I am sorry! I know what you mean as now that DS is officially K age I'm hearing more of it too. It helps that technically I've enrolled him in a charter school for the free funds to spend so technically I can tell casual acquaintances that he is in a charter school. Your list is great, especially about needing the phone number, I will definitely need to work on pushing homeschooling the way everyone else pushes brick and mortar schooling.

Thank you! I think buying another program from them is a good sign!

Thanks again everyone! I really wish I could just walk into a store like Rainbow and look through the books myself! MamaMindy what made Singapore more fun to your kids? I thought I had read somewhere that MIF incorporates more games into the material that make it more like RS. I haven't seen anything about Singapore having games or being fun.

Thanks so much everyone! OK I was all set to order MIF until I saw your post Targhee. Why is Singapore standards better than MIF for teaching the concepts? I definitely don't feel comfortable and would be closely following the HIG or text.

Thank you! I hadn't considered kits or lego education. Any recommendations on where to start with lego education kits? DS is lego obsessed and builds the sets meant for teenagers quickly so he would love it.

Bump...

I am NEVER late so it's driving me crazy. I thought my period was coming last weekend because I have been crampy and I've felt that way everyday but nothing. Finally tried a test this afternoon but it was negative. We were actively trying not to get pregnant but I have no idea why I am late. Any advice? Any BTDT? Did you have a negative before a positive? Just weirdly late? If nothing happens when should I test again? Thanks!!

My first thought when looking at how to spend the funds was Nancy Larson since I'd seen rave reviews about it but knew it was expensive. I checked out the kits for K and 1st and I don't get it. Granted the samples are limited but they seemed very basic and not interesting. I don't understand why they're so pricy. Maybe I'm missing something?

I'm leaning towards this since it has a general overview of different areas, living book list and beginning notebooking. Did it work for your students? Anyone regret it? Thanks!

DS loves science so I have been trying to figure out which program to choose. When I posted recently asking most responses for K were in favor of books and being outdoors. But what if it was paid for by a charter school? I'm trying to figure out what to use the funds on and I think science would be a good choice. I like the descriptions for NOEO, REAL Science Odyssey, and real science for Kids, but they seem to better suited for older kids. I'm leaning towards Elemental Science Intro to Science since it covers generally a lot of topics, recommends living books and beginning notebooking. I should probably post separately asking about Intro to Science. For those unfamiliar with charters they buy the materials but you have to give them back at the end of the year so I don't want to buy living books that I would have to keep track of. If it was free what would you choose for K science curriculum? Thanks!

I can't make up my mind between the two. I really wish I could actually look through the books and compare them. I'm the opposite of mathy so I'm nervous about choosing the right program that I can teach. I want to use the Singapore method since I've seen it praised so highly and DS seems mathy. I think if I went with Singapore I would use Standards since it has the cumulative reviews. DS has completed Mathematical Reasoning A and Singapore A and B. I am planning to supplement with Miquon as well. From what I've read it seems that MIF beaks down the steps more which is appealing to me since I have no idea about Asian math. I know MIF is more expensive but I will be purchasing with charter funds so thats not a deterrent. Is MIF as rigorous as Singapore? Do they follow the same scope and sequence? Is MIF easier to teach? Thanks!

I've seen lots of posts recommending CWP but I'm not sure when to start. Should I start as soon as we start using first grade math? I'm still debating between Singapore Standards and MIF. Or is it better to wait until he's been doing first grade math for awhile? Thanks!

Did you do the fluency sheets? DS hates them too but I break them up as needed. In the beginning it was about three lines a day so it was taking a week to finish. Now he can do about 1/2 sheet of the words and a page of sentences before losing motivation. The cards were actually very helpful for DS to learn the words and go from sounding it out to just reafing it. How is the blending going? DS loved the tiles at the beginning when he was having trouble with blending. You could try practicing with them more. What about ETC to help her with sounding out CVC words? Kumon has a Rhyming Words book just for CVC. Hooked on Phonics has an app for practicing CVC words if they aren't clicking yet. What about additional reading to help her practice? We've used BOB books and I See Sam.

Thank you! I had never heard of the we read series before and they look great. It is frustrating that according to the samples most are too easy but there are a few words he wouldn't know. AAR really must teach in a very different fashion since it's so out of sync with readers. Hopefully AAR2 will move us past that.

DS is just finishing up AAR1 now. It was very slow going at first, with lessons divided up over days or the week. He generally got the lesson quickly but needed a lot of time for the fluency sheets so I broke it up and went slowly. I am still amazed at how quickly he went from very slowly sounding out CVC words to reading them fluently. Once it clicked it went much faster and we would do a couple lessons a week, especially towards the middle when there were more lessons that were just reading. He has enjoyed it, especially the lessons and reading, and only ever been frustrated with the amount of words for the fluency sheets, although he liked the sentences. We started about mid April and he is now 4 lessons away from finishing it so it went pretty quickly. I think an older child could go faster if they have more stamina for everything which is the great thing about the program because you can go at your own pace. If he was getting it quickly you could move through it very fast. My only complaint is that I'm having a really hard time finding additional reading for him. It does seem like AAR teaches in an unconventional way so I can't find any books that much up with where he is now or the complexity of the readers. At almost finished with AAR1 he has mastered CVC, plural and compounds words. Unfortunately all the readers I've found are too easy, mostly CVC words, or not a good fit with words he hasn't learned like -er, -ear, -own, -ane, -ine, etc. so it will be difficult to find books to read after finishing it. But I am very impressed with how solidly it has taught DS so far. I'm just hoping AAR2 will move forward in such a way to make it easier for him to read more books.

DS is finishing up AAR1 and I'm having trouble finding books for this level. Everyday he's been reading to me from a BOB book or I See Sam, and I think it's really helped his reading. But now it feels like there is a gap before he can continue. I have the second yellow BOB set from Costco and after reading several of them well I have paused them because the next one has concepts that he hasn't learned yet. He's not ready yet for Frog and Toad or Mo Williems and I'm not sure what to do next. AAR1 is ending with him learning the additional sounds for vowels but there are no lessons or reading to practice them just memorization. I'm not sure how fast AAR2 will move if it will quickly help him be able to read more advance words or not. Ang suggestions? Thanks!

I agree with a lot of the advice above. I'd also advise him to try to get to know a local officer who could give him real inside info on agencies. Depending on the area it can be hard to transfer between agencies and you can lose seniority when you do. In our area there are agencies that are well respected...and ones that aren't by other officers. Obviously this is something that would be hard to know in advance of applying so it would be very helpful to know ahead of time. It would also be good to know what the expectations and requirements are of new officers. Here new sheriffs deputies often have to spend years rotating through stints at the jail or court security before hitting the streets, whereas city agencies they go right out to patrol. You definitely want to know how the economy is going for the agency as the city or county is in charge of the budget. Some localities are more immune from downturns than others which affects raises or layoffs. There can also be step increases for things like being bi-lingual or educational levels. Some agencies will pay for school too which is a great perk if you can find it. You can ge hired without a 4 year degree but you generally need it to promote. Getting the agency to pay for a Masters not only saves money but helps down the road to apply for command level or chief positions. I think CA has some of the highest pay and the money can be great. I have a professional degree and my DH still made more than me. But like others said the benefits are often in the long term, like pension and some agencies have lifetime medical benefits after so many years on so its not always a good short term occupation. There are lots of LEO options though so if he really likes computers he should look into the FBI and larger agencies that have specialized computer related teams.

Bump...?

I'm not sure what age child you're talking about but check out Memoria Press First Start Reading. I will say though that DS at 4 loved AAR pre-reading and really would cooperate to work with Ziggy. It introduced rhyming and DS still makes up silly rhymes now, but I knew I would reuse it with DD since it is pricy. It really is more than just introducing letters and I do recommend it.

DS 5.5 will often insist we play the game over and over until he wins. For some unknown reason DD almost 3 always wins games of chance which irritates DS. DH didn't believe me until her much older cousins were visiting and complaining she kept beating them. When it's just the three of us we usually keep playing after DD wins and if DS comes in second but beats me he is ok with it but if I beat him he wants to play again. So far he's been grumpy about losing and often tries to cheat, like if it's a game with a spinner he will lie about the number or try to change it, so I've been focusing a lot on honesty. When playing a game like chutes and ladders I exaggerate in being silly when I get sent down so DS can learn to take it better when that happens to him. Have you tried a game that is more skill based or cooperative? I think DS is more bothered by losing a game of chance since he can't control it

DS is finishing up AAR1 and reading CVC, compound and plural words well. He knows short vowels but only limited long vowels. AAR1 is ending with extra sounds for letters that he didn't learn before, like c in city, so he needs more practice with those since they're just introduced but there's no lesson or practice. When he moved from AAR pre-level to AAR1 it was a pretty big jump so I wanted to find him extra practice to help with moving on to AAR2. Are there any apps for this? The ones I found are either too easy with CVC words or sight words.

Bump...

DS is 5.5 and loves Legos but they are no longer challenging. He loves the act of building the set but he can now build 1000 sets in only a couple of hours. He really doesn't play with them much after they are built. He has bins of loose Legos that he uses to create his own things but he really prefers the challenge of following directions and finishing a set. The technic sets are more of a challenge than the regular sets so we are trying to steer him more towards those sets but he prefers the regular sets. We just are not feeling like we are getting much bang for the buck with lego since he is finishing them so fast and not really getting much time out of them. Is there something else I should look for to keep him challenged? Thanks!

Thanks to a misunderstanding of acronyms I bought DS Queen's Language Lessons for Little Ones instead of SWB's FLL. It's been way too easy as far as its introduction to letters as DS is beyond that and will be starting AAR2 soon. However he has enjoyed the paintings and poems and the beginning narration. For the most part it asks questions and then has the child recite orally and draw a picture. I will never in the foreseeable future do something like this on my own so I need a book that prompts me. The Queen books are expensive and there really isn't very many pages available to sample so I'm not sure about getting another one. If I were to would anyone have a recommendation about which one to buy? I really like the idea of ELTL but I think I should wait until closer to 1st grade. Is there anything else out there?

I have been doing a prehistory study with DS before starting ancient history but I am doing it more as history with some science thrown in. He enjoyed it but he was never that big on dinosaurs so it was just one part in chronological order. I've been impressed with how much he did retain though and he's brought up different facts that have related to other things. You might consider adding in other prehistoric creatures. I think DS has preferred learning about Mammoths, Saber tooths and cave bears more than dinosaurs. There are some great out of print books on Amazon that were $.01 plus like $3.99 shipping that were great and very detailed that could be used for more information for your oldest. I think DS liked the excavation kit the most where he got to dig out the bones and put together the skeleton.