Clyde Robert Bulla books are great too. They start around a 2nd grade reading level but great content for the age.

Graet idea!

:iagree: I bought and never found it useful.

Good point. Being pg and having a toddler and preschooler along with my 1st grader certainly shapes our days. I also refuse to school during rest time. I have a feeling 1st grade will look very different for each of my dc since our dynamics will change each year.

:iagree: I've had three smallish babies <7lbs and we go through 1 reg package of newborn diapers before going into 1s. My last one just used up the newborn diapers the hospital gave us and went directly into 1s. We don't start buying cases until they start wearing size 2. When people have wanted to bless us with our last baby and the one I'm pg with atm, they've given us gift cards for diapers instead of an actual package. Perfect gift! My favorite kind of sling is a pouch sling. There are several on the market. It's very easy for mom to use.

Horizons 1 moved soooo slow for us. I wish I'd done what you're doing now. I started doing exactly what you're doing that during the first half of Horizons 2 because my ds had all of the concepts mastered. Once we hit multiplication, we slowed back down to our normal accelerated pace. I love using Horizons but we have to make it work for us. I will be so much better prepared for my next ds :001_smile:.

Just thinking out loud with you... Maybe you are going too slow with her. Math got much better for us this year when we got to harder topics. My ds has gone through Singapore PM 1A-2B + CWP, Horizons K-2, and Miquon Orange-Blue since we started Kindy last year and is still keeping that pace. His attitude has improved tremendously as we've advanced conceptually. I now realize that I started him too low. He hadn't had any formal math before then and I had no idea he was so math-intuitive. He has loved Miquon and Singapore from the beginning but Horizons was torture at first. We ended up accelerating quickly through K and 1 and the whining disappeared when we got to the second half of Horizons 2. Like I said, I don't make him do all the problems in Horizons. I use Singapore as our teaching math and Horizons as review. Once he had quick recall on his addition and subtraction facts, I would only make him do 2-4 addition/subtraction problems in each lesson to keep the concepts fresh and all the problems on each test. Now he's into multiplication and has to do all of the multiplication problems until he has them down. In this sense, Horizons is reinforcing what we're learning in Singapore. It isn't often that Horizons teaches a major concept before Singapore. We just ran into that with time but my ds can tell time just fine so he'll finish that unit in 2 days and move on. Miquon is great for challenging dc and might be a good fit for you. It presents concepts in different ways and much sooner before other curricula. My ds loves that he can explore fractions in-depth, find factors, etc. He does it independently (with me alongside to expand on a topic or point out a pattern if needed). I let him choose whatever he wants to do each day. We usually do it last as a treat after he's done his 'real' math work. Dh is always amazed when I show him what ds6 has been working on in Miquon.

My ds does just love math but I'm interested in others' answers as I add in future students. He does balk at easy stuff which is usually in Horizons. My standard answer to that is that if it is easy, you should be able to finish quickly. I do make him do every problem in Singapore and Miquon but not all of each Horizons lesson. He only does a few problems from concepts he's already mastered.

She is vey active on the SWR yahoo group so you might see her around there also.

:iagree: I originally started doing two math programs with my oldest because he was so advanced and I wanted to slow him down while broadening his knowledge instead of speeding through levels. Now that we're into it, I see the benefits for all of my dc. I now plan to use the Singapore/CWP/Miquon/Horizons combo with all of them adjusting the pace and workload as needed. I'm not sure if my others will use Zaccaro's Primary Challenge Math but I'll keep it on the shelf once ds6 is finished.

We take about an hour to do the basics (math and LA) and another hour (minimum) of reading aloud everyday. Those are mandatory. Depending on the day, attitudes, schedules, etc. we could spend up to an hour doing electives (science, Latin, logic, geography). We get most of our electives done on Monday and Friday since we tend to stY home on those days unless we do a field trip on Friday.

We do like doing a lot of whiteboard work too. It does make it a lot faster. My ds also likes that he can use any color of marker. It's the little things, right? I got my ds a personal whiteboard to use with SWR but it has come in handy for our other subjects too.

Like pp have said, they expect you to do the extra work as needed. One thing I like about Singapore is that you learn and then memorize number bonds up to 10 (as in 9+1=10) and then you're done for addition and subtraction. After that they learn strategies to use those number bonds to find larger sums and differences. This method works well for my ds since memorization isn't his strong suit. We didn't actually drill the early number bonds, just practiced using them and demonstrating them with C Rods until they were mastered. We've had to add more drill/practice to get multiplication tables down (Horizons abs provide most of this for me). I started using the HIG when we got to 2A which spells out what needs to be mastered when.

I went back the 1A to see what you were talking about. From what you're describing, it sounds like you might benefit from taking a break and reviewing number bonds until your dd has them down solid. Number bonds will keep coming up as you progress and not mastering them will make 1B very difficult. In both examples, a thorough mastery of number bonds is the key. The student should be able to look at the problems and recall the number bonds to answer the question. In the case of the columns, the student is expected to see the pattern (which is why they have the first three filled in) and complete the rest.

This is a good reminder that times are very dependent on the environment. We could definitely get through much faster if I put limits on our conversation and I might have to in the future as I add more students. My ds is chatty and has antecdotes to share for each and every word we dictate (which is why we switched to dictation over two days; it can drive me batty). I don't have any reasons to limit our times...yet.

Like the others said, it does. Learning all of that mental math really does pay off, though! We are in Singapore 2B and it is easy to see the value of all that mental math as we go through the wb, CWP and Zaccaro's PCM.

We spend between 20 and 30 mins each day. Most of our time is spent on the physical act of writing the words which is important for my ds. He needs to write the words at least 3 out of 4 days before the test on Friday to really cement the phonograms and rules used. We actually spent a lot less time at the beginning of the year (about 15-20 mins) when we were just reviewing last year's lists and reference pages but now that we've gotten to new lists, we've had to buckle down. I also use FLL and WWE (neither are necessary for k-2...I just like them) and SL readers which adds another 10-15 minutes/day depending on how long his reading assignment is. Times will be slightly longer next year since I'll have two students. We already include my 4yo in the phonogram reviews and reading assignments as he's already reading well and doesn't want to be left out, but he'll start his own spelling lists once I teach him to write with CF. He'll only do 10 words per week, though...maybe 15 since he's more advanced in LA and his writing is already pretty good. I'll just have to see when we get there.

We do 20 words/week but that's with a 1st grader and I'm planning on doing the same for 2nd grade. Wanda does recommend 40 words/week for older dc but the beauty of SWR is that you do go at your own pace. You could start with 20 and move up to 30 or 40 if you want. Here's our week: Mon: review phonograms and spelling rules, learn 10 new words Tues: review or learn reference page, learn 10 new words, quiz yesterday's words Wed: quiz yesterday's words, write words on 3x2.5 cards Thurs: enrichment from the WISE guide/word bank Fri: test all 20 words We can easily condense either Mon&Tues or Wed&Thurs if we need a day off which happens around here often. Teaching the learning log is easy, the tough part is understanding what it's teaching. The trainers recommend you fill one out yourself first before you start teaching (just keeping ahead of where you're teaching) so that you understand the reference pages and markings. I found this to be the most helpful preparation for using SWR. Once you get going with the program, it becomes easy as both you and your dc will know what to expect. My ds even reminds me when we need to add new spelling words to reference pages before I have a chance to see the reminder in the WISE guide. He is quite proud of his reference pages. One thing I do that really helps is to create my own schedule at the beginning of each school year. They are based off of the sample schedules in the back of SWR. It takes me a couple of hours but makes SWR open-and-go the rest of the year. You probably wouldn't want to schedule your whole first year starting with older dc until you get a good idea of how fast you want to move, but even 2 weeks at a time would save you a lot of time during the week when you're actually teaching.

I'm another SWR user. I did look at PR but didn't want an all-in-one program. I wouldn't have used a lot of it and didn't want to pay for things I wouldn't use. I also don't like the idea of the DVDs because I don't learn well that way. However, I could have overcome that if I had really wanted to use the program. SWR's flexibility and price won out in the end. With that said, PR is certainly a better fit for some families. Like Zenz said, I didn't have any trouble figuring out SWR nor did it take much time. That was before Wanda's new training DVD which will make it easier for most people. One advantage for you would be that it is easy to place older students into SWR. Wanda lays the process out well in the book. SWR also has a very active yahoo group in which Wanda and other SWR trainers will answer questions about using the program. There are also a lot of helpful files that you can access through the group.

I haven't read through the rest of the replies beyond the first page but... I do have a college degree in engineering + about 3/4 of my MEd. I don't necessarily think it makes me more qualified to hs. I learned a lot in college but I really haven't applied much of that to hs'ing my 1st grader. I've had to do a lot of self-study to learn how to teach early elementary just I had to do when I taught adults in my last job. A high school grad has access to all the same resources I used (Amazon, library, and internet).

Since MM is similar to SM, what about using Singapore Essential Math? My 4yo is almost finished with it and it has been the perfect amount if work for him. It isn't too much writing and provides enough instruction for his knowledge level. We're starting to phase in Miquon Orange as well because he's been watching his brother go through the Miquon books and wanted something more concrete to go along with the C Rods. Oh, and EM is much cheaper and easier to use than Earlybird (IMHO) in case you've used EB in the past.

What about a phonics-based spelling program? I'm using SWR with my oldest who was reading at a 4th grade reading level at the end of last year. Because he has to spell harder words using the phonograms and spelling rules, both his reading level and spelling levels continue to improve. One advantage to using SWR is that it is easy to place an advanced dc higher and accelerate the program based on their pace. We've used SWR from the beginning so didn't need the placement tests but it is outlined clearly in the book. The spelling lists go up to college freshman level.

My dc are spread a little bit more than yours but we're expecting our 4th child too. Hsing with my preschooler is easy but the toddler can be challenging. Here's what we've done the last 2 years: Kindy: Sonlight P4/5 w/ Readers 1 (literature, Bible, science, and snuggle-time) Spell to Write and Read (phonics, spelling, handwriting) Singapore 1A-2A + CWP, Miquon Orange, and Horizons K/1 (my ds surprised me by speeding through a couple of years of math) Evan Moor Beginning Geography AP The Way They See (art) 1st Grade: Sonlight Core K w/ Readers 2 (Bible, history, geography, and literature) Spell to Write and Read w/ Cursive First (will use CF with my other dc in Kindy) First Language Lessons 1/2 Writing with Ease 1 Singapore 2B-3B + CWP, Horizons 2/3, Miquon Red-Green (just a guess...we're almost done with 2B, Horizons 2, and Miquon Blue) Noeo Chemistry I Song School Latin Down to Earth Geography 1 Critical Thinking K-3 Planning on adding art soon

The years I have a baby. This pg's medical expenses will be split over two calendar years so I don't think we'll meet the deductible for either year. We put the $$ we save by being on a high deductible plan into an HSA that more than covers our medical care.

This is what we do too. I don't see any reason to hold my ds back academically but he's still a 6yo 1st grader and treat him as such. He is an academic little guy and likes schoolwork but not when compared with legos. The same rules apply to my 4yo. He doesn't do any formal work because he's 4 even though he's already performing between K and 2nd grade level in the 3Rs. He'll start at the appropriate levels next year doing K amount of work.