[Frozen by indecision]

Oops, double post. Still haven't figured out how to use this iPad.

[Frozen by indecision]

Try www.spellingcity.com website where you can create a free parent account and add your weekly list of words. There is a pretest,, games to play for learning the words and you can take the spelling test at the end of the week which is automatically graded, then print it out. This works pretty well with my dd who has some vis-perception and fine motor struggles.

 

When making decisions to modify things for her, I usually try to ask myself "what is the point of what we are working on?" If I want her to further her spelling skills then I get rid of the handwriting struggles which impedes her spelling success. Same goes for writing instruction, she types just about everything because the process of handwriting takes so much of her cognitive effort that her actual writing process is jumbled, and just plain awful. When she types, then she has the cognitive energy to focus on creating well written, thoughtful papers. BUT, I make sure to include specific fine motor and handwriting work each week to continue to develop those areas as well.

 

Hope that helps some. It can be quite a tangle when trying to figure all this out, and just when you think it is all set, something changes and you have to start over.

[5th Grade Plans]

Almost finished up, now working on lesson plans and final purchasing. We just started homeschooling last year, so this researching and planning has been quite an experience. It is great to read through this thread and see all these great resources, especially for somebody new like me.

 

Language Arts - MCT Town level with Caesar's English I and Building Poems

 

Reading - Unit studies of "The History of the Horse" from Beautiful Feet to guide us in reading choices and writing assignments. I want to take advantage of how into horses she is right now.

 

Writing - The Write Source

 

Spelling - Rod & Staff 5

 

Bible - still haven't chosen something yet

 

History - CLP Exploring American History as an outline combined with hands-on projects, living history events, and historical fiction. I also ordered Beautiful Feet's "American HIstory through Literature"

 

Geography - Maps, Charts, and Graphs Level D and E

 

Science - Life Sciences using WoC The Ecology Book, Exploring Creation with Botany, AiG The World of Animals, and The Science of Life: projects & experiments

 

Math - Primary Math 5, LoF, and Math Mammoth units if she needs extra help. I keep going back and forth on ordering PM 4 too, just to skim through and do some of the activities. She is math minded and probably wouldn't have trouble jumping into 5, but I don't want her to miss out on some of the concrete activities to make sure her foundation is really solid.

 

Extras - Art through a coop, figure skating, ballet, either clarinet or fiddle lessons (she has yet to pick), Girl Scouts and maybe Awanas this year.

[Switch from My Math to Math in Focus or Singapore Math in 5th Grade?]

Thank you for the replies. Bocky, did you do the placement tests or did you just order the 5a/5b set?

 

I may order the singapore and then supplement with some of the math mammoth extras where she needs them. I hadn't looked into those at all, thanks for the idea Crimson Wife. I like having an outline of sorts for the year but I also like to pull in lots of other materials to make it all work. Math Mammoth looks like it is perfect for that.

[Switch from My Math to Math in Focus or Singapore Math in 5th Grade?]

Last year in the fall, we abruptly pulled DD (4th grade) from public school. I needed to assemble a plan quickly, so I ordered texts she had been using at school including McGraw Hill "My Math". It does not challenge her nor inspire deeper level problem solving or logical thinking. I've been reading blogs, reviews, and postings about Primary Mathematics and Math in Focus but I'm still struggling with what to do.

 

My plan was to order Primary Math 4A, 4B, and 5A standards edition and supplement with Life of Fred books this year (5th grade). She is bright and was part of her school's gifted math program (pushing through material quickly to skip into the next year's text - not a good program IMO). Then I started reading about "Math in Focus" and thought that might be an easier transition since she was already working in a common core standards program.

 

Here is what I really don't like about McGraw Hill "My Math". Too many topics covered at a surface level with too much review. Has the typical layout of public school texts with distracting extra junk on the page, a definite detractor for us. She doesn't need 100 practice problems to master a skill, but would benefit from from some extension activities to help her take the knowledge and transfer it into new scenarios.

 

My main concern is that she will be missing too many building blocks because we would be switching at such a late stage. I don't want her to grow frustrated or take her backwards too much. If we were in 2nd or 3rd grade I wouldn't have second thoughts about ordering Primary Mathematics but 5th grade seems late. I also don't want to continue using typical public school texts as I don't think they really meet her needs or our long term education goals.

 

As a side note, I couldn't stand using Scott Foresman's Reading Street for language arts either and we threw that out in the spring to start MCT's Grammar Town. I am amazed at how much she learned in a short amount of time and can't wait to get back to his books in the fall. For those who have used both, is Primary Mathematics or Math in Focus similar in approach or learning style?
 

Thanks so much for any help or insight - I feel like I have been agonizing over what to do for her next year in math for weeks now.