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CCMom11

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  1. Okay, I've been asking questions for my 2 oldest, but some new threads have made me wonder about the younger two. I think I will be doing the Island level with my 3rd and 5th graders through the spring and summer and hopefully starting the Town level in the fall. I didn't think I would start the younger 2 for a while. They will be in 1st and 2nd next year. However, I'm reading about people who have started that young and moved slowly. I've also read that The Sentence Family is great to do before MCT, but I'm not sure what age is too young to start that. Could I do TSF next year and then start MCT when my youngest dc are in 2nd and 3rd? Thanks! Suzanne
  2. I do have 2 younger and had considered this. How long did it take you to go through?
  3. First of all, I've been reading through the questions and answers from yesterday and today and I can't think you enough for all of your answers. It seems we all have some of the same questions, so I'm getting answers before I can even ask them! I think some of my questions will be answered at the convention in a few weeks when I can look at the books in person, but I think those of you with experience can answer these now so I can go in with a plan. So, here is my specific situation. Ds (5th) has done 2 years of Essentials at Classical Conversations, which includes IEW. Dd (3rd) has done 1 year of Essentials. They are both really strong in grammar, but not in writing and we have no experience with poetry, except reading and memorization. Even though Ds is very bright and could easily work ahead of Dd, they really love doing things together and since I have 2 other children to teach, I try to combine them whenever I can. I'm going to start them on MCT this spring and continue through the summer. My thinking at this point is to start with Grammar Town, Paragraph Town, Music Hemispheres, and Building Language. I would prefer to do everything at one level, but I'm afraid the Island level will be too basic. But, maybe it's a good starting place and we can move quickly. I'm open to suggestions! Since I will be using 2 children together, what do you suggest I buy for each thing? I saw that some people only use the TM for everything but the Practice books. How many of each book do you suggest I get? Should I just start at the Island level and move quickly so we can do Level 2 in the fall? How long does each level take to complete? I know it will vary, but does it take a full school year or more like 4 to 6 months? Thanks for the help! I'm getting so excited to start this I'm having a hard time waiting! Suzanne
  4. That was very helpful. I have a couple more questions, but no brain cells left tonight. ;)
  5. I'm considering buying MCT at a convention in a few weeks. Can someone share their schedule with me or how you are doing this at home? For instance, do you sit down with your child(ren) and do all 4 components at 1 time (grammar, vocab, poetry, writing)? Do you do some things 5 days and some things 3 days? Is there a schedule in the book? How long does each part take? What do you do with your child and what is done independently? I've read through the RFP Web site and through some posts here about MCT, but I can't get a feel for how long everything takes. Thanks! Suzanne
  6. I know it can't be that hard, but I can't seem to figure out how to do this well. I'm looking to simplify next year and have realized that if I would have just done copywork and dictation consistently and well, I wouldn't have needed so many things that overlap. In my effort to be "thorough and rigorous", I have ended up with too much to do. For instance, I have used a copybook, a spelling program, Wordly Wise, a grammar program, Daily Language Review and other workbooks. I'm starting to think that if I just did copywork and dictation, I could cover spelling, a lot of grammar, vocabulary and penmanship in less time (for me and dc). But, I've always been afraid to put things aside and I don't really know how to start. Most of the copybooks I've seen are for beginning handwriting. I would appreciate any advice, suggestions, and resources that you can share (think: Copywork and Dictation for Dummies). It's not that I won't add anything to this, I just think think I am doing way too much. Next year, my children will be in K, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade. Thanks!
  7. I tried searching for the post from SWB, but I didn't find it. I did see where some people were using Singapore with LOF. The LOF Web site touts this as being a complete program, so I would like to understand why people are using both. Is it because they think Singapore is the best program and LOF is a fun supplement, or because they think LOF is not thorough enough. Just wondering.......
  8. I read a post recently where someone shared that they used LOF as a supplement. I also read rave reviews of CD. Would anyone care to share as to why they use LOF or feel it is not complete and use it as a supplement. For those people using CD and LOF together, why did you choose CD as your main program? Actually, any thoughts about both of those programs or any others would be appreciated. DS won't be ready for pre-Agebra for another couple of years, but I would like to know where we are going and what's best for now. FWIW, DS is very bright and math is starting to get very easy and most programs for his grade level (will be grade 5) are too easy and too much drill. He needed the drill when he was younger, but now it is starting to kill his love for math. I gave him a placement test for TT and Grade 7 was almost too easy for him. Thanks for your thoughts!
  9. thinking through all of this. I'm not concerned about everything not following what is being taught in the schools. I just wanted to hear from those of you who have BTDT in case you've had any problems or issues. I have seen the Standards edition, but the guides and extra workbooks won't be completed for a while. I'm doing Singapore as a supplement now, but will be making it our main program very soon. I think I will use the U.S. edition until they have completed the Standards edition and see if it is worth switching. Profmom - thanks for the Better Test Scores idea. It's nice when there's something quick to use to fill in some gaps if you need them. Myrtle - I know what you mean about the calendar thing. A few years ago, I would have felt that Singapore was lacking because it didn't line up with another math program. Now that I've been homeschooling for a while, I realize there were so many things I didn't need a book or curriculum for in the early years. I've also seen several math programs who spend a lot of time teaching spelling - numbers, ordinal numbers, shapes, days of the week, etc. I have yet to see how teaching a 5 yo to spell "Wednesday" is teaching him math!
  10. What do you do about the things that Singapore doesn't cover or does out of order? Do you cover it yourself or just not worry about it? Is there some kind of list that shows what is not covered at each level compared to U.S. programs or do you have to do a side by side comparison of the scope and sequence for several programs? Maybe I'm not even correct, but I thought graphing and some other things were not covered or covered much later than a typical U.S. math program. Thanks!
  11. Do you use the Home Instructor's Guide, textbook or both?
  12. Myrtle - thanks for the info on teaching time and drill! Linda - I did read your post! I thought it was so funny that we were having similar problems. For drill, I have been using wrap-ups and Flashmaster, which my kids love. I will do select flashcards a few times a week. If I did what Horizons says to do in the teacher's manual, we would spend 30 minutes per day on flashcards alone! As a side note, are you guys planning to switch to the new Standards edition or continue with the US editions?
  13. I am currently using Horizons math as my main program and am supplementing with Singapore at a level or 2 behind Horizons. I have always loved Singapore but I've felt a little concerned about really committing to it because of the order it presents things and the lack of drill (negatives I have read about). I have tried different programs and I really feel I could teach any math program now because I have enough experience to teach things in more than one way. I have an 8 yo ds who is almost finished with Horizons 3 and a 7 yo dd who recently started Horizons 2. My 8 yo is very bright, but has in some ways been slowed down by maturity issues and fine motor issues. So, I have him on grade level for most things, but I think he is bored, especially with math. He has told me all year that he hates Horizons, but I've pushed him along because I knew it was thorough and it (for now) has required very little teaching from me. As the year has gone on, I have had to cross out and elminate more and more problems that he just didn't need to do. Now my 7 yo is telling me that Horizons is too easy for her. I realize a lot of what she is doing is just review, but it does seem to have too much drill on a lot of easy concepts. So here is the dilemma: While part of me would love to switch to Singapore, I'm concerned about the time for teaching. When I searched the forums, I read anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour is required. Is that teaching time or does that include the student's time to complete the lesson. I don't want to sound like I don't want to teach my children, but I have four children and we are trying to adopt 2 more. So, while Singapore may be a really great program, I can't spend an hour a day for each child for math. So, my questions are: 1) How much teaching time, on average, is required for the PM levels? 2) I read that for students who need to be challenged, to just buy the textbook and the intensive practice book instead of the regular workbook. Has anyone done this? 3) Do you do flashcards or drill work when needed, or do you use the CD roms or extra practice books? 4) If I did the intensive practice book instead of the workbook, would adding the challenging word problems be too much? I'm sorry for such a long message. I've even considerd moving my oldest into Teaching Textbooks because he could work independently. I just don't want to make him hate math and I know he enjoys doing Singapore. As always, I'm trying to do what's best for each child and find the best utilization of my time. TIA for any advice you can give me. Suzanne
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