Last summer, my son started doing DreamBox Learning online for math. He'd enjoyed Headsprout, so I thought an educational "babysitter" would be good to have. Many of the games, especially in the kindergarten and first grade levels, use an abacus that looks like the RightStart abacus. After a month of Dreambox, I bought RightStart B. We made it through 25 lessons and haven't done it since. I just can't get myself to consistently use it. The lessons we did were helpful, but it was starting to jump around in topics. My son loves playing "Go to the Dump," so I think I'll sell RSB and buy the card games instead, perhaps even the Activities for the AlAbacus as well. In November I bought Math Mammoth 1A and 1B and we've consistently used it. We're about 80% through 1A. I hear so many great things about Singapore, but I don't want to use multiple books (Miquon drove me crazy), so I'm sticking with MM and DreamBox. Someone on the boards has a quote in their signature about an adequate curriculum that gets done being better than a superior one that doesn't get used. Every time I'm tempted to get Singapore, I remind myself of that quote. I'm only homeschooling one child right now and I'm a newbie, but I have a hard time figuring out how someone could do multiple levels of RightStart and get all the other subjects done as well. If you have the money, I think DreamBox makes an excellent supplement. (Although, I do sit with my son most of the time while he plays and teach him "tricks.")

I used to wonder about this as well. Recently, I read something (sorry, I don't remember where) that stated that even in international tests where the "best and brightest" of American students were used, they didn't score as well in math as the Asian students. I don't think reading was compared, because how can you compare across languages like that?

I have two questions: 1. If I order the RightStart card games book, is it really worth the extra money to buy the cards? Can I just use playing cards or make my own easily? I think I saw that the Homeschool Buyers Co-op RightStart special this month would let me buy the corners game cards by themselves. (I'm guessing they might be the hardest to duplicate at home.) 2. What books or websites are good to get started with cuisenaire rods, especially for 1st-2nd grade arithmetic? I know there are many Miquon fans here (I'm thinking of you, SpyCar) but I got rid of them because having to look through three books to figure out what to do was too much. I want everything in one book. I don't post here much, but I've learned a lot through lurking over the last six months. I especially appreciate SpyCar's enthusiasm for all things math related.

My husband prefers to use Spectrum brand Palm Shortening in his cookies. It's made from palm oil and isn't hydrogenated like Crisco and has no other additives. The flavor is more "neutral" tasting than coconut oil and it doesn't melt as easily. My husband says cookies brown up more easily and look nicer when he uses it instead of butter.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wuh) isn't low carb but it does have more protein than most grains. I like to cook it with about half the water normally used and add in meat and a jar of spaghetti sauce or salsa. Ideas -quinoa with chicken or ground beef, salsa, and black beans -quinoa with ground beef and spaghetti sauce -add veggies or other beans to the above combos as "inert filler"

My son just turned 5. One thing I've noticed is that writing the words in a larger size seems to help a lot. If he's guessing (typically because he wants to read quickly or is being lazy, not because he can't sound words out) or stuck and I make the words bigger, he'll sound them out carefully. Is this common with kids? Is there something about a larger size font that makes it easier to "see" the individual sounds within the words?

My son just turned 5. We started the book in September. He can sound things out, but he wants to read quickly, hence the guessing. It's not nearly as bad when there aren't pictures. One thing I've noticed is that writing the words in a larger size seems to help. If he's guessing or stuck and I write it out bigger than it is in the book, he'll sound it out carefully. Is this common with kids? I almost wonder if just increasing the font size would be enough to encourage more sounding out and less guessing.

My son is currently on page 90 in Phonics Pathways. At what point in the book did your children really take off in reading? Does it suddenly really click for most kids? He's really bored and starting to claim he already knows what we're covering, but he has a tendency to be sloppy and guess, rather than sounding things out carefully, unless I remind him.

Do any of you have your own tutoring business or run your own private school? I like teaching and want to do more than just teaching my own. In my state, the laws make it look like it may be fairly easy to open a private school (like a one room school house). Or maybe I'd rather just tutor others. What have your experiences been? What qualifications do customers look for? Would going through the work to become a licensed teacher in my state be important for getting customers or is it not worth the time and money? (I have no interest in teaching in public schools, although I may be able to tolerate a semester of student teaching to get the license.)

I am considering getting a Sony e-reader. Are there good cheap or free beginning readers available? We have printed out many readers from Headsprout and some from Progressive Phonics, but I would prefer some without pictures. I think my son guesses too much when we read books with pictures. When we do his phonics lessons from Phonics Pathways, he has to read carefully, since there are no pictures to help him guess. I see that Project Gutenberg has McGuffey's readers and readers by other authors. How is the quality of the text? Are they fuzzy scans or do they have attractive text like normal books? If you have any other comments about using an e-reader with a beginning reader, please let me know.

I listened to samples from the websites everyone posted. I decided to get this album because the music wasn't annoying to me like some of the songs. (Can you tell I'm not very big on children's songs?)

If you want to buy bound and printed copies of MM, lulu.com frequently has sales.

I'm looking for adding, subtracting, or skip counting songs, but I don't want to buy a CD. Are there any available through Amazon or iTunes that anyone likes?

I know what you mean about schedules not working. I'm good at making schedules, but terrible at following them. My energy levels are too unpredictable. I am also slow in the morning. A good day is any day I've showered and had breakfast before 10am. I pretty much already do short bursts of housework and schoolwork throughout the day. My best time of day is usually the evening, after the kids go to bed. I would love to implement a quiet time during the day, and plan to, as soon as I can get my toddler to cooperate. Perhaps in the next six months he'll decide he can nap somewhere other than on me. I'm currently on Dr #3 and we're trying to address underlying problems. Unfortunately, it's hard to properly treat a nursing mom. I've been on supplements up the wazoo for years now and I continue to experiment with new ones. I think I must be one of iHerb's best customers. Most people have a car payment. We have a vitamin payment! I am thankful that DS1 enjoys Dreambox Learning and Quarter Mile Math. He liked Headsprout when he was going through that. I work one on one with him, too, of course, but it's nice to have some "educational babysitters" available. Any other educational DVDs or computer games I should look into? We have Whistlefritz DVDs for Spanish, he loves to watch Pocoyo, and he also likes Starfall. Maybe I should look into audio books as well?

A few things I forgot to add: 1. I haven't been able to drive for over a year. Even when I'm not too tired, I tend to lose focus and not pay enough attention. So I can't take my boys out unless I can get my husband drive. There is a bus line near us, but the closest stop is 1/2 mile away and that's too far for me to walk without wearing out. 2. No family nearby. 3. I was able to have a young woman work for us once a week, but she's probably not going to be available regularly anymore. 4. Pretty much all my friends have large families and homeschool. To be blunt, they are too wrapped up in their own lives to really think of helping out. When I was on complete bedrest for a few months two years ago, hardly anyone even called, let alone came by to visit or help. We had to hire full time in-home help to take care of my son and I while my husband worked. 5. Like many others with CFS, people tend to look at me and say I don't look sick. Or they only see me when I feel better, not when I am having a bad week or month. This doesn't inspire others to help.

My sons will be 5 and 2 soon. The older one is very intense. He wants "more" of everything. If it was up to him, every day he would spend 1-2 hours at playground or getting other exercise, 1-2 hours of me reading to him and doing school, 1 hour playing educational video games, a long bath, and some playing with his younger brother. I understand the idea of lowering expectations and all, but he is one of those kids who needs more of me, not less. His behavior is much better when I give him lots of attention. He has always been a challenge to parent and been ahead academically. My younger son is also very active, but not intense. Since he was about 10 months old, he will only take a nap on my lap, usually for only 20-30 minutes per day. So it's hard to take advantage of his nap time to do school with my DS1. My DH works from home, so I can take a nap during the day if I absolutely have to, but basically, he works during the day, and sweeps the kitchen after dinner. I do all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, schooling, and most of the child care

If you have an electric water heater, either install a time for it or turn the power to it off (via the circuit breaker) at night. When we have been diligent about this, it has lowered our electric bill about $40 per month. We turn the water heater on in the morning for a few hours. Then we turn it on again before bed to have hot water for baths. During the day, we have enough hot water, unless we do lots of laundry or dishes. If we start to run out, we just turn it back on for an hour or so.

I have googled this many times and can't find much. I've been battling health problems for four years non-stop, since I got a stomach bug when my oldest was almost one. Adrenal fatigue, then a rough pregnancy, then hyperthyroidism, and now CFS. I'm on Dr number three and she has been somewhat helpful. (My treatment options are very limited because of my nursing toddler.) How do you moms with CFS manage to school your kids and take care of your need for lots of rest, especially when your kids are young?