He does tell me that it's easier to just add it in his head, without making a ten (without doing 7+8 = 10+5). We've been doing the story and the dump game though, and those are helping.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

This is exactly what he's struggling with.

Thanks - I'll try this!

Yes, we are using manipulatives - egg cartons, C-rods, ten blocks - all of it! He can move a one from the egg carton to make a ten, but that's the only one he can get easily. He can't do it in his head or split the number.

My son did Singapore Math last year and did fine with all of it except for the making a 10 concept. We're re-visiting it this year in 2nd grade because I really want him to have it before we move much further in the 2A book but he's still struggling. I have the teacher guide and am using all of the suggestions but he's just not getting it. Should I try a different math program? This is very frustrating for both of us. He used to love math and now he says he hates it.

Thank you - so many great suggestions! Now I will not dread writing time on Monday so much. :001_smile:

I think I will put the book aside for now and come back to it later. In the meantime I'll try simpler dictation and shorter copy sentences. He's very interested in writing letters, so maybe that can be his writing for now. (In the meantime, his 5 year old sister will happily copy anything I set in front of her!)

Maybe that's all it is. We are only on the second week in the book. So did you make him do it or not do writing for awhile? I'm not sure what approach to take.

He says that it is too much writing. The dictation is also a struggle. The reading/narration days (where I write) are fine.

My 2nd grader (7 year old boy) is really struggling with writing this year. It has never been his strong suit, but after a morning of crying, tears and tantrums over it I am at a loss. Last year we did Writing with Ease Level 1, and although it wasn't his favorite part of the day he did complete the exercise each day with minimum difficulty. This year we're doing Writing with Ease Level 2 and it is not working for him at all. Suggestions please! Is there something else that would work better for him? He does a page of Zaner Bloser each day as well, and that is not an issue.

Thank you both - very helpful! I will start with Essentials A and even if it's a review we can then move on to B.

My 5 year old daughter wants a math book like her brother (he's in Singapore 2A). I don't feel she's ready for 1A but when I looked at the samples of the K Earlybird and Essentials they looked too easy. Which should I use for her? I didn't homeschool my son until 1st grade so haven't used any K math curriculum yet. Thanks!

I'll look into that - thanks! Apologia is the one I've heard most about, so I haven't even looked into others. I just need a little more structure than last year for science.

Last year I did not use a formal science curriculum but I have been reading so many positive comments about Apologia that I thought I might try it for my 2nd grader this year (along with my Kindergartener, as much as she is able). I looked at the Apologia site, but I don't know which to order. Which is the best one to start with? Thanks

Thanks - I loved reading through these replies. I read this post a few days ago and it's really stuck with me and caused me to question what I've been teaching (we did a lot of mythology this past year). I felt it seemed pretty restrictive, but then it did make me question. My children had no problem looking at the myths as stories and not as truth. I had also decided to start teaching Latin this year, thinking it was a good basis for language. This post had me questioning that too.

I came across this post and it really made me think. I'd love to hear other's opinions and thoughts on the topic! http://homeschoolingbible.com/should-we-teach-mythology/

I'm switching from Spelling Workout to All About Spelling this year for my 2nd grader and just wondered what was absolutely essential to buy? I figure the teacher's manual/student pack but what about the interactive kit? If I just get the letter tiles instead of that whole pack would I be okay?

Thanks!!

My 1st grade son wants a microscope for Christmas. It will be used for school eventually, but will be just for "fun" for now. I've read mixed reviews of some I've seen online. Can anyone recommend a good one? Thanks!

Thanks. :)

Thanks, everyone! I will check into the programs mentioned. I will also drastically cut our phonics time beginning tomorrow and put Spelling Workout aside for now! I guess I just felt like reading is emphasized so much in TWTM that I had to push it. Nothing else takes us that long or is a struggle. In addition to the 45 minutes of phonics/reading we are also doing at least 30 minutes (usually more) of me reading to him later in the day, which he loves. I will cut the phonics/reading and increase my reading to him.

I need to make some changes to our reading/phonics program. My 6 year old, 1st grade son went to a private K last year which used an intense Orton-Gillingham reading program. He had a weekly reading page to read to us at home and hated doing it. He could do it slowly, but it was like pulling teeth to get him through it. He frequently told me that all the other kids could read (not true) but he couldn't (also not true). In our first week of homeschooling this year he told me that when he learned how to read maybe he would go back to school. He has no confidence in his reading ability and does not like to read aloud. He does, however, love to be read to and could listen to me read to him all day long. We have read to him a lot since he was a baby. This is our first year homeschooling and right now I am using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (started at the short vowel section as he already knew all the letter sounds), BOB book read-alouds and Spelling Workout A. The Ordinary Parent's Guide is pretty much a review for him right now but he does mix up the vowel sounds if he's not paying attention as well as b, d, h and p. He moves fairly quickly through the lesson but is resistant to the sentence reading (much prefers to read just the one word sections) and does not like to do the magnetic board spelling. He can get through the BOB books slowly, but hates reading aloud. It is pure torture for both of us. Spelling Workout A is even worse. He absolutely loathes it and wiggles, squirms, whines and one day even cried while doing it. Today he asked me if we could do those four things (Ordinary Parent's Guide, magnetic board, BOB books and Spelling Workout) first to get it done with so the rest of the day would be all things he liked. The rest of homeschool is going wonderfully and he's a joy to work with - incredibly motivated and interested in everything else. He tells me he loves homeschool and wants to do it forever. :) Obviously something needs to change with reading/phonics though because it is a horrible 45 minutes in our day and at this point we both dread it. I do have The Writing Road to Reading and am working my way through it but I won't be ready to make up lesson plans from that for awhile. Any other suggestions for something we could use now to turn reading/phonics around? I want my son to love reading!

This is so helpful. Thank you. We started at 8:30 yesterday and 9:00 today and were still going at 3:00 both days when I called it quits. I was not thinking it would take so long! (I'm working with my 6 year old 1st grader and 4 year old pre-ker and have a 3 year old as well.) I am going to try your schedule tomorrow to see if I can rid myself of this anxiety I'm feeling.

We have just finished our second day of homeschool and I am feeling totally overwhelmed! It took all day (well, until 3pm) to get everything done on both days, and I've barely touched history and haven't done science at all. I'm exhausted! Help!