Thanks for the reply, Crimson Wife! I hear what you're saying . . . Level B definitely has some challenging moments (particularly the mental 2-digit addition such as 68 + 79 . . . not easy for a little 6 year old to do completely in her head!). Just out of curiosity, why are you planning to do at least the first part of RS Level C? Is there something in there that is particularly good or helpful? I so appreciate your input!! :)

Thank you, Terabith. I guess that's what I have been afraid of (based on feedback from other moms) - that Levels A and B are completely fantastic, but subsequent levels are less so. I'm glad Singapore has been a successful transition for you and your daughter. Thanks for the input!

Jennifer, I deeply appreciate all that you have contributed to this conversation. And I just realized I called you by the completely wrong name (Melissa) in my earlier post! I apologize - don't even know how I got that! You have truly given me a lot to think about; you make a very persuasive argument for sticking with RS. One thing you mentioned is that your 4th grader is a year "behind" in RS. (And I realize that it isn't really behind.) So did you take more than one year to get through a level, then? I ask because yesterday I looked up the Level C table of contents and saw that there were 150 lessons. I was a little disheartened to see that because we take two full days to get through each lesson in Level B. Even doing that takes about 20-30 minutes/day, with the average probably being 25 or 30. I think it would feel a lot to both my daughter and me if we were to do an entire lesson in a day. Granted, we do ALL the review questions, etc. - but my question is whether or not you typically do a full lesson per day in Levels C and D? Again, thank you for taking the time to discuss this with me - I sincerely appreciate it!! :)

Melissa, you definitely make a good point. I am semi tempted to stick with RS until (unless!) it doesn't fit us anymore. But I do feel that it is prudent for me to take seriously the many, many families who have gone before me in this program and had significant problems with Level C. What has your experience been with levels C and D? Were you as satisfied with those levels just like levels A and B, or did you too experience a downturn of some type? Also, how have you found it teaching more than one level of RS at a time? I'm definitely nervous about that aspect as well. (Though I of course expect any math in the early grades to be teacher intensive.) Thank you all for your input and please keep it coming!! :)

Crimson Wife, Can I ask you a nuts and bolts question about Singapore? How has the transition been for you going from RS to Singapore? As I said in my original post, I have gotten very used to the scripting in RS. I actually like the fact that she reminds me to review mental math, grab a specific manipulative, etc.! I have used Singapore for 6 years with 2 kids, and loved many aspects of it, but I just wish it could be more scripted. I did find that it was easy to let review, use of manipulatives, etc. fall through the cracks when I was teaching it before. In fairness, however, this was ten years ago, and I never used the Instructor Guides. Do you use the Instructor Guides, and have you found them to be a pretty good substitute for the RS scripting? Or are you having to wing it quite a bit more? :)

Lori, sounds like we're in the same boat. Hope your choice works out well for you!! :)

Bumping . . . input, anyone? :)

It's that time of year when I'm finishing up curricula and looking towards next year. :) My 1st grader will finish Right Start Level B at the end of this school year (we did RS Level A last year). Although I have not particularly enjoyed teaching RS B, I do honestly think it is a phenomenal program. In fact, I'm planning to start RS A with my kindergarten son during the coming year. I'm committed to using levels A and B with him as well. But I know I want to move on at this point, albeit reluctantly since I finally feel comfortable with Right Start and have enjoyed the scripting way more than I thought I would! I am concerned that SO many people run into serious problems with Level C, and I also know that I don't want to go through all the drawing lessons in that level. My obvious choices are to go on to Math Mammoth or Singapore, and I'm having a really hard time deciding between the two. Ironically, I have taught Singapore levels 1-6 with my older girls, and I know it's a good program. However, I never did like all the switching around of books, and always tending to forget to add in enough review. I think I'd be perfectly happy to use Singapore again if someone had turned it into a scripted program! ;) Maybe the new Instructor guides would help?? I know the advantages of MM are that it's self contained and quite inexpensive. I admittedly don't look forward to all the self printing, however. And I'm concerned that MM may not be as aesthetically pleasing to work with as Singapore is. Any tips from those of you who have transitioned to one of these programs after Right Start B? I would love to hear some BTDT input from you as to which choice might make for the smoothest transition. Thanks in advance!

This is what I am planning to do next year with a K5 and a 6/7 year old (2nd grade). I may look at Galloping the Globe as well to supplement . . . plus hitting up Amazon and taking advantage of their 4-for-3 promotion! ;)

Kathy, your input was also incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for taking the time to compare and contrast SL with HoD! :)

Very helpful, Sara - seriously! Thank you!! :)

Sara, thanks for the input. Yes, I know I could schedule them myself . . . but I'd prefer not to. ;) And if the schedule is good/well thought out, and the questions are nicely done as well, then it actually would be worth it to me. I guess I'm asking more about the quality of the emerging reader and read aloud schedules in Beyond, not the perceived "value" of buying the Beyond guide primarily to get these schedules. Does that make sense? :) Ok, I didn't realize that there are no discussion questions specific to the read alouds. Again, something I could easily do myself, but sometimes it's just nice to have things already laid out for you. Thanks again!

Thank you very much! Any other input out there . . . ? :)

I've wanted to like HOD, looked at the samples extensively (and even bought LHTH), and found that it was really, really not my style. The layout of the pages (2 per day) drives me crazy. I'm not a huge fan of spending so many years in a row on early American history. Don't like the science. Etc. I used Sonlight for many, many years and probably prefer the simple grid layout style. On the other hand, I'm not ready to return to the heavy, heavy emphasis on read alouds in Sonlight. However . . . I am temped to use HOD's Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory primarily to get the schedule (and questions) for their Emerging Readers and classic read alouds. I think the book choices for both are excellent. And while I could certainly schedule all the books out myself, well, I'd love the convenience of following a schedule. This is primarily for my daughter. She's currently in 1st grade but is young (turning 7 in late October). We've being doing McRuffy Phonics Grade 1 with her (almost finished, in fact), and I think she's an emerging reader or a little past that point. I just pulled out a Frog and Toad book, and I think she can comfortably read that level - but not much past that. She's definitely not reading full on chapter books yet. I've enjoyed McRuffy, but I think we're ready to move on to "real" books, and I would like just a bit of hand holding as to how to progress with reading for the next year. Next year I'll have a young Kindergarten student (boy turning 5 in July) and then a young 2nd grader (girl turning 7 in October, as I said). Do you all think the read alouds from HOD's Beyond (Charlotte's Web, Little House in the Big Woods, King of the Wind, etc.) would be a good fit? Sorry to ramble . . .just need some input from others who might have done the same thing. :)

Thanks for the discussion! So slight highjack . . . but when do you all recommend starting them (what grade?)? And where is the best place to get the Life of Fred books?

Totally agree. For a "typical" bright child - no specific learning issues, but not a math genius either - I think wrapping up Right Start A at the end of kindergarten is just about right. If that means starting at age 4 and going slowly, great. We're about 2/3rds through RS B right now, in first grade. It's a fantastic program, it truly is! :)

I'm usually the lone wolf in these AAS discussions, but I'll post anyway just to give you the range of possibilities. :) My daughter is a young first grader, turning 6 at the end of October this past year. I started AAS Level 1 with her last year (when she was 5.5), when we were maybe 2/3rds of the way through her kindergarten year. She was reading CVC words and just starting her long vowels at that point I personally do *not* do an entire step with her in one day. In fact, we take 1.5 to 2 weeks to do an entire step. It goes something like this: Day 1 - Review phonograms and rules Day 2 - Review sound cards and words Day 3 - New teaching/Spell new word list with tiles Day 4 - Spell new word list on white board Day 5/6/7 - Spell additional words using white board Day 8/9 - Spell dictation phrases and read the story from the reader, if there is one I feel like my daughter is a typical bright little girl. Not setting the reading and spelling world on fire, but definitely bright and a moderately quick learner. No known learning disabilities or problems, other than being somewhat distractable (see her age). We spend maybe 10-15 each day on spelling. We are currently on Step 22 of Level 1, and the words/rules are getting harder. I must admit to being puzzled as to how people zip through an entire step in just one day, especially if their kids are kind of "on level" as opposed to older kids doing it remedially. Maybe people don't do all the steps, extra words, etc.? Of course it's completely different if the student already is an advanced reader, doing spelling remedially, or just a natural speller. But if one is starting AAS Level 1 *with a student at that level*, than I don't think it's at all realistic to do a step a day - *if* you are using the program fully (ie, the extra words, doing the dictation, reviewing frequently, etc.). Just my two cents. :)

We were in a very similar boat at the end of last year. We loved McRuffy K and finished at least 95% of the workbook pages, plus all of the readers. But you're right . . . McRuffy 1st is *extremely* spelling intensive and seems to take a huge leap in language arts. My imperfect solution was to get McRuffy 1 and use it primarily for the readers. I do supplement, when necessary, with the teacher's manual and/or the Dynamic Phonics book. This is only to help explain a concept or a phonics rule. As far as the workbook goes, you could almost skip it altogether. I use the workbook pages only for the comprehension questions that go along with the readers, as well as the "Sentence Hunt" section. We too are doing AAS, and I am counting on that program to fill in any remaining gaps in my daughter's phonics knowledge. HTH. :)

I would at least start with the "mainstream" medical tests that will involve a blood test and/or an upper endoscopy. They should almost certainly be covered by medical insurance, and they are widely accepted within the medical community as being proof of Celiac disease. Do make sure you stick to a regular diet until you have these tests. In layman's terms, these tests have a low rate of false positives. So if you have Celiac disease according to one of these tests, well, you probably really do have Celiac disease. Unfortunately, these tests do have a high rate of false negatives. Or to put it more accurately, many people with some form of gluten intolerance have perfectly normal blood tests and upper endoscopies. My 20 year old daughter is one of them. All we know, after several years of trial and error and 2 rounds with 2 different GI doctors, is that she is much healthier on a gluten free diet. She used to be dangerously thin, have crippling abdominal pain, nasty bathroom issues, and migraines. All of these issues stay away when she's on a GF diet. I know there is the private stool testing through Enterolab. We have not had that done because they apparently have an incredibly high positive rate. Or to put it another way, their tests nearly always come back positive. Even when you adjust for the self-selective nature of their business (only people who suspect they have gluten intolerance are likely to use them), it seems suspiciously inexact. So much of this is still unknown. I am just now seeing reports in medical journals that are introducing doctors to the idea of "Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance" and other classifications (my husband is in the profession). We are sure this is what our daughter has. I wish you the best in getting to the bottom of your health issues!

Hi Mrs. Mungo. DH just surprised me with a HP 8500 A Plus from Costco. It cost $179 in Hawaii, so maybe even a bit less on the mainland? It is wireless. It does automatical double sided printing (you don't have to re-insert the paper). It is a copier/scanner/fax/printer. It also has three separate color cartridges, which I understand is more efficient than replacing all your colors at once. I'm thrilled with it so far, since my old was was giving me SO many fits. :)

Wondering the same thing. We're doing RS B this year and will move on to either Singapore or Math Mammoth next year. I'm wondering where to start with MM after RS B . . .

Rainbow Science. :) An excellent middle school program.

I know some of you on this board have received your new All About Reading Level 1 program. If you have started it, what do you think? How does your student like it? :) I have actually received mine, but it's still sealed in a box until we get through AAR Level Pre-1. ;) My 4 year old has loved this program, and was very proud to finish up his lower case "z" yesterday. I have just been so very pleased with the All About Spelling and All About Reading curricula thus far!

Exactly. This happened to me with my two older daughters . . . they taught themselves how to hold a pencil, how to form letters . . . and I could never, ever break them of bad habits. Nor could their teachers at school. This is why we're doing HWT Pre-K. ;)

I would strongly recommend the Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) Pre-K curriculum. It is developmentally appropriate for a 4 year old and really focuses on the fundamentals, such as proper pencil grip, starting your letter at the top, etc. I'm using it for the second time now with my 4 year old boy. It's an excellent program! :)