Thanks everybody. I feel reassured :) It makes sense about it being nasal or sinus related. But I couldn't find any articles about it when I googled it, not knowing what on earth search terms to use for such a strange question! Thank you all. I don't have any trouble with en words - the short e doesn't change from the short e in et or eg words, for me. Aren't accents and regional variations odd? ten vs tin - my mom made my enunciate those, even though I am southern, so most of the time I say those (and pen/pin!) with the correct short vowel, thank goodness. Sure makes it easier to teach phonics. However, if my southern accent was stronger, these "a" words wouldn't be such a problem lol!

My 4 yo twins are beginning to sound out words, mostly CVC. The problem is the short "a" sound in man or Sam. Why does the vowel sound different than in other short "a" words like mat or sat? Is there any way to make the blending easier? The kids go "m", "m....a...." "m...a...n" and then try to blend it together and it comes out all forced and wrong-sounding. I feel like I'm nuts and maybe I'm the only one that hears this, but it is genuinely hard for the kids. So somebody else has to have noticed this, right??

Tabletclass had not been on my radar, so thanks for the recommendations. I've been to the websites, both subsription and free, and watched the demo stuff. Questions for you actual users: 1. Is anything self-grading? Or do you the parent grade the tests? Or does the student? It looks like the tests and keys are all available and that might be TOO much freedom at this age, I think, unless the student really loves learning just for learning's sake. 2. What is the difference between the free website (with $20 printed worksheets) and the subscription? Is it just being able to navigate the videos and see what you've done? Tests? What are the other advantages to having an account? Derek, thanks for your reviews on this here and in other threads - I've seen several of them as I searched "tabletclass" here on WTM :)

any Making Math Meaningful users?

I agree - it's enough to spark some interest, but allow for flexibility. We have added in library books at times, science encyclopedias for kids, magazines, nature walks, and I have really appreciated the lightness of the curriculum in allowing science at this age to be more child-centered and interest-led. There is so much time to get meaty, in K, 1st, and 2nd it doesn't have to be yet. And I'm an engineer :)

Thank you for the replies - do you find those that you are using to be written to the student, and mostly independent?

Thanks for this input - I was thinking the same thing about some topics being missing from MMM 6, and possibly a year of overlap with another 6th grade being a good idea. My only qualm about Jacob's Algebra is then switching curriculum - again - for high school, since there's no algebra 2 that follows on. But maybe I'm borrowing trouble too far ahead.

Has anybody used this, from Cornerstone Curriculum? What do you use next, for a 5th grader finishing up level 6 and needing to move to something else, to continue being semi-independent in math for 6th grade and up?

Hi, I'm posting for a friend. She's not into forums, but asked me about math since I was an engineer and a math teacher. But I don't have a middle schooler yet, so I'm asking y'all :) Her son has used Making Math Meaningful from Cornerstone one level ahead of grade level since kindergarten. So he's finishing level 6, at the end of 5th grade. Mom wants to switch programs now, into something that hopefully he can continue all the way through high school. She wants it be semi or mostly independent, due to having youngers to teach too. It does not necessarily need to be video. TT sounds like a good idea, but there is enough negative "chatter" she's heard (even not being on forums) that she's concerned. But what else is there to do with a sixth-grader in this situation? BJU is another curriculum that came up. So opinions on that would be appreciated too. In her words, her son is "is good with it [math], once he understands it, which means if he actually reads it and thinks. :-) He has a good attitude about it, as long as I don't berrage him with tons at a time. He is all about doing as much as he can in his head and with a little writing and "work" as possible...much like his dad was in school! :-P" She says he's not definitely aiming at a career in science or math, but doesn't want to rule it out either. She's asking me, since I have a math background, but I taught a classroom out of a textbook, not a single child to be independent. It's different. I've never seen TT in person, but I heard it's a lot of multiple choice answers, and the student gets 2 tries. My concern is that a child who doesn't like to work it out could guess it right within 2 guesses, but not learn much. So it's as much the style of TT, as whether or not it's rigorous or not. Thanks in advance!

Lauri puzzles are awesome. My 2 year old twins love them. For girly, you can get ballerina or butterflies or flowers.

by prepare, you mean attach the tiles to the magnets? or is there more? I got a used set of tiles - but the duplicate letters are missing. I only have one of each letter and each phonogram :( Thank you for this input, very helpful! PS are your twins going to be using it to learn the phonics the first time, or to learn spelling, or to learn both at the same time? I am kinda confused by how that's supposed to work. I mean, do I start AAS level 1 with my daughter but keep plugging with Explode the Code 7? Or just stop, since she's a pretty proficient reader?

Thanks for the help, especially about samples! I will check that out when I next get a chance - computer time about up for today! What's the website with the free sounds? Is it the same as her methods? I am confused when samples says things like "pronounce for spelling" and cost isn't the same as "cawst". I've lived all over, mostly in the South though, but I don't have a bad drawl. But I would say those the same :confused:

Thank you! I will make sure I look at those before I make a final decision!

Good to know!! So it wouldn't be unreasonable to get a fluent reader, natural speller 6 yo in 1st grade through level 2? Do you think I should get level 3 as well, just to be safe? Shipping would be the same for 2 levels or for 3, hmmm....And there is that guarantee, I should be able to send it all back if necessary, no difference in 2 levels or in 3 there, that I know of. I made my own phonogram cards for teaching reading. Do you think I should buy level 1, to have her materials and make sure I'm on the same page all the way through the program? I'm trying to minimize expense but not at the cost of a cohesive program. If I buy AAS, it's going to be for the purpose of having something comprehensive that takes the burden off me, so I'm not going halfway and still trying to piece together some on my own. If it's necessary, I'll buy level 1 as well.

and by the way, what did you use to teach your daughter to read? I'm curious because my hodge podge worked well when I only had one child. But by the time I'm schooling her, in 3rd or 4th, and trying to teach 2 to read, I may need something more organized! I'm intrigued by AAR, but again, the expense! for two - gasp!

So I haven't quite figured out from the website, does that mean nothing in the student packet is consumable? I have seen that it says you need 2 student packets for simultaneous teaching, so I think I still may have to buy more for my twins. :( But that is definitely coming into play, I'm trying to convince myself the expense would be worth it from that perspective.

I'm looking ahead for spelling curriculum for next year. I want All About Spelling, but I know it's going to start off REALLY slow, and I wonder if it would be overkill. In hindsight, I should have used it in K this year, but I was trying to keep K pretty simple and not overly long. I thought 1st was the time to start formal spelling. I began teaching my daughter to read at 4 because she was ready. It was a hodge podge of what I had and what I could borrow because I wasn't confident what would work best for her and I didn't want to spend a lot of money. She learned letter sounds and began blending them into words and I also introduced phonograms, making my own cards based on a list of the 72 Orton phonograms I found. (I remember learning phonics this way, so it makes sense to me.) This year, Kindergarten, I wanted something more systematic and something she could work on semi-independently (I also have 2 yr old twins). So I started her in Explode the Code book 3. I wasn't thrilled with it, because it only teaches one sound of any phonogram at a time, but I figured since I was still supplementing with my flashcards it would be ok. I also had a copy of Phonics Pathways, and I have used that for read-aloud phonics practice. It also makes her slow down and read clearly and distinctly before she reads aloud to me. So we have finished book 5 in ETC and I have book 6. We'll start it next week. We have about 20 pages left in PP but we've definitely covered everything commonly seen in her reading level (2nd grade-ish). But now I don't know what to do about spelling! We seem too far ahead for AAS, but I don't know what else to look at. I want something rule based, that teaches all sounds of phonograms. The reason I'm afraid we are too far ahead is just how well she's done with ETC. I was just intending it for teaching phonics, mainly reading, but she usually does the final page (test of 7 of the words from the lesson) without looking, after she's done the activities with them for a few days. I just don't know what she's retained, and if she's missing out on the rules part of it. They only focus on one sound of a phonogram at a time, so for instance, the -ey words we just did (monkey, hockey, honey, money, key, etc) are all "ee" sounds, no "ay" or discussion of the fact it has another sound. She knows it does from my flashcards, that's all. I have heard you can use Phonics Pathways to teach spelling, but it sounds like a lot of planning and work :( And I got a used copy of Spelling Power, but it's not as rule-based as it sounded. The lists seem more random collections of words that have the same sound. I do like how thorough it is, covering the 5000 most frequently used words, and I could use it. I just feel like I'd be floundering making up reasons why words are spelled the way they are, when my daughter asked about words, and I'd be stuck trying to think of more examples of that kind of word. Also, I dictated the sentences AAS recommends to see what her placement would be, from here: http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/which-spelling-level-should-we-start-with She had no trouble with it. The Level 1 sample lesson definitely looks easy. Has anybody tried AAS and found it wasn't a good fit? Why? Has anybody started at Level 1, even though you thought your child was past it, and how has that gone? I really want this system, it makes so much sense to me, but I don't know anyone in real life who is using it. And it's a big investment. Thanks in advance for any input! Jennifer

How young can you start Spelling Power? I know the book says 8, but I want to start my dd6 in something for first grade. She is a very good reader and average at spelling, I think, for a K'er.

from Mathmammoth.com For January 23-25, 2012, get 23% off of all Math Mammoth downloads & CDs at Kagi store! Use the coupon code THREEDAYS. Hope that helps and isn't too late!

there was a big one last Feb, and I think it might be an annual thing.

interested to follow this - I've seen your screen name on HOD's message board and find it funny to "meet" over here too. :seeya: or I thought I had - my bad if wrong - I still want to hear the thoughts :)

:lol: at this! I have read and reread that thread but didn't realize you were the same poster (too many user names to recognize them and place them all)! so I've read this and really appreciated this insight...this is how I found out I should consider HTTS over AAS :) so thanks - glad to hear how you are incorporating the two. Not sure exactly what it will look like for us yet daily, just trying to make my choices and get stuff ordered for an August start. But your earlier post was just what I was looking for - a program to do complete phonogram rule based spelling through elementary, so that we too can be into vocab and roots by middle school. too funny how paths cross:tongue_smilie:

I'm not up to speed on CM methods so I'm not sure I know how to have her do oral narration and what I'm supposed to listen for :confused: And my dd talks nonstop all day long - I try to get her to stop more than I ask her questions about her day, I'm ashamed to say! I need to ask her more of those types of questions I guess. I feel like a bad mom :( convincing dh was part of it...telling him I can resell if it's not needed but I think I have to see it. setup in Beyond from what I can see in the 1st week sample is boxes, but for the readers schedule and questions it refers you to an appendix. So it'll be an add on to our LHFHG stuff. I did buy it used...we'll see! thanks for taking the time to post and I'm going to check out that site for questions too.

hm, maybe I could have gotten a great price mid-year. refrain from kicking myself... I went ahead and got the used one I saw yesterday, since all the other used ones I've seen in the past few weeks have been part of a set, or been sold before I could get to them. This way I have it and can try it. And if I do HOD next year, I'll already have it. We're already reading at that level, and ready for easy spelling. I've been doing Phonics Pathways (but not all the writing - does anyone actually?) and reading library books, level 1 and level 2 type stuff. She wants to read chapter stories, but she skips words and doesn't comprehend all the time, so I want to focus on the questions. I would be frustrated and wondering if I should be doing more if I didn't get the book, so I took the plunge and got it. At worst I can resell for not too much less I hope...But I hope it's great and we love using it, and the spelling too. We'll see - I'm not sure about the approach to spelling, I'm kind of picky about that :)

:iagree: