Now I'm off to look at Usborne Art Cards since I haven't seen these. The MP recitation cards sound good as well, especially at $3. I think I'm going to give them a quick call. :)

My kids use Dreambox as a fun computer supplement as well. Another possible option if you like Singapore is the new online version called Math Buddies. I have not tried it so I can't say how it compares, but there is a 14 day free trial. http://www.mconline.us/LEAD/login/welcome.html

I was looking for some science songs for my 5 year olds and then came across these. If you scroll down to the bottom, you can see the playlists by type of science. I did a quick search here and didn't find a link to this so I thought I'd just pass it on in case anyone is interested. http://www.youtube.com/user/ParrMr He is definitely trying to make it fun for his students. :) Brenda

I can't type much right now, but just wanted to let you know that as a fellow "angstee", I get it. :grouphug:

How I like my house and some of the programs I would like to use definitely mesh, but they would probably be a complete bust for one of my kids. I understand the need to have the curriculum be suited to the teacher, but I feel like it is easier for me as an adult to try and change the way I approach homeschool, rather than my kids. Teaching my kids has been very enlightening for me and I've only been doing this a short time. I am trying to look at my weaknesses (and strengths) and then attempt to figure out if there is an issue with a program. If it isn't the program, is it something not suited to me or one of my kids. An example. I am a person who likes to do everything in a program. All the problems, nice and orderly. Check those boxes. Because of this and using Singapore which is not how I learned math, I wasn't teaching fast enough for my son in math. He is a visual spatial learner like DH and grasps math concepts pretty easily. Me...not so much and it is really stretching me in that it is unfamiliar. I think because it is one of the 3 R's and my son is already so into science/math, I'm willing to go outside my comfort zone. With the other subjects, I'm hoping it will be easier to do them in a way that we all can enjoy and so far that seems to be the case. I think the key is balance. I also agree with Alte Viste that it would probably be a disaster to try and stretch in every subject. Brenda

Thanks for all of the ideas! I will definitely be looking at those and trying some out! I do have the HIG, textbook and workbook and use all of them. I never even considered the tests though. What was I thinking?! lol! Can I blame it on lack of sleep? :) We finished up Singapore K and I just continued on with 1A like I was "supposed" to even though I know he is going so much faster than what I'm teaching. After talking to DH about it, I realized that part of my problem is that I have always been one of those gals who does everything how they are "supposed" to be. Read this, complete this next, do all of these problems...check, check, check. :D Obviously I am going to have to adjust when necessary. Thanks so much! I'm feeling more confident again. Brenda

Ok, now I think I know what I need to do with my kids. This thread has been especially timely!

My DS is about to start Singapore 1B which from what I understand, is more like 2nd grade math. He also does Dreambox Learning online as his "fun" computer math. He loves it! The thing is that he just zooms right along in Dreambox and is about to complete what they say is 2nd grade and move into 3rd. I watch what he does in Dreambox and he is doing harder problems with the exception of the word problems that are in Singapore. He doesn't like word problems because he really has to think, so of course we will continue those! I know that Singapore is a bit boring for him, but I'm guessing it's because I'm not going fast enough for him. I've started skipping some of the problems in the workbook to try and get things going, but perhaps I'm not skipping enough??? I feel odd when I think that the computer program is teaching him faster than I am, but since Singapore is SO different from how I learned, I don't know how fast I can move ahead without missing something important. Any advice??

I like this. I am going to print that quote out and put it somewhere for safe keeping as I know I will probably have to bring that one out sooner rather than later. :)

Have you looked at the articles/resources on SENG? Also, there is a video that Richard Rusczyk was in that talked about how it is good that kids hit that math "wall" earlier in life and learn how to work through it rather than high school or college. It sounds like your dd may be hitting a wall or dealing with the perfection issue so common with gifted kids. For some reason I can't find the video link in my email and my brain is running on fumes today. :) I'm sure you will be able to get some advice from others who have been there, done that. In the meantime, here is a Davidson Gifted article with a huge list of resources at the bottom of the article: http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10459.aspx

Lots of great suggestions from previous posters. You mentioned that he gets bored easily. My DS does too if the material isn't challenging enough. Could that be part of the issue? Just throwing that out there. :)

We will be starting writing around September. I like those ideas and my DD will absolutely love them! She already has her "special" writing books and locking diary.

I was having a hard time doing it regularly because the layout/info in the book wasn't clicking for me. I then had a mini light bulb moment. I'm now in the process of taking each unit and making concept maps using Inspiration Software (sale at HSBC). I needed something really visual and since I'm the one mapping it, it really makes sense to me now. :) On another thread, someone mentioned a book called "That Really Useful Science Book - A Framework of Knowledge for Primary Teachers". I got a used 1998 edition so it's a bit outdated, but it is a good basic overview of primary science for teachers. Science was not my thing in school and this book makes sense to me. I picked it up on Amazon for $4. I think they have a newer edition, but way more expensive. I'll be reading through it while I'm mapping. It's not a big textbook, only about 1/2 inch thick, but plenty of info is in there. http://www.amazon.com/The-Really-Useful-Science-Book/dp/0415385938/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367381940&sr=8-1&keywords=the+really+useful+science+book

I'm guessing that is pretty typical at 5 these days if he was in preschool and/or you were teaching at home. For my situation it was a bit different. I had no intention of teaching phonics at 3, but both of my kids (twins) started to read on their own and I was the one trying to keep up with them. The same thing with writing, math, etc. Is the teacher wanting to have your ds placed in a different class or tested??

Woohoo! Love it! Thanks so much for posting!!

Someone awhile back came up with the gold chip, blue chip and potato chip terms as classification of education. I actually now use it fairly frequently. :D My best friend and I went through the same schools up until college. We agree we received some blue chips, but there was definitely plenty of "snacking" on potato chips in our education. I have learned more history doing genealogy research than what I learned in school even though I have always been fond of it. School just didn't bring out the passion for history (or much else honestly) like genealogy did. I was the odd teenager hangin' out with the elderly in genealogy libraries, scouring tombstones, etc. :tongue_smilie: They were awesome and so helpful and thrilled that I actually was there because I wanted to be there.

We are still pretty early in our homeschooling journey, but our experience so far is very similar to what momto2c's stated. A mix of Classical and CM. My kids are thriving with that approach right now so I'm going to stick with it. If I need to switch gears in the future, no problem. Whatever works best for the kids is my goal. :)

Yea, I have friends who kids have the "stoplight" system going on in school. I guess this is a variant. It makes me sad that kids are already having that outlook on school. A friend of mine told me about a school that was in her district that had a huge red "X" painted out in the playground. Her neighbor kids went to that school. If kids forgot their homework, they had to spend recess sitting out on the red X. Remind anyone of a book? Even the K kids were paranoid about having to sit out on the big red X, but it still happened. There were a couple of kids that were seen on it pretty regularly I guess...kids that really needed to get out the extra energy. I thought it could be handled in a different way and wondered who came up with that bright idea so I just shot off an email to the district president and he was appalled, thanked me for bringing it to his attention and said it would be taken care of asap. I'm not against age appropriate consequences, but what was more surprising to me was that the parents knew about the policy and seemed to be ok with it. :001_huh:

I have a couple of friends who have seen people in their early-mid 20's get fired from good jobs because they ignored/abused the texting policy. I've also been in the restroom of restaurants a few times and seen young females standing in there texting. Who knows if they were really on their official break or not...still eww though. :p In fact, that was why one of the employees got fired...consistently "going to the bathroom", but getting caught texting in the restroom. Crazy! The boss said she had enough to worry about without "babysitting". Not that the OP has to worry about the above, but I wonder if this is more common than what we realize? I imagine there is a lot of lost productivity due to texting, emailing, web surfing, etc. We only had 1 phone line growing up (and no call waiting) so there was no way I could tie it up for hours by chatting on it. My friends and I actually got together and talked. :D I don't have to worry about it for awhile though, although I am sure I will be putting limits on it as that is how we roll around here.

I ran across this and I just wanted to post this in case anyone might be interested. It is geared toward the gifted classroom, but it seems like it would be easy enough to just pick and choose whatever you want. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Affective-Unit-for-Gifted-Learners Brenda

Thanks so much!!!

My friend's dh is moving in mid April to Colorado Springs (near the Broadmoor Resort area). Their ds is 7 and is in school here in CA which doesn't end until June 15th. She read where in CO, it ends May 31st? Anyway, she doesn't really want to stay here with her ds for a couple of months while her dh is in CO. She is considering homeschooling him for a couple of months until they decided whether they would put him back in ps or not. She doesn't want to enroll him in one school in a hurry only to find out that he isn't happy there. They already moved a year ago and their ds had to switch from a Montessori school he loved to ps for this last year. They want to try and keep the disruption for ds to a minimum. She is telecommuting full-time, but is considering changing it to part time if she needs to. She is worried about the legal issues and truancy issues. I can easily point her to curriculum and what not, but I'm not familiar enough with CO homeschooling laws. I found them online, but I guess what I'm wondering is if they would even apply to her if she was only homeschooling for a couple of months? Can she just file a NOI in the district they will be living in (district 12 I believe), homeschool for a couple of months and then put him back in ps in the fall if she needs to? She was also afraid that he would not be accepted back in ps if she put in an intent to homeschool. I'm finding CO homeschool laws to send her, but I'm guessing with all of the codes, it will be a bit overwhelming since they are already scrambling with the unexpected move. She doesn't have a ton of time to research. Any help is appreciated! Brenda

Hold on to your hats and glasses and welcome to the wonderful world of homeschooling! ;)

So this thread pretty much confirms (for me) what I have been thinking for awhile...I'm going to want to try to use both for my kids when we start later this year. I used two programs for phonics and at least two for math. Why should writing be any different? ;) Thank you everyone for all of the great info! Brenda

I agree with dbmamaz, although I'm sure others will have other suggestions as well. There are a lot of smart cookies on the forums! ;) I'm currently reading The Writer's Jungle (Bravewriter author). I'm really liking it so far! We haven't started a formal writing program yet, but my ds sounds like your dd and I just have a gut feeling (I listen to it) that some of the other programs that I wanted to try (WWE, Classical Writing) are not going to be to his liking. I want writing to be enjoyable for him as well as my language and writing lovin' dd. :) I just bought it a few weeks ago from HSBC at 1/2 price and it looks like it still is.