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2007mama

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  1. Thanks also for these ideas! I did go ahead and start with math mammoth... I'm taking advantage of the lack of homework so far. He will do 2 pages for me without complaining. We tried MEP last year and didn't like it; it seems petty but I found it very lefty-unfriendly and DS got frustrated with it. Dream box looks really interesting but we don't have a computer set up for the kids. Probably in the future we will, so I'll keep it in mind. Thanks again for the ideas, I'll keep them in mind if we decide we need something different!
  2. I got Phonics Pathways from the library last year and worked through a page or two a day. My son did not enjoy it but I think it helped his reading speed a lot. We also used explode the code, which he liked quite a bit. In fact, I may go back and get the next book because I'm not convinced they do any kind of phonics instruction at this new school.
  3. Thanks for the advice! I hadn't looked at Math Mammoth before (probably because it looks like they don't have kindergarten math, which is all I was looking for last year) and it looks similar to SM but cheaper and simpler so I think I'm going to give it a try. I may do it in the morning; that is a good idea. Lately the boys have been up before the crack of dawn. :glare: He likes to work independently (last year was always telling me "Don't tell me what to DOOOO!"), so if I can print him a page and have him work on it independently I think he will like that.
  4. Hi all, My son just started first grade in a new school (we just moved to a small town in NY), and he seems to like it. The teacher has been teaching first grade for 20+ years and seems great, as opposed to last year when he had a new teacher and a new principal, and the school was constant chaos, and I ended up pulling him out halfway through the year. Anyway... Last year I was teaching him math at home all year. We did MUS in half the year and moved on to singapore math for the second half. I read a lot about math curricula and I was dismayed to see at back to school night that they are using TERC investigations. I have read uniformly bad things about it and I'm surprised that in such a good school they have chosen to use this curriculum. Supposedly the emphasis on explaining how you solve problems is great, but DS just brought back a paper where he explained his work as "I double checked.". Um, that is not really an explanation! But he got a "great job" comment, and I decided I will want to supplement his math education. My only concern is that he is TIRED at the end of the day, so I need something that will not take too long. Maybe 5-10 minutes is all he would be willing to sit and do after a full day at school. Can anyone recommend a curriculum to supplement ( or replace) Investigations? I have part of MUS Alpha left over (we did that when we finished Singapore) but given the spiral nature or school math (and hence standardized tests), I am thinking maybe something like Singapore is better, but I don't know much about other options. I would prefer not to buy more manipulatives (I have and like the MUS ones) or tons of books...something like workbooks would be ideal; the thought of buying a textbook, workbook, instructor's guide, test book, etc (and then double for 1A and 1B) seems a little much for an afterschool supplement. But if that is what's best I will get it. Any thoughts on what you have used to keep it short and sweet but cover all the bases would be really appreciated. Thanks!
  5. My DS also has a late summer birthday and we had been doing a little of 100 Ez lessons in the year before. I sent him to K this year and while I can't say I'm glad we did (not crazy about the school) I think he was ready. He would have been soooo bored if I'd waited a year. They spent the first half of the year learning what sounds each letter makes. If you are homeschooling I say go for it! We afterschool writing, math, science and reading and spend less than an hour a day. We used Math U See primer, and it was a great level for him. If you've started reading instruction, most K reading programs would be at the right level too...if you wait a year you might find them too easy for your DS. The K science we have is too easy for us, I'd say. I guess what I'm trying to say is you'd probably find the k level materials a good fit for a young 5 year old who is ready and enjoys doing lessons, and you can fit what you need to do into a pretty short amount of time (if your student is cooperative; we have slow days too!), leaving lots of time to run and play. :)
  6. After volunteering in his class yesterday and watching him spell fence "phens" I decided spelling is probably the way to go, haha! I ordered AAS level 1. It looks like it gets to a level that he can't do yet, even if the beginning is too easy. I'm also seriously, seriously thinking of pulling DS from the chaos that is his school to allow more time for lessons, and more time for other stuff too. Thanks to all who responded!
  7. Thanks for the ideas! I have to admit I hadn't thought about FLL or AAS, thinking that both formal language arts and spelling were more first-grade level, but it's true that they just tell them to "write whatever" and try to get the beginning sound right...aaarrrrgh. I guess my biggest problem is I feel like they are pushing first-grade level work on kids who are too young. I was hoping by afterschooling to keep DS a little ahead of the game, but it's hard when they jump right in to very advanced stuff. DS is the youngest kid in his class and I debated even sending him or redshirting him... Right now we do a little of ETC (we are on book 3) every day. He loves it and I call it handwriting practice, since we finished HWT and he needs the handwriting practice. From that I would say he can spell short-vowel sound words pretty well...would AAS level 1 be too easy, or is it worth going through? We are doing Nancy Larson science, but we are almost done. I do like having a formal program. What can I say, I am (or rather, I was) a science teacher! We finished MUS Primer and have been doing Singapore Math, the Essential Math Kindergarten B, but I don't love it and honestly we don't do it every day. I just ordered MUS Alpha instead. (They also do EM at school and it makes me want to cry.Fortunately he is not there for math, since he does half-day.) Then we read through a little of Phonics pathways and he reads me a book. He also has school homework, so we don't do all the subjects every day. He's tired after lunch and protests if I push too much. I figure he needs downtime too, but we do this while his little brother naps, so we need to be doing something quiet anyway. We can usually do any 3 topics a day, more is too much. It's less than an hour total, I'd say. I'm going to look into both of these more, but I'm thinking he might enjoy the spelling the most. How long do the AAS lessons take? Maybe I should just be happy he can come up with a sentence on his own and leave the formal instruction till later....I wish there were more hours in the day!
  8. I picked up a copy of WWE with the thought of using it eventually. I've read through it and tend to agree with the philosophy of practicing copywork/narration to break down writing into the 2 steps of forming an idea into a sentence, and then putting the sentence on paper. I have been volunteering in DS's classroom and have been floored by the amount of writing they are expected to do. Yesterday the teacher gave each kid 3 pictures showing a sequence and they had to write a set of three sentences starting with "First/Next/Last". No kidding, there was a girl crying by the end of this, nothing on her paper. only about half the kids managed to write anything at all. Since they haven't taught the kids how to write ANYTHING as far as I can tell, this seems like putting the cart before the horse, to put it mildly. I was reading through the curriculum (Write's workshop) and they encourage the teacher to NOT HELP AT ALL and let the kids work it out even if it takes a long time. Obviously I don't love this curriculum. Fortunately, DS seemed to be able to do it, although with poor spelling (unsurprising). Anyway, I have been trying to keep the afterschooling light, but it gets harder and harder. We are doing math and science, because he misses those by not going in the afternoon. And we are doing phonics (ETC and phonics pathways) because they are not teaching that either. Now I'm thinking of starting WWE just to start developing good writing habits instead of the craziness they have at school. But is it too much? It will mean dropping back on the other subjects, because he will only do so much on any given day. He already had to write 4 sentences for homework, so I don't think we can add a lot more. Would you start this with a kindergartener?
  9. Thank you all for the replies! I think from what I'm hearing here, I will try to correct him gently. He just told me handwriting is his least favorite subject, so like the first reply said, I don't want to crush the desire to write out of him. I'm not super worried though; as much as he complains about it, he goes through a small forest's worth of paper, writing stories, mail, coupons, etc. :) And I like the HWOT method, because when I see him forming a letter strangely (like today it was a d, started at the top and looped around like a backwards 6), and I can just say, "don't forget, d is a magic c letter!" And he knows what it means and can do it correctly. He can actually make letters that look pretty good...it's just the process that needs work. We do have some little pencils but he still holds them in this crazy grip, pinched between thumb and middle finger with the pointer halfway up the pencil. So I ordered some grips and I hope that will help, and in the meantime maybe I will just make some worksheets from the HWOT page to focus on a few letters at a time. If I feel really crazy I may try the shaving cream letters someday. :) We are renting though, and my husband said NO SAND in the house. Writing on the iPad is usually about as messy as we get, poor kids!
  10. For those of you who have had handwriting struggles(maybe that's everyone?), I have a question. DS is 5 and we are working through HWOT. At first I really harped on holding the pencil correctly and forming the letters exactly the way they show, but it made him incredibly frustrated. For the lesson, he will make the letters correctly, but later on, I have watched him write and even though the letters look OK, he is writing them a different way. For example, he often starts letters at the bottom (i, N, M, for example). Does it matter which way he writes it? I want him to learn to do it well, but at the same time, if I try to correct him he gets very upset. I have held off on the lesson teaching the number 8, because he makes a nice, legible 8 by making two circles. Should I try to teach the other way? Also, he makes o and 0 backwards...but does it matter? He is a lefty, and I am thinking of getting him a pencil grip (I was watching a thread about this just recently); do pencil grips work ambidextrously? I hope this question makes sense! Thanks for any advice! :)
  11. Our neighbors went trick or treating all through high school, and I thought that was fine. They dressed up in great costumes and really got into it. But I couldn't stand the teen boys that came around in black hoodies, no costume at all, and don't even say "trick or treat". Still, it's pretty rude to tell someone they are too old for it. That stinks!
  12. I'm no expert (we are just starting out!), but we are also using MUS Primer right now. DS had days where those place value lessons seemed to click, and days when he was really confused. Since it's not mastery based, you could always just skip ahead to something else... I think we are on 14 and it is counting to 20. I thought it would be really boring for DS but it has been good practice writing numbers, which we are also doing in handwriting. Oh, and there was a lesson about addition, which were fun for him because we finally got to bust out the blocks. :)
  13. I voted for summer. Especially now that we are in Seattle, it's like the opposite of AZ. Summer is beautiful. Fall, winter and spring are rainy. I don't mind the rain much, but it's a bit of a headache getting the kids around in it, and we are becoming real homebodies.
  14. We have had a set of Hemnes also, for 7 years. They have moved with us twice and are still going strong. I really like them. Of course, DH and I are not as hard on furniture as the kids are. :) They did manage to break their (non-ikea) dresser.
  15. :iagree: I don't remember elementary school all that well, but I distinctly remember The Mysteries of Harris Burdick and several other books by Chris Van Allsburg. I have picked some up for my kids at the library, and except for maybe The Polar Express, I thought they were written for much older kids, so I'm setting them aside for now. But they are favorites from my childhood!
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