One more thing about imacs books. If you have an older kid you might not need as many of the book 0 chapters. You might only need a couple to get a handle on their notation. You need the first one for sure.

FWIW my son wasn't really excited about math until AOPS. If a kid has the math gene they will definitely bring out their inner geek. It's like watering a plant.

My son worked through several of the Book 0 chapters (I think 1-7) and Book 1 and 2. The lack of an answer key doesn't seem to bother him and he wants me to order more (I suppose I'll order 3 and 4 I guess). He kind of does these independently which is good because the material is tough and there is no answer key. He also has worked through all of the Intro AOPS books. I haven't seen too much overlap yet. Next year he will probably start Intermediate Probability and Counting too (that is his favorite). I think the two series complement each other pretty well.

This is the meaning that you have to use for subtracting a negative. "-" has different meanings. One of the things it means is a direction change. When you add you go right. When you subtract you change direction and go left. When you subtract a negative number (or multiply by a negative) you change directions twice. So you are left still going in the + direction.

It's a tough thing to generalize since they all look so different. I have never tested but I know that's what I have on my hands. In my house it looks like a kid in the first grade multiplying 3 digit numbers in his head but not able to write 2+3. A second grader reading the hobbit who can't spell "cake". That kind of thing. I am sure that all the 2e kiddos are very different. Look for "Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children" by James Webb.

Rhythmic sense is linked to kinesthetic activity. Marching, large muscle movements (patting your lap) big movements are the best. Even clapping can be difficult (especially for young students). Being able to march to your own beat is easier to keep beat with someone else. Have your kids march and sing something to their tempo, once that is mastered have them try to march to music of different tempos. Some tempos will be easier for them than others. Another way to learn rhythm is with the Phyllis Weikhart sequence. First you say it (chant the rhythm) then you say and do it (say it and clap it for example) then you just clap it. Once your kids can perform rhythmicly with large muscle movements you can start applying this to the piano. Baby steps, you have plenty of time. Work on it just a little a day. Keep it fun and light. I used to sometimes work on steady beat on walks in the woods. They didn't even really see it as practice this way just mom being goofy. HTH:)

I teach that the negative can also mean a direction change. I teach subtracting negative numbers using a number line.

My dyslexic son has been self teaching with the books. They are very user friendly. The challenge level is balanced by the fact that the material is very motivating.

I would enthusiastically recommend AOPS!:D

Me too. I agree with everyone who says "up the challenge level". Also sometimes kids find challenges in non academic areas. My son had a very difficult time with rhythm so I encouraged him to study music. It really helped him learn how to approach difficult tasks. And as a bonus he is a pretty good musician now.:D

I don't think it's crazy to pick and choose. I have done that with both of my kids. My youngest is much more into the Waldorf style than my oldest. I tend to do other things for math and science because except for geometry I am not as into the Waldorf method for those things. Oh and history too. I am kind of like waldorf on steroids:001_smile: I have been doing OM2 with my first grader. Glad to see another Waldorf "heretic". Pure waldorfians would never accelerate through the curriculum. I also do WAY more math and reading than a true Waldorf person would do with a first grader. But there are some things about Waldorf that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

My first grader uses Elementary Spanish though United Streaming. It is video based with activity sheets that you print out. There are 3 levels for the elementary years and another level called "educacion espanola" for middle school. (my seventh grader is working through this) I know you have a love hate relationship with DVDs but I figured I'd mention it since the program is extremely easy to use. Also have a few Jose Luis Orosco CDs which we love. We also occasionally watch Salsa Spanish which is free. My 1st grader especially likes this.

Just wanted to chime in to say I think this idea is wonderful. Yay.:D

My dyslexic son did not do well with ETC. Apples and Pears was a good fit for him. Something in it helped things click for him.

Go for it! You'll be fine.

I agree with you but I am not convinced that regrouping is problem solving "skill". I have a dyslexic child who is unable to compute with standard algorithms. (Well he's able but he's better if he does it "his way"). Forcing him to compute in a certain algorithmic format would have been a bad idea. He invented his own methods which worked just fine for him. He worked through Singapore and the CWP and did fine, he just computes differently. Maybe I was misreading but standard algorithms are just one persons idea of the best and most efficient solution. There are other options which work better for individual children.

The early years taught by immersion but the middle school level teaches explicit grammar rules. The videos contain a little bit of everything; songs, stories, activities, culture, geography. Sometimes the teacher is speaking (or singing) sometimes a short cartoon sometimes children are present.

What about a xylophone?

Nothing that hasn't already been mentioned. Music ace is cute and fun. Not sure how much it applies the note reading to an instrument though. I am not familiar with the other programs. Music Mind Games looked interesting. I wouldn't be teaching kids rhythms until they could perform the rhythms on their own accurately and I would teach them as a call and response rather than having the student follow along and say the rhythm with me. But maybe I am just being picky. It looked like a cool program. I wasn't able to look at musiciq in detail but the chance to apply concepts on a piano would probably be a bonus. There is also kinderbach which no one mentioned, but for this you would also need a keyboard. Sorry that I can't be too much help. i haven't found a music software program that I really love yet. The choices have gotten better over the years but I haven't seen one that I have fallen in love with yet.

I am answering this with my music teacher hat on. I think it's great that you want to do this. I will try to give you a few tips that have been useful to me as a teacher. The most valuable music lesson that we give our children is the joy of expressing themselves musically. This can be singing, drumming, playing an instrument or even a kazoo. The reading and theory are extras on top of that to take them to the next level. I see it as a similar process of learning to read. We first speak to our kids and read them wonderful literature then we teach them how to read (and still speak to them and read great books out loud). Often with music people jump right into the "phonics" without having too much of the conversation or story time. If you are not very musical yourself your conversations might be simple. Perhaps you can play or sing "Hot cross buns" or "Mary had a little lamb". This is fine. You don't have to be a virtuosic player to teach a beginner. You can use recordings too if you have a recorder book that comes with a good CD. The Do It Play recorder books by Froseth have a CD that is pretty good, there might be others too. It's really important for a child to be able to sing or play simple tunes before they jump into reading otherwise the notation doesn't have much meaning to them and it can seem a bit pointless. Other things... Practice note name reading and rhythm reading separately Use physical movements to help students learn rhythmic feel. (clapping, patting, marching etc.) Practice small chunks Practice slowly. Have a place where they can practice with good posture (a music stand or piano). If you sing, sing for your kids and have them sing back to you. They learn more that way than if they sing along. Good Luck!

Of course I know you are joking. A kid doesn't need to be strong in all of those areas. Still I am with you. For example I have a highly intelligent son who is awkward. So I sneak things in to teach him to be more coordinated (randomly skipping or drummimg etc.) I think it's a great idea to work with your kids on areas that they might be weak. My son would have never been a musician had he not been taught. Kids won't learn to be a genius in all of those areas but I think you can help them develop skills especially if you start young.

We happen to have an original edition but one of the CDs was replaced with the newer version. When we got to the Jim Weiss part, my DD cried.:( I firmly told her the woman would be back soon. I always thought it was just my daughter being quirky, she always prefers girls.:001_smile:

"I love this short story: How I Trumped Rudolf Steiner and Overcame the Tribulations of Illiteracy, One Snickers Bar at a Time http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/...eNumber=694293" :lol: I taught in a Waldorf school for a couple of years but I didn't send my kids there (I think homeschooling is better:)). There is some variation between schools on how dogmatic the faculty are. My experience was that the teachers believed their system was the best and tried to educate and convince parents to adapt their home life to Waldorf but there was a range of parenting styles in the schools. The families were not all pure Waldorf. The teachers would have loved to be teaching kids who went home to felt toys without faces and chunky beeswax crayons with a lit candle at bedtime and a song and a verse but that didn't always happen. I don't remember teachers being overtly hostile to parents. Sounds like you were dealing with a difficult individual. I worked with an incredible class teacher who taught 2 autism spectrum kids in her class. She was absolutely amazing and if I had a child on the autism spectrum I would consider Waldorf as a placement because of this. My child is a gifted dyslexic. I don't think Waldorf is a good fit for this type of student. But for some kids the Waldorf experience is magical. The most important thing about a Waldorf school is finding a good class teacher. Your child will have that teacher for 8 years so when it's good it's very, very good and when it's bad.... But of course I still think homeschooling is better most of the time.

That's what my son did. He wasn't ready for Algebra but had great success with Intro to Probability and Counting.

Jazz For Young PeopleI haven't used the whole thing because it's pricey but there are samples on line that are free. http://www.jazzatlincolncenter.org/jazzed/j4yp_curr/#/welcome