If it didn't work for you, was there a particular reason it didn't work for you?

I use Calvert which is already planned out and I ran upon this first thing. We are starting Aug 4 and my son't birthday is August 5th. What I did was skip their lesson 5 (to get us back on track) and combined most of it with lesson 6. I am having him do his weekly spelling test that Friday (after only 4 days of review) and if he makes 100%, he is done. If he does poorly, I will let him try again that following Monday. So I just combine, hit the highlights, and make one day a little longer. I won't be doing two math lessons with him, but to stay on track the way Calvert is created, that is what I had to do for the rest of the curriculum.

Okay, now I am down to evaluating several maths at one time. LOL Today I ordered Saxon 65 for my son (that is where he placed in their testing). I also ordered Teaching Textbooks 5 yesterday and I have Calvert on hand. We have used Horizons and it was not a fit for him (or me...I need a guide that shows how to do it because I was not great in math). I have had enough people recommend Saxon that I just bought them both so I can see them, hold them, touch them, and make a decision. So, if you have used Saxon, I want to know your experience with it. Does it seems to be advanced or right on the mark? My son is decent in math, I wouldn't call him accelerated, but Saxon placed him in 65 rather than 54 as I had anticipated. I will make a poll at the top too - it is easier for some to click and not necessarily respond in writing and I respect that! Thanks!!

I have never heard of it...but I tend to agree with you. What could be perfectly appropriate for a 5 year old AND a 14 year old?? Unless, maybe it gives you some simple things to do and then some variations for older students. Good luck!

I am not sure what you mean with how much time spelling power required of you? With my oldest, it is 5 minutes to do the testing and then he does the rest. Of course, with 5, that is 25 minutes...but that doesn't seem like long, IMO. I am not sure what your days look like though. We use Calvert as well as SP and we are enjoying both so far. Calvert requires little to no effort on your part with the spelling CDs. My son does the spelling book work too though because he is such a poor speller. I would call an education counselor at Calvert for placement if you go that route. They don't have a 9th grade, so you would have to use 8th grade or below for your oldest. Where I feel Calvert lacks in Math, they make up for in spelling. Calvert words are pretty tough - espeically with a struggling speller like my oldest. That is why we supplement with SP. What I like about Spelling Power is that you can have 5 kids and still use the same book. You can put each on their own level according to the placement testing in the book and have a comprehensive spelling program for all of your children, all on their levels, all at the same time. Best of luck to you.

We started "officially" for this year on the 14th, so we just finished week 2 with my Kindergartener. We are having a blast! My older son will be back from his dad's and we will start our year on the 4th of August. My kids did some enrichment all summer long, though, so school for us never really stopped.

Wonder if it is behind a grade level for the upper maths or if it is just behind where the lower ones are concerned? I would think upper level maths didn't have a "behind" or "ahead."

Angela...sounds like we are in the same boat exactly then. My son is in 4th this year (doing Calvert 4th for everything else) and he also tested into TT5. I was actually worried that there wouldn't be enough repetition. My son is not solid on his simple math facts - even though he understands the concepts of higher math and easily can do the problems, sometimes he will get them wrong just because he answers that 9 x 6 = 45. KWIM? So I guess I am thankful for some review. Someone told me that kids who used this program in the lower grades scored poorly on standardized tests. I am hoping that is because they did TT5 in 5th grade and it is a bit behind? *fingers crossed* I definitely don't want my son to be behind in his math...but hopefully by doing the grade ahead, he won't be. It was funny...I told the rep that my son had just finished Horizons 3 and he said "oh, used our TT5...or maybe even 6." WOW. Is Horizons that advanced??? We were using it with ds 4 3/4 and it was just whizzing by him. I didn't like it as a stand alone for him at all. I do like using it with Calvert - super slow and super fast and he "gets it" somewhere in the middle.

I would continue until at least middle school. I was also a natural speller, and even though I wasn't homeschooled, I was not asked to take spelling after 6th grade. I am still a good speller. But I would go ahead and teach it through 6th grade because she only tested at a 6.7 grade level - some of the words in the last lessons of spelling power are a challenge for ME, so I am sure your daughter could benefit from it in some way.

ETC is not a stand alone program in my opinion - not for learning to read which is how we are using it. I first used it in conjunction with 100EL, now I use it in conjunction with the Calvert K program. I am using it for my 4 1/4 year old and I LOVE IT. He has learned to read, spell, and write most all 3 and 4 letter CVC or CVCC words using this one book. He does two pages a day. He is young though, and we started small. It has taken him 2 months of 3-5 day weeks to finish book 1 and we are just about to move on to book 2. I have not thought to try this with my older son (9) and probably won't at this point, though I do know some people who do use it with older kids. Personally, I have loved everything I have seen of ETC.

I think you can order directly from HWT? http://shopping.hwtears.com/category/1stGrade Sample

Okay, it is very encouraging that only 3 users absolutely HATED it. There was a good number using it and a good number planning to try it. I think I feel confident enough to go ahead with the order. For awhile, I am going to hang onto Calvert and maybe find a way to use then together. Calvert does a lot...and I mean HALF THE BOOK a lot of early math facts drills at the beginning of the book. It may be beneficial to skim over a few of them at the same time as I am teaching a bit more skill with the TT5...but you never know. My kid is a total online, computer kind of kid. He will play the stupidest computer games just to be playing them on the computer! So I think this is going to be right up his alley. In the examples they give online, I hate to admit it, but the teacher made me understand a concept that was not totally clear to me before. Now it is like *DUH* but when he first wrote it up there, I drew a blank on how to do it. If it taps my child on the head the same way it did me, then maybe he will have a "duh" moment too. :) I can only hope for so much. I will definitely let you all know if we love it or hate it once we get it and use it. Thanks so much for all the great feedback!

I can't answer your questions - we are using CHOW with Calvert, which I like, but it does not incorporate anything biblical at all. I just wanted to say Hi and welcome. I am new here too. I have 2 dc - oldest is 4th grade (just out of ps this year), youngest is Kindergarten (homeschooled from the start...as in birth! LOL). Best of luck with your curriculum choices. I have done the same today figuring out math for my oldest!

A- a wikki, admit to God you are a sinner and repent and turn away from your sin...quickly quickly. I sang that for a good month after it was all said and done. I still sing The Word (or whatever the real name is)...I actually LOVE that song! On Outrigger Island, we live God's unshakable truth...cause we've figured out life is so much better when we do.... Actually we had a luau planned for the end of Bible school and it got cancelled due to weather (ended up being a beautiful day too, but that is beside the point) so we are having it SATURDAY! Joy joy...more of the songs getting stuck in my head. I actually taught the 5 year old class and really enjoyed it. The bamboo we put in our rooms to decorate, I didn't love that so much!

Thanks! I wish the person who voted "hate it" would come tell me why! LOL

I have had lots of recommendations in another thread earlier today to try this with my son. My issue is not being a good math student myself and thus needing something to guide me in teaching him. He learns quickly and does a great job in math. He is going into 4th grade and we are using Calvert curriculum for all other subjects, supplementing with spelling power and Bible lessons. We originally were going to use Calvert Math, but would have to start in the middle of the book just to be on target with his skills and even that is review! Anyway, before I jump in with both feet and purchase TT - 5 (which is where he placed), can you all tell me your experiences. Even if you just want to say "Great" or "awful" - your votes/comments will help so much!!!

Well, I would recommend Calvert, but it is pricey. http://www.calvertschool.org/accredited-homeschool-curriculum/curriculum-by-grade/pre-kindergarten/ I'd say the pre-K curriculum is just right for a child that is about 3 or just over. If it goes too fast, you can use it for two years. But you are looking at, at least $310.00 - it does cover all the basics though. That said, relax. You don't even really need a curriculum for a 3 year old. We bought some of the workbook type things from walmart and he worked in those. Mostly, at 3, they are learning through play. Calvert even stresses that in their course. Best of luck to you!

I am particular about the Calvert. I won't sell the manuals I gave my word not to sell...the ones I bought from calvert. However, if I find a good deal on e-bay and it comes with the manual, I will not hesitate to buy. I will also not hesitate to RESELL that one back on e-bay if I need to ...because hey, I wasn't the one who bought it from Calvert in that case. But I do refuse to sell the ones I purchased from them simply on morals - I "agreed" not to resell the manual. But heck...aren't they getting a little silly when they say "promise not to reuse it." What??? Sure, I am not going to reuse it with my own kids. SURE!

I really like what I see with Teaching Textbooks. My husband, on the other hand, seems to think it is a cop-out where I then don't have to teach that subject which is totally an issue between me and him and nothing you all could solve, obviously! I guess my picks now are between Teaching Textbooks 5 and CLE Math 4. I went through Calvert and we would have to start at Lesson 50 or farther just to pick up where my son left off. Then it is still all this estimating and such that i am not terribly fond of. Oh, and some multiple choice tests. What in the world is up with that???

Thanks! I guess I want, first and foremost, to have one that has a good "how to teach it" section! LOL I was never great at math and I want to be led in teaching for this subject. Calvert math is behind - even ps math, it seems. I used Horizons for my oldest at one time. When it gets to multiplying fractions, that is where i get lost and Horizons has a terrible teaching guide. In 4th grade, I don't even think you get a teaching guide! I also want the math program to be a bit advanced - a bit slower than Horizons, but not as slow as Calvert. Does this make any sense at all?? I am about to go batty! LOL

When I figure it out, I will let you know. LOL Right now, we have used, partially, lots of things. We did the 100EL, I loved it. My son CRIED whenever I brought out the book. We have used ETC and love it and will continue to use it. We used the Bob books which he likes, but they didn't seem to help him remember sight words when they were in a different book! We also use the Leap Frog DVDs, Code Word Caper and Word Factory. Still, we are plateaued at reading CVC words by sounding them out, with about 89% accuracy on sightwords like "the, on, in, and a." I am confident that one day, he will just "get it." Until then, we will keep reading, keep learning, keep plugging along through Calvert K, watching our DVDs and praying! LOL

I would appreciate all the BTDT advice you all have. I am kind of irritated these days with math curriculums. For my youngest ds, we started with Horizons K, then bought Calvert K. OMG! Ummm.... So now we are using both - the Calvert for fun and coloring and learning some of the simple concepts, the Horizons to actually learn math faster than a turtle can walk. Here is my dilemma..I need something quickly for my 4th grader. We bought Calvert and neither my dh or I are pleased with this math curriculum at. all. I am not great in math. I need a curriculum that is sound and moves at a decent pace but with a teacher's guide that is user friendly and, if anything, can teach me how to teach him. Any thoughts??? My son IS good in math. They both are. I wouldn't say "ahead" really, but my oldest "gets it" really quickly.

Never too early to start with one of my uttmost favorite DVDs - "Leapfrog Letter Factory." :) Also, maybe schedule school near nap or quiet time.

Curiousity...why are you getting up so early to homeschool? We roll out of bed around 9, do lessons in our pj's if the mood strikes us, and finish up by noon or just after. I only have TWO kids to teach, but there is NO WAY any of us would function at 6:30AM! LOL

What a nightmare! I am so sorry for this family and this poor momma. It will always haunt her - :( God be with them during this time and I pray for a full recovery for this precious little girl. :(