My 4 and 6 year olds LOVE Starfall. The free content is great, but we subscribed to MoreStarfall ($35/year) just for more stuff (a small talking-library similar to Tumblebooks but more user-friendly), plus math content. My older DD reads the books and plays the phonics games. She loves their talking library, though. Definitely still appropriate for a 1st grader!

ETA: my apologies is 2nd grade SM is different than first...but just in case they are similar.... We're in SM 1A and we really enjoy it. We use the HIG, textbook & workbook. Here's how I structure a lesson: 1. Introduce the concept - I do this with manipulatives + ideas in the HIG. This is a big part of our lesson and the majority of my teaching-time. 2. Guided Practice - this is how I use the textbook. I ask questions about the picture and give DD a chance to demonstrate that she understands how to transfer the hands-on activities we did to paper/pictures 3. Independent Practice - we use the student workbook pages that go with the lesson (though DD is 6, so I sit by her and help her focus or read directions) 4. Review - often a game (they call it "enhancement") from the HIG, though we only do this if we have extra time. Again, I'm not familiar with 2A, so maybe the above isn't applicable.

Same here. And not even those so well...

No one has used this science? Here's a link: http://www.creationstudies.org/curriculum_investigate_possibilities.html

If so, how are the series scheduled? Is it designed to do 1/year or could one do 2 sets in a year? I've looked at samples, read summaries, but I can't seem to find how these are designed to be used... Also, what do you think of the series? They are from the Creation Studies Institute... and they look great to me. How are they in "real life?"

Thanks for the feedback (and saving me some $) :D. I have decided to get the phonics cards (mainly for me to quick reference, etc) but will hold off on the phrases and vocab. cards.

ETA: NEVERMIND! R&S LISTS THE FLASHCARDS USED ON THEIR WEBSITE! I KNOW WHAT I'LL BE MAKING TONIGHT! :D :D I am buying this set 2nd-hand and it does not come with the flash cards and phrase cards. I can see the phrase cards being useful in building fluency... Does the Teacher's Guide actually show/tell what the cards say when they are being used in a lesson, or does it just say something like "use cards 22-34," etc? (If it's the former, I could make my own cards as we come across them in the books...) Did you use the cards? All of them, none of them, just 1 set (phonics, words, phrases)? Thanks for the feedback!

I have a "big picture" plan. Just a rough estimation of how we might continue on through the subjects (particularly history and science, since they are somewhat dependent on what you have/will study). I like to know we have a *flow* that makes sense and I don't miss anything. This is in a Pages file/chart and is tweaked occasionally. ETA: my chart goes all the way to 12th grade for history/science, but I've only filled in a few years for some other subjects (spelling) because I am unsure... :) I also do some yearly planning, before the school year starts. Divided some subjects (character/Bible, handwriting) into 36 weeks, filed them away. For the bulk of our daily learning, I just do the next thing, but look over it weekly and decide what we'll do each day (i.e. Singapore: I just sit down on Sunday, and plan out -- via sticky note on the pages -- which activities/games we'll do.)

We use regular ol' multi-sized rubber bands....

Thanks for all the replies! I think I'll have to play around with my "plans" if I'm going to fit this in somewhere.... :)

Things my 4 yr. old does when I'm working 1:1 with the 6 yr. old: STARFALL (this has been our saving grace, she can do it quite independently, but I can watch her from our workspace to make sure she's okay -- and totally worth the annual extra subscription b/c it has a "talking library" where they can listen to books) Geoboards + rubberbands playdough + laminated playdough "task" mats (found on a blog, printed) Peg stackers Wikisticks magnet play button box pattern blocks legos small toys in the rice box (funnel + cups + My Little Pony = fun!) we have lots of logic games (Camelot Jr., Castle logix, etc) Magnetic Match Rings dot paints Super Sorting Pie She works/plays independently while I do focused time with the oldest, then she knows she gets my undivided attn to do her workbooks (R&S C and I - math) when sis' goes to do her ClicknRead lesson on the computer. :) So far, it's working well for us....

Check out those Pinterest threads.....lots of fun math ideas linked there! (FWIW, we use Singapore & DD says it's our "funnest" subject. I like the built in games, takes some pressure off mommy to produce fun stuff! :D But we are still in the youngest level, IDK what it's like higher up.)

We printed the ones from this thread and my 4 & 6 yr. olds love them! The 4 year old asks to play the "rubber band game" during her free time, LOL.

For those that use the Trail Guides for your history/geography, how are you placing it in the "grand scheme" of things? (I *know* I am not the only one who roughly maps out our years ahead of time!) And I just am having a hard time seeing how I might would use this but still do some classical history (years for ancients, etc.) So, if you don't mind sharing your history outline/schedule, please do! (I won't hold you to it, if you change your mind on it! :D) I just want some rough ideas of how one might incorporate TGtL in our history plan. (And my kids are young, so feel free to start at the very beginning!) THANKS! :)

My 4 and 6 year old like: watercolors Wikisticks (is that what they're called?) unifix cubes pattern blocks our button box (just a big box of buttons) play-dough mats (printed from a blog, laminated) our rice box (with funnels, measuring cups, etc) Learning Resources Super Sorting Pie **LOVE** Geoboards + rubber bands Lincoln Logs Lauri Peg Stacker My 4 yr. old is using the R&S workbooks. We also have CLE Kindergarten II and it looks great and easy to implement. We love the LeapFrog dvds and Starfall (and it's totally worth the $35 to subscribe for a year!)

Unless you think there is a *reason* (other than age) for his handwriting, I say just keep practicing. My DD (6 in June) was struggling with handwriting and she has very little stamina for writing (definitely not up to copying sentences!) She is just now consistently gripping a pencil correctly. I am not doing a formal handwriting program, but what I decided to do was start each day -- while she is still "fresh" -- with practice. She writes the same thing, 1x neatly, each day of a week. (Each week is something different; Wk 1 was her first & last name, Wk 2 was her middle name, Wk 3 her initials, etc.) I keep it short, so she's not overwhelmed. I use 6-lined handwriting paper. I write the word/phrase on line 1. Monday - she copies it on line 2. Tuesday - line 3 etc. On Friday, she chooses the line with the neatest writing and puts a sticker next to it. I sit right beside and correct (by modeling on my own paper) whenever I see she is forming something wrong.

http://www.singaporemath.com/Primary_Math_Home_Instr_Guide_4A_p/pmhig4a.htm 4B has a separate guide...

What were you looking at? We're currently using it and I LOVE it (mainly because DD loves it and that's what matters. Well, that and she's learning :).) I guess it's teacher intensive but not any more than any other math program, if you are taking the time to actually teach the content and play reinforcing games/etc... We use: the Home Instructors Guide (HIG) -- has a weekly schedule and activities/games to teach & reinforce each lesson the textbook -- for guided practice (we discuss, demonstrate with manipulatives) and talk about the silly pictures (you could skip this part, I guess, but DD gets a kick out of them...) the workbook -- for (fairly) independent practice I also bought the Math Sprints book for weekly (or so) speed drills... and CWP for after we finish 1A/1B.

My daughter and I are loving Singapore. I mean, just absolutely loving it. The layout is perfect for her. So I couldn't help but think: is there a phonics program with this sort of layout??? (We're really struggling to find a phonics program that fits us.) With Singapore we: start with hands-on manipulatives to intro the concept move on to visual examples in the textbook, discuss them do some fun, kid-friendly activity pages with a variety of activities, some writing, some coloring, but never a whole lot (she loved matching # bonds for Mr. Eight/Mr. Nine/Mr. Ten!) Finish with a game to reinforce (or sometimes we do this later in the day or the next day for review)... See what I mean? We hit ONE concept multiple ways in the lesson, some kinesthetic, some visual, etc. Anyone know of a phonics program that is similar? For example, starting with hands-on (letter tiles, white board), moving on to (I don't know) maybe practice reading, then a corresponding phonics workbook page, and finishing with a game? Doesn't that sound great? (I guess AAR would be close, but we just didn't click with it... :() Any other suggestions?

Yep. And guess what I've been doing alllllll day......... :drool:

LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing! I'm constantly amazed at all the creative ideas floating around out there!!!

Someone has this (older edition) on the swap/sale forum for $25..... (or they did!)

LOL, we plan on doing SOTW in a couple of years, when lil' sis can tag on more. :) Thought of some other phonics recs: McRuffy (which looks very cute, was on my contender list) Saxon Horizons (who knows... if she likes their math, she may like their phonics) the Spalding spin-offs (which I know nothing about) IEW's PAL Phonics Pathways

Very lovely! They remind me of the We Choose Virtues cards a bit (obviously, not the same and you have many more). Almost makes me wish I was a HOD user. :tongue_smilie:

Well, I'd debate whether a first grader needs SOTW...but I guess this isn't the place for it... :p I think the popular contenders for phonics programs are: ETC, AAR, OPGTR. (My DD uses none of the above... :D. We will be using Adventures in Phonics, Starfall/moreStarfall, ClicknRead) Your friend could also include: Science (the WTM recommends a study of animals, human body & plants; we're using a textbook as a spine but adding on library books/experiments) Art Handwriting (lots of people like HWT for remedial stuff, we just do our own simple copywork each morning with a focus on letter formation) Writing (WWE is the WTM rec) Spelling (AAS gets a lot of talk) Grammar (FLL is popular) My bright DD doesn't yet read well; we are choosing to wait on formal spelling, grammar and writing until 2nd grade... So, our complete curriculum is math (we love Singapore), phonics/reading, science, handwriting, and then a year-long Little House study (with history, geography, science, & art elements).