Yes, I give them a checklist daily this helps me be flexible if needed... Something like this: https://amongstlovelythings.com/scope-4 I don't include work that I do with them on the list. HTH!

For what its worth, I am home a little before 2pm each day and my husband is off Thursdays and Fridays but doesn't really do school with them. My kids are 10(almost 11) and 13 and I leave them a checklist of things to do in any order they please with no time limits. When I return home I check in with them and check their work. Sometimes, they still have things to finish when I get home, which is fine. We do group work together and I work with them individually on most days of the week. We also do some group work and one on one work on the weekends since we tend to do very light work when my husband is home. For me the most helpful thing is being flexible with everything. Are you having trouble with keeping up with checking their work or are they not able to get the work you leave done? Oh, and we are pretty new at homeschooling (pulled kids in February) and it took me having full days with them during weekends or other days off for me to gauge what the appropriate amount of work I could leave with them was. As matter of fact for awhile we just had a completely flipped day. The kids had free time while I was gone and we did all the work when I came home. Then I started with leaving my eldest with work and then added the youngest.

Thank you for the suggestions so far! My kids are 13 and 10. I mainly have the 10 year old in mind, he is a young 10 and not hard to please when it comes to these types of things. My 13 year old daughter is a tougher cookie!

Hi! I am looking at various types of subscriptions for my children. I took both of my kids out of school in the past 6 months and I am finding that one child in particular needs a more relaxed approach to learning. I am considering everything from websites, magazines to tinker crate type subscriptions. We have had Tinker Crate in the past as a gift and will probably do that one again. Which ones have you enjoyed in your home and would recommend? Thank you!

I would love to join if it is not too late.

We are going the, get there when we get there route. Which may put us there at 8th, 8 1/2 or 9th. I am convinced that giving her the time she needs to understand the concepts well (and with out making her hate math in the process) is more important than getting there in 8th. I greatly appreciate all of the feedback!

This is so important for me to remember! I think she would end up with a better understanding and relationship with math if we take our time. I guess the flip side of will doors be closed, is will doors be closed due to NOT taking the time? Looking on these boards it does seem like EVERYONE is taking it early 6th ,7th and at the latest 8th. Thank you all for the reminder that this is not the case.

We just started homeschooling! My kids stopped going to school on the 12th and I am so happy to have them home. Anyway, my 6th grader needs work in math. I think I could get her ready for pre-algebra by January and just work through the summer to get it done. That would put her in algebra in 8th. That being said, it would be nice to have more time and just do algebra in 9th. I don't want to close any doors for her, but I am pretty she sure she isn't headed for a STEM degree. It seems like everyone is doing pre-algebra in 6th in 7th grade. The school she left was doing it in 6th. Is it important for kids to have algebra in 8th these days.....??

Thank you for all the replies! I enjoy learning about the different ways families use curriculum. I did not expect to use Miquon, but here we are! My son is enjoying the fact that he can just do the work for the most part, without being 'taught'. It has given us a break from MEP which I love but he did not. He needed some space from me and to figure things out on his own. I don't know if we will complete all the books...We are in transition from school to home. We shall see what he needs. My biggest goal right now is for him to have a more positive experience with math. I do believe Miquon is helping in that respect.

From my brief time here it seems that the majority of those who use Miquon use it for younger children and not all the way to 3rd grade? And if they do use it all the way through it is used with another curriculum. I could be completely wrong about this so please set me straight. If you are/were using what did you do next? If you didn't it stick out, why not? The recent threads made me curious... :lurk5:

In general I agree. If the choice is between being very lonely in homeschool in part due to lack of money or a decent school where my child would have friends, yeah I would probably choose school. People need people. How much and often will vary. Unfortunately it is completely possible to be surrounded by people in school and still be lonely. Or the school is not equipped to give the children the education they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

That sounds hard. Do your kids feel like they want to be around other kids but aren't able to due the circumstances you mentioned above? What has your experience been with other homeschoolers? It sounds like you live in a really expensive city. Are there any scouting or 4-h opportunities? I hope you find something that works for you and your kids. :grouphug:

Thank you for your responses! We will be bringing the kids (4th & 6th) home in the middle of next month. My plan is to give them a 2 week break. I then plan to start our homeschooling, which will start out very relaxed. Then we will to do an 8 week block mainly focused on math. I want to improve their skills (they both struggle at school with math) but have a good time. I have been reading through the relaxed math thread. The intention is to have my 6th grader work through a curriculum, but because of my 4th graders perception about himself and math I think we will do lots of games, play with math manipulatives, read books, watch videos and work on math facts. Other than that we will do some read alouds, start doing things like poetry teas and establishing some other routines we will enjoy, that foster learning. I will also let the kids choose what they want to study and get books movies etc. and whatever topics. I think this will work... but I guess I won't know till we try it. My kids aren't completely miserable at school. There are absolutely things they don't like about it. My ds 4th is having a harder time and is VERY eager to come home edited for clarity

Did you deschool? And if you did, what did that look like for your family? How long did your kids need and how did you know?

All of your answers are comforting. I do think that as long as I keep them socially active they will be fine. It will take some effort on my part to make sure they have free play opportunities outside of their activities, but certainly is doable. I plan to make sure to plan some regular playdate days on a monthly or bi-weekly basis: just to make sure I do it. I am considering getting my 6th grader a phone for texting her friends. I never thought I would get her one this early. Most of her friends have them and her best friend fills her in on their( all her friends) texting when she sees her at school. This would be a way for her to still keep connected without always having to go through me.

Just curious about folks who homeschool without much of a homeschool community. I will be pulling my 4th grader and 6th grader out of school next month and so far I am not sure how we will be able to participate with many homeschool activities. For one in our area most seem to be religious based (which is fine if they are open to all people) and two I will work during the morning. Although they are certainly not your "average" ps kids having only gone to a private and currently a pretty small arts charter: they haven't been homeschool all their lives either. Because of this I wonder if they will be welcomed in the homeschool social scene. I intend to have them keep up with their schooled friends as much as possible and they have activities. I mostly wonder how others have handled this. Do the kids feel like they wish they knew others like them? We don't have neighborhood friends so school provides most of their social life. My 6th grader's favorite subjects at school are recess and lunch. She enjoys being around lots of kiddos and feeling like she is a part of something. Even with this challenge I am really excited to bring my kiddos home!

I just checked, and could log in no problem....

Thanks for all the suggestions! I have figured out how to use the parental controls. LOVE them! I did pick up some extra earbuds as ours always seem to get broken...

With the great deal over Thanksgiving I got both my kids (4th &6th) Kindles. These will be used strictly for books and educational apps. So far I have: Numbers, Dragonbox,, Audible and Overdrive. I would like to find a good spell checker/dictionary app, spelling/ vocabulary and math apps that actually help understand math (not just drill). My dd could use an app with math definitions. ANY other apps you have found useful and fun would be great!

I get the feeling of being tied down to the school schedule, It can be a bummer. Is it possible for you to do some of your schooling on the weekends? Maybe subjects that all your kids could enjoy like science or history? Is your husband able to help at all? Maybe if you did some of your work on the weekends you won't feel so hurried a couple days a week. Also maybe a 4day schedule schooling year round? I think some creative scheduling might help a bit...

Are you going to charge for the Club?

Yay! I was planning on buying 2 for my kiddos. I will be on the look out for the Thanksgiving sell. :hurray: