Maybe you should set an amount of time to sit with her while she does her work (or doesn't! :tongue_smilie:) and when the time is up, then she is done for the day. I honestly don't think that would make her think she was "getting away with something" because it doesn't seem like she's doing it to be defiant, right? Maybe two 15-minute sessions of math per day or something. Really, she's still very young. There will be plenty of time to do academics as she gets older. Most importantly, I wouldn't make this an issue that affects your relationship with her negatively - even if that means lowering your expectations for a time. I think it's actually pretty common for kids to be very distractible at this age....

This is the ongoing discussion I was referring to in the original post in case anyone is interested.... http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=363088

The AL Abacus is the abacus that goes with the RightStart curriculum. HEre is the link to it at rainbow resource... http://rainbowresource.com/product/sku/004083/43c88777d5b94d1d878e2dd7 What makes it so great is that the colors switch from yellow to blue every 5 beads so you are able to visualize quantities easily. People are able to visualize quantities up to 5 without counting. The AL Abacus uses this to the fullest advantage so that you can see at a glance how many beads you are looking at. Counting is a very base skill and should be left behind for the most part after Kindergarten. Visualizing quantities, using strategies to mentally "make tens," and understanding number bonds are more mature skills. People who can do that are generally not intimidated by math and, therefore, do not have an aversion to it. Right Start, Singapore, and Miquon all are based on this philosophy. I'm sure there are other programs out there that are as well. I'm just not sure which ones. Anyway, even if you don't do Right Start (we don't), it would be helpful to get the Activites book... http://rainbowresource.com/product/sku/011217/43c88777d5b94d1d878e2dd7 ... to help develop number sense. We use the C rods much more than the abacus, but I've found it very helpful to have when teaching "making a ten" and when working on place value concepts.

I'm sorry - rereading what I wrote, I can see that it was confusing. What I meant was that, if you are basing your kids education around history, you might end up leaving out a lot of great literature that doesn't tie in to history. So, what are some books that might be missed but shouldn't be if you want to cover literature well? So, yes, I agree with you!

Absolutely, without question, Cuisenaire rods and some hundred flats and a Thousand Cube (from a Base Ten set). The AL Abacus (not a regular abacus) is great, too! I could do fine with just those.

She sounds just like my 6.5 yo! It can definitely be frustrating! One thing that helps me is to try to appreciate her creativity even in the midst of all the distractions. I do think it's actually a gift, but it's one that makes sequential, focused academic work difficult! I remind myself that when she is an adult (or even earlier) her way of thinking will most likely come in handy for whatever she ends up doing in life. She's definitely a divergent thinker, which is a quality very much needed in today's world. Besides that, some things that help are playing with her hair or scratching her back or cuddling on the couch while we work. Also, a timer sometimes helps (but she's also just as likely to forget the timer is going...). Today while doing math she made up a little story about a balloon that was cut in half, talked on and on about frogs, trying to decide whether she liked them or not and what she would do with them if she had them, and tried to put her hair in pigtails several times. We did eventually get 2 pages done, so I'm happy. I guess I just assume that she will eventually grow out of it and that it's just normal for creative kids to be like that!

Really? No one? Okay, I guess I'll post a few ideas, but I don't really think I am well-read enough to judge what is of merit and what isn't in terms of literary quality. Some books I have read that I think would fall under that category would be... Winnie-the-Pooh The House at Pooh Corner The Magician's Nephew The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe Little Women The Princess and the Goblin The Secret Garden Understood Betsy Anne of Green Gables The Hobbit Anyone else want to add in some books that might (but shouldn't) be missed if basing a K-8 education around history? (EDIT: Since this wasn't clear - What are some excellent literature books that might be missed out on if you were only choosing your read alouds based on what you are studying in history?)

Reading lots of real books! Dr. Suess Little Bear Frog and Toad Amelia Bedelia Etc., etc...

In light of the Circe thread and the continuing discussion about basing studies around literature instead of history, I'd like to start a thread where people can post their personal favorite children's literature. I think it would be best to post books that wouldn't fall into neat historical categories but I won't limit it to only those. What are your top choices for elementary-middle school level read aloud books (or readers) with high literary quality? (If you feel so inclined, mark your top 3 in bold.) Oh, and it would be wonderful to have some listed that are not the "usuals" on lists like this - more modern works, lesser known older works...

This is a good website for word problems using the bar diagram method that Singapore Math teaches... http://www.thinkingblocks.com/index.html The problems aren't as difficult as Singapore's Challenging Word Problems books, but you might not want to start with "challenging" yet. The bars give a way to visualize what the problem is asking.

Wow! Thank you, everyone! Lots of great ideas here!

For us, MCT is pretty open-and-go. Once we get to the end of a chapter in Sentence Island, I sometimes put a few of the writing assignments on our schedule for the next week... but I'm also just as likely to do them orally right after we read. So,really, there's not much planning happening. We just sit down, decide which book we want to read from, and read and discuss until we feel like we want to stop. I think maybe Killgallon would work best after doing some grammar in MCT or another program. So maybe that would work for the year after next? It's more for stylistic purposes, I think. I have it, but haven't used it yet. We'll be using it next year.

Anyone? Is there something out there like Mathematicians Are People, Too.... but about Scientists?

:iagree: You might also want to get the Math Mammoth Add/Sub Blue Books to quickly catch him up on mental math techniques. (Skip the stuff he already knows.) THEN do the Singapore placement test (or even the MM placement test if you like the curriculum). For your 5 yo, I'd recommend Miquon. You could also add Singapore to it if you wanted to. My oldest is not math gifted but did fine using both curricula simultaneously. My 6yo is more "mathy" and she is currently doing the "2nd grade" work in both curricula and is doing fine. If you are comfortable with it, you could even have your oldest play around in Miquon occasionally. He may figure out things and see things he never saw before in new ways, etc.

Chronicles of Narnia Books Understood Betsy A.A. Milne books (This is usually listed for younger kids, but I think olders could enjoy it, too!) Andrew Clements Books A Nest for Celeste Half Magic (and sequels) Fairy Tale Picture Books Ella Enchanted

NLT I want my kids to fully understand what they are reading/saying so I chose the version that I thought was most clear and accurate.

Beast Academy Singapore + CWP Miquon Primary Grade Challenge Math Math apps WWE MCT Island Killgallon Story Grammar The Writer's Jungle Getty Dubay Italics OPGTR Developing the Early Learner SL Core C SOTW Audio 3&4 Little Visits With God Telling God's Story BFSU? RS4K Biology Pre-Level 1? Rosetta Stone Spanish Mango Mandarin Chinese Typing Instructor for Kids Classical Kids CDs Piano Practice Music class at PS Drawing With Children Come Look With Me book Art Authority app Gym at PS (I tried 3 times to make my list concise, but it kept ending up longer than anyone else's... so I decided to list everything we'll be doing instead of giving each child her own list. It still seems like a lot, though!)

We're doing RS4K Chemistry (Pre 1) and my girls want to know more about how all of this stuff about atoms and molecules and reactions, etc. was discovered. Does anyone have any good biography suggestions for me? It doesn't matter if the reading level is high. They are good readers, but if it's too high I can just read it to them. It needs to be interesting for their age ranges, though. They are 6 and 8. Thank you!

I didn't notice at first that you were asking about DVDs, too... Magic School Bus videos Donald in Mathmagic Land Planet Earth videos Schoolhouse Rock Sonlight's Science DVDs Mathtacular DVDs The Story of 1 How It's Made episodes

I just downloaded and burn to CDS a WHOLE BUNCH of free audio books from librivox.org. It took me a while but the price can't be beat and my kids are hearing classics and "older" language! Here are the ones we've liked so far.... English Fairy Tales (My girls LOVE these. I did choose to delete a few before burning the disc. Ambleside Online has a list of questionable ones on their 3.5 book list.) Grammar-Land (I hate the reader's voice, but it's a cute grammar book!) Children's Shakespeare by Nesbit (I don't know how much my kids are going to get into this until they get more used to hearing older language, but it's a good resource.) The Velveteen Rabbit The Wonderful Wizard of Oz The Light Princess Just So Stories The Adventures of Mr. Mocker, The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat (and others by Thornton Burgess) My Father's Dragon (SOOOO cute! Read by a little boy.) Wind in the Willows The Reluctant Dragon The Lost Princess A Child's Garden of Verses Little Women (Dramatic Reading) The Railway Children A Little Princess Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Through the Looking Glass Others I'm thinking of putting on CDs: Adventures of Pinocchio Adventures of Odysseus Christmas Carol Eight Cousins Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Flower Fables Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates The Iliad for Boys and Girls The Jungle Book The Little Lame Prince The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Old Fashioned Girl Otto of the Silver Hand The Prince and the Pauper The Princess and the Goblin The Princess and Curdie Understood Betsy Make sure, if there is more than one version on the site, to listen to each and decide which you like best. Sometimes a different reader reads each chapter, sometimes you might not like a particular reader's voice, etc.) Other Audio Books/Radio Theatre we've bought or gotten from the library: Adventures in Odyssey A Bear Called Paddington Ella Enchanted (LOVE this one! It's a young girl reading and she does a great job.) Chronicles of Narnia (Radio Theatre put out by Focus on the Family - superb!) Rachel Yoder books by Wanda Brunstetter Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer Frindle

Could you split the dictation up into two days? Or two parts in one day? Or just repeat as often as needed? I'm pretty sure SWB doesn't expect every kid to be comfortable with those long dictations. I got the impression that it's totally fine to have to repeat a sentence if the child needs it. She does stress that you should repeat the whole sentence, not just the phrase they need so they can get used to holding a whole sentence in their minds. Or you could just come up with your own dictation from quality books you or your child is reading.

I just let them read books. No program. They sometimes come to me to tell me about a part in a book that they like. Or I infrequently ask if they like a book and why, but I don't really try to do any type of reading program. We do narration, though, during read aloud time. That gets them used to retelling and summarizing (reading comprehension). I personally think a reading program would take all the fun out of reading. I know I never found those "Reading" books inspiring when I was a kid. Real books are what made me a book lover. My 6yo is not a voracious reader like her sister so I periodically put on her list a specific book to read during silent reading time each day, just so she'll come in contact with some books she'd normally not pick up. Beyond that, I don't dictate what she reads (beyond making sure it is age appropriate). I do find that she likes to re-read books that I've read aloud to her. I think it makes it easier to puzzle out the difficult vocabulary since she's already heard it once and knows the story-line.

Not sure what edition you have, but the Standards Edition HIG is MUCH BETTER than the US Edition. Easier to see at a glance what you need to do, not as visually cluttered/confusing. Much better.

I was going to suggest Spelling Power, but you said that didn't work! My next suggestion would be to use Spelling City with words that she misspells in her writing. Once you have a list of 10-15 words, have her play games and take a test. Then, in a few weeks, have her take the same test again to make sure she remembers the words. It wouldn't seem pointless or repetitious to her, it would probably cut down on spelling time, and it's fun!

I'd say copywork and dictation require a synthesis of information and focus on the big picture. Narration, too. Bravewriter focuses on the big picture and is whole-to-parts, I think. Primary Grade Challenge Math and Singapore CWP (but that's more math....) I think math is the subject where it is easiest to stretch the mind in that way. I'm not sure how you would do it in content subjects... well, besides narration, I guess. Socratic discussion?