I just wanted to :grouphug: you. It sounds like you are doing great, and the suggestion of bumping up the math seems like a good one. I don't have any experience with saxon, but it is my understanding that it is a bit more difficult to accelerate due to its spiral nature. You could possibly try a mastery based math program like Singapore, which is easier to accelerate because you spend a bit longer on areas that need more reinforcement, and breeze through the topics she "gets" immediately. We are loving SOTW audio CDs- my son does the coloring page while he listens, and then if we have time, we read an additional read-aloud or do an activity from the activity guide later in the week. Very low-effort on my part.

I agree with all the others who said to "flash" the objects/fingers, then hide them again. I'd work with just recognizing 1 vs 2, then 1 vs 2 vs 3, and so on, taking as long as you need until he can "see" the number. Let him count other objects outside of math time, like asking him to bring you 6 eggs. It's ok to count then! (ok, so no one would ever let their 4 year old bring them eggs... but you know what I mean...)

Yes. They have a few pages of instructions on how to teach spelling using the book, and the book is basically organized by spelling rule. It is not at all scripted though, you'd have to figure out the pacing and stuff yourself, but that's not that difficult to do. I have been using it as a reader for my 5yo, who is doing great. He is getting a bit bogged down right now, we are about 2/3 through and learning -ing, -ed, and -er. So my plan is to stop there, take a break on advancing in the book, and go back to the beginning and review it all, using PP as a speller. When we get back to where we were getting bogged down, we'll start forward again! The only other thing I think you need are some graded readers- we love the Frog and Toad and anything else by Arnold Lobel, because there are no real stories in PP, just isolated sentences.

Ha! This was my first thought too- I no longer have to send a book to the basement just to put a new one on the shelf! Woohoo! So where the shelves meet in the corner is a little awkward- It blocks half a shelf each on the lower half of the bookcases, but I just shoved some stuff we don't use back there for the time being. :001_smile: Spider light and chair are also Ikea. Our entire apartment is basically an ad for Ikea... I just woke up and went to stare at them some more... My kids finally insisted I serve breakfast. LOL.

Thank you everybody! Yes, I do live in Switzerland. That particular window has a pretty boring view of the apartment building next to us, but the other wall (behind photographer's back) is actually wall to wall windows/sliding door to balcony with a view of a bunch of soccer fields and Mont Blanc in France. :tongue_smilie:

I should take a straight-on shot so that you can read the spines better. :D

They are BILLY bookshelves from Ikea on the long wall, and EXPEDIT shelves from Ikea on the window wall. It just so happens that the length of the shelves added up was 400cm, and our wall is 405cm, so they look almost custom!

I'm so. excited. I just like to sit on my couch and stare at them. LOL! Here's some before and after pictures. And just the afters, in case you don't want to click through: I'm so glad you all talked me into this a month ago!

I think starting off with Five in a Row while you get your research and curriculum-gathering done is a GREAT idea!!! From what I understand (I'm not an expert) Math-U-See follows a very different sequence for teaching than other math programs, which can make it harder if your child might end up in PS again, or if there is any standardized testing that needs to be done, or if you decide to switch programs later on. For a really hands-on, fun, visual approach to math, we like Miquon. This can stand alone, or you can add in another program like Math Mammoth. A more expensive (but wonderful) option is Right Start Math. The only things you probably need, in addition to math and some good books, are phonics and handwriting. There are lots of handwriting curricula out there, including free ones, so I would just choose one that you like the looks of. For reading, there are also a ton of options- A lot of people like Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, or Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. Personally, we did Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, then switched about half-way through the book to Phonics Pathways. Good luck!

I haven't read the responses, but I'm sure you got some great ones! If I were going to do first grade on $100, I would probably go with- -Phonics Pathways- use to fill in any phonics holes, then use as a spelling book (we are 2/3 through and enjoying it) -Readers from the library - WWE teacher's book (covers four years) with homemade selections for copywork -Five in a Row teacher's book, plus the books from the library - Miquon Math - Nice art supplies, and some books from the library for ideas - Memory work, which you can come up with on your own (poems, definitions of parts of speech, skip counting, etc) - Do a lot of walks outside for science, and maybe consider Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, which is cheap and wonderful!!!

I would use the the last line of your post. "Honey, we have given you suggestions to improve your time on the bus. Now we are done listening to the whine." -- When I had to take the bus once upon a time, I had similar issues despite dressing a bit more conservatively. What I did about it was to sit just off the driver's shoulder (front right seat, that is), and if I was approached, I would clearly and distinctly say, "I am NOT interested. Please leave me alone." On one or two occasions, the person did not leave me alone, and the bus driver had him get off the bus.

:lurk5:

My 5yo knows how a baby rotates out of a pelvis (I'm a doula and we happen to have a pelvis sitting around) and watched his baby sister's birth... but I don't think he knows too much about how babies get in there in the first place. lol

Ok, I'm just going to ask. What's everyone's favorite version of the Chronicles of Narnia?:bigear:

Also, I just subscribed to this thread. Which means I'm going to need to get a part-time job. LOL

I cannot believe I opened this thread. It's like p*rn for bibliophiles. For those who have asked, I have had my eyes on this edition of LOTR for a while now, but have not yet purchased it. My birthday is in a few weeks and I'm expecting an amazon GC though... :D But I haven't seen it in person... has anyone else browsed this edition?

Here's the list of posts tagged as "When to stop Rightstart" http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/tags.php?tag=when+to+stop+rightstart HTH!:auto:

Disclaimer- I have never seen this book- but This edition of the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm has been in my amazon cart for a while now!!!

SOTW is a more engaging way of learning history than a textbook, as the chapters usually contain a story as opposed to dry facts and dates. You can buy the Activity Guide to go along with the book- this contains coloring pages, historical maps to fill out/color for each chapter, and instructions for crafts and projects related to each chapter. There are also additional books listed for doing a more in depth study of each chapter. Our week looks like this: day 1- listen to the chapter (we got the book on audio CD) while coloring the coloring page. Get out the globe, find the region in question, check the map for a closer look, then finally fill out the included map according to the instructions in the activity guide (i.e. Color the Nile in blue. Color the land around it green, color the land further form it brown) day 2- Read the corresponding page from our Encyclopedia of World History (page numbers given the the activity guide), possibly start a project day 3- possibly read from another source, possibly start or finish related project. We are only a little way into it, but my son really, really likes it, and normally asks to listen to the chapter several times throughout the week.

We got the Delachaux ones and they are pretty hard core- very nice but pretty "dense" for my kids ages. I also got the smaller *70 common insects* type ones by the same publisher for wildflowers and birds, and these are much more manageable for my kids.

I just asked this question on the bilingual board a couple weeks ago- http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=410213 If I recall, you are in Germany? I imagine the suggestions for Switzerland would probably be pretty good ones for you as well.

Maybe try the Singapore bar diagrams to help him see what the "missing piece" is in the equation? I would say, in my complete inexperience with teaching (but relatively good experience with math) that as long as he understand conceptually what he is doing and he is getting the right answer, the algorithm should not be particularly important. But I'm reading a book by John Holt right now, so that may be coloring my view... :D

My Sil already has her wish list distributed to the grandparents, so I guess it's not too early! I need to get my act together. It seems so far away, but I know it will be here in the blink of an eye...

:bigear: Using this thread to plan Christmas...

:bigear: