That's so exciting! I can't wait to get my MM package through the HSBC...4 more weeks, I think.

Yes. I'm really not sure why anyone who dislikes math herself would be so determined to design her own math education for anyone else. That seems counterproductive. Let someone who actually enjoys and understands math design a program, because they're bound to do a better job at it than someone who doesn't enjoy it and isn't particularly good at it.

Could you share what grade your son will be in? That might help you get responses better suited to your particular situation. :)

Hurray! What are you waiting for? I have a Rainbow Resource order that's supposed to get here today and I am practically giddy to get my hands on this math curriculum I've been wanting to see. :)

I haven't used AAS, but this is how I do it with PR. DD never accidentally puts an 'e' at the end of a word because of it, and she never accidentally uses a 'y' in short words with a long /E/ sound, like 'me'. She knows it's 'y' in longer words and 'e' in short words.

I don't know what RME is, but if she's reading well I would say just let her read. Then when you do spelling, make sure you're using a program that covers all of the phonograms, rather than a program that just uses lists. Then she'll get all the sounds covered and you don't have to make her go through another reading program. I'm no expert - that's just what I would do.

I just placed an order w/RR this week (Tues, maybe) and my tracking # says it should be here Monday. My orders have always come quickly and I've had no problems adding onto my order when I've forgotten something. I've never ordered during peak season, though.

If you search under my posts, I linked a website saying some things about the Terra Nova that I found pretty disturbing. I had been planning on using it, but changed my mind after that.

I don't think it takes lots of time most days. Occasionally you will need to fill in an entire building code, which might take 25 minutes (my child doesn't have great handwriting and can't write quickly or it's illegible). We split those things up, so that it's done over a few days while still progressing with the spelling words, meaning we don't get behind. I'm only in level 1, so I don't know how mom or time intensive it is one you move up, but I don't find the first level to be burdensome at all. The worksheets aren't typical worksheets like most people think of. They're mainly just lined papers. The spelling list sheets have a line for the title, then two columns for words. The building codes are just lined paper that have labeled areas for different building code (phonograms, punctuation, plurals, etc.). There's no busywork at all. There is also no color and there are no graphics, if that matters to your child.

LOL! I just realized that I will surely have what DD2 needs for 1st and 2nd grade math without spending more than $20 or so, no matter what curriculum works best for her, because I will have Rightstart B and C, all of Math Mammoth, Horizons 1, and Singapore 2. So one way or another, we've got 1st and 2nd grade covered almost for free. Plus, I'll have tons of math manipulatives, Phonics Road, Artistic Pursuits, and SOTW all to use again. Schooling child #2 is going to be much less expensive!!! Then I'll be able to be one of those people who says, "I only have to spend about $50/year for my first grader," and I'll never feel guilty again. :lol:

I research the heck out of things so I can make as few curriculum mistakes as possible and have waited for sales on things that I know will eventually go on sale. Despite that, I've had a reading curriculum flop and am currently waiting on TWO new math programs to get to me (for one child) because I simply cannot accurately tell which will be better for us until I try them out. But one was Math Mammoth through the HSBC sale, so that's ridiculously inexpensive, and the other was Singapore, and I only purchased half a year, so that's not too much either. So...budget...yeah...I should probably have one, and I try to manage our money wisely, but I buy what I think we need and otherwise don't think too much about it. If I did, I'd get upset every time I read a thread where I saw how little some people manage to spend. It would make me feel like an irresponsible, materialistic failure, so I don't think about it. :tongue_smilie:

Thanks! I had looked MM1b and was very confident we wouldn't need to do anything from it to be ready for MM2A, but then the Singapore placement test had a few subtraction problems and multiplication/division problems I know DD would be able to do with an abacus or something, but not in her head - at least I don't think. I'm glad to know those things are covered from the beginning again in 2A.

I don't really need to do 1B, do I? That would be very upsetting. DD already knows her subtraction facts from 1-10 and can do addition using all the usual mental math tricks. She doesn't know any of the tricks for subtraction, though, and RS doesn't even begin to teach any of them until something like lesson 50 of C. RS also doesn't cover multiplication at all until lesson 25 of C, and I know Singapore introduces it in 1B. What I'm wondering is if Singapore has enough review in 2A to allow us to move right into it after B of Righstart. If not, I might stop RS right where we are for a while to do some subtraction lessons from Math Mammoth, once I get it. Does that sound like the best plan? I might use RS for a while still, but the more I look at how long it takes to get to subtraction in C, the more I consider either dropping it, skipping ahead, or setting it aside for a while to cover subtraction in more depth now.

Very embarrassing. lol

DD is probably ahead in math, just based on my niece who's in the same grade in public school and gets straight A's. I know dd's ahead of her, at least, and given that she's getting A's, I imagine she's a good example of what the ps is doing. Granted that's in another state, but it's the only one I'm close enough to, to really be familiar with what they know. I do know my niece writes a LOT more than dd, but it's full of misspellings and poor grammar, so I don't care about that. DD would be on par or slightly ahead in spelling. I don't know where she is in reading. I gave her 3 reading tests and she tested right on target or ahead on all three, but she definitely doesn't seem advanced to me, so I'm guessing she's about average. My niece can read with better inflection, but she can't sound out words at all - she just skips words she doesn't know. DD would be ahead in science, but that's just the kind of kid she is - she's interested in that stuff. I don't know about "social studies"...I have no idea what they cover or how I'd know if she knew more or less.

DD has 2 penpals, but she's a reluctant writer, so she spreads the writing out to make the amount of writing she does average out to only 2 or 3 sentences per day, I think. She also does 5 spelling words per day and her math. That's about it, and getting her to do more would be horrible, and absolutely not worth it for her. She remembers proper capitalization and punctuation. It's just that her hand gets tired easily.

We were already using a handwriting program when we started PR, so I just ignore the handwriting portion, although I do plan to use the cursive instruction in PR 2. I also strongly dislike the funny PR 6, lol. Additionally, that whole clock face thing is not helpful for some kids. I don't know if my dd has a problem with visualizing or what, but I've always thought the clock face idea was just too abstract for some kids. It didn't work for my dd when we were using SWR and she still doesn't really get it, even though she can tell time and knows where the numbers are. Personally, I think there's a lot of writing in PR, so it's plenty of practice for a 5yo or a young 6yo. There are only 5 words to write most days, but then there are days where you have to fill in a whole building code, and that's a LOT of writing for a young kid. I remedy that problem by spreading those out over a few days, so the amount of writing is a little more consistent. By doing that, I think you get more than enough writing for kids of 5 or early 6. My dd is writing-averse, so my perception may be skewed, but it seems like plenty to me.

Okay, ladies. I now own RS B, which we're 2/3 of the way through, and RS C, which we plan to start when we finish...maybe. Maybe not, though, because I just placed a Rainbow Resource order for SM 2A HIG, text, workbook and CWP and for the MM Light Blue bundle through the HSBC. (Come on, ladies! Let's get that discount to 40%!!!) Luckily I know for sure what I'm using for almost everything else, because otherwise it's possible I might go broke hanging out around here. :tongue_smilie:

I was also thinking about all of this more and, for right now at least, we're still going to be using Rightstart, so I don't need any long lessons or long-winded explanations for anything unless or until we drop RS. I have RS for that. I'm still going to order both, because for all I know we may hate C and drop RS sooner than I thought, or even if we don't, I'd like to have this decision made before I absolutely need to know which one to will be better for us. Oh, and thanks to the pp who bumped up that other thread. I'd read it when there were only 4 or 5 pages. I didn't know there were more. :)

Thank you, everyone! I believe you are absolutely right, Cindyz, that I will just have to get both. I'll get all of MM in the sale, because that's too good to miss, and get maybe 2a of Singapore. I already have the CWP 1 and we will use CWP no matter what main program we use. I feel much better now...although I somehow just got sucked into spending more money and buying even more curriculum. :001_huh::lol:

Oh see, now that is something amazing right there.

That's a great idea! Oh no! No PR comparisons! I use and love PR! lol

Darn you, Hive! You got me again! I was set to order MM during the HSBC sale this month. We use RS, but I cannot be happy with just one program and I'm considering switching either halfway through C or at the end of C. So anyway, my mind was made up and I was thrilled. I've read every Singpore vs. Math Mammoth thread I can find, and I was happy. People say the scope and sequence is different, but the same things are covered eventually, etc. Then suddenly this week I'm seeing threads about how MM doesn't have enough instruction and there's no parental involvement, while Singapore has these amazing HIGs with so many extra ideas, etc., etc. So now I just don't know anymore! Is what's in the HIGs really completely missing from MM? Does MM have nothing but basic instructions on the pages? I have one MM Blue series topic, but it's measurement, which doesn't require all that much explanation, but it seems it includes as much as any other curriculum would have. I don't think measurement's a good way to judge that, though. lol So please, MM users, tell me to stop reading these threads and that you love MM and it has tons of instruction. Either that or talk me out of buying it and into Singapore. Just whatever you do, don't make me decide on my own, now that you've tripped me all up again. That would be wrong. :lol:

Yes, that's totally normal. :) Some kids don't pick up on blending until they're 6 or 7, so your daughter is already ahead of the game.

I haven't used Saxon, but is the problem that your kids aren't retaining what they're learning? If they aren't having a problem, I wouldn't switch just because it doesn't seem like enough work, kwim? I would only switch if something about it wasn't working for them.