I truly appologize if I did not follow forum etiquette when I replied about the actual tool I use for planning instead of planning pages. This is actually the first forum I've ever joined and I'm still learning the steps and manners. I do apologize to the original poster.

I do actually still believe this would be a good program for my dd, but wanted to put all of my concerns out there for your review. I think what really scared me was the demo/class I got at our recent convention. The gentleman was very smug and placed a LOT of emphasis on the manipulatives. Also, the demo on the website felt like it did the same thing. I appreciate your comments and know that if I sit back, look at my daughter and reevaluate why we are homeschooling - I'll chill out and do what's best for her and the way she learns. (She doesn't do will with pressure as evidenced by the stomachaches her ps teacher gave her). Oh, the pressure of finding the "right" curriculum for your child!

Math-U-See users and lovers- please do not mistake my question as a criticism. I have a genuine desire to know your thoughts after using this curriculum for your child. For some reason, after viewing this product and demo at our convention, online demo and many, many reviews, I have this nagging feeling that the amount of stress placed on the manipulative work is a bit of an over kill. My background - My 9yo daughter was homeschooled last year (3rd grade) after coming out of ps and not having even a basic understanding of how to regroup an addition problem. We went back to 2nd grade level math and worked hard this year to bring her up to a 4th grade level math. Unfortunately, I taught her the same way I was taught. She knows the steps, but not the why. I, like so many of you, want my child to understand math and enjoy the wonder of it, not just follow "rules" with no idea as to why and how it really works. I was hoping Math-U-See would help her with this since she needs more than just language to really grasp a concept. She really needs to "see" it work. Specifically, my questions are: 1. Do the children become dependent on the manipulatives to do the problems? The feeling I got from the demo was that the stress was on the manipulative, not necessarily on the ability to look at a problem and quickly "see" the big picture. I would like to be able to use manipulatives to introduce concepts and for problems in comprehension, but I am not sold on the idea that a manipulative is needed for every problem. 2. Do any of you feel there is so much concentration on one concept that the other concepts are forgotten? An entire year on addition and subtraction of single-digits seems excessive to me. Did any of your children get bored with the pace? 3. Did any of you supplement this program, or use this program as a supplement for other ones? What about all the other wonderful math concepts that standardized testing requires knowledge of (just a little sarcasm there)? Are word problems and real-life math covered? 4. Finally, does anyone know of a good book for parents that would teach me how to teach my child mental math in a condensed, straight-forward fashion. I'm looking for a book (or website) that teaches the "tricks" and tips that make math fun and interesting. I have game books like "Family Math" and have read sites such as the living math website, but I was just wondering if anyone has seen a good straight-forward source for mental math (not asking for much, am I)? Thank you for your input and help. After two months of math curriculum review and agonizing over which one to use, I thought it best to go straight to the unbelievable wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum.

I let my son just go at his own pace with the Key to books (both Fractions and Decimals) and he just flew. He was in the 5th grade last year and had just come out of PS. We used the Key to books as a supplement to the Sadlier Oxford: Progress in Mathematics textbook. He felt the textbook didn't explain some things enough, but that the Key to books were a bit simplified sometimes. It really helped to just let him go with it and most days he would do 5-7 pages depending on the difficulty of the work. I also didn't require him to do every problem on every page (especially if there were a daunting amount)since we were also working from the regular textbook. Usually, he would do the odd numbered problems. We found the series to be an excellent supplement that did a very good job of explaining both fractions and decimals.

Here's a new one... I was raised by my Grandmother in a small town in the South. During the summers, she would drop me off at the local library while she would shop and go on errands. All the librarians knew me and it was pretty safe back then. When I was around 11 to 12, I would sneak out of the tiny children's section and into the big adult library. That summer I read pretty much the entire Ian Fleming - "James Bond" selection they had there. Needless to say, when my Southern Baptist Grandmother finally found out, she was not pleased. I would just skip over all the "Bond and his latest girl stuff" to get to the spy stuff, but I don't think my Grandmother was convinced. I sure wouldn't want my little girl reading these at 11 or 12.

Thank you for the welcome Kareni. Hopefully, someone has some experience with Math Matters. From the sound of the crickets in the background (and lack of info on the web), I'm beginning to believe that this is a fictitious math program and may not actually exist.

Hi All, First day on this forum - any forum for that matter - but you all seem so nice and helpful. I need help with a decision for my 4th grade dd's math curriculum next year. She (and I) are very interested in "Math Matters" put out by the same people that put out Chalk Dust. (Her brother will be taking Chalk Dust Pre-Algebra next year). Does anyone have any experience with Math Matters?? I can't find any reviews on the web regarding it or its effectiveness. Thank you

Love your science study. We did a study (w/ 3rd dd and 5th ds) with several of the same resources (Body Book, Blood and Guts, Magic School Bus) and presented at our homeschool co-op Science Fair. What a great learning experience. Not to add to your already full plate or anything, we really enjoyed a book we used for reference each time we moved to a different body system called "How the Incredible Body Works by the Brainwaves". This is a DK book by Richard Walker and is a load of fun with lots of great bits of information you don't usually get in science books. Also, I can't believe you're using "Follow My Leader". Very funny coincidence. I remembered reading this as a child and wanted to read it as a "family read aloud" but couldn't recall the name of it. I remembered the fire crackers were the reason for his blindness and recently asked our children's reference librarian...she found it for me within an hour. We can't wait to read it this summer. I remember walking around with my eyes shut for days trying to understand how he felt. Good luck with your study, you are going to have a blast. (Remember, if you try to squeeze a tennis ball 70 times within a minute, you'll get an idea of how hard an adult heart works. This was a huge hit at the science fair - as well as, the length of the digestive system measured out in string).

I use OneNote that came with my Microsoft Office 2007 and I love it. I can set up my forms anyway I want (for the control freak in me). I couldn't find a program that I didn't feel restricted by before and now I enjoy being able to put together my own at no extra cost. I have my schedule, log, attendance and all planning in it. It's extremely easy, even for me. I can also scan documents and pictures directly into it and link Word documents, contacts, maps, other forms and web sites to a planning or scheduling page. My "Intel" hubby showed me this great program. I spent a couple of days playing with it and had every bit of my documentation formats set up for the year. He then started asking me to show him how to use it. I loved that!

This was my first year homeschooling both of my children (5th & 3rd) and my state required that both be tested. I was concerned that my 3rd grader had never tested before and might have trouble with the pages of tiny round dots since she is borderline dyslexic. I went to Bob Jones University Press (where I purchased my ITBS) and purchased practice tests called "Better Test Scores". These tests are not available for grades below 3rd, but they have something called "Test for Success" for K-2 that is supposed to help with test-taking strategies and reasoning skills. Looked interesting. For us, I do believe that both of my kids felt more relaxed and better prepared after doing the practice tests. Good luck, http://www.bjupress.com/services/testing/

I am struggling with which program to use this year for my 6th ds who has now surpassed me in math. He LOVES math and wants a challenge (he wants PreAlgebra). I can't keep up with him and help my 4th dd who is struggling a bit in math. We've narrowed it down to TT and Chalk Dust for him. TT is definitely easier on the pocketbook - but here's the quote from my fairly easy-going son re:TT after viewing the demo. "If I have to listen to that voice again, my head will explode!" He also immediately liked the fact he could SEE the teacher on Chalk Dust and liked his delivery, he thought he was funny. Questions: Has anyone had a problem with the monotone sound of the TT teacher? My son really reacted strongly to it. Thank you