Oh, so I had it backwards! :001_huh: Thank you for clarifying for me! :D

Thanks so much for this. It makes me feel so much better about starting him at Y1a. Starting him at the (near) beginning was making me feel very anxious and like I had failed him. So your comment means a lot to me... you have no idea! :001_smile:

These are so great! Thank you so much for taking the time to share with me. :001_smile: I will definitely be using these. If you have anymore tips, I'm :bigear:.

:iagree: Plus, it's free! :001_smile: There have been lots of discussion here on MEP, so you can do a search and you'll get quite a few hits. There's also a great blog post that explains what MEP is and how to get started: http://ohpeacefulday.blogspot.com/2009/06/mep-101.html It's great for visual spatial learners, which sounds like your daughter. Good luck with your decision! I know how very hard it can be.

You did volume 4 already? This is my favorite. You can row some books again if you have any favorites or you can move onto Beyond FIAR... although I think these are meant for older kids (??). There are a lot of unit studies at homeschoolshare.com This page is especially for 7-12 year olds -- it uses chapter books and the units can be spread over longer periods of time. Amanda Bennett also makes unit studies, but they are not literature based as much as subject based. I'm starting my daughter on the Digital Photography unit next week. You can also make your own unit studies. There are a lot of resources out there that teach you how to make your own unit studies. :001_smile: This blogger writes a lot about her journey with planning her own unit studies. She also has a series going on at Heart of the Matter online where she is going to walk you through creating your own unit studies. HTH some. :001_smile:

My favorite as well. :001_smile: Thank you for this! I'm heading over there now... :auto:

I just finished reading this thread and am intrigued by pretty much everything that was said. I hope this thread keeps going! (Even if it did get OT ;) )

Your post helped me tremendously with my decision! Thank you for your tips on using a whiteboard and how to make the lessons more interactive for my wiggly child. I am constantly having to think up new ways for my son to be able to move during his lessons and making that movement part of the lessons. So your tips are helpful. :001_smile: I think I'm going to give this a try! I don't really know exactly where to start, though, so I think I'll just start at Y1a and see how we do. He's technically in 3rd grade, but he hasn't worked with number lines yet, or >, <, ≠ . Maybe he'll be able to breeze through Y1 fairly quickly and start on Y2 soon. Then by the time September rolls around, maybe he'll be in Y3, which is like US 4th grade, right? Or is that just wishful thinking? :001_huh:

Multi sensory is very good in our house. :) Being self conscience about math is a down fall for me, though. I am not very confident when I am teaching it to them and it shows. This is why a very scripted curriculum works well for us, which I understand this is. So that's a huge plus! I do need to work on my confidence while teaching, though. Ugh...

After reading your response here, I went and found your thread from yesterday. :001_smile: I'm sorry you have to give up something you love. I love one of our curricula like that and I would hate to have to give it up. So if I can keep up with reading the lesson plans every day and engage in "teaching" math every day, then it will work out great! That is, of course, if my son is a willing participant. ;)

Thank you SO MUCH for the responses! :D:D:D

I am basically looking for reasons to use it or not. :glare: My son has used Singapore and Miquon together, but it was too much writing for him. So then I switched to MUS. We haven't been using it for too long, but I am thinking of switching again because he seems too engrossed in playing with the blocks that he's not "getting" the math part of it. He is very mathematically minded and a visual-spatial learner. He is also dyslexic and has a plethora of other "issues". I have been thinking about purchasing RightStart B for him, but I'm nervous about plunking down a lot of money again just to have it be a bust. So I thought I'd look at MEP first. The fact that I would have to do all the printing would not be a problem for me. Thanks! :001_smile:

I love how pretty it is and the only reason I haven't bought it is because it's not secular. :(

The only other thing that we got was the mini chalkboard and we do fine! :001_smile: If you want a mini chalkboard, I have two, so if you want one free of charge, PM me with your addy and I'll be happy to send it to you. :001_smile:

What kind of learner is your child (if you know)? Is your child mathematically minded? Is your child wiggly / writing phobic or does (s)he love workbooks? Does your child like puzzles? Why don't you like MEP? :001_smile:

My son is a visual-spatial learner as well and he was using MUS. We have come to a point where we need to take a break also and so I've been researching these boards for a good math program for VSLs. It seems that MEP is recommended a lot and so we are going to try that starting next week. And it's FREE!! :D If you do a search here on the WTM forums for MEP, you'll get a lot of hits. Also, someone wrote a great blog post that helps you figure out what MEP is and how it works. P.S. I was looking at Math Mammoth, but it's too writing intensive for my wiggly little boy. :)

The stuff that is normally kept on our counter: 2 crocks for large utensils, spatulas, etc knife block trivets french press paper towel holder basket for cloth napkins canister for tea bowl of fruit tiny bowl for garlic butter dish KitchenAid mixer vitamins and medication we have to take daily The stuff that is on our counter that doesn't belong there: receipts from the pediatrician and optometrist for FLEX cinnamon bottle of cleaner bottle of windex loafs of bread waiting to go into our deep freezer a few dirty dishes an empty bottle of creamer some non-perishables waiting to be used for dinner tonight rice cooker (that has a space in a cabinet)

We grind our own beans and use a french press. That's all we've used for years. We happen to always get ours from Starbucks. At first, all we could find were the presses with a glass carafe (which we hated because it seemed like we ended up breaking the glass about every 2 years or so). But when our last one broke and we had to get another one, we found a stainless steel thermal carafe. We really like it! http://www.starbucksstore.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=120920

OMG! It's hard for me to believe anyone would try to quit anti-depressants cold turkey! :grouphug: :grouphug: That scares me senseless! More :grouphug: for you. Weaning is always the best way. Withdrawals are the worst. I hope your doctor returns your calls... how unprofessional! :(

:lurk5:

Thank you, Susie! :D I think I'll just have the spiral binding done... AND get the covers laminated!! :D Thanks again!

My husband has to remind me of this often. After all, we don't buy the curriculum just so we can resell it, right? :tongue_smilie: :lol:at myself... DUH!

This. :001_smile:

Thanks, Joanna! :001_smile:

I agree... stay out of it. :001_huh: