Tracy P, I see that you use CLE and MM. How do you do that, since I am interested in still incorporating some MM (purchased the full set. Not sure if that is the light blue or blue)? Do you primarily use CLE? Thank you both. I will look at 206 and 300.

I am needing a little help deciding where to start my 3rd grader. She has done a little bit of MM 3 this year. I gave her the CLE placement test level 200. She got 47 (55 or higher goes on to level 300) but missed 25 of the total due to having skipped it for never learning it (some geometry, measuring units, lines and angles). So would you say buy all of level 200? She knows adding and subtracting (though could use math fact review). I see parts of level 200 that would be a major review but then parts in the same section we have never focused on. I know also to not stress about levels but will I be able to get her quickly on track to level 300 (like I want her in for 3rd grade)? I will still supplement with MM because I love the mental math part but believe dd needs more spiral.

Thank you, SKL! Finally someone who has BTDT. Your post was helpful. I know I am not crazy and that there is a serious issue here and he will have to deal with it his whole life. Three stomach rolls is not baby fat. :glare: I will work on allowing seconds of only the healthier items, be more encouraging. It would help if my husband or I would encourage walks, etc. I am physically LAZY lately.... I know I need to be a better example. Thank you again.

I will try to keep this short. Background: My husband and I are both overweight. My husband has always been (fat kid) and I gained 70 lbs+ in college and post babies. I am considered a larger boned woman but am tall. My birth mom is thin. Don't know about birth dad...assuming he is built larger. My husband's family has what I call the "fat gene." Just fatties. :001_smile: I have one son, 6yo, that is built quite largely. My daughter thankfully is thin and looks like my 4yo will be that way also. The 2yo may have the same issues as the 6yo. Can you follow that? Anyways, my point is, my husband and I actually eat fairly healthy, feed the kids healthy, etc. We have to sit back and watch while friends (all good, normal if not skinny sizes) feed their kids goldfish, graham crackers, carbs and more carbs along with constantly having juice. My kids are not given juice, never were, although do have it once in awhile as to not make forbidden foods. But, they snack on veggies, fruit, peanuts, etc. I didn't actually get to my point yet...I knew this would be long, sorry. Hard to explain. Well, my son looks large and overweight to me. He has stomach rolls, etc. We limit tv, they play outside, etc. None of that is the problem. Yes, he definitely could get more exercise. He can eat more than me! He always wants seconds and thirds, etc. He scares my husband and I. So many people say don't worry about it. Well, we do. I won't make him "diet" but I want him to maintain a healthy diet and learn self-control. He is like my husband and I, hard to say no to that 2nd cookie, where my daughter just isn't interested in another cookie. I am told boys eat a lot, etc. The people I talk to have had chunky little kids that grow up to be tall skinny teens. Or, there are chunky kids with really skinny parents and you know that these kids will grow up and be thin. So I am looking for input on how to best monitor my son's eating without making him more obsessive or wanting to steal food or having him worry about his weight. Any advice? I am sorry this was so long-winded. I have talked to a nutritionist who basically is like, let him eat what he wants (of normal foods, not junk food) and don't control his portions, etc. Well, he would just majorly overeat every time!! And generally it would be on the carb portion, like the rice or whole wheat pasta, etc. Thanks for listening.. :)

Good stuff. Thanks for the help. The bottom line is I can't look at a program and answer half the questions Spy Car mentioned. They are excellent things to ask and look at, but some things are hard to determine with my non-math brain. You know? I also can't tell if Saxon or MM will help my student to excel in high school and onward. Or if CLE and Singapore will do the opposite. Or if it really just depends on the learner. Seems like some people just excel at math, some get through it and are OK and some just are terrible. Does it have to do with the learning only? It seems that it would vary for individuals. I know many who have used Saxon and some are terrible at math and some are excellent. I am sure the same can be said for CLE or MM, etc. I don't think necessarily one program is better than the other. I just think it depends on how your student learns and what method works best. I know that already in using MM that the way my daughter is being taught makes sense and I love learning the methods along with her. Fascinating. But this doesn't convince me that a solid program like CLE would cause one to struggle with math or not do well with math facts, etc. Do I even make sense? I don't really know what I am talking about...:tongue_smilie: Just couldn't figure out how some know that dd 1 needs spiral and dd 2 needs mastery, etc. I can't tell and my daughter is in 3rd grade. Anyways, thanks for the input. :001_smile:

There are a lot of posts on spiral vs mastery. Looks like which approach to use depends on learning style for each child. So how can I tell? I have a 3rd grader and should know what may work best. She uses MM but sometimes I think she would do better with CLE. What questions does one ask or what do you evaluate to determine what would work best? DD is easily bored and slow with her math. She kind of gets the mental math part (so different from how I learned math). How do I know she wouldn't be bored and slow with CLE? Trial and error? Thanks.

So how do you know if your child would do better with spiral or mastery?

Thank you! I will look into getting Reading Pathways for now. I don't have much time for extra games, etc. I think Reading Pathways will be just the extra bit I am looking for!

Thanks! Very helpful. My daughter seems bored and takes about 1 hour to do 1-2 pages of MM. She just slowly works along. She is pretty good at addition but struggling with subtraction. I loved MM last year. It really seemed to work well for her but this year it is not going so well. I have wanted to get CLE to at least look at but have wanted to stick with the mental math. I also purchased the whole set of MM. I fear my 1st grader isn't going to do so well with it. We will see! Something really attracts me to CLE. :tongue_smilie:

What are the main differences in approach? Has anyone switched from MM to CLE or vice versa? What would be the main differences I would see in outcome when they complete math in high school? Thanks for any input or any links to previous posts on this topic. Oh, also what type of learner does CLE work best for or MM?

Wondering if anyone that uses Phonics Pathways also uses Reading Pathways and/or the newer Boosters book. Which one, if any, do you like best? One is pyramids to practice and the other games? Is that right? Thanks for any input.

If you are overweight...have you every successfully lost weight while pregnant? I generally do not gain weight, at least not in the beginning due to sickness and have read larger women generally don't gain a bunch like "others." :001_smile: I do gain at least 10 lbs total and seem to gain another 10 after!!! I gain weight after!! While all my friends with normal bodies say how great breastfeeding is (which I do) because they lose all the weight they gained. Ugh. Anyways, wondering if anyone has tried and successfully lost weight while pregnant. I don't need lectures about how it is bad for the baby. I mean eating very healthy, no junk, no white sugar, no white flour, moderate portions....could I still lost weight like I would if I were not pregnant? (hypothetically speaking..) The best thing is that I do not crave chocolate until the very end. I am a chocoholic!! So I have hope? Input would be helpful. I will talk to my doctor, too.

:iagree: My daughter just recently had her ballet recital. The ballet parts of the entire show were just beautiful...classic ballet. Some of the little girls doing "other" dance were actually kind of disgusting and sexual with their little moves (and I don't turn everything into sexual....it is just a plain fact). One boy was in one of the classes and he was definitely made the "pimp" of the show. Gross. They were all under 8! I say if ballet is immodest then at least be consistent and have swimming suit be immodest. I hate that inconsistency! If swim suits are appropriate at the beach then leotards/tights are appropriate for ballet. I think a family like the Duggars would wear "other" forms of swim suits or not go to the beach at all. I don't know...just comparing them to some extra conservatives I know (I am conservative in my modesty views but not extra....:D). I do think the context matters. I will not hand my boys a porn magazine but nudity in art books should be dealt with maturely. Have not completely worked that one through but had no problem showing my daughter the David statue at one of our cemeteries here. (maybe I should have....:confused:)

:iagree: We were posting at the same time!

Sorry, should have read your post more carefully. Sounds like your baby has a great appetite and I would not hesitate too much. I definitely would give yogurt and cheese. I forgot, double check online, but I think that the white part of the egg is OK? Or the yellow? One of them!! :D You could try berries and nothing else new that day and see how he does. I only found problems with strawberries not blueberries. Have no idea about fish! Probably good for them. :001_smile:

I haven't read all the posts but yogurt and cheese do not count as the "dairy" infants should not have as far as I know. There is a difference with the way they are processed. It is recommended that cow milk should be started later (after 12 months). I didn't do milk but they all were still breastfeeding so had no need to. Yogurt and cheese were absolute favorite foods. I did no solids until they were sitting, had teeth, grabbing for food on their own. Then they ate what we ate with exception to peanut butter and honey (and onions made them gassy). Not everyone waits on those. Peanuts seem to be the big one and honey supposedly causes botulism (though friends gave it to their kids before the magic 12 months and they lived). I do think family history matters with foods, etc. For the early months (9 months) I would slowly start table foods to kind of monitor how they would do (if the food caused a diaper rash, etc). Like bananas, avocados, etc. Strawberries hurt their bums. :tongue_smilie: Do what you think is best! Lots of mixed advice out there. Or find a good source (friend, doctor, website that you trust) that you will follow some guidelines.

I didn't mean trendy in a bad way. Just seems like the new problem everyone is getting diagnosed with. A real problem, ya know. Just wondering what it is in our diets/bodies where we can't handle gluten. Or it has always been a problem and just now there is a diagnosis? The major bowel issue symptoms are what I think of when I hear about Celiacs. I just have a distended stomach, etc. I guess the test won't hurt and then giving it a trial to see how I feel. I don't have psoriasis but I do have major overall itching. :glare:

Anyone on a gluten free diet? What were the symptoms you were having and then decided to go gluten free? Did it help? Does it seem trendy to you? Seems like a lot of people eating gluten free. Why is that? My symptoms are simply a swollen/distended upper abdomen. My doctor is sending me for a blood test to see if it is a possibility. None of the bowel issues, etc. Couldn't one just do a low carb diet vs eating gluten free bread, gluten free brownies, etc?

Oh I would love to shop only at TJs and Whole Foods! You buy your meat there? I spend about the same amount going to TJs but get less food and usually no meat. :glare: But I love those stores!!

Sorry. I don't know what you mean. I just wanted to see some comparisons on how I was doing. $200 seems a lot for me to budget. We have gone out to eat a lot and those weeks still spend about 100-150 on groceries. So, if I plan well I hope to stop going out to eat and save there. I just am trying to work on a budget but have no idea how to figure out budgeting diapers, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. I buy that stuff as needed. :tongue_smilie:

Classically Cursive for my 3rd grader.

We are a family of 6, with 4 little ones, that do consume a good amount of food (especially fruit). We spend between 150 and 200 a week on food. If I plan well we have a nice dinner every night and do OK with breakfasts and lunch. So, does anyone want to tell me if I am spending way too much?!! Want to share what your average is? This does include random toilet paper, cleaners, etc. but does not include toiletries/diapers, etc. Grocery shopping frustrates me!!! So much!! Food is expensive and fruit/veggies are at an ultimate low in quality. My green peppers have no taste, my peaches rot the next day after purchasing them (going from hard at the store..??) and tomatoes disgust me, etc., etc. One week I came home with moldy cheese and moldy bread! I rotate stores, too, so it is not just one store. Thanks for listening to my tangent. Soooo...anyone?

Is there a website you recommend for how to juice? What to juice, etc? Also what juicer to buy. Sounds interesting. I need to do something. I feel horrible all the time. I would like to start by eliminating bad carbs (white flour, white sugar, etc..). Juicing sounds interesting. I would like to hear more about it. I think I could do it for 10 days!! Maybe...:glare: I love my coffee though. Would it not work to have coffee during that time? Then what do you do after 10 days?

I hear you! I feel so sick and have all these different health issues....and I know what to eat and what not to eat! Yet, I can't lose weight. :glare: I want to give up white sugar and white flour and can't even do that! I think it is laziness for me, not making effort to control myself more. A good book I read is this book. But, I feel the same as you. Do you have a lot to lose or are you "normal" size and just don't want to continue gaining? I have about 80 pounds that need to go. It stinks.

I just got my Spelling Power in the mail and was able to watch the Quick Start DVD but cannot get the CD-ROM to work. I must have misread somewhere that I could use it on a MAC? Shoot! I will email the company and see what they say. Does the CD have all the printable sheets you need? Ugh. Thanks for listening to me vent.