I'll second that from my own experience! I was well into adulthood before I figured out why I could add so well. When I was 13 my mom taught me to play canasta and we played a lot! All those games of counting up points/scores was great work on my addition!

Deep breath.... One thing I'm working on is remembering that ds does not have to learn everything right now. You know what some of the trouble spots are. I would suggest (albeit in my lack of experience) choosing one to focus on now. Keep pluggin' away at all your subjects, but don't stress over math concepts and punctuation and....Choose one to put extra focus on for now. Or... Take a deep breath and make sure that your stress level is in check. If you are stressed, odds are ds is, too, and it's hard to learn anything like that. How many subjects are you doing? Are you trying (like me) to fit too much into a day, and get flustered when it doesn't all get done? Perhaps you could set some things aside for now, to allow more time and energy for working on the trouble spots. Just a thought.

While you're doing your "drill/skill training" try to make it fun. Kids remember better what they enjoy (I know I do!) Check out http://www.bigbrainz.com/ for fun multiplication drill. Here's a couple more sites that I've recently discovered that are more fun than your basic flash card: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm http://www.thatquiz.org/ You could also check out programs like JumpStart, Reader Rabbit Math or Math Blaster. We used several of those as fun practice. Hope this helps. As I'm writing this, I realize I'm not sure of the age of your ds. :blushing:

Perhaps you could try sending him to the dictionary when he comes to you for definitions? Maybe that would help to train him to find out the answer for himself. Just a thought, as I have no expertise in this area. I send my son to the dictionary to find out how to spell things. He doesn't like it, but I figure it's good practice for him to learn how to find out for himself. Of course, my ds is 9...a little older than yours. Hope you find something that works for you!

What I used to do with ds was use objects (such as pencils, small toys, unifix cubes...) to "act out" the problems. For example, when learning about adding to 10 we'd take ten pencils and work out how many ways you could make 10 by actually moving them into groups of 4 and 6 or 3 and 7, etc. We'd do the same thing with unifix cubes (a fabulous manip to have on hand if you don't already- great for learning patterning of all kinds). We also sometimes used base 10 cubes to work through problems. At this age, manipulations are still very important for understanding abstract concepts and making them more concrete (counting objects verses numbers on paper). HTH!

They're out of print? I just went to the website and they seem to be selling them still. http://www.singaporemath.com Maybe I missed something. See if this site has what you're looking for.

Check out the Sonlight reading lists. Many of the books the pp's have listed come from them (specifically Cores3 and 4, but don't let the core level fool you. They would be good readers for older kids). SL does a great job of picking out good books. I use their lists every year (so far).

As a "been there, done that" curriculum junkie I would like to offer a word of caution to the '"newbies" on this thread. Do not make the same mistake I did and go "ga ga" over everything out there. My ds used to like workbooks till I started piling them in front of him! :tongue_smilie: There's a lot of great stuff out there and inevitably I would end up with 3-4 different, for example, Language Arts programs that pretty much cover the same stuff - just 'cuz "I want it all for my son!" (to quote the pp) There's no need to rush into it. K is about discovery and broadening the horizons. Take a deep breath and make it fun. Some great books to have on hand for this age: Kids Create Scribble Cookies Mudworks Dr. Seuss' ABC's (love this book for beginning reading skills/phonics/letters...There's also a "living books" computer game that goes along with it. Great fun!) You said you have some of the SL books for K? Those are great, but also consider the pre-k books. I read both to ds when he was doing K and I do not regret it at all. As they get older, they're able to pick more up from the stories. If dd likes computer games I recommend Reader Rabbit. Ds got a lot out of those and loved them. He was 8 yrs old before I could convince him to give up his Toddler cd! They cover multiple subject areas. I noticed you're using Starfall. That's a great program, too! You might have fun with Between the Lions. They also have online games. Also, when ds was pre-k (a little younger than your dd, but not much) I picked up some large cardboard letters for collaging (Lakeshore Learning). For example, on letter "A" we put "animal" stickers, "airplane" stickers, "apple" prints with paint...you get the idea. It's a fun way to begin phonics/letter recognition. Ds still has the letters on his wall that spell his name. This is a great journey you are embarking upon. Take it one step at a time. The rewards are fabulous! :hurray:

I can't advise you on the paint because we switched from tempura to acrylic (the cheap variety), however, if you're ever in the market for art pencils, we love Prismacolor. Yes, they are quite pricey, but very high quality with vivid colors (and lots of them!) Occasionally, someone will have a sale (I bought my box of 72 from Timberdoodle for $40!). I think that Dick Blick is the website I saw that sells them individually for a good price.

I've never seen Operation World, but we have Window on the World. It's a nice layout, full color, good info and insight into the culture. We like it!

If your dd likes audio books, you could use the SOTW audio and just not use activity pgs, etc. You'll be amazed how much she picks up just from that. My ds is 9 and frequently listens to his SOTW cds (we have all 4 volumes). He loves them and listens to them over and over, often while taking a bath or playing with Legos. Volume 4 does discuss more wars, etc so you may want to hold off on that one for a bit. I know of people who use the cds as they're going places in the car, too. Great way to add in a little extra! Just a thought... BTW, you might consider less paper work (Horizons) and more manipulatives. You know your dd better than I do, obviously, but once upon a time I was a preschool teacher. The younger set (even some of the older) love the manips! They are a great way to begin making abstract ideas more concrete. We use them for counting, sorting, patterning....all great pre-reading/pre-math skills. Some of my favorites: Pattern Blocks/activities Tangrams/activities Unifix Cubes File Folder games "Treasure Boxes" - same-size containers holding items that can be counted, sorted, patterned, etc. You could use disposible Ziploc containers with colored paper clips, buttons, tiles, keys.... You might also enjoy Lap Books. Let me know if you have any questions about these. I would be glad to point you to some resources (Carson-Dellosa has some fun things). Welcome to the adventure of Homeschooling! You'll get lots of great advice from these panels (I sure do!) :grouphug:

Check into Carson-Dellosa. I remember using lots of their products when I was teaching pre-k/k. They have some fun stuff that is great for pre-reading/pre-math skills as well as fine motor. http://www.carsondellosa.com Check out their Pre-Handwriting Book!

SOTW also has audio books, if you weren't aware of that, and the history is all chronological so it's nice to start at the beginning. There are activity books that go with them, which we rarely used because ds isn't crazy about coloring, but there are some mapping activities and such as well. The audios worked well for us because ds loves audio books. I let him listen to the SOTW at his leisure. He'll shut himself in his room with the cds and his legos and I won't see him for hours! The kid knows more history than I do. Language Arts I've always done "piece-meal", but I did use LLATL one year. That program has some nice components in it (literature based) and I really like the font they use for printing practice. It is Christian, but not blatantly - just a very nice program. (BTW, I'm not really a WTM hs'r, but have some leanings toward it. You'll find I'm rather eclectic in what I use). I've never used R & S so I can't comment there. I've never really cared for SL LA, but they have great reading lists. Sounds like you've got a plan for math already. I might suggest also doing things such as Pattern Blocks and Tangrams as well as Unifix Cubes. You can get books/activities to go with the blocks & tangrams. I've found Unifix Cubes to be great for patterning, counting/math problems & relationships. And all three of these are fun! If your dc use computers, I might suggest Reader Rabbit as well as some online games. I can give you some good resources if you're interested. HTH, and welcome to the wonderful world of homeschooling! You'll be glad you joined this forum. Even if you never post again, you'll glean all kinds of info just from "lurking". Have fun! :D

"They're" not consistent are they? In WA, I believe the cut-off was August 31 - which left me the dilemma of where to place my late October ds. He was ready for 1st so that's where we started him. Sometimes I question the wisdom of that move, but he is doing well and at grade level in most areas - lagging slightly behind in a couple, but quickly gaining ground. Sorry. Don't mean to babble. It's late and I'm tired. :blink:

I'll second the Bob Books. And LLATL has some great little readers if you can find them separately. I think it was the Blue Book that had those. There's also a website I used to pull things off of, and another couple that have some fun games. Let me find the links.... http://www.readinga-z.com http://www.starfall.com http://pbskids.org/lions HTH!

Same here. :001_huh:I've never heard it called "remedial" either. I actually have book one on my shelf, but we've only done a couple pages out of it. Spelling keeps getting pushed to the back burner. I plan to work on it a lot next year. Ds wants to know good spelling now!

Just thought of another idea, too, that we used with ds. Lakeshore Learning has big (like 16-20") cardboard letters (primary colors) that we used for collaging. For example, letter "A" was filled with "alphabet" stickers, "animals", "apple" paint prints, "airplane" stickers...you get the idea. Then we hung them up around his room as he did them. He still has the letters on his wall that spell out his name (some 5-6 yrs later)!

file folder games, sensory tubs (alternate filling a tub with corn meal, beans, rice...he can practice writing with his finger, measuring volume, etc), "treasure boxes" (same-size boxes containing items for counting, sorting, patterning, etc with a veggie tray/muffin tin for sorting. you could use something like those disposable ziploc containers with buttons, colored paper clips, links, tiles, keys....), magnets (there are some great sets out there. We had one with capital & lower case letters, there are word magnet sets, subject specific sets...) I also like the journal idea. You could give him one without lines and have him draw instead of writing words. HTH!

I just checked out this link for pure curiosity's sake...she's good! Lots of great stuff going on there! Makes me wish I had a pre-k'r again...almost.:tongue_smilie:

I did not use these in conjunction with a math program really, but I'm a big fan of pattern blocks and tangrams. Unifix Cubes are great too. But I'm not sure what exactly you're asking about (math program or manips in general?). I never used MUS or Cuisenaire so I can't comment on those.

I've posted this in a couple of other places today, too, but... Have you tried giving her a journal to write in? The idea behind this is to just write. It is not to be graded at all. It is just for her to put thoughts on paper and grow a love of writing (or at least a tolerance). Knowing it's not being graded can really take the pressure off and allow her more mental freedom to just let loose on paper. If she's having trouble coming up with ideas, try giving her a list of writing prompts (a google search will quickly find you many), or have her write about her day, etc. I did this with ds for about a year and he went from complaining about writing a sentence to writing his own novel! It sounds like something like this might help her discover her inner author.

:iagree:I also like the idea of a journal. The advice I was given (and, Merry, I think it was you over on the SL boards:001_huh: that mentioned this a while back - thank you!) is that the journal is not something to be graded in anyway. It's purpose is to encourage a creative outlet and a love of writing, to just put thoughts on paper. Spelling, punctuation, etc is not a thing to be corrected in this journal. Offer writing prompts if needed or desired, but this is dc's own. Doing this, even for just a year, really helped my ds with getting his thoughts down. He went from complaining about writing a sentence, to writing his own stories. This year, he's so excited because he participated in National Novel Writer's Month and is working to complete editing on his first "novel" (5000 words and counting!). He reads a lot so his spelling is improving, but that is one area which we have sorely neglected. He now wants to learn how to spell things correctly so I just ordered Phonetic Zoo (IEW) so we can put a concerted effort toward it. Sometimes, things just have to happen "at the right time." :)

Cool. Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to check it out.

We just finished up the Middle Ages using those very pages (Notebooking Nook)! They're great! I think Notebooking Pages ( http://www.notebookingpages.com/ ) has another set as well, but I prefer Notebooking Nook's.

My ds wasn't crazy about writing either, but I got some great advice on another board. We got him a notebook and gave it to him for journaling. He was required to write in it just about everyday, but there was no grading of this work. The subject was of his choosing (I gave him writing prompts when he couldn't think of anything). Spelling, grammar, punctuation...none of that mattered. I wouldn't even read it if he didn't want me to. It was all about him getting his thoughts on paper and developing of love of creativity in writing. I think that really helped open up the writing world to him. He's always had a great imagination and this journaling helped him begin the process of being able to write it down. Now, in 4th grade, he has participated in his first National Novel Writer's Month and is excitedly working on editing his novel for "publication"! There is hope for your dc! We also use Growing with Grammar when we work on grammar. These are open & go lessons with usually 2-3 pages to read and a workbook page (one page, front & back). We usually had it done in about 15 minutes. Very straightforward with built in repetition. Hope this helps you in your journey. I know you'll get lots of great insight from those more experienced. Good luck!