I am thinking of purchasing this for my son who did McRuffy K Math last year. He probably should had been in 1st grade math last year as most of K was too easy, but I went ahead and used it anyway since i had purchased it. I am now looking at the 1st grade for R&S and it seems as it would be too easy for him. Looking at it, it seems as though he could do the 2nd grade math. Is there anything vital that he would be missing going from K to 2nd? It seems that the 2nd grade of R&S covers beginning money, single digit adding and subtracting, beginning time. Can anyone that has used it confirm this? Thanks much!

I have only used McRuffy and I must say that my daughter who was having a horrible time reading has greatly improved with this curriculum. It was like the answer to a prayer! She is honestly doing amazing now and can read chapter books when, last year, before starting McRuffy, she would get frustrated if there were more then two sentences on a page. My son used the K last year. He only knew his letter sounds and is now reading books. He has not just learned phonics, but has also learned a lot of sight words and doesn't ever sound them out, but knows them when he sees them. I love McRuffy Phonics and will use it again this year with my children.

Love this post! So glad to know I'm not the only one feeling this way after 9 years. I love the idea of giving them a schedule so they know exactly what they need to do. This might help to not have to listen to the moaning, groaning, and "are we done yet???"! I went to the book fair today and bought a few "easy" things for the kids to do in the Fall. I picked up Easy Grammar because it is really just that....easy! I also picked up q few history readers for my 7 year old that show could read independently as well as some living books that I will read to them. My 6 year old has decided that he wants to use his play rug from IKEA that has roads, helicopter landings, etc on it to build a city. So this is his new project. I just back from Walmart buying crafts to even make electrical wires for this pretend city. Sounds like a ton of fun qnd he is so excited. Maybe we can work from their interests and unschooled for a few months and have some fun! Thank you everyone for all your great ideas! This post alone has helped tremendously! I love this board!!

You can get the "Pages" app for $9.99.

I have had/have all of the above. I purchased a netbook an it went right back to the store. It was so slow that you can barely stream YouTube, Netflix, etc. It also has no DVD drive to watch the MUS DVDs. I now have an iPad and, let me tell you, I don't know how I ever lived without it!! It is truly amazing, but I do get annoyed at times with no Flash capabilities. It does not have a DVD drive either though. I do have trouble prying it from my childrens hands though. My daughter who does not like to read spent an hour reading Winnie the pooh the other night. There I an app for just about anything. I even logged into my iMac this morning right from my iPad....absolutely amazing! There is a Netflix app that you can use to stream educational movies, documentaries, etc. It even now has an app for "Pages" which is apples word processor. The ipad is amazing if you aren't going to need Flash or a Dvd drive. Otherwise, you should probably stick with a notebook.

I have never heard of this. Do you have a link? Thanks!

Love your ideas for the little ones and I'll probably do this! My highschooler was supposed to have one year left. She has all the credits she needs though to graduate now except for math. She has done Algebra 1 for 2 years now and is working with an amazing tutor (who I found through this forum!). I'm thinking of graduating her and letting her work on a real life math concepts with her tutor. She doesn't want to go to college. She wants to be a nanny and is working on steps towards that already. She may have a job at a daycare that's only a mike up the road which would be a great step forward foe her. We are just waiting to see about the background check, finger prints, and a work permit and she takes her CPR class on Saturday. That alone will give me a huge break.....but I spend so much time worrying about her and her decision to not even work towards taking classes at the community college.

We have been doing this for the last 2 years with my youngest ones and I did the same with my teen when show was little. It does work....but I'm just burnt out all together. I guess I just need more then a summer off. I was having the little ones do their ETC books every day over the summer and read one chapter out of a book, but gave up cause I got sick of the griping and complaining! I think we all need a break.

This is the most interesting post! Very thought-provoking! I have never really thought about it before, but now I'm thinking that if I saw a Movie while reading, I would want to read all the time! How interesting!! When i read, I comprehend the story but sometimes have to go back after reading a whole page. It's just that.....reading....words. I don't see a movie playing in my head and I read very fast.

When you are burnt out and need motivation? I stopped the school year about a month ago and was already so burnt out! I have been homeschooling for 9 years now and have never felt like this, but I also added a 2nd child 2 years and a 3rd chilld into the school day last Fall. Last year I already had everything planned out, all classes scheduled, and all books bought! I was ready to start the new year on August 1st! I am going to our small Homeschool book fair today where there are lots of vendors and interesting speakers, and I am not even excited about it as I normally am every other year!!! HELP! I need some motivation! I don't even have a clue what curriculum I definitely want to use in the Fall!! I know I'll use MUS for my daughter but my son I have no clue. We used McRuffy math last year and I wasn't crazy about it. I haven't researched anything this year. Sending them to the public school is NOT an option for me so I need to get motivated!! :(

I checked out a sample and it looks great. If I use AAS, do I need to use McRuffy? Wouldn't that be double doing myself? Or maybe even confusing with all those new words? What about just adding on Growing with Grammar instead or another Grammar program? Also, can this program be used with a 6 year old or is that too young to start? I only ask because I did a search and noticed most use it with older children. If I do use with both children, do I need to purchase the other set of tiles, etc.?

I found a number on the website and called him. He was extremely helpful on the phone.

My almost 8 yr old (8 in Sept) really needs some help with her spelling. We used McRuffy Phonics last year (the 1st grade even though she was a rising 2nd grader). It helped her reading skills as well as her spelling skills. She struggles with both actually. She is still sounding out words to herself before saying them out loud while reading. Her reading is extremely "choppy". Her spelling needs tons of help! She has a very early birthday so I am actually thinking of just calling her a 2nd grader this year even though she was supposed to had been 2nd grade last year. I will probably use the 2nd grade McRuffy phonics in the Fall since she has jumped leaps and bounds with it, but still need something else to use along with it. Does anyone have any suggestions for a great Spelling curriculum that is also great for a struggling reader? I am just so worried that she is going to be 8 and still sounding out bigger words. It just hasn't "clicked" yet and she hates reading! :confused:

How are you using SOTW on the iPad?

What is MEP?

My 2nd grader is still having some real fluency problems. She is still sounding out every single sound of most every word except for most cvc words. I am beginning to get worried. We have used so many different phonics programs. I now have her using McRuffy 1st grade which seems to have helped a lot and her spelling is really improved, but her fluency is still in need of help. She doesn't really like to read and I don't want to force her because I don't want to cause any resistance. Some days, if she is really concentrating, she can read faster, but most days she is still sounding out every sound within a word. I don't know if it sounds silly, but I am really beginning to get worried. I have never taught another child to read and sometimes wonder if maybe its me. I thought this for a long while until now. I am teaching my son this year and he is catching on like he has been reading. He picked up his first book and started reading without me even having to ask. I never taught him anything or went over the sounds with him and he knew exactly what to do at the age of 4. He is coming along just fine, but my daughter is really struggling. The funny part about it is that if I ask her to narrate something or ask her questions pertaining to what she read, she can answer everything in complete sentences. She always knows exactly what she read and her reading comprehension is amazing. What would you do?

My oldest daughter is a Junior in high school this year and is still attemting to master Algebra 1. We used TT all last year. She didn't retain any of it so I hired a tutor to help her over the summer to catch her up. Well, her tutor decided to not show up anymore, no phone call, no email, no nothing ...so I am in a rut! I have looked for another tutor and have found a couple, but no way can I afford $50/session. The TT dvds are not working for her and haven't since the beginning. The tutor has worked with her for weeks and I would say she is understanding a little more, but not enough. She is only half way through the TT book (for the second time) and still confused. I am not good enough with Algebra to help her myself and even if I learned it, she does not want to take the help from me. We really need an outside party of some sort to work with her which is why I was using TT, but that isn't working either. I need an amazing Math program that explains concepts more thoroughly then TT to where a child who has always struggled with Math would understand FINALLY!! I would so appreciate any ideas! Being that she is in 11th this year and only just finishing up Algebra 1, it worries me, but I don't want to push her and kill her self-esteem. She is already down on herself because she struggles with math so much and has since I can remember.

Is there anyone here that has used it and DOESN'T like it? I hear glowing reviews all the time on this board a bout McRuffy Phonics and Math. I am using both with both of my children. It is working wonderfully for my K'er, but not so much my 2nd grader. I think the Math jumps around way too much and takes her way too long to complete. By the time she is done, she is completely frustrated. The only thing it does the same everyday in the 2nd grade book thus far is addition, and now subtraction so plenty of review of that, but everything else seems to skip around. One day we are doing story problems, another day learning time, another day money, another day graphs, another day skip counting by 2's, then another day by 5's. It doesn't stay on anything for any substantial amount of time and causing her to not retain much except for the subraction and addition. Any thoughts on this?

have a question with regard to using MathUSee at the lower level (specifically Alpha and Beta). I have been talking to another homeschool mom and she says she is using a supplement with the program. She is using it alongside Horizons. That seems like an awful lot of math to me for a 2nd grader, or maybe I'm wrong. We used MathUSee last year (Alpha), and are thinking about going back to it, but I never thought you needed another program with it. She says she was told she needed another program with it by other homeschool moms, and I have been told the same thing. I have also been told by the MathUSee rep that it is a complete program. If you use it, what do you do? I am only asking because I would love others opinions about the program and I have been told so many mixed things. I know if I used 2 math programs with my 7 year old, she would be filled with frustration. Thanks! Pam

Maybe I was wrong in calling it "busy work". It is the workbook pages that are required for each lesson. The way it is set up is that they do the same type of "worksheet" each week for each reader. There is a worksheet they have to do for each reader that has a sentence and they have to make "yes" or "no" as to whether it happened in the story or not. Then there are sentences that are in the reader that they have to find in the reader, fill in the blank and mark the page they found it on. It is taking her forever to do these pages because she just doesn't want to do them. If I have her skip the workbook pages, then she really wouldn't have anything to do. The lessons consist of a bit of verbal teaching/instruction, then they do the workbook pages and handwriting workbook.

My head is about to spin off! I was so excited to receive McRuffy Phonics and Math for my K'er and 2nd grader and start using it. Both children loved it when we started it. My K'er is still doing wonderful with the phonics. With Math, I find myself skipping a lot of lessons because it is just too easy for him. Ill start with my 2nd grader because this is really the most important to me at the moment. It is taking us three hours or more to complete Math and Phonics (she is using 1st grade phonics because I felt we needed review so it is definitely not too difficult for her). By the time we finish, my head feels like it is going to spin off. I have a splitting headache today and dread doing schoolwork every morning. I am thinking that McRuffy is way too much busy work. I went and picked up a copy of FLL and WWE and started using those and she is doing WONDERFUL! They are so quick and get done with a SMILE! I spent so much on the McRuffy that I really didn't want to put it aside. I would love to be able to do History, Art and other things, but by the time we have spent four hours doing schoolwork, I am ready for a BREAK! I am really just thinking aloud here because I have a huge headache! :confused: We used Math U See last year and it worked for a while, but then got a little too difficult for her and I felt she needed the repetition, not a mastery program which is why I went to McRuffy. But now the only way she is understanding the McRuffy "busy" work (workbook pages and such) is for me to pull out the Math U See blocks. I even toned down the McRuffy Math today and skipped some things (the response book you do before every lesson and didn't make her do all the skip counting). It still took an hour to complete! When we did Math U See, I don't remember it ever taking more then 30 minutes to complete one full lesson. As far as the phonics goes, she is still not reading very well and the McRuffy phonics readers she absoultely loves! I am ready to scream though because it is taking forever to finish the busy work that is usually the same thing over and over each week. She will say, "ooooooo, not THIS again!" We are only on Lesson 20 and I am already hearing this. By the time we finish with her reading and phonics, she is so burnt out that I can't even get her to read a book to me. She will just get very frustrated and say, "I don't want to do this!" She has learned a lot from the McRuffy and is even getting 100% on her spelling tests which I am very suprised with because she doesn't do very well with spelling. She still can't remember how to spell the word, "was" when she needs to write it in a sentence. I finally told her this morning to just remember that "was" doesn't sound like "was" and sounds like "waaaas" (with a short "a" and "s" like snake). After that she says, "Before we start FLL, I am going to write you a sentence". She writes on her paper, "A boat was sicing." (Sicing is, of course, sinking) :D I think if she was concentrating, it would had been spelled correctly, but I was proud that she wrote "was" correctly and praised her for what she did do correctly. She has been taking the ETC book 2 with her everywhere she goes and has almost finished it in a week. She feels so smart because, of course, the book is way too easy for her and below her level...but, whatever works, right? ;) I just want to scream and don't know what to change! I think my K'er is doing just fine. I dont usually do a full curriculum for K. I usually just review the numbers 1-100, do a bit of addition, work with number lines, practice writing numbers, some work on shapes, etc. I bought a curriculum for him because he was already so far ahead just from sitting around playing listening to me do Math U See last year with my daughter, but now at the K level, it is too easy! :D He is an auditory learner. He learns so much just from listening while doing something else. Usually for K, I will just concentrate on reading, but he picked up a book and just started reading it on his own and pretty much taught himself all his letters and sounds. It is so difficult working with children that are so different, especially when they are working together. I have a 2nd grader getting upset when I write 11 + 2 up on the whiteboard for her to answer me and the K'er is yelling, "its 13!! its 13!!" Ugh! What to do .... I would love any suggestions on what to do with my 2nd grader. As I said, she is doing fabulous with FLL 1&2 and WWE Level 1. FLL is amazing. She is so proud of herself when she is able to memorize a poem and runs around saying it over and over again. What can I add to this if I were to take away the McRuffy Spelling and Phonics? I really didn't want to do this as I spent over $500 on it becuase I ordered two subjects for two children. When I received the 2nd grade, I realized it was going to be too difficult for her so I went back and ordered 1st grade! :eek:

Do you have a link for this?

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who had suggested Notgrass American History last week when I had posted that my daughter was frustrated with LifePacs. We received it a couple days ago and started today. Today was the first day that my teenager daughter sat with me and we read together in a very long time! This is one of the best history programs I have seen in all the years I have been homeschooling. I can't believe I had never checked it out until just last week. I really wish I would had known about it last year. I had already registered my DD for a Intro to Comp and Lit class outside of the home so she will end up with an English credit for that this year as well as an English and American Literature credit for the Notgrass which is fine, but next year I will save my money! :001_smile::001_smile::001_smile: Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. I have finally after 8 years found a History curriclum that fits our family! I love these boards! :grouphug:

:lurk5:

I am using SoS Spanish 1 because I didn't want to spend a lot of money on Spanish. I had already spent so much money on curriculum this year and was over my budget. Someone had suggested the SoS and said they enjoyed it more then Rosetta Stone. I didn't want to spend over $200 so I went with SoS. I am so disappointed! My daughter is doing more screaming at the computer and getting aggravated at the program then she is spending learning anything. I looked over the program and it doesn't seem to go over enough before it gets into pronouns, etc. I remember when I learned Spanish, I learned "a" was feminine and "o" was masculine, etc. How to pair up the two words, etc before ever learning how to speak. It already has her answering questions and pairing up pronouns with the subjects and she is so utterly LOST! Does anyone have any Spanish 1 suggestions??? I am wondering if this program is returnable! :confused: Pam