If I had to start over with my little one.... I would have waited to do PR1 for first grade or even 2 grade. And worked with something else for K and 1. I would work with the phonograms, and focus on getting those known, by sight and dictation. Start working on the easy word lists in WRTR when the child is ready. Use something else for reading like 100 easy lessons. Then when the child is reading and knows the phonograms start level 1. The first 4 weeks are spent learning the phonograms but with a young child that can often take longer. If the phonograms are known you could do a quick review of those weeks and move directly into the spelling. The grammar concepts in level 2 could easily be done in 2 grade. now to figure out where to go from here for my little one! :confused: lynda

Wow! This thread is just what I needed this morning. We did PR level 1 for K, we loved it. This year for 1 grade we started PR level 2, it was hard. It was too much of a jump for my 6 year old. She could not keep up with all the writing but she loved the Little House book. I stopped the writing/ dictation that went with the Little House book as I saw my dd not wanting to read because of the writing involved. I found a lapbook to go along with the book and we did that instead. We just continued with grammar and spelling. But we hit a point that the spelling words were getting so big and hard. She really hit a wall. I looked up the words in the WRTR and they were 3 grade level --no wonder my little 6 year old, 1 grader was having a hard time. I did not think to slow down with PR. I just stopped using PR2 and went back to the basics with the WRTR book. We just started to review the phonograms and work on the early spelling lists. But now I am feeling like something is missing. I need something a bit more scripted than WRTR, more because I just don't have the time to make the lesson plans all up myself. Or I get this sinking feeling like I am not covering something. I am now planning for next year. Trying to figure out if I should pull out the PR 2 and use it or just sell it! Anyone need PR 2?? I am using real books for reading, was planning on using PLL for grammar. So I really just need spelling and dictation. SWR or AAS or PR2??? I would love to hear about AAS as compared to PR. Lynda

That is what my dd was saying. She loves just being able to read the lesson in TT and then go to the DVD/CD if it is needed. She said that math is much faster this way. She also said that the DVD's for Chalkdust would put her to sleep sometimes. I am wondering now if it may just be her style of learning..... now I have to think about this some more. Lynda

I am so in this place right now. We used horizons math, then went into saxon 87 and 1/2. I switched to Chalkdust for Algebra 1 because I thought it was better/ stronger math program and heard about saxon's weaknesses in the upper levels. Algebra 1 went ok, not great but ok. I hated having to choose the problems on my own with chalkdust. My dd finished alg 1 and we moved onto geometry with TT only because she finished early and chalkdust geometry was not in the budget and a friend loaned me TT for free. My dd loves TT and asked to not do chalkdust again next year for algebra 2--she is even willing to go back to saxon. I just am not sure what I would like to do... UGG I hate math decisions!!! lynda

we are using Animal Worlds by winter promise this year with my 1 grader...we are using the 2 grade and up program. We are loving it. Has all the animals and habitats with fun crafts laid out for you. I have added some things as I wanted to or saw fit. http://www.winterpromise.com/animals_worlds.html Lynda

Congratulations!! I am happy for you....what a blessing. Lynda

That was it! Thanks so much ...I just printed out the story for my dd to read tomorrow!! LYnda

Help!! I read this short story when I was in junior high. I remember loving it! I know that my dd would devour it. I can not remember the name or the author of the story. Here is what I recall of the story... They created a society where everyone had to be equal. I remember a part where it talked about a ballerina dancing....but she had to wear body armor on her body to make her weight more because most people are not that thin...the consequence was the awkward dancer that could not dance gracefully like a ballerina that we would know. I also recall something in the story about them tagging people with a number, implanted on them. Thanks for your help, Lynda:)

They are AWESOME!! We are switching math's in January over to them. I was going to wait until then to order but my dd was insisting on it. She even told her Dad that is what she wanted for Christmas. We told her to wait, and she replied that it was ok if we did not have the money now that Santa would bring it to her...bless her little heart! So we ordered it last Thursday. I wanted to make sure we would have it in time for the holiday and was willing to pay extra shipping. They did not charge me anything extra and it was at my house the next day!!!! (No this is not her only present!:lol: ) Lynda

then you have my crazy kid who is unhappy with her math program.....and I know we need to make a switch. She put a new math program on her Christmas list! LOL......she was even specific she wants Math U See because she likes the blocks! LOL! Dad saw that and went online and purchased it for her and it is all wrapped up in the closet! ==== we did get her other things and that did not take away from her Christmas budget. We were already planning on the switch but were waiting for the first of the year. lynda

I did every 4 problem with dd. I would go back through and make sure that she at least covered two problems from each section. If I added in a problem from a section then I would take away a problem from a larger section. I also tried to have her do mix of the word problems from lesson to lesson. We spent 2 days on each lesson, day 1 --watch DVD, read lesson if needed, do what problems could to equal an hour day 2 --work on lesson for an hour ---later in the day she went over corrections and problems missed with me we did quiz and tests in one day and the chapter reviews usually took 2 days. Lynda

We are finishing chalkdust Algebra 1 and loving it. My dd has gone through it faster than I expected, she will be done next Friday instead of before Christmas. We were planning on going with chalkdust for geometry but purchasing after Christmas not now. I can swing the purchase for chalkdust geometry now however I just don't want to. Anyways, a friend just offered to loan me her Teaching Textbooks geometry for free. I just need to have it back to her by next fall which should not be a problem. Free does sound nice but I want to go with the stronger/ better program. Let me have the pros and cons of each please! or what would you do? I guess I just want someone else to make the decision for me. I have to much on my plate right now. What does the hive think? Lynda:tongue_smilie:

depends on the state and the insurance....when i was pg with my last child...dh switched jobs therefore we had to get new insurance. The new insurance would not cover my pg because I was already pg! We had to pay for the cobra to cover us until I delivered. We could not drop dh etc from the cobra to make it cheaper because he was the worker! It was expensive but less than paying out of pocket. We did not qualify for any type of medicare etc at the time. Lynda

12 is mine 21 is my dd 8 is other dd 15 is dh Lynda

She also just mentioned .... We recently looked at the Jacob's algebra book (could not find the geometry) and she loved the cartoons! But she felt like there were more examples in the chalkdust algebra book. So if you had to do a lesson without the DVD or Mom, that it would be easier to figure out what to do with the chalkdust book. She also had a friend over the other day who watched her math dvd with her and they are using the DIVE. I over heard the two of them talking and the other child was saying how he wished his math dvd's were like the ones my dd had. He was complaining about the DIVD ones for Saxon. Those were never an option for us and my dd and I both disliked Saxon, it was just not a fit for this dd. From a Mom's point of view the chalkdust also has a complete solutions manual that you can purchase...where you can not get that with Jacob's. I know that is a help for me but not necessarily a deal breaker but it would be a deal breaker for some.

We are finishing up the chalkdust algebra 1 right now with those dvd's. I had her look online at the Jacob's DVD sample and the Chalkdust geometry sample. Here was her opinion --- the Jacob's dvd stopped in the middle of the lesson to show a bullet point --the screen flashed to pink background with white writing ---my dd felt that was hard to read. She did not understand why the lesson needed to be stopped at that point ---that he could have just said the point or stated check your textbook on page X, this is important. In the Jacob's DVD the man was standing in front of the problems where in the chalkdust one he was standing beside the problems. She also felt that the camera moved around a bit more with the Jacob's DVD's and that bothered her eyes ---she said it felt like she was watching a home movie ---but for math. Overall she felt like the chalkdust videos explained things better. I do know that I showed her the dvd's for Jacob's algebra last year compared with chalkdust, and she felt the same way.

Thanks for the review of chalkdust geometry and algebra II. That helps a ton. I think that we will stick with chalkdust. I just had my dd look at the dvd's that go with the Jacobs and she was not happy with them. I like having the DVD's to fall back on when I am teaching my other children. She requested to just stay with chalkdust. So that it what we will do. thanks everyone. Lynda

I need help trying to decided what to do next. My dd age 12 is finishing up chalkdust algebra 1. Math comes easy to her, always has. No I did not push her ahead in fact she did 3 pre-algebra courses because I was trying to slow her down/ hold her back (saxon 87 3 edition, saxon 1/2, and chalkdust prealg) Plus I wanted her to get a bit older/ mature before diving into algebra. Trying to decided if I want to go into geometry next or algebra II. Part of me is thinking geometry and wanting a course that is proof heavy even if we take longer on it. I would just have her keep her algebra skills up by doing a test a week or something. If we go into algebra II, I would just use chalkdust, we were happy with it for algebra. Geometry, I am not sure right now I am debating between Jacob's with the DVD and Chalkdust. I do want something that has proofs, at least 2 column ones. I am fine teaching math, I just need to review it before dd only because it has been a long time. Geometry and trig were my favorites in high school so I am excited to finally be here! What are your suggestions can anyone compare the two programs for me?? I am also open to other suggestions. thanks Lynda

FLU---- Lynda

what hands on activities did you add or where did you pull those ideas from. I am thinking of using CHOW for my dd and want to add in some extras. Lynda

My dd can not have milk. The doctor told us to avoid the soy milks because of the extra estrogen that is often present in them, not good for anyone but especially women. (or young girls in puberty!) We generally avoid soy too. We suspect she has a resistance to this as well. The Blue diamond brand of almond milk is our favorite ----don't do the vanilla for pancakes unless you want a vanilla flavor --the plain is the closest to milk. It is not so bad in cereal, thicker like whole milk. There is also a coconut milk that is not so bad as well ----a little watery for my tastes. I will say that alternative milks have come along way in the last 10 years! As for breakfast in our house. On one of the weekend days I make a big batch of pancakes or waffles, and then freeze a bunch. Take them out on the weekdays thaw and warm, instant breakfast. Or I will make a batch of muffins and freeze these as well. Turkey bacon, Turkey sausage, don't tend to have the extra added milk--it is also a little better for you. Eggs of course. I will sometimes hard boil a few for the week. Granola, with yogurt (if you go to certain grocery stores or specialty stores) you can get yogurt made with coconut milk and no soy. I will warn you it can be a bit pricey --so only on special occasions! There is also a way to make homemade yogurt with almond milk --but I have not gotten so brave. Also at specialty stores you can find some great ice cream made from coconut milk without the soy---but that would not really be for breakfast unless you are starting out your day bad! :) We also do fruit with toast or breads but you need to watch as certain breads are made with milk. We use a fruit spread or peanut butter on bagels. I tend to make a bunch of quiche's in a pie pan and freeze these as well. I can just take one out in the morning and throw it in the oven then get dressed and have a warm breakfast. I make then milk and cheese free. I guess they are more like a scrambled egg bake --but I put a variety of things spinach & artichokes in one, bell peppers, mushrooms etc. You get the idea. Hope this helps some. Lynda

Make sure to do the problems that are designated with the little calculator sign. This will give them more work with the graphing calculators and help them get familiar with them for later SAT testing etc. Also make sure that you include the word problems not all but a good amount----some of them in the text are great life skill problems. My dd just did one on the decreasing value of a car over time. There was one she did on loan interest rates over a period of time. All the problems used algebra to solve but it helps one realize how we really do use it in daily life. Chalkdust is a great math program and we are loving it for Algebra 1! This is coming from someone who purchased it just before all the threads appeared how on to get it cheaper.... I paid the full price and I don't regret it at all!!!! Lynda

anthony and cleopatra

I would only give 1 credit a year per course. I have seen the exception to this if the student does additional lab work for the course giving an extra 1/2 credit so for max of 1 1/2 credit per year. The only other exception to this would be if you did two full courses in one year.

I used it last year with my K'er. It was great! She is reading well! We just started the 2nd level for 1 grade! I was a bit apprehensive about the Little House book because it looks thick----she started reading it without a problem at all! I loved all the little books that they made in the first level, so did my dd. It was perfect for her! The program is expensive, but a full language arts curriculum! You do not need to add in anything! I look at my daughters progress and would spend the money again. Besides by the time you peace-meal in all the parts to get a full curriculum for language you would spend the same. Just for a guide my dd is a young first grader --in fact we started school at the end of July and she is not 6 yet! Her Birthday is on Saturday!! Lynda