Down the street from us recently there was a sign that read "Hose For Sale", when they meant "House For Sale". That really made me laugh!

I love the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book too! It is so easy, and I don't even use a Kitchen Aid mixer. Just a big bowl and a big spoon. I have the book, but mostly I just use the basic recipe that was printed in Mother Earth News a few issues back. You could easily just use that, if you could find the issue (at your library maybe?).

I think Right Start is so much more *fun* than Saxon! We only used Saxon for kindergarten, but I was considering using it again this year with my 5th grader (because she's finished Right Start E) and I just don't think I can do it. It's so dry. When we switched to Right Start my DD began to actually like math again. We play the games, but to be honest, not nearly as much as we could/should have, and she still has done very well with Right Start.

I bought it and sort of liked it, but can't say I used it with great success. I tried using it with my 5 year old. I was just trying to decide whether I liked it enough to keep it and try it with my DS when he's in kindergarten, or sell it off now. It's a pricey curriculum!

We've really liked Reading Detective. I'm thinking about trying out Word Roots this year, too.

I just picked up the "70 Must Know Word Problems" at a teacher supply store this weekend. I'm planning to switch into Singapore Standards (from Right Start) with my 5th grader this fall, and thought these might work well with the program. I like the full solutions in the back, especially since we're new to the Singapore program.

Thank you, Stephanie. That's exactly what I needed to know. I guess I'd better figure out the bar diagrams before I try to teach them to her.

That is part of the hang-up for me right now. I feel like I need to use the Standards Edition (we're in California, we use a charter, she'll be doing math in a classroom the following year,...), but there is no HIG for the Standards 5A yet, so I'd have to buy the teacher's manual. I think if the HIG was available it would have made the whole decision easier for me! Maybe it's only a $$ issue. I suppose the Teacher's Manual will show how to work the problems, too. I just hate teacher's manuals! I much prefer materials written for homeschoolers. Decisions decisions...

Yes, I am a little worried about the bar graphs. I am a math person, and some of those word problems scare *me*! I can't imagine what my daughter would think. Right Start has been such a fun curriculum, it's hard for me to imagine switching to Saxon (which is my other option right now). It just seems so dry, but maybe it is what she needs right now. Thanks for your help!

Has anyone gone from Right Start E into Singapore 5A? Did it work well for you?

I switched to GWG 4 after finishing FLL3, and we have liked it. I don't know anything about Easy Grammar though. I like that my dd can do GWG on her own, because FLL was harder to get done since I had to do it with her.

Sorry, GWG is Growing with Grammar!

We went from FLL3 to GWG4 and it's worked well for us. I loved FLL, and will use it again with my younger two kids, but FLL4 wasn't quite ready when we needed it and I knew we'd need to switch after one more year anyway. I do like that my daughter can do GWG on her own, because it gets done more often around our house that way!

We haven't yet, but I'm going to give it another try this year. I love the concept! My daughter took one Monart class and I was impressed with what she did. I wish we could take more, but the class is an hour away, so I'm going to give the book a try myself again this year.

We saw Jim Weiss at a La Leche League conference years ago and we loved him. We were really excited when we found out he was doing the SOTW CDs. He does really exaggerate things, but in the conference session (which was about storytelling) he talked about how to do that for your kids to keep the story interesting. My daughter liked the first two years of CDs (with the woman reading), too, though.

I love the CDs! We listen to them in the car, and my dd (8) probably listens to each chapter 5 or 6 times. She really likes them, and asks to put them on whenever we're in the car. I like that we can hear the correct pronunciations. We buy the book as well, but honestly, we hardly ever use it. And I do stop the CD player in the van so we can discuss things as they come up.

Oh ya, definately watch them in order. You'll be lost if you don't (even if you know the history)! Kim