Oh honey...your post resonates here. It's all so...overwhelming. The house is cluttered (seriously...3500 sq ft home and it's cluttered...how does that happen???), and because of the clutter, it's dirty. I have literally 7 (at least) different working calendars/planners that I'm living from...each for a different purpose. I want to pick up and organize and declutter but...can't. Because I can't even get the basic day-to-day crap done. It's 11:30 and I'm setting Prodigy assignments. It's just one item on a huge list. I can't get anybody to help. Oh they help...but I mean REALLY help. Books are left wherever, shoes are tossed wherever, toys are constantly being left...wherever. I want to throw every.single.thing away. So I get it. I don't have any advice...just offers of prayers and commiseration. Here's hoping things feel a bit better soon. <3

They did recently update the Teacher Dashboard, removing the ability to flip between curriculum strands (except in the Assignments area). I believe there are more updates coming and they will be fine-tuning this even further. You absolutely can contact them and ask them to switch your child's default curriculum. I had to swap out of Ontario as well. We went with Common Core as the default, but honestly, most of what my kids see are assignments. I'm actually setting assignments right now on another open tab, lol. Within the assignments page, of course, you can still choose between all four strands. Last I heard, there are changes coming here too...and the assignments interface will be easier to use. Actually, there are quite a few changes coming over the summer, I think. Most will roll out in time for the upcoming school year. Remember, Prodigy is a work in progress...still pretty new on the market and it's primary target is the classroom. Though I suspect homeschoolers will be a primary market in the near future.

Just to clarify...Prodigy is not an actual math curriculum (though it would be amazing if it were and I've totally put that bug in their ear). It's more for review. Homework, if you will. But it covers most concepts from four different Curriculum Standards, from 1st-8th grade.

So, would folks mind telling me more about AoPS for Pre-Al and this whole Alcumus thing? What is Alcumus?

This kiddo is a perfect candidate for Prodigy Math (linked down in my Siggie). So...I think MOST kids do better in math if there's some kind of spiral review built in. It's kind of how kids learn, really. They are introduced to the topic, learn it, practice it and then move on. But every time you go back and touch on that topic again, you are reinforcing that learning and making it easier to retrieve and use the information and skills necessary to work with that concept. This is why, IMO, truly mastery programs are usually a flop for most kids. But truly spiral programs aren't the greatest either. When we tried Horizons, it was too many different concepts floating around and my DD (who has dyscalculia) couldn't learn anything because she needed time to sit and digest a given topic. So here's what I do. For each kid, I keep a list of math concepts they've learned. I add new concepts to the bottom of the list as they learn them. Or, for concepts that build on previously learned material, such as geometry, I expand on that category. Every school day, my kids work on one of those concepts. I write them in their planners and just go right down the list. When I get to the bottom, I jump back to the top of the list and do it again. Before I discovered Prodigy, I was giving them worksheets, games, online games, whatever to review those concepts. It took FOREVER. But with Prodigy, I go into my Teacher Dashboard, pull up the Assignments page and find assignments that cover review topics. I can give each kid separate assignments, start date, end date, how many. And then I can monitor and assess how they are doing. Because Prodigy is an online game, my kids LOVE it. They beg to play. Even my math-phobic kid enjoys Prodigy and the allure of the game overcomes her feelings of "I hate math" when she encounters stuff that she struggles with. Instead of throwing in the towel, she has a strong incentive to keep trying. AND...Prodigy is free. You can pay for a membership, which gives your kids in-game options that non-members don't have, but the free version is just as appealing. Be prepared, though, for your kids to beg you for memberships. I held off on getting memberships, found a group buy ($15 for the year I think it was), and then used the membership as a further incentive to encourage them to meet certain goals. So I can't really suggest any particular curriculum changes, but if you stay with what you're using, in order to avoid gaps due to transitioning, add in Prodigy for spiral review and that should help.

I apologize...the formatting is so wonky and it won't let me edit! I know I had paragraph spacing when I typed it all out...lol.

So weird...it won't let me quote and reply! Anyways...that's my next question...I've read here and there that some kids are taking 2 years to get through AoPS pre-Al. Is this pretty standard? Or more typical of youngers going through pre-al earlier than would be typical? When I sat down with the Superintendent to discuss possible future enrollment options for DS, we talked about a couple of different math arcs for him. The Super seemed surprised that DS would be ready for Pre-Al by his 5th (or 6th grade year, accounting for his close birthday). But the most probable arc looked like this (grade in parenthesis would be the grade I would push for if he were enrolled) Singapore 5/Beast 4 and 5 for his 4th(5th)-->Pre-Al for 5th (6th)-->Alg1 for 6th(7th)-->Geometry for 7th(8th) {possibility of concurrent Geometry/Alg 2, depending on what he looks like as a student at that time}-->Alg2 for 8th(9th) ~or~ Trig for 8th(9th) if he does concurrent Geometry/Alg 2. Either way, if he enrolled in 8th grade at the PS, he would need to be walked over to the high school for math, as they only go up to Alg 1 at the middle school. And then from there, it would depend on what he wants to do with math and science. But if he takes two years for Pre-Al...or a year and a half and then dives right into Alg1, that would be fine, too. I just need to know if its pretty standard for a student to take longer than a year in pre-Al...or if it really just depends on the kid. Mostly, I want to make sure he has a solid foundation in math AND has covered enough of it to make sure he meets the requirements for the science courses he'll be looking at come late middle school and high school.

Oh, Monicz, I don't expect DS to finish Singapore 5 until next spring. I held him back a bit so he wouldn't get to Algebra until he had developed abstract reasoning! This past year, with Singapore 4, it was the first year he started in Sept and didn't finish real early. So I expect 5 will take just as long.

Thanks folks! I haven't taken a look at any of the pre-al options yet. It's on my list of things to do this summer. But AoPS is probably my first consideration. I need to take a look at the prerequisites and then cross-reference with what Singapore 5 and Beast 5 will cover. He's already touched on adding and subtracting with negatives and I doubt he'll have difficulty with mult and division. He picks up on math very easily, just in everyday life. Yesterday he was talking about percentages and easily connected them with fractions and decimals. He does fine with Beast, though he does find it to be a challenge, which is expected. His maturity and ability to handle content beyond his ability has improved, even taking into consideration the recent brain drain he's been going through the past couple of months (which I'm attributing to the onset of puberty...but he's been very distracted and getting problems wrong that he definitely should have gotten correct had he paid attention). So I'll take a good look at the Pre-Al options and go from there! And Monica, technically this coming year would be his 4th grade year because he is two weeks after the cutoff, but I already have discussed this with the school and if he ever enrolls, he'll enroll at the next grade up. It presents a bit of difficulty, though, if he enrolls in middle school, as he'll be a year ahead in math even if he is placed a year ahead of where he should be. They don't start pre-al until at least 7th!

Just trying to get a handle on potential math arcs for DS9. He will be starting Singapore 5 this year, as well as completing Beast 4 and starting Beast 5 probably mid year. I have heard that Singapore 6 is not really essential and that some kids can go right from 5 to Pre-Al. He is math-intuitive and I don't think that would be a problem for him. But what should I consider over this next year before making that decision? Or would he be better off to do a 6th grade math? Maybe a 6th and Pre-Al concurrently? Beast says it's students should be able to go from 5 right into their Pre-Al. Thoughts?

Apparently, folks who smoke pot get quite hungry and it is referred to as having the munchies, lol!

Yeah, I'd like to drop the Spectrum, too. But we are in a state that requires standardized testing and the Spectrum gives practice that resembles the kind of questions they'll see on those tests...particularly with the Reading Comp. The Spectrum grammar/language arts is more to practice the grammar concepts they're getting in EIW, as there's not enough review and it doesn't seem like grammar is sticking with any of my kids. My Bigs still forget to capitalize sentences...which is aggravating, because we've gone over it umpteen times since 1st. But whatevs. They don't do all of these subjects in the same day! A lot of it is rotated...like I'll do Reading Comp on M and W and Language Arts review on T and TH. Otherwise...yeah...total overkill.

Should be covered in EIW. But TBH, I don't think EIW covers it enough. So I'm going to gauge how this year goes and make a decision next year on whether or not to dump EIW, or keep EIW and add in something else for poetry and composition. I may even do EIW 4 and 5 this year, as my Bigs are more 5th than 4th...the only reason they're in EIW 4th is because I started it later with them and wanted to start from 2nd last summer, and do 3rd this past year.

Alternatively titled...Talk Me Out of Shiny New Curriculum! 2nd grade... EIW 2 AAS2 ETC to round off phonics Spectrum phonics, grammar and reading for review/supplement Aesop Fables/Operational Definitions of Character Qualities for dictation, copywork, handwriting, etc. Am I missing something? As much as I loathe it...I'm tempted to pull out LLATL Red in order to make sure I'm covering all bases. But then I feel like I've got it all covered except maybe we could use something for reading, aside from the Spectrum reading comp practice. 4th/5th grade... EIW 4 AAS6 Spectrum vocab/word study, grammar, reading for review/supplement Novel studies (TBD, but will include discussion, vocab development, etc) Aesop Fables/Operational Definitions of Character Qualities for dictation, copywork, handwriting, etc. Maybe Latin....we'll see. Anything I'm missing?

I use the TB for teaching them the lesson, with the problems in the TB serving as our opportunity to practice together. Then I assign the WB for independent work. I use IP to extend, challenge and review previous concepts. I use to assign more IP to DS9 for the purpose of spiral review, but then we discovered Prodigy and I use that primarily for spiral review. IP has a mix of general problems, challenging problems, and word problems. CWP is primarily word problems. I use CWP to target and review word problem approaches he's learned from Process Skills in Problem Solving. I run these two books a half year to a year behind grade level, and I treat problem solving as a separate part of math instruction. In other words, I specifically teach problem solving. Then we add Beast Academy, lol! There's a lot of math going on here!

Similarly.... College freshman me (1999) one evening at home with my parents... "Man, I've got wicked munchies!!!!" Took me awhile to figure out why they laughed at me.

I still have my LLATL levels.... The temptation is real....

Getting ready to ditch MUS for DD as she has hit a wall with it and I've never liked it to begin with. Also, I really like AAS, but we are on level 6 this upcoming year and....I'm not feeling it, lol.

Also...World of Goo is a lot of fun. And I know you said you prefer non internet resources, but if you find yourself near a WiFi source, Prodigy Math is a ton of fun.

I sent in a request directly to their address in....March or so? And received a box a few weeks ago. But...that was before their website stated they were not accepting any new orders. Though their website was down at the time.

Purposefully? No. I don't want them using that kind of language, and they are rarely ever around people that do. Neither do I have a problem asking somebody who IS using that language in front of my kids, to not do so. I have four kids and I can count on one hand the number of times they've heard a word that our family does not use. Now...they are getting older, and their exposure to that kind of language will increase, I'm sure. So as it comes up, we'll talk about it. And I'll explain that it's a word that is offensive and we don't use it.

Most of what I'm looking for would be considered up to the discretion of the district. The AP classes would be a bit of a wild card. Still though...from what I hear, there ARE other districts in the state that allow partial enrollment despite the regs not providing for it. Certain districts, again, from what I hear, even allow homeschoolers to participate in non-team sports. I hear that a neighboring district allows HSers to be on the swim team. I *thought* that was a statewide issue, though...because the Intramural/Interscholastic (whatever it is) thing does not allow homeschoolers to participate. Mostly, I would just really like to get my kids in there for art, music and AP if I can.

LOL, we got a phone call one year, from the bus driver who would be picking up my Kindergartener. I was all like, "Huh?" Though I admit, for a moment there, I wondered to myself how blissful it would be to pack everybody onto the bus and send them off. Just for a moment. I'm not sure our district reads our paperwork either. One year, I realized after the fact that I had inadvertently sent a quarterly for a previous school year, instead of the one I was supposed to. They never said anything at all, and instead sent me the form card that indicates our plans are right on track, or whatever it says. Things are about to get interesting in our district...I'm in the pre-planning stages to see about changing district policies that prevent homeschoolers from having any integration within the public school. I want my kid to be able to take AP classes darn it! And music and art! Cause I can't afford music and art lessons! Band, choir, etc. I suspect I'm going to have an uphill battle. But we'll see!

We are fortunate to live in a great district (so far...but when new people roll in...you know how that goes). My best friend lives in Pavilion and they are apparently known for being very difficult. I think they even wanted her to account for her hours. And she HAD to have a licensed educator sign off on her stuff. They also requested more info on her IHIP than they were allowed to request. But nobody takes them to task for it.