:iagree: Glad to hear a well thought rebuttal on SWB blog post. I immediately read it to my husband, we both enjoyed it.

I hadn't seen the one with Daniel Radcliffe, good for him! I forwarded the original ling to my mom, we are huge Penzance fans, so I'm hoping to hear renditions by the lil sibs next time I'm over. Hilarious!

And yes, I know that several new elements have been discovered, but, I'm sure someone out there will eventually set them to song.

I just found Leher's youtube video. I love it. I cannot wait until my kids learn it. :)

Ok, that was what I was hoping. The text was 45 at Rainbow, and the student pages another 25. That was a bit more than I wanted to spend! Thanks for your help.

What are the REAL SO Life student pages? Are they needed in addition to the textbook?

Yikes! This is what the hive mind is for! I don't have a strong knowledge of Spanish so I doubt I could add enough to flesh it out. I looked at Calico Spanish, which is an incredible immersion program. But again, I don't know enough Spanish myself to facilitate it. I think I am seeing a trend, and need to take lessons over the summer myself...:tongue_smilie:

We are doing more of a K4, but we are using: Reading: Phonics Pathways/Bob Books Math: Singapore Essential K Book A Spanish: Salsa Spanish Then lots of read-alouds from the library or goodwill. I bought Mudpies and Magnets, but it has yet to arrive.

That is my plan exactly! I hope that they will be able to recognize and use basic spanish words and phrases after the Salsa program. I watched the first Elementary Spanish episode, and it was a bit much for my kids. But it looks like a great program, and I look forward to using it in the future. Free is my best friend! DH is a teacher and gets a free subscription to Discovery Streaming, so it is one of the perks we can take advantage of. :)

:lol::lol::lol:

Thanks! I never would have gotten the First Grade Diary, I thought it was some sort of kids workbook? Looks like what I have been looking for, thanks for the recommendations! I have heard a lot of good things about miquon, but have been leaning towards singapore. I'm sure they are used in conjunction successfully, maybe that's the way to go. I see that you use quite a bit of different math curriculum with your ds. Does that ever make things more confusing? Or do the different view points help with comprehension? I wouldn't want to use texts that don't compliment one another. From what I've seen, MM, MEP, Miquon and singapore all seem to be on the same wavelength. Is this correct?

I love the Salsa program, and more importantly, so do my kids! I think it is more appropriate for the pre-k level that Elementary Spanish. Salsa has a teacher's guide with a short teacher's script for each episode, games, coloring sheets and activity pages, vocabulary used in each episode, and an interactive web site for kids to practice. I don't think they offer any grammer resources though. They also provide a transcript of each episode in english. If you are interested, you can find them here. The transcripts are under each episode, and the link for free teacher's materials is under "order now" http://www.gpb.org/salsa Here is the kids site http://www.gpbkids.org/salsa/ And it's all free!

Spy Car, would the Notes to Teachers be what I need, or the Lab annotations as well? Thanks! I've been eyeing that one, and also the the price tag. I didn't want to spend that money if it wouldn't be helpful! I found one for 16.00 on amazon, so maybe I'll break down and get it. I had a very fulfilling homeschool education, but I remember spending many a tearful hour over my Saxon math, and want to avoid that math "dread" with my kids. Sometimes I wonder what my college interests would have been if I didn't "hate" math so much! Now with a new viewpoint on math, I find it fascinating and look forward to re-learning it as I teach my children.

:iagree: That is exactly what I do. Minus the cool blog. :) Google docs is a life saver.

Thanks for the advice! I've thought about that, hands on experience always seems to help. Now to find a guinea pig...:D But I'm sure there are some great teacher resources out there for math teachers. I just don't know which ones correspond best with the teaching methods proposed by the singapore method. Any must read books out there?

I have looked through the curriculum several times, and noticed what I read in Liping Ma's book. The Singapore Method's strongest ingredient is master pedagogues! They are able to interpret and adapt the material to fit their students strengths and weaknesses. I need a crash course in that! :tongue_smilie: I figure if I start now, I'll have my ducks in a row when my dd hits first grade, and we buckle down for the real deal. Any suggestions for a homeschool mom how-to course? :bigear:

I read and loved Liping Ma's book which just proved to me how little I knew about teaching math! Then I read Elementary Mathematics for Teachers, which was more instruction than theory, also very helpful. I'm now looking for another book to read along the singapore method. Something that deals with the educational development of children in mathematics. Like when is it appropriate to expect memorization, what topics are best covered at what age group etc. I feel like I read up on math theory and methods, but want something more to add to the mix. Teaching math to my kids is a great responsibility, and I don't want my lack of knowledge to screw it up! :D

How old is your son? Age makes a huge difference. If he is trying to guess still, I would take a break and practice on skills he has already covered. In my experience as a teacher I have found that practicing a skill incorrectly (such as guessing) only makes it harder to do correctly later. There are several games in Phonics Pathways, are you using them? I would use them and find others to add to the stack. Take a break! Have fun, and come back to it and try again. Good luck!

I think that the more you know about the composers, the more you can understand their music. And the music of history is heavily influenced by what the people valued, what cultural expectations were, and what they thought the purpose of music was. It gives another lens from which to view history. I love, love, love using this website for my piano students. It is perfect for ages 6-12 The site also has activity sheets in addition to the 7 minutes radio broadcasts, and you can always find composer coloring sheets online. I have my little students color the composer while listening to the program, and then we review the facts that were covered in the lesson. They always play well-known examples of the composer's music as well. http://www.classicsforkids.com/

I remember being 10 years old, and being insulted that I still qualified for a "kids" meal. Because, obviously, I was an adult. :tongue_smilie: I've heard it said that the need for autonomy peaks at that age, because that's the highest point where the need for independence, and the lack of ability to BE independent intersect. Make any sense? They feel like it is more important to be wrong on their own terms, than to be right on your terms! Teaching that age group can make you lose your hair! I really like a PP advice to step away from the problem and give them some space, I agree they aren't able to express that need in polite terms quite yet. Give them as much space to do it their way, and make mistakes in a safe way. If it is not critical, don't correct. Kinda like with a three year old. Mis-matching socks isn't hazardous to her health, but the explosion at not be able to wear what she PICKED OUT HERSELF! might be. :) For example, perhaps not mentioning the wrong-way cross-stiching would have been better for another PP. Let her bring those non-important problems to you if she wants help, and pick your battles. She will feel more in control of her life, and hopefully will be more willing to listen when you absolutely must step in and take control. HTH! :grouphug:

I just found this online, and am completely fascinated. Has anyone used this before, and with any success with elementary grades? I think this would be a great tool for brushing up on my own math skills! http://www.khanacademy.org/video/khan-academy-exercise-software?playlist=Khan%20Academy-Related%20Talks%20and%20Interviews

Thanks for the help guys! It was HWT, but I appreciate all the other suggestions. I just had a mommy brain moment. :)

I just found FlyLady at the beginning of the year and I LOVE it! I'm nowhere near perfect, but can see the success in the little things. Like seeing the floor of our closet! :) When I feel like I'm floundering, I find that the decluttering is the key. I have taken so many boxes to goodwill, and still have sneaky areas that build up. I think the chore list for your kids sounds great, be ruthless in the declutter, and hopefully things will be looking up soon! I know how you feel!

I know the teacher's guide is for classroom use, and the home instructor's guide is geared towards homeschoolers. Unless you are comfortable with the singapore math concepts and way of teaching, the HIG may be a good investment. Maybe you could borrow from friend or flip through it in a bookstore to see what teaching concepts are covered?

:lurk5: