You might try some of the software from Critical Thinking Company. I recently bought Building Thinking Skills Level and Editor in Chief. I think standardized test taking is a skill in and of itself, and these should be helpful in developing that. I also noticed that, for my dd, vocabulary was an issue. If she didn't know a word on the test, it really threw her. So I got some Core Curriculum Vocabulary cards from Super Duper Inc. and am going to focus on those plus just more vocabulary generally.

I'm a lefty. My dd is a lefty. We used HWOT for printing and cursive. It was fine. Although we eventually did switch to RFH because I didn't like the connections between letters in cursive in HWOt. Really, I don't think there's a problem with any program used for a lefty, as long as you remain flexible. For instance, I have never been able to make a good-looking cursive capital J. Ever. My dd came up with a completely different way of forming it, and now our J's look great! But it's different from anything taught. It works for us. Also, I think you should be flexible about the slant, whatever program you are using. While I don't like the backslant that some lefty programs have (yuck!), I do think straight up and down is fine, or a very minor "normal slant" for a lefty. Lefties generally have to push their pencils to form cursive letters, rather than pull, making it a bit more challenging. Oh! I also think you should be flexible about what grip the lefty is using on the pencil. I say walk a mile in a lefty's shoes before you tell her she's holding her pencil wrong.

I use a binder for my lesson plans. I write them one day at a time on looseleaf paper and keep those papers in the front. Then I have about 10 dividers, one for each subject, and also one that says "Schedule" and one that says "Paper." I put general ideas about the schedule in the schedule section, and extra looseleaf in the paper section. In, say, the History section, I put my list of history lessons for the particular unit we are studying. For instance, one line will say "Read Child's Story of America p. x - xx." The next line might have "Read Heritage Studies p. y-yy." So I can schedule out the content and order of my history lessons in advance, but then have the flexibility on when to use them. If I have papers about specific subjects, worksheets or state requirements or what have you, those go in the subject sections. HTH

Yes. Excellent choice, as is American Pioneers and Patriots. Awesome!!!

I used Abeka Phonics 1 and 2 with ALL the whistles and bells and optional flashcards to teach my vsl how to read. I stuck really closely to the scripted lessons in the lesson plan. I know that initially, back in kinder before I started homeschooling, my dd had to memorize a list of sight words, so I paired each word with a picture and just drilled her on them. That made something click for her, so that we were able to do Abeka Phonics the following year and have much success. You might also look into Dianne Craft Right Brain Phonics. Right brain learners tend to be VSLs.

We did that, for allergy reasons also. There's some really nice-looking vinyl sticky-back tile. We got some that looks like Beige Slate. Everyone compliments it and doesn't realize it's not ceramic until we tell them. It was about $1 a tile. Easy peasy and nice looking.

Print that out and take it with you. I can tell you my husband has no problem returning anything any time at any store for any reasoning. He once returned a shirt that was a year old because it started fraying around the sleeve. (No individual experience with Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but you have that policy so they should honor it.)

LL Bean has an entire section called Women's Rain Gear.

Timberdoodle sells tons of graphic novel biographies. There are all interesting and fun to read.

I can tell you that for 5th grade, I got the BJU 6 Science curriculum, and plan on taking two years to cover it. I'm all about enjoying learning, and I don't want to fast-forward through stuff just to fit everything in.

Teach him to type. There's a free typing program on the internet called Dance Mat Typing. And always check his (typed) work and make him make corrections. If he doesn't know what the correction should be, show him. As far as capitalization and spacing... my dd had problems with this too. I had to point it out and make her correct it. We used WWE workbooks for Levels 1 and 2. For spacing, I had her use her finger as a measure of enough space between words. You really have to teach things to some kids that seem obvious to you (like when you say Copy, you mean Caps and spacing and punctuation and everything exactly the same). It's not obvious to them. I'm firmly in the CM camp that requires no original writing from kids this age. Even for thank you notes, I wrote them out and dd copied them. (We may have discussed what to say, but I then wrote it out for dd to copy.)

Your dd sounds a bit like mine. I classify my dd as a visual spatial/right-brained learner, and that has been helpful when finding good curriculum fits. We do short, but effective lessons. My dd does comprehend better when she hears herself read aloud, so sometimes if she is struggling, I have her read the same thing aloud, and then it clicks. For us, full-color visual resources have been very important and really speed up learning. I call it effortless learning. Some specific suggestions for you: Singapore Math Standards Edition. Very visual. If you needs hands on or scripting help, get the Home Instructor's Guide. I don't use it because my dd hates directed hands on. We read over the lesson together, and make sure she gets it. Assignments are fairly short. We also have an incentive chart which is very important in making math something she wants to do. If she completes her assignment perfectly, I fill in a box. Word problems get additional boxes filled in. Once she fills her whole chart, she gets a $10 toy (she is allowed to save up incentive charts for bigger toys). Be sure to take the placement test for Singapore Standards (singaporemath.com) and place her accordingly. Singapore is advanced anyway, plus it's a mastery curriculum so you really need to be placed correctly. Teach your dd to type. There is a fun free program on the internet called Dance Mat Typing. That said, your dd should also do a little cursive each day. I like a Reason for Handwriting because the assignments are so short. Cursive actually makes connections between the left and right hemispheres in a way printing does not, and is important for brain training. For some touch up phonics, you might try Dianne Craft's Right Brain Phonics book. Just read through it together. Copywork has been wonderful for my dd. It's like the grammar and punctuation rules have been absorbed by osmosis. Start gently. I like Writing With Ease Level One Workbook. Don't worry about the reading comprehension questions so much in there. The copywork is the main thing, plus exposure to some wonderful children's literature. Daily silent reading at her reading level for at least 30 minutes. Graphic novels and picture books are fine. Great Illustrated Classics books are wonderful for this as well. I have a shelf of grade-level books for my dd to choose from. For grammar, try Grammar Tales by Scholastic. Also check out The Sentence Family by St. Michael School. I like Language Smarts B and C by Critical Thinking Company. I also supplement with Fun Decks by Super Duper Inc. Diagramming can also be helpful for visual learners, especially when studying things like subject and predicate. Schoolhouse Rock is good. I have heard great things about MCT Grammar Island, although have not personally tried it. Science and History are super fun subjects, and really culturally important to be an educated person, I think. For science, try reading Max Axiom Super Scientist graphic novels/comic books. Buy the corresponding Science Wiz kits. Totally fun science. For history, I really like chronological history. Start with Ancient Times. Do mini unit studies. For Ancient Egypt, get the Usborne Beginners Ancient Egypt book, plus maybe the You Wouldn't Want to Be Tutankamen or the Horrible Histories about Egypt. Make sure you have visual, fun resources. Lots of history options. For history, we just read from some books. Then my dd draws a picture for the timeline (drawing is her thing), and I create a caption for that picture, which I write on the board. She copies that onto her picture. We post all her pictures on a running timeline on the wall. It's great! HTH

You might try some of the more fun grammar curriculum out there. MCT Grammar Island, The Sentence Family by St. Michael School, Grammar Tales by Scholastic. Montessori has some neat grammar materials, too. Also, perhaps diagramming would be helpful. I like Mary Daly's Whole Book of Diagramming, but any diagramming workbook would probably be effective, if diagramming would work at all for your student. (Some kids it's the key to grammar, some not.)

You might check out All Things Fun and Fascinating, by the IEW people. It's only $29 and a pretty gentle composition curriculum, but hits most of their major points.

DD, 5th grade, visual spatial learner Reading - 30 minutes to herself (usually during breakfast) Handwriting - RFH - 5-10 minutes Math - 10-45 minutes depending on what we're doing (Singapore Math) Spelling - 5-10 minutes (we just flashcard our words daily) English - alternate Literature/Grammar/Composition weekly - 10-40 minutes (BJU Lit, various grammar, All Things Fun and Fascinating) Greek / Latin (alternate weekly) - 10-30 minutes Bible Study - 5-15 minutes History / Geography (alternate weekly) - 15-45 minutes Science / Health (alternate weekly) - 15-45 minutes Computer - 15 minutes or longer (Educational Software or Copywork) Fine Arts (alternate Music Appreciation/Piano/Art/Art History weekly) - 10-45 minutes Vocabulary - 5-15 minutes Bible Verse Memorization - 5-10 minutes

What about Teaching Textbooks? That's on the computer, CDs I believe, and totally independent. Time4Learning does math, too, also on the computer.

Could you have your lefty pull the paper out of the binder to work on it, then put it back into a pocket folder (which is either inside the binder or not). They make hole-punched folders. My lefty prefers putting her papers into folders rather than opening and closing the binder rings. My other thought for having top holes would be that there are clipboards that have 2 big metal rings (well not exactly circular in shape) on the top, where you two-hole punch the papers at the top and put it in the clipboard. That might work. They tend to be really expensive though. Professional business people tend to use them. Do you know what I'm talking about? Or a clipboard with a storage case. HTH

1. I chose to teach Latin because it is a really good foundation for our own language (English) since many words have Latin roots. It aids in learning English grammar, as well, and it is a good foundation for any of the Romance languages (we'll probably do Spanish and French at some point.) Also, it's been a staple of classical education for a very long time. I am trying to give my dd a really great education. 2. I chose Greek because I felt called to teach Biblical Greek after re-reading the book, The Latin Centered Curriculum. I had initially been thinking of Spanish or French, in addition to Latin, but decided on Biblical Greek for now. Those others will come in another year or two. 3. I am not choosing one over the other. Although if I had to, I guess I would pick Latin. Latin seems more widely applicable than Greek. Really, both Latin and Greek come from the same parent language, so there are quite a few similarities. 4. For Latin curriculum, I like Minimus followed by Cambridge Latin 1. For Biblical Greek, I like Biblical Greek 4 Kids.

He might enjoy the Mark Kistler videos. Even my dd, who is good at drawing but does not like to be taught about drawing, enjoys him. You can get a lot of them free on YouTube and on his website. Then he has an online video academy, and homeschool coop usually has the best price on those. Or homeschool buyer's coop? (something like that) If your PBS shows Imagination Station, that would be free and that's Mark Kistler. He's very fun.

What about BJU Heritage Studies 8? You could get the student text and the workbook.

Christian Liberty Press has wonderful American History readers. I particularly like American Pioneers and Patriots and A Child's Story of America.

Are you using new curriculum? Is that why you are not having a comfort level? It all looks fine. If Prima Latina fizzled out, do you need something more fun? It didn't work for us either. We switched to Minimus and loved it, but it's not as rigorous as Prima Latina. It's more of a gentle, let them enjoy learning, kind of curriculum. Why are you having your 4th, 2nd, and 1st grader reading the same books for independent reading? Are they all at the same reading level? I have not used MCT so am not familiar with it. It's certainly looks more fun than Rod and Staff. Is that why you are switching? What are you children's learning styles? Is the curriculum compatible with those? Sorry I don't have more to offer you. I don't have enough information.

I suggest continuing with your history cycle, just at a slower pace. Add in geography. We alternate a week of history, then a week of geography (usually related but not always) and then a week of history, and back to geography the next week, and so on. That way, the geography ties directly to the history studies. We can stay in our history cycle, which I like because I think studying history chronologically is important. But we get geography in, too, which is also important.

Charlie Brown This is America (also can find the Mayflower Voyages Charlie Brown on the A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD) Looney Tunes "Old Glory" cartoon. (I have it on Spotlight Collection vol. 2) Schoolhouse Rock, History Rock

I am concerned that your dd might be experiencing verbal abuse from your MIL, and that the negatives of living with her outweigh the positives of the dance classes. I'm just throwing that out there as a possibility. Verbal abuse can leave emotional scars that take years to heal. Personally, I would go get my dd and bring her home. I've experienced verbal abuse first hand, and I wouldn't allow my child to be put through that, certainly not for an additional month. Obviously, you have a better handle on the situation that I do, but I do think "Mama Bear" is rearing her head for a reason.