Yes, all good points. Alright. Back to the drawing board!

Okay, tell me now if I am crazy. I homeschool our two girls 2nd and 4th grade. I also run a home daycare with 8 preschoolers. So yes, the house is a bit hectic. Recently I thought of the idea of alternating my kids Monday-dd 2nd, Tuesday-dd 4th, Wednesday-dd 2nd... and so on. We would do 2 days worth of lessons spread throughout one day. Has anyone ever tried a schedule like this? I was just thinking that when I am in the groove with one child and have to keep wrangling up the other one in the midst of the daycare and then try to get them focused, it might help to just work with one of them each day.

My youngest dd is in 1st grade and is about to turn 7. Her older sister was reading at 4 yrs old. I have done the same things with my 1st grader without much success. She finally knows all of her letter sounds (although still gets momentarily hooked up on a few of them). She is reading through the first book of level 1 All About Reading Series (Run,Bug,Run!). She needs a lot of support from me while reading this book. I thought we would get through the three books in level 1 :( this year. She wants to move to the next book, but is usually not motivated about our daily reading time. I do see her progressing, but at a much slower pace than I would like. I just need some support and advice please. Thanks, Katie

I was wondering if anyone has used the Montessori method for teach grammar. I was looking for a more visual/hands on method and it looks perfect. However, I cant seem to find any sequence of lessons online. Any advice or experiences you have would be great! Thanks, Katie

I have read good reviews on My World Social Studies http://cathyduffyreviews.com/history-geography/myWorld-Social-Studies.htm

For third grade we are going to do lots of reading with chapter books that go along with our history and add book projects etc using this book http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Independent-Response-Activities-Organizers-/dp/0439309611/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373581715&sr=8-1&keywords=independent+reader+response In order to be sure we are covering all of the state required "reading skills" we are going to add in the EPS Making Connections curriculum as a supplement each week http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?seriesonly=3304M. It covers things like identifying details, sequencing, main idea, compare/contrast, drawing conclusions/predicting outcomes, fact/opinion, cause & effect, figurative language, and bias/prejudice. We will then work on applying those strategies to other literature we are reading. We will also do a cursive, grammar, and writing curriculum to round out our 3rd grade LA.

I think the readers are what keep drawing me to AAR. They are really neat stories/illustrations and are more interesting than the CLE readers.

Up until this point I have just gone through their work with them. But now that my oldest is going into 3rd grade I want her to be more independent. I am going to have her bring work to me when she finishes and I will check it for errors and give it right back for her to make corrections. If I am busy with something else then she can put it in the finished work basket and I will check it as soon as I am able (but always the same day).

Okay. I am really having a dilemma. I am putting off ordering some of my curriculum for the fall because I am still undecided. I used CLE Learn to Read for my older dd when she was in 1st and she did really well with it. It did seem tedious at times, but she learned phonics well and in second grade was able to work mostly on fluency. So now I am needing to order first grade phonics/reading for my youngest dd. She is not quite as far along as her older sister was at this time, but I think she will do really well none the less. But, now that AAR is available as an option I was seriously considering using that instead of CLE. I just don't want to make a mistake. Since CLE LTR is only 22 weeks long I thought worst case scenario if AAR was not working for her I could switch after Christmas and still have time to finish CLE LTR. But another part of me just says, "stick with what you know works." Any advice???

I would not say you are behind at all. We are going to be starting AAR 1 with my 6 year old for 1st grade. I hope to get through AAR 1 and 2 in 1st grade. We took it easy in KG and mostly played and learned letter sounds and simple math concepts. We are ready to hit it hard for first.

When I saw them at a convention they did not have the books there to take with you. They had a huge display with a sample book for all the light units, but you still had to order them and they would waive the shipping cost.

We are thinking of trying Heart of Dakota (Bigger) for our 1st and 3rd grader this year. It might be an option for you.

We absolutely LOVE CLE Math. We have used it for 1st and 2nd. The lessons include an oral exercise (ie. count by 2's to 40), a 5 minute flashcard review, and a speed drill (28 fact practice problems). Then you move onto the new part of the lesson which is pretty short and easy to understand. I work through this part with my dd. Then she does the "We Remember" part of the lesson. This is the bulk of the work (Usually 4 pages). She can do it fast or slow depending on her motivation level.But whe she concentrates and has a good attitude she could finish in 20 minutes. (And she is not mathy).

Us too! We love it!

I just saw this today as well.I wish they had some samples up...but I guess its too new.

Singapore is a really good math program...but it DID NOT work for my daughter. We did CLE Math1 in 1st and switched to Singapore Math 2 for 2nd. The mastery based approach was all wrong for my dd. She lost a lot of the ground we had covered in 1st grade. We quit in December and started over with CLE Math2 and it is working beautifully!!

We are using CLE Math 2 right now with my 7 yr old dd. The fractions are taught on a very basic level at the beginning and they do review Math 1 concepts in Math 2. As far as the story problems...they are also pretty basic addition and subtraction problems. My daughter did do Math 1 in first grade though. But, since your DS is only 5.5 yrs old I would go to CLE Grade 1 now and shelve the current Math. You could skip concepts you have already covered and move to Math 2 when you are ready. We love CLE Math and highly recommend it! We briefly moved to Singapore after completing Math 1 and I regret it because she lost some concepts that had been previously mastered. But, we are back ontrack with Math 2 and I do not think we will switch from CLE again. :)

Thank you so much for all your responses so far! Based on what I am hearing I think this might be a good choice for 3rd grade. I can supplement as needed for writing.

We use CLE for Math and we used CLE Learn to Read and part of LA 1. However, I did not care for all the diacritical marks used so we moved on to other things. Well, I am looking into 3rd grade and am considering CLE LA again. From the samples it doesn't seem like the diacritical marks are used as often as when they were teaching phonics in 1st and 2nd. Have you found this to be true? Also, do you feel their LA is too much? I just like how writing, penmaship, grammar, and spelling, are all included since we havent found any other program we are 100% sold on for those subjects anyway. Also, I really need my daughter to be mostly independent since I have a younger child and run a daycare 50 hours a week. Any advice and/or experiences with CLE LA 3rd grade and up are appreciated. Thanks, Katie

We started in August this year. We finished this semester, but I am making some curriculum changes and we are starting fresh in January. I am seriously considering starting a year-round concept Beginning in January and taking breaks in May, August, and December each year. I am sooo glad to be done, and am looking forward to what the new year brings!

We use xtra Math on the ipad for math fact practice. It is free.

I am considering using AIG's God's Design for Life Science curriculum. I like the simple format and the 3 units(Animals, Plants, and Body) within Life Science. However, It seems life I would need to supplement with some other books and activities. I am thinking about purchasing Noeo Biology 1 to supplement. The topics seem pretty easy to match up. Has anyone else done this? Thanks! Katie

Thanks for your input Butter! Also I loved seeing Box Day contents on your blog for KG and 2nd since those are the grades I am considering.

I hear ya! I dont have any experience with it but, I have been looking for a boxed curriculum for this upcoming year too because I feel like I jumped around too much this year. I am really interested in Calvert. However, I just can't afford it for 2 kids so I am considering going with a state virtual school near me that is offering it. I'm looking for someone to talk me out of it...or into it.... I just don't want to get stuck into something we all hate! But, I really like their interactive components with Brain Pop and the discovery videos and math game reinforcement.

Anyone?