I am also on a Mac with Firefox and I am having a terrible time with the website. It has taken through "checkout" like 3 times, then it tells me I am going to be redirected to Paypal and then I get bounced back to my basket page. It is too confusing. I am worried I am going to end up with duplicate orders and whatnot. :glare:

Thanks for the link! I like New American Cursive. It is really expensive through amazon.co.uk You don't make me feel half-old! This is how I write :tongue_smilie:

Thank you for the suggestions. I also looked at Bob Jones handwriting that has got pre-cursive and then moves on to cursive. I saw handwriting without tears but I have tried to make a funny looking "G" and "Q" like that for years without success. Basically I am looking for a no-frills cursive that can satisfy a perfectionist boy. I know I am asking a lot but ds is trying to write on his own and don't want to put him "on hold". :blushing:

bump :-)

Hello. As I'm thinking about a handwriting curriculum for my little astronaut I came across this page: http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/handwriting-pages/cursive-handwriting/ I love this cursive! Has anyone seen this font before? Where can I find something similar online? This home schooling mum chose to do her own laminated pages instead of buying a handwriting curriculum. It didn't occur to me I could do this! :bigear:

bla bla bla bla etc

bla bla bla

Are you kidding? I can't even remember the last time I had a pedicure... :D

Thanks. It is always best to hear from people who've "been there, done that." I know MEP is a spiral program and I think ds really needs some mastery now. :001_smile:

:lurk5:

I got this from the MM website: "Please see below a list of objectives and goals for kindergarten math: To count by rote at least to 20, but preferably a little beyond. The concepts of equality, more, and less To count backwards from 10 to 0. To recognize numbers To be able to write numbers To recognize basic shapes to understand up, down, under, near, on the side, etc. (basic directions) To have a very basic idea of addition and subtraction It also helps to expose the student to two-digit numbers." We are using MEP reception which covers the above. As a matter of fact we have done 80% of the above. We haven't followed the lessons religiously (I talked about it in a previous post). DS is a very wriggly 4.5 yo. I am trying to decide on what to do next year and I am looking at MM. Can I or should I use MM 1A for a 5yo (US kindergarten -UK year 1)? Any thoughts? :bigear:

As usual this website is such a source4 of inspiration AND information. :)))))

Thank you all so much for the helpful suggestions. It is very easy to stress over HS when you are a newbie. I always think I'm not pushing ds enough or that I am not doing enough. Maybe I misread MEP about the <> signs. Maybe I got that from the UK national curriculum website which seems to put a lot of emphasis on "early years development.":tongue_smilie:

Same boat here :bigear:

I guess I am trying a formal program because he is supposed to learn to read signs like "greater than" or "less than" etc. and I have no idea how to teach him that unless he has worked through the program first. :confused: Personally I have no idea why a 4yo needs to read math signs so early on..but what do I know! Your idea of counting the plates to teach him simple addition and subtraction is great. Why didn't I think of that before???? :banghead:

I am using MEP reception. The MM question related to next year (as in: if ds doesn't take to MEP I'll switch to MM next year).

As a new homeschooler I have second guessed myself many times. However when I found MEP I thought I struck gold. UK National curriculum based, plenty of manipulatives and games. What could go wrong? Well, for one, MEP seems to be designed for a classroom, not a single student. Many of the activities, such as clapping as children count do not go down well with my 4yo. When I cheerfully ask, "Ok, ready to clap as we count?" his little face goes blank. He completely looses interest when I ask him to do colouring (I think it was the lesson about "matching" and "colour x number of items" on a worksheet). He looks booored. I know MEP is a spiraling program but it doesn't seem to work for ds. I tried looking into Mammoth Math but they don't seem to have books for K (UK Year 1). Any thoughts? :bigear:

I don't remember doing anything that advanced when I was in kindergarten. As an interesting side note I know MEP is based on a math program used in Hungary. We have a Hungarian friend who told us children in Hundary don't do to school until the age of 6 and the Hungarian children test highly in math and reading. Mep has been adapted to the UK school systems and is being used in much younger children. I am not at all sure about the wisdom of pushing young children. In a way I am happy to be overseas as it gives us the perfect opportunity to home ed our child and avoid the school "rat race".

Very interesting to know. I've read many horror stories from home ed families in the UK. It is nice to hear about positive experiences as well. Great link. Just what I was looking for. Thanks. My boy is 4 and what you said above is the main reason I am homeschooling him. He can't sit still and forget about keeping silent. I know the UK is keen to get children started early but I don't think all children are ready for the sit-at-a-desk routine at such an early age.

I have been told (we are in the Gulf at the moment) that homeschooling parents get a lot of hassle from their LA. Have you had any problems with them? Right now we are homeschooling our ds but we have to think what to do when we go back to the UK. p.s. if this is the wrong place to ask please let me know.

It does help. The whole thing get even more confusing when you hear about "grammar schools". :tongue_smilie:

Thank you so much. I searched for this some time ago and even bookmarked it and now I can find the bookmark (typical of me). Cheers.:D

Oh, well. I am second guessing myself. (takes a :chillpill:)

I'm starting over as well. I found that whatever we did the month we did school was promptly forgotten over weeks of illness and Christmas break (sigh). We started today. I am making some changes simply because I have realised i was being overly ambitious and ds is only 4 ;)

I know it's been asked before but... Whenever I read material on the internet I am confused by the American and British names for school grades? Is Reception the same as Kindergarten? Does anyone have a good link indicating the different grades in both countries?