I decided to just continue with what we are doing and just add in horizons Spelling and Vocabulary. I am very interested in dancing Bears but son didn't seem very interested from the samples I found online. Plus he didn't like the way they wrote their letters. He said it was to confusing. He is still mastering his handwriting and I don't think it is in his best interest to change it up right now.

Thanks everyone for your help.

I was wondering if anyone could give me a few suggestions for a math curriculum I can use with Horizons Math 1 & 2 that concentrates on oral drilling. This is my sons weakest area. He will be starting 1st grade Horizons book 2 in first grade. He is doing well in it but thinks it is easy. He sped through Kindergarten Horizons Math in like 4 months. He would take it everywhere and do like 5-10 lessons at a time on his own free time. My only concern is that he relies so heavily on the number lines when doing addition and subtraction problems. Is this a problem for his age? I tried quizzing him on some addition problems orally and he didn't know the answer to 6+4. But in his book he can add much larger numbers. Is there a remedy for this? Thanks for your assistance in this matter. Audrey

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I am liking Dancing Bears and Apples and Pears. Looking into the others mentioned. Thanks again.

We are currently using a mixture of Horizons Phonics & Reading K and Books 2 in both Primary Phonics and Explode the Code. He likes and breezes through PP and ETC but doesn't do as well with Horizons. Nothing for spelling, vocabulary, or Grammar right now.

My 6 year old son in starting 1st grade in the fall and has a speech delay. He is about 3 1/2 years behind in speech/pronunciation as assessed by a speech language pathologist. But he has a great vocabulary and is advanced in most school subjects. He is reading at a second to third grade level without help and chapter books with minimal help. He excels in math and map skills/geography. He does well with workbooks but has a hard time staying on task. Are there any particular curricula out there for phonics, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary for children with speech delays as this is the area he needs the most help. He has a difficult time sounding words out because of his pronunciation issues. I don't know how he managed to learn to read but he reads as fast as I do with comprehension. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Audrey

My son turned 4 in April. He started school in the middle of June after I was finally tired of him constantly asking to do big school. My in-laws had been living with us for about a year and they were homeschooling 3 of their children while living here, so he wanted to be in school too. But he is one of those odd ones that go crazy at the sight of any workbook. Just got an order in from CBD and he wouldn't go to bed last night until he went through all of them to see what they were. So that being said, we are doing mostly little workbooks concentrating on Letters, writing, mazes, dot-to-dots, math, and ETC. Phonics with be taught with Horizons Phonics and Reading supplemented by ETC, HOP, and Primary Phonics. I am trying multiple ways of teaching him because he really wants to learn to read but isnt quite getting it because of a speech problem. However, I can definitely see a drastic improvement in his speech since we started school. Math is Horizons because it is close in format to his Answers in Genesis Preschool in format. Science will be covered with nature walks, just answering questions, putting lego kits together, and reading some kids books on scientific topics like weather and such. Really self-directed. History will be taught using the Heroes of History for Young Readers Series of books. He loves these. 2 weeks ago he read 6 of these books in one week. He loves the one on George Washington. We will also read other history based books and answer any questions he might have. Handwriting using HWT and Memoria Press' Copybooks. This is another one of the areas he struggles in so lots of practice. Also finishing up R&S ABC curriculum. Music will be banging on the keyboard. Also using ABCmouse.com and nickjrboost for fun games. He also will be playing with his Leappad for phonics help.

This series is excellent in my opinion. But I also like the Dear America Series and its sister books. Their Royal Diaries series is the best IMHO. Also there is a series on colonial Jamestown from the kids perspective and how they lived. If you want something with a bit more christian perspective then I would look at Sisters In Time. I have all of this series (bought at ChristianBook.com several years ago) and it is really good. Also the trailblazer books might have a few that can be related to American History although most of these books focus on Missionaries from around the world. The Orphan Train books are also good if studying the 19th and early 20th Centuries. They do have a curriculum guide to go along with some of the Dear America Books. Also YWAM has a series that are great called Heroes of History. They have developed a literature based curriculum that deals mainly with American History as well as one that deals with Christian History. The vast majority of their books have a companion guide to them. I recently got their History for Young Readers set and my son absolutely loves them. I think the first week we have them he wanted to read the George Washington book 3 times. Some of their books can be a bit on the graphic side for young kids when it goes into the martyrdom of christian missionaries. But depending on the age of the child these should be fine for most kids as read-alones or if concerned about some of the details provided they would make excellent read-alouds. Hope this helps.

I would like to use some kind of stand alone educational toy for him to play with that might help with phonics especially. I have been look at the leapfrog leappad and was wondering if anyone here had used one with any of their children. How did it work for you? Trying to implement more play things. He loves doing workbooks but I am starting to burn myself out on them he goes through them so fast.

Sorry, I accidentally posted this message twice. Please ignore this thread line and follow up on the original. Thanks.

My ds turned 4 in April and wanted to start big boy school shortly thereafter. So we started doing little fun workbooks and the preschool workbooks from Rod & Staff. We also started Hooked on Phonics Preschool, the Pre-Explode the Code books (almost finished with book B), and Answers in Genesis Preschool. He does have a bit of a speech problem since he didn't start talking until he was 3.5. He still has some fairly substantial pronunciation problems. recognizes all numbers to 20 and can fluently count to 12. He has problems pronouncing the teen numbers but can count to 20+ with assistance. He has a very good vocabulary for his age as well as a love for learning and enjoys doing workbooks. He would do them all day every if I let him. When we first started "big Boy" school he went through at least 10 workbooks (including hooked on phonics and explode the code A) in less than 2 weeks. He wants to start kindergarten and I think he is ready but I would like to continue with the Answers in Genesis preschool for extra writing practice as that is his major area of difficulty right now. Right now my main concerns are math and phonics. Can Math be taught using mainly inexpensive workbooks at this age? What do I do for phonics and reading for someone with speech issues? Is ETC and Primary Phonics and HOP good enough for kindergarten or do I need a full program? His favorite workbook right now is the pre-ETC books. I am debating on whether to start primary phonics on top of the ETC and Hooked on Phonics we are already doing. Or to start a different program that might be more teacher friendly since I do not really know much on the topic. I did not learn to read using phonics and have no idea how to teach it. I am one of those people that are fine with teaching higher grades including level math and science but am terrified of teaching Phonics and Reading. This is my only fear in homeschooling throughout the entire 13 years. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Audrey

My ds turned 4 in April and wanted to start big boy school shortly thereafter. So we started doing little fun workbooks and the preschool workbooks from Rod & Staff. We also started Hooked on Phonics Preschool, the Pre-Explode the Code books (almost finished with book B), and Answers in Genesis Preschool. He does have a bit of a speech problem since he didn't start talking until he was 3.5. He still has some fairly substantial pronunciation problems. recognizes all numbers to 20 and can fluently count to 12. He has problems pronouncing the teen numbers but can count to 20+ with assistance. He has a very good vocabulary for his age as well as a love for learning and enjoys doing workbooks. He would do them all day every if I let him. When we first started "big Boy" school he went through at least 10 workbooks (including hooked on phonics and explode the code A) in less than 2 weeks. He wants to start kindergarten and I think he is ready but I would like to continue with the Answers in Genesis preschool for extra writing practice as that is his major area of difficulty right now. Right now my main concerns are math and phonics. Can Math be taught using mainly inexpensive workbooks at this age? What do I do for phonics and reading for someone with speech issues? Is ETC and Primary Phonics and HOP good enough for kindergarten or do I need a full program? His favorite workbook right now is the pre-ETC books. I am debating on whether to start primary phonics on top of the ETC and Hooked on Phonics we are already doing. Or to start a different program that might be more teacher friendly since I do not really know much on the topic. I did not learn to read using phonics and have no idea how to teach it. I am one of those people that are fine with teaching higher grades including level math and science but am terrified of teaching Phonics and Reading. This is my only fear in homeschooling throughout the entire 13 years. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Audrey

But....wouldn't mind: A larger kitchen More bedrooms on the same level and More closet space Everything else I love We live in the country on an acre lot with fields on all but 1 side. The house consists of 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (2 beds and one bath on each floor and a large laundry room with walk in pantry in the basement). That being said we are currently only three people. Next weekend we will be increasing that number by 5 as my husbands mother and siblings are moving in for an undetermined amount of time due to job loss. So this might change is a few weeks.

All of your suggestions are helpful. I will look into the curriculum suggested and and CLO suggested as well. I haven't tested him for allergies because I hadn't until recently realized that symptoms of allergies didn't just mean physical illness but could present itself in behavior and other delays. He does love yogurt and eats some most days but doesn't take a dedicated probiotic. We have made it a point to not give him any antibiotics and he is rarely sick (like 2-3 times since birth and mostly since we introduced him to babysitters or school). He is vaccinated and had no visible reactions to those.

He has had his hearing tested and everything was fine there. I have a history with hearing and speech problems which may be genetic so that is why I am overly concerned.