CLE language arts Explode the Code Kumon activity books for cutting, pasting, coloring skills

Ooh, you all are tempting me. I might need to add their nature study resources and handicraft DVDs to the plan for next year.

We won't even get to 4D for another year, but I'm still excited! It makes me so happy to know that there are other people who leave Beast as much as my son and I do. :)

Read "How to Homeschool Math Even if You Hate Fractions." It's mostly geared to parents, but there's a chapter on getting the most out of tutoring that is gold. I have only one tutoring student that is the daughter of a friend, so I'm afraid I don't have much specific advice about getting started. I charge $25/hr for now (in an area with a fairly low cost of living). I've really liked using Math Mammoth's Blue Series with my student because I can zero in on the specific topics she needs to work on, and they're very affordable.

Regarding the story, there's not one continuing story line, so it's not as though you wouldn't understand what was going on by starting with 4A. There are some recurring vignettes, and the characters certainly have distinct personalities, but not an overarching story. I agree with everyone else that you wouldn't want to skip the practice books, as that's the main substance of the program. There's a lot of wonderful math in the level 3 books, and they're well worth doing. If you'd rather not invest in the whole level 3 set, one option would be to go straight to 3B or 3C. 3B's treatment of perfect squares and the distributive property is outstanding, and you definitely wouldn't want to miss the variables chapter in 3C or the fractions chapter in 3D. Both lay really important groundwork. I'd caution against starting with 3D just because the chapter on fractions is one of the least interesting, in my opinion. It's essential work, but I don't think that chapter really gives you the full flavor of the curriculum. Enjoy! Hopefully Beast will be just the thing to pique your son's interest.

I also love the art portfolios. "Stories of America" is a wonderful history book.

If you'd like to stick with the overall conceptual approach but spend less money, you might also look at Math Mammoth if you haven't already. You can currently download the full curriculum (Light Blue Series) for grades 4-7A for only $87.50 at Kagi. You'd still have printing costs, of course, but it wouldn't require such a significant change to your approach to math.

Workboxes work best for my current second-grader for keeping track of his work and moving smoothly from one subject to the next. I just stick the work in the boxes in order and he moves from one to the next. It's slightly more work for me, but very little, since each subject is open-and-go. But, checklists are good, too, and might be simpler if it works for your son. (Here's a pic of my workbox set-up. I only use the top three or four boxes most days. ) Regarding timing his independent work, I'd suggest two blocks, perhaps with something fun or with the rest of the family in-between.

Both are great curricula. If you prefer the streamlined and more independent nature of Math Mammoth, go for it! :)

CLE has a lot to recommend it, and it would fit your criteria for not so teacher-intensive and more review. It may not meet his need for games and challenge, though, so definitely consider that as you give a light unit a try. You might also consider Math Mammoth, as it meets many of the same criteria but presents topics with a bit more variety of formats, and with some color. If you'd like some thoughts on thinking through a philosophy of math, as well as thinking through your personal preferences, take a look at my article on how to choose homeschool math curriculum. http://kateshomeschoolmath.com/how-to-choose-homeschool-math-curriculum/

My family is loving "stories of America" from Simply Charlotte Mason. It has a gentle tone and not too much detail about the more difficult subjects. For us, it has been a great middle ground between vintage texts that aren't too accurate and modern texts that are very accurate but don't always tell a good story or. Include more detail than I feel my kids need at this point. I'm traveling right now, so I can't check how it handles WWII, but the online table of contents looks like it focuses on the home front and a few key battles. There is also "stories of the Nations" which addresses WWII (and modern history) from a more global perspective.

The Standards edition is more popular on the forum, but the U.S. Edition is excellent, too. If you're just starting out, it's still a great rigorous and conceptual option for your math curriculum. If you've already done your research and feel good about Singapore, go for it, and don't let fear hold you back. :) There will always be a bazillion options, and the publisher says on the website that they will offer the U.S. Edition indefinitely, so it should really be okay. OP, you asked about Math in Focus. It's very good, too, but it's quite a bit more expensive, and it only has a teacher's guide (not a home instructor's guide) so you'd have to do a some modifying of the activities to make them work with just one child. (You'd also need to ignore a bunch of it, since teachers guides are so overstuffed with so many options for lessons.)

I haven't found a kit, but I did find it helpful to make a list of all the non-household items needed and order them all at once at the beginning of the year. Hometrainingtools.com is my favorite online science supplier, and I believe it had everything I needed for volume one. My biggest advice is just to go for it! Pick a lesson, read it and underline the key points, and then give it a try. You'll soon find how much time you want to spend on each lesson and how much time your kids will be able to give it their attention. I'm beginning Volume 2 this fall, and I'm looking forward to trying out a tip I read here on the forums. I can't remember who suggested this, but I'm going to cut the spine off and three-hole punch it so that I can grab just one lesson at a time and put it in its own binder while we're working on it. There's something about digging through that whole book that can feel a little intimidating and overwhelming--I think I'll feel more in control when I just have one lesson to look at.

Some great suggestions here about using IP and creating a spiral review system. Do bear in mind as well that 2A begins with multi-digit addition and subtraction review, so rolling right into it might be exactly what your child needs without having to add anything else on.

I love the "What Your Preschooler Needs to Know" book for songs and fingerplays (although the stories may be too involved for a toddler.) Their corresponding activity book works great for a two-and-a-half year old, but nineteen months might be too early. Kumon also has great early activity books (for things like simple coloring and cutting skills), but those will likely be more appropriate once your little one is two or so.

Sorry to hear it. :( I totally agree. I love, love Memoria's read-alouds and enrichment, but the math, phonics, and writing just has never lined up well enough (or looked interesting enough) for them to be a good fit for my kids. I can see using some of the lit guides or content books down the road, but likely never the full curriculum. Hopefully you'll still get some good use out of the core of the program?

Multi flow is a great app. Multiplication war is an easy card game that gives a lot of practice. Play just like War, but put down two cards each time and state their product. Whoever has the larger product wins. You can adjust the difficulty by customizing your deck. I like to take out at least the aces and twos.

Very true words. So glad that the first day went so well!

The Iowa tests give their percentiles based on children in a certain grade, so I'd go with the grades that you have "placed" your kids for right now, 6th and 3rd. That way, you'll get a clear-eyed assessment of where they're at for the grade that you have placed them in and see if there are any particular trouble-spots that need a little extra attention. I understand your concern about them not being overwhelmed with content they haven't seen yet, but that could happen with whatever grade-level test they take, so I wouldn't sweat it. Different schools obviously teach topics at different grades, and the tests have their own scope and sequence, so they're not really aligned for anybody. Just make sure to prep them by telling them this so that they don't feel discouraged when they see unfamiliar items.

Woohoo! Bring on the math! Loving math is much better than filling in the holes with drudgery and killing the spark. You can always fill in when you find problems...and who knows, he may actually want to fill in the holes if he loves the subject.

Sounds like she could be a Math Mammoth kind of girl to me! It's as self-teaching as anything can be at the early level, with a good level of challenge and conceptual teaching. But it's a bit more step-by-step than Singapore, and it doesn't require you to teach separate lessons, so it would hopefully be less frustrating for you. (I wrote a full review here, if you want more details.) If you go with Math Mammoth, definitely have your daughter do a placement test to get her into the right book.

RightStart is a discovery-method, spiral curriculum that you might consider. Is your son the six-year-old in your signature? If so, RightStart is a fantastic foundational curriculum for young kids. My full review of it is here.

As a point of reference, my son's path to Beast was RightStart A-C, Singapore 2A and 2B, then Beast. My son is also pretty gifted in math, and he had just turned seven when we started Beast. The biggest risks of starting early are 1) making math too frustrating and turning her off to it and 2) "wasting" the good math by not having her fully benefit from it because she's not cognitively ready yet. BA sounds like it will be a terrific fit for her eventually, but there's absolutely no rush. To be ready for Beast, you have to not only be mathematically ready but also have the mental stamina required to persevere through hard problems. Six and a half feels a wee bit early for that level of challenge, but it totally depends on the kid. You could certainly start Beast 3A slowly and see how it goes, with the intention of stopping for a while if it becomes frustrating.

Workboxes are my simple version of this, too. I use post-its if I need any more specific instructions.

OP, you mentioned how you're considering CLE for the same child you're considering Beast for, and I just wanted to chime in and say I use that combo. It feels very strange to have one subject be such incremental, spiral review while the other is so focused on creative problem-solving, but the pair is working really well for my eight-year-old. He was not thrilled with CLE at first, but two months later, he picks it up and gets it done first thing in the morning with no complaints or grumbling. I'm loving having all my cursive, grammar, usage, and spelling in one place without requiring much teaching time. (Although I do go over it with him after he's finished and discuss any new concepts that were introduced.) Feeling like all the bases are getting covered is making me very happy, too. For writing, I'm making up my own following the WWE model, as CLE feels a little too light in writing for what I want right now. (This seems to pick up in later years, so I may stop adding writing at some point.) I do copywork one day, the same copywork as dictation the next day, and then one or two days on writing a paragraph, and it's feeling like a good balance.