I've found this "game" helpful. Take a number of objects (buttons, rods, pennies...), have her count them and then you cover up some in one hand. Tell her to guess how many you've got in your hand. Then of course, switch - she gets to choose a number and cover up some of them. While playing this, you might want to write down the problem and have her write the answer. Point out the idea of "families' of addition/subtraction facts. You could show her the 10 objects in two piles of 7 and 3 and say something like "That's interesting - if I start with 10 and take away 7, I get 3. 10-7=3. And if I start with 10 and take away 3, I get 7. 10-3=7. And look, 3 + 7 is 10. And 7 + 3=10 too!" Math mammoth subtraction 1, is a good, cheap supplement too. Also, if you have an ipod, check out the free app "Math tappers". My youngest loves playing that. http://www.mathtappers.com/

Wait until it's open. The visitor's center is definitely worth a visit!

It bugs me too. If your kids aren't school age, then they aren't homeschool age either.

We have a Callisto canister vac. It's pretty awesome... I'm not sure if it's truly worth the price tag, but it is a great vac.

Besides Singapore with the Challenging Word Problems, you could look at Life of Fred. It currently goes from about 5th grade math up to Calculus, but I think the author is working on elementary math too. Primary Challenge Math and Challenge Math and Becoming a Problem Solving Genius by Zaccaro are focused on solving word problems. Also, I love the Murderous Maths books, which are not really a program, but are clever and wordy.

It sounds like you're right -- I think it would be a situation of the blind leading the blind. If your neighbor wants her 5 yr old to learn English, when he is in the US, having him attend a school and interact with English speaking kids is exactly what she should do. Extra tutoring, if you (or somebody else) is up for it, couldn't hurt. But setting up an online school? I would back quickly away. I would just suggest that he is exposed to as much English as possible, whether it is private lessons, attending an international school, making friends with native English speaking kids, reading and watching TV in English. If she really wants ESL instruction online, point her in the direction of BrainPop ESL (and Brainpop Jr.).

Timez Attack (www.bigbrainz.com) is the gold standard for multiplication games. My younger daughter adores the game and had them all down by the time she was 6.

Just do a google search for "Hi Lo Readers" -- high interest/low reading level. Here is one booklist for grades 2-12 with a reading level of grade 2-3. http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/booklists/hilobib.html

I got the same thing and also don't know who those folks are... I might have to go browse the religion section of the library to find out if I really identify with them!

Here is my awful confession: Reading other people's confessions makes me feel better about my own problems... kind of like hanging out with an overweight friend makes me secretly feel better about my own body.

The Stanford Achievement Test is different from the SAT, but any standardized test (including the Stanford) will give some of the same standardized test experiences that you'd get on the SAT. The PSAT is the junior version of the SAT, but it is intended for high school juniors. The Explore test is a version of the ACT that is designed for 8th grade, but is used as a test for gifted elementary children. You could try that, I suppose...

I'm considering switching from MM/TT to Singapore next year, though I'm not yet fully decided. According to the Singapore placement tests, (4a and 4b) she should start at 5a. But... she really hasn't done much on measurement and 3b has content that I think she needs to encounter. Would it be weird to start at 3b and then move to 5a? Should I start at 3b, and then just continue on with 4a? If she's a quick learner and doesn't need much practice to get the hang of something, but doesn't enjoy math and would like it as short as possible, do we really need the workbook and IP and cwp book? Could one (or more) of those be skipped? I've never held the books in my hands, so I don't really know how substantive they are. I'm not sure about the idea of juggling books.

At our current Episcopal parish, it's wine (actually port mixed with holy water) and wafers. You can dip (intinct) it into the wine or sip from the communal chalice. It's called the Eucharist, but calling it communion is common too. At our previous parish, they used consecrated bread (made fresh for the purpose by parishioners). It was a delicious chewy sweet whole wheat loaf with a cross on it. It's weekly (possibly more often, but we only attend Sunday morning services).

If I were to get a book in this series, which would be most appropriate? -Primary Grade Challenge Math (listed as grade 1-4) -Challenge Math (grade 4-12) -Becoming a Problem Solving Genius (grade 4-12) My daughter will be a 4th grader, working about a year ahead in math. She's much more of a literature/history/science kind of a kid and really doesn't love math, though she does well with it.

I got an email from the department head and an official letter that arrived a day or two later. Good luck!

Faber has been great for us -- for one thing, there are videos of the author giving the lessons to kids. I would watch the video and then work with my own kids. http://pianoadventures.com/guide/index.html

I'm pretty sure the quest guides and teacher manual not written by the author, but it is written well -- with interesting activities and ideas for teaching.

It won't solve all your adverb problems, but "Lolly, lolly, lolly get your adverbs here" has a pretty catchy tune! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eam2rL5S-4

:iagree:

My 9 year old recently started using it and we both *love* it. I think we're on chapter 5. It's meaty, but accessible to kids -- written in a chatty way, but not talking down to children. The quest guides are really aimed at classrooms, but we're trying them out anyway. The author sent my daughter a few chapters from her new book (something to do with life science I think) and they were wonderful too.

I think if your goal is mastery of Latin and ability to translate texts and you want to really be efficient about learning it, 7th grade is a good time to start. You'd probably be using a more serious text - Wheelocks, Heinle, Galore Park SYRWTL. If your goal is a 'taste of Latin', just to inspire, you could probably start around 3rd grade-ish or when a child was a solid fluent reader and writer. You'd probably be using one of the starter texts like Song School Latin, or Latin For Children or Lively Latin or Minimus...

Have you read Deconstructing Penguins? They've got some good suggestions in there. If you're going to use supplementary materials (like literature guides), you might see what is out there that you like before committing to a book. Newberry award or honor books are often a good place to start. Do you have a theme that you are going to follow? What is the background of the kids? What have they already read? Are they boys or girls or both?

I'm a little skeptical about vision therappy. My parents took us when we were kids and I think, in the end, they felt it was a scam. My brother was dyslexic before he went. And he was dyslexic afterwards. I don't know why they took me though. I remember thinking there were a lot of pretty weird games.

We're basically doing that. My older daughter also reads some related historical fiction for fun, but otherwise, we read together SOTW at bedtime. We'll be switching it up next year.

I did, and I don't think I'll do it again. I let my daughter choose math -- Math Mammoth, Singapore or TT. She chose TT, I spent the $100 and she loved it and did it happily for 6+ months. Then one day she said she doesn't like it and wants to switch again. :001_huh: I let her have a Math Mammoth break for a month (since I have the materials anyway - and I think the coverage of some skills is stronger in MM), but today she's going back to TT to finish off what we started. She's already grumbling.