My kids went to public school for 3rd grade. We are in one the best districts in the state. Writing "instruction" consisted of daily journal entries which were the writer's own private thoughts and therefore were never reviewed or graded. It was all about quantity, with absolutely no quality whatsoever. In November of that year, I asked one of my kids what she was writing about. "I'm writing hieroglyphics." "You mean, you are writing about ancient Egyptians?" "No, I'm writing in hieroglyphics." "Well, what are you writing about in hieroglyphics?" "I don't know - I don't know how to read them!" Yep, my kid had been drawing during writing time. For how long? Weeks. And the teacher had no clue bc she never reviewed it. :( So I'm not sure exactly what you think they are getting in public school, but I don't think they really are! Maybe it is different with other teachers, and other grades. But my experience was not impressive.

My mathy kid cried in Beast 3A the first time we tried it. After Singapore 4, he LOVED and sailed through Beast 3. Maybe sailed isn't the right word. He had to work hard, but it was definitely do-able. Most people would say we did it late, but I feel like he was really ready for the challenge at that point and got a lot more out of it.

I was just about to say the same thing. Kids who don't know their math facts THOROUGHLY before 4th grade are going to struggle. It just becomes too much to hold your place in a problem and go to the side to figure out a fact, and then go back. Things like factoring are so easy if you know the facts, but otherwise are just a bear. It's worth running a separate "subject" from math focusing on math facts during 2nd or 3rd grade to get those down! I called it "fact fluency" so my kids wouldn't think they were getting double math. :)

Has anybody used both and can offer a comparison between JAG and Fix It? This would be for summer, to fill gaps for a kiddo who has struggled a bit. She has memorized a lot, but hasn't truly internalized grammatical concepts. We will be back to Shurley next school year, but I think she needs to see grammar from a different perspective for a bit. Also, if you used the JAG videos, how were they? Was the instructor reasonably engaging? Thanks!

I was 100% convinced that my kids would going to have a thorough conceptual understanding of math that was so strong they wouldn't even NEED to memorize algorithms. That was sort of like knowing everything about parenting before you have kids. :) One of my kids has everything I hoped for. He can logic through any math problem. Two of my kids understand most of what they have learned conceptually. They rely on the algorithms, but can tell you why if you probe. The fourth, well, I'm just working toward her being able to solve common problems and get a correct answer. I keep trying for conceptual, but to be honest, it isn't happening with this kid, at least not at this point. Maybe once she can solve most arithmetic procedurally, the concepts will begin to make more sense.

I have the opposite problem - I'm trying to cut. Our at-home days are roughly as follows: - Warmup - 10 to 15 minutes (Mind Bender, Math Minute, Reading Detective) - Math - 1 1/2 to 2 hours - Language Arts - 2 to 2 1/2 hours (which does include some outlining and note taking related to history & science) - History, Geography, OR Science - 45 min to an hour - Typing, Technology - 30 min - Latin, Art, OR Drama - 30 min - Piano - 20 to 30 min

There is a different person than we use who administers it in the local homeschool store's room. So I'm sure it's not a psych-only thing.

We have started doing a daily warmup including one MindBender, one Math Minute, and one story from Reading Detective. (We quickly ditched RD A1 and went back to the Beginning one.) We are still struggling, but I REALLY like the way RD explains each little thing in detail - things that I wouldn't have thought needed an explicit explanation. I feel like we are making some progress (we used to miss every one and not know how to even start to guess, and now we are getting maybe half. Definitely not great, but improvement!) When we finish RD, we are going to go to Inference Jones, then go back to Reading Detective A1. Thanks so much for the assistance!

My DD is really excited about the Australian accent, so we are going to try CTC! How's that for a terrible reason to choose a math?

My kids are currently 4th & 5th graders. Their school uses IEW, but we came in after the rest of the kids had been using it for a while, and I think we missed some of the basics. My 5th grade DD did the first paragraph of the contrast essay in the IEW Ancient History book yesterday, and let's just say it was worse than a kid who hadn't had any writing instruction. The dressups and all are there, but there is NO organization whatsoever. It's just a random list of facts. This is a pattern for this kiddo, not a one-time issue. I am thinking we will do one of the IEW DVD intro programs this summer. How much harder is the Level B vs. the Level A? I don't want boredom, but it is summer, and I don't want stress either. A different option might be to do some sort of workbook-type program for the summer that focused on organizing your writing. I am thinking of something like the old "hamburger" thing we learned as kids - topic sentence being the top bun, supporting details as the fillings, and clincher as the bottom bun. Is there something along the lines of Reading Detective or Inference Jones that addresses organizing your writing? Other thoughts?

We have a lady who has been trained to do it, but is definitely not a psychologist. She does it for many of the homeschoolers in the area. She came to my house. :)

I really like the info I got from the Woodcock-Johnson.

Are you putting in the time, every single day? EVERY day? I did it maybe 3 times a week during kindergarten and it wasn't enough. 4 times a week during 1st grade wasn't enough. We went through 100 Easy Lessons, and most of OPGTR, but EVERY DAY was the key for us. We finally moved from CCCCCAAAAATTTT to reading Magic Treehouse around age 8. It took more than a year of solid daily work (on top of the prior years' less focused work), but when they did get it, it was overnight. All four are very strong readers now, and will choose reading over almost any other freetime activity.

I have 4 kids. My math genius who ENJOYS a challenge (even if he can't figure it out and has to ask for help) loves Beast. My girls would be beyond frustrated and would hate it. They want to be taught how to do math. They do not want to wrestle with it and try 8 different things to see what works. Beast is NOT for every kid.

Has anybody used both CTC Math and Khan Academy? Khan is free, but if CTC is better, I would spend the money. Other factors: - This is just to supplement and get someone other than me explaining when I can't get the concept across. - The child I am considering it for is NOT mathy AT ALL, and just wants to get it done. I never thought I'd say this, but I would settle for procedural understanding with this kid. She has minor learning challenges, and I don't think a deep conceptual understanding is in the cards. - She hates Khan. Is CTC different enough for her to like it?

Long division was HELLACIOUS. We finally spent like 20 hours in 2 days working on it straight, and it finally stuck for good. We limped through fractions. But I swear decimals is going to kill me before we get through...

I liked decimals in my prior lifetime as a CPA. I am good at decimals. What I am not good at is teaching my daughter decimals. I think the two of us have shed more tears over this one topic than anything else in my lifetime. I am starting to think it just isn't possible for me to get this through to her. Do you ever just want to quit this homeschooling gig? I'm good with everything else, but decimals, ay ay ay!!!

My kids have loved Mind Benders Level 4. Level 5 looks to be for older kids. Can you recommend another puzzle-type book similar to Level 4?

Ditto. I really like the information I get from WJ. In the past, there were no surprises and I wondered whether or not it was really worth it. This year, I was a bit caught off guard by low scores in one section - reading comprehension. My kids have very strong basic reading skills, but I discovered that I need to do more work in the next level of reading - understanding inference, figuring out vocabulary based on context, etc. I am so glad I figured it out now, and am really focusing hard on that before it becomes a big issue.

I have several friends who tried the online thing through the school system, and none kept at it more than a year. They all hated it. I homeschooled K-2, sent my kids to public for one year, and then brought them back home. Now we are at a university model school (they go to school 2 days a week and are homeschooled the other 3). My best advice is to remember that nothing is forever. You need to make the best decision for the current phase of life. In our house, we take it one year at a time. Each spring, my husband and I sit down and discuss where each kid is academically, what things are going well, what isn't working so well, and then decide what we think would be best for the following year. Honestly, I am REALLY glad I sent my kids to public school for a year. They didn't learn much academically, but they gained a frame of reference that makes it much easier for them to understand what peers at dance and swim are talking about. They also gained a HUGE appreciation for the luxury of homeschooling! They didn't hate school, but they were really ready to come back home. That year also gave me the confidence I was lacking in my ability to educate them. I was always worrying about whether or not I was doing enough. I was doing plenty, and although all my homeschooling friends told me that, I just worried about it. Sending them for a year was what I needed to see that I really was doing enough, and having them home afterward was a completely different experience bc I wasn't not always stressed!

Handwriting Without Tears if you need that much instruction. If you just need to spend 10 minutes a day, I was thrilled with Teaching Cursive by Linda Corson. It was definitely git 'er done fast and right with no extra bells and whistles.

Thanks! Lots of recommendations from the Critical Thinking Company - they must be good!

My kids LOVE Squeebles!

We use the Extra Practice book several months behind where we are in the textbook/workbook to keep review going. So they might be on Unit 7 in the TB/WB, and Unit 4 in the EP book. During breaks (like Christmas and summer), I have them go back through the textbook and re-do the Practices and Reviews, but they only do every other problem. If they get them ALL right, they are done! If they miss even one, they correct, and then go back and do the evens. They are very motivated to get them all right the first time, of course, to avoid extra work!

That's what I need. What breaks it all down into smaller pieces and gives that systematic scaffolding? I am clearly not teaching it well on my own - I need a book or curriculum or something!