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gina
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| Posted: Oct 15 2006 at 3:34pm | IP Logged
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Hello Ladies,
I have been without a computer for a while, but now I am back online.
My 5th grader ds, and I are having a really hard time finishing all his school work each day. 
Each evening I am trying to get in the last few things we did not get to and still have 2 or 3 items we don't get done.
This is wearing me out, it seems I had more time last year when i was so stressed out with my first year homeschooling.
Of course i must remember this is soccer season, and we have tae kwon do, piano lessons besides school.
We have:
Piano
Prima latina(I watch dvd with him & review on Thurs)
Math(mostly independent)
Grammar(Only 15-20min with me)
Religion/Bible/Saints(he does this on own and narrates)
History/Geography(he reads,i hardly have time to discuss, then he is always jumping into another century to read about so he can write a story, but he doesn't know how to finish a story and I want to help him,but don't know how)
Science(hardtogetto - rush it - hardly ever discuss it)
Literature(I read to them at breakfast and bedtime, then he reads way ahead of me; and right now he can't seem to finish Kon tiki{his own Literature selection})
Independent reading(he always gets this in)
Writing(hardly ever get to - once a week)
Copywork(can't seem to get it together for him to do because he reads so fast alone and I don't read the books, i don't have time.)
Gosh! it looks like i don't do anything.
But I promise you I am sooo busy with
K-5 doing:
Piano -with me
Math -with me
Reading instruction -with me
Literature -with me
FIAR - with me
All the while 10ds is asking me questions and I am answering and monitoring.
After the morning i am worn out and ready to get my shower and relax. then run errands or to sports/piano/playgroup, then rush to have a healthy dinner or get an ear full from hubby.
I just feel we are missing something K-5 gets all of me and 5th gr. gets left overs.
And I am pretty sure 5th ds needs attention to how to research and write a report and essay and story and indepth discussion about books and history and science. but how and when? He was in private school thru 3rd grade and still bulks at reallearning, like research and writing down what you learned. His narrations are short and sweet, except on saints lives, they never end.
I am so busy with home, chores, dinner, bills,
and before you ask, no, my husband cannot be relied on to teach anthing, except give report questions on things he wants ds to think about, and hard as college math problems to get us "thinking"-- they just get me mad.
Anyway I wanted to lay it before you smart, experienced moms and see if there is a solution, i cannot see.
Can i get this two far apart grades together??
Please isn't there a simpler, easier way??
I am not good at this yet, so i need some more hand holding and help figuring it all out, again.
Thanks a million,
Gina in Alabama
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Erin
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Gina
You do have a juggle between ages and your K child is intensive at this stage. I also have a K and 5th grader. My 5th grader is not that independent but some children are at this age and that is hard in ways also as it does become a juggle act (I can soo relate) As mine are becoming more independent I am finding it harder to 'keep the finger on the pulse' and am feeling out of touch, it is sad I'm missing the way things were.
Ways in which work for me in 'keeping my balls together':
- dc do subjects together ie. all sit at the tables in the one room and do their maths lessons at the same time it is then easier to move from one child to the other when needed or just to ask how they are going.
What subjects can you combine together?
_ Another idea that I have used at times is to work with Kindy child in a short period say an hour or so whilst 5th grader does some independent work (that you don't mind missing our on  ) then send K out to play and have that time with 5th.
I find that my 5th grader gets his work done quicker when I work with him, he does lag when doing on his own.
I'll try to jot some more later
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Faith Filled Days
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Oct 15 2006 at 5:45pm | IP Logged
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I have a K (dd) and a 6th grader(ds), so I can relate.
My solution has been to do very short lessons with K and then set her up with independant Montessori-type work while I work with ds. She has a number of activities to choose from that I rotate weekly and set up over the weekend. Each day I also present a new activity for her, so she always has a new activity and several stand-by's (rice, play-doh, puzzles, beads, file folder games etc)that she can do. Then later when ds is working independantly I do another short lesson with dd. This is usually enough for her and she is doing quite well I think.
Ds has independant math in am, then I go over it with him. Then he does some writing (independant-he reviews my written comments from previous day's work, makes corrections, then writes some more). Then read-aloud at lunch (rotates either religion or lit selection, poety, etc) We all do nature study together,then dd naps while ds and I do his unit-study and notebooking. This covers all the other subjects, usually and can be very intensive time. We also usually add on an extra science experiment just cause we like it so much. We are usually done by 2 or 3, (but we often don't start until 10  ).
When dd gets up from nap she often joins us in our afternoon activities.
We started off doing some more formal "fridgeschooling" stuff in the am, but have since dumped that as it ended up being too "schoolish" for our tastes.
So, I guess my suggestion is for the 5th grader, to try to combine subjects as much as possible(grammar and spelling addressed within writing, etc) and keep the little one's lessons short and sweet, supplementing with plenty of good, stimulating independant work.
Hope that helps.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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vmalott
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I'm juggling grades K, 2, 5, and 7, who are kind of divided into two groups, with the exception of reading/phonics and math. I also have a relaxed approach and somewhat nebulous requirements to fulfill in my state, so take that into account.
Well, let's see here. First off, are you doing History/Geography, Science, and Literature each and every day??? You didn't say. If so, you can back off on that and do one "subject" per day. I approach these subjects as family learning, so we're all together for these readings, rotating the read aloud each day. Science is covered in Nature Study, so we don't do any formal readings for that, i.e. no textbooks.
Also, for copywork...you don't have to choose it from what he is reading. Perhaps you could have him do some copywork in Latin (which I think the PL workbook has them do anyway for learning the prayers), or choose a poem or a passage from the literature read aloud or something else you might think is valuable. Orrrrrr....you can get him working on copying out and refining one of those great saints' lives narrations. That way, you can work on grammar, writing, and copywork all at once. I think a weekly writing assignment seems just peachy. Remember, grammar is also being covered in Prima Latina. OK, so it's not diagramming, but it is basic grammar. And you will cover more grammar if you continue into LCI and II.
For your K-er, you're doing both Literature and FIAR? Is this the Lit you also read to your son? Or is it different? Sorry, just trying to get clear on this. It's great that you're doing this reading, but if you think your 5th grader needs more time with you, then maybe the FIAR activities can slide??? Maybe just choose the most interesting parts to "row" on a weekly basis rather than doing it daily?
Of course, if your state requires a bunch of different things and a big long paper trail, that makes it a bit more difficult for you. It still can be done.
Valerie
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Valerie
Mom to Julia ('94), John ('96), Lizzy ('98), Connor ('01), Drew ('02), Cate ('04), Aidan ('08) and three saints in heaven
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marihalojen
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I only have a 6th grader but last week we experimented with a "writing workshop" one day. All day, all we did was take one piece of writing from the prewriting stage through editing, I didn't insist on a final copy that day as we'll probably include it in a history lapbook/notebook sort of thing we have going on and we didn't feel like getting all artsy at that time of day. Her chosen topic was from her history studies, so even though we declared the day a writing day we covered history intensively too as we researched her paper. Can you combine some of your subjects in a similar manner?
I really enjoyed having just one subject to focus on for a day and I'll probably pull out this idea for a "science workshop" soon too!
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marihalojen
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| Posted: Oct 16 2006 at 8:41am | IP Logged
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gina wrote:
| Copywork(can't seem to get it together for him to do because he reads so fast alone and I don't read the books, i don't have time.) |
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Regarding the copywork, have you considered a copywork jar? You can just cut and paste pertinent pieces you'd like him exposed to (poems, great thoughts from Scientists, Saints, Philosophers) in a word document, then print, cut them apart and place them in a jar. Have him choose one and copy it.
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Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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cathhomeschool
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I often let my older boys select their own copywork (from good literature). They choose a book and passage and bring it to me for approval. If it's too short, I added the next sentence or previous one.
I currently have a pre-k, k, 6th and 7th. I would cut way back on the 5yo's activities. If you are using FIAR, could you just use its suggested topics as your math and literature? Could you expand your FIAR learning to include your 5th grader? I did this last year and year before to form unit studies. That may be too out-of-the-box for your son, though.
For your 5th grader, I would not cover grammar every day (not at all, actually, since he'll get grammar with Latin). I would combine history and literature, or use the morning read-aloud for one and evening for the other. You could use his narrations to work on "writing." If you cut out grammar (or do it 5 mins a day) and combine read alouds and narration/writing, you'll have more time for science. And as Valerie said, you don't have to cover everything every day. I try to keep each child's weak area in mind, and work on that consistently (math for one child and writing for another). The other areas are more flexible. I like Theresa's approach of choosing a goal for your child (improved writing skills) and then using the subjects of interest to that child to work on those skills.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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lilac hill
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Gina,
No advice as I do not have younger to school with my 6th grader.
I can tell you that I found 5th grade difficult. It was a real balancing act with independence and dependence.
Last year our lessons were 20 minutes (if she worked diligently, math, grammar, independent reading, religion, etc, lasted for 20 minutes and we used a timer to keep us on task. in 6th grade our lessons are 30 minutes)
We do history and science 3 times a week with an added nature study. Math and copywork are 4 times a week, self guided dictation is 3 times a week with a Mom led on on Friday, grammar is with Mom 2 times a week spelling is everyday to go along with her book,art study is once a week, piano everyday, and she gets one day of freewriting which we both do , a self guided map study 3 times a week and a geography lapbook work on a specific region once a week, a friendly letter, and she writes some of her own research answers for a class she is taking. Religion is everyday. We have and independant reading and a different independant history book, I have a read aloud and we are reading a saint story.
Not sure if this helps. DD is energetic and has many extracurricular activities in the afternoon (volunteering, stable work, riding, tennis and piano lessons) We have a hard time fitting everything in, especailly the extra crafts she wants to do.
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Viv
Wife to Rick (7/83), Mom to dd#1(6/87), dd#2(1/90), and dd#3(6/94) in central PA.
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Willa
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I used to alternate the kids. Work with one, send that one off with something to do, work with the other.
I still do that in a way -- but with my kindergartener at present, I fit in his work in the corners of the day -- right before breakfast for some "practical exercises" and life skills, after breakfast for math and phonics, after lunch for music and art, in the evening for read-alouds and puzzles and devotions and things. My teenage daughter does his music though so that helps.
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Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Meredith
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marihalojen wrote:
| Regarding the copywork, have you considered a copywork jar? You can just cut and paste pertinent pieces you'd like him exposed to (poems, great thoughts from Scientists, Saints, Philosophers) in a word document, then print, cut them apart and place them in a jar. Have him choose one and copy it. |
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This is my favorite way of doing copywork as it's always a surprise for my dc to reach in and pull out something familiar they have either read themselves of just heard in our RA's. Takes the pressure off coming up with something original too 
My 5th grade dd is really doing well with her independent work and I have her on her own schedule apart from the other dc as she tends to work faster than they do and I can then be available for her when questions arise.
Do you have a particular time period for history, it's kind of fun to do unit studies for some of the larger spans of history like Medievil, Ancient Egypt, England, etc. Just a thought.
And for science, what about having it one day a week where everyone can participate and narrate and watch an experiment? HTH, lots of good advice already!!
Blessings
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Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
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Tina P.
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Wow! You ladies are *all* leaps and bounds ahead of me. I have a 7th, 6th, almost 4th, and 2nd grader and a kindergartner. For my k-er, I get to narrate once a week. We play with math toys and games ... uh ... sometimes (again, about once a week). I read to her as often as I can. She practices doodling and writing letters and numbers (bless her!) as much as she can.
I felt a little overwhelmed when my 2nd grader was in K. He taught himself how to read. I tried to use phonetic readers with him, but it was too late! 
My 7th grader gets just about as much time as the k-er, but he *can* do so much more on his own. He's reading the Redwall series, completing Lingua Mater and Saxon lessons (a little slower than your average super-family on this board ), and completing a lesson of spelling every week. Science and History are a little more sketchy, mostly drawn from the read-aloud we happen to be reading, because with those things I have to be involved.
Art is verrrrry unschooly here.
Thank goodness they have teachers for their music theory and practice. All I have to do is have awesome CDs available for their listening pleasure.  Oh! And I *do* challenge my oldest daughter by telling her that I'm going to learn a piece before she does when she's stumped.
I started to teach the kids Latin two summers ago, then I had a baby. Poof! There went Latin. Maybe next year ...
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Tina P.
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lilac hill wrote:
| DD is energetic and has many extracurricular activities in the afternoon (volunteering, stable work, riding, tennis and piano lessons) We have a hard time fitting everything in, especailly the extra crafts she wants to do. |
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My daughter sounds just like yours! How do you go about finding stable work for your daughter? How old is this one? My 10 yod would think she'd died and gone to heaven if she was allowed to muck out stalls. Any advice?
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
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lapazfarm
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Tina P. wrote:
| My 10 yod would think she'd died and gone to heaven if she was allowed to muck out stalls. Any advice? |
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She can come muck out my stalls any time!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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gina
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Oh my Ladies,
Thank you, Jannette, Jennifer, Meredith, Viv,
You have such wonderful ideas.
I am going to digest and see what changes I can make to simplify our curriculum, and increase my together time with 5th ds.
So far I see:
that I need to focus more on the goal: improving writing and vocab(using his areas of interest which are history and saints lives because they are in history, he also likes some current events and sports)
I was thinking of starting to follow brave writer suggestions, but did not think I could fit it in the way I do school. But I have loved what she writes.
Also,
Maybe I need tojust let literature go as a subject? or just use it for what ever he reads for history? and science?
Right now I do From sea to shining sea, alternate with George Washingtons world, -plus living books or a saint life reading -plus then a literature going at the same time(a classic and tales from Shakespeare). Trying to keep up with the Charlotte Mason Ideal.
But never getting to it all.
ALso,
I like the Copywork jar. But do you get the books and go through them or just pick from like a poetry book or do you find them on the web, or just add when you come across one?
Question:
He hates to write his narrations he says his hand hurts after a while, he wants to do them orally and is vague when it's a history or science text, but much more verbal when it's from First Christians or 57 saints lives or a living book(which just occurred to me, duh!
He is just beginning a typing program also.
I have tried to write or type his narrations but it's hard to keep up. Then, he doesn't want to rewrite anything!!!
 What should I insist on??
What should a 5th grader be able to do??
He is a prolific reader and likes to write on stories though he can never seem to finish one.
So I am thinking he should be writing and rewriting his narrations and essays by now, right or wrong?
When he answers an essay or writes a short report he does so slowly and erases and gets it right in one write! Any errors he erases and fits the correction in.
So, here I am so far.
Thanks again,
Regina
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Tina P.
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gina wrote:
| Maybe I need tojust let literature go as a subject? or just use it for what ever he reads for history? and science? |
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What!?!? Literature is a subject?!?!? If I had known that, life would've been much more dreary in our house. As Ruth Beechick says {I'm paraphrasing here}, "Let them enjoy reading. Don't pull apart every single paragraph a child reads and try to get something educational out of it."
gina wrote:
Right now I do From sea to shining sea, alternate with George Washingtons world, -plus living books or a saint life reading -plus then a literature going at the same time(a classic and tales from Shakespeare). Trying to keep up with the Charlotte Mason Ideal.
But never getting to it all. |
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Shakespeare deserves a season to himself. When I went to college, I was on the fast-track. I wanted to get out quickly and with a degree, to boot! However, I slowed down enough one semester to take a Shakespeare class all by itself. What luxury! I loved it. During the summer when our schooling slows down (but we never completely stop), the kids and I enjoy Shakespeare together. We read Bruce Coville's Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Twelfth Night. We haven't done Hamlet yet as I think that's too dark for young children. We listen to the Jim Weiss tape. Why don't they have a picture book version of The Taming of the Shrew? I would love that!
gina wrote:
ALso,
I like the Copywork jar. But do you get the books and go through them or just pick from like a poetry book or do you find them on the web, or just add when you come across one? |
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I like to adjust my religion requirements by the season, too. Sometimes, like when I'm expecting, I get really tired and just require the bare minimum outside of constantly talking with the children about what is right and what is wrong. But at present, I'm reading out of St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism to the entire family and believe it or not, there is suggested copywork at the end of the question-and-answer sessions. I am also having my kids each write their own personal prayer book. For those who consider themselves unartistic there are holy cards that they can glue to the pages. Each one is absolutely precious. Besides these suggestions, we use poetry I just happen across or snippets of a read-aloud.
gina wrote:
Question:
He hates to write his narrations he says his hand hurts after a while, he wants to do them orally and is vague when it's a history or science text, but much more verbal when it's from First Christians or 57 saints lives or a living book(which just occurred to me, duh!
He is just beginning a typing program also.
I have tried to write or type his narrations but it's hard to keep up. Then, he doesn't want to rewrite anything!!!
What should I insist on??
What should a 5th grader be able to do??
He is a prolific reader and likes to write on stories though he can never seem to finish one.
So I am thinking he should be writing and rewriting his narrations and essays by now, right or wrong?
When he answers an essay or writes a short report he does so slowly and erases and gets it right in one write! Any errors he erases and fits the correction in. |
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Gosh...I may be too relaxed of a homeschooler to be answering your questions, but I don't think I *ever* rewrote anything until college. Sometimes, especially with stories that he writes, a child just needs to vent his creative expression. I hand-wrote over 100 pages on a story that I never finished when I was about his age. I believe that a child who reads extensively has so many stories, so many genres ~ historical fiction, fantasy, fiction, factual, science fiction, nature ... ~ swimming in his head that he has to consolidate, simplify, and express all the different styles of writing. My 12 yob is writing a story about battles in the Medieval ages using a Hank the Cowdog style. He's experimenting, and here is where I feel masterly inactivity is my role.
As for essays and narrations, my 12 yo generally either discusses them with me or writes on the computer. He practices handwriting in other subjects. We decided early on *not* to use All Ye Lands as a book the children would read or even that I would read to them. They just weren't taking it in. So we just read living books about a period in history in which we're interested. If they do not like a particular living book, we move on. There's plenty of time to backtrack. Or, we just visit another book in the same time period that the children *do* like. I've never assigned an essay. I have assigned the kids to identify with one character in a series and write a diary as that character. They haven't done it yet, but they only read the first book of the series.
Science is just a few disciplines: chemistry, physics, biology, anatomy, and health and nutrition (did I miss any?) that we seem to study over and over again. Natural science is basically accomplished by letting the kids out of doors. Go for walks with them. Chemistry involves baking and cleaning and fun pop-fizz experiments (plus a couple of books from MacBeth's list). Physics is a little stickier for me, but we're working on that.
It sounds like your son is a bit overwhelmed. Kids need lots of time to just be kids. The years they have to be adults stretch endlessly before them. Homeschooling is not bringing textbooks and the drudgery of the learning institution home. It is (Thank you, Elizabeth, MacBeth, Leonie, and so many more of you who have encouraged and educated me) developing relationships with your children and between your children. It is 90% discussions, 10% written. It is facilitating rather than requiring. And finally, it is sparking the interest and then fanning the flames.
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
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lapazfarm
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As far as writing, if you like Bravewriter, I would go with Julie's suggestion of one piece of writing per month taken through all the stages to finished product. Just choose one of his narrations he seems to have an interest in and follow Julie's steps of narrowing, expanding, etc. It doesn't have to be stressful or take more than a few minutes a week.
I would leave his creative writing alone unless he asks for help with it. He may very well do this once he has done the process for a few pieces and he learns how easy it is. That's what happened with my ds who hated writing and now loves it thanks to Bravewrtiter.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: Oct 18 2006 at 8:40am | IP Logged
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gina wrote:
Also,
Maybe I need tojust let literature go as a subject? or just use it for what ever he reads for history? and science?
Right now I do From sea to shining sea, alternate with George Washingtons world, -plus living books or a saint life reading -plus then a literature going at the same time(a classic and tales from Shakespeare). Trying to keep up with the Charlotte Mason Ideal.
But never getting to it all. |
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Dropping literature or rotating "literature" units with "history" and "science" units is a great way to get to it all at different seasons. We cover "literature as a subject" very loosely. Dh reads aloud to us at bedtime from a living book. (Lord of the Rings for the 3rd time right now. We've read the Swallows & Amazons series, Count of Monte Cristo, and many others.) In addition, their assigned read alones are often "literature" that isn't historical or scientific. That's it. I rarely require narrations of these books.
Tina, Shakespeare for a season is a great idea. When we do that (because we haven't yet, though I've been meaning to for ages..), we'll likely drop history for a month or two to do an in-depth unit on Shakespeare.
gina wrote:
Question:
He hates to write his narrations he says his hand hurts after a while, he wants to do them orally and is vague when it's a history or science text, but much more verbal when it's from First Christians or 57 saints lives or a living book(which just occurred to me, duh!
He is just beginning a typing program also.
I have tried to write or type his narrations but it's hard to keep up. Then, he doesn't want to rewrite anything!!!
What should I insist on??
What should a 5th grader be able to do?? |
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Well, the thought of narrating a science or history text doesn't really excite me either. And why would I want to put my hand through the agony of writing pages of that type narration (because my hand does tire after a while)? For the moment, I would drastically decrease the amount of written narration you require. Focus on typing skills. Let him practice a lot every day with the typing program and with pleasurable typing (his stories). Soon he'll be able to narrate on the computer on his own. (And if he's like my boys, he won't want you to type for him at that point even if you offer!) My boys play with fonts (I've downloaded so many) and color, and that makes the narration process more enjoyable for them. And "narration" doesn't have to mean a written book report anyway. This thread lists many ways of narrating that might spark your son's interest while requiring less writing.
Like Theresa, I don't touch dc's creative writing. I let them work on it during "school time," but don't give advice or insist anything get finished. They have notebooks and files full of unfinished Lego character stories and other adventures, and that's fine. It wasn't a school requirement anyway, so why make them finish if interest wanes? I don't want to squelch that love of writing.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Oct 18 2006 at 9:22am | IP Logged
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Janette has a good point about there being lots of ways to do narration.
My son enjoys doing his on the computer because he can play with fonts and colors, add borders and images, etc and he is getting to be a faster typist because of it. If I asked him to hand write it I would get a fraction of the work I get now.
Allowing some choice in how narration is done can really make the process more varied and enjoyable. I love the suggestions on the thread Janette linked.
For instance, I did ask him to narrate our trip to the coast and offered several suggestions as to the form. He chose to do a blog entry on my blog, which I thought was a great choice.
In his more "boring" kind of narrations (history, etc) if I want it written I usually type it for him so it goes faster because after all, my goal for that narration is not to produce a wonderful written work, but to see if he can remember and re-tell the information. I try to always keep my goals for him in mind when I ask for work from him. It helps.
Oh, and I do correct and make suggestions on ds creative writing NOW but only because he has gotten to the point that he asks me to. But he is free to accept or reject any suggestions because it is completely his own.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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gina
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| Posted: Oct 18 2006 at 8:49pm | IP Logged
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Thank you ladies again.
I am taking all this in.
I signed up for the Arrow and he liked day 1 and what is in store for the month.
We choose a back issue year of books we thought we would like and started with Mrs.Frisby... which he just read. So he doesn't have to read it again, he's happy.
And it has a collage to do about who you are and what you like. He very interested in that, and K-5 wants to do one about himself also, so it's working.
I am trying to lighten up on history, where do I find a living book about starting our country, after the Rev.War?
I have "If you were there when they signed the Constitution..." and were reading Geo.Washingtons World. Is that enough??
Also, I am very confused on how to grade his school work.
Last year I had tests in almost every subject and it was easy. This year it's been narration and copywork and reading, not much hands on yet. I need some way to come up with this 9weeks grades !
At a glance I say all A's, then I think about bad attitude days and lazy getting up days and not finishing days and not interested days, and I really don't have anyting to compare his progress with.
What do you Mom's do about report cards?
I am required to give a letter grade and What books used and what chapters/pages/lessons covered each quarter.
Can I get some how to on this?
Thanks
Gina
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Tina P.
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| Posted: Oct 19 2006 at 10:47am | IP Logged
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I lived in Alabama for a few years and I just don't remember having to jump through so many hoops. My kids were quite a bit younger then (we moved just after my oldest recieved his First Holy Communion). Maybe that's why. I have *never* imposed grades upon my children. I haven't even had them tested yet. We try our best and the rest is in God's hands. I figure we can't hurt them any worse than institutionalizing them can.
And let's really think about this. How many children who *go* to public or private, for that matter, institutions have good attitudes, are interested and attentive, and constantly are on the ball? I'll bet there are tons out there who never finished assigned homework for a whole week in a row. 
For living history around the revolutionary time, I have a few suggestions. How about Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson? Or the Landmark book about it? Jean Fritz has several books, some of which are here and here. The King George one says it's for ages 4 to 8, but that is so wrong! Edward Tunis has written many early American / Colonial books which may be of interest (they are very detailed, one would have to be *really* interested in this stuff to read the whole thing ... might be better used as a reference). Speaking of early America, what about Diary of an Early American Boy by Eric Sloan?
I'd have to scan my shelves for more really good reads, but my dishwasher ran out of steam and my dishwashers (the kids ) aren't pulling their weight. Therefore, I have to part with only these few suggestions. My problem is to not overwhelm my kids with all the books we've collected on various topics!
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
Mary's Muse
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: 5th grader schedule: too much,too little?
