Yes, we did honey already. She had definitely been exposed to it. I'm pretty sure I covered it but it was probably months ago. I want to say honey was October or so. She hadn't practiced. I wouldn't be surprised if she melted down then too. She doesn't like it when she doesn't immediately know the answer. I think she has spent so much of her life just knowing things that now that I'm beginning to challenge her a bit, she's freaking out. I so wish I could turn back time even a year or two and push her a little harder earlier. *sigh*

And guess what I just found my two lovely children doing right now...playing chess. :D

The Intermediates are the new books that have just come out. They are supposed to fit between the Elementary Books and the Fractions Book. They are called, um, Kidneys, Liver and Mineshaft, I believe. I've been considering picking up the Mind Bender type books from Critical Thinking Company. Guess I should do that. Thanks!

And yet I complete forgot the question mark. Haha. :) So today another day of tears. I realized she doesn't know how to do shortcut long division. When she was dividing, say, 7317/217, she subtracted 217 from 731, then did it again, and then put 2 (as the first digit of the answer) and them subtracted 217 repeatedly from the remainder to get the 7. She understands the concept but somehow she didn't pick up the shortcut. When I tried to teach it to her, we spent 45 minutes with her in tears that I'm constantly correcting her, that she got the right answer, why was it wrong. Ugh! 45 minutes of my day with a crying 9 year old. I don't have time for this. Ugh. Anyway, once she stopped crying she said "Oh, I get it" and she got it. *sigh* She loves chess. Maybe she can teach me how to play. I'll check the book depository. Thanks!

I think she'd like Kaleidoscope. She's going through an artsy phase right now and I think she'll be drawn to that (no pun intended). :) Zacarro may be something I've been looking for. Looks like it's challenging word type problems perhaps? I've considered getting the CWP from Singapore for her but ds is doing SM and I really want them in separate programs as much as possible as he is behind her but his older. Jenny, you mean redo the placement for MM. You're probably right. When I did it a couple months back with her I was borderline as to which to do with her and thought it'd be better to ease her in. Perhaps I'm just underestimating her. It's quite a different world here in the ALs group. I'm sure I'll be back for other topics as I start to flush out her curriculum a little better. Writing is next. She loves to write but I think Writing Strands is boring her to tears yet I've never done a formal writing program with her. My pocketbook is gonna take a huge hit here soon. Thanks for all the suggestions.

She's not saying. She's being incredibly moody. I swear the child is about to hit puberty (possible, I was an early bloomer). She just doesn't want to do it. When she does do Math Mammoth, she makes simple errors, so that leads me to believe she's bored. I know she knows how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. In LoF, she whines that the problems are too hard but when I sit next to her, and read the problem with her (her reading level is at least 5th grade so its not like it's too hard), she'll figure it out. As I said, I know that part of this is just attention (things have gotten easier with brother. was hoping I'd get a little breather before this one started with issues). I've researched every math curriculum for a child with special needs/delays. I just haven't researched for her. She's kinda always just come along with whatever he's doing or I made stuff up. It's all coming back to bite me in the butt. Looked at the "are you ready for " pages on Beast Academy and she would definitely pass the 3D book. Is that the highest level they have? I looked at the murderous math books and they have some puzzle books too. Where do you buy them here in the US? Never heard of Zacarro, Descartes Cove or Kaleidoscope Will have too look into those. I have LoF Fractions and the Decimals book. Thanks for some ideas.

My dd is 9, "3rd grade". She has been working through Life of Fred and loves to read the stories but doesn't like to take the time to do the problems right now. We're going through a phase right now where she's fighting me on doing schoolwork. I've switched her to Math Mammoth (4th grade) but wanted to see what you guys might recommend. She is doing the new LoF "Intermediate" books as well (I almost started her on Fractions and saw the intermediates so I bought those). When she was younger she loved math, now its like pulling teeth to get her to do anything. Anyone have any ideas of what we might try to spark the love of math again. She's talked about wanting to do Sudoku puzzles so I'm going to get her a book of those (any recommendations?) but would love to hear about a math program that she would love to do again. She's a very verbal child if that helps any. This is a child who was multiplying and dividing in her head by the time she was 4 so I'm at a loss and to be honest, she has been mildly neglected because I was trying to get my special needs son on tract. Now that I've got a decent handle on him, she's falling apart. Help! She does not need a lot of repetition to get topics either.

Thanks! Their first volume was free so I downloaded it to take a look. And Discovering Great Artists is at my library so I've requested it. Harmony Fine Arts uses Artistic Pursuits (as an option) and it looks like it might be the most expensive but closest to linear. I may pair one of these programs with a local art teacher to teach her technique or maybe some youtube videos.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll look them up!

Thanks. I'll look into it.

I am looking for an art curriculum for my 9 year old. She would like to study and artist and then learn how they made their art. She would prefer to do something that teaches in chronological order as well. Anyone have any ideas?

I have not. Just starting the process. I was looking at a friend's WWE book and was considering the workbooks but so many people seem to hate them. Trying to get a feel for what might work before I go looking at a hundred different programs. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a look.

I will also vote fore AAS. It is very visual and very hands-on. We have dropped the tiles but I use a whiteboard and different colored markers for different things. So blue for consonants and red for vowels, yellow for vowel teams, etc. One other thing that I will throw out is that my son really wouldn't/couldn't spell bigger words until I started forcing him to break words into syllables. He was just guessing before because it was "too hard". Now that he breaks it up into smaller chunks, he does a lot better.

So my 10 year old son who has fine motor issues and a variety of other issues is finally starting to write. I have done everything with him orally except for handwriting. He is a step by step learner so we use AAS and SM that teaches things in little increments and doesn't last long each day. Anyone have any ideas for me on what to use for him for Grammar and Writing?

wrong bored. sorry

I have one child on SM and the other on LoF. Neither is better. Both my kids learn differently. If you have LoF or can get it at the library, I'd give it a whirl. I'd also recommend using Khan Academy and pick up a game on fractions and/or do a lot of cooking. Hands on, IMHO, is the best way to learn fractions.

If I were in your situation I would consider pulling him and having him do an online program. Perhaps even Time4Learning. Your hubby wouldn't have to do much. Then when you were home, evenings/weekends? you could work on something like Singapore Math or Math Mammoth. I'd focus on the 3 R's and leave science and history to reading Non-fiction books when he's interested. You might even ask your school if they have an dealing with K-12. Some districts here have K-12 available for free.

My son doesn't have dyscalcula but does have LD issues so take this with a grain of salt. We use Primary Mathematics/Singapore Math with him. The HIG has helped a lot. If you use SM I'd highly recommend using not just the HIG/WB/TB but also the Extra Practice and the Visual Practice book. Take it slow. Then go online and get more practice sheets if she still needs more practice. We have used the Kumon workbooks, MUS and MM worksheets and various others depending on what I find. I also recommend using Khan Academy if you explain something and just don't get it. It works for my son but YMMV. He also likes to do the problems on the computer on Khan. Not sure how your LO would like that. I am borrowing MUS from a friend this week so I'll let you know what I think of that as well if you like.

My son is also a summer birthday (late june), currently 10 years old. He is in 5th grade for scouts and for church activities. As for "school" we just move along. Currently he's doing the 4B in Singapore Math. Since even I can't figure out what that means grade wise (depends on who you talk to) he's just where he's at. He's struggles with reading and writing as well so that is what we are focusing on this year (last year we focused on math as he was several "grades" behind). He's gained much more confidence in reading and now we're starting the focus on writing. We're going to spend most of our time this year on the "basics" and next year I've decided to start the 4 year "Logic" rotation. He's showing he's ready mentally for it so we'll accommodate (his fine motor needs work so I'll write but it'll be his own thoughts). I figured that when he's done, he'll be done. Who knows what high school will look like. Around here, many HS kids either go to the local hs or start taking community college classes (or both in dual enrollment). We'll see. Right now I'm just focusing on where he's at now (as much as I can...if you has asked me last week, I would have been a worried mess). :)

My both likes Singapore Math and I think he'd also like Math Mammoth All About Spelling Anything Non-fiction, whether science, history or whatever, to read. Fiction books on audio, especially things that involve history, geography, etc Anything on the computer or on Netflix Crafts must be hands on like woodworking. Anything with a hammer and nails is good. I'm still testing Writing Strands. So far, so good.

I have a son with SPD and has horrible fine motor issues. I would recommend HWT and an OT that uses it. I would also highly recommend LoE and starting with cursive. They have sandpaper letters that my son loves to trace. My son is really getting the air writing with the big muscles before moving to fine motor. I would also recommend using short stubby fat pencils even if you have to sharpen and break them down to stubby and make your own or buy short stubby crayons. You can also do letters with (short stubby) chalk, with your finger in the air, with flour on a plate (or whipped cream, or sand or whatever). You can also look at Draw Write Now. Even if you're not ready for the books, they have a section on how to hold the pencil correctly and a bunch of different pencil grips. My son personally loves the Crossover Grip however YMMV.

My bad about the writing station. Apparently we're not quite there yet. I did read the crosspost and that helped a lot. So again, thanks for posting this. I can see my children both starting in the direction of the logic stage. Both asking the "Why" questions for example. "Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?" was a question that was just asked today. The problem is his skill set isn't quite there yet. After reading a bunch it seems like the best thing to do is continue with the skills (for example we'll stick with Writing Strands even though he's only in Level 2) but have him verbally express some of the things he should be writing and I'll write for him. His fine motor skills are awful and may never be up to par so we'll start typing to help. Is that correct? I see the wheels turning now that I know what I believe I'm looking for.

I'm so glad you posted this. I actually had to check to see if I had written this since I am in the same boat. I will be starting my 10 year old in the Fall in the Logic stage and trying to figure out what I need to do with him to make sure he's ready. The writing is the most difficult for him. I started him on Writing Strands 2 as he is so far behind. It's only been a week and seems so slow going but at least he's not complaining. FYI, AAS does not have a writing station. It's the AAR that has it. We are in AAS 3 right now and have noticed a huge jump in my ds ability to read. Not sure how your son's reading is but my son's is behind. We were moving pretty quickly through AAS 1-2 but he have slowed down considerably with 3. I'd love to hear what other people's thoughts are on how to get a struggling 4th grader ready for the Logic stage. We just started doing WTM last month so I have "catching up" to do.

Yes, and if her birthday is anywhere near that time, I'd get the bday package. It was so much fun and she gets to try it all. We had lunch but wish we had tea. My daughter would have wanted to do their tea event. Also, check ahead of time to see if there are any events going on the day they are going.

We do 20 minutes a day or so. I personally can get through an entire "step" in one of those sessions and I think there are less than 30 steps in one book through book 3. We don't do it daily though. Usually twice a week, so about two months. We are working on 4 right now and it is taking me a bit longer. About two days for one "step" but I'm incorporating a lot more review because we took a really long winter break (nearly two months). I expect to finish it this semester though and do step 5 and 6 next year, one each semester. and take a full year for step 7 with lots of review incorporated. We shall see how it goes though. My kids are a bit older than yours but my son is a weak reader and we're using this as remediation for him. D just comes along.