My dd11 works with music most of the time, she says it helps her work better and as long as she seems to be right I am okay with it.

Well, I feel better knowing it isn't just us, so thanks all! We will keep working on it.

Okay, once again I need some help with math issues. My dd11 cannot seem to memorize her math facts and it has us really stalled in our progress. I have tried flash cards, speed drills, worksheets, card games, iPad games, Khan Academy, and she is doing xtramath right now but it results in serious tears every day as she can't beat the teacher. We used CLE for 1 1/2 to get us closer to grade level, after trying to use Singapore for way too long. She asked to switch to Teaching Textbooks after Christmas and despite misgivings I agreed. I don't like Teaching Textbooks, but that is a whole different issue. Despite the fact that most of what she is doing in Teaching Textbooks 5 is currently review of what was covered previously in CLE 3, it takes her forever to get through and she gets stuck on problems that she just needs to know her math facts for and it would be easy. For addition and subtraction she uses her fingers. If I say not to, she hides them under the table and still tries to do it. For multiplication facts, she just breaks down in tears. Any ideas? I will try anything at this point. She loves science, and excels at it, all her goals currently lead me to believe she will end up wanting to be in a science field, so I have to find a way to get her to be able to do math. She is good at problem solving, it truly is just the math fact memorization that is holding her back at this point. TIA

I will stick with my current combination of OM and MBtP as long as their are levels available in MBtP to match up with. It works really well for us and my daughter likes it a lot. For math, we were using CLE which I like a lot but my daughter wanted to try Teaching Textbooks so we are doing that in combination with some games and puzzles to make it a little more challenging.

We are implementing a tighter schedule and dropping a couple outside activities. Too much time running around has made it hard to get the work done.

We are using OM5 this year and it is my first experience with OM. Overall I really like it and will likely stick with it. I do not use the spelling and grammar portions of their language arts, we are using MBtP for language arts along with some supplementation. My dd10 loves the activities and being able to choose from several options for many assignments. I love having everything pretty well laid out. After pairing up my MBtP lit units with the topics we were studying in Oak Meadow my planning was pretty much done. The science portion is great, there is a lot of room for her to explore the topics more in depth when she chooses to do so or where I want to. She works fairly independently as it is written to her. I don't know what the math is like, we don't use that. I would say that for me the only negatives are that I don't feel like the language arts portion is enough and sometimes the projects they suggest are a little too involved or require access to supplies or locations that we don't have and cannot easily get (there was a big one where you needed to go to a frog pond for example). The positives are that it is comprehensive, interestingly written, well laid out, and has a lot of variety in assignments and projects. Also, the projects so far all have real learning and/or experiential value. It is not busywork.

Last year I used MBtP in it's entirety for my dd10. I added a little to it in some areas that we wanted to be more in depth with. This year we are using Oak Meadow as sort of the core to our program and I am using the Lit Units from MBtP for language arts. I really like a lot of things about MBtP and my dd LOVES it. I think the Lit Units on their own are great. I also think you can use the Social Studies/Science units on their own. You would just select which activities you wanted to use. I have plans to use a couple this year as they tie in to other things I am doing. As far as the levels go, I think that it is mainly writing skills that tend to be a stretch. We are currently using the 9-11. Their customer service is great, and if you contact them I am sure they would place you correctly. Just starting with a Lit Unit might be a good way to gauge if the level would work for you.

Okay, I have been looking at it and seems like we should get the Mindstorms kit, but what I wonder is if I bought the old Droid Developer could this be used with MIndstorms to construct the R2D2 looking robot she has in mind?

What I can't quite figure out is how necessary the software is to the robotics? Originally dd10 wanted the Lego R2D2 kit and the Voice Activated R2D2 robot. These two items are both pricey. Then she discovered that there was a kit where she could make her own R2D2 robot and it has been all she talked about since. I have never really looked at Mindstorm before, so it is all new to me. Is there a different kit that would allow her to construct a R2D2 replica, at least get close? Noelle

Thanks cat.felix, looking through the instructions it seems like the software portion isn't a huge part of it so it should still be workable and fun. Anyone with actual hands on experience know differently?

My dd10 has been really wanting to get the Lego Mindstorms Droid Developer kit, she most wants to build R2D2 (as in, she talks about it constantly). I have found the kit on ebay, fairly reasonable, but as I know nothing about the Mindstorm products I am wondering if the computer software for this kit is so out of date that the kit will not be usable? I was hoping someone might be able to let me know if it is still a worthwhile kit. Thanks. Noelle

I had a similar experience with my dd who is 10 also and bright but not "mathy". We tried Singapore, I loved it, she cried every day. We tried supplementing with other programs, and then switched to Math Mammoth. Math Mammoth was better than Singapore, but still really slow going and some days a lot of tears. I don't think it teaches to the student adequately if that student is not math inclined. I am VERY "mathy", my undergraduate degree is mathematics, and sometimes I found the instructions a little baffling. I switched dd to CLE for fourth grade and it changed everything for us. She doesn't love it, but she gets it and we have worked up to grade level by going through the summer. I don't assign all the problems, I supplement with Beast Academy which is below grade level, but so challenging that it works (because she LOVES it). CLE gets the job done and she likes the straightforward way it presents everything. It isn't perfect, but it has made life a lot better and I am confident that she is learning what she needs to know. Noelle

:lurk5: Noelle

I had never heard of CISS so thanks for the heads up! I purchased the printer and so far it is doing great, I have printed out a ton of fall material. Noelle

I need a new printer for all the curriculum I am printing out, I was thinking laser, but then I saw this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Epson---WorkForce-845-Network-Ready-Wireless-All-In-One-Printer/3425051.p?skuId=3425051&productCategoryId=abcat0511004&id=1218401508170 It will cost about 3 cents per page for B & W and will still allow for my dds color printing. Or, should I really still be looking at laser? TIA Noelle

Thanks for the answer. I tell myself that it is just developmental and she will get it, but I get worried that there is a deeper underlying issue that I am missing. Noelle

I am hoping someone here has had a similar issue and can help me figure out how to help my daughter. My daughter is 10, rising 5th grader, we have always had issues with math. She has a hard time with mental math. I reluctantly use CLE with her because it causes the least amount of tears and we have been moving forward. She is about one grade level behind right now. She has very good reading comprehension and is doing well in every other subject. Yesterday, she needed to recite the 9 times table to me. She can easily skip count the nines, she can fill in a times table, but when she tries to recite them, it ends in tears. She repeatedly loses her place. It is like she can't keep in her head what one she is on, then she gets flustered and the whole thing ends in a meltdown. M After this episode, I was thinking about other days when we had these meltdown moments. I realized that she also has a hard time if there is a long set of directions. She will tell me she doesn't understand. I have always had her just go one sentence at a time through it then with me, and then she gets it and goes on. It puzzles me, because she reads much more complex books and has no problem with comprehension. I wonder if she is just not memorizing her facts well enough, or if there is some other problem related to keeping things in sequence. Does she maybe just need more work on focusing? She is very easily distracted. I want to work with her on this, but I want to be sure I am working on the right thing. Any suggestions are appreciated. Noelle

:bigear: This is what I am planning too, would love to hear from anyone that has done it. And just to make things a little more interesting, I would like to change out one of the spines for History Odyssey to the K12HO. Noelle

:iagree: I forgot about this one, complete waste of money considering all the adding on I ended up doing. Noelle

Miquon had me wondering what on earth I was thinking when I bought it. Total miss for me and dd. Winterpromise, Apologia, SOTW all could be on that list as well. And that is just the one's I have purchased. There are plenty more I don't get that I have only looked into. Noelle

CLE is a big success here. I wouldn't say my dd loves it, but she doesn't cry anymore and she is actually retaining what she learns. We tried Right Start, Singapore, and MM before landing on CLE and I wish I had been doing spiral from the beginning. She is moving through the books and feels more and more confident as we go. We have been using it for about a year now. You could always try a couple of light units first and see how it goes. They are pretty inexpensive and at this level you could probably skip the teacher guide if you wanted. Noelle

Math is the hardest part of homeschooling for me. I love math, I understand it intuitively, my undergraduate degree is in math. My dd struggles. We started with Singapore and I stuck with it longer than I should have. I stuck with it because I liked it and because I felt like it "should" work. Finally, last summer we switched to CLE. It was the best choice I could have made (although the religious content makes it less than perfect). Sometimes, for whatever reason, the curriculum doesn't fit. There are so many choices out there, why make things harder than they need to be. The important thing is that you teach the math and keep progressing. I think you could use TT or another program and if you feel some conceptual stuff is lacking, add something. It isn't like by switching curriculum you are dropping math and dooming your child to a life of unmet potential. I say find a program you can work with, that meets your goals, and go with it :001_smile: Noelle

I ordered the set, can't wait for it to get here! Noelle

Does anyone know the publishing year of the current Oak Meadow 4th Grade syllabus? TIA Noelle

I am considering switching over to Oak Meadow as my main curriculum (supplemented because that is just how I am). We will be doing 5th grade next year, my question is this: Is it still worthwhile even if you have already read a lot of the books? Their selections for 5th grade mostly are books my dd has already read. TIA. Noelle