I do a version of this and it works out fine. We are quite relaxed, though;) I do not find they lose skill, but my kids are older. I am careful to bring language arts and math into whatever we are doing (say history or science). I think it is important for kids to see connections anyways. We are doing Ancient Greece, and we talked about Greek contributions to math - and did a bit of work with the Pythagorean formula. As we tend to be project oriented, I find it takes a while to get into projects - and small amounts of time just did not work for us. I say do what works! Kathy

My intention for the upcoming year: Have a spine (might be Usborne internet linked + my college textbook, which is quite readable), add in historical literature, watch some relevant films and do a timeline. We might do a bit of mapwork.... I would like to do a small unit on histiography at the beginning of the year. So you are in good company! Kathy

Horrible History books are a lot of fun! At 9 he should really like them. They are cartoony and written in a funny wa. They are not a spine, and do not have worksheets, etc. But they are only about 6$ and are found everywhere.

At this moment in time, I am heading towards going over long division with him (which he does need to work on), seeing if there are any other weak areas then doing deciamls and fraction with Life of Fred. I looked at LOF and it looks promising! It is a starting point. I have not ruled out Teaching Textbooks or Jacobs if LOF does not work.

He used "Math makes Sense" in school. I agree - no Saxon, lol. I will check out the Life of Fred site and see what it has to say. Betty: the show your work thing is something he is going to have to gently get over. The math he took in school was quite horrendous. He would literally have to draw a picture, write a story and make a graph to explain why 40+40=80. I kid you not: I remember one time when he had to add a 4 digit plus a four digit - and he had to explain every step, it went something like this: " first, I added the ones place and I got 17 so I put the 7 in the ones place (in the total) and carried the 1. Then I added the digits in the tens column, including the one I carried and got 23. I put the 3 in the tens place and carried the 2......." and so on up to the thousands!!! The answer took half the page! I also think much of his math was underchallenging. Long story short - he spent much school math time writing out explantions to work that was too easy for him. So, as you can imagine he is burnt out on anthing that has to do with explaining your work. I do think this is different that "showing your work" - but I do not think he has made that distinction yet. I agree that showing your work is important, I think he needs to be gently and slowly reintroduced to this. Kathy

I am pretty sure I want singapore for my 9 yr old. My rising grade 7 is a different stroy. I am feeling quite undecided on what to do with him. Here is some background. -he has been in public school up to now. -he has a low tolerance for busy work -he seems to be good at math, yet says he does not like it:glare: -he does not like to write. He has very little patience for "show your work" or write a paragraph on why 1/3 of 90 is 30. So...part of me wants to go Singapore, as I think it sounds cool, but is grade 7 too late? (I imagine he would start around 5A though). Teaching textbooks looks like fun, but is pricey. Sinapore ends after grade 6 and turns into NEM???? - of which I know nothing. So I want something: -that fits him -is not too pricey -transitions easily into higher mathematics (as he will soon hit the algebra age, and I would prefer to minimise jumping around) Any suggestions? I am all ears:bigear: Kathy

Thanks all! Concerning the placement tests: I looked at them, and it seemed it would take 2 hours or more to do them. I was afraid I would end up asking them to do 3 placement tests, and they would revolt. I might try to merge the tests or see if there is anything I know they know, and can skip..... As per the 7th grader - the curriculum the school used seemed really quite week, he is not at all ready for NEM. I expect him to place in the 4 or 5 area. I like singapore because I like the Mastery approach, as well as the challenging aspect - they are both have strong innate math ability despite their low level of skills. I do have some concerns about my grade 7 child though - it does seem an awkward place to start a new curriculum, and I am not even sure we will use NEM (I like the sounds of Harold Jacobs and Teaching Textbooks as well) BUT we might use NEM. However, the reality is he is starting something new, so singapore it is (unless someone has a much better idea;)) Kathy

If your children came to sinapore late in life from another curriculum can you tell me where they placed with regards to their grade level? Example - starting grade 4, placed in singapore 3A. I know there are placement tests, but they are quite long, and if my kids have to take more than one to figure out where they place, it will not be pretty. The curriculum is not expensive, so if I get it wrong, it is not a giant loss. About us: Grade 5ish girl. Gifted. Has been largely unschooled for 2.5 years. Grade 7ish boy. Good at math, but has been in public school with a weak math curriculum since grade 3. Kathy

I have a 9 and 12 yr old that will be doing history in the Fall. I will probably do ancients to 400 AD. I would like it to be secular, chronological, mostly European, interesting and focus on key historical concepts (such as primary versus secondary sources, and how do we know what we know? Who chooses what goes in history books?) that sort of thing. Oh, and I would like it to be reasonably priced:001_smile: We are going to do a timeline on the wall as well.... Any suggestions?

Thanks for the replies! I am feeling a bit better about starting my kids in Singapore - I will try again later in the summer to retest them and see where they place. I might buy 3A for me (textbook? workbook? Home guide?) so I can figure out the bar method.

Hi:) I am new here (first post!). I have 3 children - aged 12, 9 and 5. I am trying to figure out what to use with them next year. My 9 yr old has been homeschooled for 2.5 years - we have been very relaxed homeschoolers (bordering on unschooling) My 12 year old has been in public school, but will be homeschooled for grades 7 and 8 (longer if he wants). I am trying to figure out what math curriculum to use. I have decided that I really do need to use a curriculum for the older 2 kids. I am heading strongly towards Singapore. I gave both kids the placement test (which they did not co-operate well for) and they seem to be 4A and 5A respectfully. FWIW - they are bright kids, simply lacking in math skills (not math ability). My DD has actually been tested (don't ask) and scored in the gifted range on the WISC.... I like the idea of Singapore because of the mastery and lack of repetition (which would bore them). The math needs to be engaging, or I will struggle with getting them to do it. I also want it to be engaging - and help create a love of math! (something they seem to be lacking, despite their inherant abilities, at the moment) Are there any problems starting someone in Singapore in 5A? What do Singapore users use after 6B? Would it make sense to start with singapore with Ds if we will end up changing curriculum in 2 yrs? Help. Kathy