Oh I'm glad it will be sorted, need to buy some in about a month

When we were having trouble with teen numbers vs bigger numbers, eg 15 vs 50 I devised a game involving chocolate. I got our flash cards (1-100) and some tactile numbers (you need 2 of each numeral, any manipulatives with numerals on them are fine, we used some like this: ). Anyway, I would pull out one number from a bucket and read it but not let her see, she would make that number with her tactile numbers, if she got it right she got an m&m. I am telling you, the reward of chocolate was like a miracle she went from apparently not knowing anything (or so she claimed) to mastering every number including the teens in half an hour and it had the added bonus of being an active game (numbers on one side of room, spot for answers on other), gotta love math that also wears them out physically. You can obviously make the game easier or harder by adjusting the numbers used in the bucket, use only those below 20 if needed.

Oh i hear you, i always buy several levels at once as it is wonderful to have it sitting there ready when needed

It is a little early to be thinking about this yet but my 5yo dd is just racing through primary math at an alarming rate. We started with K math but she finished that in about 2 months start to finish. She has just now finished 1st grade math in only 4 months completing every problem in 2 separate math curricula. We are starting 2nd grade math at age 5.5, if she continues at this rate she will be finished around her 6th birthday (6 months), we are still using 2 separate math curricula MM and MUS in an attempt to slow her down and to really solidify every single concept. Would just turned 6 be too young for BA? I think she would really enjoy this program but am worried that her age will be an issue.

So far my list is: camping gear for scouts art supplies 2 "educational" board games each an audio book each more lego Actually pretty much everything they are getting this year is education related somehow

She love horrible histories! We have also all memorized the kings and queens song in this house.

Looking at a book tonight I asked dd3 if we should read the stone age page today, she looked at me and said "its not called the stone age, it's the neolithic era" lol but sigh, she is only 3! BTW, she was right and I have never read that book before, we only bought it 2 days ago

i have similar aged kids; 3 girls ages 5, 3 and 9 months. my oldest dd is nearing the end of her kindy year. We have used OPGRT, ETC, MUS (although there are some great free programs which i would use if money was tight) and galloping the globe. All up very budget friendly except for the mus which i would happily substitute for one of the free programs if needed. other than this we have a kids atlas and use the library and internet a lot for research.

Thanks guys, some wonderful ideas to think about incorporating into our family mornings.

I was having that trouble with my DD, we switched to opgrt and honestly she just took off immediately. the pictures in the other programs were just too distracting to her but given the boring pages in opgtr she went from being a complete non-reader to reading cvc words and sentences in a day.

Do you have circle time? What do you do? How? What does this look like in your house? Please go into as much detail as you want, I am after the nitty gritty here, the when, why, how etc. Honestly i have no idea but i am thinking it might be a good way to get my littler kiddies some "school time" at the start of our day. I am thinking we should start doing this in the new year (and new school year). I will have a 5yo in 1st and a 4yo (prek) and 1yo. I was thinking a few songs (mostly for the littlies) especially action songs and nursery rhymes, some calendar work, memorization work such as skip counting for the 1st grader and a read aloud story for all. Is this even what circle time is? Am I missing anything? Suggestions or more ideas? TIA

We will be using OPGRT, ETC, WWE, FLL, AAS and handwriting (yet to be decided). This year (approaching end of K) we have been using OPGRT and ETC with some handwriting worksheets.

Thanks for the suggestions, will look into the supplementary packs. River crossing and perplexus look interesting.

We will soon be starting SOTW ancients and as our library system is terrible I will be having to purchase any useful books. I am after suggestions for people's favorite books for this period, especially for books used in 3 or more weeks. My daughter will be turning 6 during this school year On my list to buy so far: Usborne encyclopedia Ancient Egyptians and their neighbors Already have: Ancient history pockets. PS, is there a website with a list of the most useful books for SOTW ancients???

Well I decided to pull out our rushhour game today to give to my 5yo Ker and she is just zooming through it at an alarming rate. Half an hour later and she has finished all the beginner and intermediate puzzles and is now on to advanced and showing no signs of slowing down yet, eek! She is in love and doing amazingly at this game but she will be finished every level by the end of today at this rate, what next? I have hopper I can give her but if she responds to that the same as rushhour then it will be a good distraction for maybe 1-2 days. Are there any other thinking/logic games that would be suitable for a 5yo but harder than rushhour? Preferably I would like 1 player games as I have a baby and a 3yo to entertain as well but board game suggestions for 2 players are always welcome too.

I am after suggestions for your absolute favorite read aloud novels for 4-6 year old girls. We have the worst library ever so I have to buy everything. At the minute I at wanting to buy them 2 books each for christmas (postage takes forever). We have enough picture books to open our own library so do not need any more of those. If you could buy only 2 novels each what would you get for a just turned 4 year old and a nearly 6 year old? Thanks!

Yes please!

Thank you. those responses have confirmed what i was feeling about the program, looks interesting with heaps of hands on work but a little lacking in actual content. That one downside should not be a problem, some extra reading and we will have that covered i hope. thanks for the scheduling info, 2 days a week was about what i was planning on but could not tell from the website if this would be enough to get through everything.

Ok so i think i may nearly have decided on RSO life for our 1st grade next year however I am a little confused, nowhere on the site can i see information about how many days per week this is designed for or indeed scheduling information whatsoever. For anyone who has used RSO before, how did you schedule it it? How many days per week did you do science? Did you like RSO and would you use it again? TIA

We are in australia so I am planning on modifying the 4 year cycle to reflect that. My long term plans are: K geography 1-4 4 year history cycle 5 Australian history 6 Geography 7-10 4 year cycle senior high to be decided later depending on strengths and interests This means that I am doing 2 dedicated geography years over the entire schooling course and we will also be including geography through history and science in all years.

ooh great idea turning it into a 1 year program with geography included, now I am even more confused about science for next year than ever, i think i have narrowed my choices down to 2 (RSO and sassafras) but now with the geography slant, hmm, definitely looking like a great option.

ooh forgot about RSO that is high on the list too, might be a serious contender. I have looked at MrQ and have the free one on my PC but somehow it just is not clicking with me, i find it very confusing (and I have a science degree!). is it just me or is it just hard to get your head around his program? maybe i should have another look at it.

I am planning for next year for 1st (we school over the calendar year). I am all set for curricula for every subject except science and I am just lost. I am looking for an open and go type curriculum with minimal to no parental planning. I need to be able to pick up the book and do the lessons with my dd using the book and maybe an encyclopaedia (with page numbers listed in the text) and then fill in associated work pages etc. Experiments also need to be open and go with the only planning required being assembly of equipment - I am hoping for 1 experiment per week. Does this curriculum exist? At the minute my current favorites are sassafras science or elemental science but I am open to all suggestions, seriously I have been looking for 12 months (since I was planning our K year) and I am just not finding what I want, or I have found it but am not sure how it will work maybe. In a serious science daze here, can anyone help please.

Glad to hear you are enjoying it, I am seriously considering this for the new year. science is the one subject i am not yet decided on for jan but this is probably top on my list atm

:hurray::hurray::hurray: