I've only used the LA, so I can only comment on that. In each four-page (or so) lesson, there's usually a half-page of phonics. Generally, kids match words to their phonetic equivalent (using dictionary-style phonetic markings.) My son had no experience with phonetic markings, but there's a guide in the inside front cover, so he's sort of enjoyed puzzling them out. I do cross them out a lot of the time, though, since he's a fluent reader and doesn't really need any practice with those. My son is also a natural speller, so the spelling in CLE is more than sufficient for him. I loved AAS, but it was too much teaching time for too little return. The quick five minutes that he spends on the spelling page in each CLE lesson is perfect. The CLE LA really is wonderfully thorough. If the Reading is too phonics intensive for you (and hopefully someone else will chime in on that), perhaps you could just use the LA and do something else for reading? I just have my son read the Ambleside free reads with narration, but there are plenty of other options, too.

Seconding Amongstlovelythings.com and afterthoughts.net. I also love Brandy Vencel's blog at simplyconvivial.com, which is in the same classical vein. Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles (mthopeacademy.blogspot.com) is wonderful, too. I think I've learned almost as much from her as far as curriculum goes as I have from the Hive, which is saying a lot!

Cindy Rollins (in her fabulous blog that she deleted) once made that point that her sons tried to use logic to control her, and so she chose to be illogical in those situations. I found this really insightful, not to always feel like I have to respond to my son logically when he's trying to wear me down with water-tight reasoning. I've also found it helpful to not allow any question that begins with "Why can't we...?" simply because they make me tired. :)

I switched to CLE's language arts this year and love it. Thorough grammar and usage, spelling, and handwriting all in one, plus my son can do it mostly independently. I add copywork and dictation a la WWE from my son's reading.

I'm adding this to my list, and looking forward to SWB's talk on writing at the WTM conference. My oldest is entering third grade, so I feel like I'm ready to start stepping up my game a little in writing. I want to reread Teaching from a State of Rest, too. I love that book, and I feel like I need to be reminded over and over to simplify, simplify, simplify.

In my experience, if a parent has to walk through all the problems with a child, usually something isn't working. What types of problems are giving her trouble? With Math Mammoth, my hunch is that your dd might need more "teaching" (conversations with you, working with manipulatives, trying problems on a white board) before she works on the worktext. MM is excellent, but it doesn't give you a lot of scaffolding for how to teach the material, so if you're not comfortable taking the teaching boxes and expanding them a little for your dd, a different curriculum might be worth considering. But you could try going a little more slowly and with more conversation along the way first? I only use CLE LA and have only looked at samples of the math, so please take my advice on it with a grain of salt. But while it looks very thorough, I suspect it would be too much to add to another full curriculum. Even though lots of practice is good, I hate for kids to learn to dislike math because they have to do so much of it! But if you feel like your daughter would benefit from the spiral review, I'd suggest using CLE as your full curriculum rather than trying to combine.

Maria Miller suggests using the AL Abacus (from RightStart) with the lower levels of Math Mammoth. Perhaps that would be a simple way to incorporate some more hands-on materials without having to invest a lot of money in new stuff? I've written a guide to using the abacus with any curriculum if you'd like to see some videos on how exactly to use it.

I'm publishing a relaxed preschool math guide on Monday. (Hooray, it's finally finished!)

I need a break in the summer, too. I love your idea of Monday Math, OP, as a way to get a little math review in but still have a real break. I agree with you that your child will be fine if those topics wait until you cover them in sixth and seventh. Much better to have spent the time you needed to get fifth grade topics solid this year than to rush through and superficially cover everything in the book.

CLE is great, but it may be a little more than you want for quick review and reinforcement. Have you taken a look at the free Math Stars worksheets that Maria Miller recommends for summer math? http://mathlearnnc.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=4507283&pageId=5856332They look like a nice variety of problems. Another good option would be to do the Evan-moor word problems books. I've used these in the summer ( a grade ahead, as they're very easy) and they're a nice way to review a variety of concepts. They also have helped my kids integrate and apply what they've learned since they're encountering the math in a different format.

I've only used up to 2B myself, which does thorough mental work with two-digit numbers. If you're looking for three-digit, I think book 3 is the right choice. Perhaps you could email the author? She's generally very responsive.

I agree, Singapore could be a really good fit (and has a similar overall approach as RightStart.) I jumped ship partly through C as well. Singapore 2A was the perfect book to transition to. We ended up going to Beast after 3A, but continuing on with Singapore would have been my plan if Beast didn't exist. I've written a full review and buying guide for Singapore if you'd like more info.

Math Mammoth is also cheap and relatively independent (and entirely secular.)

Beast and RightStart!

The author of RightStart Math was a Montessori teacher, and the program is heavily-influenced by Montessori. Level A is a great starting place for four-year-olds, although you could also use her ideas in this article to create a gentle year of math.

I'd never noticed these before on the SM website--they look fantastic!

Math Mammoth uses an grid model (arrays of squares) to model multi-digit multiplication, rather than the place-value disks that Singapore uses. I personally find it a lot more intuitive and visual...perhaps your daughter would as well? MM's Blue series multiplication 2 only costs about five dollars and goes all the way through two-digit times three-digit problems. I agree, throwing multi-digit multiplication and division at kids all at once in third grade is asking a lot (and a full year ahead of most other curricula). Slowing down to help your daughter really cement it makes a lot of sense.

Yes, the WTM academy does Singapore 6 with AOPS pre-algebra. Really, through 6 A would be just fine, although dividing fractions would be a nice bonus. Maybe you'd find it reassuring if you google the table of contents for a few pre-algebra programs? You'll see they generally review fractions, ratios, and percentage before getting into more difficult topics. (Heck, AOPS starts its pre-algebra with the properties of addition to get the ball rolling.) You could also ask on the Logic Stage forum, as there's been a lot of discussion of pre-algebra over there.

If you're looking for a conceptual approach like Singapore, I'd highly recommend Singapore, Math Mammoth, or RightStart. (The links are to full reviews that I've written.) I believe they're a great choice for any kid, but they're especially well-suited to mathy kids who get bored easily with a program with too much rote practice and not enough problem-solving or opportunities to figure things out.

If Singapore has been working well for your daughter, I'd say to keep going with 5B and 6A. Since you're going to be changing curriculum in a year, no need to change twice...especially when you're already using such a high-quality, rigorous curriculum. The topics covered in 6B are: division of fractions, calculating circumference and area of circles, volume, calculating angles in geometry, and more challenging word problems. Most of these will be covered again in a typical pre-algebra course, so your daughter would be fine. The only one I'd want to cover before pre-algebra would be division of fractions. Perhaps you could tackle it briefly after 6A, either with Singapore or the Keys to Fractions: Division book? (Division of fractions will likley be covered again in pre-algebra, too, but it's the one topic that I think could use a preview since fractions are so foundational for algebra.)

Continuing...I'm afraid I'm not answering your questions in order, though. Beyond the basics of the facts and the standard procedures is that nebulous area of number sense. Based on what you said about your daughter having trouble adding 38 + 4 without stacking the numbers, I'd guess this is an area where she could use some backing up. Number sense is absolutely vital, but I've had so much trouble finding quality, stand-alone resources. (If anyone knows of any, I'd love to hear about them!) Two options to consider are: 1. RightStart's Activities for the AL Abacus (with the corresponding worksheets and an AL abacus). The abacus is an awesome resource for helping kids develop number sense, and I think the streamlined format of the activities guide would allow you to go through it pretty quickly. (I have articles on the AL abacus here and here if you're not familiar with it.) 2. MM Blue series, with the AL Abacus or base-ten blocks for visualizing the concepts. Both of these include facts work and practice with the standard algorithms, but you could either include it or skip it depending on your daughter's needs. There have been a lot of good suggestions on this thread, too, but I expect one of these might be your quickest route to helping your daughter master these topics. You can either add this work to your child's regular curriculum (perhaps as a warm-up each day) or you can stop entirely and focus just on mastering the basics. In my opinion, these basics are so important that they're well worth your full attention for a while. Plus, an older child will likely pick them up quickly, so it's not like you'll be spending the next four years on getting through division. But either is fine. :) Once your daughter's number sense is improved and these basic skills are mastered, then I'd expect you could move back into the grade-level curriculum with additional conceptual teaching without a problem. Fractions, percents, and decimals require careful concept development, too, but most programs start from scratch with these each year in middle school, so you'd probably be okay. But if she started to flounder with any of these topics, I'd make sure to back up again and to get the basic understandings of those concepts solid. (And the "Keys to..." series is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to do this, in case you need it.)

These are such good questions, Lynn. My first step would be to check out how well your daughter's doing on the essential basics. Without these, all of math will be difficult and frustrating. -Addition and subtraction facts -Fluent multi-digit addition and subtraction, with understanding of regrouping -Multiplication facts and division facts -Fluent multi-digit multiplication and long division, with at least a strong understanding of the ideas of multiplication and division, but not necessarily a full understanding of how the algorithms work. To check these, you could just make up some multi-digit problems with different operations and go through the facts with her. (My kids' rest time is over, so I have to go, but I'll add more later.)

That is awesome! Good for you for trying something so much more difficult! I'm so glad it's working so well.

I shudder to think how many people have grown up hating math simply for this reason. Not too many people get a lot of joy out of doing the same thing over and over without anything new to think about.