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my3daughters

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  1. Rod and Staff A-K series (or even the last few books if you think it is too easy) Singapore Essentials Math (followed by CLE math 1 if they are done with Singapore early) CLE Learn to Read (this is really designed for 1st grade but if your K is ready to read it can easily be for K) Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading would also be open and go The above will be what we are doing next year (already most of the way through the Rod and Staff series) along with some FIAR and science experiments with big sister (because she loves to work with her big sister sometimes). If you don't think they are quite ready for a full reading curriculum I would stick with Rod and Staff series followed by CLE KII
  2. Another recommendation for CLE. It is the first thing that popped in my head reading your initial post and laughed as I read everyone else's responses.
  3. We went to R&S 3 after finishing AAS3 (for a 3rd grader). R&S was definitely on the easy side and in hindsight I wish i would have gone directly to R&S 4 as I don't feel like R&S 3 deals with spelling rules nearly as much as R&S 4 does. In the end, midway through this year, we took a few weeks to just quiz the words lists only stopping to do a full lesson if she had too many words gone and then we moved onto R&S 4 which is a much better challenge for her. The biggest reasons I chose R&S 3 initially were 1) I didn't want to completely overwhelm her and felt like one "easy" subject would be ok and 2) in R&S 4 the word lists are only in cursive. At the beginning of this year I didn't feel like she was strong enough with reading cursive to assure she was getting the correct spelling of words.
  4. Both Math Mammoth and CLE are designed to be independent in the long run but I think anything at the 1st grade level is going to need teacher support.
  5. Keyboarding Without Tears is working well for us. I do love Mavis Beacon though and used it when I worked in a school district. It is a very solid program.
  6. Keyboarding Without Tears is working well for us. I do love Mavis Beacon though and used it when I worked in a school district. It is a very solid program.
  7. Rod and Staff has been really pretty independent for us this year. We are actually switching to CLE next year though because I want things wrapped together more and need the spiral approach. Rod and Staff is mastery based but has a lot of built in review.
  8. I agree Math Mammoth might be a good option. It is designed to be independent. If you think they need a more spiral and traditional approach like Saxon I would give CLE a try. Also designed to be very independent. It has more built in fact practice than Math Mammoth.
  9. We had similar issues with MM. Math become a complete stress. I finally started really scrutinizing what was going on - looked at time of day, assistance versus independent, reducing the number of problems, comparing it to the Saxon that we used before (but needed to get away from the scripted nature of it), etc. Even thought it was a very difficult decision after I exhausted my list of things to try we switched curriculum and math is suddenly a subject my DD1 enjoys.
  10. We just switched from MM3 to CLE300 and it has been the best thing ever. I was so very hesitant to switch mid-year but it was well worth it. We did start back at 301 but I don't think it was necessary. Do take the placement test for sure! They are free on CLE's website. It will not only help you place him correctly but also let you see where any gaps may be. You could start by only ordering the teacher manual for the level he places in. In the back of the manual there are alternative tests. You could have him take the alternative test for each light unit until he reaches one he does not pass then start at that light unit. You might be surprised and he may place mid-year and you will be right on track. Part of the reason for us switching from MM to CLE (besides mastery versus spiral) was I wanted DD1 to have daily fact practice and daily speed drills. That is the biggest reason I chose to start right at 301. I want her to spend as much time as possible re-drilling addition and subtraction facts so moving onto 4th grade faster was not a priority for me.
  11. It isn't Lexile levels but I use http://www.arbookfind.com and find it user friendly. There are only a handful of books I have tried searching that were not part of the database. I have also found it useful for finding ideas for other books at certain levels.
  12. Extensive experience…no, but I have been running a business out of my home (fully licensed in-home daycare) for 7 years and my oldest is in 3rd grade this year. Balance is certainly not easy but sticking to a schedule is huge as is finding the right curriculum matches. I run a full preschool program with the daycare (using FIAR) and try to combine all ages (at least through 1st grade) together as much as possible and as long as possible. Now that I have a few years of HSing under my belt I am finding I am better at prioritizing and letting some things go. In the beginning I tried to do too much and just added too much stress to our lives (thankfully my oldest is a great kid and took it all with grace). I am still working on finding the "just right" curriculum and the "just right" amount but we're getting there. At the end of the day and I weekends I need to find at least a little me time even if it is staring at the computer screen on forums or Facebook for an hour.
  13. We are in lesson 5 right now and so far prefer writing in a separate notebook and parts we do orally. I think 1 student book would work.
  14. I must say I am glad there are actually other children who don't love SOTW. It is a brilliant book/curriculum IMO and I know many many students love it but I guess like everything one size doesn't fit all….great thing about homeschooling. I agree Ellie- a textbook isn't necessary at her age I just know for certain I need something to follow. With running an in-home daycare with a full preschool curriculum (BFIAR/FIAR) and next year having 1 in kindergarten I will need something easy and open and go. A textbook like A Beka might not be the answer but it is something that will meet our needs and the 4th grade curriculum looks like it is delivered in a method that DD1 would actually be able to understand. A fellow homeschooler mentioned Beautiful Feet History of Horses and History of Science curriculums. I am looking into those a little closer. They might provide us with a break from what we are doing but give us the structure I so need. We are enjoying Beautiful Feet geography right now. Just another option I am investigating for next year.
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