Hi Jesse
I contemplated waiting to respond to this, letting others respond first because homeschooling has been very challenging for us, so pls. take my response with a grain of salt.
My DD6 and DS2 set the pace. I would love to set the pace. I would love it if they would pull out their pencils and sit down with workbooks. Early in the year my DD declared that 'Workbooks are meaningless to me'. My DD has not been tested but is above grade level in most areas, in certain areas she is significantly more advanced. She is as strong willed as she is bright. She is tough. I have started from scratch 3 times in one school year. While I always aim to engage her, I find that it is extremely easy to slip into coercion. This was SK!!!! It has taken a full year for me to realize what works for her and what doesn't. When DD was in school (preschool and JK) she conformed and did what was 'expected' of her, unfortunately not much was expected of her, hence our decision to homeschool. Somehow amidst the chaos of year 1 homeschooling, she has jumped multiple grade levels in certain areas, but I don't think that I had all that much to do with it! The best advice that I can give is to be really flexible and adaptable, be willing to do things 'on the fly'. This is the beauty of homeschooling. It is equally important to be willing to let go of what doesn't work (even if you spent hours in prep and/or tons of money). This is the hard part of homeschooling. We don't work in any particular grade level, DD is technically entering grade one, but she is all over the map. I really try to emphasize perseverance, effort, mastery, etc. For us it has been a wild ride, very challenging for our entire family, but in the end an amazing experience. Just my 2 cents....
Annaliisa
