I agree with what others have said here and you have great advice. Sorry if I missed something but I also agree choosing one program would be the easiest way to figure this problem out. Having 2 math, science and history sounds like a lot. Looking at the ages of your kids, and maybe I read it wrong but I would look at only doing one program for the 9 and 7 year old- and perhaps your older one can choose if she wants to something independently which will it be- science or history? And you choose science or history to do together if you really want to. And you could just say we will all do science together and that's what you teach and your oldest does history on her own (independent work seems important) and you do history with your younger 2? All in all- aligning them together more and focusing on one program for each subject will help along with the block scheduling! Good luck!

I have a third grade son as well and he does not like to write- barely sentences, any thought as to if it could work fro him as well??

I won't be able to answer your questions directly, but I am using 3rd grade McRuffy math as a supplement with my TT4. I don't make him do a complete lesson with McRuffy, but he loves the computer time and some hands on activities. Anyway I am not sure for scope and sequence compared to other programs but I do think there are similarities between MCR3 and TT4. we are only a few weeks in and my first experience with everything, but at the start when he only did the MCR, it took him 10-15 minutes to finish and so pairing it up with something else I think works well. Teacher time so far is not a lot, that may be due to it is more review. But with new concepts it takes a little more time (5 minutes maybe). So far minimal teacher time, and when he does some MCR math and TT he spends 30-45 minutes of math a day, usually 30 though. Sorry I have no info. with CLE though. (I will also say that for my first grader doing MCR math is perfect- just enough for her).

Maybe start with "tell me about...", we are new to this too, but if I provide a prompt of some sort it goes better and hopefully over time they will get better.

I too am a former teacher so I am quite excited to see how much learning my kids will take away this year! Yay, glad it is going well!! :lol:

http://www.deepspacesparkle.com Has fun projects for elementary ages.

This week I am having my kids do the math portion first but next week I am going to have them do the reading one. My first impressions to the math is that it was okay, it seemed to ask high questions for her age (and not adjust, very generic I guess you could say), so I will be watching and looking carefully on the reading tests- I will be able to compare to what we did at schools (former reading specialist), so I will have a better idea next week if no one offers up their thoughts (and hopefully I won't forget =) )!

I spoke to a representative at a home school conference this past spring and they are working on a second grade TT, and hope it out next summer. But my son in third uses the fourth grade one, so like the others you can use a grade higher easily.:001_smile:

To clarify, I was not suggesting in any way to consider each word a sight word- sight words can be considered a word the child has not been exposed to the phonics rules as of yet, so to help them move along in the text, help them with the say-spell-say method or your preferred method of choice. Nor would I say guess, and at times just telling them to move them along and not get too frustrated is a valid method I feel. I am definitely an advocate of phonics though and in public schools I'm not sure there is enough phonics :)

I just want to say that you are not a failure and I personally don't think sending him to public school just so he can get caught up is the answer- I think it's more who he is and he just needs time. I was a reading specialist and my boy was slow and last year in second grade something clicked for him- and now he is fine. For some kids getting passed cvc words is a lot work and those are the kids I worked with a lot. Just daily practice and reinforcement is what he needs- I don't know the programs you use (I'm a first yr. homeschooler here) but a good solid phonics lesson includes 1. phonemic awareness (I break apart a word and you put it back together, you say c-a-t and he says cat) and no visual, all oral 2. review vowels in isolation or other sounds he's working on 3. choose a few words for him to blend one sound at a time related to the sounds he is working on- you write on a white board or something p, he says the sound, pe he says the sound for e and then puts the sound together, then write t and he says the sound for t and then puts all the sounds together and then says the word 'pet' again. Do this for several words he will com across in his reading. 4. Have him read decodable text. 5. Choose a few words he blended earlier and write down one sound at a time, like pet- say the word and help him break apart the word and write one sound at a time. Sorry for the long response, but this is what I did for kids at school and it does help (I assume the programs you use utilize some of this anyway, so sorry if it is repetitive), just it took awhile for kids to click- some half a year and others the entire year. At his age and grade, the pressure is on at public school but at home I believe he can thrive with his mom's patience! :001_smile:

At first my kids were pretty excited about it especially my son (8). But it wore off after the first month. The one thing it lacks though is it does not explain how to do the problem. I wanted to use it so he could learn from it but it was only drill, so I would have to sit by him to explain new concepts to him. We cancelled.

To your second post question- you can encourage her to sound it out, but limit how many that is- if it tends to be too frequent encourage her to read a book more at her level. And only if it is a word to sound out- 'business' I would gather is not a word easily sounded out (I'd say it's a sight word), so I would stick with a method- say-spell-say. You say the word, she does, have her spell it out loud then say the word again. Of course keep it to a limit as well, otherwise it will drain her, and at other times just tell her the word- if she's this ahead she may remember it quite quickly! I would say she is doing great!!

For your first question, you could also use pictures a props- have her write about what could have happened or even have her pick a picture from a vacation and write about it? To you second question, you could have her blend words. Look ahead to what she will be reading and then pick a few that you'd like to focus on- like the sounds she is working on or has issues with. For ex: if you choose cat, write on a white board/paper "c" and the have her tell you the sound; then write "a"; have her tell you the sound, and again with "t". If she has trouble with blends have her practice them together- "fl" "a" "p", just like the example and then maybe highlight those in her reading. For sight words have say the word (just tell her) and then spell it out loud then say it again, keep practicing the same ones over and over until she gets quick and can say the word the first time without your help. Good luck, and some kids just need time!:001_smile:

If you are doing 5 day maybe switch to the 4 day, is that an option?

Sounds like you've had some good advice and things went smoother but I just wanted to share one thought. First I have minimal experience with HOP and zero with AAS; but some kids do well when whatever the focus is in phonics is exactly what they are using in their spelling and reading- hearing (phonemic awareness activities), seeing, saying and then spelling helps solidify the reading skills. I don't know if the programs work that way, but if he needs extra time provide many mini exercises several days a week. Also you will not mess him up!! I was a reading sp. and my son has had to work hard at reading and he was 8 when something clicked for him!:001_smile:

I have heard to have kids lay down on the ground when they work or draw or something else that will help them build upper body strength that will help with fine motor skills. Besides that, you could also have create games of some sort using clothes pin- like sorting beads by picking them up with the pin?? Maybe focus on things to build his fine motor skills then focus on letters? I would recommend the Kindergarten HWT program eventually if possible- it uses multi-sensory activities that I think work well with boys!:001_smile:

I am new to homeschooling and have not used either program, but thought I would comment on your comments that trying to pull all things together- i.e. language arts is tiring. I totally understand, when we started I looked everywhere and it drove me nuts to piece meal things together. Then I found McRuffy. They are the closest thing I was looking for- spelling, phonics, language, writing and reading all in one. Now it may be a little too much like school for some people, but I like it for the most part. I am using it with a first and second grader. We just started using it and there are some activities I feel are not needed, I'd rather focus on a skill more or something so it's easy to leave out the 'busy work'. Writing activities are a little on the light side but for now it's good enough for my kids. Anyways just something to consider and good luck! :)