I would take a break for six months and work on fine motor skills.

I just looked this up; this will work great for the way he thinks! I think they introduce this later in MM, but it’ll even work for him now.

Right now, he’s doing a combination of dividing chocolate chips into piles and using multiplication (aka backward division).

Thank you everyone for all this feedback! My son has just flown through math until now, figuring out novel ways to add, subtract, and do basic multiplication. He gets division, but I’ve noticed that he’s not getting it quite as quickly. But I suppose I can always move forward and see how he does, supplementing on topics as necessary.

My son is 8 (2nd grade) and about to finish Math Mammoth 3. I’m noticing he’s slowing down as we are doing division. He’s still doing very well but I can’t see starting MM4 right now. But I don’t know what to do now. A different curriculum to review and practice all the 1-3 skills? Games and puzzles to practice? Other ideas? He loves math and will be annoyed to stop going forward, so I want to take that into account too. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

My older child was made for AOPS, so she’s been using it since prealgebra and is swimming along through the books, loving it. My next two kids are in 8th and 9th grades. They are both working through Math Mammoth 7 right now - The 8th grader will probably finish by January and be ready for Algebra 1. He’s a strong math student, but not very interested in the work of a program like AOPS. What are good choices to challenge him? My 9th grader is less confident in math, and really doesn’t like it (despite having a good math sense and doing pretty well; has some test anxiety). She’ll probably finish MM7 toward the end of 9th grade, and then what do I use for her for Algebra 1? I want her to get a good math education through high school, but I want to also interest her in math, have her see the “real” side of math. I want her to succeed and not feel frustrated or overwhelmed. What would work for her? I know these are two totally different scenarios; any advice would be appreciated!

I’ve never done the review method, but I also wait until my kids have practically taught themselves to read before starting OPGTR so we can just fill in gaps and make sure they’ve got everything. But at that point, they have a certain maturity (?) that they get it without that review element.

I wouldn’t try to teach two levels unless you really have to. Unless you love teaching science, it can be hard to get it together to teach science twice. I would also suggest looking at the Bio sample to see if your 12 year old is really ready for it.

So if you look at SWB’s writing progression chart, she gives one option that would involve doing WWS and then following up with W&R levels 7-12. Does anyone have any thoughts into whether or not this would work? Thanks for any insights you can provide. 🙂

The practice of sitting shiva/formally mourning a child who leaves the faith or intermarried isn't really done and hasn't for probably about 100 years. In some communities it may still be done but it's very rare and you're unlikely to run into those folks on the internet.

Did her kids roll over and crawl and walk and talk at exactly the same ages as each other? Most reasonable parents can see that developmental milestones are individual but also mostly irrelevant in the long run - healthy kids all walk and talk eventually and no one cares if it was at 10, 12, or 18 months. I assume her kids also have different interests and personalities. You can point that out as well. Maybe also remind her of how adults are all learning and experiencing different things at different times and paces. I also wouldn't actually gather materials for her. I think it's part of the process of learning how to homeschool your own kids. There's obviously not one math or science curriculum that is best .... it's about finding what works for your individual people.

I don't think reading is about its being hard and stretching to understand words. Quite the opposite. Reading (especially during down time/free reading) should be enjoyable! Most of what I read is comfortable and pleasurable. I do try to challenge myself, but not all the time. That would take all the joy out of reading, and most people probably wouldn't bother with it. I do some assigned reading once my kids are at a point when they can enjoy it without being frustrated. I do a lot of read-alpuds and expose them to more difficult works that they can understand better as a read-aloud than on their own. That also maintains the enjoyment without frustration.

Of course I'm not saying you shouldn't preview, by the way. It's YouTube - it always needs to be previewed. Just be prepared for some adjustment time if your kid is really into it. 🙂

Many people build a tolerance to individual videos so having just a handful of videos wouldn't be useful. If it's a trend it's been a long-time one! These videos have been produced for years now. There's a lot of garbage but also a lot of serious material. Some of the good ones have produced hundreds of videos, so if you find one of those, you'll have lots to work with. But building a tolerance even just for an artist is still a possibility. Also, previewing can be difficult because everyone has different triggers. There are some very well-loved ASMR artists whose work I don't enjoy. It's a very individual experience. You can also try unintentional ASMR videos (Bob Ross, medical exams, massages, etc.). Those are less likely to be inappropriate. In response to the question of its being concerning or benign: some people think of this as a sexual sort of sensation, which it is NOT. There are some explicit videos, but in and of itself, ASMR is totally benign and should be treated that way. Before the Internet, people gave each other chills or brushed each other's hair for the same effect. 🙂

One thing is that sixth grade is on the younger end for when I think I would start WWS. I think seventh or eighth grade is a better starting point. The skills of WWE that the student needs for WWS is narration/summarizing and the ability to put words on paper. If a student can do those things well, it doesn't matter that s/he hasn't done WWE. You say your daughter enjoys writing, but WWS is a composition course, which is different than the creative/personal writing a lot of middle schoolers enjoy. Unless she has had practice with narration and is good at it, I'd start with WWE3. All the placement tests are available on the website, and you may find she doesn't need to do WWE at all. (I wouldn't worry about dictation at this age if she's writing well on her own.) If you start WWS now, you can (and should!) go slowly. Actually, you should go slowly whenever you start. It's not easy and there's a definite learning curve. Good luck!