Out of curiosity, I looked at two of them today -- The Boy Who Cried Wolf and Baa Baa Black Sheep. As readers, they are colorful with an easy-to-read font on glossy pages (all of which I like!). However, I couldn't see at all how they would connect with a math curriculum. They just looked like another set of early readers. HTH!

Mother of Divine Grace offers some services where your student works with a teacher (described here). This is Laura Berquist's organization. I haven't used any of their services, but would strongly consider doing so if I wanted to outsource some upper-level courses. Another one I've heard of is Hewitt Homeschooling Resources, where students enroll in a class and have their papers graded & returned via email. HTH!

When we did the medieval period a few years ago, I made an Excel spreadsheet of a bunch of resources, with over 30 hyperlinks to things like the online books and free audiobooks on librivox. There might be a few things out of date and other things I just missed, but I'd be happy to email to anyone who wants it. Just let me know (email or PM)! (I'm about to go back to work, so it might be later tonight before I can send anything.)

We used the AG mainly for things other than the hands-on activities...primarily used it for the discussion questions, guided narrations, maps, and timeline cards. Dd did some of the coloring pages, but we pretty much skipped all of the hands-on activities and games. A friend used it solely for the booklists, both the suggested history books and literature books. These are books in addition to the ones listed in WTM. She loved it!

I'm pretty sure the 3rd edition worksheets don't align with the 2nd edition text. Though if you really wanted, you could probably match up the topics yourself. I haven't used BJU math but work part-time at a store that sells it; the 3rd edition looks a whole lot better than the 2nd, IMO...better-looking layout, fonts, colors, etc. Also, the 3rd edition has colorful cardstock manipulatives, which I like (and I haven't seen any for the 2nd edition). The content is probably not vastly different. HTH!

I had come across a used copy of the Chalkdust pre-algebra textbook for $25. My strong preference would have to been to have the DVDs and the solutions manual, but we couldn't afford them at the time ds was doing pre-algebra. So we just used the text by itself --- I usually previewed the next topic (ideally the night before). During our lesson time, ds first read through the section, usually independently, and then we worked through some problems together. Then, he worked a few problems while I watched, to make sure he was on the right track. And then he did his homework assignment for the day. I checked his work with the answers in the back of the book, and we usually went over the corrections together. My textbook, an older edition, only has the answers to the odd-numbered problems, so I assigned only the odd-numbered problems of the exercises. If ds needed more practice on a topic, then I'd assign some of the even-numbered ones. I had to work these out myself to get the answers. So, yes, it can be done, but it's a little more time-consuming. HTH!

I read somewhere that for most people groups during ancient times, pretty much everyone was lactose-intolerant. And then sometime before the early middle ages, there was a genetic mutation that enabled one particular people group to digest cow's milk products -- they were the Norse/Scandinavian/Viking people, or at least one group of them. And now that they were able to have this new source of protein (which was relatively easy to obtain/maintain), they experienced a population boom, which led to them seeking new lands, etc. Over time, this genetic lactose-tolerance spread to other people, primarily in western Europe. But it didn't really spread to far away places, like East Asia.

We used the following (except the first one, which came out after my kids were older) when the kids were in the early-reader stage: The Beginner's Bible for Toddlers The Rhyme Bible for Toddlers The Beginner's Bible The Rhyme Bible My First Bible in Pictures (by Kenneth Taylor) The Early Reader's Bible Egermeier's Bible Storybook Arch series of Bible stories (individual softcovers) They also had their own Bible, in large-font, for occasionally looking up verses but not for the main daily reading. HTH!

...and used it for dd a few years later, too: - wood pieces set for capital letters (IMO, these weren't worth the price) - (made the mat with an 8-1/2x11 sheet of cardstock and a smiley face sticker) - slate chalkboard - (used small wet pieces of paper towel instead of the sponge cube) - student book, Letters and Numbers for Me - teacher book - (photocopied the gray block paper as needed, maybe about 5 copies for the year) - wide double-lined notebook paper Back then, they didn't have nearly as many products for sale as they do now. It was before public schools adopted the HWT program, so they were pretty small-scale. HTH!

I made an Excel spreadsheet based on Sonlilght's week-at-a-time schedule. You can see it at googledocs here (sorry, I don't know how to make it show up here). It took time to fill it out every weekend, before Monday, but it really helped the kids know what to work on. If you're interested, I can email the excel doc to you. :)

This is the same thing ds had trouble with. And we had used the PM series where I aligned a lot of additional assignments with IP, CWP, and sometimes Extra Practice as well. I think what he needed, by around 5th grade, was to do 20-30 problems of the same format (massive repetition) in order to remember the steps/procedures beyond one or two weeks. And while SM provided a wide variety of interesting problems within a topic to solve, usually there were only 4 to 8 of each kind. So he was great at solving complex problems, and not so great at remembering the steps for the basic things like dividing fractions, etc. So after he completed PM-5B, I had him do Chalkdust Basic Math 6, which is a traditional math textbook with something like 80 to 100 problems per topic, and usually of the same format. Although the content of the Basic Math text was mostly all review, ds said it really helped him memorize the steps better by having to solve 20-30 of the same kind of problem each day. So it served as a review/reinforcement text. Then he did PM-6, and then the first half of NEM-1 (because I already owned it and couldn't buy any new stuff at the time), then the new topics of Chalkdust Pre-algebra text which is also a traditional U.S. math textbook. Now he's no longer at home but attended private school last year for the first time, where he took the algebra class. As I expected, he was great at learning concepts, but it took several weeks for him to get used to showing all of his work. :) But he worked hard and made A's throughout the year. I think compared to his peers at school, he seems to be strong in solving complex problems. And I know that comes from SM, especially the IP series. So one option is to get a few IP books and assign some problems from them every now and then, with whatever math curriculum you're using. I think SWB might have suggested doing this when I heard her at a local homeschool conference. HTH!

...using plastic color tiles. Using a Sharpie, I wrote the numbers on them..."1" on the blue tiles, "10" on the red tiles, etc. The ones you linked look better since they have more than 4 colors! However, I don't remember feeling like I was missing out by not having any tiles higher than 1000. We used the place-value tiles more than the base-10 blocks in various games and activities suggested in the SM Teacher's Guides, primarily in levels 3 through 5. And we've used PM-1 through PM-6. If you don't do any of the suggested activities or games in the HIGs or TGs, then you probably won't need the disks at all. An alternative to the disks might be to use real money -- pennies, dimes, dollar coins. You could get by with that for awhile! You could probably use the base-10 blocks for some of the games, but after awhile, I think you'd need more 100s and 1000s than you might have in your block set. Plus, the games move faster when you're working with a little disk or tile instead of the the 100-flat. HTH!

We use CWP at the same level, however I usually assign only about half of the problems in the topic (about half of the practice problems, and half of the challenging). With IP, it depends on the topic. For many topics, I'll assign about 2/3 of the entire unit (e.g., fractions), especially since we're already doing some CWP word problems in that topic. The rest we leave undone; some problems might be assigned later for extra review, but most don't get done at all. Usually, the reviews in the Workbooks and Textbooks are plenty. HTH!

It might be worth it if you want to do a timed test (like 45 min. or 1 hour) where it says how many points each problem is worth. But otherwise, you'd be just as well off using the Textbook or Workbook, or even the IP, though the IP is a higher level of difficulty than the TB or WB. The IPs have a mid-year review or something like that at the end of each book, which is set up much like the tests we've used (My Pals Are Here series and Federal Test Papers). And on these, I'm pretty sure that getting 75% or more correct is considered an A. I think the Federal Test Papers series is out of print, at least in the U.S., and I don't know where you could find My Pals Are Here. For the Standards Edition tests, the percentages are probably more like the U.S. system, where 90% is an A. I think they're about the same level of difficulty as the problems in the Workbook & Textbook. Singaporemath.com carries the Standards Edition tests. HTH!

(some of this is from a previous post about CD math) Just so you have the background, here's the overall sequence: PM-1 through PM-5 (I think ds did PM-5B in the fall of 6th grade) Chalkdust Basic Math 6 (skipped chapters 6 & 7 on business applications and statistics/probability) -- started this in the middle of 6th grade and worked through part of the summer PM-6 (but faster than the earlier levels of PM, using less IP, CWP & tests) NEM-1 (first several chapters; none of the geometry chapters) Chalkdust Pre-algebra (textbook only), selected portions At the beginnning of ds's 7th grade year, we started with PM-6A. We finished with CD Pre-algebra, but only doing the new material in the book. We did something like this (CD Pre-algebra, 2nd edition): In Chapter 1 Whole Numbers, we skipped everything except "solving equations with whole numbers" and problems with variables. We did all of Chapter 2, Integers. In Chapters 3 and 4, Fractions and Decimals, we just did the problems with negative numbers and/or variables. We did all of Chapter 5, Variable Expressions and Chapter 6, First-Degree Equations. For Chapter 7, Measurement and Proportion, we did it the same as we did Chapters 3 and 4. I don't think we even got to Chapter 8, Percent! And we skipped the geometry chapter and the statistics/probability chapter because we ran out of time. We kind of had to fly through the CD Pre-algebra text, picking out only the new stuff to do, because we didn't start it til nearly the end of ds's 7th grade year, maybe the end of April or beginning of May. And he was preparing for the admissions test in June to go to school for 8th grade. Basically, I wanted him to be ready to start algebra in the fall. It worked out fine, but I would've preferred to have worked more slowly through the CD Pre-algebra text. HTH!

When we started PM-1 about 8 years ago, no tests were available in the PM series; so, I didn't check off "tests" in the poll. However, I separately purchased other Singapore Math test books...Federal Test Papers for Primary Mathematics (for mid-terms & finals), My Pals Are Here! Tests (for unit tests), Ace It! Maths Test Papers. They don't exactly match up with the sequence of topics in the PM series, so it was a bit awkward to use. I'm sure the Standards Edition Tests is much easier to use with the corresponding Standards series. I gave tests starting in PM-1 and up through PM-6. I didn't give tests for any other subject in 1st grade; I figured some math tests should be okay. HTH!

Before FIAR....at least I found it in time to use it with the younger child! The FIAR series taught me how to teach with literature, at least for the younger ages. Other favorite recommended reads (for the mom): For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay: This gave me the paradigm shift I needed regarding what I thought education should be. The Well-Trained Mind: Reading this made me believe I actually might be able to teach my child some amazing stuff! Plus there are excellent book/lit lists and curriculum recommendations. Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Picks: This contains curriculum descriptions, too, and also a lot of helpful info regarding learning styles. :)

Just so you have the background, here's the overall sequence: PM-1 through PM-5 Chalkdust Basic Math 6 (skipped chapters 6 & 7 on business applications and statistics/probability) -- started this in the middle of 6th grade PM-6 (but faster than the earlier levels of PM, using less IP & CWP) NEM-1 (first several chapters; none of the geometry chapters) Chalkdust Pre-algebra (textbook only), selected portions For CD Basic Math 6, I have the complete set with DVDs. But for the CD pre-algebra, I only have the older hardcover textbook. There's some overlap in content between CD BM-6 and CD Pre-alg, which I wanted to skip. So we focused on doing the new stuff...stuff with integers (negative numbers), solving equations (wherever there's a variable), and exponents. We did something like this (CD Pre-algebra, 2nd edition): In Chapter 1 Whole Numbers, we skipped everything except "solving equations with whole numbers" and problems with variables. We did all of Chapter 2, Integers. In Chapters 3 and 4, Fractions and Decimals, we just did the problems with negative numbers and/or variables. We did all of Chapter 5, Variable Expressions and Chapter 6, First-Degree Equations. For Chapter 7, Measurement and Proportion, we did it the same as we did Chapters 3 and 4. I don't think we even got to Chapter 8, Percent! And we skipped the geometry chapter and the statistics/probability chapter because we ran out of time. We kind of had to fly through the CD Pre-algebra text, picking out only the new stuff to do, because we didn't start it til nearly the end of ds's 7th grade year, maybe the end of April or beginning of May. And he was getting ready to take the admissions test in June to go to school for 8th grade. It worked out fine, but you may want to include more review. HTH!

The Grades 4-6 Book 1 is pretty much all drawing (pencil, marker, scratch art). And from what I remember, no colored pencils or markers, either. I'd definitely recommend any of the K-3rd level books for a 3rd grader. This level has a wider variety of art media instruction, including painting, working with modeling clay, cutting paper. If you look at the art packs sold at the Artistic Pursuits website, you can get an idea of what they'll be using for each book. Then for the 4th grade year, you could either use another K-3 book or, if your child has a strong interest in drawing, use the Gr. 4-6 Book 1. I'm sure you could call the Ellises and they'd be able to give great advice! HTH!

...for K-2nd starting this fall. This is our church's private school he attended for the first time last year. I think they plan to bump it up a grade each year after this coming year, maybe up to 5th or so? It'll be interesting to see how it goes, though I won't be able to find out with my own kids since they're too old now. One of the experienced 3rd grade teachers said she'd looked at Math in Focus and thought it didn't have quite enough drill, but that she could easily add that in. In fact, she normally adds stuff to whatever math curriculum she's using anyway, so it was nothing unusual. The textbooks are very colorful and kinda glossy pages...visually appealing (of course, the color ink makes the price higher).

My son really enjoyed The Hidden Treasure of Glaston a few years ago. I remember it being one of his favorites that he had read that semester (6th grade).