I love the videos at https://www.foreignlanguagesforkids.com/ They can be used by themselves. My kiddo was picking up Spanish pretty quickly from these. My only issue is that there aren't enough of them (I would love more). I feel like they are more an introduction to Spanish, not a complete Spanish. There's some more resources I've saved below. but, with a couple exceptions, they are more supplements than "programs." http://imaginativehomeschool.blogspot.com/2017/09/free-online-spanish-resources.html Two that come closer to programs are Online Free Spanish and Mi Mundo en Palabras. Online Free Spanish has fun little games and apps to help kids learn sets of words, and most don't require reading. Mi Mundo en Palabras is amazing, but I feel like needs a foundation of some Spanish since it's ALL in Spanish, but it has really clever fun games, a little story, vocabulary and extra activities. It unfortunately has some reading though, though you can read that for your child or just use some of the activities and skip that part. There's also some good videos there, but again, more of a supplement than a program.

I have a really short attention span kiddo who doesn't do well with rote memorization. Jumping on the bed while doing math drills worked better for addition than what we were using at the time (Math U See...which was great for place value but didn't work for us on helping to memorize math facts). But eventually even that didn't work (he got really good at addition to tens and doubles but we sort of hit a wall after that...not literally, though he literally did put a hole in our wall once trying to do a trick move on the bed. LOL). After that we used Addition Facts that Stick (and Subtraction Facts that Stick) and that worked wonderfully! Short scripted visual/tactile lessons that really helped my son think about the math and why things worked like they did, followed by a week of games for practice after every lesson (so easy). We ended up taking two weeks on most lessons, but still, it worked for my kiddo.

If you're doing world history, I really like "Children just like me" for bringing in culture. (There's a book called "A Child through Time" which is similar but focuses on historical children that you can pair with it). You can read a story about one of the children (sometimes a child from history and a modern child who lived in the same place if you're using both), and then look up the place on the map, see how far it is from other places you've studied, etc. You could do something similar with the 50 states. Here's a list of kids books from all 50 states...you could read one and then find the states on the map. http://wrappedinfoil.com/ You can also make a personalized map in google maps. I started one for my kids where I plot places where different family members live, or used to live, or places we'd visited.

I don't know if there are books about any of these that would be appropriate for a child, but here are some other historical events that created religious refugees. The Jews (and I believe other religious groups believed to be heretical) were "purged" from Spain during the inquisition. Because of missionary work in Japan, in 1587 there were more than two hundred thousand Japanese Christians. In 1588, Cambacundono, the emperor of Japan, commanded all the Jesuit missionaries to leave his dominions within six months. Many missionaries remained in secret, but a time of intense anti-Christian persecution had begun. Christian converts were tortured by burning or flaying of their skin until they renounced their faith. If they refused to renounce, they were usually put to death by burning, beheading, or crucifixion. I'm not sure how many of the Christian converts tried to leave Japan because of this. Catholics set up the colony of Maryland to avoid persecution in a similar same way that the pilgrims did. And I found this picture of Chinese Christian refugees of the Boxer Rebellion. Under Communist China and in the USSR, there was persecution of various religions, which lead many to try to flee these countries. In modern times I've heard of Kurdish refugees (Kurds being a religious sect of Islam).

Hmm...what comes to mind right away is stories about Jews that came to America during WWII. I don't have specific suggestions but I'm sure there's at least some children's books about this. I also think you might be able to find some on Christian asylum seekers by asking at Christian bookstores. You could even just call the stores and ask if they have anything like that which would be appropriate for a younger elementary age child. Hmm...there's probably Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and other religious bookstores too! Wouldn't hurt to look them up call some of them and ask about this.

Some books I liked that would make good supplements... The Horrible Histories series. They are funny, but informative and good for that age. Tales of the Dead series by DK Books (they have Egypt, Greece, China, and Rome). Don't let the name fool you...it's not morbid or horror stories. They have a comic book story on the egdes of the pages and information sort of like regular DK books about the culture in the center. Magic Treehouse Books - I have a guide on how to combine them with SOTW here ( I actually have not done this with my kids...but I thought up a way to and thought I might as well share). https://imaginativehomeschool.blogspot.com/2018/08/reading-guide-for-magic-tree-house-and.html Adventures in Odyssey (like Magic Treehouse, only Christian). If your would like to study more about Christianity, Peace and Peril by Mindy and Brandon Withrow is good. (It's part of a series...you might want to get the whole thing if you are going through SOTW again.) What Really Happened in Ancient Times is another I'd suggest (again, its from a Christian perspective). I haven't actually read that one but I have the one for Mideival times and it's made a good supplement. Science in the Ancient World by Jay Wile is a Christian curriculum combining science and history in chronological order, and it would not be hard to align it to SOTW. The Story of Science by Joy Hakim is a similar curriculum, but secular. It's designed for kids 12 and up, but the samples I've read don't see that hard for a slightly younger kid. The Science of Ancient Egypt is a smaller resource that combines science and history. It's very readable and aimed at around that age. You can buy it as a bundle or buy units separately (on topic like mummies, animals, pyramids, metals, etc.) I also suggest checking out your library's graphic novel section. I noticed last time I did they had a lot of things related to history and mythology.

My 5th grader is into this too! Let me introduce you to my pinterest page.... https://www.pinterest.com/galel/habitats-ocean-ships-and-the-sea/ So, up at the top it's all fun facts cause I just stumbled on a whole bunch of those I want to show my kiddo (and I'm gonna be pinning a lot that others have shared here...so just scroll past the top part). But below that there's some really awesome science experiments, projects, and printables about marine life and the ocean. One of my favorite ones that I didn't figure out how to pin there is a buoyancy experiment about whales that you can find here: http://circle.adventist.org/files/nadscience5-8/Print Materials/ACTIVITIES/LS-BLUBBER VS BUOYANCY.pdf I really like the DK books on whales, sharks, the ocean. There's a book with a 3D model of the insides of a shark that's really cool (would make a good Christmas present for a budding marine biologist...I got it for my son last Christmas). Inside Out Sharks: Look inside a great white in three dimensions! by David George Gordon When/if she decides to go to the next level and learn more, The Seaside Naturalist is good. I got it but my kiddo isn't there yet with the reading, and it's mostly in black and white (but with good illustrations even so). It has an east coast focus though and we're on the west coast (but still will probably use it later because so much works anyways). Wherever you are, if you are near enough to an ocean to visit frequently, find a guide book to identifying sea life in that area. I'm in California and love "The Beachcomber's Guide to Seashore Life of California"

My ADD son sounds a lot like yours in many ways, only usually tears were often involved). Also, rewards did not work. He could not see past the task at hand to any reward. I could offer him ice cream, cake, a new puppy and in that moment of "I can't/don't want to do this" it wouldn't have mattered. So I made the learning itself more rewarding. For him, imagination was the key. He loved playing pretend, so at first I had stuffed animal encourages (hey, it worked for potty training). Sometimes I'd even have the pictures on the worksheet pages talk with him (If there was a picture of a cat I'd make the cat say "Can you spell my name?") But what really did it was when I realize that while he didn't like doing school, he still wanted to PLAY school. So I just moved real lessons into play school, with me as a dinosaur teacher and him playing some of the students (and me playing others). Extreme, maybe, but it work. We did that for YEARs. It wasn't as effective as it was at first, because he figured out that it was school and not just play after a while, but he still wanted to do it, so it was basically our little "getting started" ritual after a while. Other things we did: I let him jump on the bed while doing math drills. I had an alien I drew on a white board write him messages, and got him to write replies (told him the alien couldn't talk except in writing) Math practice was 90% games (used the Addition Facts that Stick/Subtraction Facts that Stick curriculum, which uses games for practice) We had snacks during lessons, not as a bribe...I told him it was brain food (which is kinda true...your brain takes energy) When frustration set in or he was getting really distracted, we would go out and do something active like tag for a few minutes So, eventually he started making progress...and I stopped having to do as much to get him to do stuff. Last year he went back to school and he's done great--he found his motivation. They say ADD kids are on average 3 years behind in their "executive function" skills (ability for self control, planning, motivation, etc.). But the things we did to help keep him motivated helped him move forward in the meantime.

Also children with ADHD (which I didn't think my son had because he wasn't hyperactive...but a child can have just attentive ADHD). Also, SOME kids just find it easier to do work if there is someone else present, even if they aren't really "helping" with the work. Present, but not distracting. So, I can be in a room and be quietly cleaning and my son does fine doing his work. I'm near if he needs me, but not distracting him (I couldn't teach another child, which makes noise, or be doing anything intersting...but I can type on message boards like this or clean or listen to a podcast while he works independently).

This one is short and actually a novel in poem form, but it pretty hilarious... HATE THAT CAT by Sharon Creech The Ordinary Princess (sort of like a fractured fairy tale...I read it as a teen and loved it. Moderate length. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (slightly dark but very funny and short if I recall) Don't recall the length of these.... Spaced Out by Stewart Gibbs Both of these are set in middle school I think, but I enjoyed them so maybe a teen would too... iFunny (series) Origami Yoda (series)

Amen! Before I was homeschooling or even considering it, I remember being confused when everyone asked me where I was sending my child 4 year old to preschool like it was expected. I had a newborn at home and they knew I didn't work so I was just perplexed. It breaks my heart when I hear things like "Kindergarten Prep" too...or when I see people on some of the homeschool forums talk about how people in their life don't think they are qualified to teach...their 3 or 4 year old! And even more come searching for preschool homeschool curriculum, with the same "nervous newbie" trepidation about whether they can handle this thing (something I understand and expect from homeschoolers taking their first steps into homeschooling elementary and later--but that seems so wrong when it's moms of preschoolers feeling this way). I don't have anything against a good preschool or daycare for working parents, but where did society shift so that it stole our confidence that we are enough for our little ones?

I hope this is ok to post here, because it's my own post. This is the result of months of work and tons of research involving multiple biographies and original translated sources to fact check some really bad history that keeps getting spread around Columbus. I finished it last year and can't remember if I shared it here, but I just updated it with some extra information, so... https://imaginativehomeschool.blogspot.com/2018/10/fact-checking-columbus.html And, I want to ask a question. If you've read this, do you know of any good, kid friendly resources (books, videos, etc.) about Columbus that... 1). Don't contain any of those errors I mentioned in my article 2.) Manage to teach about Columbus in an interesting way without making him into a hero or a villain 3.) Don't totally ignore or trivialize what happened to the Native Americans under Columbus AND, any resources on Columbus and Spanish Exploration/colonization for High School age things that also.... - Adequately cover what happened to the natives not just under Columbus but in the generations afterwards - Don't vilify all missionaries or proselytizing, but do address some of the ways that the way the early New World colonists/priests handled this harmed the natives (and definately deal with both the religious and political reasons for proselytizing, which were often contrasting). - Also talk about the priests who were helping as well as the ones who were joining in the oppression (since there were groups of priests speaking out about the injustice going on) - (Bonus if any of these are Christian resources that actually deal with these questions Biblically, ask hard questions, and deal with ways that Christians sometimes have been misguided) And...really, if you know of any resources about Bartolome de las Casas that are suitable for kids I'd love to hear about them to. One of my favorite historical figures!

I get it about KG expecting kids to be way past where they need to be at that age. Its a pet peeve of mine too. But I don't think teaching reading to a kid who is excited to do it is how we got into that mess. I really think it was when we started pushing preschool as a need. I think there's always been kids who read early and that's no big deal so long as they aren't pressured to.

Yes...but, it can be SOMEWHAT like it (a little). I just talked with my child's teacher about his spelling list and asked if I could do the practice for it in a different way that would be more helpful for my son (a way much more similar to how we did it in All About Spelling when we were homeschooling). He said yes and now it's feeling a lot more like what we did in homeschool (or a part of homeschool). And he's doing better on the spelling. Except that now my son is fighting me on it more (GRRR). Even after I read him the e-mail from my teacher he's worried that if he doesn't do spelling practice exactly like assigned he's gonna be kept in at recess. So, there's that. 🙄

Hi. I started with everyone in public school and then homeschooled my youngest for four years, and then starting last year sent him back to school. It was harder for me before he started than once he did start (just cause of all the worry over whether this was the right choice). I was ok with the time he was at school...but I've really missed teaching him. I ended up getting a job as a tutor of a little girl which felt right and wrong at the same time (it gave me a way to use all these skills I've been building up for 4 years, but sometimes when I'm teaching her I feel like, this is what I should be doing with my son...though I know that right now he's in the right place and doing well there). I tried doing some interest based summer schooling with him that he wanted to do but it didn't work out (we had a big anniversary vacation right in the middle of summer, and relatives visiting after that, and it chopped up our time to much to get much done.). Anyways, started a club here for homeschoolers trying out or going back to public schooling, or doing both. I went ahead and invited you. 🙂

iFunny might fit that category. He is in a wheel-chair, and wins comedy competitions (another way to be exceptional though it's not directly about his intelligence, though I think he was characterized as being smart, not just funny.

The Facts that Stick series (sold right here on Well Trained Mind) is specifically for addressing the math facts. My son, who struggles with rote memory, did well with it after trying and having mixed results with various other methods/curriculum. Its very easy to use. There's a scripted lesson that helps kids visualize what is happening when something is added/subtracted, followed by a week of games to help practice the facts focused on that week (I assume that's also the case for multiplication/division...we used this before those versions were published). ( We extended the practice to two weeks for some of the harder math fact sets.)

UG. I subbed in a school like this and it was bad. Just too much noise.

I'd start him on a phonics program, but just not work on writing until later. But because of his age I would be prepared to step back if he balked at all at the program.

So, full disclose--a lot of the of the links below are to my blog posts, but they contain a lot of other links and it was easier to just send you there than copy all of them. Round-me - there are tons of places in Egypt you can explore including the Pyramids at Giza, the Nile River, various temples, etc. Just scroll in on Egypt and start clicking on blue dots. Ancient Egypt for Kids (many of the sections contain free printable worksheets too). Free Egypt Lapbook Egypt Homeschool Freebies - a bunch of free printables History + Science - the second on Egypt contains a lot of great free online stuff related to science and Egyptian history. Egyptian Mummies - has videos (the first about mummification, the second about decomposition in general), and links to an online game in the activities section, and instructions on how to make an Egg mummy. Hieroglyphics/Hieratics/Papyrus - There's an online hieroglyphics game in the activities, and a good video on making papyrus (I also talked about Mesopotamian Cuneiform here but you can skip that part). Hatshepsut - I have a bunch of good information about this woman pharoah...and in the activities there's a fun animated video on her and virtual tour of her palace. Nubian Pharoahs - Most of this is more about Nubia than Egypt, but it does have a good video and I plotted the minutes to make it easy to find the part about the Nubian pharaohs (when Nubia took over part of Egypt for a while). Ancient Egyptian Recipes & Food How to Make Egyptian Mud Bricks

So, we need a new printer. I'm wondering about everyone's experience with their printer? If you were buying a printer, would you get the same brand/type you have again?

So, I've never gotten a chance to use this one, but there is a free curriculum for high school and middle school age kids that I think would be great for a child who had been through an overview of history (like your kids have). It is NOT an overview, but more of a way to teach critical thinking about the world through history, and it uses original source material (translated of course to English). It's meant for a classroom but could be easily adapted to a homeschool setting, especially since you have two kids near the same age who could discuss things and work on projects together. It has both American and World History and the World History. https://www.marionbrady.com/ If I was using that, along with it I might use something like Crash Course World History (on YouTube) to summarize and remind them of what they had previously learned about history. And, where I could fit it in, I'd use Extra Credits History (also on YouTube...not a broad overview like Crash Course) just because it's my favorite and it's fun. I'd also supplement with some literature books from and about the period.

I think it's more not being able to keep up with the pace the child can learn at. It's not that you're going to run out of knowlege or things to teach...but say the child really developed a love of a certain subject...it's worrying that their ability to understand that subject will quickly outpace yours and you won't be able to help them grow from there. Also, with friends I have with gifted children, it's the ability to make the higher level stuff age appropriate. Like, my friend has a daughter who can do 7th grade math at age 6, and understand science concepts that are way past her age. Doesn't mean she's not a 6 year old in other ways. Doesn't mean my friend can just hand her a 7th grade math or science book and let her have at it. She can do the 7th grade work but doesn't find it interesting unless it's presented in a fun way, like a game (does that make sense?). Now, she's good at tweaking the 7th grade stuff but it takes time and she's struggling to give her child as much as her child would be happy to do. And she's looking ahead to when her child will be doing stuff that maybe is passed what she herself understands how to do, and thinking of how slow the process will be if she still has to tweak things but she has to learn those things first to properly tweak them since she's not at quick as grasping things as her child is.

I would get her a subscription to ZooBooks. They are very much like those books she chose, only sort of like a magazine where each episode features a different animal or type of creature (like sharks, spiders, cheetahs, birds of pray, etc.) You could also find them used on ebay or something because the ones they print now are basically updated reprints of their older ones...but on the other hand getting a new one every month in the mail might be fun for her.

I love Progressive Phonics and it worked really well with my son, but the child I'm tutoring now did not like those, unfortunately. Getting to take turns was motivating for her...but it was the dialogue aspect and getting to play a part that I think was motivating to her specifically. I'm thinking readers theater type things might work too.