My DH sat down with DS last night to talk about math and when I suggested the possibility of taking out the WB, he said he still wanted to do it, but faster. I'm starting to think he just wants more variety (and possibly to go deeper??) than what we have for him which is Miquon and Singapore. I think he's pretty intuitive with math and definitely visual-spatial. He is slower with the basic stuff like simple addition, but will come up with answers in his head quickly for more complex problems and when I ask him how he came up with the answer he says "I just see a picture in my head mommy." I have read that this isn't necessarily uncommon with some Thank you everyone for all of the thoughts/suggestions. I'm off to research "fun" math supplements to see where that takes us. :)

Thank you Crimson! You triggered a memory about there being a long thread awhile back about this, but I didn't read it all because I wasn't in that "boat" yet. :) Searching for "IP" isn't allowed because it's too short and "Singapore" brings up a LOAD of threads. I'll see if I can find it searching for "Intensive Practice" as I'd love to read through it. I wouldn't even dream of it for my DD (his twin) because she is happily going through MM and needs a more step-by-step approach and more repetition, but my DS is just a whole different story with math.

Thanks so much for the replies!

My 6 year old son used to like Singapore and still does...sort of. We're in 2B. We also use CWP. He doesn't care for the CWP because he says "They try to trick me." so I know that's good for him because he is one that wants to be able to zoom through everything. I started skipping problems because in the wb there was too much repetition for him, even though I'm a bit nervous about him having holes or forgetting. I need to get over that because he has an excellent memory. hehe He's been complaining about math for the last few weeks. When I asked him why, he said he'd rather play Lego. :) Last week, I went ahead and brought out Singapore IP, found where it seemed to be in relation to the TB/WB and we did that for a week. This morning I brought out the TB/WB and he did it a bit grudgingly. He then said "Mom, I like doing the Practice one more than the regular one." When I asked him why he said "They're harder for me to do". So part of me was :hurray: , but a bigger part of me is :confused1: I have a feeling I've still been going WAY too slow for him for awhile now...just trying not to get down on myself about that. I don't think I'm comfortable just having him go through the IP. Has anyone had success going through the TB, IP and CWP...leave out the WB completely or would he be missing something? I do have Beast waiting in the wings and I think he's going to love that, but I don't want him to continue feeling negative about math in the meantime. Thoughts? Brenda

One question I have is whether you are looking for something Christian based or secular? That answer will help people give recommendations. Brenda

Looks great...thanks for passing this along!! Brenda

We did this program this year and it worked out wonderful...and it's FREE. They have K-6 completely finished and much of secondary done, although I don't know what we'll be using at that point. There are a few spelling/grammar errors here and there, but the kids and I all love it. There might be some things you need to buy like a microscope, but for 1st grade, many things you will probably already have around the house. It's also very easy to go even deeper if you're kids want to. Science is done 3 days a week. Pre Lab, Lab then Post Lab. The K and 1st grade doesn't take that much time per day though. http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/k-6.html You start at Applied Science and work your way clockwise around the subject wheel (as I like to call it). So after Applied Science, you would move on to The Universe Cycle then Plate Techtonic Cycle, etc. Whatever you choose...enjoy! Brenda

I have twins both that will be in 2nd. Here's what I have lined up. Thankfully I did so much research/planning before 1st and that seemed to pay off...very little planning needed for 2nd. I thought my head was going to burst last summer! :D Daughter: Math Math Mammoth/Singapore CWP/Miquon Music Piano/Voice/Musical Theatre Son: Math Singapore/Singapore CWP/Miquon - probably ready for BA at some point Music Guitar/Musical Theatre Both: Language Arts Jr. Great Books WWE2 Logic of English (finish this up) History SOTW Cicero U.S. History Handwriting Peterson Directed Cursive Science MSNucleus Art Home Art Studio Foreign Language French immersion class Literature: What we like from Great Books Academy/Memoria Press reading lists and whatever other books the kids want to read. P.E. Fitness 4 Homeschool

I have twins both in what would be considered 1st grade. One uses Singapore/Singapore CWP/Miquon and the other Math Mammoth/Miquon/Singapore CWP. They each spend no more than 20-30 minutes a day on math...some days less depending on the lesson. It's definitely common for people to use more than one in the younger years, but if we were pressed for time, I would still feel comfortable only using Singapore or Math Mammoth alone as they both are great programs in my opinion. The kids just both love Miquon as an addition. I say go for it and just see how it works out. You can always adjust. :)

A dear friend of mine (teacher) has been going through this with her gifted son (5th grade). He gets one hour a week to use a computer math program that goes along at his speed. He scored perfect on the math portion of the test here in CA. The other 4 hours of math instruction, he has been grouped with lower performing kids so the teacher can focus on the other kids. He scored almost perfect on the Language portion of the test. The teacher just has him read what he wants during Language Arts. It's so sad because he's not being challenged at all. In fact, now if something doesn't come easily to him, he gives up really fast. Next year, he may not have access to the math computer program and when she asked about what level he would be taught at, she was told he might just have to sit through lessons on things he already knows...for the whole year. This is in one of the better districts in CA as well. Nothing surprises me after hearing this. :(

Do you just use the white rice setting? For how long? I have one that I can program that has options for white, brown, sweet, etc. Brenda

Sounds a lot like my ds6 (Sept. bday) who is advanced in many areas. I'm attributing it to the asynchronous development thing. The writing is what is holding my ds back a bit so I scribe for him in some areas so he doesn't get frustrated. The part of your post quoted below is pretty much what I've got going on here as well. I've tried breaks in between each subject, plugging through a couple at a time before a break, etc. He's also got some intensities that just add to the party. He asked me the other day why I need to meditate every day. :tongue_smilie: I don't really have much advice except to suggest having an extra cup of coffee/tea or whatever you need to try and make the day go better. If you figure something out, please post! ;) "General attitude: pretty much can't sit still and hates even trying to sit still. A typical 10 minutes at a table to do a few pages of math etc usually involves giggling, wiggling, dropped pencils, chewed pencils, scrunched papers, falling out of chair, random noises, interruptions, unrelated doodling, tears, more giggling, scattered c-rods, "are we done yet's?" sliding under tables...I wouldn't be surprised if he started standing on his head. He pretty much holds the rest of us hostage to the interruptions." Brenda

http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/k-6.html You start at Applied Science, move on to Universe Cycle and continue on clockwise. My twin 6 year olds love it and so do I. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Brenda

Thanks for posting!

Have you looked at MSNucleus.org? It's free except for the cost of printing out the guides/workbooks. Love, love, love this program and so do my kids. The website looks dated, but the info definitely isn't from what I've seen. You start at Applied Science and work your way around the topics clockwise. It reminds me of BFSU, but I'm not a big talker about science. Now if my husband was teaching it, he could go on and on and answer questions for hours. Unfortunately he isn't able to teach it regularly enough. When we went through the MSNucleus materials together, he was sold. This is not lightweight material, but the presentation is so straightforward and that is what I need. Science is so much FUN now!!! I found it after reading a thread in which lewelma talked about it. I actually gather/buy all the science supplies we will use for the whole year during the summer and only bought like 2 of the kits. http://www.msnucleus.org/curriculum/curriculum.html http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/434309-has-anyone-used-this-science-program/ I'm not affiliated with it in any way...just a truly happy mom relearning science along with my kids. Good luck with whatever you decide to use! Brenda ETA: My b/g twins are soon to be 6 and I find this a great fit for them. We do science 3 times a week, but it does not take that long.

Ok, the same thing happened with my ds6 when we took a 3 week break. He didn't forget everything, but I was definitely thinking "what the heck happened?" I had already planned to take shorter but more frequent breaks this year and I think this kind of confirms it for me, especially with math.

Thanks so much for posting this! Love it! Great comic relief for anytime. For me, maybe when I find myself struggling to deal with whatever "intensity" is happening at that time, I can just pull out the C&H for the much needed laugh and a few minutes time to put things back in perspective. :)

I just got the book for my Kindle. One thing I do when looking at whether I want to buy a book is also look at the negative reviews to see if there is a reason I might not want to buy. Well thought out and written reviews, not just the "this was horrible" type as that usually doesn't help anyone decide. :) In looking at one of the reviews on Amazon, someone gave the book 2 stars. I still decided to get the book, but the person who wrote the review had this in their review: The statistics are much more concise and much, much better explained with all the nuances in the in the OECD paper. "Viewing Education in the United States Through the Prism of PIsa" 2010; 63 pages. (free on the Internet at: http://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/46579895.pdf) I have not even begun to look at this paper yet, so I can't comment on it, but I love looking at research. For those waiting for the books from their libraries, maybe this will be an interesting read if you like research. My inkling is that the book is still worth the read (and easier), but since I just bought it 10 minutes ago, I can't compare. :) Brenda

We are doing the msnucleus.org science program that Lewelma mentioned on one of the science threads awhile back. We just recently started, but my kids are loving it and so am I. It is my year of trying it instead of BFSU. You need to do it 3 days a week because they have a pre-lab, lab and post lab. Plus, it's FREE.

I used to get car sick after only 10 minutes in the car. Luckily I outgrew that, although I still can get woozy in the back of a van on a long trip. I don't know about your daughter, but once I got car sick, the feeling lasted all day. No fun! I did do the wrist band on a cruise dh and I took and even during a severe storm and major rocking (I can still get seasick), I didn't actually get sick. Woohoo! I tend to agree with the previous posters who say let her do whatever she needs to do not to get sick. :D It looks like there have been some great ideas for alternatives put out there.

I have added these to my "to knit" list. They are pretty! Thanks so much for sharing this.

I don't cook with that many processed foods so coupons are not that useful. I also now have grocery delivery which is just so incredibly nice for me since I hate grocery shopping. Yeah! For some reason I don't do any impulse buying when I order online which also helps with the budget. :)

I got mine a few days ago and have been afraid to open it. Dh just got a bonus though so I think that calls for a RR celebration! At least a small celebration right? :)