:iagree: Dh took a significant pay cut when we moved from SF to TX, but we have a much more comfortable life here despite adding two dc to the family.

I'm glad there are multiple options out there so we can choose the one that fits our family best. My dc tend to identify cartoon-like illustrations with fiction.

I definitely want to emphatically agree with boscopup about the levels vs. grades. Your ds is old enough to understand the distinction. Arithmetic is arithmetic...grade levels are artificial. Singapore is designed to be taught. It isn't an independent program. With that said, my oldest intuits math concepts and rarely needs instruction at this point. We do go over the textbook together, but I don't usually need to teach him. Mostly, I just answer his questions. He does the workbook independently, but I'm available for questions. He also does the mental math exercises, IP, and CWP independently. Ds6 needs instruction and encouragement. He picks it up easily and I would call him a strong math student, but he doesn't intuit the concepts like ds8. He still does the workbook and IP independently. I anticipate helping him more with CWP when we get there.

I don't know if I qualify for this. I use it as a supplement to WWE. I like it, but it seems way too skimpy to me to be a full writing program. I do like the ease and independence it has, but could not use it as the sole source of writing instruction. As a supplement to get a reluctant writer writing a bit more some days, it works. BUT...ds8 easily started in WWW3 this year. Ds6 is doing WWW1 and there's nothing that a 2nd grader would miss.

:iagree: Another lefty here with a lefty dh and a lefty ds6. Ds8 thinks he's special as a righty :lol:. I really think some overthink teaching lefties and, unfortunately, lower their standards. It is a righty world, but we learn to adapt. I will say that I personally hate backwards slanted writing and won't let my lefty do it. I don't mind straight up and down, so I'd encourage that since he can do it. I didn't learn to properly slant my letters until jr. high or high school, but never slanted backwards thanks to a lefty 4th grade teacher with high standards. I always had ink on my hand in school...that's just how it was. I learned to cope eventually and don't smear now that I'm an adult.

I love Lauri toys for my preschoolers! Ds4 has been has known his letters and numbers to 20 for over a year now and we still use Lauri toys everyday. I've been known to push MFW toddler and preschool packages on this board because they are such a good collection of them. Great for developing motor skills too.

My favorite activity for working on motor skills is a salt box. My 4yo will sit at the table with us and work on letter formation while his brothers are doing school. I even taught ds6 his cursive letter formation with it last year in K. It's a great little tool for non-writers.

This thread is from 2008 so that could account for the disparity.

I started it in 1st even for my very advanced LA student (ds6). I could have started it much earlier with him, but I wanted to do it alongside WWE1 and also wanted to keep his K year clutter free. We focus hard on handwriting and starting Spell to Write and Read in K. Then again, this kid remembers everything from 1 and 2 from listening in to big brother so we're really hitting the poem memorization hard and using the lessons as review.

This is why I don't combine. I have had similar experiences with all the cores I've done. I do SL to have great discussions with my dc and I can't do that if the dc is too young for the material. For instance, I did Core A when my oldest was 6. My next oldest was 4 and loved listening in, but didn't get the meat of the program. When we read Twenty and Ten, we talked about WWII, the Jewish people living in Europe, the Nazis, Israel, why the Nazis were killing Jewish people, etc. It was such an amazing learning experience for my oldest. The 4yo just didn't get any of that, but he liked the story. Trying to TOG'ize SL would take way too much time and tweaking for the ages of your dc, IMHO. The couple of friends that I have that we're SL'ers and wanted to combine many kids (4-6 dc) switched to TOG. One still takes a break to do Core F every few years because she loves it so much.

I would try to go back a level in CWP. That way he can work on the word problems but not be challenged by the actual math. Maybe that will give him confidence in deciphering the problem and gradually improve with the problem solving. You can skip the challenging ones as the PP said if needed and maybe go back to them as he gets better. The practice problems are about workbook level or easier. CWP also gives instruction on how to use the bar model for each type of problem in the example section. That's how ds8 and I learned it before getting to PM3B.

They are too cartoony and creepy to me. We do own it and the boys have read it, but it is my least favorite children's Bible in the house. I much prefer the more lifelike pictures in The Bible in Pictures.

Ds6 was a very early self-taught reader. I'm using SWR with him as I did my oldest. He's still getting phonics with the added bonus of spelling without having to be dragged through a boring learn-to-read program.

I've never posted on one of these threads before, but hopefully it'll keep me motivated. I'm finally committed to getting the last 10 lbs of baby weight off and am doing another half marathon in Nov. Week 2 of training: Today: 2.0 mile run (went SLOW as it super humid) Tues: Crossfit Wed: 1 mile time trial + slow 1.5 mile Thurs: Yoga Fri: Crossfit Sat: 5-miler Hope everyone meets their goals for the week.

The Rod and Staff ABC series should fit and it is inexpensive.

I got the same thing just now.

You will have to read the red book ;). Here is a website that really helped me whe I first started: http://www.swrtraining.com/id26.html. Really listen to the advice to make your own teacher's logbook. That was the most helpful thing I did! The sample schedules in the back of the book give you a good idea of what your days will look like. I created a schedules for my K'ers and 1st graders to help me the first couple of years (I'm willing to share if you are interested), but I don't need to do that anymore. The program's completely open-and-go for me these days.

My 3rd grader doesn't have separate handwriting. However, he started cursive at the beginning of 1st grade and doesn't need practice with letter formation. I just tell him that if he doesn't write neatly, he can redo the assignment. That's all the motivation he needs. What do you mean by LA? To me that means writing, grammar, reading, spelling and vocabulary. WWE would only provide the writing portion for me. We round it out by using FLL, SWR, BL, and SL's Readers.

I did the Gladiator in June and it was fun. I'm doing a half marathon again in Nov and then the Tough Mudder is next on my list. It looks fun! My mud partner isn't too keen on running the long course and my running partner doesn't want to get dirty! I'm gonna have to convince one of them to do it with me :D. I agree with the PP. so much mud everywhere!

Both private schools and homeschoolers are unregulated here in Tx. I'm not sure how they'd figure out which were which here, either.

We do CWP after finishing both books for the level. Ds8 is just starting CWP 4 after finishing PM4B. Doing it that way has made CWP a nice review and allowed him to solve the challenging sections independently. I taught ds8 the bar method as we went and let him to choose when he wanted to use it. Since we use c-rods extensively, he liked the bar method. I would often draw his bars for him since that was hard for him for awhile.

You could start Singapore PM (both my olders have started it in K), but I found that Earlybird (sounds like what you're using) left a big gap before PM 1A. I'd definitely second the Miquon suggestion.

I'd recommend 101 Favorite Stories from the Bible By Ura Miller (prob too advanced for your 2yo, but great for the 4yo) or, The Bible in Pictures by Kenneth Taylor (right in between your dc) The content of the Jesus Storybook Bible is good but I hate the pictures. YMMV. I love the Storybook Bible by Vos and Egermeier's but they are probably too advanced for your dc. I use Egermeier's at 5-6yo and Vos at 6-7yo depending on the boy.

Kailua and Donut House Coconut Mocha. It's a tie...don't make me choose :D. Seriously, if you haven't tried the Kailua...DO IT! My dc love the hot chocolate. It is pretty rich so I water it down for them. Maybe they just have low expectations for hot cocoa. They just convinced me to buy apple cider kcups so we'll see how those are. And yes, it is still in the high 90's here in SA :tongue_smilie: Dh and I aren't really gadgety people but the Keurig was a nice Mother's Day gift to me. Anything to make momma happy in the morning.

No matter which program you select, make sure you have your ds take a placement test. The Horizons sample for book 1 is from lesson 1. Horizons starts with review and ramps up quickly so lesson one isn't a very good indicator of content. Singapore hits multiplication pretty hard starting in 2A IIRC. If your son isn't placed correctly, you two may hate a program that would work great for him otherwise. I agree with boscopup about ignoring the number on the bookend meet him where he is. You're right, there is a pretty big disparity in grade levels between programs. FWIW, my boys have never complained about the cartoons in Singapore.