We are doing the Time cards in the CC order without doing CC - we do TOG. I am just having them memorize 6 a week - we're up to 50 cards already. I plan on doing all 160 cards each year. The thought is that doing this year after year, it will give them historical pegs to place information on. If nothing else, it's developing a memorization muscle. Beth

Been in the same exact place. I have an older 4th grader. I tried WA for a couple of months and it worked OK, but I am not a strong english person so teaching writing causes me some anxiety. I don't know how to help ds improve his writing. WA really doesn't help with that. It will teach you how to pull together a decent paper, but if your child (like mine) doesn't naturally write "beautiful" words, and you don't know how to teach it, you're stuck. WA seems to me like an intuitive program where the instructor already writes well and knows how to help a child improve their writing. Here's what I wound up getting - IEW. I DON'T have an affection toward the program, but it gives me a concrete way to help my ds improve his writing and it gives me direction for the rest of his school years. By the time my other two join up with writing, I should be a pro. I've tossed IEW around for a couple of years and finally threw in the towel because I can't find anything else so concrete that won't make me search for a new program every year (that also co-ordinates with what I'm already doing). So, you don't have to love IEW to do it. I'm living proof. Beth

We're done- we can't fit anymore into our minivan. We only have 4 kids, but ds #1 takes the whole middle with his wheelchair. DH also says - no more. I'm perfectly fine with it! Beth

Anyone use this? I just found out they have an online tutorial for free for every lesson. It's a public school text, but is it good? Beth

Does anybody use this? I just saw that it has tutorials for ALL the lessons in the book. It's used in public schools, but is it a good Algebra course for a young algebra student? Beth

The very nice thing about this for people who buy diapers and pull ups is that if you sign up to get diapers on a regular basis, they are less than what I pay for generic in any store. AND, you get another month of Amazon Prime for each month you spend $25. The savings are SIGNIFICANT! Beth

I found that it got boring for me about 1/2 way through the year. It is really repetitive. You can see a sample page and just expect that each week will be basically the same books just different countries. The book basket saved the program. Ds didn't seem to mind and had a good year, but you did basically the same thing each week or two for different countries. He did learn where the countries are, but it made me jump ship from MFW totally. I started combining weeks toward the end just to finish the thing early and move to something else. It seems with ECC, you either love it or hate it around here. Maybe someone could chime in with the "I love it stance". Beth

I just moved on to Dr. Suess (really helps with those sight words) and then to the lists in the Sonlight catalog in the "readers" section. We just read for 15 minutes a day. Works just fine. Beth

I blogged (with pictures) on how to make yogurt. It's really not that hard and just requires waiting around time for the yogurt to heat up and cool down. Here you go. http://myobviousfamily.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-make-yogurt.html Beth

My 4th grader is also doing the Development through Poetry Memorization. My K does the poetry out of FLL. Both are working GREAT. Level one in the Poetry kit does really fun poems to spark the interest. Beth

I like Singapore Math. Ds is not ready for the first level - he really needs to solidify his number facts before we can move on. Here's the situation. He does Flashmaster (computerized flashcards) for his 1+, and 2+ facts. He does great with the flash cards. We also do Math It which has cards with math facts on them and he puts all the 9+ and 8+ cards on the board in no time at all. I'll have 2+4 on a math sheet and he has no idea what the answer is even though he just did it on a flashcard program. Basically, there is some disconnect between the flashcards and verbal and writing them down (he really has no problem with writing.). So, what do I do? Do I just keep drilling the math facts and then return to Singapore math or do I just shift the math totally? I'm also wondering if he is a right brain thinker. It took him a while to "name" colors and shapes. You could ask him what color is red and he would pick it up, but if you handed him a red crayon and asked what color it was, he couldn't tell you. Same thing with shapes. So, what kind of a math learner do I have here? Beth btw - he is reading well and writing well, but he's a lefty.

Ds needs review of fractions and just cementing some basics like order of operations before he moves to upper math. He will be completing Singapore 5B/6A this year. I would like a math program with a spiral review and GOOD word problems much like I've seen in Singapore math. I am looking for pre-algebra and beyond. Suggestions? Beth

Here's what we do: http://myobviousfamily.blogspot.com/2010/10/memory-work.html I usually do it whenever I remember, but having the white board in the kitchen has helped a lot. I put down Language Art stuff as they learn it - also math stuff as needed. My husband is an everything in context sort of guy. Sometimes at dinner, they start a Veritas Press Card chant and can't stop until they've gone through the 30-40 they already know. The poetry is the IEW poetry kit. Beth

WOW! Helpful!!! I've been wondering why I just don't stick with the Singapore sequence. It's made a good math student so far...ds seems like he's going into a math career of some sort. He's very engineer minded. Beth

This is a cross post of sorts from the High school board. I am looking for a program that will get my child from Singapore 5b to calculus. I really don't want to keep switching programs each year. I am starting to like being in a groove where we go to the next step and not have to search every year for new curriculum. So, suggestions? Beth

I am transitioning my ds from Singapore math to a math that will take him through Calculus. I am looking for programs. He is a strong math student and has done well with Singapore. I don't want to continue with the Singapore cycle at this point. He is currently cruising through 5b quickly in 4th grade so he's on the young side. Chicago math and Saxon have been suggested. I would start him out in a pre-pre-algebra to let his age catch up a little. Suggestions? Beth

I would eat better (whole foods grocery store all the way!), buy better clothing, make it possible for our disabled son to be taken care of WELL for the rest of his life, hire someone to be a handyman around here, hire a housekeeper...can you tell I've really thought about this? Beth

Any recipes for moisturizer? I am having trouble with dry skin and everything I buy makes me break out. I never thought of making my own... Beth

I'm not a Bookmooch lover. I have credits but have never been able to use them. I can never seem to find what I want and the wishlist thing doesn't work for me. I'm never "first". I have gotten a LOT more books from paperbackswap. Beth

I don't recommend the notebook without the DVDs. The notebook is written like you would write scattered notes. I appreciate a good TM and the IEW notebook is not something one could following without watching the seminars. I think the way I'm going to really be able to do this program well with my adaptations is to make my own TM from the DVDs. I have a hard time following the notebook. That one needed a good editor! Beth

Ds outlined three paragraphs (ala SWB) from a book he was reading for his TOG week. I thought he could do more than a one level. He did a two level outline (find the main point of the paragraph, then a few details related to the main point) and wrote his paper from that. I had him do only one IEW dress up. I like IEW with the structure it gives and the way to improve papers. Ds took a co-op IEW class and just naturally uses some dress ups which I guess is the whole point of the program. I am NOT a person who would know how to improve his papers - I'm a math person - so I need some sort of help. Ds is also a math person, so he needs some sort of structure. So, hopefully, a blend of the two - IEWSWB- will work. Beth

I don't do this, but I've been thinking a lot:glare:. I asked about the IEW "super essay" to the yahoo group and if it used key word outlines. It does. I KNOW by the time my child gets to that point that he would forget what he intended to say with 4-5 words per point. This is where the SWB outline makes more sense to me. I had ds do a 2-3 level outline with 3 paragraphs (only once so far) and use one dress up in the paper (the which clause). This is what I got from my 4th grader: After World War I, Germany wasn’t a nice place to be. The Allies were demanding major war payments and money became worthless because of inflation. For instance, a loaf of bread that cost 1 mark , which is similar to a dollar, became 100 billion marks in 1923! Unemployment was high and Germany suffered because of it. The Nazis tried to overthrow the government in 1923. Nazis stand for National Socialist German Workers party. The head of the Nazis, was a man named Adolf Hitler. Because he tried to overthrow the government, he was put in jail. When he was in jail, he wrote a book called “Mein Kamf” or “My Struggle”. In the book it said Germans were a master race and all other races were inferior. In 1928 the Germans won positions in Germany’s legislature. It helped Hitler eventually control Germany. As you can see, Germany wasn’t the best place to be after the war. I am thinking about buying IEW TWSS and just using it as a starting point. It may give me the ways to improve the writing but I don't plan on doing it as is. Beth

I am in the same situation. I need a bit more writing instruction and instruction in revising your writing. I like IEW to a point and I see the value in SWB's outlines. I don't like key word outlines in IEW and need more instruction in revision with SWB. What makes sense to me is IEW for the basics in paragraph writing and dress-ups but when you get to units with more substance (story summary, longer reports) use SWB outline format with dress ups. For example, IEW unit 3 (I think) is about re-writing a story. Instead of all the Key Word Outline chicken scratch, outline the whole thing per SWB and write it out that way using all the dress ups recommended for the unit. It just makes more sense to me overall. How's that for confusing! Let's just all make a new curriculum: IEWSWB!!! Beth

We have recently split our TOG co-op into different groups - a couple of LG groups a UG/D group. The kids are bored and two families (out of three) are considering dropping because it's not contributing to their learning and is a waste of time. Any suggestions? We try to have a review, kids presenting information, and an activity. Does it have to do with the age of the kids (9-11 year olds) Do we just drop the history component and try for a thing like debate club or writing club? Beth

Thank goodness my children don't have to experience the stress dreams I have of being in high school and not knowing my schedule and forgetting where all the classrooms are! I have talked to quite a few people who have just this sort of dream. Sure- the changing classroom thing really helps in my day to day life. After all, most adults in most work situations have to change location after 55 minutes.:lol: Beth