As Murmer described ... My just-turned 4 yo enjoys BFIAR though.

I like the workbook ebook from www.primarylanguagelessons.com I think it costs $17-ish for PLL, and you can print in any way you want. I'm using PLL with my 9 yo boy and 7 yo girl since the beginning of this year (2011). Since the boy is 9 yo, and the 7 yo girl is the type of girl who can 'write' (as in writing a lot and not getting tired), I turn a lot of PLL work into writing. I combine this with some contents from other vintage book which complements PLL really well (maxwell's Primary Language and English Comp). They learned about paragraph in Maxwell's book (my own teaching) as well as learning how to describe, how to make stories out of a picture, how to write in paragraphs, how to combine sentences, etc. Maxwell's book is a gem since it contains samples of picture description/story. It also contains samples on how to turn a poem into a prose. Other Maxwells's book which I also love is Maxwell's First English. But we do mostly from Primary Lang. and English Comp. book. When they start rewriting fables, writing about pictures, and so forth in PLL, they are pretty much comfortable with paragraphs. I usually brainstorm with them, and help to generate an outline. I help them edit for awkward sentences, spelling, punctuation, and grammar. I can say I'm happy with their progress. We're gearing up for ILL beginning 2012 with the workbook from www.intermediatelanguagelessons.com ($21 for all ILL). I also have the printed ILL from googlebooks for me, and am waiting for the TG from amazon. Both kids love Serl's book and my son particularly is looking forward to do ILL after seeing all the creative prompts (dialogue, rewriting from different POV, making how to stories, etc). As for grammar, while using vintage books, I teach my kids via Sentence Family, and I occasionally ask them to point out parts of speech from their dictations. Usage is solely via maxwell's and PLL. PS: Prior to PLL we used GWG for grammar and WWE 2 for writing.

I use PLL ebook (workbook) from: http://www.primarylanguagelessons.com No teacher guide. I also own Hillside PLL. I'm gearing up for ILL early 2012 and will buy the ebook (wrkbook) from http://www.intermediatelanguagelessons.com I'm buying a TM for this one.

THe spirit is the same ...:) i.e. discussing small number of concepts in greater depth. When SM was first imported in the US, I think the number of concepts it teaches is smaller. The US Ed. has to conform with California scope and sequence, hence it has more concepts to learn. I bet if MPH is adopted by California State, it'll have more concepts to discuss.

If I could do first and second grade over, then I would do only FIAR as social studies, along with stories from history from books like 50 Famous Stories or 50 Famous People and stories in American history (Fritz books). I will reserve SOTW or chronological history only when interest arises. I was feeling insecure about not doing chornological history back then with primary grade kids. But then I found that the level of retention and understanding for chronological history for that age group is not good enough to justify spending time with it. In contrast, history stories and doing social studies in FIAR/homeschool share resulted in better retention, not to mention higher enjoyment aspect. Just my two cents.

After HS-ing for 3 years, I am at the place where I prefer to tweak a curriculum rather than ditching it. After all, there is a reason why I bought that in the first place, right ? MM, which I have been using for 3 years, has been a blessing for us. At the moment, I use it with 2 different children. I accelerate it with dd 7, and keep it at a normal pace with ds 9. I vary between whiteboard and worksheet work, especially with my son. I keep two threads at the same time to ensure we spend sufficient amount of time for the material to stick. I do continual review every other day using whiteboard to ensure they don't forget previous concepts. SOTW - my children understand SOTW1 well by the time they're second grade, but cannot connect with it. So, rather than using it for our school time, I use it periodically as interest arises. E.g. right now, I'm rewatching my old time favorite kungfu/wuxia movie which takes place around 1200 AD (genghiz khan regime). THe kids watch all these episodes with me and get interested in Genghiz Khan, Song dynasty, and later the beginning of Ming dynasty. MPH - it's mostly good, but I incorporate notebooking and a lot of discussion to get the kids to understand and retain concepts. In short, I use curricula mainly as a spine or framework, but I'm not completely wedded to them. I add, subtract, and tweak. I teach, discuss, and adjust with each child, because there's no such a thing as a perfect curriculum.

This is what I did with my accelerated dd who's also 7. She's doing column multiplication (MM 4), and only has geo/measurement and division drill from MM3 left. With accelerated kid, I tend to limit simple problems from MM, and opt more of unique problems, e.g. the puzzle corner and harder word problems. I also throw in CWP 3 and unique problems from MEP. But I like MM as a spine because it's v. logical/organized, v. easy to teach from, and tweakable. With my ds who is more in the average side, I do more MM problems with him. And even then, I still don't assign 'every problem' and not all problems are done in the worksheet.

I've been using MM since 2008 and we're still using it. But I don't always use it according to its scope and sequence. Take fact families, for instance. That chapter would've driven my 2 children nut because it's boring and repetitious. So once they understood the concept, I asked them doing it bit by bit over several months while doing something else (e.g. geometry, clock, etc). Doing solely math fact is boring. With my girl who doesn't need constant repetition, I even didn't do all the math facts with her, but we did practice the skill somewhere else (in the word problem, etc). If, however, the concept is hard to grasp and you know you've done the best possible way to get the concept across, then I suggest to just shelve it for the time being, and revisit a few months later. Often, it's just a matter of brain maturity. The key with any math curricula is to tweak it and make it work for you. Mastery-based curricula are easier to tweak, IMO. I always move the topics around, do more than one topic at one time, incorporate continual review on the white board, add games, etc. MM is good to give me framework, but I'm not the one who always starts from page 1 and does the next page till it finishes.

To avoid having difficulties with the HW and HOTS book, I suggest you to incorporate the following (based on my experience teaching MPH 3/4 for almost 1.5 years now): - do most , if not all, activities. - do it bit by bit every day, even if it's only 15 mins a day. - always review the concepts everyday. - do notebooking to help the concepts stick, e.g. when working on life cycle, I asked my kids to draw 3- and 4-stage life cycles, and then as we work on different types of animals, we categorize them according to the number of life cycles they go through. - do the research/enrichment as indicated in the snippets within the textbooks. I use this opportunity to actually teach my kids how to do internet search, and then I ask them to write down the answers. For the teacher, I suggest to look ahead the textbook + activity + HW + HOTS books and jot down the most important concepts to learn. For instance, in the life cycle topic, these concepts are emphasized: - 3 vs 4-stage life cycle. - metamorphosis vs not metamorphosis. - each stage of the life cycle across different animals are largely similar (with some exceptions) as long as the number of stage is the same. - length of life cycles of different animals differ. - connection between a particular animal's life cycle with the degree of which it nurtures/protects its offsprings. Review those concepts everyday via questions and answer, discussion, and notebooking until you are certain the kids understand. In my experience, if the above things are done, then students will have an easy time with HW and HOTS. There are many inferences in MPH's HOTS, so solid understanding of the concepts is vital. What not to do: - read the textbook in one sitting and do the HW + HOTS straight away. MPH is not about knowledge or vocab per se. It is about concept. You can make your kids to memorize different life cycles, for instance, but if they don't understand the concepts MPH is trying to get across, they will have hard time to infer. Clear as mud ? ETA: almost forgot ... Do more than one chapters at once before you attempt the HW and HOTS books as long as they are related. E.g. when wroking on life cycle, we did ch 1 and 2 (ch 1 is about life cycle concept, ch 2 about animal life cycles) at one go (over 2 weeks) before we even attempted to do the HW and HTOS books. Same with matter - we did two chapters on matter at one go before doing the HW and HOTS.

The first thing you need to look is gaps. Does he really have a solid understanding of arithmetic ? Can he do mental math easily ? Fill in the gaps if you found one. Math Mammoth blue books (topical books) are good for filling out the gaps. If you would like to use S-pore for 5th-6th grade, realize that it's pretty different from US math from the way it approaches thing. You may even have to backtrack a bit. It's worth it though. Just in case you need to backtrak, Math mammoth blue books (topical books) are excellent (but cheap enough) to do it.

I suggest you to get the Singapore Challenging Word Problem book or Intensive Practice - and only have your child to do the difficult problems. Or choose unique problems from MEP math.

My 9 yo 4th grader son is also working on his two digit multiplication with regrouping. We're using math mammoth, and it's been a blessing. You said you have all the math mammoth. I suggest you to go through MM3B on multiplication chapter, and teach two digit x 1 digit multiplication (e.g. 27x9) 'the easy way' , i.e. by breaking it down to 20x9 + 7x9 (make sure you explain why it can be broken down like so). Then slowly, move to the standard algorithm for such multiplication while you correlate the 'easy way' to the 'standard way'. Then go to MM 4A to teach two digit x two digit with whole number, e.g 28x30, 25 x 70, etc - which is basically the same as 28x3 and 25 x 7, but has an extra zero. Then, turn him loose with two digit multiplication such as this: 28 x 35. Tell him to find out how to calculate this any way he wants. I guarantee he will be able to discover how to do it even if you don't teach him how to, as long as he understands the essence of multiple digit multiplication (which he should - if he has gone through the multiplication section of Math mammtoh). You can then move him slowly to do it the standard way of doing it. But if you teach him this way, he will hopefully never 'forget' the algorithm because in essence he knows the 'why' and he 'discovers' it himself. MM is great in teaching column multiplication and I'm happy that my son really understands it. I would also like to suggest to do these on the whiteboard and have your son to do the exercises with you at first to avoid frustration. HTH

I've used Math Mammoth since 2008 with two kinds of kids: a mathy girl (7 years, 3rd grade) and a late-bloomer boy (9 years, 4th grade). I would like to encourage you to stick with math mammoth but make some changes/accomodation: 1. Shelve the regrouping topic for a while, and teach other topic. Manipulating/reggrouping mentally takes certain brain maturity. I experience this a lot with my son. When we hit the 'math wall' and I know that I've tried to explain it as best as I could, then the best approach is to leave it and study other topic for the time being. Time works wonder when they're young ..:) 2. If you don't want to switch to other topic, do as many as 'white board' lesson until she can do it comfortably with you. Backtrack if you discover that the foundation is not solid, but do it on the whiteboard. It's much quicker to backtrack if you teach directly. Only, and only then, you let her loose with MM worksheet - and even that, it's only for reinforcement. We're doing 2 digit multiplication at the moment, and I teach my son incrementally (ala math mammoth) in the whiteboard for days with only doing may be 5 problems/day in MM. MM is a good curriculum and it will teach you to teach math conceptually. I'm very happy to see the results in my not-so-mathy boy. His understanding is solid, and he's good at mental math. But don't ask your student to do every problem there - do a lot of white board work instead, and use the worksheet for reinforcement. With a mathy student - it's a different story...:). HTH

Martha, This is my perspective, from someone who didn't grow up in the US and actually lived in Asia (third world country) during childhood. Growing up, I was pretty well off - my parents are doctors. Still, we only traveled by car, exploring whatever our island could offer. The farthest one was a trip to Bali. I almost never traveled using an airplane. However, after high school, I managed to secure a scholarship to go to study in England. Once there, I traveled frugally to Europe (backpacking during vacation) with friends. I learned how to navigate underground, booked various ticket, applied for various visa, etc in various country in Europe. And I only knew English. So don't lose heart if you cant bring your teens out of the country. Teach them to create opportunity for themselves. Many people from third world countries wouldn't even dream of traveling far as young teens.... but many created opportunities for themselves, either via work, scholarship, business, etc later on in their lives. If they think that travel is important, then they'll make it happen. I see a lot of my friends from school whose work and education eventually enable them to travel out of country (in their 20s and 30s). Most travel to either Aussie or other Asian countries though. The fact that the cost of airplane ticket is going down nowadays (with lots of promotion thrown around)mreally enables some young people to travel frugally. Bottom line, always look for opportunities, and learn that foreign language. I thought I was doing well knowing English (as my second language) until I saw those European who can speak 5 languages ... And if you can, meet and speak with foreign students. Then you won't feel like you're depriving your children....

I also have a boy who is soon to be a fourth grader. There are a couple of things I do to spice things up: 1. Alternate basic skill lessons (the boring ones) with content lessons. 2. For the content lessons (sci, geogr, history), vary between read aloud, read aloud with narration, read alone, globe work, notebooking (drawing - not coloring maps, timelining, general drawing, and other notebooking activities), projects/expt for science, and video watching. We use HOD-Bigger (minus the bible study because we're not Christian) this year, and it's been v. fun. I don't really follow their science to a T though. 3. For math, if your ds loathes workbook, ask him to sit with you and do the majority work on the whiteboard (on the lap). My ds gets more out of math session this way. Use one day per week for math games. 4. Language art - turns out my ds is having difficulty with grammar terms, except the basic 8 part of speech, and subj-predicate. So I focus more on usage using old/vintage googlebooks. For spelling we use Apple and Pears which he loves. For writing --> I mostly incorporate writing with content subjects now while notebooking (painless because he likes his notebook). I occasionally get him to write based on prompts from old googlebooks, but not always. So far, I can see that his skills have grown by leaps and bounds, and he enjoys the process. HTH

What do you recommend for a good inkjet color printer and copier ? Anything below $150. Thanks

yes, the question is whether it's worth $95. I guess I'll be able to see when it arrives. My concern is not about stretching it, because I'll use it for 1.5 years anyway (instead of 1 yr cycle). We're going to start in January. My concern is more about how detail it is and whether the manual + booklets can help me i creating a good lesson plan - much like theirs. I saw their lesson plain today, and it's more just read this and read that, summarize/narrate this/that. It includes project ideas, LA, writing ideas, and Q&A. If the manual + booklets taught me how to do these - then I think it's a good investment. Because above all, I aspire to be a homeschool mom who can plan/customize and teach - like all veteran HS-er here.

Ugh ... y'all make me feel like I'm wasting money. Ah well, let's see whether I can swing it or else ... I return it. Or may be I should order Learning Adventure (AWOA) instead - so I'm doing ancient thru reformation in one year or less (can't imagine doing egypt for 1 month) - looks like AWOA gives better bangs for the bucks. Then continue colonialism thru modern period (my own plan) so I cover everything from ancient thru modern in 1.5 years?? Their middle year booklet seems better though ...

Oh NO ! So you reckon it's $95 down the drain ? I saw the daily lesson plan .. it's good but it's expensive, and I am quite a tweaker. I thought that between the manual + the list + the overview I will be able to concoct up a plan which is as good as theirs. But you don't think that the complete plan (not the lesson plan) is enough as a guide ?

It's not available free online, if what you mean by PLL is Serl's PLL. There is however another PLL online, but it's Sheldon's PLL which I think is more advanced than Serl's. I use the workbook version of PLL with my 2nd and 3rd grader. I bought the pdf version and print out the lesson as needed.

Just ordered the complete program for 3rd-5th for my 4th and 3rd grader. We're going to start with Epi Kardia January though, because we're still half way through our American history (use HOD BIgger minus the bible stuff - pretty easy to take that out for this level). We're planing to do 1.5 year of history rotation starting Jan 2012 using Epi Kardia 3rd-5th, then do the middle years 2 x 1.5 years (2 cycles, each 1.5 years). I'll be in touch when the package comes, when I'm planning the lesson, and when we're doing it (next Jan). Pls keep me posted ... especially if you're doing the middle school years.

Singapore Science has My Pals are HEre 5/6 and Interactive Science for 7th and 8th grade. But there's no earth science and the biology is narrower in scope. However, whatever there is very meaty.

Mo2, after using this since early 2010 (or late 2009 ?), I came to conclusion that daily dose of bits of science is better for retention and understanding, even if it's only 20 min daily. Also, doing most, if not all, activities and researching the answers for enrichment questions from the textbook, help understanding. This way, when the student eventually gets to the HOTS book, s/he won't be overwhelmed. IT's also important for the teacher to go through what is in each chapter for each book (not only the textbook) to be able to guide the students to see what concept is important and emphasized. HTH,

Yes, MPH is going to be appropriate for a 9 yo. My son is 9 years and is using this. We use everything except the TM, and the material is challenging enough. HOTS book is a must.

Tress ... we use internet and whatever book we have at home. (if any ..) We only do small research project if prompted by the curriculum.