Let me answer this first by saying I must still have my teacher goggles on. I earned my teaching credential for elementary before I had my DC and then decided I would rather stay home with them. So when I think grade, I think standards (oh the horrors!! :scared: ). I know that grade level can mean very different things depending on the district. And I can also see that it varies by publishers as well (singapore vs TT, for example). But for the most part, a X-grader should be able to do certain things, or at least be working toward those things. A 3rd grader should be close to reading independently, not still learning to blend CVC words. With that in mind, a child is not magically in 3rd grade because they are independent readers. Alright, where is the white flag waving smiley? I am definitely not trying to argue my case. I don't know what my case is. I just asked because I wanted to know what I am suppose to do.

I always considered grade to be what they were doing in school. So if I asked a kid what grade they were in, I would know that they were doing X,Y, and Z. Does that make sense? As far as activities, I consider age/size/maturity of the kid and convenience for me. In fact, because mine are so close in age (and size and maturity) I usually just try to keep them together. So for example, at church my 4 yo and 6 yo go in the kinder class together, even though neither of them should be in that class. They play sports together too, because the younger is much more athletic than my non-sporty 6 yo.

This makes sense for me. And I like the idea of having them "work" for that grade skip when they are older. It puts an emphasis on hard work and not just ability. Thanks!

Thank you! I just added that to my cart.

This might be a stupid question, but how do you find out what allergies cause the eczema? Is it a simple allergy test? My son has had eczema since he was a baby. When he broke out in hives at 12 months they did allergy testing on him and he was clear for dairy, eggs, wheat, nuts, and something else I can't remember. So does that mean those things are definitely not the cause of his eczema?

Thanks, I am getting ready to order 3A and you all just saved me 20 bucks!! :thumbup: zoo_keeper, where can you buy just the answers? For standard ed? I am lazy and don't like to have to think much when checking their work.

We used Singapore Essential Math for my 2nd DS. It was good, fun and fairly inexpensive. And you don't need a teacher guide because there are activities listed at the bottom of the page to either teach or reinforce each concept.

Did you like it? Why or why not? I am trying to decide on what to use for history. My ideal history would be reading lots of interesting books in chronological order and very simple notebooking. A few projects would be okay, but my kids don't really get into them. We are using LHFHG right now, but stripped down to just history reading and bible memory because they balk at the rest of it. I have looked at Sonlight, HOD, MFW, and a few others but BF seems closest to what I had in mind. I can't find any samples though, so I'm not sure. My other choice would be to get a simple spine like Exploring American History by DH Montgomery and heading to the library for books.

I have the HIGs for 1A-2B and I have barely used them, except for Mental Math and to check answers quickly. Every time I have tried to teach a lesson from those books my boys get impatient and just want to go straight to the workbook. At what point do you consider the HIGs necessary? (My DS really wanted to add some smileys) :hat: :gnorsi:

Oops, double post!

Thank you all so much for your replies! Parrothead, my 6 year old will correct me if I say he is in 1st grade. I have actually considered this! :001_unsure: And I know what you mean. My kids aren't pure 2nd or K. They are even ahead of those grade levels in both reading and math, but for the most part I feel like they level out at those grade levels. But just sticking with their age/grade makes a lot of sense.

When people ask, what grade do you say your child is in when they are working at a grade level different than they would be at a B&M school? I have a 2nd grader who should be in 1st and a K'er who should be in preK. I usually just say the grade that I consider them in without even thinking, but I always worry that they will be judged immature compared to other kids in that grade.

Oh, that's right! My psych course used the Keirsey version and I still have the book "Please Understand Me", but I do remember now that it was originally Myers-Briggs. :blushing:

Introvert vs. [E] Extrovert, [N] iNtuition, vs. Sensing, [F] Feeling vs. [T] Thinking, [J] Judging vs. [P] Perceiving. Its the called the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. I had to take it years ago for a psychology course, but I imagine its available somewhere online.

Ooh yeah, Leap Frog DVDs and those letter things are great! We did some store bought workbooks at that age as well. Nothing formal. But maybe you would like something like http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/joyful_learning.html or http://totallytots.blogspot.com/ . I didn't find these until mine were a little older. But be encouraged, every time you talk to her, read to her, play with her...she is learning! And 2 years old is not necessarily delayed for speech. My 2nd was a late talker as well, but when he was ready, it was like a switch was flipped. Each kid has their own time to do things.

Hello, I am a fellow longtime lurker finally drawn out from the shadows. :ph34r:

Great post! I was checking out at the market with my 6 year old and my bank card wouldn't go through. Well, it turns out it had just expired THAT DAY! I had no other form of payment on me, and I was in a hurry to go pick up my 4 year old from preschool. It was my own fault, so I told the checker to just hold the food in the cart (frozen and all) and I would be back to pay after I picked up my son and went home to pick up payment. The young lady behind me then swiped her card and said she would take care of it. I was astonished! After asking her several times why she would do this for me, I finally just thanked her, gave her a hug, and told her how much she had blessed me. What she did for me was so kind, but it meant even more to me than $108. My husband had been laid off 4 months before and, although I wanted to trust in the Lord, I was struggling with worry. That stranger's act of kindness was like God saying--don't worry, I told you I would provide.