I would like to join the political board, problem is I can't find it to join. How do I join? It does not show up at all for me to request access. Thanks

One can totally have a cranny without a nook, as above a cranny is smaller and more like a crack or a crevice while a nook as a small space but more functional like a reading nook or a nook in a wall (inbuilt shelves within the wall space)

We use beast as a supplement only. For us it is an amazing supplement but it was just not right as a spine for several reasons.

I try to limit us to one main program and a more fun supplement. Right now my eldest is doing MUS and beast. I don't schedule anything, and I mean anything, more than a week in advance so no, our 2 math programs are not scheduled together. The general plan is to do 5 chapters of MUS and then 1 chapter of beast, I am never sure how long either of those will take, anywhere from 1 week to 5 weeks but that is the usual schedule and it is working well here.

Rhymes with pieces

I have no idea why I was, and still am, second guessing my decision to use AoPS prealgebra (which I love, love, LOVE!) but for some completely illogical reason I feel the need to have a more "standard" prealgebra textbook on hand as well to give us additional practice or an alternative teaching method if we run into trouble in a topic or if I feel extra practice is needed somewhere. So, I ordered Lial's prealgebra after reading way, way too many threads in here and agonizing over the decision for months. It finally arrived today 7 weeks later (I assumed it had been lost in the mail and was chasing it up) and OMG I cannot begin tell you how much I HATE it. The format, the jumbled mess, the sidebars, pictures everywhere, weird patterns and shapes, different colors all over the place... It is like this textbook has ADHD. I can't even focus or understand the topic as there is so much other "stuff" all over the page, different text boxes, columns and sidebars everywhere, and I know this content well. There is no way am I giving this book to dd it is a complete jumbled mess :thumbdown: So, where to now? I want something clear and concise with lots of practice problems and very clear explanations. Something uncluttered, logical, and direct but not completely dry. I love :001_tt1: the AoPS prealgebra book, it is well set out, clear, uncluttered and logical, everything Lial's is not. Apparently I do not want colors and pictures and random "stuff" all over the place. So please tell me, what prealgebra book am I describing? I do not want anything too expensive as this is just a supplement. This book is for a 9yo (if that makes a difference to recommendations). Thanks :001_smile:

If MUS is working well then I would stick with it, especially considering the past math issues. Basically, it is working where others have failed, stick with it. As to teaching it, my kids watch the dvd (on their own). Unless it is an especially difficult lesson them watching through it once is enough teaching and they go off and do their work. If they did not get the lesson by watching it through once they watch it a second time with me watching too and we talk through it the lesson once it is finished, using the blocks if needed. Very occasionally I have to work through the first worksheet with a child but that is a rarity. In all honesty, them watching through the dvd on their own is sufficient teaching (in my household at least) to do at least 90% of the book so I really do not do a lot of teaching with MUS

We discuss politics at great length especially before an election however we rarely if ever vote the same, it is not an issue. We agree that while we discuss politics at great length we actually do not discuss our own voting preferences, just the voting and political issues that may be influencing those. In all honesty, while we both know we are not voting the same, neither of us knows who the other has actually decided on for sure (although I generally have a good idea). If either of us felt really strongly AGAINST a candidate we mention it, in the last election I told dh "I don't care who you vote for but please don't vote for X" but other than that, he is free to make his own choice and I am happy that he has taken the time and effort to really make an informed one regardless if it matches my own, if more people took the time to thoroughly research and make an informed choice we would all be better off.

Are you planning on sending your chiildren back to school? If not then I really would not panic over what if's that may or may not happen sometime in the future. As to the current math issue, consider this, would you rather your daughter was a couple of years "behind" in math compared to the local school but really gets it or to keep her struggling and never really get it but by in line with the schools? My theory is always I would rather they were behind but really get it, ok so if they do end up going to school there may be a bit of catching up to do in some areas but even so, that catching up will be a lot quicker and easier and make a lot more sense if they really have a thorough understanding of the foundations rather than pressing ahead trying to keep up with some arbitrary line someone, who has never met your child, decided was the standard for this age.

We don't. We do 2 days a week of each alternating. But, what works for one family may not be the best option for another, do whatever works best in your situation

I have been using the same papermate infinite lead pencil for about 18 months now and it is still going strong, I usually go through a mechanical pencil at least once a month if not every couple of weeks, what is it with the terrible quality? Anyway, love this one, it holds so much lead that you rarely have to refill it and the eraser is big and is yet to run out at all. It has jammed twice in that time but only at the tip which is easy to remove and fix in seconds; I unscrew the tip and poke a pin through the hole and it unjams.

We have been using a dry erase board with 1cm squares on it, combo between graph paper and a white board. I find that is best here as the squares help you keep things in line and everything is more easily able to be erased.

The ones I use are great for stress incontinence (modibodi), I have several friends who use them for that reason only.

I order through rainbow resources, so far it is the cheapest I have managed to find the programs plus shipping to australia, I deliberated for ages but eventually decided to take the plunge and we could not be happier with AoPS.

From my own personal experience I was never taught grammar at school, clearly I was in the generation where it was decided we would pick it up through language and reading, I did not (and neither did my husband). I spent my first year of uni teaching myself the relevant grammar so that I could get good grades on my assignments (science degree) and then had to learn even more grammar when I started my masters degree (arts, different style of writing). Each assignment was way more difficult and time consuming than it should have and it was not uncommon for me to spend more time on the grammar of the composition than the research and actual writing. A solid foundation in grammar would have allowed me to focus on the assignment rather than remedial grammar and I would have had much better grades overall. My husband, to this day, has absolutely 0 grammar knowledge despite having a degree and postgraduate certificate. He can not write even a single cohesive paragraph to save himself let alone an entire composition; not only was he never taught even the most basic grammar but it was assumed they would pick up writing skills naturally and "writing" was never taught explicitly. Huge fail. We have both decided, due to our experiences in higher education, that writing and grammar skills are essential and need to be explicitly taught.

I have been using an australian brand (modibodi) as back up for months and am really happy, i use them with a cup but have been just using them on their own on lighter days too. they have been wonderful, i have recently developed an allergy to disposable products so this has been so great to be able to have that back up

Thank you! I think that book might be exactly what we are needing

I have an ASD Ker who is currently obsessed with all things invertebrate that she can find; bugs, flies, butterflies, caterpillars, worms, spiders, you name it and she loves it and is fascinated by it. I have just been letting her explore and talking to her about what she has found but she wants more, she wants details and to know the how and the why of everything; life cycle, classification, food, habitat and so on . So, I guess it is time to move onto something a little more, but what? I am thinking maybe some easy unit studies or lapbook type ideas? Are there any good ones you could recommend for this age or any other resources? She is not yet reading (at all) so maybe some good books or printables with lots of pictures that will help with the how and why of everything? I really have no idea what I want, I am lost (this kid has had me stumped since the day she was born!) but she wants to learn all about insects, spiders and worms. Help? Where should I start? What should we do? Any help on where to from here greatly appreciated :)

I have an ASD Ker who is currently obsessed with all things invertebrate that she can find; bugs, flies, butterflies, caterpillars, worms, spiders, you name it and she loves it and is fascinated by it. I have just been letting her explore and talking to her about what she has found but she wants more, she wants details and to know the how and the why of everything; life cycle, classification, food, habitat and so on . So, I guess it is time to move onto something a little more, but what? I am thinking maybe some easy unit studies or lapbook type ideas? Are there any good ones you could recommend for this age or any other resources? She is not yet reading (at all) so maybe some good books or printables with lots of pictures that will help with the how and why of everything? I really have no idea what I want, I am lost (this kid has had me stumped since the day she was born!) but she wants to learn all about insects, spiders and worms. Help? Where should I start? What should we do? Any help on where to from here greatly appreciated :)

thanks, just signed eldest up

Thanks heaps, I really appreciate your response :) I am looking at doing book 2 with my 8 and 10 yo's, both are on target in terms of LA so hopefully it will be the right level for them, I have gone through the samples and it looks about right i think.

Can you tell me about Language Lessons Through Australian History please. I am about to buy it but really worried it will not be a good fit here (but there is no other real option I can find)

Not knowing what exactly she is struggling I cannot offer specific advice however if my kindergartner was not getting her math lessons and was struggling I was pull her out of that course asap, you do not want her to get the idea that she is bad at math and that math is hard etc. What I would do instead is a heap of work using manipulatives and games. Board games are great, dice games, lego, colored blocks, pattern blocks, pentominoes and or tangrams and base ten blocks, cuisenaire rods, MUS blocks. Don't forget activities such as crafts using shapes, play shopping, and cooking. Additionally make sure you cover math in an active manner, movement really helps them make the mental connections. Two of my favorites are adding (going up) and subtracting (going down) using a stair case, this is even better if you can put number cards on each step so that she can see that if you are standing on the "2" step and add 3 then you end up on the "5" step. The other active one my kids loved used big numerals and a set of number flash cards (I have 2 sets of quilted fabric numerals but 2 sets of numeral cards will work as well), I would randomly select a number flash card and they had to race to the other end of the room, collect the numerals and race back to construct the number for me, ie if you call out 48 then the child races to the other end of the room, grabs a 4 and an 8, races back and has to construct the number by placing the 4 in front of the 8, when they are done show them the flash card or lay it down next to the number they have constructed to see if it matches. One of my girls often mixed up the numerals in a number, if I called 48 sometimes she would make 48 and sometimes 84, same with her reading numbers, sometimes she read them left to right and other times right to left, we played this game a lot during this phase. I usually rewarded them with 1 m&m every time they got it right (chocolate works nearly as well as movement to help them make those mental connections from my experience :001_smile: ). Then, after taking it easy and covering math is a fun, colorful and active way for a while, only then would I start with a different math curricula. Take 6 months and just play math. Explore math through play, games, active activities, cooking and craft. Take this time to enjoy math with your daughter but also think about the way she learns math best and research the curricula that will best fit where she is at and how she learns and start on that when you feel she is ready to try a more formal curricula again but for kindergarten I would only do a formal curricula for 10-15 minutes a day and still explore and play math daily.

We go by time roughly. I eyeball the upcoming pages and assign the number I feel they will get done in about 30-40 minutes. Some days that means a single page and other days multiple lessons (up to a whole week) may be assigned, it really depends on the child, the topic, difficulty, curricula etc. Next year when the eldest starts AOPS Prealgebra she will be working to a time.

My 7 and 9yo's both work nearly entirely independently although they are very independent kids in all respects and advanced in several areas. Yes I would expect an 11yo to be able to work independently for a lot if not most of their work. If there are no reading issues then I would work on reading and following directions with her until she is confident in her ability to do so. Work on getting her independent in one subject at a time and then gradually build up from there. A slightly different suggestion but have you considered maybe doing some logic books along the lines of mind benders with her, those ones are read the clues/directions and work out the puzzle; working on reading the clues and deciphering them in the logic book has really helped my kids with reading and interpreting directions in their other curricula.