That is helpful, thanks. It's a friend, so I might just give her the option of buying them and having her daughter work through them without having to pay me. I think she'd be capable. The problem is she gets almost no instruction at school. Crazy!

I'm tutoring a 6th grader who is using the CMP (Connected Mathematics Project) curriculum. She is literally in a class of 43 kids, handed a textbook (with no explanation of concepts or example problems) and asked to work through it at her own pace. No instruction, but there are various people walking around answering questions. She said the main teacher will explain concepts, but everyone else just "gives her the answer". From the quick research I've done, it looks like the whole year is working on fractions, decimals, and percentages. I'm thinking about buying the Key to Fractions, Key to Decimals, and Key to Percentages books for myself, and working through them with her. What all do I need? Do I need the "Answers and Notes"? Any ideas on how I might work through them with her? Is there anyone that sells these with free shipping?

So, what I'm hearing is that not only is it ok to go ahead with cursive, there seem to be some benefits to starting early. Thanks so much!

Oh, Community Bible Study. It's a study for me (actually, I lead a women's group), but they have great Bible programs for the kids, and some locations (like mine) have classes for homeschooled kids. Ours goes up to 6th grade.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Anyone using this now or remember the part I'm talking about?

Thank you for your input. It's helpful!

Ok, that makes sense. She is already reading and printing well.

I know some people like to teach cursive first. My dd has done HWT: pre-k, K, and she's currently working on the 1st grade print workbook. She's really interested in learning cursive for some reason, I think just from watching her grandmother write. Is there any reason I couldn't go ahead and let her learn cursive next year, when she's in 1st grade? I want her to finish the HWT workbook we're currently using first.

This is Unit 9, I think, of Book A. How do you guys do this at home? We're managed 9.1-9.3. But what about 9.4 where it says that I need a bigger container, with others that are 1/10th, 1/5th and 1/3rd the capacity of the bigger one. What can you use for this? This chapter is a bit of a pain, I'm tempted to just skip it. My dd gets the conservation concept. Is there something simpler I can do instead of what is suggested for 9.4? I'm hoping it's a bit easier once we get to 1st grade, and you can get ideas from the home instructor's guide.

Thanks!

I thought this was the case, that there was some hand-holding involved in the dictation exercises. Thanks for that info.

Sorry if I was too dense to catch your meaning last time ;) , but your experience is very helpful. I think this is my best bet. Thanks!

Thanks, this is helpful. It really might not be too hard to give her the narration/copywork/dictation experience she needs in the context of our content subjects. That's basically what we're doing this year. I've heard the workbooks can be painfully incremental, and that's my fear about using the WWE1 workbook. Maybe if I actually read the WWE book, I could get a feel for where my dd is, and continue to take her to the next step as she is ready, and not worry about placing her in the workbook. And just start FLL1 next year, and take it at a comfortable pace.

Well, she's currently at the beginning of her kinder year. I'm wondering what to do with her next year, when she's in first. That's why I'm wondering what I would add by doing WWE1 next year, since that's basically what we're doing now. But, I'm open to hearing how WWE1 would contribute something we're not getting now.

I guess what I'm wondering is how WWE 1 is more than what we're doing this year: copywork and narration. This is probably where it would be helpful to read the WWE book.

Maybe it would make more sense to cover writing in content subjects using the WWE book (not the workbooks) as a guide, and start FLL1 at the beginning next year. That way we can adjust writing to fit where she is as we go. I'm just nervous about keeping up with finding passages for copywork/dictation especially. Seems like it's easy enough to practice narration in history/science/lit readings.

That's the problem - FLL 1&2 are only sold as separate books now. It would be simpler if it was just a matter of following the combined book at our own pace. Thanks for your sharing your experience w/WWE. That's helpful.

That's good to know. Since FLL2 starts with nouns again, I wondered how critical FLL1 is. Sounds like we should still start there.

Thanks, that is helpful. It seems like they would ease into dictation a little more, instead of starting with such difficult words.

You're giving me some good things to think about - thanks! We're not doing summary narrations, just "tell me back the story" type ones. I agree that is a difficult dictation for 1st grade. That is helpful. Does WWE 1 have any dictation at the end of the year? I think she'll be ready for simpler dictation next year, but maybe we can get that in a spelling program? I haven't read the Complete Writer... that would probably be helpful to give me a better idea.

Thanks. Where can I find the placement test? I've only looked at samples to try and get an idea of what is covered in each.

I'm thinking about my 5 year old kindergartener's LA for next year (when she's 6 and in 1st). We've been working on OPGTR for about a year. We're on lesson 132, and she is comfortably reading Frog and Toad level books. In addition to Phonics, we are doing the 1st grade HWT workbook. Her handwriting is very good for her age. I also have her narrate fairy tales and do copywork. The copywork is usually a Bible verse or a couple lines of a poem. She does all of this comfortably. She can give pretty detailed narrations with little prompting. Although we're not doing any spelling yet, she writes notes to friends and family a lot on her own, and she seems to be a natural speller. I was thinking of doing CW Primer for her LA for next year. But she really likes the PHP/Wise/Bauer, scripted, straight-forward style of OPGTR. Since I'll probably continue with FLL and WWE for her, I'm thinking it might make more sense to just start them with her next year. It seems like she'd be ready for WWE2. Does that sound right? Would I want to do FLL2 alongside it? It complicates things a bit, now that FLL 1&2 are separate books. If you were choosing for this kid, would you skip WWE 1 and FLL 1? Would FLL 3 be totally overwhelming for her when she hits 2nd? Or, could I do FLL1 with WWE2 next year, and just keep her working on different levels? I know grammar is hard to grasp for young kids, and I don't want to frustrate her. I'll probably just start a workbook-style spelling program like SWO with her next year, if that matters.

That was about the age that my mom let me read the first one, but not the 2nd and 3rd. She felt they were a bit dark for my age. In the 2nd, a very prominant character is Satan. The 3rd is more Brave-New-World-ish. I'm not sure that I agree with my mom's restriction. I think it probably depends on the sensitivity of your child. I have *loved* them as an adult. They'd be great books to read along with him and discuss.

Oh, that's interesting that the SL advisor told you that! I think I had assumed it was the company's leaning as well.