We started today and we're just pulling the worksheets out as we need them and then filing them. Too much to photocopy (2 books) and I have enough to organise anyway. Thanks heaps for your advise :)

My DS6 and DD5 are spelling really well using AAS especially using the counters to spell out the words first. But . . . After putting the words together or finishing the spelling test, I then get them to read the word list back to me and they don't recognise the words without spelling them out again which they often guess and therefore get wrong. :confused: If you use AAS, do you aim to teach the principles of spelling or do you hope to teach the principles of spelling as well as memorisation of simple words? We are also using Dolch word lists to remember simple words but after 3 weeks both children are still not memorising all of level 1 words. Am I just wasting my time?? Should I just stick to listening to them read and work on AAS?? Thanks in advance for any of your worldly knowledge . . . . :)

We are about to use Saxon Maths for the first time and since I have 4 children, with my eldest starting Saxon, I was wondering if any of you . . a) Buy a new workbook/meeting book per child, and let the child work through the book or . . . . do you take each worksheet out of the book as you work through them and refile in an Arch folder? b) Photocopy the worksheets as you need them so that you use the book as the master copy for younger children. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

I used Reading eggs with my two oldest and they loved it. They get really excited when they finish a lesson and crack open the eggs. They also like the idea of accruing eggs so that they can play games (which are also really good), or playing in other areas of the program. We highly recommend it and will also use it for my 2 youngest. Reading eggs taught my kids to read!!

Can anyone suggest another grammar based program that is a bit more interactive and possibly worksheet based besides FLL????

I was following it page by page but found that the kids were loosing interest due to the repitition and boredom. We have included some worksheets to make it a bit more comprehensive and interesting. I also find through the worksheets that the kids can show me that they have a true understanding of the concepts. http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/ I think FF1 will only take 3 months to get through and then we will move onto FF2 unless we find something better.

We are in Australia and have finished Grade 1 Maths with my DS and we still have 3 mths until the end of year. Do I start Grade 2 early or wait until January next year? I don't want to push him in case he isn't mature to understand the concepts but I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with starting Saxon 2 early. Or, I can just review Grade 1 stuff again (boring!) or, I can just concentrate on all the other subjects (which we will also finish early). I also have a DD ready to start Saxon K and she is definately ready to start or do we wait? What do you do?

I thought you might be interested in a website I found for worksheets. I have been using it to reinforce the FLL program and the worksheets are just what my kids needed. http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/ Enjoy!!

Hi truebluexf - thanks for your reply. We only chose to do the biology as this was in line with the WTM book and also our states curriculum. Year 2 - Earth/Space Year 3 - Chemistry Year 4 - Physics . . . . and then repeat same as history. Is this right or doesn't it work out like this??

We originally chose REAL Science4kids due to recommendations from the WTM Book. We have done the first few lessons and I find it a bit boring and there is a lot of writing for the kids compared to the amount of imput/discussion needed. I could do the writing for the kids but I prefer that they do a bit more than discuss each concept. We are doing the Year 1 Biology. :confused: Has anyone tried both science packages?? I'm thinking of getting the Science Odyssey Ebooks while they are on special as they seem to have some great worksheets. Thanks

Try these worksheets for added enforcement of the concepts. http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/nouns.html I felt that oral wasn't quite enough and my kids don't mind doing worksheets to show their Dad/Granny all the work they've done. :)

Math - Saxon Maths Reading - Red Rocket Readers Spelling - Spelling workout A (I think I stuffed up! I haven't even got the books yet but I've since discovered All About Spelling and I think I'll get and use AAS instead as it seems a lot more structured and complete) Science - REAL Science 4 kids, Pre Biology History - The Story of the World 1 (LOVING IT!!! :thumbup:) Penmanship - Handwriting without tears (True and tested) Art - Meet the Masters (Love it) Music - Recorder and possibly piano later on We also do Book Reviews on all the books I read the children which is mainly copy work but they dictate to me what the story was about, their favourite part etc which helps with their comprension. Hope this helps, but keep in mind I am constantly checking to see if the there are better programs out there especially if the one I have isn't working for my children. :)

I know when ordering for multiple students you have to order multiple Student packs but did anyone find it necessary to also order another set of tiles/magnets? Also, I hope to start each of my children on Level 1 (DS6yrs, DD5yrs) how do you ensure each child gets proper use of the program without teaching the same lesson to each child at different times?? This is why I thought it would also be necessary to ensure each child has their own set of tiles. Did you also order the other set of tiles? I live in Australia and don't what to make another order once I get the intial order just because I didn't get everything I needed. Thanks :)

Mamajo - I see your kids are using AAS how do you find it and does your 6yr old enjoy it??? It looks like a lot of fiddling around with all those tiles.

I thought as much. I had a look at the online samples yesterday and they didn't seem to have as much structure or teach as much as the books seem to. We are also Australian and find some of the American sounds difficult to distinguish when spelling out words. This was the problem with Clicknkids. I think we'll look at the books again. :)

Is anyone out there that has used both online and book formats of ETC?? Thanks . . . . :)

Also, how would Explode the code compare with these two programs? I looked at AAS and Spalding and AAS would suit our family better but I was hoping for some more worksheet type activites, that I thought ETC would provide. I'd be very interested in how this thread will develop. . . . :bigear:

Thanks LillyMama.

What is AAS?? And, is there a place on the forum that lists all the abbreviations?? I'm constantly getting left in the dark. :confused: Thanks

Thanks Heaps Jewel. I have just ordered Spelling Workout A & B, without viewing any sample pages, just going off recommendations from WTM book. Does anyone know if ETC will over ride the Spelling Workout books or are the SW books more spelling/memory based and will still come in useful? Thanks

DS6 and DD5 can both read and read quite well. They started using Reading Eggs and now they just read books that I buy. They use Handwriting without tears and their handwriting is fabulous. My only concern is that my DS is using letter names when he tries to spell out words even though we used letter sounds for all his handwriting stuff and early reading skills. Both children also don't know the 'phonic/spelling rules' like silent 'e' makes the vowel say its name, ph makes the 'ff' sound, ck makes the k sound etc. I point it out when we are reading but I don't think it is enough. Ideally, I'd like the kids to do some worksheets that cover all the 'phonic/spelling rules' to really emphasize their early phonic skills and to make 'spelling out', as they read, easier. I've looked at Explode the code (books, not online) and it looks great! I'm just not sure were the 1/2 books fit in or what the A,B,C books are used for(Are they the reading books??) I'm eager to hear from any thoughts you might have. Thanks heaps. :)

We have read the WTM book and love it, but we're not too sure if grammar is really that necessary to actually assign a curriculum based program or time slot to it. I was very close to buying the FLL, but after reading some of the sample pages. I believe the lessons learnt are gained through reading and every day writing etc and also FLL looked really boring and repetative. We teach our children punctuation as part of their writing/spelling and don't see the need for our children to know whether a word is a noun/verb etc. My DH and I don't use this information for our daily activities and through our discussions, neither of us saw the point of learning it in school. If you have a different opinion I would be interested to read it as we might be missing point as so many of you include grammar in your home schooling. :) By the way we have children going into Gr1 & Gr2.