Looking for a fun game style supplement for math. He loves Reflex but that only helps for math fact fluency. We are doing the DreamBox trial right now and he seems to be having fun. I like that it covers multiple math topics and seems to adjust to him. Does it has staying power though? Staying power in terms of it is still fun 6+ months later and staying power in terms of promoting math mastery. Any pros/cons I should consider before purchasing it? TIA!

Does anyone already have the revised SS? Rainbow Resources lists it but the actual SS website doesn't, so I am trying to figure out what the difference is. We usually just use the teacher book and do the lists orally or on a dry erase board. RR mentioned that the new student book has "fun activities" but not what they are or if they are daily or weekly activities. My DS recently asked for spelling activities, so I am wondering if the student book might be worth it. Also, are the teacher books and actual lists the same as the old edition or revised as well? Tia!

DH got a job in Allentown. We will be moving the end of the year. Stroudsburg and north are my old stomping grounds so it is kinda exciting to be moving back home. But now with child in tow. :) We will likely move somewhere between Stroudsburg and Allentown. Need info on HS groups (any peanut free?!), HS resources and classes, chiros that specialize in upper cervical care, acupuncturists that treat kids, homeopaths, good organic food stores, dance classes and theater classes for DS, what areas to look at housing (or avoid!).... Anyone else in that area??

DH is graduating in a few days. The jobmarket sucks here in FL so a move out of state is a must. Boston area came up as a big possibility....wondering what HSing is MA is like. I googled it but the legalese is killing me. It is legal but we'd be considered a private school? And required to submit lesson plans for approval? Is that correct?? What about the other New England states? Where is HS friendly? TIA!

We are seriously considering moving to Denver in the next year. Taking a family vacation out there in April to check out the areas surrounding Denver. Just wondering what sort of family fun is to be had in and around Denver? DS is a dino freak so the Museum of Science and History is at the top of the list. Debating between a day trip to Pikes Peak or to Rocky Mtn National Park. We really like outdoorsy stuff, museums, and just laid back fun. Not big on the tourist traps or theme parks. Any great outdoorsy activities or parks we should check out? Any other budget friendly suggestions? Also any suggestions on places to stay - must have a kitchen (fridge and stove top atleast!!) And lastly - for the Denver area locals....any areas in Denver or surrounding towns we should definitely look at (or definitely avoid) in terms of relocating?? TIA!

What are your experiences with AAS customer service?? I just sent them an email.... I finally splurged and ordered AAS for my son last monday and despite paying $10 for priority shipping I still don't have my order a full week later. I know Monday was a holiday, but even considering that I should have gotten it in the mail by Friday or Saturday at the VERY latest. Their website states ships next business day (tues but I will give them Wed with the holiday). But already got my mail for today and yet again NOTHING. I am really annoyed. There was no communication from them after the order confirmation email, no shipping email or anything like that....I have no idea if it shipped, when it shipped. Was is the point of paying for priority shipping and then waiting over a week to get my order?! I guess I should have asked before I ordered, but what is customer service like? Can I expect a prompt reply and hopefully some info on where oh where my order is? Thanks!

These are some of my fave quotes “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.†Albert Einstein "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." William Bulter Yeats "Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself." JOhn Dewey "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle Some other cool quotes: The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Aristotle Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know. Daniel Boorstin Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. George Washington Carver Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one. Malcolm Forbes He who opens a school door, closes a prison. Victor Hugo To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks. A. A. Milne I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow. Woodrow Wilson It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. Albert Einstein

I am too busy with this year!! do most people usually start planning now?! I had to tweak or change a good amount of what I started with this year. If we finish this school year still loving what we are using and how I am using it, then we'll continue with it. If not, then I'll worry about finding something new. I do have plans to add more subjects in later this year though...like AAS inthe next few weeks and maybe SSL. And maybe theater class and an art class. Does that count? LOL

LOL! I started one with high hopes of using it to compile all the pics fromour projects, experiment, field trips, etc. I hoped for once a week posts. Worked the first month or so. :tongue_smilie: I keep meaning to post up updates - but the idea of bringing it current is so daunting!! I updated it last around Halloween - Oopsie! LOL Maybe I could use this to motivate myself though. Maybe :D I'd share mine - but I have it sent up as private and I would need an email address to add you as a reader. I am a bit neurotic when it comes to posting pics and personal info on the web....

I remember doing the same thing as a kid - sitting for HOURS with one worksheet in front of me. I was BORED. My mom would get mad, yell at me, take stuff away, it never mattered honestly. I was already being tortured by having to do that one worksheet....Once I changed schools and was declared "gifted" and put into advanced classes and doing MUCH harder work - I woud finish it much quicker. I need to be challenged, stimulated, engaged, interested. If I am bored, I can't focus on that stupid, mudane, useless task which is so below me that it is quite insulting that I am even being asked to do it. ;) And yes that is often how I felt and sometimes still do feel. Even now, as an adult, tedious tasks drive me insane. I am an adult and can now appreciate the value of some tedious tasks such as housework - but it still takes me a long time to complete on some days. It is not being stubborn, or lazy despite my mother's opinions :tongue_smilie: It is sheer boredom and lack of fulfillment doing those tasks. Sometimes it is painful to do something so basic and so tedious! Imagine I took away all your favorite grown up thought provoking, stimulating, enjoyable novels and handed you a Dick and Jane book and that was all you were ever allowed to read. You would be bored and frustrated and want MORE. You may stare at the picture, noticing the shadowing on Jane's dress or count how many spots the silly dog has. Your mind wanders away from the horribly boring and totally non-stimulating story to find something, anything, that stimulates. At that point, the inner dialogue in my mind are so much more stimulating! Personally I would try to figure out WHY he was so bored. Find ways around it. Challenge more if necessary. Provide more hands on and interactive stuff instead of copywork. My son is just like me, only even more active and tactile when it comes to learning. I adapt his edcuation to fit HIM and his learning style/needs. That is one of the many reasons I am HSing. Kids have plenty of time later on to discover that life is full of mudane useless tasks. Their education should not be mudane and should not kill their love of learning (which is exactly what boredom does!). Their education should be filled with the joy of learning, the excitement of new discoveries, the challenges of new material or skills, the sense of accomplishment at mastering a skill or task.

I like Essential Language Lessons Intermediate Language Lessons

We do better with informal, living math too. DS will do stuff like Singapore and Math Mammoth - but it is slow and tedious compared to the living math. He does really like and enjoy MM though. It is his favorite of all the math programs we have tried. But we do lots of living math. Math games are a huge hit here - dice games, dominoes, C.Rods and MUS math blocks, card games like Math War and Dino Duel. Board games, shopping math, kitchen math, baking math. He LOVES it and "gets it" so easily and quickly. No blank stares and "i don't know"s Yesterday *HE* came to me with a clementine to show me that it had 10 segments and started doing all sorts of math equations with it. 5 segments + 5 segments = 10. Eat one, now it is 4+ 5, that's 9! etc. We'd eat and add and subtract our way thru the clementine and then he'd run to get another one. For over an hour he did this! It only stopped cuz I was worried about the amount of citrus he was eating and his sensitive tummy and I cut off the clementine supply. Real life math is so the way to go for him. I just add in the MM stuff to reinforce the math concepts and build his tolerance of formal math.

Thank you all. I think might be something to re-inforce what we are already learning in regard to phonics, while introducing spelling too. I really like that it isn't writing intensive either...he has a very low tolerance and high fatigue/frustration level when it comes to writing. Dry erase boards are the only way I can really get him to write at the moment. Whatever works! I showed DS some of the pics of kiddos with magnets and he was excited. He LOVES magnets! ABC magnets on the fridge was how he learned his ABCs and alot of the simple 3-4 letter words. :) Thanks again!

Thanks! We have basicaly "unschooled" until K - although I prefer "child-led" to describe it since we VERY ACTIVELY learn stuff. And even now we are definitely doing a gentle child led approach but I am guiding certain things like math. He is a sponge and an eager learner - if it interests him and he wants to learn about it that is! ;) I simple can't do rigid, sit down structured work with him. He doesnt learn that way, and neither of us would be happy doing it. I am looking for something more "game" like, more tactile. Something I can easily adapt to a slower or faster pace as he needs it... sounds like you are using it that way and it is working well. Thanks for sharing!

Trying to decide if this is right for us or not... I like that it seems to do phonics and spelling too. DS is a great reader, readers independently very very well. But struggles with the phonics portion of things...He does best with games or activity based learning. Workbooks and that sort of thing are NOT for him at all....He is resistive to phonics in general but wants learn to spell. We are doing Phonics Pathways now but it is lots of worksheety stuff and I am making up a ton of games for it. He likes it, but learning to spell is a big motivator for him right now and I am thinking I can use that to sneak in the phonics - wondering if AAS would help me do that more effectively.... So please tell me more about AAS!! I know it is really popular around here, and I like the fact that it is interactive and has magnets. But the website doesn't tell you much about the actual program itself at all which is really frustrating for me. Why did you choose it? How long have you used it? HOW do you implement it? Have you used anything else? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it? What do your kiddos think about it? Thanks so much!