:grouphug: Sending prayers and good thoughts your way :grouphug:

Wow! Thank you for saving me a ton of time....

Hi Heather, At 4 yrs old, we started him on Junior Kumon math where he went to a Kumon centre 2X a week. Before that I taught him numbers up to 1000. In the year he was doing Kumon, he progressed very rapidly. My concren was that he was doing the operations without the actual functional knowledge of +,_,* & Division in real life situations 'coz he did not have real life repotoire for these skills. He needed to be exposed to real life situations and, real life situations are inversely proportional to his age. So, I wanted to challenge him and at the same time help give his brain a work out in a different way. That is when I came across Soroban Abacus and descided that this method will help him think using both hemispheres of the brain. Hope this helps. -Anna

Hi Heather, I will try to answer your question... We use Singapore math curriculum. We started incorporating Soroban abacus for my 7 year old son about 2 yeras ago- when he was 5 yrs old. I purchased books online, and taught my child. It is way, way...easier for a child to learn this than an adult. The abacus help whole brain development. The use of abacus helps a child visualize and conceptualize, which is the main work of the right hemisphere of the brain. Starting with the abacus as an initial tool to perform arithmetic calculation, the child gradually moves on to visualize the abacus in his/her mind and perform arithmetic calculation at stunning speed and accuracy. Thus, the right side of the brain is also equally utilized and this results in total brain development. There are some places that teach the program like http://www.aloha-usa.com/ I do not think SM suggests using Soroban with their curriculum. We started using Soroban since, it gives the brain an entirely different kind of work out.... The methodology of doing mental operations in SM and Soroban is different. Some children may find it confusing at first. But, if a child's fundamentals are strong, it is less of an issue. My son loves his abacus mental math and what he can do with the 4 operations ( +, _, x and division) is amazing. You can look up the benefits of learning abacus at articles listed on PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Abacus%20math. Time we spend on this is about one time a week - 1-1.5 hrs and 15 mins per day for working on the abacus and 5 mins / day to practic mental math. It takes anywhere from 2-3 yrs to gain absolute mastery of all 4 operations. In my opinion it is a wonderful program. Hope this helps. Best regards, Anna

Signed up for Logic, mythology, statistics,CS 101 and cryptography. Hope I will be able to keep up the pace....:tongue_smilie:

We love Mind Benders and Building Critical Thinking Skills here....

Linguisystem's "Spotlight on Social Skills" Elementary Series - This best-selling series systematically targets the critical aspects of social language development to help fit in socially. Here is the link http://www.linguisystems.com/products/product/display?itemid=10562 Their website has few other Social Skills books as well.

Thankyou, Aly9712 for posting the link!

Have you looked at "Hidden Curriculum" As discussed by Brenda Smith Myers? Helped hugely with my 7 year old. You may have to tailor a few to his specifics. Helps with unwritten social rules, subtle messages and expectations in social situations And skills necessary for everyday social success. As mentioned by someone else on this thread Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) is also very, very helpful. It builds these skills from bottom up but, is very intensive as you have to meet an RDI consultant, set up scenarios of the targets you are working on and then video your child almost every week performing these activities and send them to your RDI consultant for feed back. You are not only changing the childs ways of communication, but also yours. As I said, it is very intensive. it is not a therapy, but a way of life, in my opinion. "Model me Kids" and " Social Skill Builders" are also very helpful. Hope this helps.

Black rice pudding with mango is a hit in our family!

Falafel.

Phew, glad to see I am not alone....

So far, I've watched only 2. Good to know there are atleast 5. Will be on the lookout...

I was thinking of the same:lol:

When we finish a book, We go out and have pizza! It I about the only time we have pizza! So it is quit an event.

Thank you!

:confused::bigear:

Thank you A.Balaban. I am slightly more familiar about Critical Thinking company than Gift of Logic. I was looking for a curriculum for introducing/ teaching logic to my 7 yr old possibly gifted child and am on the look out for a curriculum that builds in sequential learning, if there is any out there, for logic. So, in doing a google search for "Thinking skills and logic curriculum for primary grades" I came across their website. I figured this is the best place to ask for advice!

Has anyone used - Gift Of Logic - Critical Thinking & Logical Reasoning Series? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts.... Their website is www.giftoflogic.com . It is supposed to be a 12-Workbook Curriculum in Critical Thinking and Logical Reasoning in Verbal, Analytical and Pictorial strands focusing on solving problems using Critial reading, Critical thinking, Logic, Inferencing, Argumentation, Positioning, Grouping, Sequencing, Graphing, Correlation, Pattern matching, Paper folding, Figure formation and a variety of other topics for K-12 students, college students(undergrad/grad), parents, school/college teachers, job seekers, professionals and retired people. The first 3 books (Red set) 0,1 & 2 are geared towards K-2 population, books- 3,4 & 5 ( Green set) towards grades 3-5 and books 6,7,8,9,10 (blue set) torards grades 6-12.

Thank you PW23kids for the link. Your blog is very informative and I've learnt a lot!!!:001_smile:

Just submitted a request for book pickup at my local library.:001_smile:

Thanks 3blessingmom and Sara in WA and everyone for your insights. It truly is a which comes first - the chick or the egg. I think I need to retrace my steps a bit and narrow down my HS Philosophy based on the needs and personality of my 7 yr old son AND myself before I settle for a curriculum and THEN figure out the best place/s to buy. Otherwise, knowing myself, I will NOT be able to resist the buying spree with a little of this and a little of that. And before I know it, I will be overwhelmed and have spent a ton. Thank you for letting me think it out loud and figuring out.

Thanks, Mrs. Twain! You seem to have a solid plan. I think I need to do the same. Else, I see myself sucked into the buy, buy, buy mode. LOL

Thanks, 3blessing mom! To begin with, I am looking for some quality critical thinking books. Is there a curriculum for critical thinking out there? Or do you put it together as a piece meal with the various critical thinking co. books? Veteran homeschoolers, please help!

Thankyou for the awesome feedback everyone! You guys are the best!!! What about Homeschooling Conventions? Is it a good place to buy curriculum? Does anyone know if they sell used curriculum there?