Thanks! I did see about the WWW program and, honestly, those weird dotted/slashed lines freaked me out. Why couldn't they just put in regular lines? When I looked at it, I thought that maybe it was too much like WWE but it is on my list to look at again more closely. We like GWG and I feel my son has learned a lot from that program. Thanks for the review of Writing Strands!

Thank you! I'll start looking into those. I'll try to do a forum search to see if I can find more opinions on Writing Strands and what people didn't like about it. It seems to be what we are looking for - write about your friend, write about your favorite book, etc. But I can see how it might not offer enough instruction or guidance to the parents.

Hello! I need a writing program for my 9 yo son. He is a very strong reader and does very well with GWG and WWE. We will continue with those but I would like something that helps him put his own thoughts to the paper and help him organize his thoughts into paragraphs, letters, short stories, etc. Writing Strands? IEW? I really don't know. I'm not looking for grammar or copywork since we have those covered but something to move him to the next stage? Any suggestions for him? Thanks!!!

I am looking for an online or CD-ROM introductory Spanish course for my 9 year old ds. PowerSpeak is offered online for free through our library and I am also looking into onlineG3's forum to have access to Discovery Education. Do you think the combo of these two would be enough? He will also spend time with a friend who is fluent in Spanish and will practice with him. I would love to hear reviews of these programs. Or, are there other programs that are available online or on CD-ROM that would be a good match for an upcoming 4th grader who would likes to work on his own? Thanks! Heather

These are all such great suggestions! Thank you all so much and keep them coming. I am furiously adding to my wish list. We got the ipad the other day but haven't taken it out of the box because I had to wait for my new computer (my old one was so old it wouldn't support an ipad - thankfully that was paid for by my boss!) It is going to be a surprise x-mas gift so I need to get it out and load it up while the kids are sleeping. I'm looking forward to trying some of these out (there are so many to pick from!!). :D

I tried to search the forums but couldn't find what I was looking for, specifically. We are getting an ipad for the family for x-mas and I would like to incorporate it into our homeschooling curriculum. I'm envisioning being able to focus on one while while the other works on the ipad. I am looking for suggestions for the best apps. Free ones are great, of course, but not necessary if it is a good one. I have an almost 9 year old son and a 5.5 year old daughter. For my 9 year old, I'd like an app or two to reinforce his math and spelling (i.e. not teach him these things but let him practice them in a fun way). I'd also like a geography app and any cool science apps (I have The Elements and SkyWalk in my wish list already.) Logic and mind-puzzles would be good too. For my 5 year old, I'd like basic, introductory math (i.e. simple addition, numbers greater than 10, etc.) and phonics or early reading apps. And, again, logic or mind-puzzles. Any suggestions for us? Any other "must have" apps for kids and family? Thanks very much! Heather

My son, 8, is a very strong reader but has had no real phonics instruction. We tried Sequential Spelling this past year and, while he did fine on the word list, he couldn't spell the words in context. I let it go for the year. Now, it seems spelling has clicked with him and he'd like to start something new. I've decided on Spelling Workout but I'm not sure if he needs level B or C. As I said, he has no real phonics instruction so that leads me to start him at level B. But, he's made vast improvements with his spelling recently so that leads me to start him at C so he isn't bored or working below level. Any suggestions? Thanks!

My son is also a picky reader and seems to have similar interests. I recommend The Moomintroll Series with Jove Tansson. My son laughs out loud as he reads them. Pippi Longstocking also had him laughing out loud.

Yes, my children LOVE learning. Both of my children (6 year old boy and 3 year old girl) love books. My 6 year old loves history and all kinds of science. He loves words and playing with our language. He loves fractions and percentages. I haven't done *anything* formally with him until, um, this past Monday. Yet, he knows all of these things - he learned to read (I know that every child has their own path to reading), tell time, the calendar, addition and subtraction, etc. from living life with us. And, our house if filled with books. We have a TV but don't watch it much and both of my children would choose to play a game with me or be read to over TV (the TV is there because sometimes I need them to watch it!). As we begin to add more formal work for the 6 year old, I am very, very careful to keep his love of learning intact. I try to see it all through his eyes and do-away with my notions of what learning is suppose to look like (this is a challenging journey for me.) Thankfully, my 3 year old w is a constant reminder of that. She learns so many math concepts by playing with unit blocks and legos (and I mean self-directed, not parent-directed playing) and her language blossoms through pretend play and books, books, books. I think a 4 year old ONLY needs to play, be played with, and have books a-plenty! It is a very big world for a 4 year old that it is impossible for them NOT to learn.

I'm not using FLL but I am using WWE and SOTW. My son is 6. I plan to do the narration for SOTW orally and then do narration and copywork for WWE. I think he'll have plenty of writing practice with that.

It's up. Playmobile Bootcamp

My son is great at math concepts but needs some practice memorizing facts. Can anyone recommend a web site where I generate math worksheets (or select from pre-printed ones)? Or/And a website where he can play to practice his math facts?

Thanks everyone. I think I am going to drop grammar, which I knew I should but, like I said, I got swept away. He said he would like to learn about punctuation so I'll get a copy of Eats, Shoots, and Leaves and some Ruth Heller books instead. And, he loves his Mad Lib Juniors. I think I will also drop phonics. I like very much the suggestion that I get a spelling program in a few years that covers the phonics rules. I hope one exists. I will keep Mind Benders available if he chooses to use it. For Math, I will do Singapore 4X a week and then use Miquon on Fridays as "fun" math, though he likes Singapore. I really like the way Miquon has them think. Thanks! Please keep the suggestions coming.

I keep track of our read-alouds (mostly) but there is no way I could keep up with the books my 6 year old son reads to himself. I tried to keep a list in my planner when he first started to read but he took off so fast that I lost track. He reads several books a day. I've just started to use Library Thing to keep track of our read-alouds.

We are just finishing up pre-history. We used the Usborne Internet Linked Encylopedia as our spine with lots of supplemental books from the library. I've never lapbooked, but there are several images from UILE that are available on-line to print. Do you have the book? It tells you how to access the internet links. If not, you can PM me and I can send you the link and the corresponding page numbers.

I got swept up in the curriculum buzz and have purcashed way more than I intended to for first grade for my 6 year old son. Please help me figure out what to cut. Here's what I have: Math - Singapore 1B Text and Workbook, Intensive Practice, and Primary Practice 1; Miquon books. - Daily History - Story of the World with Activity Guide- he is VERY excited about this so I can't cut it. We've been doing pre-history over the summer and has loved it. I am not going to have him do copywork for this, just whatever activities and supplemental readings he is interested in (actually, I'll probably have to put a limit on it, for my own sanity.) - 3X per week. Science - R.E.A.L. Science: Life. He is also excited about this. And, again, my expectations are that he does what he is interested in but this is also a high interest area. - 2X per week Logic - Mind Benders. 1X a week. And lots of logic games (chess, checkers, blokus, etc.) Artistic Pursuits - 1X a week. It looks so fun and I think he and his sister will enjoy it. Language Arts (this is the overkill area): Reading- he is a proficient reader so I'm not planning any instruction in this area. I have readers from Sonlight for him as well as a host of others. The problem is trying to keep up with him. DAILY Read-Alouds - We have a stack of books and this is a highlight of his day. Grammar - Growing With Grammar (I wasn't planning on any grammar, other than Mad Lib Juniors, but the reviews for this swept me up. It is a very quick, easy program.) DAILY Writing - Writing With Ease Workbook 1 (I also wasn't plannning on this but, again, got swept up. But, now that I see it, I think it will work well because he'll get copywork, which I want for him, but it will be contained in this workbook and I don't need to add it into history or science. I also think he'll like it since it pulls from classic children's literature.) - 2-3X per week. Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears Grade 1 - 2X per week Phonics - Modern Curriculum Press Plaid B. He has had no phonics instruction. Since he is reading well, this is used to teach him the rules and help with spelling. He enjoys the book. -2X per week Help :001_unsure:

My very first blog entry... http://www.themonkeyducks.blogspot.com

I just put put a clear vinyl hanging shoe rack and it holds and organizes lots of supplies - markers in one, crayons in another, scissors, rulers, glue, tape, post-its, index cards, etc. It saved us so much room and things are very easy to find and to clean up.

We will be using WWE Workbook 1 with my 6 year old son. We are also going to be doing SOTW 1. For those that are doing both programs, do you plan to have your child do written narration for SOTW AND for WWE? Or, will the SOTW narration be oral only? Thanks!

We are going to begin SOTW 1 soon. Here is my plan, though it is just a plan and may be changed as we work through it and find our rhythm. Monday - Read UILE corresponding pages; read first section while coloring; Narration Tuesday - Read next section; Narration; Timeline Wednesday - Activity; supplemental readings rest of the week - extra activities or readings at bedtime

I looked at both for my 6 year old but decided on the Usborne because my son is very, very sensitive to images of violence. D'Aulaire's seemed to be too much for him so we'll hold off on that.

well, I'm just starting out but here's what I'm doing/planning. I made a weekly chart in excel that has what I hope will be our schedule. It does not have times listed but subjects. So, Monday has Singapore, SOTW, Phonics, WWE, Reading and Read-Alouds. It also has laundry, clean bathroom, etc. as well as whatever regularly scheduled out-of-house activities we have. I will post that so I can refer to it and know what I want to get to that day but also allow my son flexibility in choosing. And I think I'll have it laminated so I can mark things off as we get them done and then erase for the new week. Then, I plan on having one month goals. For example, I want to complete 4 lessons in Singapore, 4 chapters in SOTW, 8 phonics lessons, etc. (BTW, those are just made up, I haven't done our goals yet). If we end up doing 6 chapters in SOTW but only 3 lessons in Singapore, I'll revise the next month's goals. I am hoping this plan allows me to not put my perfectionistic/must stick to the written schedule tendencies upon my children, who are enthusiastic learners and want to delve into topics of interest. I don't want to be a slave to our schedule because some days the beach is the best place for everyone.

Yes, that is what I understood from your first post. I was just commenting that my son doesn't like to be micromanaged and me correlating the workbooks would likely be felt as that from him. Of course, I work with him through the programs but I give him a lot of choice about when, how much, how long, etc. Thanks for your explanation of how you use Miquon.

Angela - thank you for your post. I agree that I don't think my son will like it to be micromanaged and I think his interest and enthusiasm will remain high if I stay in the background. How do you work through Miquon? Do you go in order of the book, skip from section to section or book to book, let him pick from the book you are working on, etc.

That was SUPER helpful. Thank you very much. Off to spend some time on Amazon...