I haven't found it on Kindle either. I plan on buying the book from Dover classics because we live in a coastal town, and I am itching to read through this with my son! Sorry I don't have better news for you. Eva

Angela, This is awesome! Thanks a bunch!!!! You rock! Eva

Actually, while there are words on the back of the phonogram cards, they are there for the teacher only- so that the teacher knows how to properly say the sounds. The words are not for the students. In fact, they discourage this, as it creates an additional step of remembering the proper sounds the phonograms make. In other words, no new sample words are learned. HTH

I agree with Crimson Wife that the long division chapter in 3A moves quickly. Base 10 blocks were also key in helping my son learn the concept. Like Dinsfamily's son, my son is off and running as well. I will, however, recommend teaching all of the multiplication facts at once. After DS learned the facts presented in 2B, he continued to learn the rest (6-9) using the same approach. Now that he's doing those lessons in 3A, he can simply focus on multi-digit multiplication and long division. I also believe that having his multiplication and division facts down cold lessoned that conceptual leap needed for long division. At this point, he totally gets the concept of "equal groups". So it has been a natural progression to larger numbers. Eva

:iagree: My son placed in the K section of the list. However, he is a much better speller than reader. So I backed him up. (He needs practice reading the words he can easily spell.:confused:) I give him no help spelling the words in the earlier sections, unless I can see he's unsure about which phonogram to use. Knowing how to spell the words definitely makes it easier to learn the marking system without worrying if they are spelling the words right. It's a great confidence booster. I love the flexibility of this program. :001_smile:

The manual states to start the Ayres List where the child has mispelled several words, not just one. Although he misspelled reason, he went on to spell the next 8 words correctly. Perhaps it's that particular phonogram that needs work. Anyway, I would be inclined to start him later in the list. However, if you don't feel comfortable with that, you can run through words on the lists between those "cuts" to see if he has any trouble with any of them. (I would test both orally and written to save time.) That's personally what I would do, but that's just my humble opinion. Eva

I had a chance to look through the handbook again. My reason for not being impressed is because I already learned a great deal from folks here. :D It seemed that I didn't learn anything new. Paige does a good job of describing the layout of the book. There are detailed lesson plans for three different options when tackling the Ayres List. I didn't find these helpful for our particular situation because my son is young, 6.5yo, but quite a good speller; none of the daily lesson plan options were a good fit. Additionally, the reason I wanted to go with the WRTR in the first place was for the flexibility in scheduling and moving at our own pace. :) She does have a diagnostic spelling test in the back. However, if you purchase the Spelling Assessment Manual (SAM), you will have 8 tests to administer. I found the SAM more useful than this handbook. HTH, Eva

I bought it and read through it a few weeks ago. I was unimpressed by it at the time. However, I will read through it again quickly to put my finger on "why". I'll get back to you. So hang tight. Eva

I just started WRTR last week with my almost 6.5yo son. We are using the program so he can learn the rest of the phonograms (our 1st grade phonics program was lacking) and to go at his own speed for spelling. Last week, we did OPR and WPR and began the Spalding marking system using the A-G section of the Ayres List (since he tested well on the written phonogram test I gave him from the Spelling Assessment Manual.) He's a boy, and, as such, can get a little distracted from the task at hand. However, we get through the lessons in 30-40 minutes. As he gets used to the procedure, I'm sure this time will go down a bit; but then again, we might cover more words each day. I love the flexibility of this program. I'm thrilled with how easy it is to use. It really is as easy as Ellie says it is to use. :) HTH

I totally didn't see the second problem. So here it goes: The pineapple is 880g. The orange = 1 unit. Since the pineapple weighs 3 TIMES MORE than the orange, you need to divide the pineapple into 4 units to get 3 times more than the orange. [ 880 ] P _ _ _ _ O _ Then determine the value of each unit. 880/4= 220 To find the total weight of both the pineapple and orange, you multiple the total number of units 5 by its value 5*220= 1100g or 1k 100g Hope that makes sense. Eva

The thing to remember about solving this type of problem is that Singapore uses bar models in its approach. Box B weighs 90g. That is the value of each unit. Next you need to assign each box the appropriate number of units. Box B = 1 unit Box C = 2 units, since it is AS HEAVY AS Box A (and this is key) = 6 units because the problem states that it is 2 times MORE THAN C. If it was twice AS HEAVY AS, then 4 units would be correct. 6 units X 90g = 540g Here is my feable attempt at helping you see the units and their value. Box A _ _ | _ _| _ _ Box B _ Box C _ _ HTH, Eva

:party: Good for her! And good for you for sticking it out until the end. I bet that makes you feel great.

I Face the Wind by Vicki Cobb was great, as was Air Is All Around You by Franklyn Branley. Doing the suggested demonstration about air having weight was really helpful. I simply dangled my ruler off the edge of the table. The difference was barely there but still noticeable enough to make an impact. Also be sure to point out some real life situations where the concept of air being a substance is apparent. For example, observe fish are breathing under water. The bathtub was also a great place to study this lesson. We used squirter tub toys to demonstrate that you first had to squeeze the air out of them before submerging them under water for them to fill and blast your sibling with them. :lol: The tub was also a great place to discuss the fact that all matter takes up space. My son is STILL asking me to place my hand at the waterline before he and his sister hop in so he can see that solids and liquids can't be in the same space at the same time. I also tried to sit on my son in the same chair, which got his attention. :w00t: Anyway, have fun with it! I love BFSU! It's real life.

We rely heavily upon the McGuffey and Elson readers for our LA program. My son started reading them after he already learned how to read. This is how we use them: He reads from McGuffey 3x/wk and Elson 2x/wk. In McGuffey, he begins with picture narration (though sometimes the images are a bit dark and hard to see). Then we go over the new words that are introduced. He reads the story for fluency and comprehension. I ask him comprehension questions a la WWE style; he then writes his own narration. Since the passages are much easier than WWE, he can easily write 2-3 sentences on his own. There is no need for me to write his narration. He does a really great job with this. :) This has been instrumental in building up his writing skills. With McGuffey, he does copywork. Using his copywork, he does grammar study. He color codes all the types of punctuation. In addition, he color codes all parts of speech that we've covered in FLL. This is has been a great extension of FLL. He does the same WWE narration and dictation for his Elson readers but no grammar study or copywork. HTH, Eva

http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Teaching-Elementary-Mathematics-Understanding/dp/0415873843/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305069369&sr=1-1 While I haven't read it, this might be the book you are referring to. But I'm just guessing. I hope others who have read the Liping Ma book will chime in. :lurk5: IMO, Singapore does a great job at presenting number concept/place value and mental math. My son can quickly add/subtract/multiply large numbers mentally because he understands what these numbers truly mean, not just that there is a "3" in the such in such place. Its use of bar diagrams allows children to tackle tougher word problems at an earlier age. In fact, since I knew they were such a big deal, I started drawing them for him when he was doing 2A and had him fill in all the appropriate information. That is why I'm certain he can now do 2 step word problems without batting an eyelash.

:iagree: While we haven't made it to 5B yet (only in 3A), it's important to understand Singapore's methodology. My son, who is 6yo, has great number concept because of the way place value is taught. In fact, he was able to figure out on his own, when he was only 5yo, how to multiply a multi-digit number by a 1 digit number. It was a natural progression for him. He can do 2 step word problems without using bar diagrams; however, I still make him write them out on occasion. Why? If I don't stay the course now, it will come back to bite us down the road...and I just don't wanna go there. It may seem tedious and unnecessary right now, but it won't in a few years. Understanding "why" is so much more important than getting the right answer, IMHO.

Hi everyone, Although my blog is an adoption blog, I am starting to talk about our homeschooling experiences a bit. We just recently started BFSU. So I will be blogging about our experience some time soon. I want to thank Angela for how she has blogged about her own use of BSU, as it helped me organize our first few lessons and "see" BFSU in action. ;) Now I'm on my own. BTW Angela, I love your blog! Eva

Long E-vah. I was named after my maternal grandmother and couldn't feel more blessed that I was! ;) Thanks for asking.

Thanks. And I can see that. :laugh:

Hi everyone, I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I am fairly new to HS, been doing it 1.5 years. I just stumbled across this forum recently and have been busying myself with reading the WTM book and learning as much as I can. My DS just turned 6yo and my DD will turn 3yo in March. Both munchkins were adopted from China. We've already started FLL1 and WWE1 and are loving it. I'm looking forward to learning lots more. Thanks.