I've been looking at the MEP materials online for my kindergartener. She's bored to tears with the counting practice going on at school, so I want to supplement with something more challenging at home. I love the look of the MEP program. I'm wondering if I need to buy the textbook or if I can just use the worksheets with some explanation. I'm a teacher, so I don't need a lot of guidance, and this is only enrichment work, not my daughter's entire curriculum. Any opinions?

I don't require certain types of books, nor do I record them all. (Just one more record to get lost in a giant pile!) We tend to pick up a couple books about whatever we're learning about. (Right now it's Easter. A couple weeks ago it was earthquakes.) We also tend to read through a series or author at a time, which makes selection easier. Right now we're reading all the Rebecca American girl books. i also require my daughter to get a mix of books she can read herself and ones for me to read to her. I do, however have very strict limit on the amount of 'junk books' she can check out. There's only so much Barbie or Scooby Doo that one brain needs!

I'm trying to teach myself Latin (got to keep ahead of the kids! :) but I'm just not good with languages. I'm using Wheelock's Latin, and the workbook, and a website with accompanying exercises, but I'm still struggling to remember all the grammar rules and forms. Any suggestions for either strategies or materials? My brain is crying here!

I have a very bright 5 1/2 yr old daughter who desperately needs to be challenged. The kids in her pre-k class are learning to write their names, which she's been doing for over two years! The problem is, although she is academically on at least a first grade level, she still very much has a preschool attention span and interests. She's also a perfectionist who gives up easily. Can anyone suggest any good curriculum materials that would match both her knowledge and (im)maturity?

A few hints from a professional test prep tutor: All the questions on the exam are worth the same amount, regardless of difficulty. Many kids get bogged down feeling they have to answer every question in order. Students should go through the exam quickly, answering only the questions that make sense to them on the first reading. This way they answer as many "easy' questions as possible before time runs out. After they have tackled the easy questions, they should return to the harder ones. That way if they run out of time, they've only left the questions blank that they were unsure of anyway. The reading passages are in the same order every time. Students should know what types of passages they are best and weakest at. Tackle the passages in order from strongest to weakest. Math questions get harder as the section progresses. This is one section where rushing really hurts. Accuracy on the easier questions is more important than rushing through easy questions (and making careless mistakes) in order to get to very difficult questions. BTW, unlike on the SAT, there is guessing penalty on the ACT. So students should never leave questions blank! Hope those hints help.

As a public school teacher I see both the positives and negatives of public school. Everything has two sides. So, focus on the good things: 1. There are many caring, wonderful teachers out there who have chosen teaching because they love kids and want to help them. 2. You child will get used to working with many different types of people and personalities and find new ways of doing things. 3. With 25 kids in a class, your child will always be able to find someone to hang out with. 4. School have access to great resources you probably afford on your own. 5. You and your kids will have a break from each other and come back refreshed. But most importantly, remember you haven't given up educating your child. You're just sharing that responsibility now!

My daughter also seriously resisted learning for a while. What worked for us was not letting her get bored. Instead of using one phonic curriculum, we mixed phonics readers, online phonic games, homemade phonic games, sight word games, etc. We did something different every day, while keeping the level the same. (In other words, short vowels for a couple weeks, then long vowels, then diagraphs, etc.) It took a lot of web-searching and planning for me, but now she is SOOO proud of her reading.