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Everything posted by df3121

  1. Very true. Perhaps erroneously, it just sounded as though the OP didn't want to utilize those things, more than couldn't.
  2. Have any here used Using Language Well from Simply Charlotte Mason? What were your thoughts on it as a grammar program, compared to more traditional programs?
  3. Just look for books at the library. Search the topics: bread, farming, milk, dairy, wheat etc... you'll find plenty of options. But nothing from a book will ever replace the kind of real experience that comes from visiting farms etc... Would love to know why you aren't willing to do those things? Hands on learning is always best. Our kids learned where food comes from from touring farms - private and commercial, making food from scratch, growing our own food etc...
  4. I would split them up. I have felt the same way about SCM history for littles. The spines are pretty deep, and the assigned readings are quite long. I also dislike flipping back and forth between world and American history. I prefer to focus on one stream at a time. Especially for that age. Does she like Little House? What about Playful Pioneers?
  5. Have any here used these? What made you choose one over the other? Thoughts on which is better for grade 4/5?
  6. Yes. Grammar is best withheld until children are of the age of logic. Typically 12+. In history, it was never taught this early or for this long. Now, teaching the very basics of punctuation (capitalizing sentences, and ending sentences with proper punctuation) is fine, but that can easily be taught without a grammar curriculum. Here's a good read. https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/284014/
  7. Sadly, it's similar here. Very hard to get into personal counseling, or to see psych specialists etc... I think here it's largely because the system is just so backed up. A friend of mine has a daughter with several challenges, and they had to wait over a year to see the psychiatrist, and that was on the emergency list ☹️
  8. 1. I did. 2. You said you didn't want to debate your parenting style. A) Nothing in my comment was even remotely doing so and further B ) I was merely pointing out I was going by what you yourself said. Which pretty much makes it not a debate 🤦 At any rate, whatever. You decided to go on the defensive for whatever reason, don't like what I suggested apparently, so do whatever you want. Next time put a caveat that you only want people to tell you you're doing it right if you don't want to hear different ideas that are directly on topic and answering your post.
  9. Change defiance to defensive, and then you'll have it right. She is traumatized. She is scared. She feels completely out of control. She has high anxiety. She wants your security, but she doesn't trust you. It scares her. Her feelings scare her. She's terrified of being hurt, of being let down. She's not being defiant, but rather, she's being defensive. She's just trying to have some semblance of control over her life. It's the only way she can have any amount of security. You are not able to provide that for her. Not yet. Ultimately, right now, you're going to have to accept
  10. So....listen to what she is telling you ♥️ Do what she is capable of and leave what she's not. Whether she is academically able matters not one iota right now. The only thing that matters is what she is emotionally able to do - and she is NOT able to do what you're asking right now. Whether she was able to do it a few weeks ago, doesn't matter either. Abilities wax and wane, especially as she processes the trauma she has been through. Some times she'll be capable of more, sometimes far less. It will vary week to week, day to day at times. Not just school, but around the home
  11. Ten minutes a day or not, I would drop the phonics. They're unnecessary at that age. Also, studies have shown that children who are taught to read earlier (before age 6) tend to end up having worse reading outcomes long term, than those who learned later. At best, they end up with no discernable difference. Then there's plenty of other studies that show that early academics in general are harmful before age 6/7. From your posts it sounds like you're a Type A 😉, but it'll serve you both well if you learn to let go! Take it from a recovering Type A. So, if she's a whole word kid, picking u
  12. No idea what is wrong with the edit button tonight, but keeps creating duplicate posts.
  13. Perhaps so. But I've only seen this post, and in this post, it definitely isn't painting a great picture of their homeschool. So, my comment is based on what is presented. She can take what might be helpful (curriculum suggestions, learn to let go of unrealistic expectations), and leave what isn't.
  14. So... at age 7, actually, yes, it's perfectly developmentally appropriate that she just "regurgitate" and not "think". You're asking for logic-level stuff in grammar-stage. And considering what she has been through, she might be 7 chronologically, but likely isn't 7 developmentally. She's also probably completely mentally taxed given all she's been through. She's been through trauma, then moved to your home, had to deal with Covid, trying to adjust to online learning, and now taken away from that and thrown into homeschooling, into a method that clearly does not match her learning style. Tha
  15. I am looking for history, reading and/or an all in one program for middle school that provides guided/scripted Socratic discussion questions, besides Tapestry of Grace.
  16. Yeah, math will definitely stay a daily thing. I talked to him and he likes the semesters idea. I think it'll be easy for history and geography as we just do living books for those. His science we're using Oak Meadow, but it's just written as 36 weekly lessons, not divided into days, so it should be okay. They'll just be heavier days. Which I suppose that in and of itself might be a way of achieving our goal of "increasing the load" a bit.
  17. Haha, that's basically just what DH suggested. I think his exact phrasing was, "I wish we could just enroll him in school for one week, so he could realize just how good he has it!" It's not a bad idea though. Though I suspect he would cave after only one day 🙂
  18. All I said was he's not interested in school stuff if it doesn't involve his interests. To me that's not even remotely the same thing as saying "He's very into his things and doesn't like being taken away from them". He has no problem transitioning whatsoever and is perfectly compliant. Just not interested/motivated/whiny if he thinks the task is too big. Anywho... I largely suspect this conversation is pointless since you're either not reading what I wrote, or adding to it (since I already answered your question in my original post.)
  19. I'm thinking you must be confusing my post with someone else's as I didn't say that at all 🙂 When he's not doing those 90 minutes, we spend another hour or so as a family with a Morning Basket/Nature Study etc... Add in breakfast, lunch, snack time, chores, then playing, reading, drawing etc... Other days field trips etc... the time between 9-5 goes by pretty quick!
  20. Just a little correction, my son doesn't have ASD 🙂 That was ADD (ADHD). He was tested for APD however and passed.
  21. I'm guessing this could be the case for him. He'd rather focus on one subject (book) at a time until it's done. So maybe do terms: history, geo, science? How do you deal with curriculum that's designed for a 36 week year, especially if it's designed to be done daily? Just skip some things? History is easier, we just use living books. He might do incentives. Kinda refreshing to hear that. So many seem to preach grammar, grammar, grammar every year. I would rather work on his writing and spelling (it's not bad, but there some some words that could definitely be w
  22. Math U See Developmental Mathematics Math Mammoth Math on the Level MCP Math Learn Math Fast Those are all mastery programs. MUS would probably be my favorite. I saw your comment about math facts too. I know the term is controversial, but if your child is a "right brained" or visual-spatial learner, then math facts will be difficult for him to learn. My son is this way. He's definitely struggled the same way at 9. He's now 13 and has a good grasp on his math facts. It really started developing around 12. That said, he's never going to be quick with recall. And honestly? Who cares?
  23. Oh there'll be plenty of grammar and diagramming by the end of level 200, trust me. We've used CLE up through 500s.
  24. So we have always been very relaxed in our homeschool. We never had the desire to replicate school at home, turn learning into something tedious. Also, part of it was through necessity - our youngest had ASD and health issues, we were on the road a lot with doctor appointments, meltdowns were common etc... so we needed a relaxed, flexible approach for our lifestyle. In fact, for our daughter we unschooled her for the first few years, and even now we keep it light 3Rs only, and she's thriving with that. However, she is a very driven personality, and is excellent at pursuing learning. Example:
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