What a great resource! :hurray:

If you like Singapore but want to simplify, try using the TB and IP. The wb is practice of the tb. If they don't need that much review, you don't need the wb. CWP is awesome, but there are enough word problems in the IP that I feel comfy just using the IP. The TB and IP are more than enough for most kids.

I think many kids would do better with the 1964 schedule. For others reading, with kids who aren't so mathy, taking an entire year to do Orange (age 5) and then another entire year to do Red (age 6) might look behind if you have to take standardized tests, but if that's what it takes to build a solid foundation, DO IT. Don't rush. Spend time really learning the material and working word problems and playing games. You can skip a grade level later by working math through the summer, if you really need to do that. But, do you really need to teach algebra before your child even needs deodorant? The first graders of 1964 turned out pretty well and back then algebra was a high school course. No shame in accelerating if the child is driving the show...but no shame in taking things at a later and slower pace either. Better to have a firm foundation...and a happy kid who enjoys their math lesson. Some people tear apart all 6 books and divide them by topic in a big binder or in file folders. There is wisdom in that, in part b/c it's mentally easier to just work through each topic at the child's pace and not worry about grade level.

I would add word problems. You can pull them from MEP (free online) or buy Singapore CWP. Don't think you need to do ALL the word problems, one a day or several a week is plenty.

Nope. I relate to the "I hate it and I wish I didn't have to be here - ever" crowd. Partly, it's an old house that needs a lot of work. Partly, it's not mine. It's a parsonage, and it very much feels like we are just staying in someone else's house for a while. I HATE that feeling. The walls are paper-thin. There is only 1 bathroom for 6 people. The lot it sits on is not safe for the little one to play, no fence and on a very busy corner. It's miserable inside, and very public outside. Every picture I hang on the wall is a topic of gossip and/or contention, so I don't hang a darn thing...and I don't have anyone over anymore unless you happen to be a genuine friend. Seriously, every item...it's just not worth the emotional energy to open my world up to ugly criticism. Beauty can wait until I do have a real home. Never again.

Volume is no substitute for talent.

My name is a bit on the cutie-pie side. If and when I have any sort of serious career (besides homeschooling), I will have to think about what I want to be called. I'm not going to change my name though. I would be disappointed if my kids wanted to change their names...though there is one with a middle name that I never chose anyway... lol

Greenleaf's Guide to Ancient Egypt is a good resource.

Forgive me for coming off strong. Many Christian parents do strictly prohibit reading material and information, and those are generally the parents who feel that teaching the ancient myths is akin to teaching them to be pagans. I've defended my use of the myths a few too many times. :wacko: I took my kids through Greenleaf's Guide of the OT in the same year that we did SOTW 1.

November is a big month for funerals these days. (I'm a PW, so I tend to hear about them all.) Every November... Maybe it's b/c this generation of elderly aren't literally going hungry. They are just dreading the holidays without their loved ones. :crying: Back to OT: I'm enjoying my bonus cup of coffee right now. It could at least SNOW so I could send my kids outside for a while with good excuse. The kids are even lethargic, not wanting to move from their cozy beds. They would be happy if I let them listen to audiobooks and play minecraft for the whole month. Don't tempt me. :coolgleamA: I've got a few projects to do. We are building bookshelves. :hurray: ds13 is learning some woodworking and so am I. I think those shelves will be done this weekend, and then I'm going to sort books .(My secret OCD passion. :lol:) When the books are sorted, I'm going to compile lists for Pre K3, K4, and K5 for dd3's future school plans. (Yes, I'm a dork!) The thread about preschool-in-a-box inspired me to put something together so dd3 isn't overlooked in our busy day.

Beautifully said. To the bolded, this is what trips up many good Christian kids. We have seen a few generations of young people leave the church, never to look back. Why? Thought control is high on the list. Kids do grow up and begin to think for themselves. If they have been forbidden to read outside of the Bible and a few carefully selected authors, revolt is probable (and dare I say, healthy). Further more, when we model IGNORING whole people groups in the world in order to stick to our personal doctrine without question, we model rigid thinking. This is part of a perfect storm here...now you have an adolescent who can access whatever he pleases online and in the library (They can. Don't kid yourself!) AND he is a rigid thinker. There will be no discussion. Those neural pathways have been set in stone. This kid is not likely to begin worshipping Baal in 2016, but is very likely to find what pleases him and refuse to move beyond the rigid sort of thinking that has been modeled for him all of his life.

History and science for a wb-lover with a CM-leaning mom? Memoria Press

The ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman mythologies provide context. Ex. The 10 Plagues of Moses' day are merely unfortunate events until you read with an understanding that each plague was a direct defeat of an Egyptian god...the 10th being the ultimate b/c killing Pharoah's 1st born son meant killing the heir, killing a GodKing, killing their god on earth. The Plagues were not just punishment, they were communicating something deeper and that understanding is lost when you skip the mythology. That is just one example. The Bible is full of pieces that are not fully understood without the context of the ancient cultures, and those cultures centered upon their religions. I think it is better to introduce mythology early, 6-7yo. They understand the difference between real and pretend. They also put a great amount of trust in Mommy & Daddy at those ages. It is the overly-sheltered 12yo meeting Thor (or Percy Jackson) for the first time who is more likely to allow fascination turn to obsession. We've done quite a lot of mythology through the years, and I assure you that there have been conversations where my kids have flat out asked me how we know that the stories in the Bible are different from the Greek/Roman myths. Those have been some of the best conversations, and I would NOT want to start that process in the preteen years when they are in the logic/argumentative stage. A 12yo who comes from a rigidly authoritarian home, no questioning The Truth allowed, is the most vulnerable when it comes to leaving the Faith of their parents altogether. "What else are you hiding?" becomes the constant question. Open up a healthy dialogue very young.

Develop a rich Morning Hour, Lunch Hour, and Bedtime Hour. (They don't need to really take a whole hour.) Use these moments, with all the kids together, to combine what you can. Don't get stuck in the rut of trying to fit perfectly into any one educational philosophy or paradigm. Charlotte Mason style teaching works very well for large families b/c it lends itself well to those rich combined hours. We can go outside and the kids can draw and work in their Nature Notebooks while I pull one aside at a time for a 1-on-1 lesson. Doing school outside when the weather is warm is wonderful when you have little kids. Instead of containing them inside and dealing with meltdowns and messes, I'm dealing with big kids who are more efficient with their work so that they can go play too. win-win! If your kids will work well with CLE math, that is a great option. My one caution is that it is weak in word problems. That is an easy fix, however. Supplement with Singapore CWP for Fun Friday Math Day. Do 1-3 word problems each, and then play a math game altogether. You can come up with all sorts of great ideas to make it work, but the main idea is to find a routine that meets everyone's needs. Curriculum is simply a routine and a plan...if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work...sometimes the marketing done to sell currics is more harmful than not.

Praying. :grouphug:

I have both. I have used both extensively. Singapore is more age-appropriate for younger children. MM has more benefits the older you go. To make Singapore work for me: Sticky notes. Place sticky notes in 3 different sections. Work in a section until you need a break, work in the 2nd section until you need a break, work in the 3rd section, and lather, rinse, repeat. We hit 2-4 sections in a 20-40min math session (depending upon the age of the child). I try to see-saw between computations, geometry and word problems in every lesson. You can vary MM like that too. Give a page of addition and a page of geometry and a page of measurements. Do HALF of the problems on a page. Move on if that was easy. Do the other HALF of those pages if the child needed help. Here is the thing: You are going to spend time on math sooner or later. Spend the time now. Gil's advice to work through the child's work ahead of time is wise. It takes a very short time. After you've taught through it once, Singapore is just as pick-up-and-go as MM. (I don't use the HIG anymore. I started with Miquon though, so the HIG seemed anemic to me anyway.)

Yoga pants & pony tail.

I took the quiz, and I scored 23 for Charlotte Mason and 23 for Classical Education. No surprise. The issue is that I don't think you can know how to answer many of those questions if you haven't previously thought about it. IOW - I think if you take the quiz before and after reading an armload of books on education, you will get different answers. The "before answer" will reflect your own education, not necessarily what you want for your children. jme. ymmv.

If you really want to know your HSing style, spend the summer reading an armload of books. A little quiz isn't going to cut it. For the Children's Sake The Well-Trained Mind Better Late Than Early Ruth Beechick's The 3 R's How Children Learn When Children Love to Learn After reading that list, you will form some opinions, and you won't need a quiz to know what style of HSer you are.

After doing K 3x, these are my plans for my youngest: Miquon Math Pre-Primer for the Treadwell Readers Happy Phonics Lots of picture books for read alouds (FIAR titles, Ambleside Year 0 titles, etc...) Lots of time outside, daily trips to the local park given the weather isn't terrible. 1st grade: Continue with Miquon Math & Happy Phonics & Treadwell Readers. Let's Read & Find out science series & burgess nature stories I'll expand our picture books to purposely include many biographies of various people. We'll begin the first primitive nature journal.

Not within that person, I don't think. It can fail to be passed on. Or, a person can be so blinded with arrogance that ...well...yeah, it can be lost.

I don't think that's what she's asking. Do people who have the benefit of Mom & Dad chatting about academic things, chatting about politics in a logical fashion, enjoying literature/art/music in the evenings at home...do those kids have a difference about them not attainable by those who are well-educated, but not by their parents? Of course, there is a difference. Is that difference similar to "New Money?" Nah...I think New Money can be lost. New Education is generally a hungered for, fought for, and closely held treasure.

:grouphug:

:confused1: That is a confusing post. The OP asked for wisdom on teaching sounds vs names first. Her child is 2yo and already picking up letter sounds. Let him learn at his pace. It's OK if he calls a C /c/ or a C "see". By the time he's 3 he'll know all sounds and letter names if they only just keep doing what they are doing. He's on a good track. Keep going as you are. On a broader scale, statistics say what they want to say. If the posters here on this forum trusted the statistics, we wouldn't be homeschooling. :lol: It would be reasonable to speculate that American kids pick up letter names from videos and video games withOUT adult instruction. Kids who learn the names in that manner will not likely be reading, no. Most American kids don't learn the letter sounds until explicit reading instruction has begun. So...it makes sense that kids don't learn to read until they are taught to read. That does not mean that learning the letter names first is the detail that held them back. Until a child reflexively thinks the letter sounds when he sees the letter, reading will not take place. That said, treating the teaching of the letter names as a hindrance to reading is preposterous! I believe this teaching of leaving out of the letter names is a pendulum swing that went too far. I agree with giving a child the information he needs at the time and saving the plethora of rules for a gradual introduction. That said... :confused1: :lol:

I've never gotten into them and don't plan on it. I know a few people who really like the product they sell and stay with it mainly to keep purchasing at the reduced cost. Otherwise...no way...I also know a few people who have a hoard of stuff they were going to sell.