The DAS-2 has an early years version for students ages 2 1/2 up to 8 years, 11 months (it is a green form), and a school age version (the blue form) ages 5 to 17 years, 11 months. So kids from 5 years, 0 months to 8 years, 11 months can be administered either the early years or the school age version - both are fully co-normed. So since your 6 year old hit the ceiling on the early version, it is great that your child will be administered additional subtests on the school aged version. There are some subtests that are the same on both versions -pattern construction and matrices, so those won't have to be repeated. The two verbal subtests are different, instead of copying designs on the early years version the student must look at a design for 5 seconds and then copy it, and instead of placing little cards to match concepts the student has to look at pictures and point to which is the missing picture, design or the student will have to say a number. I administer the DAS-2 (I am a school psychologist) and I often have to switch between forms when I am testing kinder to second graders. It is a sign that the whoever is testing your child wants to get the most accurate picture of your child. There are some testers who would not bother to go back and administer additional subtests.

My son had a speech and language delay and we got him tested right before he turned 3. We couldn't understand most of what he said. For example, he would say cry and say "wan nu bike" which we thought was he wanted to ride his tricycle. It turns out he was trying to say "I want another bite [of food]". The speech therapist recommended that we get his hearing assessed. It turned out he had fluid in his ears and couldn't hear. The ENT doctor told us he had really sticky, thick fluid that had probably been in his ears for months. Once he got ear tubes his speech dramatically improved. So I would get his ears checked first. Here is a link to a great speech and language website http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/ If you look under articles there are charts that tell you what age most kids have mastered which sounds, and what age to expect a stranger to understand your child. There are also some good strategies to work with your child. I see that you are using 100EL. It really helped my child's speech and language to learn to read, I think even more than speech therapy. We started lessons when he turned 4. He struggled to understand the rhyming part at the beginning and had trouble with say it fast, say it slow. We worked a little every single day and he got better and better. It really helped him to read the words and look at the pictures to make sure they matched. For example, he had trouble distinguishing well the "d" and the "t" sound so sad and sat were hard for him to pick up. After learning to read those words, it was like something clicked and he realized that they were different words. He also had difficulty answering the open ended comprehension questions that go along with the story. Now 18 months later his speech and vocabulary are fantastic, and he reads well! I never thought we would get here. After finishing 100 EL he didn't take off, it has been like a dimmer light slowly turning on. It took about 6 months after finishing 100EL that he was able to read fluently without putting in so much effort or sounding out words (we went to the zoo last week and I almost started crying when he read the sign "american bald eagle" and then asked if it was endangered. I was so worried because he was so behind in his speech two years ago.

So I post this morning and lo and behold there is a package waiting for me this afternoon. :tongue_smilie: I need to learn to be more patient. I looked at the math kit and it is so adorable. I think my son will love playing with the magnetic board. I love all the little boxes and how it is packaged. I will have fun tonight looking at all the pieces.

Ok I am being totally sarcastic and impatient - I know they are shipped from back NJ and I am in California. I ordered level 1 textbook, workbook, and the Math Kit A (Manipulatives) three weeks ago. I have been spoiled from using Amazon Mom two day shipping so three weeks is unbearable and I just wanted to vent. Hopefully they will be worth the wait.

I would forget about talking to the teacher this year and try to get a five minute meeting with the principal. Tell the principal that you would like to request a teacher next year who enjoys/has experience working with advanced students and will challenge them - not tell them to hide their abilities. If the principal asks why then explain the situation without being overly negative (I am not sure I could bite my tongue, but I would try). Hopefully there is more than one or two teachers at each grade. Most principals do not want to lose advanced students because they love students who can score high on standardized testing. Did you DD take any standardized test this year? It is sometimes easier to advocate by showing the principal high test scores.

I ordered visible thinking 1a and 1b because i liked the word problem samples. I also have SM 1a and b TG, textbook, workbook, IP, and challenging word problems. I liked the samples they showed but then found the books didn't have as many of those problems as I thought. I think visible thinking would be good for a summer review or as a supplement to a different math program than SM.

Well, never say never. I broke down and bought the first grade Japanese Math textbook and workbooks with the Math Kit. I really liked your review and the samples I saw online along with the manual for the Math Kit seemed so easy to implement. It should be here next week. I can't wait to see the Math Kit.

Beatrice's Goat about how a girl lifts her family out of poverty. Marisol and Magdalena - Panamanian-American girls. Cover picture has girls with braids. Not a focus of the story but several descriptions throughout the book of beautiful dark skin.

Thanks! I just found the math kit manual. http://www.globaledresources.com/resources/teachermanuals/MathToolKitManualv5S.pdf I love all the illustrations and the explanations. I am assuming they match the chapters in the JM textbook and workbook, correct? So your daughter does Kumon and the "green bag math"? Do you try to match what she is doing in Kumon with JM or are they independent of each other?

Thanks for comparing SM and JM. It is a great review. I just spent the past 90 minutes looking at past reviews of JM and looking at the GER website. Did you buy the Math Kit A? http://www.globaledresources.com/products/other/mathkitA.html JM looks like it might fit in better for afterschooling than SM and be a better match to use with Kumon. I am glad to hear they use the dots. My son loved counting the dots in 6A and 7A. He never really got groups of five when we used Right Start A, but after counting over 500 groupings of dots in Kumon he was a pro at grouping things by five. In the fall my son is going to public school kindergarten where he will be using Everyday Math, so he needs the drill of Kumon. Even though I already bought SM 1a and 1b, I think I might just go ahead and buy JM. Thanks for reminding that so much depends on the instructor and center. I drive past two Kumon centers to one that is 20 miles away from where I live because the owner is really flexible. If I want him to repeat some worksheets because they were difficult or just because our family is going to have a busy week, she is fine with it. They also don't emphasize the timing, especially with the younger students. I have thought about switching him to the center that is 4 miles away, but that center seems really rigid.

Are the books by Tokyo Shoseki similar to Singapore Math? Is there something extra that makes them worth buying if you already have SM? I swore I wouldn't buy another math program after buying SM 1A and 1B with teachers' guide, IP, workbook, textbook, and challenging word problems AND Visible Thinking 1A and 1B AND Right Start A AND Miquon Orange and Red AND downloading MEP. Kumon for my son really has been worth the money so far, but it is a big commitment. He could only write a shaky number 1 when we started and his hand floated in the air. Now his fine motor skills are fantastic. I love that he doesn't have to think about writing numbers, he writes quickly and automatically. The added math that he has learned has been a bonus. I keep debating whether to stop Kumon and do SM 1A and B for 6 months, or continue Kumon while doing SM 1A and B at a slower pace.

I was wondering if anyone here has enrolled their child in the Kumon Center (not the workbooks, going to the actual center) to supplement math? If so, how effective has it been it has been long-term, what levels did your child study, is good up to a certain level, and has been worth the money? My 5 year old has attended the Jr. Kumon math program at a center for the last six months. I was on the fence about enrolling him, but I kept reading on this forum, the best curriculum is one that gets done. He did MEP reception and half of RS A, but the spiraling drove me crazy and we stopped. He couldn’t write numbers so SM K and Miquon weren’t working well either. So in September I signed him up for the Junior Kumon program, which is twice a week for 15 to 20 minutes with an instructor in a small group. In the small group of anywhere from just him to four kids, depending on who shows up, he completes math worksheets, plays a math game, puts magnetic numbers on a board, and recites numbers in different patterns off a big 200 number chart. I think the Junior Kumon program is worth the money (around 12 dollars a class and homework sheets the other five days) but he is transitioning out of the Junior Kumon room (he just moved into level 2A) and I am not sure if the regular program is worth the money. We also have been doing some SM and Miquon Orange as well, which I will continue regardless if he continues at Kumon.

I used 100 easy lessons with my oldest when he was 4 and I just pulled it out for his younger brother. In theory I like OPGTR better than 100, but my son loved the pictures in 100? The pictures helped motivate him togreat the stories. I covered the picture and when he finished he loved looking to see what the picture looked liked. He is quite observant visually and looked at the pictures for a while. I also liked that I didn't have to write anything on a white board. I could just grab the book and do a lesson in the car if my husband was driving, or outside. Lastly I think the vocabulary is much higher in OPGTR than 100. I don't think my son would have understood some of the sentences. In 100 he benefited from the comprehension questions at the end of the stories. I also got 100 spiral bond and it was worth the money. Sorry yours got torn up.

Last month I tried downloading the one week trial version onto my Mac. It never worked. I was disappointed. I would never buy it without getting the free trial if it is available. Do you have a Mac or PC?

I ordered the kinder and first grade handwriting books from the publisher's website last Sat. (a week ago). I looked to see if any other site had it but I couldn't find it on rainbow resource or Christian bookstore. The shipping and handling was only five dollars and no tax was listed to California. I called the company Friday to see if the books had shipped and was told they had been shipped and were scheduled for delivery this Monday - so it only took 6 business days.

DS is 5 and we just started AAS. He is on step 7 and hates to put back the tiles. Yesterday I just put the tiles back for him since he is a wiggly five year old and I was happy that he sat and did the lesson including writing words on a sheet of paper after spelling with the tiles. I am a big believer in picking and choosing my battles and this doesn't seem something that is so important right now. Eventually I realize it will help him alphabetize but since he is only 5, it is not a priority right now. So do you make your child put back the tiles? Is it really a something that needs to be done by the child on the first level?

The only drawback to Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) is that it uses two lines instead of three lines that public schools use. I bought HWT for my lefty 5 year old son who will go to public K in the fall. So far he has completed pre-k and most of K HWT. We just started All About Spelling and I pulled out paper with three lines ( the center line is a dashed line) so he could write words in step 6. He didn't understand how to write with three lined paper. I want him to have a smooth transition to public school so I investigated several printing programs that use three lined paper. I like the look of Zaner-Bloser so yesterday I ordered the Kinder and first grade book from their website (10.95 per book with 5 dollars shipping). They have two different second grade books - one that has printing all year and one that introduces cursive half way through the year. You might want to look into buying the first grade book for review and the second grade one that introduces cursive.

Ever since I joined Amazon mom and get free 2 day shipping I am spoiled. I just ended up buying the kinder and first grade books online direct from Zaner-Bloser for 10.99 each, and paid 5 dollars for shipping (and there was no tax listed for delivery to California).

I will be the dissenting voice and say to keep working whether he likes it or not. My son disliked reading lessons because it was hard for him. He had some speech issues from having fluid in his ears (he is on his third set of ear tubes), so he was at a high risk of having a learning disability. We bribed him by making a sticker chart and giving him a small prize after every ten lessons. We also gave him the choice to do reading and watch a 24 minute semi-educational show (Mighty Machines on netflix) or not to watch a show at all that day. He always chose to watch the show. Then after each 10 lessons he was so proud of earning his prize. After around 4 months, he came and asked for reading lessons sometimes twice a day because he realized he could do it and it wasn't so hard anymore. I think some kids need a gentle push to overcome resistance.

I am about to leave to check out Lakeshore Teacher supply store because they have free crafts on Saturdays. It is raining here in Southern California (something we are not used to) and we need to get our kids out of the house. If I can't find it there I will at least buy some three lined paper and then order it online (thanks for posting the shipping cost, I couldn't find it when I went online).

My five year old has been using HWT K, but the two lines sometimes confuse him. He will be going to public K next year that uses paper with three lines, so I wanted him to have some printing practice with three lines. I like the simple look of Zaner-Bloser, so I want to buy their handwriting student edition book. Anyone know of the best place to buy it?

I don't like Open Court for kindergarten because there is an emphasis on learning sight words over sounding out words. Open Court k does teach letter sounds and blending in K but the weekly decodables that are used are filled with sight words. Open court gets better in first and the anthology text book has some nice themes. If it is for kinder for next year, start teaching phonics now.

I have been using HWT with my 5 year old and we are half way through the K book. He also likes the Kumon workbooks that have letter boxes instead of lines (there is a higher box for letters like "l, t, f, shorter boxes for letters like "e,a,o,s, and a box that drops down for letters like g,j,p). He is going to go to a public school kindergarten in the fall that uses three lines for printing. So to prepare him I was thinking about ditching HWT and switching over to Zaner-Bloser. Has anyone switched over? I am debating whether to finish HWT K or stop now to start Zaner (or another program that uses three lines). He is also about to start AAS where he has to write instead of just using the letter tiles, so I want to be consistent as to what printing paper he will use.

I wonder if parents whose children weren't advanced complained. I wouldn't listen to the teachers. Go ahead and keep afterschooling, and don't say anything to the teachers unless you are asked. The reality is that teachers are all about the test scores and making sure all students are at least proficient, so all the resources go to the lowest performing students. Don't expect that the school will differentiate for your kids, but don't be bullied into stopping and letting them stagnate so it will be easier for the teachers. I think Roadrunner, from your previous posts, that your school uses EnVision Math. I work at three schools that use EnVision and I don't see any differentation going on. Perhaps there is a separate component for advanced students but I haven't seen it. I like certain aspects of EnVision, but it seems awfully boring for students who are advanced in math. My oldest will start kindergarten next year and his school uses Everyday Math. I am not thrilled, but I am willing to give it a chance because at least he will be doing something different at school than what he is doing at home with Singapore Math.

I bought HWT pre-K for my son when he was four. The actual workbook didn't have enough tracing practice for my son and I didn't like that it only had capital letters. He practiced a bit with chalk and a slate that I got along with the program. After slow progress, we switched to the Kumon preschool books. Those books ended up being a better fit for him. He first completed the upper case and lower case books. Then we moved on to the rhyming words books which has printing practice using CVC words like cat, hat, sat.