Yep, I do that too, but then I have to stop and think about which hand I write with! It's kind of unbelievable that I have to think about that, but most of the time I do. :willy_nilly:

Aw, that's so cute. I say "Work first, then play" a lot. What else do I do? Hm, dunno. A lot of times when a kid is looking for something she can't find, I'll tell her to clean up a bit! I'm always pointing out that cleaning up is a really good way to find things. :)

Besides some of the things already mentioned: my school district adopted Everyday Math. 'Nuff said.

It's not my taste, and there are quite a few t-shirts and other marketable items that I do feel cross the line into irreverence or making light of sacred things. I will also admit to being kind of horrified the first time I saw a chocolate cross. I think there's a difference between that sort of thing and a piece of personal jewelry.

That's kind of a weird attitude. Huh. BTW, the divorce rate has been falling for the past several years. Not a whole lot or anything, but the "50%" thing is no longer accurate. And one thing to note about that statistic is that it doesn't mean that 50% of people will get divorced--since second and third, etc. marriages are more likely to end in divorce, people who go through several marriages drive that number up. (For example, I had a friend whose mother was on her 4th and father was on his 3rd. Which made something like 6 marriages among 7 people.)

I'd say that the curriculum you list has some deficiencies by California public school standards (though keep in mind that CA talks a good line and the schools are in huge trouble!). I don't know about other states, but 4th graders ought to be learning division facts and getting to long division by the end of the year, and doing some writing. A lot of time in 4th grade in the US is taken up by state history. Science tends to be pretty minimal IIRC. You might like to supplement with Singapore math and a good writing program, at least. I love Classical Writing, which isn't quite secular but almost is (it's easy to tell from the introduction that the writers are Christians, but the material does not contain religious teachings. Since the models are all chosen for cultural, moral, and literary excellence, a few are selections for the KJV Bible, but it's all about the writing. And you can choose your own models if you prefer).

Oh, me too me too! I have to think about left and right every single time, and I get it wrong anyway.

I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions better than what's here already, but I'm happy to see you--have been wondering where you were!

You might like to look into debate clubs or clubs for public speaking.

I know. It's kind of depressing. Though I think I could tell my one friend whose daughter is a math genius. I broke and told my SIL--we are pretty close and discuss our kids' educations a lot. She is always telling me how well her 5yo is reading and so on and I always cheer. She said "Wow." in a flat kind of a voice. Sigh. So thanks everyone! :001_smile:

I haven't told anyone about this except my mom. My girls are both pretty bright, but not profoundly gifted or anything. My 9yo is very verbal. Anyway we recently had to enroll in a charter school ISP and we're liking it a lot. One requirement was that my 9yo take an online Scantron test to see where she is--there were 3 tests in reading, LA, and math. I figured she would do very well on the reading and just fine on the math. Here's what our teacher-person wrote about the results: So I wasn't surprised at all about the reading, but I was a bit surprised at the math! I guess we're doing OK. You know how it is, you can't tell anyone, so I'm telling all of you, because I have to tell someone!

I was right here in the house we still live in. Since we live in CA, and I never turn on the TV or news in the morning, I didn't hear until after 9am, and the towers were already down. My husband called me from work to tell me. My oldest girl was 14 months old and I spent the day alternately holding myself together for her--she kept wanting to be read stories--and watching TV whenever she was out of the room. She was a late walker and took her first steps that day, in front of the TV just as all the Congresspeople were singing God Bless America.

:laugh: Yeah, that's part of it! I guess I'd say that we're bound by a common dedication to giving our kids the best education we can, and that we have a more academic bent than a lot of homeschoolers. Not everyone here is devoted to the classical education model as the way to do that, but we're mostly somewhere around there.

What a great opportunity for your family! I am envious, I must say. If you can get a copy of WTM I think that would be a great help to you, but if you tell us what subjects you're interested in we might be able to make some recommendations. I have a daughter about your girl's age who is also very verbal (you don't want a pen pal, do you?). I don't know that there is a website like what you're looking for, but the Hive Mind is pretty good! :001_smile:

We answer by age and do whatever work we want. People really want to know what age the child is, and they're turned off by hearing about advanced work; it sounds braggy. One advantage, in my mind, to this is that my 9yo doesn't really realize that she's working ahead of her friends. I've known so many people who consider themselves better than others because they're intelligent, and/or who coasted through school, only to crash and burn in college because they had relied on their native smarts and never developed work habits. So I talk a lot about how being smart is really much more about working hard and never giving up than about knowing things easily.

1. How do you have time to do anything else besides homeschool? How do get time to yourself? I don't have family in town, so that concerns me. What about chores? Homeschooling is like having a job. Everything else takes second place, but there's still time for a lot. For a long time, we had quiet time after lunch for my sanity. That hasn't been possible this year, but I seem to be surviving--after dinner I sometimes go hibernate in my room. I've never been the greatest housekeeper, but I've been trying to improve every year. Last year, when my kids were 5 and 8, I started using Managers of Their Chores, and though I don't schedule out my day in 15-minute increments (:blink:), it has helped me a lot. 2. Sorry, don't know what to do about that. 3. Do you get burnt out? What do you do about that? Take a few weeks in summer to not think about homeschooling. Go on dates with my husband every Saturday. 4. How do you children participate in sports, like football, are there a lot of homeschool teams out there? There are local leagues that aren't connected with schools. We do dance and kung fu. 5. What is one piece of advice you feel is important for someone to know in my situation? It's not easy, but if it's right for your family, it is very worth it! Do make sure to have some time for yourself. It gets easier--the first year is hard, and you sort of grow into it. I look back and realize that things that seemed very difficult at first have now become totally manageable. Homeschoolers aren't saints or particularly special--we've just decided what we want and what we're willing to do to get there. And, have fun and enjoy all this great time! I'm so grateful that I've been blessed to spend these short, special years with my kids. I'd like to add that in many ways, my life is easier than my friends with kids in PS. PS is hard work too!

Hrm. I got hold of a copy of Medieval, level 2, and one lesson says "Feudalism was introduced by William the Conqueror to keep order..." :glare: OK, William did not invent the feudal system. I suppose they meant to say that he introduced it into England (which I think may be only about half right), but that's not at all clear. I'm not seeing a ton of logic-stage discussion stuff, though I like the lessons otherwise. I will have to think about this. BTW has SWB given any opinion on HO, esp. for logic stage? There's nothing in WTM that I recall.

You don't have to use Harvey's. It didn't grab me, so we stuck with R&S.

I want to know that too; and my 9yo will be there next year. If HO will work for us I want to know now! :)

It's a fairy tale with Christian elements, not an explanation of Christian doctrine. You might enjoy reading the excellent book "Planet Narnia" for some great analysis. Susan did not "lose her salvation" yet--she's not dead at the end of the story. She has every chance to repent and return. I doubt that Lewis believed the "once saved always saved" idea, though (many Christians do not). And the children represent archetypes, and someone had to fall away. (Lucy is childlike faith, Peter is the High King, Edmund is the repentant sinner, Eustace is pride, greed, and some intellectualism thrown in, etc.--and Susan falls away and denies truth because she values the world more highly.)

Here's the Canon Press book: Introductory Logic[/i]. If you're not of the Reformed flavor of Christianity, you may not find this text appropriate.

My oldest girl (now 9) is allergic to all legumes, including all sorts of beans, though many of them are low-reactive. She ate lots of beans and peas as a baby and little girl; it developed later on. But, now that I know, I think her terrible eczema as a baby may well have been due to the peas and green beans I fed her when she started solid foods. So, I might try cutting out all legumes for a while and seeing how that works.

You can also pick up cranberry pills at most drugstores. I find them very effective for preventing UTIs and helping them when they do occur. Much more potent than juice.

I was given a History Pocket book on the Civil War and was going to let my daughter do it on her own time, since she loves cutting/pasting/projects. But it's an awful lot even for her!