Another plus here! My kids have been playing since October. We purchased the membership in March and they STILL are not burned out on it. They still are very actively engaged, plead to play almost daily, and would spend all day on it if I'd let them. I love that I can use it for spiral review and set their assignments. Great game.

It depends on what your purpose is for it. Which level would you be planning on starting with? As the levels (prior to pre-al) are topical, I would think it would be difficult to jump in with a 5th grader. They've seen addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, fractions, etc. Now if you were going to start with pre-al, then sure. But one caution...many folks feel as though MUS higher levels are too light. Some folks don't. But if you find it to be too light, you may want to use it as an introduction and then follow-up with something a bit more stout. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of MUS. I've used the first three levels with my dyscalculic daughter, and she made great progress with it. Midway through Gamma, she began to flounder, as his explanation of multiple digit multiplication is a bit...different. I've heard Delta is one of the weaker levels, too. This year, I'm switching her to Math Mammoth and going back a few grades to shore up her conceptual math abilities. MUS taught her HOW...now I want her to learn WHY.

Prodigy has been a well-appreciated subscription here...but only if you get it through a group buy.

I agree with a lot of what was said above... One thing you might consider is Prodigy Math. It's not a curriculum, but it is a huge incentive game-based practice program. You can customize it, or let the game run him through a diagnostic. It self-levels. I use it to set spiral review assignments for my kids. I just go down a list of topics, assign tasks off that list and send the kids on their merry little way. They beg to play because the game is very very engaging. What this might do for your son is encourage him to work on the assignments on his own. At first, only assign things you know he can do independently and then from time to time, throw in a few things that might stretch him a bit. But tell him he's gotta work on it on his own. Its free, though there is a paid option. The paid version gives the player more in-game options, but doesn't otherwise change how the academic side works. I do recommend the paid version, if you get in on a group buy. We paid $15 per kid for a whole year of paid membership. It's a neat little game and our kids really enjoy it.

Yeah, I found that...but there are no word lists. Just the various games and quizlets, etc.

So the inside cover of my Grade 5 WW book says that you can access word lists for each lesson on their website. I've searched and searched and nada. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

OH! I just remembered....there's an ap from Toca Boca. I think it's Toca Boca Lab. It's not the most scientific, but it does allow the user to play around with the elements.

Not a game however....I highly recommend these beautiful puzzles.... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PY2H4IU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K1OO6QO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 You've probably already come across this resource, but in case you haven't... Highly recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Visual-Exploration-Every-Universe/dp/1579128955/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471330516&sr=1-1&keywords=Elements Need a good fiction recommendation? Preview it first, as some of the content is questionable, however I read this outloud to my kids (screening certain things as we went)... https://www.amazon.com/Itch-Explosive-Adventures-Element-Hunter/dp/1454914270/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471330589&sr=1-1&keywords=Itch

So keep doing the lit circles, where we discuss elements of the story...maybe start mixing more literary elements into that discussion. Last year, when we did comp questions (for Johnny Tremain), the kids were annoyed by the whole thing. I think it was a bit of overkill...maybe they were too young. I only asked 3-4 per chapter, but especially my older one (who has trouble synthesizing her thoughts and then writing them down) really hated it...and the younger one wasn't overjoyed either...lol. But...I do want to slowly start increasing what's expected of them. The ultimate goal, of course, is that in high school they'll be able to thoroughly answer, in writing, literature analysis questions. I haven't dived into poetry yet...not sure when we will, but eventually. We're doing fables (and corresonding bible/character studies) in addition to our novel selections. Plus, the kids read their own choice of chapter books aside from the one we're actively studying. I agree with you on short stories. I've started compiling some selections of holiday-themed short stories and would like to take an upcoming holiday season to just read through those. I want to include my younger boys in that, so I'll probably wait at least another year or two, so that they'll be old enough. Maybe I'll do short stories the entire year that particular year, at least for the Bigs.

We school 4 days a week, so take that into consideration... We do new math *almost* every day. When I plan, I plan an entire half year at once, write everything down, pull out relevant worksheets, etc. I try to build a review day into the schedule here and there...usually when a Singapore unit is just ending.

Hi! So I'm entering new territory here (the Logic Stage and Middle Grades!)... As I plan out our literature approach, I'm finding myself a bit overwhelmed. I have several novels selected, each chosen for a specific purpose... We are studying modern history this year, and will be doing War Horse as a companion novel. We were going to read Rilla of Ingleside, but there are very few resources for this particular novel (which is a real shame, as I think it's an excellent novel for WWI), and I think the reading level might be a bit much for my young 5th graders. I chose Cole Family Christmas as a short holiday-themed novel. And we'll spend the second half of the year reading and studying Hobbit. So here's where I'm stuck. Up until now, I've had them read the novel independently...a chapter at a time (usually 2-3 times a week depending on novel length). They were to choose 2 vocab words from each chapter, look them up and then present them during our lit circle. During lit circle, we'd go over the vocab words, discuss various elements of the chapter, etc. Last year, I started asking them to answer comp questions in writing (short answers...no essay responses or anything). Where do we go from here? I'd like them to begin enhancing their responses to discussion questions. I'd like to see them begin to independently assess what they are reading...perhaps with an interactive literature journal, etc. I'd like to tie literary elements and devices into our discussions. What does this all look like in your home?

So I was going to do Rilla of Ingleside as a novel this upcoming quarter with my 9 and 10 yr olds (9 yr old is an accelerated reader and the 10 yr old can hold her own). But it's pretty long and there just really isn't much out there for resources. And...I'm really not up to making my own lit guide for it...not right now. So I'm switching to War Horse, which seems to have more out there. Anybody have a favorite lit guide for this particular book?

I did some quick googling and can't seem to find one, except for one at Bookrags. But Bookrags is $$$. Anybody know of a study guide or a literature guide, or even a website with really good discussion questions by chapter?

The only issue I have with our public school calendar (ok...two issues) is that the PS academic year ends on June 30th and the new year begins on July 1st. This means they want my quarterly reports, final assessments, et al in by the end of June. The problem? We school year round, which means my 4th quarterly and final assessment reports are either "late" or missing two months of school work, which I then have to add to the first quarterly report of the next year. This year, I set my report dates so that my final quarterly wouldn't be due until 8/31...which they allowed. But it did conflict with their exam schedules when they wanted my kids' test scores by 6/30. Other than that...the only other thing I would change about the school year is to make it year round. I honestly think year round schooling is better in the long run for kids. There's greater retention for sure.

As of right now, we're going to go with Rilla of Ingleside, Cole Family Christmas, and Hobbit. Thanks for the suggestions folks!

If you guys can get together a group buy, I just wanted to chime in that it's SO worth it. My kids loved the game when we were playing the free version...even if they did constantly lament about how they couldn't wear this, or go to this spot or do whatever because they weren't members. But when we upgraded to the membership through a group buy, holy moly, it totally upped the game experience for them. Definitely worth the $15/year/kid.

Thanks so much Lori!

Hi folks! Anybody care to pass along some literature/novel suggestions? The kids: DD10 and DS9...reading at 6th+ grade reading level. We are in SOTW 4 this year, and I have already chosen Rilla of Ingleside as a companion novel, as its setting is during WW1. I also have The Secret Garden but...not sure I want to do it this year. Plus, that would be two novels that heavily favor a female protagonist and with DS9, I'm not sure he will love that. Any other suggestions? Doesn't have to be of the modern era...doesn't have to relate in any way to our history topics. I'm looking for two other full novels, plus a shorter novel for Christmas.

Ahem...my husband puts his underwear on inside out ALL OF THE TIME. They're not backwards, fortunately...but inside out. Almost always. I point it out to him and he just plumb doesn't even care. He IS dyslexic though so there's that. But 9 yr old DS? Not dyslexic. I just don't get it...lol.

My 9 1/2 yr old is bright (a solid Level 1, close to level 2) and he STILL occasionally puts a shirt on backwards. And don't even get me started on the underwear. THERE'S A FREAKING POUCH IN THE FRONT!!!! How does that even happen?

Thanks so much! I was going to "Like" your comment but...you don't have a "Like" button!!!

Tell me more, because perhaps it isn't so much spatial difficulty that causes DDs number sense issues. It certainly SEEMS to be...but that doesn't mean it is. I've not heard of these minicomputers...

My daughter is somewhat like this. She's 10 1/2 and STILL puts shoes on backwards. I haven't done nets with her yet, as we're still trying to get a handle on number sense. Her weak spatial skills terribly impact her ability to picture numbers on a number line. As a result, all of her math is impacted. Mental math? Can't do it. Counting backwards? Yeah, no. I don't have any solutions...just listening in to see what others offer.

Also, fwiw, I totally agree with you on the reasons for homeschooling. YES, the behavioral environment/socialization is a part of why we homeschool. YES, part of why he homeschool is because of the flexibility in meeting our student's specific needs. But...like you, we have a difference of opinion on methodology. But that's a whole other can of worms....lol.

It's a point well taken, and while I did catch the distinction in your original post about the student him/herself needing to be able to explain to an admissions advisor their reasons for homeschooling, I hadn't given much thought to that aspect of it. Honestly, it hadn't occurred to me, prior to your original post, that an admissions counselor would even ask that question. I guess I assumed they would presume that the decision was primarily the parents. That said, I think it's a good question and one that kind of spins me on my ear a bit... My students need to be a huge part of the decisions. With how young they are, I haven't given much thought to that. I'm over here planning out their futures, without really stopping and considering that THEY may have different ideas as they begin to hit middle/high school age. So thanks, for that...for putting that bug in my ear. It's something I needed to hear. ;-)