I've used CLE Math 100 with two children and we found the teacher guides essential since, as mentioned previously, there are story problems and read alouds you dictate to the child from it. Also, the flashcards are very helpful as is the 100 chart. It will ask your child to use a dry erase marker to color odds, evens, skip count, etc. at certain points in the book. Having this laminate chart is helpful for them to visualize what they are counting. I have found CLE math to be an excellent program. I hope you enjoy it!

For what it's worth, just know that you are not alone!!! I've been there and still have days where I am here. We sailed from K-3rd. Then we hit fourth and it became harder. My dd10 (9 in fourth) started complaining about the material we used even though we stayed steady with it for the first four years. It now wasn't fun. So we switched and she didn't like that. We switched again and she didn't like that either. I came to the conclusion that any school would be met with irritation on her part simply because it was school. I then had to realize that if things are dragging out and everyone is getting frustrated then I needed to back off some. I guarantee if you are both near tears and irritated then there isn't a lot of learning happening even when you push through the day! We lightened the day and I lightened my expectations. The days are better now although we still have about one day a week that she drags it out long after I see school buses drive by dropping neighboring children off. I pray this continues to get better and eventually she will see that if she diligently does her work she could enjoy a lot more of her day! Best of luck to you!

I am using this for my dd6 and it has been a great fit. From what you have said I think it is worth trying. We haven't had to shorten any lessons as we find them to be light and perfect for where she is at in her learning. Hope this helps!

My 6yr. dd worked ahead in CLE Math 100 and is now done with it. I am unsure whether to move her right into Math200 or use supplements for the remainder of the year. It doesn't seem too easy and yet she doesn't struggle either. She simply likes school. Has anyone else ran into this situation and if so could you let me know what you chose to do?

I had someone use it for gift wrap and as for tissue paper in a gift bag. I thought it was cute and creative.

I use Spelling Power with a non-natural speller. She writes the rule at the top of her sheet daily and we review them weekly. Her spelling skills have improved tremendously while using this program. The 10 step program along with retesting misspelled words has worked wonderfully with her.

I used Christian Kids Explore Biology with my 5 and 9 year olds. The information was good although I felt the need to supplement using the recommended reading list. They loved the pictures to color for each chapter and the activity suggestions were good (they give some for younger children and some for older children on the same topic). Our favorite was the jello cell. It was a blast to make and although a little scary to eat it was good! There are plenty of suggestions to further the lessons in the form of activities, experiments, internet sites she recommends, book suggestions, home made flash cards, and books you could make. If you are looking for more of a spine then I think these are good. If you are wanting a complete program this isn't it. I feel it needs reinforcement from the recommendations to make it complete and these require some preparation on your part and some extra time. The lessons are relatively short and although information is given we felt the need to delve into it further. Some of the vocabulary was too complex for my five year old but I seen it as more of an opportunity to teach her and not as a problem. HTH!

My husband travels for his job so he is in a hotel half of the week and we occasionally go with him. I'm a freak about the rooms. We absolutely won't go barefoot and I instantly strip the beds when we get there, down to the sheets, and then we sleep in sleeping bags on top of the sheets. This all came about when my friend became hotel manager of a pretty nice hotel chain. She confided in me that they save money by washing blankets and comforters only when they are visibly dirty or every couple months. If there has been an accident in the beds they don't do anything to the mattress other than flip it (what happens if there are two accidents in the same bed?). Also, if there are two beds in a room and it "appears" that only one has been slept in they don't require sheet changes on the second bed. Makes you hope the person before you didn't tidy up their own bed after sleeping in it naked! :001_huh: That was enough info to make me not want to touch things.

My husband's work clothing is jeans and t-shirt so he stays in them. He doesn't get dirty so there isn't a need to change and what he wears is comfortable he so he doesn't mind. :001_smile:

We have used Queen's Language Lessons and Primary Language Lessons. They are a very gentle and slow moving approach. We liked them but they simply weren't a match for my children. CLE is workbook style and more rigorous. We had better results with CLE as it fit their learning styles better. Good luck finding a match that fits you and your children.

I keep quizzes and tests along with some great samples of their works (our favorite pieces) and then toss the rest. I think the answer will vary depending on what your state requires. I like to have room for new stuff so we don't keep everything. Another thought is to take pictures of some things. A photo of great projects takes up less room than the projects themselves.

I don't think you should stand by and allow your son to be in an over crowded classroom with a teacher that hasn't adjusted and can't seem to find a compassionate way of dealing with the children, BUT I also wanted to throw the thought out there that the more the teacher feels threatened (i.e. having the director speak to her about your call, the child/teacher ratio being brought up, etc.) the more your son might get negative attention from her. I have many friends that work as teachers and as much as we would all like to think they are there because they love children and treat them all the same it just isn't the case. They want a paycheck. So back to my original comment, I don't think you should be silent about it but I wanted to remind you to be careful of how you approach this. The more you go behind her back to try to solve it the more threatened she will feel. If, however, you keep her aware of what your thoughts and feelings are in a gentle manner she might take it better and hopefully the problem will be resolved and your son will have a better pre-k experience. Good luck!

It's nice to hear that others have brought their older children to the meetings. And I love the thought of having a separate room for the homeschoolers. If we end up having more come that is a serious possibility.

We have enough volunteers to help with the Moppets. We have a great group of ladies that are empty nesters and love children so that part is covered. I guess my issue is that I am the only one with older children there. Do I have them help? Do I pack activities for them to do? Do they sit quietly in the rooms with the mom meeting? What is best for them to do, IYO?

:iagree: Exactly how my kids do it.

Our church has asked me to coordinate a MOPS group in our area and I accepted thinking it was a good volunteer opportunity. My problem/question is that although two of my kids are under 5 and participate in Moppets the other two are too old. I have had them help with the Moppets but am wondering if that is appropriate. If anyone has been in this situation can you let me know what you do with the older ones? So far I am the only one with older children present at the meetings. Suggestions of activities for the older two to do during meetings would be appreciated. Thanks!

I think the economy has hit most families hard and I disagree with those that say you have to pay more for good curricula. Curricula is a tool, you are the teacher. I will second that Ray's looks good. I don't have first hand experience with it to give a review though. It was the first to pop into my head when I read your post about not wanting consumable. I use CLE (Christian Light Education) and find it to be highly effective. Have you checked into that as an option? It is inexpensive, although consumable. You can reuse the teacher guides so they would be a one time expense and they aren't very expensive. The student books cost $29 per year and are a consumable workbook format. They are not flashy or easily distracting for children. You can see samples at christianlightfamilies yahoo group. Good luck finding one that works.

Good tip! Thanks.:001_smile:

It is still officially Friday here and I made it! Link is in sig. line. Have a great weekend ladies. I'm off to read how everyone's week went.