@PeterPan oh yes! Google Searches are my lifeline. .... and I really treasure your posts through the years! (thanks!). But I'm looking for a private place to post stuff and ask questions of the hive about my learner. I want the help of the hive ... without the public aspect. I don't want my posts subjected to a google site search. *wink*

OP here - is there anything for discussing younger kiddos? or a place to share your journey and experiences as the parent/teacher?

Is there a club/social group for Learning Challenges that is private?

I've used 1st edition A-E and 2nd edition A-C. We are currently using 2nd edition D & F. I think you'd be ok with either edition. But let me preface my opinions by saying that I never had any issues with the layout of 1st edition, I have no issues with the idea of accelerating/decelerating a lesson to meet my student's needs, I have no issues if I don't finish a level in one school year, and I don't have any issues understanding the instructions in the game books; so maybe I am an abnormal user of RS. For me, the biggest advantage to using 2nd edition is that it explicitly tells me to play the games. It's part of the lesson before the Conclusion. In 1st edition, you had to schedule which game to play when, and I ended up rarely playing games. It worked out ok for my student until it came to the multiplication facts. But I just took a break and worked through the games book on multiplication. I did notice that some topics were pulled in earlier in the 2nd edition (which is probably what Kiara.I noticed), but it's not like it was in the "wrong" place in 1st edition. It was mostly introductory multiplication/arrays stuff. I don't know that the 2nd edition takes you *deeper* in the material, but perhaps a bit *wider*. However my gut feeling is that the width you gain is an the expense of depth. Remember that 2nd edition was planned to stretch from A-F with 140 lessons in each level (except A). However 1st edition got 80-90% of that same material done in only 5 levels (A-E). 2nd edition definitely has more review lessons built into it than 1st edition, IMO. And I think RS2 lessons last shorter than RS1 lessons. To answer your questions specifically .... RS2 isn't any easier to implement than RS1 for me. (Now one could debate whether the ease comes from the 2nd edition changes or just from familiarity with the program, but you'd be in the same boat.) I don't think you'd be missing anything of consequence by switching to RS2. Especially if you're familiar with the RS-way and the games, I have confidence that you could teach through any gaps you might find. Plus if your plan is to move to BA, then I assume your DD can pick up math concepts pretty easily. You could always call the RS office and get their official opinion though. Regarding acceleration ... similar to ease of implementation, I think the ease of accelerating the material is more dependent on *your* familiarity and confidence in the RS way rather than an edition change. As a 2nd time teacher, you know what's important and what's less important (like in 1st edition level A and the kid had to identify the number of claps....pffffft. I can't believe I spent so much time and energy trying to get that to work. *roll eyes*. It wasn't in 2nd edition. :P) If you let money play into your decision, then 1st edition books are a bargain since the demand is for the 2nd edition. Additionally you'd need less manipulatives for 1st ed B than 2nd ed B. However, the resale of 2nd ed Manuals is soooo much better than 1st edition. So - I'm very happy with my experience with 1st edition. Switching to the 2nd edition for my other children is good for me because it's one less thing to think about (which game to play when) and I hope to resell it .... eventually ... for more than $5-10.

I once had an issue with a product that I bought from them, but they resolved it fairly and in a timely manner. I will still buy from them, and I prefer them over Better World Books. I know that they both have a lot of ex-library books so I lower my expectations on their condition grading accordingly. If I'm looking for something in Pristine used condition - they aren't necessarily my first choice.

Familiarity, perhaps? Most of the curriculum is created by homeschool moms who probably don't have a lot of extra time to research other cultures. But, hey, I'd be interested in using a multi-cultural, CM, all-in-one LA curriculum! << As I type that, I'm thinking that we might, just might, be venturing into a niche market. ? If you *did* put together your own compilation, maybe you could collaborate with another mama or two, and publish it as a blog along the lines of "Hey, folks! This is what we did when we wanted a more diverse CM, LA curriculum but found none." It wouldn't be in one, bound volume, but it'd be all in one central place. Again ... just an idea.

@Targhee I always thought that one reason that those CM-style LA books chose "old stuff" was because of copyright issues. So I'm guessing that you'd be hard-pressed to find something more modern. Nothing comes to *my* mind. And while you'd be able to do it for your youngest, if you try to distribute it, you'd run into the same copyright issues. Just my 2 cents ...

Are you using the same kinda of seed as last year? What kind of birds did you get last year? Are the seeds too big for the openings? Or is it clogged? (If it got wet, it could have clumped up too.) Are there lots of other feeders in your neighborhood from which the birds are partaking? Their natural food supply is probably increasing too, so they may not be as interested in finding new, artificial sources of food at this time of the year. Could your inside movement and noise be greater than last year, thus making the spot feel less safe to the birds?

At the top of the page, right hand corner, click on your user name. A drop down box will appear. Choose the "Account Settings" option. On the page that results, there are some options on the left hand side; "Signature" is one of those options.

@SusanC I just found the filter setting "Read Status" at the top of an activity stream page. Choose the "Everything" option instead of "unread". I think that will make it like the old forums?!?!?!

The dot precedes the first word of the title of the thread when you view a listing of threads. If it's not there, maybe hover and see if it appears? People have reported that the heart may have an invisibility cloak, and I noticed that the "Report this" link is invisible until I hover over it once. *shrug* If you're inside a thread already, I haven't found a "last read post" link like the old forums. I agree with you that that is annoying.

Is this the post you're thinking about?

Here are several workarounds, I've recently discovered .... .... too much whitespace? I've found that "zooming out" is easier on my eyes and keeps the text closer together. (You can do this by going to the Browser menu bar and selecting "view", "zoom out".). It also helps with lists of thread titles so that more are on a screen at a time and I don't have to scroll as much. .... numbered posts? While posts are not visibly numbered, they are uniquely numbered. You can get a link to a specific, individual post by clicking on the symbol in the top right hand corner of each posts or by saving the link that's behind the post's "timestamp." It won't help you get a feel for where you are in the thread, but if you wanted to save a specific post or refer to a specific post, this will help that situation.

While the posts aren't visibly numbered within the thread, you can save a link to a specific post in your OneNote document instead. At the very top, right hand corner of each post, beside the "Report this" is an icon that looks similar to a "less than" symbol. That will open up a popup window with a link to the specific post. Copy that & paste it into your OneNote document. Edited to add: Alternatively you could save the link that's behind the "time stamp" on each post.

I've started opening links in a new tab a lot more with the new format. So, I'll be reading through my list and right clicking & opening in new tabs all the threads of interest. Then once I'm at the bottom of the list, I tackle my newly opened tabs.

online? DH got some from readingglasses.com

@Ms BrooksI've been able to view items when I click on their pictures under the "What's New" grouping (which is located below the classified-board listing w/ "root" "for sale" and whatnot).

Level G is written to the student, and any questions that the student has can be directed to the customer service line for help. There's also an online class for G. Did you know, too, that they are doing a 2nd edition G ... and H? It will be a revision of the current G, 1st edition ... and broken into 2 books.

Yes. There’s a toggle switch to “view signatures” in the same page where you go to create your own signature.

If you wanted a finite number of pages, you could filter the "unread content" to a different "time period". I'm guessing the default is "365 days", but there's an option for "since last visit". It still doesn't number the pages, but the end of the list is sooner.

... bumping for the nighttime crowd ....

Also - you can access “unread content” through the tab labeled “Activity”. You can set some default preferences too ... and possibly set your personal streams. I haven’t played around with that ... yet.

I don't think new ads are being created. Ones are expiring, but I don't see any new ads. When they put the new forums online again, they said that the classifieds and the search function were *not* functioning;, I haven't see an announcement that they were going again. In the meantime, have you tried advertising on homeschoolclassifieds.com or a Facebook group?

Has anyone done more than one "stage" of Killgallon (say Elementary and Middle School)? If so, is there a big difference between the two (other than sample of a more mature nature)? We've completed the elementary books, and now I'm wondering how much more the Middle School books will add.

You have one like mine, too! I chose to stick with RS A and use a lot of suggestions from here: http://whatwordscannotexpress.weebly.com/blog/helping-a-struggling-learner-using-rightstart-math-level-a-adaptations-gathered-by-a-homeschool-mom I did end up sticking with Ronit Bird's dot patterns that resembled Dice. For some reason a linear arrangement of dots/beads ... or even fingers ... was a stumbling block, but if I arranged five like the 5 dots on a dice - boom - subitization! Playing Tenzi was a hit here that helped with some of that subitization. Playing Uno helped with recognizing the numerals. And the Abacus War game suggested in that website was an opportunity to put it all together, albeit at a very slow pace. Edited to Add: I think some of my kiddo's problem was with the language/recall aspect, not necessarily with the mathematical concepts. Hugs! It's very frustrating, I know!