I have to agree with the recommendations to see SWB, MCT, and Bogart. They were all fantastic. I came away from each of their sessions with a lot of food for thought.

Yea! Any idea if samples will be available to view soon on the website? I was hoping that I could make sure it will work for us before going to conference in March.

Just another vote for MM. It has been a great switch from SM for my dd who needed a little more step by step instruction and additional practice problems.

Don't worry too much - you cover it again in 3A. Maybe by then it will have clicked. I find many times my dd struggles with a concept and then has no problem the next year. It's just so hard to know when to keep trying and when to just let it soak in. I feel your pain.

Yea, I bet it gets a little crazy with big numbers. I haven't seen multiplication in Everyday Math. Do they use this? I don't think I'd use it as a main way to do multiplication, but I think I may use it as a good discussion with my math loving son to see if he can understand the logic behind it. I'm sure he'll love it.

Anyone here taught multiplication like this? Makes a lot of sense, but never thought about doing it this way. Really neat to see it graphically.

We're using the Physics program this year and are enjoying it. At first, there was a lot of complaining about the amount of writing to be done, but once they got the hang of it, they seem fine with it. I love the Experiments for Children book and I guess I'm the only one, but I like the Usborne book. At times it's a little too advanced, but it's nice to have a little more meat and introduction of what's to come in the next go around. It's lead to some good discussions. I'm pretty lukewarm on the the Gadgets and Gizmos book. The experiments seem so time consuming for what is really to be learned, but I do like the historic perspective it gives of different inventors and inventions. Overall, the program seems to be a good fit for us and it's refreshing that our experiments are actually working the way they should. I also love that it's pretty open and go and I'm not having to plan yet another subject. I really think the kids are grasping the concepts well and are relating it to what they see in their own lives daily. So, it's definitely a keeper for us. FYI - I've found that there are The Way Things Work dvds for almost every topic we're covering. It makes a great way to reinforce the topics and have fun at the end the week!

Walmart had their Economy binders (black & white) for $.75 -- cheapest I've seen lately.

Here's the one we made out of ice cream. Was that it? http://www.sd5.k12.mt.us/glaciereft/geoeatk8.htm Jennifer

Thanks for all the suggestions. Looks like I have several to look through. I think they would love the spy one. Maybe I can try doing the read aloud thing again with Across Five Aprils, since you all gave it such good reviews. I just find that we start off great doing the read alouds, then life gets in the way and as it is not my most favorite thing to do we never seem to finish the book. Maybe we'll give it another try. Thanks again for the suggestions. I guess I better get to the library.:001_smile:

Oh, those look good. I didn't even think of Little Women. How battle focused are the last two you mentioned? Is there a lot of fighting and gore? Anyone else have suggestions?

I'm a read aloud drop out. So, in place of that, my twins and I do a mini book club each month. We all read a book separately and then come together to discuss. I would like to find a book for August based on the civil war time period. The kids are very good readers so we can do a more advanced book, however, they're not thrilled with reading about the blood and gore of the war. Any suggestions or favorites I should check out? Thanks so much, Jennifer

Thanks so much for the reply Luvmy3kids. I really like the free aspect of the program too. I'm such a novice at Spanish, but this looks like something my kids and I would enjoy. I guess I'll just have to give it a try. Thanks, Jennifer

Found this sample on and am intrigued. All of their courses are supposedly free. Here's the main site: http://www.spanishdict.com. I'm considering signing up but it sounds too good to be true. Has anyone heard of or used this program? Thanks for any reviews. Jennifer

We've used this site. It has both words and sentences in print and cursive. http://www.schoolexpress.com/fws/cat.php?id=2248 HTH, Jennifer

We're doing the presidents this summer. Each week the kids have seven new presidents to memorize in addition to practicing the ones they have learned the weeks before. They are supposed to practice this list each day. At the end of the summer, they are going to recite the list to their grandparents and dad (I figured that would give them a goal and a way to show off their new knowledge). So far, so good. As we have been lax on memorization to this point, starting next year we are going to try this for all our memory work: http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/ HTH, Jennifer

Have you looked at this general schedule yet from RFWP? http://www.rfwp.com/samples/LA-ELEM.pdf It gives a good idea of the order and rough time each part will take. I'm using this as a basis and going through each book to make more detailed plans. Most everything I researched said to just use a bookmark and break when you wanted; however, I'm not sure that will happen in my house. I need things pretty scheduled or they don't get completed. So, once I get my schedule done we'll start that way and if it doesn't seem to work we'll switch to the bookmark method. I'd be happy to post my schedule once I'm finished, but it may be several more weeks until I have it completed. Jennifer

Like this? http://www.riggsinst.org/28rules.aspx HTH, Jennifer

The advanced search option still uses just the two keywords. And, I would like to be able to find the book or topic I'm searching whether it's in the title or the post itself. So, that isn't quite what I need. The Boolean search on Google looks like it might work. However, when I tried it, I received posts from the entire site (sale board, curric., gen., etc.) and it even included posts that just had the book mentioned at the bottom in the similar topics links. Looks like just as many posts to weed through as the keyword searches here. So, I don't think that's the solution I was looking for. Hmph. I was hoping I was just missing something simple, but sounds like a search like this may not be a possibility here. Anyone else have a solution I'm missing?

How do you search for two terms together when searching the boards? For example, if I want to find the book Geography Through Art, the search engine always seems to return posts that have the very common words geography or art, but not the title exclusively. I've tried quotes, plus signs, looked through the advanced search, but I haven't been able to narrow the search down to just the title I want. I tried to find the answer to this on the How To Board and saw the question asked several times, but couldn't find an answer. I thought maybe someone here would know. TIA, Jennifer

My dd went to a tea party and the craft was a picture frame to which they just applied jewel stickers. During the party, the dressed-up girls had close-up individual pictures taken (there were extra bangles, tiaras, glasses, etc. if they wanted them). The pictures were printed and placed in the frame while the party went on. When the girls left, they received their frame with their picture inside. It's a great reminder of the fun party every time we see it.

Thanks for all the replies. It's nice to hear how well MM is working for some of you who have had the same math struggles I've had. Lynne, good to see you on the board. I may take you up on looking again at RS just to make sure I have really done all the research I can. At this point though, it looks like MM might be the way to go (supplemented with some fact practice and games). I had dd sit down and look at the samples with me and she seemed fine with it. It also helped me see that we are not completely off track as she was able to do most of the 2nd grade problems -- so she must be retaining what we've covered with Singapore. I think maybe just the step-by-step approach of MM will help us not have the frustration that seems to come with each new concept right now. As a side question to those who use MM, what's the most economical way to have a hard copy. I only have an inkjet printer. Is it best to take it to a copy shop? Or, is it better/cheaper to just print the pages she needs as we go? Or, should I just buy the hard copy? What did you do? Thanks again, Jennifer

Thanks for the replies and suggestions so far. I guess I'm leaning more toward MM. But as someone mentioned, my fear is that my dd is going to have the same problems as she did with Singapore. Then again, maybe the step-by-step is what will click with her. With Right Start, every time I look at it I think, "Wow! This is sooo different than the way I learned." But, maybe she needs a completely different method. If it would really ground her number sense I would be willing to try to find the time to implement it. However, sounds like I need to look more closely at the upper levels - that might take it out of the race. I'm feeling pressure to make a good choice up-front because I have a feeling that trial and error with different programs is only going to make her dislike math more. My wish is that she love playing with numbers the way I do, but at this point she is starting to really dislike math. Any other thoughts?

It's time for a change. I have been using Singapore with both my ds and dd for the past 3 years. It has worked great with my natural math thinking ds, but has been very frustrating with my dd. I've tried going more slowly and supplementing with other workbooks for more practice, but she still is struggling with each new concept. I see her biggest problem when we try to go to the mental math. I just don't think she's there quite yet. I'm intrigued with Right Start as I think she is lacking the firm number foundation that that program gives and it would be very visual for her. However, I'll be adding my third child into the mix next year and I'm afraid of taking on anything that's going to take more of my time. I've also been looking at Math Mammoth since I understand it's similar to Singapore, which I've really liked. Does Math Mammoth jump to the conceptual as quickly as Singapore? Are there more practice problems? Please help me decide between RS and MM. Or, is there something else I should research? I've considered doing some form of RS (maybe games) through the summer and then starting something else in the fall. Any thoughts on this? I'm so tired of trying to figure this one out and need some help. I really need to change my dd's math and help her start enjoying it again. Thanks for your help, Jennifer

Yea! I found it. http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=11122