There's another Apologia thread going on you may want to check on. There are pros & cons to both sets. The journal you purchase is pretty nice. I like the design of the pages better and there are some nice, full-color mini-books that go in it. However, it is spiral bound, and as someone on the other thread mentioned, they are printed on both sides so it's not necessarily just a simple matter of pulling out the pages you don't want to do. Also, you can't really add any pages of your own to it. All that said, it is a really nice journal, tho. The free download pages are not quite as fancy, and there are no full-color mini-books to go with it, but you can print the pages you want to use, you can add your own pages to your binder and you can make your own mini-books by using basic lapbook techniques. Either way, you're going to end up with a nice book. HTH! BTW, Someone on the other thread mentioned that the store-bought journal is not reproducible. You might want to keep that in mind too, as I see you have more than one dc....

The purchased notebook journal has nicer pages (IMO) and also has a few full-color booklets (lapbook variety) to add to the journal. The free one works just as well and of course, you can always add your own stuff to it. We're using the free pages with Zoo 2 and I bought the journal for Botany so I've seen both. We did (are doing) Swimming Creatures this year. We have enjoyed the study. I like the online resources from the website (for example, clips of whale songs, clips of turtle hatchlings finding their way to sea...). I also add to the study by reading related books such as MSB Whale Watch, and doing activities like sculpey clay sea creatures. We throw in an occasional video as well (Life, Blue Planet...) There's no way we're getting thru this whole thing by the end of the year. We're only about halfway thru. We've avoided getting burned out on the subject by only doing this study once a week. Ds attends a weekly workshop for other science. There's no need to add anything to the study. We just do for kicks! BTW, we've loved watching the frog embryos develop. We now have 3 little frogs. Way cool!

Definitely take the placement test. And keep in mind that Singapore levels are not necessarily equated to US Grade levels. My ds is in 4th grade and doing Singapore 3B which more or less matches up with what 4th graders are doing here in ps.

Had to laugh about the whole clock thing (not at you). Ds is 9.5, is learning to add fractions with finding the common denominator and still struggles with reading a clock! :tongue_smilie: Some things just take longer to click. I agree that much of what you describe is normal for a boy of your ds age. I think you're on the right track with having him use manipulatives. I would continue with that. The fact that he wants to learn to spell things correctly is great. Ds just hit that point this year. Up till this point I have put spelling on the back burner to focus on math and reading. Now he wants to learn and that makes a huge difference in what he's able to accomplish. Reversing letters is normal at your ds' age. It should straighten out over the next year or so. And penmanship? Well, that comes with time as well. Learning to space things properly and use the lines on top of trying to get your fingers to make those letters while holding a small object can be quite challenging. Playing with playdough for example, helps strengthen those fingers and build up writing muscles. Doing mazes can help with pencil control in a fun way. Kumon has some great maze workbooks for this very purpose. They run about $6. Do you have an idea of ds learning style? You might try making some observations in that area. Do things sink in better when done auditorily? kinetically? visually? Oral narration may be a challenge for someone (like me!) who is more visual. Can he draw you a picture of what he thinks will happen in the science experiment more easily than he can tell you aloud? Lots to think about! Sounds to me, tho, that ds is doing just fine.

Eclectic here! As a reforming (hopefully) curriculum junkie :tongue_smilie: I just wanted to say slow and steady. There is a ton of stuff out there and much of it looks great! Don't try to cram it all in at once. When I hit grade school with ds, I seriously had like 3 different LA programs going on. Crazy! Don't do that. As a former preschool teacher, I suggest lots of hands-on, manipulatives, exploration and read-alouds. Sonlight has some great book lists. I know others have suggested things like Ambleside...I've mostly used the SL reading lists, but have noticed there is quite a bit of overlap in the reading lists of the more popular curriculum on these boards. Don't think you'll go wrong with any one of them. Lapbooks or unit studies might be fun. File folder games, tangrams, pattern blocks, Unifix cubes, playdough... great stuff for this age (and the middle dc, too). You should also try to understand what the dominant learning style of your dc is. That will help you determine what curriculum/activities to do. I do agree that you should try to figure out what style of hs will work best for your family. That may take some trial and error, but a general idea of the direction you want to go is good. I didn't really know about all these different styles when I started. I knew there were a couple, but I wasn't really sure how to go about implementing a hs style effectively. The more time goes by, the more I learn, the more we settle into a groove that fits us. There's lots of BTDT wisdom on these boards, free for the asking. I've gleaned lots; I'm sure you will too! Welcome to the party! :party:

Well, let me put it this way. Each time I hand ds the newest volume (we now have all 4) he jumps up and down, takes it from me and heads to his room where he stays for hours at a time, listening and playing with his legos. :D 'nuf said? The kid knows way more history than I ever did and listens to these cds multiple times. After volume 1 I quit scheduling SOTW. He does it on his own!

I haven't actually done any of these, but I have been looking into it lately. Here's some great sites to check out: http://www.lapbooklessons.com/ http://www.squidoo.com/lapbooking http://www.squidoo.com/jimmie As far as supplies? Lots of paper/cardstock (various colors), glue, tape, (or glue dots, double-sided tape...), markers, pencils, crayons, scissors....basic school supply stuff. Oh, and file folders. The above links have some great ideas. I think I'm actually going to do more of a combo with notebooking & lapbooking since we already do some notebooking. I figure I'll just add lapbook elements to it. I'm sure you'll get more posts from those more experienced. Lots of people on here use lapbooks. Have fun!

I agree that letting her use manipulatives is a good idea. She's still pretty young and using things like Unifix Cubes, Base 10s or Cuisenaire rods (sp?) could really help her solidify some of those concepts. Spend time practicing the regrouping of numbers- we even used pencils or small toys for regrouping practice. The thing that's nice about Unifix cubes,etc. is they are uniform in size which can be helpful in grasping the ideas. I also know that, although it's good, there's a whole lot of stuff on Horizon's pages. Maybe it's overwhelming for her. I know ds gets a little freaked whenever he sees tons on a page ("I have to do all that?"). Just my humble thoughts....:001_smile:

I would suggest letting her use manipulatives for a bit. They really help to make those abstract ideas (numbers on paper) more concrete (those numbers mean more when attached to real objects). She's still pretty young. I played games with ds such as taking 10 pencils (or whatever) and seeing how many ways you can make 10, for example (9 & 1, 8 & 2...). This helps with learning how numbers relate to one another. I also let him work out the problems using the manipulatives as needed. Unifix cubes are good for this. Also something to keep in mind is that (as I understand it) the Singapore grades run differently than US grades so that Singapore 1 would actually be used with US second grade. I know ds is in 4th grade this year and currently is doing 3B. He is pretty much on schedule for what ps does here in 4th grade. Not with everything because Singapore introduces things in a little different order, but basically.... Another thought is about learning style. Is she more visual, kinetic, auditory? That can make a difference in how well she learns things. If she's kinetic, you might try having her do a hopscotch game or something while reciting facts, or maybe just using the manips will help with that. If she's auditory try having her say facts outloud. Try different methods like that (I'm sure others will have more ideas) and see what works best for her. She could be visual and that's why the dots help her. Or she could be a combination. I'm visual-kinetic myself and need to see things done and do it myself with guidance before I really understand. HTH! BTW, I just reread your post about the timing thing. Ds used to be incredibly slow as well (and hates being timed, too). It got to where it would take about an hour somedays just for one exercise. I stopped looking at how many pages he was doing and just said, "we're going to work in your workbook for 15 minutes." We got how far we got (I did usually have him finish the page he was on). Sometimes it's one page, sometimes it's 15 - He is also enrolled in Kumon math which is great for mastery. He loves it when Singapore reaches concepts he's already had in Kumon. He flies thru some of those pages and has a blast! Anyway, I bring this up as an encouragement to you that maybe setting a certain amount of time to work on these pages might not be a bad idea. For us, it took some of the pressure off. Focus on what she does get done and challenge her in a positive way to do her best to get even more done next time.

Thanks for the link! I went to the site to check it out and found a free DaVinci lapbook. Perfect timing since we'll be reading about him next week!

Geomatters (the link I posted earlier) also has Trail Guide to US Geography that you might be interested in looking at. I haven't used that one, but it looks pretty good.

I think a PP already mentioned NARHS (North Atlantic Regional High School), which is used by many in our area. You could also check to see about a "Running Start" program in your area. In this program high school students earn high school and college credits simultaneously (by attending Community College) and can potentially graduate with both a state high school diploma and an AA.

I've always used Unifix cubes. They are a high quality product and I've found 100 to be sufficient for what we needed. (10 each of 10 colors) What you may not like about them is that they only connect one way - they can't be connected on all sides in other words. http://www.didax.com/unifix/math/ I bought mine used on Ebay. They also make unifix cubes for word families, etc. I've never used those, tho.

Have you checked out Cantering the Country or Galloping the Globe? http://www.geomatters.com

For summer, we usually work on finishing up some of the things we didn't get finished during the year (like his Singapore math wkbk) We're usually pretty close to done. He continues with Kumon math and Piano lessons year round. We'll read a lot and throw in more activities such as science experiments or maybe that Medieval Castle project we never got around to. We also spend more time at the park doing physical activities, and usually have swimming lessons and an occasional day camp. This year we'll probably work on spelling thru the summer because this is something he really wants to work on. I may throw in an occasional LA or Critical Thinking wkbk page just for kicks and to keep up the skills. It sounds like a lot, but the only things we do regularly are Kumon, Piano, Spelling & Swimming. They don't take up much of the day at all. The rest comes as we get to it. Some days we won't do anything else. We're very relaxed during the summer months. Ds reads on his own a lot now, so I probably won't schedule that either.

There's a book you can get (the library probably has it) that I found helpful. It's an easy read and can give you a fairly good idea of the different learning styles. It's called "The Way They Learn" by Cynthia Tobias It can point you in the right direction as far as how your dc learn best.

NaNoWriMo is something your dc may enjoy. We did it in November and are continuing the editing process still. The end result is a great feeling of accomplishment and a published book! Check it out..... http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

Someone mentioned lapbooks, which would go great with your readings. File folder games are also a great way to work on different concepts. A google search will give you lots of ideas for those.

Lots of hands on - letter collages (big cardboard letters with items affixed to them beginning with that letter - we used stickers, photos, small objects, paint...) It gets them connecting the letter with the sounds it makes. We also played scavenger-type games (bring me something that starts with "c") Treasure Boxes - same-size tubs (like disposable ziplocks) containing like objects that can be counted, sorted, patterned - and a muffin tin or veggie tray to sort them into. Some items we used: colored paper clips, buttons, links, different colored plastic bread clips, tiles.... Magnets - letters, shapes, etc Tangrams w/ activities Pattern Blocks w/activities Unifix Cubes (great for patterning, working with numbers - ie how many ways can we make 10?) File Folder games (a google search will find you lots of ideas for this) Kumon wkbks or similar (mazes, dot-to-dots, etc. great for beginning writing/pencil control, and counting) Scissor skills (if he's ready. I tried and tried to get ds to use scissors when he was 3 - I used to be a pre-school teacher - but he just didn't want to. After he turned 4, all of a sudden he was cutting everything (with permission) and very tiny things at that!) Funtastic Frogs (beginning math workbook with colorful plastic frogs that can be used to work out the problems. Also good for patterning) Some great resources: Kids Create! Scribble Cookies Mudworks Carson-Dellosa books Dr. Suess' ABC's (love this book for beginning phonics! There's also a living books cd rom that goes with it) Reader Rabbit Jumpstart These were a few of our favorite things! :D

:grouphug:

Thanks! That's got some great stuff in it. And I think we already have the audio book. Now I've got to figure out how to combine everything without spending an entire year with the pirates! :laugh: Pick and choose. Pick and choose...

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. The Pirate Diary resources is actually one of the websites I ran across the other day. It does look interesting. And thanks for the Live and Learn idea. Pre-made is convenient, but not in the budget at the moment. Looks cool tho!

So I have our Explorers study all mapped out in preparation for going into Early American History next year. Then I was looking at something and saw pirates. I figure the end of Explorers would be the perfect time for a quick diversion to pirates (I'm sure ds is going to love that!), but need some ideas for kid-friendly resources. I'd like to do a notebook/lapbook combo sort of thing for this study. I've found a couple of websites that look interesting, but wanted to "pick your brains" for any favorite pirate resources/books you may have. TIA! :bigear:

:iagree: This is something I'm learning to let go of. We spent two full years in the Middle Ages (apparently ds' favorite time period!) - unintentionally. We are not going to get through everything in our science studies before the end of the year, and I'm actually okay with that...now. In fact, I'm not sure there's anything we will have totally completed by June, but we have had a very good year. We've had fun and learned lots - isn't that the point? I will admit we're doing a crash course in measurements so ds is better prepared for his testing in May, but as far as the rest of it? Some of it we will continue into the summer ( I usually do light schooling during summer when we're not on vacation, etc). Some of it we may continue in the fall, picking up where we left off; some of it I may just call good and be done with it. I love the flexibility of homeschooling! It's one of the big draws for me! :hurray:

JoAnne Fabrics also carries stickers (not quite as many as Michael's, but still a good assortment). You can also find some at http://www.currentcatalog.com As far a a sticker album goes - why not make your own? I used to just fold colored paper in half and staple it into a booklet form. ds put his stickers in that and sometimes made scenes out of them by drawing and adding other stickers to the page creatively.