Well, I have one DD with ADD, and one DD that's a perfectionist. Singapore math has worked well for them. We do work "behind" grade level. I'm fine with this - it's really challenging math IMO. We also use cuisenaire rods extensively. Even when my daughter "gets it", sometimes she still liked them sitting on the table. I'm okay with that. I definitely like that there aren't so many problems for each exercise in SM. We work a lot of the textbook problems orally, and I make sure to give her short lessons. She just can't focus for longer than 15- 20 min at a time. Later in the morning/day she'll work the workbook on her own. I run the IP books 1 semester behind as well - this is great for review, and the challenge problems are more appropriate at this time. This is my opinion, of course. ;) This doesn't really answer your curriculum query...but we recently added Bedtime Math (found it at the library!) to our evening routine, and it's given my girls a real boost and application for all that hard work in math. Just wanted to throw that out there. Hope you find something that works for your gal! :)

Farrar, I would e-mail the author directly. She will give you a clear picture about the creation/evolution ideas in the books, and I am confident she wouldn't try to sway you either way. I can't answer because I don't own Zoology book. I do have Botony, but at the time we started it, it was really too advanced for my kids. Kathy and her husband are science fiction fans, and the books are intended to be a fun, well written adventure book that you can add more reading to if you want to flesh out the ideas. In her additional reading lists in Wayfarers, there are 2 reading lists: one for young earth, and one for old earth. Not sure if that helps you or not.

Thanks all! I noticed that the CD is cheaper at RR than a download, but not 25% off… I can wait a bit for a Kagi sale. Anyone know when those are? ETA: It's plainly on her site when those sales usually run. Sorry, I should've done my research - I completely missed that!

Yeah, I know it's already super cheap :) I'm not sure if I should wait for a homeschool buyer's co op because I'm looking at getting just the grade 4-6 Light Blue Series in a download or CD. I have never looked at MM HSBC sales before - is that usually an option? Thanks for helping a gal save a few bucks.

I use ELTL with my 3rd and 4th grade girls. We do other school reading, and free reading, and I also use Reading Lessons through Literature for my girls spelling instruction. (Written by the same author.) Spelling IS covered through dictation in level 3 and up, however, so an additional curriculum wouldn't be necessary. Soon, my girls will transition to prepared dictation instead of a separate spelling program. A note, my 4th grader uses ELTL Level 3, and I won't start my 1st grade son (young for his grade) with ELTL until 2nd grade. I think he could handle it, but I'm not in a rush, so right now we work on fluency in reading, and copy work. Hope this helps!

We're happy users of Barefoot Ragamuffin curricula. Like Erin, I have pieces of all products. I love how everything all comes together and can be tailored to each of your children, while still all staying on the "same page". I wanted to add my comments to the bolded, above. I totally agree Mimicoto, about "scheduled" curricula, and it's what's kept me from ever doing anything like that. HOWEVER, with 5 young children, I thought I'd give this one a try, and we've been using Wayfarers for almost a year. We have DEFINITELY had rabbit trails, and even took a break for a month and a half from the schedule. What we did was continue the progression in our skill areas, chase rabbits when we felt like it, and then just returned to the schedule where we'd left off. (Yes, this resulted in me finishing the year of Wayfarers later than planned, but it didn't matter so long as we progressed/kept momentum in skills areas.) Sometimes I just replaced some of the assigned reading with whatever trail we were on if I really felt the urge to finish the spine, or whatever. Not sure if any of this makes sense…just wanted to share how me managed to blend our desires for a "plan" with the ability to remain fluid and keep learning natural.

Another suggestion for Miquon. It's what my current 6yo uses. :D

yes, we do :)

We LOVE FIAR. :001_wub: I choose a book for the week and we read it together. I have looked through the manual ahead of time and we have a conversation covering different topics each day, but not all the ones in the manual. Daily, when we read the picture book again, they/we recall the lessons from the day before. My kids learn so much, talk about the books LONG after we've read them, and it's a great family-building time. You could add a ton to it, fleshing it out as much as you want for your homeschool. I don't (although my oldest children do other school reading.) For my 4 & 6 year olds, they do some phonics and math (completely unofficial for my 4yo, she's just ready) and that's pretty much all they do for "school". I have loved "doing school" this way for my early elementary years!!

I haven't used LOE, but we use RLTL with the LOE game book to shake up the learning/practice of the phonograms. This works really well for us as we like short and sweet. My girls actually LOVE it. I'm really glad I didn't spend money on anything fancier for them - lol :p

Diagramming begins in the 3rd level. This program has a more "classical" feel for the grammar portion, IMO -- memorizing the parts of speech, labeling parts of speech, diagramming, but all done in a more palatable format than something like Rod & Staff. Hope that helps!

I haven't read all the replies, just wanted you to know you are not alone! We ran into this same problem, and we just set aside SM for a bit (it was that frustrating to my DD), and did some other things. Among them: We played with division in Miquon (that really helped! smaller numbers, but helped conceptually.) We focused on multiplication, knowing that having those facts down will help, so she could just concentrate on steps during division Games We moved on to other things, and then came back to division…may have been maturity, but it helped. I like SM, and I'm glad we didn't abandon for another curriculum, however, I am glad to know this for my when my younger children reach this point. We will likely approach long division differently than presented in SM. Personally, I don't think a 3rd grader is ready for that level of abstract thinking. But I don't know everything, just my opinion. ;)

Yay! This is the one I purchased. :) thank you!

Do I want the 48 card deck or 96 that Rainbow Resource sells? Right now I think just my 8 & 9 year olds will play with me…but maybe my 6year old soon…?

My girls thought the WB was more fun - secret code messages, coloring and such. (But we've only looked through MiF WBs.) They're pretty easy to please, but like to be "rewarded" for math practice in this way. We have found the IP books to be a lot of fun as well, but I imagine you could use those with MiF anyway, at least the way we do - a year behind level. I have never spent an hour prepping ahead of time...but everyone is different. Actually, I initially made the switch to SM because I was spending so much time prepping for our other math program. I have looked over the HiG the night before, most often at the beginning of a new section to get a nice overview of where we're headed. Sometimes I even peruse while my DD is working on something else that doesn't require me -reading or handwriting. All that to say, you probably can't go wrong either way - SPM or MiF - they are both very popular and have a great track record. Have fun!