It seems as though the school has no plans to work with you. I would pull him out. Tell your dh exactly what needs to be done each day and make sure it gets done. If dh needs to go back to work, have the babysitter help out with a few of the easier tasks, and then homeschool in the evenings. It wouldn't be too hard to just homeschool in the evenings. It would be hard on you, but not hard on ds. We homeschool here lots of times at night! You could also move to the weekends for homeschooling if you are off on the weekends. So, maybe homeschool wed-sun, taking mon and tues off to ease your work schedule. I'm just saying, there are options. Go with your gut!

I would just politely tell her you have ordered a program to use throughout the week in addition to her once a week session. That is more than enough! Maybe she'll pipe down, or she could be replaced by said curriculum. We have a Spanish tutor that only comes once a week. I think that is the norm. If all else fails, tell her one last time that the funds are allocated elsewhere and you would appreciate her not mentioning it anymore. That would drive me crazy!

What exactly are they? Sounds interesting!

Listening in! My 11yo dd sounds exactly like yours. She doesn't like history at all. She doesn't mind listening to it on audio though. I think that's because she doesn't have to read it. lol I believe her to be a VSL as well. I was thinking of downloading Hakims History of Us audio cd's and listening as a family. I can also supplement with fun books I already own. For science, she is doing Bob Jones 6th grade science using the online option. Surprisingly, she told me she loves science. She said Mrs Vick (online teacher) makes it interesting. I was shocked. ETA... I have the BJU ancient history (online version) to use with her in May when she's done with what she is doing now. I'm hoping she'll be as pleased with it as she is with the science. Sandy

We are using Home2Teach for my 6th grader. She is in her 3rd session. Each session is 6 weeks long and about $80. I'm happy with it so far. She has done descriptive, creative, and creative writing 2 so far. They like for the parent to be uninvolved. They expect the child to completely do the assignments with no help from the parents. Obviously, if your child needs clarification on something, that's not what they mean. They just stress that all work be done without the parent revising. That is the job of the teacher. They WANT to see the mistakes. They do their assignment, send it in, get revisions and helpful tips, redo and send in.....this goes on until the paper meets the teacher standards. It's done all online in a text based classroom. Plus they teach MLA formatting. Everything has to be done in MLA format. I am just getting ready to sign my dd up for Narrative Writing for next session. In about week 4 of each session, your teacher contacts you and makes a suggestion as to what class the child needs to move on to. Sandy

I have the first volume. For whatever reason, I just never used it. I do love it though and am considering ditching what we are doing now to switch. I just wonder if its enough. She makes history so clear and enjoyable. I get overwhelmed with a lot of history texts. I emailed the author yesterday about them. I hope she doesn't mind me posting part of what she said. It might help others get a better idea of how to use her books. I will post below...., My suggestion is to do history with both the 8 year old and the 11 year old together...relax and enjoy the journey. :o) Trying to cram and "catch up" does nothing but overwhelm. If she is hating what she is doing with her class online, she is learning to make the habit of inattentiveness, which naturally leads to her in-born curiosity being squelched. Education is a relationship your child makes with the world around her. :o) As for a schedule, I encourage people to do one volume a year with their elementary aged children. If she started with Volume 1 right now, she could follow this sequence: Vol. 1 - 6th Vol. 2 - 7th Vol. 3 - 8th Vol. 4 (Ancients) - 9th Vol. 5 (Middle ages) - 10th Choose between Vol. 6 (Explorers through Settlement) or Vol. 7 (Modern history) - 11th Vol. 8 (High school American history/government) - 12th

I'll check these out! Thanks so much! Any other suggestions? Sandy

My dd is taking an online, live American history class through Landry. I can't remember the name of the book they use but she absolutely hates the class. She says it's extremely boring with way to much homework. I paid a lot of money for this class, and i hate to just let her quit. But, at the same time, I want her to love history. Is there anything out there for kids that think they hate history? Something high interest! She does not like to do crafts, so Time Travelers is out. She loves art and writing if that helps. I believe her to be a right brain lerner. Any suggestions? I am also toying with the idea of making her finish the class. It's was just a quick tour through American history, and it's over at the end of April. ETA-we have also tried VP online and that was a flop. Although, after the class she's in now, she would probably pay money to go back to it.

What level and what do you think? I just pulled level 1 off the shelf to pick back up with my 2nd grader. I'm curious what y'all think of the other levels.

I went ahead with the download. After using the homeschool30 discount code,it brought it down to 60 something. My only issue with downloaded stuff to the computer is you lose all your progress if your computer needs to be wiped clean. I think the web version would take care of that problem, but you pay more for that feature.

Thanks ladies! Maybe it's not so crazy after all. I told her today she could listen to music, just not while she writing. We'll see how it goes. Sandy

My 11 yo daughter has recently started to listen to music through headphones while she is doing her school work. Coincidentally, she has also developed "writers block" in her writing class. She says it helps her, but I just don't get how you can listen to words in a song, and try to put words to paper. I can see maybe classical but not mainstream music. Thoughts? Sandy

Easy Grammar!

Very good point! Thanks, Sandy

We do use it as well. I guess I should have said that in my post. lol we are on lesson 12 with my 8yo second grader. Up until now, we have been using it all as laid out. We don't do the composition. I was thinking though of dropping the grammar portion as well until his reading is solid. I feel like at this point, I should focus on getting him reading rather better than getting bogged down with grammar. I was just curious to hear how others are using it for reading purposes. I also don't focus on him remembering to spell the words. At this point, we just go over the spelling words throughout the week once they have been dictated. I am just making sure he can read them.

We are! I am just curious how others are using this program to teach reading. What does your week look like? Sandy

What are Sutcliffe books?

I emailed her about using this with my 8yo. Here is part of her response. 1. The Living Books Series: This series follows the adventures of the Sassafras twins as they learn all about science. It contains an adventure style novel which you would read out loud along with an activity guide and logbook designed to help you create a full science curriculum. Each book will take about half a year to complete and the second book in the series, which will be on anatomy, is due out this spring.  We do have a plan for all 8 books and the series as a whole will cover zoology, anatomy, botany, geoscience, geology, astronomy, chemistry and physics. This series would be a good option is you want to keep your students all together.  However, you could use one of our other series and still have your students read the Sassafras books to reinforce what they are learning.

I'll definitely work on that. I realize I am just asking too broad of a question. I was just interested in curriculum that already builds this in. I know WWE does this, but is there anything else? I don't necessarily know what questions to ask if I have not specifically looked at the chapter, page, ect myself. kwim? Sandy

Did you mean WWE book 3 or 4? I only see WWS book 1 available at Peace Hill Press. Sandy

I do own SOTW volume 1 cd's. I was planning to start listening to the cd's in our free time. I also have the activity guide so that is a great idea. I also own WWE 1 or 2 that I could start with my younger one. I'll go check out WWS. Thanks, Sandy

She has always been homeschooled. I have never required narration and now I am seeing why I should have. Or at least I think that is our problem. She can never tell me about what she just read or experienced. I have to literally pull it out of her brain piece by piece. Like today, she had some leftover science (video) class from Friday she needed to complete. I asked her to tell me what she learned about volcanoes. Nothing! Just a little of this and a little of that. The same thing with books in her literature class....can tell me little to nothing. This is making me rethink what I am doing with my second grader. What can I use to get us on the right path? Would WWE be the place to start with my 8yo? What about my 11yo? What should I be doing with her to train her to hold the information on her head? Thanks, Sandy

I did a search on the boards and see this is very popular. My 11yo has been working with a tutor for several years. We are really bad about getting to Spanish other than the day our tutor comes. I talked with her today about doing an online program in addition to what she is doing now with her and she thought this would be great! I am thinking of 15 minutes a day. I am planning to start both of my older kids in level 1 even though they have been taking Spanish from a tutor. What is the difference between the online version which requires a monthly payment and the other variations they have? Do most of you just do the download or buy the cd's? I have seen reference to online grading, and I wasn't sure if that was included with all of the versions. I am really interested in this program. I played around with it today and it was fun! Sandy

Has anyone used them? I am looking for a tutor in math for my 11yo. I am considering them since they are less than a 1/2 mile from me. They are expensive though. The least expensive is $259 monthly with a 12 month commitment. It goes up to 279 for 6 month, and even further at 299 for a 3 month commitment. But, our location lets you use it like a gym membership. You can come in everyday for up to 1 1/2 hour max, if you want to. He said some homeschoolers in my area actually just use the mathnasium curriculum and they handle the math. All work is done at the center. Just curious if anyone has used them and what you thought of the curriculum. I am also looking at hiring a tutor to come into my home. Sandy

Learn Math Fast fractions book is fantastic!! I have the whole set. I am pretty sure it's book 2 that you would need. I will be going back to fractions to make sure my daughter really gets it. I think she is weak in this area and this book makes it so easy! I bought this last year with intentions of using it as our main curriculum but just never did. You should take a look. We are starting it today. Sandy