:lurk5:

Thanks for that thorough review. If you have seen or used Primary Language Lessons (by Serl), how does EFTTC compare?

It seems to be a little bit overboard on the the LA. Copywork can function as both spelling and handwriting practice. You could also use your phonics program for spelling as well. Of course, you know what is best for your own child, but . . . Like others have mentioned, I would use Sonlight's book list as a source of reading material. I find that my children's retention is much better with higher quality (but on an appropriate reading level) books than with some other material. Have you used narration before to help with retention? Simply having the child tell back what happened in the story. Start with one paragraph at time, then increase to a page or two, until child can tell back significant portions of what was just read. In my family, this age (9) seems more challenging than other years. My dd is 9.75 (plus I have older and youngers, and she definitely requires the most attention). Good luck.

What we did when by dd (now in grade 4) was in Grade 2, was a combination of phonics, real books with narration and discussion, and reading her written summaries. Also she was required to read aloud for 10-15 minutes a day. Phonics Pathways - 1 or 2 pages 2x week, mostly to make sure we covered everything, and we skipped lots of pages if I determined the words on those pages were sufficiently known. Read real stories to her - next day, summarize story together, Mom write on board, dd read and copy. Daily oral narration and discussion of assigned reading. Lots and lots and lots of books and time to read them in also helps.

We have the first two books and I think they are terrific. There is some controversy over her worldview, as well as the fact that some consider her pages cluttered. That being said, we love both the science and US history series.

My method is to just spell as much of the word as I think they need. Sometimes that might be the entire word, sometimes it is just the "tricky" part, and sometimes, after "sounding it out", I don't need to spell any of it. This is especially true if the focus of the assignment is composition, journalling, narration, etc.

Yes, it is excellent.

Penny Gardner's website has a fantastic selection of living science and math books. http://www.pennygardner.com/sciencebks.html http://www.pennygardner.com/mathclassics.html http://www.living-science.net/2010/01/living-science-booklists-updated-dec-1.html

It is important that we remember that we are teaching so that the child truly understands, not whether or not we get through a particular book or program by a pre-determined date. And young children do learn best with concrete objects and meaningful objectives.

Well that really throws a monkey wrench into my decision-making [tutorials not classes]. Our experience with 6th grade science was as you mentioned, log on, do work, take quiz, call teacher, take test, move on. No real teaching, just a textbook online. The content was ok, but I was not impressed with the delivery. I am willing to do that for selected subjects, but not one in which I expect him to actually learn something. We may have to just bite the bullet and buy MP First Forms Latin. Thanks again for everyone's insight.

:iagree:

MIT has a number of high school level courses that have been extremely engaging. They also have over 2000 college level classes in their open courseware division. http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm Also there is http://www.academicearth.org, as well as try googling opencourseware, many universities are putting courses online, available to the public. See also high school distance learning at hoagies.com -- http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/online_hs.htm HTH

Thanks, Lisa, It is encouraging to hear about such a positive experience.

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with FLVS in general, and Latin in particular. We had taken a class a few years ago, not too impressed (6th grade science), but currently need to incorporate some inexpensive hands-off material into our days. Any thoughts positive or negative would be appreciated. Thanks.

I would just encourage you in your homeschooling journey/adventure. Homeschooling absolutely can be done on a low budget, even a very low one. The cost is obviously in your time. And, as everyone else has mentioned, your library will become your new best friend. Please also search for posts on this board regarding free homeschooling, there are lots. One thread here has over 100 listings of free sites. A site that I use for ideas is http://www.freelyeducate.com, they compile and describe various free, high quality, educational resources. It is worth taking a look. Also, I would spend money on art supplies, games, science stuff, hands-on material, and used books (library sales and yard sales are excellent sources). IMO those provide much more bang for the buck than a shelf full of workbooks and unused TM. But do check these boards, ebay and other yahoo groups, for whatever you are looking for, as people are regularly selling all types of resources. I just purchased all 6 Miquon math books (3 years of math) for $20. I might also suggest a whiteboard or chalkboard, we do a lot of work on these, eliminating the need to print out some material. If, as you mentioned, are looking at Sonlight, then perhaps something like AmblesideOnline or MaterAmabilis would appeal to you as well. These are Charlotte Mason based sites that map out schedules using material and resources that can be inexpensive or free to obtain. But again, as others mentioned, SL can be done inexpensively. I would just plan out a year or two of what your GOALS are, not what curriculum is everyone using for xyz. Then, determine whether it is feasible and efficient and effective to do this without a curriculum. Many times the answer will be yes. Please repost as there are many here willing to help.

We have followed a mostly non-curricula based route with respect to grammar in the younger years ala CM and Waldorf. We used FLL for a few lessons, but stopped as it became somewhat dry. I did, however, use it as reference. What did work (for us) was using a combination of Grammarland by Nesbit, Ruth Heller books, and Brian Cleary series, and inspiration from Elizabeth Foss's Serendipity blog. Our focus during the k-2 years, like others have said, is really firming up the children's phonics, reading and handwriting. The composition element has mostly been through narrations (oral at first), then jointly (me and child) composed summaries. It has worked for us. Also my children like to do Madlibs, so we just keep a bunch around to do as a free time activity.

1. I have not used any of the other LA programs you mentioned, therefore could not make a comparison. 2. Why I love the MCT program is much easier to answer. Like other posters have stated, I also believe the MCT LA program is one of the few that promote a love of the language, that discusses the beauty of words, that really integrates language into a person's whole being. As far as concrete examples, just yesterday my 2 older children were making jokes, while on a field trip, about some of the stem words learned a few weeks ago. I am using new vocabulary words myself. My 13 yo asks to do Grammar. But more than anything, this program has enhanced our family's relationship in creating shared experiences. And MCT LA also provides through LA instruction to boot! 3. I would start your dd at the beginning, you can always race through. 4. Negatives, we started at too high of a level (AAW) for my 13 yo and had to drop back to firm up his foundation in writing. We are supplementing MCT with IEW for composition. Good luck in your decision making.

It seems to be fixed now, as I was also getting the error message earlier.

What about adding in some games to help cement the add/subtraction facts? Easy games such as war, or make 10. Peggy Kaye's book Games for Math and Games for Learning are fantastic resources. There are also gazillion online (fun) math drill sites, ask if you want suggestions. Perhaps she just needs more consistent practice with the facts, like 10 minutes a day, every day. Or speed drills. Try reciting facts while walking, some kids (mine included) have needed to jump on the mini-trampoline to learn multiplication facts. You could have her make number facts triangles -- cut piece of paper into triangle shape and write a number in each corner (i.e. 5, 2, 3) then place the appropriate sign in between the numbers. Or just posting the facts on the wall. Does she respond to songs, MUS does sell a CD with number fact songs, there other others out there as well. I would just try a multi-pronged approach until you learn how she best responds. Regarding place value, I strongly suggest using manipulatives. MUS may be the easiest to jump into. It provides some great teaching advice. (I like Miquon better for more concrete, conceptual learning, but it does take some getting used to). You could even make some manipulatives until you figure out how to proceed. Singapore uses number disks (lots of circles with different place values on each, i.e. one, ten, hundred, thousand). Then show child how to make 2003 -- 2 thousand disks, no hundreds, no tens, 3 ones disk. Practice large numbers as it relates to the Census (maybe just using numbers that are real to her, how many kids in her class, school, town) Also the National Virtual Library of Manipulatives has an interactive place value lesson that your dd may benefit from. And, of course, there are the Math Start series that she might benefit from. HTH

I received some unexpected money and will be placing another order with RFWP. I have MCT LA and love it, but am looking for non-MCT LA ideas. Any suggestions? Thanks.

What about the Teaching Co.'s math series? You could dd start with the High School Basic Math course. Perhaps she will respond differently to a highly engaging teacher. Or what about it Math, Philosophy and the Real World, or the Joy of Math, or even the Joy of Thinking. Some libraries carry the DVDs, and all of the dvds go on sale from time to time, so don't be alarmed by the non-sale price. Your dd may simply be bored to tears with her previous math books, as well as the way in which it has been taught. She may not realize that math can be relevant to her life, exciting, and hopefully, something worth learning. It may be easier for her to go back and "learn" this material if she sees the need to learn it other than "because you have to". Another option, have her try watching open courseware classes from places like MIT or Stanford -- these are free, college level courses -- and pick something really exciting. Once your dd is engaged and interested, it will be relatively easy to go back and learn the facts.

You can buy the whole shebang from http://www.currclick.com, including First Grade Diary, as an instant download.

I much prefer Family Math, even though I own both. I have had 3 children under 4 when purchasing FM for Young Children, but it really doesn't get used that much. And now none of them are under 4. It is easy to adapt the FM to younger kids. Math for the Very Young is also a very good book for this age group. Mathematics Their Way is also great, the book may be out of print, but many of their resources are available at their website (which I would have to look up) for free. -- look under the newsletter section. HTH

One of the best parts of our hs day is doing MCT on the couch, with my 13 yo boy on one side and my 9 yo daughter on the other.

I think MEP can be deceptive, in that in may appear to be easy. It begins that way, but quickly leads to challenging and thought provoking problems. I have used it with both math-bright and math-average children, and have been especially pleased with the problem solving strategies and different ways of thinking required, particularly with a child that doesn't "get it" right away. I have seen tremendous improvement and confidence as a result of using MEP.