The student book has comprehension questions, diagrams and activities for each lesson.

In the core curriculum guide MP schedules Trees followed by Tiner's World of Biology. Lesson 20 of Trees explains the observations and then one observation is completed each week while working through the Tiner book. (We skipped the Tiner book.)

He does talk fast, but if you play the DVD back on a PC you can usually adjust the playback speed. It makes the recitations much easier to follow.

What did you guys use before Dolciani PreA?

That is a good point. Perhaps reinforcing the same skills over and over is boring her.

This is from the Singapore FAQ Why do you only carry Singapore Math® material through 8th grade? In Singapore, students attend primary school for 6 years, then secondary school for 4 years. Grades 7-11 in the U.S. are roughly equivalent to secondary 1-4 in Singapore. Past grade 8, the progression in the two systems doesn't quite align. For a rough comparison of material: Secondary 1: pre-algebra, some algebra 1 and geometry Secondary 2: algebra 1 and geometry Secondary 3: some algebra 2, geometry, some trigonometry Secondary 4: some advanced topics and review. What comes after New Elementary Mathematics 2 or Dimensions Math® 8?A student who has completed either of these should be prepared for second year algebra or geometry at the high school level. An advanced homeschooled student could potentially do a college level intermediate algebra or pre-calculus text, since there is so much repetition between different levels of college texts. However, not all geometry topics generally expected for high school and formal geometric proofs have been covered.

I've read conflicting threads - some lump Foerster in with traditional and Dolciani with rigorous, where others say Foerster is just a step down from AoPS. Regarding placement tests - My daughter is newly 12 and I think she could benefit from an extra year before starting algebra. She understands math well, but she doesn't love it and she tends to be careless. If I were to give her a placement test, where would I find one?

I'm struggling with what to choose for PreA and I am hoping that if I can decide on Algebra that may aid in my decision. My oldest is a rising 7th grader and has finished standards 6B. She Has a good understanding of math, but she doesn't love math. I have AoPS, NEM and Dolciani PreA. AoPS is not going to be a good fit for her. I had planned to use Foerster for algebra, but I've been reading on some of the algebra threads that Dolciani is more rigorous. The word problems in Dolciani PreA are very easy compared to CWP, so I am wondering if they are better in the algebra books than they are in PreA. If I decide to go the Dolciani Algebra route it seems the transition would be smoother to go from Dolciani PreA than from NEM. NEM just looks more exciting and I wouldn't have to supplement word problems.

I'm looking at my Standards HIG and I see that weeks with a review only have 4 days of work, so perhaps there is extra time built in for review and testing. I do use the sample schedule, but only as a list of what to do next and we only do the workbook and textbook - not the extra practice or tests that are scheduled. Before starting a new level, I count the number of days needed to finish by counting any line item with a number in the 2nd column (each section), plus 2 days for a review. I generally end up with 85-88 days worth of work per semester. I just complete the next line item without regard to week.

I believe R&S English is only used in the 8th grade package. It has been replaced with English Grammar Recitation I-IV, with V on the way for 8th grade.

Yes, but it is my understanding that the teachers in Singapore have extensive training in the method. The HIGs were designed to fill in those gaps for homeschoolers.

My son is very math-natural and he strongly resisted bar diagrams at first. He could easily do it in his head so he didn't see the need. I backed off a bit, but explained that eventually the problems would get harder and he'd want to use them. He still doesn't really use them on his own but he no longer resists when we work problems together. Those who dislike the HIG are you using US or Standards? The Standards Edition (as well as US 1A/B) have a much better format and are easier to follow. It's funny how something simple to one can be so difficult to navigate for another. Shuffling 4 math books doesn't phase me, but the cluttered pages of MM drive me crazy.

While you certainly can use only the workbook, the Singapore method is in the HIG. If you are unfamiliar with the method, I highly recommend the HIG at least as a reference. I also highly recommend CWP. I have a cousin in gifted math in PS who is three years older than my oldest, and she cannot work my oldest child's CWP problems. I have been reviewing Dolciani PreA and my 3rd grader can do the word problems in Dolciani and he's using CWP2. We do not try to coordinate it with the TB/WB. We generally use it 1/2-1 full year behind and usually just assign whatever is next. Whatever they don't finish in CWP is summer review. Edited to correct typo.

There's a guide in the front of the HIG that is essentially a lesson plan. It tells you what pages to cover in the HIG, TB and WB each day. In the early grades the HIG has many activities that are not in the TB. Here I would look ahead to the next lesson to see what manipulatives I would need or to see if anything needed to be copied from the appendix. I generally teach from the HIG, have them solve some of the TB problems on the board, and then assign them the WB to do independently. In the later grades the HIG mostly explains problems in the TB, so I pretty much wing it. I read along in the HIG to see if I think there is anything worth mentioning while working through the TB problems together.

I do not have a large family, but I frequent the MP forum and there are are a number of ladies on the forum with large families who use MP with great success.

I think my philosophy is more in line with A. I let them try a variety of things when they were younger to see what they enjoyed. My oldest had to specialize early because of the nature and cost of her sport and the fact that it has no off-season. She loved doing everything, but it wasn't possible to keep it up - especially as the younger two started activities. My younger two have both specialized young simply because they both really enjoyed baseball/softball, although their sport allows plenty of off-season time to do other things as they desire. All three have started piano lessons in the last year, and while I didn't force anyone to start, I strongly encourage them to continue.

Currently: dd11: figure skating, piano ds 9: baseball, piano dd 8: softball, piano Over the years: soccer ballet gymnastics hockey swim team

I am considering WH for science because I want to use the Novare texts, but have no experience with WH or that course. However, this article from the author of the text might help you: http://www.novarescienceandmath.com/wp-content/uploads/Novare_Newsletter_v4_3.pdf

You can purchase items individually. I balked at the $30 subscription, but later found I could purchase what I wanted for $2.

The teacher's guide does have test and quizzes. If you don't want those, they sell a lesson plan for a few dollars.

No, it is not. MP schedules it after Insects in 5th or 6th grade depending on which track you choose.

I love MP Science. I have only used the courses written by MP - Mammals, Astronomy, Birds & Trees. They also have Insects, but we haven't done that yet. My background is in science, and science was the one part of MP I didn't think I would ever use. I love BFSU, but failed largely at getting it done. When I learned that a customized package was about the same price as buying what I needed piecemeal, I ended up with science. It sat on the shelf the first year, but then I decided to let my daughter try Birds just to get some science done. We have absolutely loved it. We have birdfeeders outside our classroom window, and even my younger kids who haven't done Birds can identify every bird that comes to the feeder. I am a total convert to Cheryl Lowe's philosophy on science - essentially a solid background in math, getting to know nature, and then hitting science hard in middle school/high school. Here is an article that she wrote: https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/nature-science/

I've used mostly complete cores for 5th and 6th grade. I will have 2 kids using 3A next year and one using 7A. We do not use their math, spelling or grammar, and we only use the science materials written by MP. We hopped around a lot with history until we started Famous Men of Rome and States & Capitals in 4th grade, but we've really enjoyed MP history. I love how they teach Modern/American Studies alongside classical studies. SOTW is used as summer reading as stated by a previous poster. The complete cores only go through 9th grade at the moment, but their goal is to release a grade each year. If you would like to see more of the upper level courses, see the website of their B&M school www.thelatinschool.org.

MP combines The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and The Great Republic into one book that is scheduled in 6th grade. My oldest will use it next year in 7th grade.

If you are using Singapore Math with three children, please explain to me what your math day looks like. Or even your week of maths work? Math is the one subject which I teach to each child on a daily basis. I let everyone work on their independent work and then call them in one at a time to wok on subjects where they need me. Do you use the HIG and various activities in there? I do - especially the hands-on activities in the earlier books. We don't do all the activities, but I do look at it daily and decide if it's worth doing. In the older elementary books there is more explanation of textbook problems than hands-on activities. How do you use the mental maths sheets? The mental math sheets are scheduled in the HIG. I assign them as they are assigned in the HIG. Do you use other supplements? We use CWP. Do you spend 20 minutes with each child each day? Yes, some days more. How do you fit in review and practice? We do the reviews in the textbook together, and I assign the workbook pages as independent work. They have flashcards for math facts in the early grades. If it helps, we are currently using 5B, 4A and 2A. We are currently using 2B, 3B, and 6B.