I started reading some of the problems with holding kids back. When I asked him what he really wanted, he admitted he wants to do 6th grade. So he'll be doing 6th grade and working a bit harder on his reading skills. I'm not sure how we're going to accomplish it yet, but we'll figure it out (with lots of WTM post reading for me). I also have a son with special needs in public school. A couple years ago, I asked them about holding him back. They strongly advised against it and I'm glad we listened. I would be concerned that your son's private school is so willing to hold multiple kids back in just one grade. How many other kids are being held back in other grades? Is it the kids or the curriculum? Or maybe they need more support for struggling kids? Instead, they want to put it on the kids to repeat a grade and deal with the emotions that come with that. That just doesn't sound right to me, but maybe you know them better... Good luck. I have dealt with too many years of fighting schools to get my son what he needs. Just remember you are his biggest advocate and you truly have his best interests at heart. I always remind myself of that when I'm heading into a school meeting with 10 people on the other side of the table and a husband on my side that agrees with everything I say, so he doesn't feel the need to say anything :)

Maria Miller, the author of the Math Mammoth series, has some recommendations on her website. My oldest will be doing MM 7 next school year and I panicked a little about what we would do next. She suggests Foerster's Algebra 1 with Math Without Borders videos to teach it. That's what we are going to try next :)

This is my first time posting on this particular board, but I look a lot. My special son is still in public school right now. The school convinced me to let my son take the STAR test this year. I have opted him out of all other standardized testing. They said he timed out on most questions and didn't even complete the test. Basically, he sat there until they finally gave up... I have watched my other kids take it here at home (our virtual school required it for this school year). It's not a super stressful test and it does adjust to their level (it obviously doesn't adjust enough for my son who is at least 2-3 grade levels behind). I'm not sure how it takes to time out on the questions. It took them about 20-30 minutes each for the reading and math tests. As far as standardized tests go, it's not the worst for time required. I don't know your child's specific needs... At least it does eventually time out if they can't do it. I picture my son still sitting there if it didn't! :laugh: I don't know if I helped, I just wanted to put my two cents in :)

I like this! The reason so many of our summer days are lazy is because first thing in the morning they are doing something with a screen (Xbox, tablet, computer, tv) and being really quiet. I hate interrupting quiet, quiet is a rare thing with 4 kids. If I don't allow screens in the morning, they will make huge amounts of noise (and probably complain about something) and I will want to get out of the house. Good plan :)

Thanks for the heads up! I had to do a little research about my computer and DVD-RW drives, but I figured it out. We have the right drive on our computers :)

I have a 3rd, 5th, and 7th graders. Other than the basics you mentioned, they'll all be doing Spanish, typing, and geography (not every day on any of these). My super crafty 3rd will also be doing art once a week, and my 3rd and 5th will be doing cursive twice a week.

We were with a Calvert virtual school and we were already given Math in Focus for next year for my second son (he started a grade level behind, we got caught up some and needed the next level). We haven't done much in it, so I was going to use it for next year. Free is a great price! But... He HATES the bar models and loads of word problems. I was thinking about getting Math Mammoth for him, but he's not great at math and I'm not sure if it's the right curriculum for him. I am using MM for my other two kids that get math pretty easily. Any other reasonably priced math curriculum that is good for a child not really interested in math? With not so many word problems?

Thanks for the information! We ruled out Mr. Q because of the info I got on here. I thought I had it narrowed down to NOEO, but I wanted to find something a little more reasonably priced. I found Supercharged Science Ultimate Science curriculum on Homeschool Buyers Co-op. The prices are really reasonable through the co-op. I was going to do Chem 2, Astronomy 2, and Life Science 2: Anatomy. The reason I am doing level 2 on Chem and Astronomy is because they recommend them before taking the level 3 classes, which we will do next year if we like it. Any thoughts on this curriculum?

I will have a 7th grader next year who was in public school through 5th grade and did Calvert virtual school in 6th grade. I really feel like both schools let us down on U.S. and World Geography. He did ancient history this year and he was absolutely not interested in anything the dry textbook was teaching him. I wasn't interested when I had to ask him questions about his dry reading, so I really can't blame him. I am thinking about doing U.S. geography with Trail Guide to US Geography, adding in some History Pockets for some light U.S. history. Next year, I am thinking about doing world geography with Trail Guide to World Geography, with some History Pockets for some light ancient history. I don't know if he will be doing homeschool for high school or going to a charter school with dual enrollment at a community college. I want to make sure he is in a good position doing either one. Please let me know if you think my plan stinks and will set my son up for failure :) For science, I have found (through these forums) some great curriculum choices. He wants to do chemistry next year. I'm looking at Chemistry for the Logic Stage (Elemental Science), NOEO Science Chemistry III, Mr. Q Advanced Chemistry, and RS4K Focus on Chemistry. I am leaning slightly towards Mr. Q right now, mainly because everything was so dry this year and he might enjoy something fun. I need something that doesn't require a lot of prep work with somewhat easy experiments. I would also like something that can be passed on to his younger siblings with minimal costs in future years. Any opinions on these?