Welcome! My dc are the same ages within a few months (when this baby arrives in a few weeks, anyway). :D

My dc aren't overweight (genetically, closer to underweight but healthy) and they eat like this all the time. It isn't in the interest of weight control but just being healthy and taught healthy habits. We do have other health problems that crop up in our family later on (cholesterol, cancer, and heart disease) so we all try to eat in a healthy manner. The biggest difference for us is that I don't give my dc anything sugar-free. I don't have any idea what artificial sweeteners do to little bodies. They do get sweets occasionally bit it's the real thing. Mostly, they eat A LOT of fruit.

I agree with the others...read a lot of books aloud to him, work on motor skills for writing (salt box, chalk, cutting, etc.), and play math games. Throw in some ETC. Have fun! Then, get a fresh start next year. Even first grade is low on intensity so you can ease into it with the new baby. Use the time to research curricula. Singapore has been great for my mathy guy. We'll have a new baby in the next month or so and I'm letting go of school expectations for awhile. Taking some time off won't ruin my first grader.

We are really enjoying it and planning on doing Physics I starting in June.

Check out Noeo Science. The SL science calls out to me too because of the books but I don't like bouncing around so much between topics. Noeo is similar but focuses on a single discipline each year. They cycle through chemistry, biology, and physics. Unfortunately, they don't have astronomy but split it up into the three other topics (mostly physics). We're doing Chem I right now and like it a lot. I'm planning on adding the Apologia books in future years just because we can't get enough science around here.

Singapore has a small textbook and a workbook (2 per level). It isn't manipulative heavy but the Home Instructor's Guide (HIG) provides instructions and activities on how to use manipulatives and games to teach and reinforce the lessons. I've found Cuisenaire Rods and Base Ten blocks to be very helpful in teaching it. It is a mastery program but not in the same sense as MUS. Each unit deals with a different concept and teaches it to mastery. The units for each book are listed in the TOCs on the website. There are reviews scattered in between the units to review the concepts learned. The HIG also provides mental math sheets for practice. Mental math is emphasized in Singapore. There are several extra books that can go along with the main program: extra practice, intensive practice, and challenging word problems. Most strong math students won't need the EP. I know that many on this board use the IP which stretches the students to use the skills taught in more advanced ways. We use a lot of other math programs and supplements so I don't use it. I sternly recommend the challenging word problems, though. IME, they are a great addition to the program and nearly mandatory. They are challenging so I've found it better to do CWP when we finish the entire year's material. Ie, we did CWP 2 after finishing 2B and before staring 3A. Some also will use CWP a year behind and incorporate a few problems each day. As a side note, Miquon goes really well with Singapore as a fun enrichment. It uses Cuisenaire Rods and is a low-intensity way for dc to explore math.

Yay!! One of our favorite books!

:iagree: also, Miquon is a lot of fun for my mathy guy. He gets to explore math concepts before we'd typically get to them in other curricula.

:iagree: if I had to count hours, I'd be pretty liberal as to what would count, not unethical but liberal. We do a lot of things here that have educational value outside of seat work.

Not equal time here. It really depends on the day. LA is pretty set since we have the same schedule each week but math varies widely. I think you're normal.

Close to me :D

:iagree: We also tend to move on as we finish something. It is easy to see how my ds is doing with the material since I'm working with him each day. I would say that he's above average in math and possibly in reading and spelling. He can read at a 4th-5th grade level but I've met and heard about a lot of 1st graders reading at that level. He prefers to read books at the 3rd grade level for fun because the content interests him. My ds4 is another animal. He was a very early reader but since he's still a preschooler, I don't count it as anything to do with hsing. I didn't teach him, he just figured it out. We also operate similarly to the PP. My ds is a 1st grader. Just because his reading level is high, I don't require him to analyze what he's reading or write about it. He's doing great with the copywork and narration in WWE and I see no need to accelerate it. He does do more math than the average 1st grader but he enjoys it and it comes easily for him. We are still working on catching up to his real level (don't want to skip anything for fear of gaps). I anticipate he'll slow down a bit when we get there. Until then, I make sure to add a lot of fun stuff like Miquon and Zaccaro's PCM. Customization is a huge advantage of hsing for me.

I always make my ds write out the problems or I scribe it for him. Even if the problem is super easy and he knows the answer (which happens a lot), the problem gets written down. I would rather him get in the habit of writing down his work while the problems are easy. My ds is very intuitive when it come to math and sometimes has to think about the problem harder than the answer. The main reason I'm so strict on this is that I tutor high school and college students. One of the main issues I see is that the students don't write their work down properly. It causes a lot of problems and I spend a lot of time remediating that skill before we can cover the other math topics. I'm starting at the most basic level with my ds so it won't be such a shock when we get to harder problems. I'm already seeing it pay off as we dive deeper into CWP.

Just wanted to point out that groceries are cheaper here in TX than when we lived in CA (Bay Area). Dh took a big paycut to move here but cost of living is much cheaper...and housing's just the tip of the iceberg. That'll affect your household budget for sure. One thing that helped me was to plan meals, buy in bulk, and freeze (ala Dream Dinners but much cheaper). A lot of my food budget was going in the trash in the form of spoiled food. Now, I pick about 4-6 meals for the month and just rotate through. Just about everything's in the meal kit besides a few pantry items so I just defrost and cook. It doesn't even take long to prepare the meals for freezing as I'm not cooking them. That also keeps me from heading to the store so often and spending that extra $$ on little things. When I do go, I keep my eyes focused on the perishables (fruit, veggies, and dairy) and get out.

We just started I Can Do All Things from HGTA and are loving it. This particular program is more technique-based but he has others. I bought the DVDs so art would get done and someone else would teach it. So far so good. I even copied the pages and bought marker cards for myself to do it with ds. We're having a blast. One thing that's nice is that the lessons don't need to be done in order. In fact, Mr. stebbing recommends that you switch between drawing, markers, and painting so the dc don't get bored.

We're only coming up on the end of our 2nd year so take it for what it's worth... It seems like there is a big difference in switching content vs. skill subjects. I was fortunate to pick great curricula all around for ds6 last year but I wouldn't hesitate to choose something different for history, science, art, logic, or geography if I found something that looked better than what we're using. It would take some significant reasons to switch LA or math, though. We do have some leeway hsing from the beginning. There's a lot of forgiveness in the early grades. Ha! I don't hop, I just add. :D

I agree with the others that 2 hrs is plenty for a 6yo. I just finished Core K with my 6yo and it was a great fit. We started Core 1 today. My 6yo is on a similar reading level as yours. He can read pretty much whatever he wants but chooses to read Boxcar Children-type books for fun reading. It sounds like SL Readers 2 Adv would be perfect for your ds. We're going through Readers 2 Int right now and they are very easy. Neither one of us mind and he enjoys the stories so we'll stick with it til he finishes. He reads a lot so it isn't a subject I'm too concerned about. When choosing fun/independent reading, I usually hit up the 1000 good books list, Honey for a Child's Heart, or Jim Treleases RA Handbook for ideas. Are you on the SL forums? There's got to be a list in the Core 5 forum with book ideas for younger dc.

Thanks, that really does explain it.

The US HIGs also break it down for the teacher. Like you, I don't use the teacher helps much but they are there. Still wondering what the differences are...

Bummer. I'm curious to the differences as well.

US Ed does all this as well. I know Spycar has seen both so maybe he will chime in. I've use the US Ed and really like the HIG but haven't seen the STD Ed to compare.

Dh and I have been on every lifestyle type diet out there, I think. :tongue_smilie: South Beach remains the easiest for us to stick to and modify for our bodies. The Zone was too strict for us to do long term...life gets in the way. With SB, I never do Phase 1 and stick to Phase 2&3. Dh never goes to Phase 3 and will do Phase 1 for a week or two when he needs to get back on track (after holiday or birthday seasons). My body needs and handles more carbs than his. Dh has found that his body loves Paleo but that another program that he can't sustain long term (seems his dw can't cook w/o cheese and beans:confused:). He does enjoy the benefits whenever his gym has a challenge. It's been interesting to see how different our bodies are despite the fact that we have similar metabolisms and both workout a lot.

:iagree: One of my good friends also hs but because she's called to do it and not because she's interested in education. She does a great job but her school looks a lot different than mine. I've actually become her consultant and researcher which is fun for me. I have a feeling she'd be an advocate for her dc if they were in ps but not a thorn in the teacher's side. Me on the other hand...:001_huh:.

I think she should wait until she's comfortable with the d&c or spontaneously m/c. I had to have d&cs with both of my m/c because there was no evidence my body was going to do it. However, I waited until I was satisfied that the babies weren't viable. That was about three weeks both times. The first time I had to fight the OB as they wanted to schedule the surgery the day after my first u/s but this last time my OB (different state) said that she would do whatever I was comfortable with including more u/s and waiting. Because we waited, dh and I were fine with the d&cs. We still miss those babies but it's no different than if I spontaneously miscarried.

It took us 6-8 weeks and that's only because we were doing Horizons and Miquon at the same time. I don't think that the multiplication and division units are very important in 1B but I wouldn't move on unless the addition and subtraction units have been mastered.