Wow, it's so great to hear how many people have done this before... successfully :). I'm still a little unsure about how to actually walk this out. So I did a little experiment with DS today. We were going to start the multiplication section of 1B on Monday. I went through and explained the concept, then asked him all of the questions in Exercises 30-33 orally, with him looking at the page and me writing his answers. He didn't get any of these wrong, but it does take him anywhere from 5-20 seconds to do the figuring (he hasn't started memorizing multiplication facts yet). I then had him do about 2/3 of the problems in Exercises 34 & 35 on his own, and that took quite a bit longer because he was distracted every other problem with something else that crossed his mind. This is what I scheduled to cover all next week, then the week after all of the problems in the IP. Is that how you would accelerate in my position? Or should I have skipped exercises since he didn't have trouble with the concept? And should I still go through the IP problems, or just the Word Problem and Take the Challenge sections? It's difficult because I don't quite know what "mastery" should look like. Each time he does a problem, he is mentally making the connection to the math fact (ie 3x5=15) so it's not complete useless for him to do all these. I know that's a lot, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

It's just a public school thing... they do this usually in all preschool and kindergarten classes (at least in my neck of the woods). If you don't feel comfortable, you can politely decline.

Also, for those of you who've done things orally, do you think it hinders DC's ability to work independently in later years?

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out.

Thanks so much for all the replies. It sounds like the majority of people who accelerate give up one or more parts of the program. For some reason I've been nervous about doing that, but if he's ready to move on, he's ready to move on. Have any of you seen gaps later on that you wish you'd covered more in depth in younger years?

Hadn't seen that one before... hilarious

Kiddos are planning a birthday party for Frodo and Biblo this evening :-)

How should I go about it? He is currently 6 working through 1B text, work, and IP. He's not the best writer so sometimes his workbook pages take a long time for him to complete, but if he does the math orally and I write for him he zips through it. His sister is in 3A and he can often orally do her work. I'm just not sure where to go from here? The plan this year was to get through 1B and 2A at a normal pace, just working through the Intensive Practice to give him more difficulty and practice, and also use xtramath for facts. But I'm wondering if I'm holding him back. Should I move through 1B concepts quicker, maybe just doing either the workbook or the IP? For those of you with "mathy" kids, how did you accelerate while still covering everything?

We read this last year but I'm sure we'll get to it again. Thank you so much for sharing!

One of our favorites that kiddos have asked for again and again is Baby Island. It's funny, lighthearted, and fast paced.

Just watched this last weekend... there are several instances of nudity. I would preview it before letting your kids see it.

With SOTW maps, we include globe work, CC Geography memory work (this year 50 states and capitols), and pages from The Complete Book of Geography Grades 3-6. Not sure about a long term plan though :-). However, I like the idea of devoting a year to geography/world cultures in place of history, probably in between the 4 year cycles.

You know I've always used Singapore, and my older two have both thrived, though my son is more "mathy." But I am keeping MUS in the back of my mind for the youngest, just in case she struggles with Singapore. So far, so good though. Also, the Essentials workbooks are really inexpensive! Around $10 each, and only one per year. Each page has teacher instructions and additional manipulative ideas.

Ah, I understand that. I'm hoping to find AAR pre-1 used for my youngest, otherwise we'll be waiting until after Christmas...

We are new to AAS, but it seems the tiles are a huge part of the success of the program... not just for the tactile approach, but in order to solidify the letter teams and sounds for the student. When my child is sounding out a new word, I want her to visualize the vowel or consanant teams that make up each sound, and the tiles reinforce that type of visualization. In my opinion, if you take out the tiles and segmenting, you have basically any other spelling program. I think most students would prefer writing, but I would at least incorporate the tiles some of the time.

Looks good to me! Have you looked into Singapore Essentials Math for Pre? There are 2 books, usually one for age 4 and one for age 5, and they lead perfectly into PM 1. Also, my 4 year old started the ETC primers this year, and they seem to be a great fit- not too difficult but worth our time. I was slightly worried before beginning because she's not very interested in school just yet, but she's keeping up with it well. Also, we LOVE the Seeds CDs :-)

Tada!

PS, is there a reason you are waiting until next year? I wish we'd switched sooner!

:iagree: AAS is mastery based, not grade based, and especially for your 6 year old I would recommend Level 1. We started Level 1 this year with our 8 and 6 year olds. They are moving through it at different speeds, and the 8 year old will likely get through 1, 2, and possibly 3 this year. I'm feeling like we've finally found a thorough, engaging, and easy to implement spelling program. We've used Spelling Workout, Rod and Staff, and also Heart of Dakota spelling lists... AAS is definitely more meaty then any of those. I highly recommend it!

Thank you so much for the suggestions. The blog and ebook will be really helpful, and Timberdoodle looks amazing! Too bad I can't afford the complete package, but I will definitely be picking up a few of the recommendations.

The school year is off to a phenomenal start for my older two children (8 and 6). My youngest, however, is feeling really left out. I had planned for her to sit in with her siblings as much as she wants, with small activities for her to do during our longer lessons (finger paint/lauri toys/etc). She is also doing ETC primers, Singapore Essentails Math, The Reading Lesson, and Rod and Staff ABC workbooks. The problem is, she finishes her math worksheet in a few minutes, while my olders work on math for 30-45 minutes, and I am typically in and out of working with them during that time. All the while, youngest is tugging on my legs, wanting to do more school. She does not want to work independently, she wants interaction. And I cannot overlook the reality that she is really getting the short end of the stick. All that said, is there a preschool/kindy program out there that is very open and go and Montessori based? I need to add more FUN, not more academics. She loves any Montessori concepts/games we've done in the past but I don't have a lot of time to prep and plan a years worth of activities. If teacher prep is needed BEFORE, like all at one time for the year, I can do that, but I can't spend much time weekly. Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated! Also, any thoughts on what you do with your youngest while you are working with olders would be very helpful as well.

As a former Heart of Dakota user planning our first year with SOTW, I am going through the same issues. HOD is laid out for you by day, and is entirely open and go. I LOVED having my planning done ahead of time, but realized I don't quite love having everything scripted and inflexible. What I decided is to actually make my own Guide for the entire year this summer. I'm using SOTW 1 and Activity Guide as my spine, but also including the Veritas Press Timeline cards to add in a bit more Biblical History. I only have a few weeks done but it is turning out awesome, if I can be so blunt :-). If you are doing ancients, and are interested in taking a look, PM me and I could email you what I have. It probably won't be complete until the end of July, though. But maybe it'll give you an idea of how to work your own.

Sounds strange, I know. We are breaking away from science curriculum and using a WTM science schedule for the first time this year (DK/Usborne/Janice Van Cleave books to cover Earth Science and Astronomy). Though I'm not quite sure where we stand on the Young Earth/ Old Earth debate, we are definitely Creationists and want to be awed by the works of His hands. We want to include a devotional approach to our science, and I found this great resource to go along with Astronomy: http://www.amazon.com/The-Heavens-Proclaim-His-Glory/dp/1404189580/ref=pd_sim_b_4 I'm looking for something similar to use for Earth science. I have a few ideas, but wondered if anyone knew of a book that would combine photographs of creation (particularly those relating to earth science- different biomes, weather, caves, volcanoes, rocks?) with scripture and short devotional thoughts. I know it's a long shot, but I thought perhaps someone has used something similar. Thanks for your input!

And if you are doing Year 1, here an incredible lapbook already prepared for the entire year, and it's free too :-) http://runofthemillfamily.blogspot.com/2010/04/story-of-world-lapbook-for-volume-one.html

BTW, what levels will you be using? Maybe I can give you a few sample questions from each.