Does anyone have access to a microscope? Insect wings and other small insects are facinating to look at and the older children can sketch what they see. My son also enjoyed making a bee out of an egg carton, pipe cleaners, paint, etc.

My son also came to us at almost 3 with multiple delays, particularly in language. He's made great progress but is still "behind" what would be considered his grade level. He has trouble with impulse control/executive function, has ADHD tendencies, and may be dyslexic. Reading has been slow, but recently I've seen a marked improvement. I only have one, so that makes it simpler! My son loves audiobooks, so that's made life simpler as we listen to a ton of literature that way. Some other things he likes: SOTW and activity book (although we didn't do many of the activities!) CLE for math with Life of Fred REAL Science Odyssey (although to be honest most of his science is done through kits, the zoo, and shows on TV!) Handwriting Without Tears (we do very little writing - stories are dictated to me) Little Passports (our subscription just ran out) Lots of good TV (he's very visual and learns a ton this way) Reading Eggs I did get AAS, but have decided to go with Recipe for Reading which is OG based (we'll just accelerate through the beginning). We are also doing Explode the Code which he finally can do. We spend a lot of time at the zoo and Science Centre, the museum, outside, doing lego, art class, etc. We do trampoline and he's just started martial arts which I think might be the very first activity where I can relax and don't feel like every class might end in disaster. Anyway, not sure if this helps, but I wanted to reply and say how much what you're doing resonated with me. Good luck with everything!

Your son is very young and at that age my son wasn't ready for a lot of schoolwork. We did some phonics, lots of read alouds (me or audio), games for math, simple art activities, and lots of outdoor time, at the zoo, etc. When we did eventually settle on more formal math, CLE has been a good fit. Good luck! The first year is definitely the toughest but it gets easier!

We're also big Narnia and Hobbit fans and all long books we read are audio in the car! We've also enjoyed the Percy Jackson series, the first Harry Potter, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (lovely with a girl hero), and The Castle in the Attic. I've also got Thor's Wedding but we haven't got to it yet.

I think it does. For example, long before they get to 3x4 they show the concept in many different ways with grouping etc. We like that each lesson has a little of everything to keep it interesting. I don't use flashcards and we don't worry about the speed drills. We do more of that in everyday life and games. We also add Life of Fred for some extra fun and math thinking. You can view all their books as pdfs on their site to give yourself a better idea, but my son (who likes math) is very happy with this program!

Magic Tree House? We can whip those off pretty quickly and many have research books to give you ideas for extra activities. We tend to read shorter/picture books at home and save the longer ones on audio for the car - otherwise they'd never get read!

We've used it and I didn't really use the TM that much. But we do a lot of "informal" math so I don't really feel we need the extras they suggest. My son continues to like the format and the "little bit of everything" approach. We found it seemed to move slower in the early books and review a lot of stuff, so I skipped over some lessons/problems if I felt like he really knew it. We also use Life of Fred and it seems like a good combo. So I guess I'd say if you liked the 100, you'll like the 200. You can see inside each of the 200 level books on their site if you want to be sure.

Elephant and Piggie were the first books my son read too and I was so excited we read them all! I really think it was the great illustrations and not too much text. The next ones we found (but had to buy) were the first Lego series eg Calling All Cars, All Aboard, Ready for Takeoff, Help is on the Way. There are about five, I think. After that Lego came out with some more but they have more, dense text and weren't as appealing.

I got both but we much preferred SOTW 1 and the way it's written. We listened to the CDs in the car, and then I'd read the relevant chapter at home and we'd do the mapwork from the activity guide. I loved the booklists and would try to order ahead from the library. We didn't do a lot of the actual activities, but that's just us! We've taken a break now to do some Canadian social studies, and then will go back to SOTW 2.

Trampolining! Looking into Martial Arts. Skiing in winter, swimming in summer.

Again, not what you're looking for, but we've found the Pathways readers and Sonlight ones to be good for leveled phonics.

We haven't used MM, but my son does really well with the spiral approach and a little of everything so CLE is working well for now. We are also ignoring the levels, but I am skipping lessons and progressing quickly if I feel he knows the stuff or doesn't need much practice. We do Life of Fred elementary for something different and the two seem to work really well together. We also play games and just try to use math in everyday life.

My son is doing well with CLE math. It's inexpensive and you can look at pdf examples on line to see what each level/book covers. We don't do all the problems/tests and do quite a bit of it orally. We like the spiral approach. We pair it with Life of Fred and the combo seems to be going well!

I bought Real Science Odyssey Earth Science recently on sale and it looks good!

CLE 1st does move quickly. We supplemented with Life of Fred starting with Apples and math games (Count Up, Spell Down), etc.

Life of Fred and lots of games have really helped here

We started and then gave it up because it was really, really repetitive and just not a good fit. We were both very bored. JUMP Math worked better at the beginning, and now we've moved onto CLE which we like a lot better. A little of everything each lesson...

Have a look at Math on the Level. A very different approach and geared towards a child's readiness. Living math books are also great. Some people really like Right Start, but we haven't used it. For a gentle incremental approach, JUMP Math (Canadian program) is very good. We use CLE which is also spiral and seems to be working really well. They have lots of samples on their website.

So sorry. I hope you have someone to talk to freely and who will just listen. I don't have specific suggestions, just lots of sympathy. I know many of us struggle when our kids don't seem to be able to do many of the things that their peers are doing. What about backing off from "school" to give you a break from a while - TV/audio books?.

Hi! There are a couple of threads on this board and the special needs one that might help with suggestions. In addition to what's already been recommended, I'd also suggest looking at Reading Rescue 1-2-3 for tips (my library had it) and Reading Pathways for building fluency. High Noon publishers also has some high interest readers for older readers that look really good. You might also want to check out the right brained threads - these children often come to reading later but eventually do very well. At least now you can go at your own and your child's pace without pressure!

We're enjoying REAL Science Odyssey Life, and plan to go on to Earth afterwards. A year ago I wouldn't have looked at it, but we're ready for it now! BTW, I believe TWTM was referring to The Well Trained Mind.

We're enjoying REAL Science Odyssey Life, and plan to go on to Earth afterwards. A year ago I wouldn't have looked at it, but we're ready for it now! BTW, I believe TWTM was referring to The Well Trained Mind.

My son also needed more time - he just wasn't ready. And we really disliked OPGTR. So we kept reading, reading, reading, listening to audio books in the car, and when he was ready, used Reading Made Easy which he liked a lot more.

I recommended Reading Made Easy which has really helped us. Also the ideas in Reading Rescue 1-2-3. The High Noon program is also highly regarded and has high level interest books for older readers, as well as workbooks to go with them. You might also want to check out posts in the special needs forum. Congrats and good luck!

We haven't tried the programs you mention, but we are reading phonics readers such as Phonics Pathways which are really helping. I'm also looking into the High Noon readers, and Reading Pathways with its pyramid reading exercises. The book Reading Rescue 1-2-3 also has some good ideas for helping fluency which we've implemented.