Singapore & Horizons for us.

Horizons Math & Singapore... 4 years and counting!

I have the second one you linked and it is wonderful! The photographs are amazing-- my boys just love to sit and flip through, reading tid-bits as they go... I highly recommend it!

We just finished 1st grade... we used: Horizons/Singapore combo Rod & Staff 2 grammar Explorers Bible (Beginnings II) Copywork (AWANA verses & some history narrations) American history w/ older brother No formal science, just living books No phonics-- ds was fluent, even advanced, at an early age. Tons of reading, esp. readers from Sonlight Cores 2 & 3 Classical Conversations-- Foundations All in all, a good year. I plan to use the same resources w/ my 2 younger ones when they get there... :o)

Mine are a bit younger, but still have a quiet time every afternoon for about an hour and a half. My hope is that they'll sleep (b/c if they don't, they're generally cranky by dinner time), but if they can't fall asleep, they read. Occasionally they decide to write a bit (they each keep a notebook by their beds for doodling or creative writing), but generally they read or just lay there. Neither of my older ones have access to TV or an Ipod during rest time, nor do I allow games between the two of them. I tried that for a short bit, but it quickly resulted in behavior that contradicted the purpose of the down time. So... now they read or sleep and that's it :o)

This is exactly what we've done for the past two years, and so far, so good!

I'm casting another vote for Lively Latin (for all the reasons listed by the other posters)-- it is, without a doubt, my greatest discovery!

Thank you so much, ladies-- you've mentioned a few titles I know I hadn't considered; I'll check them out! Now to find my list...

A shameless bump :o)

We worked our way through PL and enjoyed it very much; LC1, on the other hand, was *boring*... we struggled with it from the very beginning. My boys hated the DVDs; I wasn't confident enough to teach it on my own. We made it through lesson 14 until we finally jumped ship. I purchased the beta version of LL (the hard copy was not available at the time) and I haven't regretted it one bit-- it's like a breath of fresh air! My son is doing very well with it, and I am learning alongside him. My vote-- take the plunge... you won't regret it!

I'm trying to plan out my 4th grader's reading list for next year, and after consulting many other lists (including the Highlands Latin School, Sonlight Core 4, and VP), I have way too many books (not to mention the fact that I have temporarily-- I hope!-- misplaced said list)-- Anyone willing to share what their kiddos have tackled in 4th grade, or what you're hoping they will tackle in the near future?

I haven't seen the workbook, but as for the book itself, I agree w/ Abbey-- it's dull! I'd even go far as to call it downright boring. My boys don't like it one bit; in fact, the last time I pulled it out for a re-read, they groaned. My opinion-- don't waste your money! There are plenty of other worthwhile products out there. We've enjoyed the MCP Maps, Charts, Graphs series as one other option for you.

Thank you, thank you thank you, ladies for sharing.... I've been planning all along to use the Keys to... series ( I figured they'd be good review and a nice change of pace, as you noted Colleen); it's great to hear that they proved profitable for many of you. And thank you, Colleen, for the recommendation of the Lial's BCM text. Like yours, my ds will be young when he finishes 6B, assuming all goes according to plan, and I think I'd be more comfortable allowing him an extra year before jumping into algebra. Have a great day, everyone, and thanks again~

Thanks so much, everybody! I'm going to ponder this one a bit more before I decide, though i must day, the lure of using only 1 math program sure is nice!

OK, so my follow-up question... what if I DON'T plan on using NEM (of course I might change my mind, but right now I'm leaning towards a different text)? Will a pre-algebra text be enough to fill in the holes, so to speak, or do I need to keep up the Horizons now (or some other program) to prepare for that transition after 6B?

Thank you, kRenee, for sharing this list-- it's definitely info I need as I consider my options!

I know there are many of you who frequent this board and use Singapore in conjunction w/ another math curriculum. There are also many who use Singapore exclusively. For those of you who fall into this latter category, do you ever look back and wish you had supplemented w/ another program, whether it be for extra review or drill or perhaps just another approach?? Do you think your kiddos would have been better off had you used another resource alongside the Singapore texts, or are you fully satisfied w/ the results of Singapore alone? I've been using Horizons and Singapore for a few years now, and while I've been very pleased w/ this combo, I'm starting to think that I'd like to drop Horizons and focus exclusively on the Singapore books (ds will be starting 4A in the fall). I'm a bit nervous, though, as the combo provided a safety net of sorts; I felt secure in using the two b/c I was sure my boys would be well covered that way. Now I'm just wondering if it's necessary... any thoughts??

Like Mindy, we're using the CD prepared by the folks at IEW-- Developing Linguistic Patterns Through Poetry Memorization. It starts out gently, the selections are fun, and the work has been done for me-- what more can you ask for,lol! I'm not a big poetry kind of gal, so the CD comes in very handy for use in the car or at home.

Here's a second vote for Dance Mat Typing-- we just started last week and my boys are loving it!

Having a light bulb moment here, lol! Your system makes perfect sense-- a thousand thanks, Jessica, for sharing!

Hey, Jessica... tell me more about your daily folders, if you don't mind :o) I understand the quarterly notebooks-- great idea!-- but I don't understand why you pull out the pages each week. Is that just for ease of use?? And do you have a separate folder for each subject? How does that work? Thanks for sharing! You're inspiring me in my own efforts to reorganize!

Jenn, we've used your schedule for several weeks now and it's been a wonderful blessing! Any chance of a second volume?? I need your help for the post-Civil War era!!

Thanks, Jessica-- I'll check out the samples on the websites :o)

Oooh, I like that shelf system, Jessica! Now I just have to figure out where it might fit...

For those of you who use 1 of these resources, I'd love to hear why you chose one over the other; they seem very similar. Thanks!