I've posted before that reading comprehension is full of test tricks and traps, especially painful for the overconfident. Spent a considerable amount of time and practice test with my rising 6th grader. Had to teach him the testing strategy. Simply cannot read the passage once, then go answer the five questions. No, must re-read/skim the passage again for each question. Then, the last question is usually the "inference" question--- if the passage was on bird wings, for example, the wrong answer is the one that summarizes that bird wings come in many shapes and sizes. The correct answer is something like birds adapt to their environment. On fill in the blank(s), must read carefully for the answer clues in the sentence. Then watch out for the modifiers in the sentence,-- the but, however, since, alll, eventhough etc, that could reverse the answer. On multiple blanks in a sentence, have to check that the other word makes sense using the clues and watching out for those modifiers. My son did a practice passage or two every week from old isee, psat , sat test materials. It took him a while to get the knack of test taking. Now, he has exceptional performances. good luck.

WordlyWise on-line is very good and simple: Tests, puzzles, grading and pronunciation. If purchased through Homeschoolbuyers, just a few dollars more than the books.

My son just finished alg 1 with Thinkwell. We used A-Plus Notes for Algebra, Rong Yang, as his workbook. TW has good instructions, but not enough problems. A-Plus covers everything in alg with something like 5000 problems. My son did nearly every problem in the book as hw. See how your son does with the repetitions in A-Plus before having him redo. We are starting alg 2 using this same format..

We just finished a science fair project using parts from the T&K physic/solar kit and an Erector set. The erector parts were far easier to assemble into something workable and fair quality. . As to the science in T&K, the writing was over the head of my strong 10yr old reader.

My son just finished the lower level isee for 6th grade admission. He prepped at home with questions and practice tests from Princeton Review, Barron, and psat materials (past editions are good and cheap). The sample that ERB provides is okay for showing the format, but way too short to use for preparation or assessment.

When my son was learning the facts, we just played a simple game of count bys whenever we drove anywhere. typically picked two random numbers between 1-10 and started skip counting. For example: hold one finger- 3; hold up two fingers-6; 3 fingers-9 so on. If he got them right, he was done. Whenever, he would miss a fact, we would start over the number over. To keep it a game, sometimes we would both play. He would give a fact and then I would the next fact. With just these few minutes a day, he mastered the 1-12 table very quickly without any extra work.

My 10 yr old has always been enrolled in school , and on-line math classes. since kindergarten. He spends minutes on school homework ( has already finished 5th, 6th & pre-alg). three or four -- 45 minute sessions per week on advanced on-line math classes (he is on last unit of Alg. 1), 1 hour per week with an alg. tutor, and then 2 hours per week in a math circle. At first glance it might seem excessive, but it balances with so little time on math homework, and he usually does other homework during math class. Have not pushed acceleration at school because I am waiting until 6-7th grade before subjecting him to a classroom pace.

We live in a small solidly middle class community just east of downtown Los Angeles. My 10 year old has never been allowed in the front yard alone. In fact, rarely see any kids out front playing in what is considered a desirable safe community. This situation really bothers me, because I came of age in the 70's in inner city Los Angeles. I played from dawn to 9 p.m. outside every day, and rode my bike to different neighborhoods to play. Back then, there were problems, but it wasn't violent or predatory.

Your son seems ready for a 6th grade math class. Try one of the on-line with automatic test and quizzes. let him go at his own pace--even if it takes 12 months to complete. Think of 6th grade as pre-pre-algebra. Integers, order of operations, geometry, and variables are introduced here. The benefit of 6th grade is that he will structured lessons, covering what he doing in school presently, but on a more challenging level. By the 6th grade he will have already mastered it, and ready for pre-algebra/algebra. My 5th grader started this track when he was 8. it took a 14 months to complete the 6th grade/ and prealg, with three or four 45 min. on-line sessions per week (he completed 6th in 6 months or so, went to pre-algebra, and then back and force between the two when pre-alg showed more comprehension/mental development required) . He now has a couple of chapters to go to complete algebra 1.

To find out is very simple. Web search your state's or any other state's Department of Education for Content Standards. Better, search for Released Test to find the past few years of actual tests administered. I print released tests for my son's grade level, and one or years higher to use for practice. good luck

I go to thrift stores and yard sales and buy all the textbooks/workbooks I see that are at least two years ahead. Then I tear out pages that I want my son to work on or stay fresh on. Since he is in 5th grade, fractions, rations proportions are the big areas. He does around 10 problems each session 3 or 4 times per week.

Start with Cat in the Hat, Read it until you are sick of it, but your child has memorize every word of it. Then take each word and phonicsize it (e.g. cat. rat , bat , that, mat). My son learned to read within a month after mastering Cat in the hat and this method. btw I made flashcards that phonicsized it.

A recommendation for binoculars is the Celestron SkyMaster. You will be amazed with these. Now, combine it with the Clestron SkyScout that is a point at the object in the sky ( using internal gps) , and it identifies it. A truly awesome combo.

Staples on-line has a little known but very extensive refurbished desktop/laptop section. Can very easily find a nice refurb desktop from $89-109. Great refurbs start at about $169. some come with new keyboard and mouse. I've purchased several of the lower cost models for home and business w/o any problems. I like have the Staples name backing up purchase. Another possiblity, is some Goodwills have a computer store attached. Very good bargains there as well. But only a 5 or 7 day exchange period. Have bought much at Goodwill as well, but every now and then get a clonker.

My 5th grader starts with a first draft in handwritting that is everything that comes to out of head. No regard to spelling, grammar or punctuation, no erasing. This gets a lot information down on paper and avoids writer block by trying to state something perfectly. If I think that he tried to write perfectly on the 1st draft, I ball it up. Then I have him do the second draft with some structure using the 1st draft (making sure that it is a re-write of the 1st draft, and not a new story) with little criticism. Then he reads the second draft out loud, with a red pen in hand. I ask questions as he reads (the five w-s), trying to keep mood playful. He answers with what he was trying to say, and then I tell him to write it like he just said it, making the revisions with the red pen. Then he does the 3rd draft and we repeat the process. Usually, at this point he is allowed to type/input the piece, and we red pen edit from there. Our mantra: good writing is re-writing. We started this in the 3rd grade, so we have edited 20-30 pieces together using this process. Now, his red pen edits look like the teacher corrected it. I only spot check now to make sure he sticks to the process. Please note that i believe the handwritten early drafts are important. The computer makes things look prettier than they are.

Being able to teach is different from learning along side. My child is 2/3 through Alg1. My last math class was 30 years ago. When I help him, most of the math comes back after reviewing the unit and playing with a couple of problems, or going to Khan, etc. But, if I can't explain it clearly after that, I get somebody who can explain the how and why.

Last year, I started using THE MIDDLE SCOOL YEARS (achieving the best education for your child grades 5-8), Michele A. Hernandez, with my now 5th grader. A lot of information on organization and notetaking. Some good ideas on getting ahead and staying ahead in class. I've given copies of the book to struggling H.S'er who never picked up good studies skills.

Mom2, don't mean to to blunt. But, if you don't understand 4th grade fractions, you really will not be able to help your child with math from here on out. Why not get a 4th/5th grade math program (so many out there and many quite affordable), and monitor her progress. Let her spend 30-40 minutes per session 3 or 4 times per week. She can watch the videos over and over, until she gets it. Then the program provides the homework, testing and gradings. So simple.

I nearly dropped out of high school. But, there was a Latin class taught by an cute recent college grad. I rarely missed that class. Struggled to make a "c", so that I could stay in the class. Ended up taking two years of high school Latin. Many years later, and a long story, I credit the English grammar taught in that Latin class as a major part of making law review at a prestigious school,

My new 5th grader has the same problem. Highest percentile in all other areas, even reading comprehension, but 50% at reading for details. Math tests are pretty straight forward. Reading is full of subtley and test traps. His biggest problem is that he relies on what he already knows on non-fiction material. So, if he see the topic is whales, off he goes to the answers. I'm trying to make him slow down, and understand that if a passage states whales are pink, the answer is whales are pink. Also, trying to make him understand that when there is the all of the above, none of the above, that he has to check each of the above. Also, pointing out that on a fill-in-the blank question, most of time there is the word that is so tempting for the know it all, but a softer word is the best answer. We practice weekly with a question or two from 6-7th grade test materials. When we work together, he is showing improvement. On his own, he still still rushes and falls into the traps. Oh well, still have a few months before the next round of testing. If you go this approach, you might want to use upper level isee or ssat, and psat materials.

Thanks for info. We're a family with no technies in the house. Pre-ordered the Pi-bot 2.0. Looks like a just complicated enough, and affordable place to begin with my 10 y.o.

We started with the books in third grade. Took nearly a year to complete a level with the inevitable: I could not find, I did it but cannot find it, and you did not grade it. Discovered that Wordly Wise has an on-line version for approx. $100/year (unlimited levels), that is regularly on 1/2 sale through Homeschool buyer coop. On-line automatic tests, reviews, and grading, with a teacher/parent portal to monitor progress. Now, we easily do 2 levels a year.