We started our eldest in K at the local public school. We knew she was "ahead" but thought it would be okay ... she could "concentrate on the social aspect of school." (I think those were my very words. Ha.) It wasn't a great experience. She was tested partway through the year and was reading at a Gr. 5 level, and the school really had no viable way of accommodating that. "Enrichment" meant more worksheets to do in the evenings. There were some kids in her class with extreme behavioural problems that just plain scared her most of the time, and the school was cutting back on the adult support needed for those kids. (They actually had to evacuate the K class one day because one child was throwing very large things at people's heads ... I'm still astounded. ) She cried every day. So we decided to just let her learn at her own pace at home, and her younger sister followed suit. And we've been happy. One bonus I've discovered: I hate making brown bag lunches, and with homeschooling I don't have to! :laugh:

:lol: I love this!

Have you read Ruth's (lewelma's) wonderful post and the ensuing thread about developing advanced reading skills? I just love what she suggests there and am working at it slowly with my own.

Do you have a sense of what is making the translation to paper particularly challenging? For my one dd, this was tough simply because writing numbers was a mechanical challenge that she couldn't cope with while also thinking about creating an equation. I switched to letting her use cards for numbers instead of writing them for a while. Or I just let her show me with manipulatives and then wrote the equation out on a whiteboard for her to copy into her book. Our standard progression through a lesson was (1) lots of work from the HIG using manipulatives to introduce the topic; (2) work together from the textbook, either orally or using number cards or with me writing things on the whiteboard; and (3) over to the workbook, where by around 1B she was more independent as long as I checked in often. I paused a few times in 1A and 1B to play more games using Miquon, Education Unboxed and other sources (MEP was one, I think). I also bought the Extra Practice books for my one dd, which provide extra problems at a level even easier than the workbook. We did some of these together on the whiteboard; she did some on her own. And I invested in the Process Skills for Problem Solving books, which have been an excellent source of explicit instruction in problem solving. FWIW, Math Mammoth is excellent, but my dds found it visually busy and hated it. You might want to try a sample or two before buying the full program. Ask me how I know ... :glare:

We like Latin here, but I wouldn't hesitate to drop it in favour of a living language if either I or my dds started to balk.

You could also just drop grammar for Gr. 1 and pick it up later. ETA: I don't know how much I would expect a Gr. 1 student to do independently in a workbook. Yours could be very different, but mine needed me beside her all of the time to make sure that she was copying correctly and forming her letters correctly. I found that our writing program (WWE) gave us all of the grammar she *needed* for that stage, and have only just started back with some formal grammar study now at the end of Gr. 2. It wouldn't bother me at all to wait until Gr. 3 or 4 to start grammar as a formal, stand-alone subject, as my goals for the early elementary years are to develop an understanding of sentence structure and punctuation through copywork and dictation.

I've read a lot about it being used around or after CAP 2. It seems to be geared for Gr 3-5, but can be very adaptable.

It could be that another program is the answer for you; however, it may be that you're like me and need to invest some time in building your skills an an instructor. I'm only wondering that because you mentioned not being very confident with this and skipping mental math. When I switched to Singapore, I read Liping Ma's "Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics," which helped me understand why my natural get-er-done approach was so very counterproductive. I played with Miquon math (the videos at education unboxed are great for this.) I used the HIG to make sure our lessons began with the concrete, using manipulatives. And after advice received here, I used the Mental Math daily -- I had to rework it into chunks of ten questions each to make it usable for us. My point is that regardless of your final program choice, spending the time to build up yourself as a teacher will make a big difference in how that program ends up working for you. I had to give myself permission to do that.

I used FLL and WWE together and didn't find it too much. WWE2 takes us maybe 10-15 minutes tops each day, 4 days/week.

Brave Writer. I am convinced it *should* be amazing and have spent waaaay too much time and money trying to make it so. Total bust. But I'll bet I'll try it again next year anyway ...

Writing a main idea, topic, and cause/effect could be a bit tough for a Gr. 3 student. I wouldn't lose hope, but would switch approaches. If your purpose with the short story approach is to build writing skills, then a couple of programs that you might want to look into would be Treasured Conversations and CAP's Writing & Rhetoric series. I would start the Writing & Rhetoric series with the first book, which is aimed at Gr. 3/4. It provides a very structured, yet fun, way of slowly building narrative analysis and complementary writing skills. If your purpose in reading the short stories is to build comprehension, then I would just have him narrate them back to you rather than analyze them. Finding a main idea, textual evidence, and preparing a conclusion is quite advanced for elementary school; I'd really relax on that expectation. ETA: The other thing I've been thinking is that it may be helpful to think in terms of meeting your son where he's at, rather than trying to find something that says "Gr. 4" on it. In some cases that could mean temporarily "going back" and starting with something that could be labeled "Gr. 2" or "Gr. 3," but in my opinion it's better to do that and build the skills than to flounder through a level. With your grammar concerns, then, it might be better to look at what is expected and covered in the program vs. whether it's a Gr. 4 program. I haven't used many grammar programs, but of the ones I've used, FLL3 might work.

I'm sure others will jump in and comment, but if it's an option for you, Beast 3A is the best place to start. The Level 3 topics are fantastic and the problems can be truly stretching. It's one book in which I absolutely rely on the detailed solutions at the back, despite my solid math background. If your student is still working on facts retention, Beast 3 can help. My dd really blossomed with her facts retention after we worked through 3A and 3B.

I can't comment on the CLP programs, as I haven't used them. But I would suggest that, for the student you've described, you may want to start with Beast 3 (assuming you haven't done it already -- I just skimmed the linked thread). Beast is designed for math-hungry and adept students, and goes deeper into each level than is typical for that grade. It's perfectly fine to use it a year or two behind and still know that your student is getting a great introduction to mathematical thinking.

I was going to suggest CAP Fable and/or Narrative I, and see that you're already considering it. I think it's do-able in 3-4 months. Each book is only 10 lessons, and we do 1 per week during the school year. One book would be entirely manageable for a summer session; you could even push to do two. I'm impressed with this program, and it leads into the longer pieces that you're looking for. I used Paragraph Writing Made Easy and was pleased with its clear instruction on how to outline, structure, and write different kinds of paragraphs. It just focuses on paragraphs; not on linking paragraphs together to form longer pieces. It would be do-able in an intense session. Another resource to look into would be Treasured Conversations.

I'm a schedule kind of girl, but had to let that go with MCT. We just open the books and do the next thing until it seems good to stop for that day. I rarely do more than two of the MCT subjects in a day. And we do the grammar book before starting the others in the level.

No. Students must do all work in their own notebook / binder.

It's do-able. I am able to work from home for a good chunk of my 20+ hrs/week of paid work and can drop the kids off at my parents' about once a week, which helps a lot. I try to schedule most of my meetings and conference calls for times when my kids are with my grandparents. Typically I work in the evenings and on weekends when DH is home. The days are long but manageable.

We've used and enjoyed Nesbit's "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" and "How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare." We've used a lot of Manga versions of the plays as well.

nm ...

I'd agree with this -- W&R I is pitched pretty well for Gr. 3/4. I've used Killgallon SC4E with W&R 2/3 this year. They complement each other well.

You just described my life, including the falling-apart house (yes, whole chunks of it) and taxes not started and the busiest time for me with the work that I get paid to do. I was just thinking today how very, very tired I am of having another job apart from homeschooling. Thanks for sharing this -- I feel so much better now, because I'm just a little bit in awe of all that you accomplish with homeschooling!

Math: Singapore 5 (text / IP / CWP) and BA as it's available. Maybe LoF Fractions / Decimals. Grammar / Vocab: MCT Voyage? Grammar Revolution? Writing: W&R 4 & 5? With Killgallon Paragraphs for Middle School? Still figuring this out, as this very week she just blew through what I thought were our goals for next year. Literature: She reads widely. I'd like to incorporate more planned literature discussions with her, just because she'd thrive on them. Something along the lines of Deconstructing Penguins -- nothing rigid or worksheet-based. Lots of Shakespeare for this kid. History: Canadian, probably using Canada's Natives Long Ago and Courage & Conquest ... although I really, really want to do Big History. Really. Science: BFSU / TOPS, studying some basic physics and then earth science/astronomy. The goal here is to learn to read and summarize science texts and to conduct a scientific investigation Languages: Latin for Children B, French (SYRWTLF with my French-teacher Mom), Spanish (something with my Spanish-teacher Mom) I'm also toying with having her do some self-directed 4-6 week projects.

Listening in ... I'm in the same boat with dd9.

I switched to W&R partway through WWE 3 and we both liked the change of pace. ETA There is next to no grammar in W&R .

I should clarify that I noticed the difference between the textbook and workbook once we hit 2A and 2B. 1A and 1B didn't vary much from text to workbook. (We use Standards Edition here.) They don't make IP for the Standards Edition, either -- I just use the US edition IP. It works just fine. And I really think that CWP 1 is entirely skippable. It didn't add much value to our program at all. I do like using Process Skills in combination with CWP after Level 1. The Process Skills books give some great instruction in problem-solving strategies, and then CWP provides them with the opportunity to use those strategies. If you think your ds has mastered the concepts in 1B, then you don't need to linger -- that's the beauty of homeschooling. It's fine to move on to 2A, but I would definitely consider using some of the other Singapore resources so that the program is a good fit for his ability. You may end up flying through a couple of levels in a year even with the add-ons -- and if he's being appropriately challenged and understands the material, then that's just great!