Thanks so much. I was going back and forth. Odds and evens and doing the tests are good ideas.

My 7th grade dd is finishing the 5th grade Rod and Staff math. It takes her a while to understand math, and she has worked hard and is looking forward to moving up to the next book. We have been moving at a slow pace, but I make sure she understands before we move on to the next chapters. Well, I have the 6th grade books ready to go, but as I was pre-viewing the 6th grade, most of the content was very similar to the 5th grade. New topics include generally, place value into the trillions (chapter 1), more work with percents (chapter 9), expense record and calculating interest (chapter 10), geometry-incl. circumference of circle, volume, area of triangle. I realize the R&S builds in tons of practice and review into their curriculum (one of the things that I like about it). In the past, I have reviewed the early chapters quickly, have her do the review chapter, then take the test, and move on to the newer topics and later chapters. However, the 6th grade book looks so similar, I'm wondering if I can skip it (or most of it) and move on to the 7th grade book. On another note, my dd may be a little more encouraged to be only a year or so behind rather that 1 and a half years behind. Just thinking out loud. Any advice would be appreciated.

My 7th grade dd is finishing the 5th grade Rod and Staff math. It takes her a while to understand math, and she has worked hard and is looking forward to moving up to the next book. We have been moving at a slow pace, but I make sure she understands before we move on to the next chapters. Well, I have the 6th grade books ready to go, but as I was pre-viewing the 6th grade, most of the content was very similar to the 5th grade. New topics include generally, place value into the trillions (chapter 1), more work with percents (chapter 9), expense record and calculating interest (chapter 10), geometry-incl. circumference of circle, volume, area of triangle. I realize the R&S builds in tons of practice and review into their curriculum (one of the things that I like about it). In the past, I have reviewed the early chapters quickly, have her do the review chapter, then take the test, and move on to the newer topics and later chapters. However, the 6th grade book looks so similar, I'm wondering if I can skip it (or most of it) and move on to the 7th grade book. On another note, my dd may be a little more encouraged to be only a year or so behind rather that 1 and a half years behind. Just thinking out loud. Any advice would be appreciated.

I have used Rod and Staff math for 1st and 2nd grade and my daughter has really learned her addition facts. She really needed the simplicity and mastery approach of R&S. I am looking forward to using 3rd grade and working on multiplication I have a copy of the text books (teacher's manual and student text) and was reading to prepare for next year. My question is: I don't understand how to make math the multiplication chart with the sea animals and how exactly it is supposed to be used. Do you write the facts on the animals? Does anyone have a picture or a description of how this is used? We had great success with the ducks/pond for 1st grade and the boats and flowers for 2nd grade, but I have no idea what to do with the different sea animals. I get that they represent each table, but what do you do with them? Thanks for any advice you can give:001_smile: Thanks!

What do you think was the major difference. I understand that R&S 9 &10 supposedly focuses more on composition, but if she is getting that through IEW or something else, does she really need more. I'm going to a homeschooling convention this weekend and I'll get a chance to look at it. Just wondering. Do you recommend any grammar review for 9th grade?

My 8th grade daughter is finishing R&S 7th grade english. SHe is a very good writer and generally very good in grammar. I had her do 7th grade english again this year more because of some family disruptions last year. My question is: should I put her in 8th grade En. or skip to 9th grd Eng for next year? Is there a big difference between the two? Is there enough review in the 9th grade of the 8th grade presented material. She has always scored in the high 90's percentile in standardized testing and she will be doing alot of writing in other subjects next year. Just wondering should I just proceed to book 8 and do 9th and 10th in 10th and 11th grade?

Thank you all so much. I was starting to worry. Do I need to do anything special that is helpful or necessary to assisting my son in making the transition? Any handwriting programs that deal with this issue in particular?

My 5 year old son ( turned 5 in December), if given a piece a paper without any instruction, in writing his name or (his attempts at writing letters together to make words) will begin on the right side of the paper and write the letters from right to left, also reversing the letters (e.g., caasI) also reversing the "c" "a's" and the "s." We've be going through Teach YOu Child to Read in 100 EZ lessons and most of the time he sounds out the words from left to right but sometimes he omits the leftmost sound and needs to be reminded to include that sound. But mainly I think this is a writing issue. When I point to or remind him to start on the left side I writes correctly and does not reverse his letters (usually). Is this dyslexia or more of a left handed issue? He is my 4th child and my only lefty. Thanks!

Maybe I'm just making much ado about nothing. I'm OK with Saxon in general and especially for algebra. I'm just concerned about geometry, i.e., will dd have enough geometry to do well on standardized testing if we follow the sequence we are on in Saxon. The WTM book (I have an older edition...the 2nd I think.) recommends using some other curriculum for geometry (like MUS other summer) and squeezing it in somewhere. Just wondering :001_smile:

My daughter is in 8th grade and using Saxon's Algebra 1/2. I was going to start Algebra I in 9th grade. I was reading WTM and now I'm worried that if we continue with Saxon's schedule, my daughter will not have complete geometry instruction in time to begin SAT/ACT testing in 10th or 11th grade. I believe the book suggested doing MUS geometry over the summer before 10th grade (or something like that). I was later told that Algebra 8/7 is very similar to Algebra 1/2 so, I could have had my daughter go on to Algebra I for 8th grade, but that's water under the bridge now and personally, I think an extra year of reinforcement would be helpful for my daughter. QUestion: How should I handle geometry? Had it in during the school year; do it over the summer? What curriculum is good for geometry? I was good in geometry in high school 29 years ago, but not so great in algebra, so I'm gun-shy about cutting her algebra instruction. Please help!!

Maybe I am just worrying. I used Horizons with a little MUS for math for my two older children. They did find. My younger daughter started having difficulty moving at the faster pace of Horizons K about 2/3 the way through the 2nd book, so we dropped it and just did some reinforcing worksheets and light storebook Kindergarten books to complete second grade. She had trouble learning her math facts and doing addition and subtraction without the number line to aid her. THe number line was helpful in her seeing that adding makes the number the same (with 0) of larger and conversely with subtraction the number stays the same or gets smaller. But she was not memorizing her facts. She also had trouble counting different coins. For first grade I turned to Rod & Staff math; she's learning her facts and really understood how to count different coins. I like Rod & Staff very much, and it seems to give the practice and drill she needs. The diverse exposure/spiral approach of Horizon (also a great curriculum) didn't seem to be allow her to retain. I like the slower but thorough pace, but sometimes I worry if she should be doing the things that my older children were doing and being exposed to the concepts to which they were exposed in 2nd grade with Horizons. Especially considering that this year she will have to do her first standardized testing. Am I worrying for nothing?

Thanks everyone! Those are great links. I will be using them!:001_smile:

I have these two books and would love to use them but haven't found a way that worked for us. Has anyone used them in a notebooking sort of way or some other way. Or in others words, has anyone taught Latin/Greek roots and derivative words in a 'none workbook' way. I like Vocabulary from Classical Roots, but money is really tight this year, and I would like to use what I already have. My kids have played Rummy Roots and that has helped them learn roots, but I would like them to have something a little more structured and a way to document that they have learned Latin and Greek roots and common derivations----even as simple as a matching quiz or something. We got alot of composition notebooks when they were on sale for .10 at Staples, so that's why I was thinking about a notebook, Charlotte Mason sort of thing! :bigear:

I used 100EZ Lessons with my three children and it got my oldest two reading independently well before the 100th lesson and well prior to kindergarten. I love it and I usually recommend folks to try that first before paying big bucks for some bells and whistles program. I followed up with Alphaphonics (didn't go through the whole book) in a laid back way and used Explore the Code and Spelling Workout to reinforce phonics rules. With my third, while she was able to sound out words and read Bob Books and such, she needed a little more structure, practice, review, and rules to become more of an automatic reader. We did Rod and Staff phonics for first grade and that really made her an avid reader. She was so proud that she could read and know what 'hoarfrost' is when she read it in our KJV Bible :001_smile:! While she did quite well with R&S, I think it would have been alot more difficult had she not had the exposure to 100EZ Lessons. 100 EZ lessons, as one ad states, "gets them reading then gets out of the way." It does not however, go into detail about phonics rules like syllable stress, silent "e" nor are all the phonograms taught (e.g., ph, kn,gh, bt, mb, etc). My two older kids picked those up those pretty easily, whereas my third child did not. I would go with 100 EZ and maybe reinforce any trouble spots with Abeka and use their early readers for practice.

These are very helpful ideas and thoughts. I guess I need to find out what incentives (positive reinforcement) would be most meaningful to my kids, i.e., what's doable or affordable (we live on a very tight schedule and very lean budget ;-) and conversely what negative consequences need to be established. I'm kind of feeling the need to have more structure (at least at first). Good idea everyone doing chores together. I really would like my older kids to learn to take initiative,take responsibility and be thorough in and for their chores though w/o having to be reminded. thowell - What are some of those rules that you post as well as some consequences?