Cozy Grammar? Writing Grams? The Arrow? Anyone? :-)

ETC = Explode the Code. You'd probably start at Level 1, but they also have A, B, and C in case your DS needs more prep before starting a phonics program. I used Phonics Pathways with ETC. Loved the combination. The black and white of PP is a little boring, but it's great in that there are no pictures to "help" the child read the word... which means that your DS couldn't "cheat" by looking at the picture and then guessing on sounding out the word. ETC is a little more fun, so when PP started to get old, I would spend more time in ETC, then go back to PP. Even 5 minutes a day does wonders. Good luck! I spent so much time figuring out what would work for my son -- I bought and resold a lot of curricula, called it my catch and release system, lol. But really the most important thing is just doing it... slow and steady wins the race. :-)

First... hugs! Second... I'm wondering how much review you did before she took the CLE test. Is it that she temporarily forgot over the summer? Perhaps after a little review she'll catch up quickly. FWIW, if I skip math for more than a couple of weeks, especially at the younger ages, I know that I'll need to re-teach before we can move forward.

Hi there! First, I'll say that I know that there is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to the basic Rs. My DS (6th grader) loves math, loves reading, but really does not like to write. Ever. When he was young DS had developmental delays including fine motor delays that made the physical act of writing very difficult for him, and early on I made the decision to reinforce his strength (math). I don't regret my decision -- being good at math has been such a confidence booster for him. But now I need to help him have a better grasp of the mechanics of writing. I'm looking for a grammar program that we could do for 5-10 minutes a day max, simple to follow, with not too much writing. I'd like to do a little each day to form a more solid base for him. Thoughts? Thank you!!

Is anyone familiar with both SM 6 and DM 7? Could you provide a compare/contrast for me? My mathy DS will soon complete Singapore Math Standards 5b. We've been doing SM since K, with some Right Start thrown in (love that abacus!). I recently found out that SM 6 does not have all the problems worked out, just answers, especially for the workbook. I'm not sure that this is a good fit for me because it's very helpful to see problems solved in a step-by-step manner. I thought about moving to a different curriculum, but since Singapore has worked so well for us through the years, I'm hesitant to jump ship. Jenny at SM suggested that my DS could move from SM 5b to Discovering Math 7, without gaps. So I'm trying to decide whether I should spend the extra time to work out problems in advance in SM 6 a/b, or move on to DM 7. Thanks for your help! (This is a spinoff on another post that I wrote.)

I agree, and to be honest I don't know. This is what gives me pause to moving on to DM 7. I don't want to rush him. So far, SM has been a little ahead of PS math, even the honors programs. It's worked out well because I like the way SM approaches topics and I usually have taught him a concept before it's introduced in the classroom. Then in class he learns the material but often in a different way. This year DS is attending Catholic school for middle school, and I don't know what to expect in regards to its math program. I should probably wait for the new math curriculum and decide after he's completed SM 6B and we have some more experience under our belt with the new school. I am one to (over)analyze options, so as soon as I saw that SM 6 didn't offer the HIG, I went into full research mode. :-)

Yes, I'm vacillating between DM7 and MM6. DM7 looks a little tricky. MM6 looks a little easier but maybe less interesting, as well. Glad that I'm not the only one who wants answers that are fully worked out. :-)

OK, I can rule out SM US Edition. Bummer. I thought that might be an easy answer. I looked into AoPS Prealgebra. Very interesting, though after reading reviews it maybe a better fit after another year of elementary math. I want my math program to give him that good math foundation -- which SM has done so far -- without stretching him too far (and becoming too frustrating). We tend to do little chunks of math rather than spend a long time on it. Slow and steady wins the race for us. If I had to spend an hour with him on math, it probably wouldn't get done, especially with his school homework and other activities. Plus 2 siblings. So ruling this one out for now. Still a possibility... 1. DM7 might be a good fit, though it looks more like pre-algebra rather than a continuation of the SM 1-6 series. I use the HIG to check answers and look up solutions for some of the word problems, but I don't use it to teach. Which may be why DS sometimes has calculation errors, since I skip the extra review. ;-) 2. The other thought I had is Mammoth Math. I love this program but ruled it out early on because the pages were too full and there was not enough space to solve problems. A real issue for my DS who struggles with writing. But is it too late to make the jump now? 3. And the third possibility is sticking with SM 6 and carving out time to work problems in advance. I wonder how many problems have answers only rather than complete solutions. More thoughts from the Hive???

Hi there! I have a rising 6th grader and he will finish SM 5b (Standard's Edition) in a month or so. I went online to order the SM 6a/b materials and found out that there are no home instructor guides for level 6. I could order the teacher's guides, but they do not have complete solutions for all the questions. I hate to admit it, but there are times that the word problems stump me, and it's very helpful to be able to pull out the HIG and have the complete step-by-step solution at my fingertips. Or sometimes I know how to solve a problem using algebra but not the way that SM would do it for the pre-algebra level. I generally don't prep much in advance and need ready access to solutions. I contacted the help desk at SM, explained my predicament, and asked whether I should switch from Standard's Edition to US Edition for level 6. Jenny told me that the Teacher's guides have all the answers and if I need to find out how to arrive at the answer, I could post on the SM forum -- not really a good choice for me because of wanting to have a ready solution. She was silent on switching to US Edition but did say that we could skip level 6 and move on to Discovering Mathematics 7a. Some background on my DS... since kindergarten we have been "before schooling" for math (plus some other subjects), mostly year-round. He likes math and does well with it. Right now he understands the concepts of SM level 5 pretty well, though he sometimes makes calculation errors from not paying attention. He scored well on the VA SOL test this year (pass advanced) and is going to be doing honors math at school -- basically 7th grade math as a 6th grader. Would it be ok to switch back to US Edition just to get the HIG? Or should I think about jumping to a different curriculum? If so, which one? I remember the HIG thing when I went from US to Standards when he was in 2nd grade, but I thought that the HIGs would be caught up by now. Thanks for your insight!! Amy

Thanks for your responses... we'll be moving forward together!

Hi there! I have a reluctant 5th grade writer and a joyful 3rd grade writer. Both attend PS and I supplement at home. I went through WWE1 with my 5th grader several years ago, but we haven't done anything with it in recent years. As the writing requirements have increased in PS, his writing is faltering. I plan to start up with WWE again, probably go through 1 quickly, then move on to 2 in its entirety. I'd like to do the work with both children at the same time, but I'm not sure how it will work with the narration.. My question... is it practical to teach two students simultaneously with WWE? Has anyone made this work successfully? Or tried but changed course? Thanks for sharing!

I like the conversations grouped together, I just don't like that the responses are at the bottom. It's not like that for all gmail users so there must be some way to change it...

Hidden Jewel, Yes!!! That's exactly what I mean! Know how to fix it? :-) Dandelion, I tried your advice, and sent mail back and forth between another acct and gmail, but no luck. That setting impacts the order of the emails in the inbox but not responses within an email. Thanks for trying! :-)

Hey there! In my gmail acct, responses go to the bottom of the page, so I have to scroll down the email to see the newest response. I use the acct for business and it really and truly is driving me crazy! I have searched through gmail settings and I don't see anywhere to change it. I googled my question numerous ways, but the closest results pertain to leaving an automated response when on vacation. No one else's acct seems to do this, but I don't remember doing anything special when I set up the acct. Help!!!

Not everything on amazon qualifies for prime. It should say on the description at the top of the item's page (check mark and the word prime in blue). Before the order is finalized at checkout, it'll say the estimated ship date for each item. I live in the northern VA area and always receive shipment within the 2 day timeframe (sometimes even same day), but when I ship to my mother who lives in somewhat rural PA, shipping time is inevitably longer. Sorry that the membership is not working like you intended. Good luck!!

Thanks for the suggestions. I think that I will try to make the cheesecake in the regular springform pan, but I'll line it with something. I wonder if I could sub wax paper for the parchment paper? Or if I could cover the entire bottom with aluminum foil and try to lift the whole cheesecake off the springform bottom? You have given me some food for thought. (I couldn't resist. :))

I would like to give cheesecakes as a gift, but I've never made one in an aluminum foil pan. I've always used a springform pan. If I use an aluminum one, will I need to worry about the cheesecake cooking properly? I don't want to use the store bought graham cracker crust because I'd rather make it all fresh. I just googled "disposable cheesecake pan" and I see that they come in a regular 10" cheesecake size, but I'm wondering how it would turn out if I used a smaller size. Thoughts?

The table that I ordered from amazon is Stiga's Insta Play. It comes assembled -- from what I understand, you put down the legs, put the two halves together, and add the net. I really considered the STS275, mainly because it looks sturdier (notice the cross supports on the legs), has better wheels, and I like the navy blue color rather than the Insta Play's black top. But the STS275 costs about $100 more and the reviews weren't as consistently good (mostly because of the instructions/assembly). Many of the tables are assembled upside down, so when you finally get through assembly you still need to flip it over. With such a heavy table, that could take 2-3 strong people. What I'm really hoping for is that the delivery guys will accept a tip to take it downstairs -- these things weigh well over 200lbs, so that would be money well spent imho. DH's back is tricky, and the last thing that we need is for him to throw it out trying to wrangle with a ping pong table. I'll let you know how it turns out. I ordered yesterday, delivery was promised by 12/24 (one of the reasons that I hurried to order it, not wanting to miss Christmas), then after I ordered I received a message that said the estimated delivery was Thur/Fri of this week. But when I just checked the status again, it still hasn't been shipped. :confused: I'd rather get it closer to Christmas, but I just want to know, ykwim? Good luck!

Thank you, everyone!! I've decided to buy one. :D I was going to buy a lightly used one from craigslist and contacted several sellers. Then a seller told me that it probably wouldn't fit in a minivan. I measured my van, and by gosh, he was right. I might be able to get in one piece but certainly not both sides of the table at the same time. I looked at one of the big warehouse sites, but I think that I might end up purchasing from a well-known online retailer because DH wants to stick to a name brand and they have a table that everyone raves is easy to assemble. It's due to arrive right before Christmas, so I'm placing a premium on streamlined assembly. For others who are thinking about going down the ping pong table route, you may want to read reviews and note how long assembly takes. Many tables had excellent reviews for the product and terrible reviews for assembly, taking 2 people 4+ hours in some cases. I'm pretty handy (lots of Ikea experience, lol), but the combination of heavy equipment and poor instructions is a recipe for disaster, imho. Plus, if I'm going to have 4 hours with my husband, I'd rather be doing something other than assembling a ping pong table. ;) Thanks again!! PS -- I *heart* polls!

Thanks for your help! I'm definitely leaning towards the purchase, but if I do I'd want to get one that's easy to assemble, and those seem to cost a little more. I'm a little shy to pull the trigger on a big purchase.

We LOVE our cork floor in our basement! Warm, soft, no odor... and it's not carpet (we don't have any carpet in our house). Super easy to clean, versatile for decorating. We chose a color that is quite similar (just a little warmer) to the color of the hardwood flooring that's in the rest of our house, but cork has many styles/patterns and colors, you have a lot from which to choose. Ours is Wicanders symphony, but I really like the natural pattern, too. Good luck!

Hi there! I'm trying to decide what to do with our basement. Last year we had to gut it when we moved in to our new house (not a good surprise), and now it's just been re-finished. There is a tv room that's open to a (somewhat) larger space that will be the kids' play space. The play space is about 24x12 feet. Right now we have some shelves with toys on one end, mostly for our 4 yo. The other end of the room is still open. I'm wondering if it's better to leave it open (kids use a little goal and soft "stuffed" soccer balls there now) and maybe add some bean bag-type chairs, or whether the big kids would use the space more if I put in a ping pong table. So, what's been your experience with ping pong tables? Kids always using it? Or does it just take up space? Down the road we'll buy a pool table, but I'm not ready for that investment, yet. ETA, a little about our family: Older DS is a very active boy who loves sports. He's often outside playing football or basketball with friends, but we need something for him to do when he can't be outside. DD is more content to play in her room because she doesn't like her brothers to mess up her things. Younger DS has a little space in the playroom now, but he also has a spot in my kitchen with his little kitchen and workbench -- he's still at the age where he likes being close to his big people.

Thanks, AK!

Thank you!!

Thanks, AK. I appreciate your comments, and will probably end up doing just that. Love your DH's quirky sense of humor, too, but I'm too traditional to do something like that for a business. BTW, what does dba stand for?