Hi Everyone, I just wanted to share what we ended up going with after lots of research: https://www.amazon.com/Using-TI-84-Plus-Covers-Silver/dp/1617293156/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=TI-84+book&qid=1595712557&sr=8-3 We just got it in the mail today, and it seems very good. It even has an appendix where it works through several types of SAT math questions and strategies on the most efficient way to use your calculator to answer these questions for time.

I don't really like the term "rigorous" either. 🙂 However, I was at a loss for another word. I really like your rating scale. It was very helpful.

Hi Everyone, I am knee deep in planning mode right now, so please excuse my repeat questions. Tonight, I am trying to decide between BFSU or Mystery Science for my first grader. Mystery science looks much easier to use, but I guess I still feel like it doesn't look at in depth as BFSU. I am wondering if I could supplement it with a reading list. Has anyone put together such a list in the past? Thanks again for all of the help today! Cathy

YES! Thank you so much! Those were the exact two books I was thinking about. So, if I were to buy the Shannon Jordan book, do I REALLY need the BFSU book too?

Hi Everyone, Does anyone know of an online class that perhaps teaches a student how to get the most out of their graphing calculator? Or maybe a book they could work through?

Hello Everyone, In your opinion, where does Derek Owens fall on the "rigor scale" of math curriculum for the high school age?

I know that a number of people have published books that sort of organize BFSU into a nice little plan. Does anyone know what I am talking about? And can you tell me the name?

We typically start our school day late compared to most people. (Around 2PMish which is a lot different compared to when my oldest was 5! ). I use the morning to get some work stuff finished, workout, help my older kids, etc. The late start time is not ideal for a kid this age, but it is where we are in this crazy covid world. 🙂 Up until that point, my kindergartner just free plays ALL day. He loves to build with Legos, do self-directed craft things, foam stickers, etc. If he ever gets board (which is rarely) he listens to audiobooks using audible or "Libby" or "Hoopla" on an old iPad that he carries around. He also has some small chores that break up his day and add to the structure. I feel like those teach him a lot of things too. Like in the morning, he does some self-care/hygiene things and after lunch all of my kids and I do a quick clean/tidy of the whole house. (He has some specific chores like wiping the chairs and sweeping the stairs with a small hand broom, etc.) After clean up time, all of the kids do their private bible study. And my youngest listens to an audio bible storybook. Then he plays some more. Our day looks something like this around 2PM: Me: "OK, it’s time to start your school! Let's head to the trampoline!" It is hard for a child this age to transition from free play to school, so I have found that inviting him to bounce on the trampoline is a great way for my particular child to get started. 1). Trampoline School in the back yard: Memoria Press Recitation. (I made flashcards and he answers them while jumping on the trampoline) These include basic "life skill" things like, "What is your address? what is your full name? How many cents in a nickel? Who’s the current president? " and also, other basic facts like, "name the planets, name the continents, etc." (Transition) - Me: [While he finishes jumping] "OK, let's do your read aloud. I can't wait to see what happens." I leave while he finishes jumping to get our supplies. I always grab both the book I am reading to him -and- the books he is reading to me. We always do these at the same time so he knows what to expect. Also, notice that we switch locations again to refocus his attention. Physical location transitions help him a lot to switch gears. I try to keep this time very positive since I want to associate positive feelings with reading and books. There is usually lots of tea, some yummy snacks, and lots of cozy snuggling! If it is nice out, we snuggle together on the hammock in our backyard. If he is hungry, I might make him a snack or some tea and do this at the dining room table. And if it is raining, sometimes we go up to my bed since he LOVES to get read to in our master bedroom in the middle of the day. 2) Hammock School in the back yard (or in my bedroom if it’s raining): "Build Your Own Library Grade 1 Read Alouds". - (I read to him....) and then I jokingly say, "OK, it’s my story time!!" And he reads one or two of his "I See Sam" readers. We use a clipboard that has a sticker incentive chart I've made for reading books which REALLY motivates him. It looks a bit like the Candyland board and has a spot for each reader. I keep stickers behind the chart on the clipboard. He puts a sticker for each book he reads and earns things like ice cream night, a small toy, a movie night, a "sleep over" with his siblings, a camp out in the backyard....things like that. 3). Next we do what my kindergartner calls "Dragon School". - It is actually Logic of English Foundations, but he calls it "dragon school" because one of the books has a dragon on the cover. Again, this curriculum includes LOTS of movement and games scheduled in (Kangaroo hop phonogram review, slapjack, racing around the room and writing things on a white board) but also includes a few small things done at a table or desk (spelling words each day, copy work starting at the end of level B, colorful worksheets, etc.). So, this provides a nice transition from games & movement to desk work. 4). Next, while he is sitting at his desk, he does a Singapore Primary Math Lesson. These are very short and sweet. If he is ever resistant to math, we do some RightStart games and work on the abacus, etc. 5). He reviews his math facts using Time4MathFacts.com: We transition from his little desk to the kitchen table and I can start prepping dinner while he does this. It is basically just video games that review math facts. ---As far as whining goes, we really don't have a problem with it with any of my kids. Whether it comes to school or chores. And that makes my school days so much nicer...for everyone! This doesn't happen overnight, but I work on this intentionally from an early age and keep working at it as the years go by. I feel strongly that this is a very important habit to establish early on in a homeschool. I have seen countless friends throw in the towel on homeschooling just because their kids have learned to complain about every little thing and eventually the mom just can't take it. So, I have learned to nip whining and complaining in the bud at an early age! Whining and complaining are contagious. If one person does it, it starts to spread through the whole house. Soon everyone is complaining about chores or complaining about school or whatever.... and we are all a lot less happy. Also, have you never noticed that complaining about something makes the job feel harder and take longer? (Seriously, try going for a run and complain about it the entire time in your head or aloud. It will feel MISERABLE. Now, try reframing your thoughts positively. Play some fun music, listen to a good audiobook, try to have some fun, and remind yourself how strong you are. The run will actually feel easier. The same thing goes for chores or school work.). Plus, I've done a lot of reading which says that the more we "practice" whining/complaining/negative thinking, our brains become more conditioned to immediately go there every time. We are basically strengthening neural pathways which make this negative behavior or thought cycle our default response. On the other hand, prating thinking positively can also become a conditioned response. Habits, both good and bad, are powerful! So, how do you encourage positive thinking? Well, there is no magic solution. I use both modeling, positive reinforcement, and sometimes consequences. (If you whine about wiping the chairs for example, you might get a harder job. Now you have to wipe all of the counters and bathroom sinks. If you whine about that, you get an even harder job. Suddenly, wiping the chairs doesn't seem like such a big deal). And at the same time, I praise the kids when they work with a good attitude and especially if they find a way to make the chore more fun. I notice and comment on specific behavior. My kids have come up with all sorts of fun things to make jobs more pleasant. (Playing games to see who can get the biggest dirt pile while sweeping, or listening to fun music, etc.). Again, I am just trying to build the habit of approaching work with a good attitude since it is really a part of life. When it comes to school, I try to keep that as positive as possible. Especially at this age. I think a 5-year-old should look forward to school. If they are complaining a lot, I first try to make sure that what I am asking from them is reasonable. Sometimes we can expect too much. And I try to make sure the learning feels fun and positive. (Reading a book should feel good! Working on a math puzzle should feel fun! If it isn't, I try to figure out how to make it more fun or enjoyable). And I also acknowledge that sometimes we have to do hard things. When we have to do hard things, I praise them for their work ethic and for having a good attitude. I comment on specific things I notice they are doing well. (Wow! Look at you! You wrote all 5 spelling words. You are such a hard worker! " And I gently correct when I notice negative behavior. Sort of like watering the flowers and pulling the weeds in a garden. ETA: And yes, I am usually exhausted at the end of the day! But that is VERY normal when you have young children. Parenting and homeschooling is hard work. You are giving a lot of yourself to these precious children! I've found that taking care of my basic physical needs helps me to feel better. I work out everyday so I am physically stronger which gives me more energy every day. (Sweat is magic!) I drink a gallon of water every day. I eat well and avoid or limit sugar/alchol. I get enough sleep. I take tea breaks and read a lot so I can take care of my mental health and re-fill my "patience bank". Basically the same things we try to encourage in our children.

Bumping this up! Is there any information on this program?

There used to be a list on the Singapore math website that listed which specific manipulatives are needed for each version and level of Singapore math. I cannot find this for the life of me! Does anyone know where to find this information? Thanks!

Just a quick question, do the dimensions workbooks have perforated pages? That might be a deal maker for me! 🙂

That is how I am with the AOPS courses! 🙂

I have tried the American History program now three times with three different children....and each time, I have quit very early on. I really *want* to like the program. This might sound superficial, but the teacher's manual is so, so pretty to look at. And the books.....Man! They are just gorgeous. I have kept them on my bookshelves and every time I look at them I feel happy inside. That is why I keep trying the program over and over again. I want it to work so badly! My youngest son is more artistic than my other two children. He LOVES notebooking and drawing/writing about what we have learned. So I thought the program might work better for him. I started reading aloud the D'Aulaires books again, and I could tell the only thing I was accomplishing was making my first grader hate history. The books are gorgeous so we enjoyed looking at them, but they just didn't make the best read alouds for our particular children.

I have read that. It is a great review! However, she seems to cover more of how the teacher's manual and lesson setup vary. (All great information!). BUT---I guess I am wondering if Dimensions has the same rigor as Primary Math. For example, one thing I have noticed since posting this is that dimensions seems to introduce concepts later. (I gather this from reading through the scope and sequence documents.) For example, in the Primary Standards 1B book the student learns multiplication as repeated addition and even touches on division by diving things into groups. They also touch briefly on fractions in first grade by the student learning to recognize halves and fourths. Multiplication is covered at all in dimensions until Ch. 6 and 7 in Dimensions 2A. And dimensions doesn't introduce fractions until 3B.

Hi Everyone, I have quite a large age gap between my youngest and my next youngest child. That means I have to go back and research all of the materials that have changed since I last taught this grade. So sorry for all of the questions today.... I used Singapore Primary math for my older children and loved it. I felt like it really set them up for sucess in middle school. It took me awhile to figure out that I MUCH prefer the standards version of primary math compared to the US version because of the built in reviews and layout of the teacher's manual. I now see that they have released a new Dimensions version of Singapore math. Can anyone tell me a bit about this new version and how it compares? Thanks!

I know what you mean! My "standards" keep going down as I get to my younger children! But that might not (always) be the best thing. So that is why I was asking.

I am trying to figure out first grade science. One of the programs we have watched casually are the mystery science videos. However, I am wondering if "the hive" feels that this is really a complete science curriculum. Does anyone add anything to it? (Read alouds, memory work, movies, etc.).

Hi Everyone, I am considering using the Zoey & Sassafras books this year for a fun science "read aloud" to go along with Mystery Science. Does anyone have a list of what topics are included in which book?

I feel like LOF is a fun book, but not worth High School Algebra credit. I would consider it more of a fun math supplement, so I am not surprised a student might struggle with standardized testing after using the book only. So I think your plan to repeat Algebra is a good one. Algebra is really important for future math and science success, so it is a good thing to have a firm foundation.

Hi Everyone, I've never officially taught health to any of my kids, and I would like to cover something this summer. (We've only done it informally before.) Does anyone know of any free health curriculum resources? Our budget is SUPER tight this year. I have a boy (age 13) and a girl (age 12) that I would be teaching. Also related, should I teach them together or separately?

Hi Everyone, Just popping in for a quick question today-- Can anyone explain to me how you would "sound out" the word 'are' in English? In other words, how would you explain the word to a child who has been taught to read using an OG approach? I see the phonogram "ar" in there, and then is it a silent 'e'? Why is the silent e there? I seem to have forgotten this. 🙂

Just a bump! 🙂

I agree! Very interesting. Because, to me, Spelling Plus gives WAY more practice than AAS. If you actually do the daily spelling practice as described in the teacher's manual, the student is doing SIX guided practices for each word each day (some visual and some auditory and some tactile by writing), PLUS the words are practiced many many times in the dictation sentences over and over again. (There are 5 dictation sentences M-Th, and Friday has the child dictating a paragraph one sentence at a time.). PLUS, the words are again reviewed in the cumulative "pre-tests" multiple times per week. (Like I said, we administer all of these pre-tests for each passed level as a way of reviewing. And any words missed on any of these pre-tests are put back on a spelling list until mastered.). By the end of the program, the student REALLY knows these words. According to the material in the front of the book, these words make up 97% of written English (or some high percentage.) Now take a typical AAS lesson from level 3: (https://www.rainbowresource.com//pdfs/products/prod044011_smpl0.pdf). 1) You do a word analysis. (GREAT practice and I really like this.) 2) You review all of the ways to spell the long a sound in English and some general strategies for knowing which to use using letter tiles. (ex. long a at the end of an open syllable, and English words don't end in "I"..... BUT---the child also discovers that spelling takes a certain amount of memorization. So that brings us to 3. 3) Read through a word bank of words with long a spelled with "ai" or "ay". Now, if your child has a strong visual memory, reading through this word bank might actually help them! But, most kids who pick up the spelling of words from reading don't really struggle with learning to spell. They know when a word "looks" wrong. My kids never internalized these spellings no matter how many times we would read through these word lists. 4) Next the students spells some ai/ay words on paper. 5). Finally the student spells even more ai/ay words on paper. 6) Next there are some dictation sentences, but not near as many as in Spelling Plus. Again, every student is different. I just share my story in case there are other families out there who have been investing hours and hours into spelling and aren't seeing results. I totally agree with you that All About Spelling has more variety. However, I am not too worried about making every subject super fun. I think that some things just take practice, and not all practice has to be super interesting. My kids would trade the "fun" of the letter tiles for an efficient 15 minute per day lesson. Again, every student and human being is different. We all learn differently and process information. For example, I think the word bank method of learning to spell in AAS might be very effective if you have a good visual memory. *1) Look at and

Hello! Has anyone ever used Conceptual Academy and one of their "self study" programs? If so, could you tell me your thoughts? Thanks!

I have done it with only 2 kids from 1st to 4th grade....and nearly lost my mind by February/March EVERY year. In my experience, a lesson did not take 5-10 minutes per day. And in my experience, I was not able to help other kids with math while helping another kid in math. 😉 (But obviously, your experience may be different as you can see from the other posters. I'm just sharing my experience. I think you other mamas are just amazing btw!). In my experience, I was spending a FULL HOUR of my day on spelling between just two children when you added in transitions, those tiles, review etc. Which may not sound like a lot, but spelling was only one tiny piece of our language arts program. The longer I have homeschooled, I have realized that my devoted time is one of the most precious resources that I have to give my children. I have to be very wise with how I spend it. And spending so much of it on spelling was not perhaps the wisest use of our time. (Don't get me wrong! I find spelling incredibly important. My point is that there are lots of really important things. Being intentional about my use of time was an important skill for me to learn.) SO---We switched to Spelling Plus in 4th and 5th grade. And I've never looked back. I purchased the workbook PDF and the recorded lessons/diction sentences. (Still cheaper than a single AAS lesson and I can reuse them for all children.) I loaded those recordings on an old iPad that we had, and moved to an assign and check method. They now do spelling and dictation completely independently and it is usually completed in 15 minutes per day. I am seeing the same amount (if not more) spelling progress with Spelling Plus as I was seeing with AAS. (Keep in mind that my kids had both been through AAR so the knew their phonograms and spelling rules REALLY well. I wouldn't have done this if they didn't.). (I also forgot to mention that the spelling pretests can be downloaded online. We use these a lot as review throughout the year and at the start/end of each school year. ----------- I should also mention that my children are not natural spellers. Just reading or looking at a list of words does nothing for them. They need an incredible amount of practice to see any improvement in their writing.