I just have to say that MUS would confuse the heck out of me! I know so many hs moms who LOVE that program, but I really didn't. I felt like there was a little too much of the "why" and not enough of the "just do." I am old school math, myself and to me, it is borrowing and carrying. LOL And the less explaining how and why, the better. My oldest son is good in math. We did Horizons 3, book 2 in a month with him (the last 80 lessons) and he caught on like wildfire, coming out of ps last year. However, he still will make simple mistakes like you mention. It is not that he doesn't "know" how to do it...he just sometimes gets careless on me and stops paying attention to the directions. Where ps teachers didn't really care, I do and I make him go back. Just having him go back and re-do has cemented so much for him. Another idea is to put a sign up someone in your school area that says, "if the bottom number is bigger than the top number, borror from his neighbor to the left." I did something similar with my son on a spelling rule and it wasn't long before it just stuck in his brain. Best of luck to you.

My oldest son is like you describe your daughters to be. He whines and hates to do school work of any sort. He was not this way in ps...which leads me to believe he is seeing how much he can get away with since we have changed it up on him all of a sudden. We too are using Calvert, but I find that I don't stick 100% with what the lesson manual says. There is nothing wrong with shortening assignments, allowing them to type instead of write, even occasionally letting them dictate and you write for them. Not that you want it to become a habit, but my son struggles with penmanship as well as spelling, so for him, if I let him dictate and I write, he takes off! He is so creative. But, if he has to do it on paper himself, he does it the most simple, least creative way he can think of just to get it done. For me, I had to discover what I wanted. Do I want penmanship and spelling right now, or do I want him to enjoy writing and being creative and the rest will come as we go forward. I chose the latter. I think this generation and all of the stuff kids see on TV, all the stuff they have at their disposal (TV, DS, Wii, Pokemon, Transformers, etc), they have forgotten how to go outside and shoot hoops till dark, or read a good book for entertainment. This is going to seem drastic, but we turned off out TV. Completely. We disconnected the cable. It is not there and he cannot watch it. It has been a struggle, but over the course of the summer, it has grown on the kids and they are finding more and more things they like to do that do not involve sitting on the couch for hours watching mindless nothing.

Keep flushing with water. While it will spread it around, it will, in time, dilute it and decrease the pain. OUCH!

See siggy. :)

I am not sure how long you have been homeschooling, but this is my first year, and this is EXACTLY why I ended up using Calvert for both of my kids. We are doing 4th grade with a spelling power supplement and Kindergarten with an ETC 2 supplement and some Horizons math supplements (ds is ahead of Calvert math, Horizons alone loses him...we meet in the middle). But I am such a type A and so are my kids. This is really a perfect fit for us. Best of luck to you. I am sure it will all be worth it. Of course, I also don't see anything wrong with the Abeka DVDs as I have a friend who swears by them and her kids are very bright. ETA: I am super excited about Calvert after 6th grade! LOL Not only do they write the manual to the STUDENT, they also (for a small nominal fee :() offer interactive courses online twice a week which is just too cool for words in this technology era. I am waiting with bated breath for that 6th grade year! LOL (even though I might have to start saving NOW).

Gosh, I am not a seasoned homeschooler at all, but I do have an English degree and spelling/writing has always been my "thing," so to speak. I don't know the rules of spelling...other than to say "i before e except after c." That is about it. I spell from memory and dictation. If the word is not spelled the way it sounds, chances are, I have memorized it and just regurgitate it. The one spelling program I have found that really works for my son, who is in 4th grade this year and is a terrible speller, is spelling power. I don't know why it works...but it does! Other than to say, "I don't think you should sit and teach your child every spelling rule," I am not sure how much I have helped. LOL Oh well, the thought that counts, right? ;)

Hi! I am new here and new to homeschooling. This year, I am homeschooling my almost 5 year old for Kindergarten and my almost 9 year old in 4th grade. We are using the complete Calvert K curriculum, supplemented with Explode the Code book 2 (he is reading small words...but it hasn't quite all "clicked" yet, so we felt Calvert K was the right choice...if he goes through it fast, we just move on. No big deal) and Horizons Math. Calvert K math is a bit behind him, Horizons is a bit ahead, so we find a balance in the middle with both of them. :)

Hi! I am new here, but thought I would share my Calvert experience. We are using Calvert this year for my son who is going into 4th grade. He is smart - tested into "gifted" classes in ps before we took him out, etc. but when we did our tests for Calvert, they put him in 3rd grade with 5th grade math. Ha! No way. So, as his mom and knowing him better than any test ever could, I said to heck with their plan. I put him in 4th grade Calvert and actually backed him up to 4th grade math. He didn't have as strong a handle on his math facts as I wanted before he moves on. Anyway, as the momma, you make the ultimate decision. We obviously couldn't use the ATS service, but we hadn't planned to anyway so it was fine. IMO, place your children where you feel they fit. Calvert is a great curriculum and I think they do know their stuff or I wouldn't own two of those expensive things *LOL* BUT, you are mom and you know your kids better than any one test can represent them. :)