We are using the 3rd edition and some of the extra challenges. Those are fun. Right now we are doing the time chapter, which he needed some work on. He knows his facts quite well. He is very fast with addition. Subtraction still needs a little bit more speed, but we are working on it. He always gets it right though. He already know how to add with renaming (or carrying) up to 4 digits. We haven't yet done subtraction with borrowing, but I know that it is something that he will pick up quickly on. His forte is actually computation. He picks up on it quickly. The spacial concepts are his harder portions. Looking ahead in the 2nd grade book, what he hasn't really learned would be subtraction with borrowing, intro to multiplication and division (though division is just briefly covered), and a little bit more complexity with geometry (vertices and such). I always felt that during 1st grade, it was moving slow. Now 2nd grade seems the same way. IMO, he knows about 50% of the material already. About 1/3-1/2 of the remaining material are topics that he picks up on easily and I was wondering if just the review section at the beginning of 3rd grade would cover that. I really don't feel like I am pushing him at all to advance. I actually put him back into 1st grade grammar because that is not his strong suit and he was struggling early on. But math is his thing. He sees patterns to it all the time that I think are really neat (my DH and I are both math-y people too). Right now I am giving him each chapter test and seeing if there is a portion of it that he is struggling with. We go over that and skip the rest.

My DS7 is doing 2nd grade math right now. He doesn't know all of it, but it moves so slowly for him. For example, it will have an entire chapter on adding or subtracting 2-digit numbers, when he could learn it in 1 lesson. My DH wants to move him quickly through the material and then have him doing 3rd grade level math probably for the 2nd half of the year. I've looked at the 3rd grade book and think that it is something that he could tackle now with the review that is at the beginning. So, I guess my question is, which would be the better course of action... 1.) moving him quickly through the 2nd grade book and then advancing him into 3rd grade 2.) go ahead and start 3rd grade but if he is struggling take it slower or go back to the 2nd grade book for that topic. BTW, we are using BJU for math. It isn't a perfect fit for us, but I haven't found anything that I like better. I'm not a fan of spiral, and Singapore just doesn't really do it for me.

This looks perfect for my DS. He's 7 but is really into math and computers so I wanted to give him a leg-up early on. Thanks so much for posting it!

We have just started BJU Math 2 for this year and I am already debating pulling the plug on it as well. I don't want to have spent so much money on it to just have to resell it, but I am not pleased with some of the ways that it teaches concepts. I was a math minor (briefly a major until I went back to Computer Science) in college. I would not stick with BJU math personally beyond grade 6, but that is because my DS is excellent at math and BJU doesn't go all the way to Calculus. I know I'm thinking ahead too much, but I firmly believe that too much swapping of math curriculum makes for learning gaps. Once we enter higher level math, I want to be able to pick a publisher and stick with it...not change for the last couple of years. While I love BJU's layout and the topics being the same for each chapter, I do feel it moves a bit too slowly in general (unless you have a child struggling with math). BTW, I notice that you are in Littleton, CO. We are down in Castle Rock.

Ha Ha... Well, I showed both spelling programs to my DS and he really wants to do AAS. I thought he would jump all over the puzzles in SWO. But he really wants to do the magnet tiles. So, I guess we'll be giving it a try this year. I can always reuse it for my DD, who just doesn't pick things up quite as easily as my DS.

Thanks everybody. I was thinking that SWO would be right up his alley. I'd put him in Level C though because B looked much too easy for him. The only thing that has held me back from using SWO is I've heard there is a writing portion to it. My DS is terrible when it comes to writing his own sentences. It's something we are going to be working on this year, but I don't want that portion of SWO to frustrate him.

I really do like the looks of AAS and how it emphasizes why things are spelled a certain way. I ordered it for my DS going into 2nd grade. However, he is already a natural speller and knows all his phonograms because of the phonics work he has done in K and 1st. I'm worried that AAS will move much too slow for him. And speeding him through the books at a quicker pace, while it is something I could do, is also quite expensive for a child that just doesn't need much help in the spelling department. Just for reference, he did CLP Building Spelling Skills book 1 in 1st and only missed about 10 words total. Should I just go ahead and do the AAS that I ordered, or should I look for something else. He would love a program that includes puzzles or unscrambling (I know some people don't like that). My one hangup is that I have a younger DD who will just be starting K this year and I have no idea what type of speller she will be. Any suggestions please?

I was thinking about not doing L&S as well, so that helps. My DS did use CLP Book 1 for spelling this year and it went okay. He got a little tired of writing all the words on Monday but he did well over all. My only complaint was that the words were so advanced that I had a hard time explaining to him what they meant. He could spell them fine, but couldn't use them in a sentence :) I've also looked into SWO...possibly level C for him. So that's still a consideration. My DS would love a spelling program that has a lot of fun puzzles and stuff with it.

My DS will be in 2nd grade next year. He's reading really well...can sound out just about any word. He's used Abeka for phonics K and 1st. Should I continue to do Letters & Sounds 2 with him or should we just move on? We are using BJU for English so we won't be using Language 2. Also, I ordered AAS for next year. I love the looks of the program and think that the idea is wonderful. However, my DS is already a good speller...he just misses things from time to time and I wanted to cement those spelling rules in his head. But I think AAS is a little too slow for him. I know I could progress him through the steps quicker, but then the cost gets really expensive for a spelling program for a kid that already spells well. I was thinking about just doing Natural Speller, the ABCs and all their tricks, and spellingtime with him instead. The hangup is that I don't know why kind of speller my DD will be. We are just being the process with her in K next year. She too will be doing Abeka for phonics. So should I just keep AAS and use it or should I go another route? Like I said, I love the looks and idea of AAS, but it just seems so slow and like overkill with the phonics we already have been/are doing. Any suggestions you want to bounce off me are welcome!

My DS just finished using Abeka for phonics in K and 1st. He is reading really well so I'm not sure if we will continue on to Letters & Sounds 2. My DD will also be starting Abeka for K next year. I think the necessary components would be the Phonics, Reading, Writing curriculum guide, the basic readers, and the Letters & Sounds workbook. The Handbook for Reading we didn't use much until 1st grade when there is much more of the "special sounds". We found the phonics and learning games used...they will hopefully make it fun, but are really not necessary. You could also make the blend ladders and blend flashcards yourself...no need to buy those. I think it is a great, solid program for learning to read and both of my kids like have worksheets so that fit really well. By the end of 1st grade, my DS was a little tired of "circling the special sounds and marking the vowels" but he can read just about any word in front of him and he is a solid speller as well. Hope that helps!

:) I hope that you and your family are all okay. I'm down in Castle Rock, so I avoided it all, but the rest of my family is up in Loveland and Greeley. We've been calling each other all day.

Thanks so much! I thought that it looked like they were in the materials pack but wasn't entirely clear on that. Yes, we probably will move a little faster through level 1 and then move on to level 2. But I was looking at what level 1 covered and noticed a few rules that he could use some reinforcing. I'm hoping that it will work well for my DS. He is very rule-oriented. We tried the sample week for SS about a month ago, and it just didn't seem to work well for him. He really does like to know that "why's" of it all...even in spelling. Have any of you tried the games? Those look like they will be right up DS' alley.

I was hoping to use AAS for my 2nd grade DS next year. He is a bit of a natural speller, but is breezing through his spelling workbook this year, while still struggling with spelling when writing. I really like the looks of AAS because of it's focus on phonograms but was wondering what we needed. We are planning to start out is Level 1 so I was going to get the kit, the tiles and magnets, and maybe a game. Are the phonogram cards also needed. I was a little confused about where those came into play. Thanks a bunch.