just finishing up AAS 2 this week. We do spelling 4x per week, short lessons. We also stopped building the words first with tiles, we just go right to the whiteboard with dry erase markers. My daughter is a little older so for us, she usually knows how to spell the words on the list, but doesn't know the RULE so she spells other similar words wrong in her writing. I usually just review some of the harder phonograms (au, aw, oi, oy, ou, etc.) or dictate them to her and have her write them. I review some of the rule cards. I will ask something like "when do we use CK at the end of a word, or what's the FIND GOLD rule?" etc. and I keep recycling all the word cards and just review a few a day. I usually do all the phrases in one day, all or half the sentences on another day, and on the other days the actual word list + the "other" list if there is one.

yes, our youngers have a full range of "classes" to take including this semester: FIAR, Dinosaurs, lego, young inventors, P.E. In the past we have had ooey gooey science, music & movement and others.

I found RSO life level 1 perfectly acceptable for my 2nd grader last year. This year we are on Earth and space and I purchased chemistry for next year already. It gets done, it's easy to implement, my DD enjoys it, and did I mention that it get's done :) I do supplement with library books, and science videos (magic school bus, billy nye, etc) and I think that it really adds to the program.

good to know thanks!

Thanks for you response. I did sign up for the sampling online, I just wonder how long they allow you to access that? if it's indefinite, I guess I wouldn't really need a teachers manual at all if I could just look at that.

Hello, Thinking of switching my DD from math mammoth 3 this year to MIF 4 next year. Is the Teachers manual necessary? is it essentially the exact same thing as the textbook? or is there a lot more teaching in the Manual that isn't in the text? -any chance anyone knows how similarly the line up? in other words, will she have missed some previous teaching in MIF that wasn't taught in MM if we jump in at grade 4? Thanks for any help!

bumping

I am using it to supplement MM. We really haven't made much use of since we are so busy with other things but I do like it and so does my DD who is 8. It's definitely a step up in terms of definitions. They do talk about how to define right, obtuse and acute angles. How to define right, obtuse and acute triangle, and then they get into scalene, isosceles etc. My DD likes it and hasn't complained, but she likes geometry anyway. She thinks it's cool that she can learn the "older" stuff. But this is only one section. Another section is simple skip counting, finding area with grid blocks etc. They def. use more logic puzzle type things but I really like that because it gets her to look at things in a different way. Again, we are using it for a fun supplement so I don't know about using it for a sole curriculum. I personally don't find it beyond the abilities of most 8-9 year olds, but what do I know :)

Sometimes I wish I did have the Teachers M because honestly some of the question get pretty deep on the character/trait analysis and even I have to really think about it. However, there isn't always only one "correct" answer. The manual would be nice as a luxury but certainly not a necessity to use this program. I think the book and maybe the workbook has plenty to keep a kid occupied. We are only using it every other week because we are also using WWE2 straight through, and alternating mosdos with the new CAP fable program. It's just too much writing to do it all every week.

I actually bought a used copy of mosdos ruby (grade 4) for my 3rd grader this year. We are using other things too so i plan on using this for 3rd and 4th grade next year. I also bought the workbook from Rainbow Resources, but did not purchase the teachers manual because it's just so expensive! I really like it. The reading selections are very well thought out and nice (they focus on character traits a lot, so things like trustworthiness, honesty, kindness etc.) There is also some poetry mixed in. Each reading selection has a focus. Today we read a bout internal conflict and the story was about a little girl that did something she realized she shouldn't. It focused on her internal conflict of simply stopping the bad behavior, or going one step further and rectifying her mistake (which she did) there are some questions at the end of each chapter to write about. You could easily do it orally too. The questions really are made to get kids thinking. They don't ask nonsense questions like who did what or where did this take place. They are more inferential comprehension type questions or questions where they ask the reader what would they do in this situation, how would you handle this, etc. While the reading level for my DD isn't difficult for her, sometimes the questions are! They really force her to look beyond the surface of the story to find the hidden messages. The workbook has stuff like vocabulary work, more writing questions, graphic organizer and that sort of thing. The workbook does NOT have pages for every story, probably about half.

btw, I would be switching from math mammoth to Math in focus AFTER she completes her grade 3 of math mammoth, not switching mid year.

Hello! my question is 2 part..first, is a teachers manual NECESSARY for math in focus grade 4? I feel fairly confident teaching 4th grade math concepts but don't want to miss out on something important. Is everything laid out in the textbook? Second, my DD is currently using math mammoth grade 3. She started homeschooling in second grade and we have used math mammoth both years. She has been just fine with the learning style and is retaining great, However, the only thing she doesn't love about it is the boring pages. She looked through her brothers Math in focus grade 1 textbooks that I just bought and she loved the bright, glossy color pages and the games and such. She is doing great with math mammoth so I'm reluctant to switch, but I think she likes the presentation of Math in Focus better. Any advice?? thanks!

My 5 year old DS will be completing level A this week (we started in September). Last year he went to a public school morning pre-k program where the learned the letter names, but he had no problem learning that they also all make different sounds. He is doing fantastic with it and his reading is really coming along. So far, I think it's a fantastic program. I also use the app on the iPad for extra practice and I have just always referred to the letters as their sounds and he got the idea quick enough. Repetition is the key because as you know, some of them have 3 or 4 different sounds but it hasn't been an issue at all.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone had any advice/experiences with helping children with inferential reading skills. My 8 yr. old DD is fabulous at literal comprehension so no problems there, and she reads above grade level, but struggles with inferring the not so obvious and underlying messages or themes to a story. She has a hard time imaging why a character might refrain from an activity in the future because of an experience they had in a story for example. Or explaining why two characters had such different reactions to a situation. She can only retell the surface answer, but struggles to see the deeper conflicts or hidden messages the author is trying to tell. Should I worry? is there something I could do to strengthen this area? Thanks!

Perhaps I missed this somewhere, but are the short spelling lists supposed to be repeated later on? I see no mention in the plans to review those words. If my son gets them all right the first time, we have just moved on and kept going with the lessons, but haven't reviewed those spelling words. Does anyone know if we are supposed to?

We are about to finish AAS level 2, and I have always purchased the manual AND the student packet, but I am wondering if it's really necessary for the student packet as well? we mainly just use the whiteboard anyway and rarely use the tiles. I do use the cards for review, but have no problem making up my own. Will I be missing out on anything if I just buy the manuals from here on out, or is there something in the student packet that I really need?

We are doing one right now. I have a separate binder for our state study. I chose to do it by 1 geographic region at a time so right now we are doing pacific states. From our library, I check out the state alphabet books by sleeping bear press I believe it is (G is for golden: a California alphabet book, E is for evergreen: a Washington alphabet book, etc.) We read the book first. Then my DD completes a worksheet that I googled and found a printable for. She fills in all the relevant details about the state (motto, abbreviation, rank, population, etc.) She draws an outline of the state map too. I also found printables that had each state bird, flag and flower in color, so she cuts those out and adds them to her sheet. I also printed out all the state quarters so she adds that as well. I had an old state quarter collectible folder from my bank teller days that I gave her so she loves hunting through the coin jar to look for the state that we are covering. She adds it to her folder when she finds the actual coin. We play some games on the iPad if we have time like stack the states, or some other geography game if we have time. If we are really doing good on time I might find some short youtube clips on geographical features of the region (like a river or mountain, etc.) I also found a scholastic ebook for $1 during one of the sales that has little make it geography books that you print out and assemble (they have one for islands, valleys, mountain ranges, etc.) This is one of her favorite things to do during the week, and we try to cover 2 states per week.

We are doing one right now. I have a separate binder for our state study. I chose to do it by 1 geographic region at a time so right now we are doing pacific states. From our library, I check out the state alphabet books by sleeping bear press I believe it is (G is for golden: a California alphabet book, E is for evergreen: a Washington alphabet book, etc.) We read the book first. Then my DD completes a worksheet that I googled and found a printable for. She fills in all the relevant details about the state (motto, abbreviation, rank, population, etc.) She draws an outline of the state map too. I also found printables that had each state bird, flag and flower in color, so she cuts those out and adds them to her sheet. I also printed out all the state quarters so she adds that as well. I had an old state quarter collectible folder from my bank teller days that I gave her so she loves hunting through the coin jar to look for the state that we are covering. She adds it to her folder when she finds the actual coin. We play some games on the iPad if we have time like stack the states, or some other geography game if we have time. If we are really doing good on time I might find some short youtube clips on geographical features of the region (like a river or mountain, etc.) I also found a scholastic ebook for $1 during one of the sales that has little make it geography books that you print out and assemble (they have one for islands, valleys, mountain ranges, etc.) This is one of her favorite things to do during the week, and we try to cover 2 states per week.

thanks for replying! I really think it will end up being my choice for spanish curriculum

has anyone here used this spanish curriculum? I am looking to use it with a rising 3rd grader (with a rising K'er listening in as he wants) My choices are between this and Songschool spanish. Risas is more expensive but it looks like it can certainly be stretched to two years worth of use. How important is is for the teacher (me) to be fluent in spanish...I'm far from fluent but have taken a few college level spanish courses so I feel fairly confident. Any advice/opinions would be appreciated!

My daughter just started homeschooling in January. I decided to try the DORA test to see where she is at. I went into the test knowing that her spelling was below level. (we are halfway through AAS level 2) Some of her scores seem wacky so I was looking for some help/advice For the high frequency word recognition she only scored 1.5 yet word recognition is at 12.83? that seems weird...perhaps she was just too slow? Phonics was 4.83 Phonemic awareness 100% spelling 1.83 oral vocabulary 6.83 comprehension 7.5 should I even be posting on the board? My DD loves to read but frequently chooses books below what I think should be her reading level (junie b jones, etc.) yet she loves the content and her interest level isn't always in line with her reading level I suppose. Any suggestions for me? Should I challenge her more, let her be?? this is our first year of homeschooling so I am still finding my footing. Thanks for any advice

Thanks for the ideas! I think the phonics clip art book from scholastic would be the best for making up my own game of sorts, thanks again!

I am looking for a printable activity where there will be a page of images (apples, alligators, acorn, bear, tree) where the child would have to cut out the images that start with the initial sound of A I am looking for something like what is included in the PRE-AAR activity book ( I bought the set used on ebay, but it didn't include the activity book)

I frequently feel that we aren't doing enough either, but then I just write a list like this to remind myself that we do plenty! Math mammoth w/ life of Fred & right start math games to supplement Story of the world w/ activities, child written summaries, map work, and lots of extra read-alouds for each chapter 2x per week Real science odyssey 2x per week with all the labs and extra read-alouds All about spelling daily Grammar/English using 2nd grade workbooks and excerpt editing for mistakes 2-3x per week Nanowrimo writing program a few times per week Various art projects, weekly art journal, geography lessons Various unit studies with lap book (deserts right now) Weekly homeschool co-op (geography & american girl addy) Weekly swim, chorus and girl scouts Weekly playmates with homeschool friends She reads tons on her own silently Whew!!! Is that all? We usually get everything academic done in under 3 hours per day

Miquon Math & education unboxed AAR1 Handwriting without tears K Wee folk art curriculum of readers and projects for a weekly theme Tagging along with my 3rd grader for SOTW 2 Geography RSO space Artistic pursuits Karate, swimming and 1x per week co-op