I had these same feelings about my oldest ds. Hates grammar, wasn't retaining it, he had given up that it was ever gonna be something he would be good at. In a moment of panic I bought Analytical Grammar for him. Best.purchase.ever. He's making really swift progress, and is getting it. I had a hard time swallowing the cost, but with two younger dc's, I figured i'd use it again. It can be done in a year, but we're just going to do it at whatever speed it takes, and when that's done, go on to some high school supplements that AG puts out. I really recommend it. We're in week three and I am amazed at how proficiently he's labeling parts of speech and diagramming. And we're done in 20 min or less. :)

Gingerbread Mama, what kind did you have? I am looking for a suitable replacement, and would love to know what NOT to get. I am a little gun-shy to curl my hair now. :( Kidshappen: eek! I hope she's careful....

beware. I just got back from having 3-4 inches of hair cut off because my ceramic curling iron singed my hair. I've had the iron for over a year, so it's not new, and wasn't always defective. I did my hair on Monday like I always have, only this time, it smoked and I could smell it. Thankfully, it didn't singe all the way down to the scalp, but I lost a LOT of hair because of it. I went from a longer mid-length w/ long layers to a shorter mid-length with short layers. It looks ok, but I am SO not happy. I googled it today, and turns out others have had this issue as well with Revlon irons, some have even gotten burned. I cannot believe they are not being recalled. :glare:

Can I peel and boil a couple of these along with potatoes and mash them up like I would if it were potatoes alone? Do they take longer to cook than the potatoes? Trying these for the first time....:D

I read something about it and checked it out, and my son likes the samples. But, how does this compare to the Foersters, TT, Lial's? Would this lay a good foundation for Algebra 1?

My plans are tentative, no where near concrete yet: Possibly finishing Lial's Intro to Algebra, moving into TT or Jacob's Geometry Apologia or Shepherd Biology MFW AHL for literature, history and Bible Foreign language, this is undecided yet Music, gym and 3rd elective at co-op Analytical Grammar (we're working on that now, and then will move into the high school materials for retention) Metalworking, CAD/CAM, welding, wiring and drafting with his father and grandfather 4H

That is really good to hear! I know a lot of others love ECC, but i'm really itching to get out of geography and into history. :)

I'll be ordering CtG and AHL soon. Please post how you like AHL when you get it!

Jann, that is going to be one of my favorite posts, ever. :)

This is our tentative plan, too. Ds just starting Introductory. There are Digital Video Tutors that go along with this curriculum, as well as interactmath.com. We aren't far enough into it for me to review, but i've gotten good feedback about this path.

:iagree:

So, I got the 8th Edition Lial's Intro Algebra. Needless to say, i'm WAY more of a math idiot than I thought. :001_huh: However, God gave me a ds who is bright, and he seems to be able to do this stuff. Dh can help him with some of it, but works a lot and then we have extra-curriculars, so having him be the teacher is not really feasible. What I could use some advice about: How exactly do you schedule this? I know people have said it's block schedule, but i'm confused as to what that means. Today he did section 1.3 in its entirety. Should I have broken that up? He did fine with it, but I really want to avoid burn-out as he progresses. If we work at it, is it pushing it to have this complete by Sept.? Would it be a good idea for me to order the DVT's? We have found and used interactmath.com, and that's been fine. But as I am realizing that I am of *very* little help for him, I wonder if I should have that backup? I really want to make this work, but i'm nervous as he's pretty much going to have to "go it alone". Has anyone else's kid done this on their own and succeeded? The thought of high school is totally kicking my butt.

My only reason for popping in here is because someone said "chocolate". :)

I have no idea, but would like to ask if you would post what the MFW people end up recommending? I am curious to hear...

Welcome! :) One more question: Christian content or secular?

CLE Math. :)

Primary Language Lessons, there are workbooks available, but they aren't needed. I believe they start in 2nd with this book, but I would think a 1st grader who is reading well could do it. This is more Charlotte Mason style, and gentler, so if you are looking for rigor, this isn't it. I have gotten fond of it though, and using it alongside WWE, R&S Spelling, and a handwriting program is pretty well rounded. I save the rigorous grammar for when they are older. Easy Grammar is out there, too, but I haven't used it.

This was our experience: Calculator use started in 2nd grade, the teacher had a basket of them so each child had their own. Multiplication is done by an alternative method/ladder style ( I am searching for what to call it), and it drove me nuts, and confused my ds. I have heard of some who it has helped, but for the majority, it doesn't. What it also does, in effect, is cripple the parents in terms of helping their kids. I had no clue how they were teaching my kids, so when they came home with this homework, I could tell them how to do it "old school" the way I was taught, but not the new way. Funny thing is, when I questioned the teachers on how to do it, they barely could. By the time my child hit fourth grade, and asking questions, he was told to "skip that step", because the teacher couldn't explain why it was needed. That led me to believe that the teachers were grossly under-trained as far as how to teach this curriculum. We had three different teachers that struggled with explaining it to us. Some kids could manage to skim by. What they are seeing in our district though, is by the time these kids get to high school, they are bombing out of algebra and geometry. Our school requires 2 credits of math to graduate, and a lot of them are barely making it past algebra. The ones that do well have parents who are afterschooling them in math. I know one teacher mom who does a separate math at home with her kids after school, starting right off in preK. Another mom friend who does part time homeschool, part time public school was told by her district to do math at home because her program was "way" better than theirs (she uses Abeka). All of this said, I will admit that perhaps some districts use it wisely, train their teachers, and the kids do fine. That was not our experience. Watching what is going on in our district is the reason I say I would never consider it on principle alone. I couldn't agree more with snowbeltmom. When I pulled my kids out, my mindset was also exactly that I couldn't do worse than they are at school. Watching the low standards that our local high school has across the board, I still feel that way.

Duly noted. I didn't come here to knock afterschooling. I believe that families should do what works for them to meet their goals. My reasons for posting what I did are in regards to this situation.

My kids did it in public before we homeschooled. It is also known as Everyday Math, and I consider it one of the worst maths ever created. I am really trying to be polite, but I hate this program with a passion. I have no experience with their upper levels. However, knowing the material they put out in the lower level I would stay away from them just on principle.

I happened on the afterschooling board by accident, I was going for the high school board. But this thread caught my eye. I pulled all three kids out a couple years ago, but the reasons for pulling my dd were largely for anxiety. For the environment you describe, I think it would be a good idea to strongly consider pulling her. At that age, it is not difficult nor time-intensive to homeschool. My dd was having anxiety-related issues, and it took a bit after pulling her out for her to "stabilize" for lack of better word. I don't regret it at all! The one thing that caught my eye in your post was the reference to Saxon math. Saxon 1 was incredibly frustrating for my dd. It is slow and very repetitive. Some need that, and it works well. My dd really hit a wall with it. CLE worked much better, and it's cheaper. I would really encourage you not to send her to school all day and then do a rigorous after-school. It would be overload. Good luck to you.

Just wanted to throw my hat in and agree that there needs to be a decompression period, esp. for the oldest. Use this time to put some new guidelines in place, for instance, we do not allow t.v. before 3:00 during the week, unless it is a video I have picked out for school time. Eat meals together, spend time at the library together. Paint, bake, read snuggled up together. Work on adding one subject at a time. I am a CLE math enthusiast, too. It took me a long time to settle on math, as mine were in 1st, 4th and 7th, so it was hard. I don't know if I would do much for video or on-line at those ages. Before digging too hard into finding curriculum, I would advise having her find out what kind of homeschooler she is. Does she like classical, CM, unit studies? Does she require Christian or secular? Taking the time in the beginning to find your style will save $$ and frustration. The kids are young enough, there is plenty of time to learn what needs to be learned.

shoeboxes duct tape glitter yarn/string something to color with (crayons, pencils) something to paint with popsicle sticks toilet paper tubes tape glue gun beads anything and everything! sense of humor

I love CLE math much more than I like their LA, if that helps.

We started with Saxon 1st, and after two months my daughter was crying when i'd get math out. We switched to CLE, along with her older brothers, and we love it. We're now into the 200 series, and she's doing great. I can't compare it to the others you have listed because I have no experience with them. But I can tell you I love CLE. :)