Great advice!!! DO NOT try to convince your mom that your DD shouldn't go - it implies that the decision is up for debate. Just say no kindly but firmly. "I am so sorry, but DD is not going to be able to go this time." Repeat ad naseum.

It looked great, but sounds like something to pass on for now. Thanks!

Has anyone done WinterPromise's Hideaways in History kindergarten program? It is billed as "a Simple One-Year History & Science Program for Kindergarten or 1st Grade". Opinions?

Do you belong to a church? If so, ask for a listing of what they are talking about in Sunday School. My kids to Sunday School, Children in Worship (the kids' worship service while the adults are in big church), and AWANA. I got a copy of the schedule from each of those. We spend Mon & Tues on the AWANA story, Wed night at AWANA, Thur & Fri on the SS story, and Sat & Sun on the CIW story. The first night we read the story and review the facts. The second night we review the story and talk about what it was like to be there. ("How do you think Jesus felt when Satan offered Him the world if He would worship Satan?" "How do you think He felt when he was out in the desert for 40 days without food?" Etc.) Before we had AWANA, we just stretched out the church stuff a little longer. Spent 1 day reading from one kid Bible, another day reading from another, etc. Just making sure they understood the story well before they went to church so they would get more out of the church lesson.

I think Spiderman is a little different, because he is just a myth. There is no question that Jesus DID exist, and was a huge influence on the world at the time. No one debates that, agnostics included. There is actual historical proof that Jesus was a real person who lived and influenced a lot of people. Whether he was actually the son of God vs. just a nice guy vs. a really good liar vs. deranged is what is debated. But his existence isn't in question.

I have had a BLAST researching this stuff! - I have the Singapore EarlyBird A Textbook & Activity book on the way, - I have the Handwriting Without Tears stuff (and we have started it), and - I got the 100 Easy Lessons phonics book and we got that started as well. - The Developing The Early Learner workbooks aren't going so well - they can do the activities but for some reason figuring out which row/box to use really throws them (the hand with 1 finger up first, then the hand with 2 fingers up, etc.). - I have the Rod & Staff Preschool books on the way as well, and - Math-U-See's Primer book & starter blocks. Did I go overboard? Chuck is going to flip when he sees how much I spent! :) I figure that should mostly cover us for a year and a half, right, I can get everything else from the library.

Try adding some heavy work before school time. My kids are way younger, but it really is amazing (even for the ones who don't have sensory issues) how much it helps them to concentrate when they do some heavy work first! http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/heavy-work-activities.html

:lol:

I have it coming through inter-library loan, but it is taking forever!

I hear you loud & clear. Yes, they do have some delays. Nothing earth-shattering - people with casual contact with them would never know they have any issues. They were just late doing everything, and although they progress at a normal pace, everyone else does too so they never catch up. My thought has been to get K4/K5 materials, start with those and just go as far as I can without frustrations. I think I am the only person I know with multiples who doesn't have competition issues. Each kid is much stronger in one area than the others, thankfully, so they each have something to be proud of. We generally do parties to celebrate accomplishments, and everyone who is proud of the honoree gets to come! So for example when one kid had a poo-poo-in-the-potty-party, you better believe everyone else wanted to congratulate that person and be genuinely happy for that person and so on so they could go out for ice cream too! And then the ones who have already accomplished something are very excited to help the 2nd & 3rd so that we can go out for ice cream again! Dorky, I know, but so far this system has really worked for us. Or maybe it is just my kids' personalities. Regardless, I don't think I have to worry too much about competition, at least at this point.

Yeah, that pretty much summarizes his concerns! :)

What a GREAT idea! I will try to get that set up.

We are Christians - formerly Episcopalian, now Presbyterians.

I feel like all I have done for the past 3 days is research math curriculums! Here's what I have decided we are going to do at this point. This may change significantly once I figure out which method works for which kid, but just based on reading lots of reviews, this is the current plan: for now (late preschool) through early kindergarten: Singapore EarlyBird Kindergarten Math Textbook A Math-U-See’s Primer w/ Starter Blocks Mathtacular 1 DVD for kindergarten / 1st grade, the current plan is: RightStart Level A Singapore Math EarlyBird KB MUS Alpha for 1st grade / 2nd grade, the current plan is: RightStart Level B Singapore Math Primary Math 1A Miquon Orange Book & Red Book Singapore Math Primary Math 1B Miquon Blue Book & Green Book Mathtacular 2 DVD I'm sure these plans will change significantly once I figure out how each kid does with each program, but not knowing that upfront, this is the plan. (This may be total overkill, but I have 2 children who are not the fastest learners, and I want to be sure we have totally covered all the basics and have them down cold.) Here are some other things I copied from other posts that may be helpful to you too. ·Chart to combo Sing & Miquon http://www.singmath.com/SM_Miquon.htm ·Singapore: If a parent is unfamiliar or uncomfortable with teaching elementary math, most certainly get Elementary Mathematics For Teachers. It's a fantastic textbook for math teachers and is designed to prepare you for teaching SM effectively, which is non-trivial. ·The emphasis in Singapore is on deep conceptual knowledge of mathematical concepts, rather than learning by rote. Be prepared to stop and review or drill on your own until you are sure your child thoroughly understands the concepts. The curriculum introduces concepts thoroughly but assumes (I think) that the parent will take the time to work deeply and slow down on areas that the child does not understand right away. ·Singapore is structured and teaches a certain thinking process to the point of mastery. The scope of content is somewhat narrow, and incorporates many word problems. Miquon is flexible and encourages independent discovery and mathematical exploration. The scope of content is broad, but does not include word problems. Both curricula are fun, engaging, and well-laid-out. We are quite happy using Miquon and Singapore together -- they are pleasantly complementary, and provide necessary review, refreshing variety, and a fun, engaging, and confidence-building math learning experience. ·We have been using Singapore Primary Math to supplement MUS, partly for this reason, and partly for just exposure to other topics and ways of thinking. We do MUS on MWF and Singapore on TTh. ·We SM about twice a week and RS 4 days.

I am very new to the whole idea of homeschooling, but am so fired up about it! My husband, on the other hand, is VERY reluctant. He has agreed to move forward with the planning stages, but really wants to see that academically our kids will be better off than they would have been in public school. Assuming he is OK with my detailed plan, we will keep them at home for one year and reassess at that point. (While I really want to homeschool, I will not do it unless both he and I agree together that this is what is best for our children. So I HAVE to get him onboard and excited about it!) The challenge is that my kids are only supposed to be going into kindergarten! So it isn't as if they are really going to be debating about the issues in the Middle East by the end of the year or anything! Can you point me in the direction of the most academicly rigorous curriculums for all the basic subjects that kids would normally be learning as kindergarteners? (And maybe a few extra subjects to consider!) Obviously the whole unschool / let kids-be-kids thing is NOT going to fly in my situation! Thank you so much for your help!

Math-U-See Primer Singapore EarlyBird Are these the same difficulty? I have three very different kids who learn very differently, but are all going to want to do the same workbooks at the same time. I was thinking of doing one program then the other in hopes of covering all the basics every way I can to be sure they all get it. One is a little delayed but of average intelligence (she progresses normally, just never got caught up from premature birth) One is very minorly autistic (PDD-NOS) - of above average intelligence One has a learning issue that has yet to be officially diagnosed b/c they won't test before age 5. I expect her to be labeled as having Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Some days she can't do even basic things, and other days she wows me. And there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason! Oh, and I have a 3 year old who will want to be right in the thick of what everyone else is doing!

Wow, thank you all SO much for responding so quickly - I am totally overwhelmed at the number of you who took the time to reply! Off to check out all your recommendations!

Hi, I just stumbled upon your website, and have spent my entire afternoon reading! I have triplets who will be 5 in April. Due to being born prematurely, they are not ready to go to kindergarten in the fall. They are just a little behind their peers across the board - motor skills, cognitively, socially, etc. My first choice would be to have them do K5 twice, but the public school will not retain any child who does not FAIL. And since they don't grade in K5 or 1st grade, it is not possible to hold a child back before the second grade. I am now investigating the possibilities of homeschooling. There are SOOO many more options that I ever dreamed possible! Every curriculum website I read seems amazing! Can somebody please just tell me what to order so I can just do it and be done? :) Not really, I want to investigate, but can somebody give me a short run-down of the reputations of each of the major players in the market? I keep going to review websites and they have like 400 options for each thing. How in the world do you pick?? I should mention that my kids are a touch behind with everything. They aren't writing their names legibly yet, aren't reading at all yet (they know all the letters & sounds but don't understand the concept of letters going together to make words, etc.). They progress at the same rate as typical kids, but have just never caught up from the first year so they are maybe 6-12ish months behind in every area.