I am the one who created the spreadsheet at the yahoo group -- I'm not an expert, so keep that in mind ha ha. If you wanted to condense it, here are my thoughts on how to get it done in 16 weeks (keep in mind that any time you condense a curriculum, it will take longer each day!!): Start Grammar Town, but do it 4 days per week instead of 3. If you use the same way of breaking up the pages, this will get it done in 6 weeks. Start the Poetry book at the same time, doing 1 lesson per week on the day you don't do GT. There are 7 lessons, but if you double up one week you can get this done in 6 weeks. At the end of those 6 weeks: Start Practice Town doing one sentence per day as a warm-up (takes 2 minutes). The book was not designed to do all 100 sentences, so maybe only have your child do the odd ones (there are 50 days remaining in this plan, so that would work out). OR -- a BETTER option would be to have your child do one sentence per day starting now, and continue doing one sentence per day throughout the summer. Begin Caesar's English doing 2 chapters per week. The odd & even chapters are set up differently, so it wouldn't be doubling the material, you just need to be sure and work on it all 5 days. There are 20 lessons, so this will take 10 weeks. Begin Paragraph Town, doing 2 lessons per week. The first 10 lessons go through the book one day and do the Paragraph Lab the second day. The second 10 lessons review the book material but have more complicated writing assignments, so allow 2 days of writing per lesson. As an alternative -- lessons 11-20 of Paragraph Town were added later. Although they are great assignments, they COULD be skipped if your child is a strong writer and you are continuing on in the same program. This would allow you to spend a full week on lessons 1-10 and still finish by summer. You are still teaching the whole book in lessons 1-10, but 11-20 give you more in depth practice (maybe assign one of these each week over the summer?). Just a few thoughts on how it COULD be done in less time. :)

Great info, thanks!! :)

:bigear:

:lurk5:

:lurk5:

I have not read all the replies, so forgive me if I am repeating -- but I would say it is a mistake to not use the textbook. Math isn't just about getting the right answer, but HOW you got the right answer. If he is only learning to solve the problems the way YOU would solve them, he will be caught off guard when he gets to levels 5 & 6 because you can't jump into the "Singapore Math Way" of solving them at that point. It starts even in levels 1 & 2. For example -- yes a child may know that 2 + 3 is 5 and be able to fill in the worksheet pages with the correct answers, but in the textbook he will see the groundwork being laid in the examples showing a box around 2 birds, a box around 3 birds, and then a box below them with 5 birds. The lesson is not about learning what 2 + 3 is, the lesson is about learning the process that leads to the model method used to solve the complex problems he will encounter years later such as: A child who has had years of practice drawing progressively more challenging models will know right what to do to solve this problem. As for HIG, I think it depends on the situation. I used EB through 6B with my oldest and did not need the HIG. I am now taking my 2nd child through the series, and I am finding it harder to explain things in a way he understands. I did buy the HIG for this level to try it, and it provides me with another way to explain it to him. I also like the Mental Math pages, and the answers are easier to find than in the combined answer manual. I see HIGs as helpful but not necessary. YMMV.

My plan is Spelling Power. We actually tried SP before AAS, but he just didn't know the rules well enough to be successful with that program. Now that he knows the rules, SP will be perfect because it will function as a review of the rules yet introduce new and challenging words. And -- a bonus in his eyes -- he only has to practice the words he misses.

Karin -- I do have the book from Perpendicular Press (bought it for my oldest, we sometimes add things in from other programs when he needs a brain break from SM), and yes the Model Method books are very helpful. I don't have a problem teaching SM, mostly my problem is teaching this particular child. I think he *COULD* learn the SM way, I just feel like there should be something out there better suited for him. Can you please share details on how you combined MUS & SM? Flaura -- Yes, I have the HIG for the 1B Standards and it does help with how to explain it. I have the US Edition from my oldest, but bought the 1B Standards to compare since the tables of contents are identical. If I stick with Singapore for him, I will probably add the HIG for each level even though I didn't feel I needed it for my oldest.

Thank you for reminding me of MEP! I always forget about it, though I know I bookmarked it at one point. Is this something that could be his only math program, or is it mostly a supplement? It seems like most people who use it only supplement with it. And thank you for reading my post... after I saw how long it got, I didn't think anyone would actually read it. ha ha.

Please help me find a math curriculum for my "different learner" son G (and by that, I mean he learns completely different from how most people learn, outside-the-box, up-in-the-clouds, but very bright). Lucky for me, my husband also learns in this way and can usually tell right away what will work for him and what will not. Background: He hasn't had a lot of formal math instruction, he just sort of understands math and any time I try to teach him, he already knows how to do it. He figured out adding/subtracting negative numbers all on his own a couple years ago (Him: "If you have 2 cookies and I take away 3, how many do you have?" Me: "I would have negative 1." Him: "Oh! So if I have 3 cookies and you take away negative 1 cookie I would have 4 cookies?"). We tried Right Start, but I just could not teach it. I have used Singapore Math with my oldest from Earlybird to 6B, and it is exactly how I think. I have been trying to teach G with Singapore, but I know at some point I just won't know how to explain things to him (my oldest thinks like me, so this hasn't been a problem). I think he would do well with Right Start if only I could teach it (not sure what about it, it just seems like him). He loves computers. And by LOVES computers, I mean he would spend every waking moment on the computer if I would let him. He was able to log onto his own account, go to bookmarked sites, and navigate around them at a scary young age. I bought Timez Attack for my oldest to help him with the speed on his times tables, and G mastered the entire game in 10 days even though he had never heard of multiplication. He just seems to learn math concepts through osmosis, figuring out the patterns. He doesn't just cut a pizza, he notices that the number of pieces created is twice the number of cuts and asks me if he cuts the pizza 42 times if there will be 84 pieces. He doesn't have the basics down though, at least not solid enough that I feel comfortable skipping levels in math (he is currently in 1B, but it is boring for him). I also don't think he is ready for the complicated word problems in the higher level of Singapore. I thought about Teaching Textbooks for him, the level 3 will be coming out in April and he scored well enough on the placement test to go into that level (the only problems he skipped were multi-digit add/subtract with regrouping, which he can do with base 10 blocks but I have never shown him how to do on paper, I think he COULD have done them if he knew it was the same algorithm he already knows with the blocks). The down side is that it doesn't seem like it will challenge him down the road. He thrives on challenge! I was also unimpressed with the word problems in the samples (but will ANY program compare to the Challenging Word Problems of Singapore Math? LOL!). I thought about Math-U-See because there is a DVD and online drill, but I have no idea how to place him level wise. He really needs to go through Beta, but the thought of spending an entire year on something he could learn in a few days is not a positive one. I worry he would get through that program too quickly. Though....... perhaps a pass through Math-U-See and then a pass through Singapore? Then again, I have a friend who used Math-U-See and it seemed like waaaaaaaaaaaay too much review in each lesson. I have Miquon, but it just doesn't do much for me. Can I just hand him the program and let him work it out? Then what -- Key To books? I looked at ALEKS, I don't think it would be a good fit for him. There doesn't seem to be a lot of teaching, and it seems to be more mastering facts and processes, and not a lot of analysis and high level concepts. I briefly looked at ProfB math, but I couldn't figure out how the samples worked (how bad is that?!?). I will take another look if someone suggests this. I have the first 4 Life of Fred books for my oldest, but there is NO WAY G will be ready for that for a long time, if ever. It's not really his style, as I had my husband look at it and he sort of glossed over at the wordiness of it. I suspect G may be dyslexic. We are currently going through the diagnosis process, but he has over 20 of the 34 warning signs on Barton's list. So... what do you think? What math program fits a kid who understands high level concepts but has some lower level holes to fill in? What program will keep him challenged but not jump in at the deep end? Ideally it would be something that I would not have to teach him myself (sometimes it feels like he and I speak different languages ha ha), and if it is computer based he would be a super happy kid. Thank you so much for reading through all of this!! I would love to hear your thoughts! :)

:bigear:

ok. :001_unsure:

I just watched a video at BrightSolutions.us about dysgraphia. The presenter made the comment that dysgraphia never shows up alone, that it is often a symptom of an underlying issue (ADD, dyslexia, a list of others). Has this been your experience?

:bigear: We will be continuing with AAS, MCT, and Singapore Math, other than that I am not sure yet.

:bigear: I will be honest... middle school scares me(I used to teach 5th grade). I have nightmares about high school.

:bigear:

It is the Homeschool Gathering Place near Crabtree Valley mall. I was there today, actually. :)

:bigear:

I don't give advice about poetry. :) I hate poetry. :) (Just didn't want you to think I was ignoring your question.)

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As much as I :001_wub: MCT materials, I think you will be disappointed with Building Language if you are using R&S 5. BL only covers the 10 most common roots and can be read in one sitting. If your child is ready for R&S5, he would get a lot more out of Ceasar's English (which covers the same 10 roots, plus A LOT more, and at a MUCH higher level). You only need to buy the teacher book, and it can be reused.

I'm confused... what are you getting in the student books? Is it essentially a printout of all the student pages, ready to go?

Overall I like FLL, I think it is the right amount of grammar coverage for 1st-2nd grade. I do not think the presentation works well for many gifted kids in the targeted age range (but as with any blanket statement, of course there are exceptions!). Not really. My oldest used the Aesop's Fables books from RFWP linked below, but if your son is doing any language arts in school it will probably be unnecessary to do anything before Grammar Town. http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1263090275-1772508&subject=4&category=727

OOPS!! :) You're right. That's what I get for multi-tasking ha ha.

We use the CAT from Hewitt Testing Service because it is cheap ($25 total), can be done by the parent at home (no requisites), has a fast turn around (received materials in 2 days, received scores in 5 days), and I only test to meet the state requirement (takes a couple of hours to complete, I can check the box that I tested, and we can get on with something useful). I did have B take the Woodcock-Johnson one year, but did not share those results with the school system.