:iagree:

Between our state (TN) sales tax and local sales tax, we pay 9 1/2 % on EVERYTHING!!! Yes, I buy online...to save money and for the convenience of shopping from home with my three screaming kids here instead of at the store!

I would not put her in speech therapy for that. If there was a serious problem with her speech, I would say yes, take the help. My ds6 talks that way too. My nephew talked that way at that age (now 18) and now longer does. This is coming from a mother who had ds8 in speech therapy for 3 1/2 yrs;)

My 3rd grader doesn't like writing, but he is loving 1st Language Lessons 3 this year. I plan to try WWE next year, b/c so far all of the Peace Hill Press material is so easy to use and engaging for the kids. You can always change it up some if the writing part is too much, cut down on narration or writing in other areas. As far as getting him out of his shell, it may take time. Does he feel confident in his abilites? Perhaps a lack of confidence keeps him quiet. I was very shy and quiet as a child, wouldn't speak much, wouldn't participate in classes and activities. I didn't feel that my abilities/thoughts were worthwhile, so I kept them to myself. Try to find ways of building his self-esteem and see if that helps. Good luck.

I've been looking at a lot of science curricula to decide what to use next year. I followed the WTM method this year and was dissappointed. The kids are bored, and they prefer "doing" science in order to learn. I suggest Real Science 4 Kids. a 1st grader would be perfect for Pre-level I--Biology and/or Chemistry. I plan to use Level I Chemistry and Physics this coming year.

Another vote for HWT. My son had terrible handwriting, so I started last January with printing power (2nd grade printing). I had to re-teach him to form letters neatly and properly. Now he is finishing last pages of HWT cursive workbook. He actually writes neater than his dad! Ideas: watch her like a hawk and make her redo ANY words that are not to your standard. So it takes some time? Who cares? All great things take time to learn. Check out my blog for a post about teaching handwriting:)

My 3rd grader is a low-level reader, but he reads 30 mins. during the day and 30 mins. at night. Glad to see I'm doing about the right amount of time each day. My 1st grader reads about 20-30 mins. a day.

My ds6 didn't know 1-100 before 1st grade. He barely knew how to write #s 1-10. We started with Saxon math 1 this year and within 2 mos. he could count to 100, recognize any number randomly and read it, and can now write all the #s without a problem. Don't stress. Just do it everyday and its comes naturally. (I used the hundred chart at first to keep track of counting each number and this also helps him to recognize the numbers). Now he counts from memory and doesn't want to use the hundred chart. Of course, count everything in the household too!

I am using Saxon 1 and 3 this year and I love it too! I skip the meeting book stuff about every other day, to save time. But I love all the review, teaching a new concept, lots of practice with hands-on things (measuring, etc.), and independent work at the end to reinforce the concepts learned as well as reviewing mastered content. I also love that we do assessments so frequently so I can gauge what they have mastered and what still needs work. I am already placing Saxon 2 & 54 in my amazon shopping cart for next year! One note: I stopped timing my ds8 with the addition, subtraction and multiplication worksheets. It was causing him stress and he actually completes them faster without timing.

My experience was very similar. My ds8 didn't like spelling workout, but now we work from Natural Speller, and he does great. You have the option of choosing the spelling lists for the week (I let him choose sometimes), and you make fit your needs. The spelling workout words were a little too complex for him and too many words at once. So I shortened his spelling list for a while and worked on lower level spelling until he improved. He also HATES writing (getting better this year), so I try to find ways that he doesn't have to do much writing ALL DAY LONG. If he writes sentences out for his 12 spelling words, then I won't have him do copy work that day (or schedule it much later in the day after he's rested from writing). I let him spell the words out one day with letter tiles (like your magnetic letters) and spell it out to me orally(cherry, c, h, e, r, r, y, cherry). Another great spelling program is all about spelling (but it's a bit expensive). I still prefer the simplicity of Natural Speller and we decide what activities to do. It has suggestions and ideas in there about teaching spelling--but it's not a workbook. As far as hating to write, it's not fair to compare him to others (though I did the same at first, too). His hand coordination and muscle development may not be as good as other kids that can write for longer periods of time. Last year, my ds5 could write better and much more than ds 7. Try to find ways to help build those hand muscles, and just keep him practicing a little at a time. Think of it like a workout--you wouldn't sit there and do 200 push-ups all at once, but you might be able to do 10-15 and do some more later. By the end of the day you might have done 200 total. I also have a post on my blog about teaching handwriting (see below).

Anything and everything you can get your hands on. At that young of an age, things make better sense if the child does hands-on stuff--either observing science in the real world or doing experiments. Be sure to ask questions along the way, "What do you think will happen?" and afterward, "Is that what you thought? What happened differently?" This is like scientific method at the very basic level. Find what interests her, and hit the library for books, experiments, and videos:)

My dh is self-employed painter and usually does new construction. Construction has slowed down in the last 2 yrs here. Last year was the worst. We fell a little behind, then ran out of work completely, then he hurt his back and was out of work for 2 mos. He's getting better now and business has picked up this year, but nothing like it was before. We are lucky that he has good connections and builders take care of him with small jobs here and there. Through it all, we got so far behind in bills and were at risk of losing our home. Thankfully we got an offer on it in late fall(it was for sale for 3 yrs) and took it. We still walked away with some debt on the house, but at least we can afford to make our payments now. My brother is in construction too, and he's been hit worse. I think it's happening to one degree or another all over the country and even in other countries.:grouphug:

oops. RS4K is the one I like. Thx

Those two look the best to me so far, though I think I'm leaning toward Real Science 4 kids. Glad to hear your thoughts/ideas

What subject area and level is she using?

I wonder the same thing. Just as K is now more like 1st and 1st is more like 2nd. Kids are being pushed to learn complex material before they are developmentally ready--in math and reading. IMO this only causes frustration and negative feelings about themselves and schooling. I would continue working along as you have been (that's what I do).

Thank you--everyone--for your replies. I am slowly reviewing your rec's. As I'm looking at all of these writing/la curricula, I find I had more questions. IEW looks good, but expensive. Can you buy individual parts instead of the whole program? WT looks a bit too simple. CW looks like a lot of instruction for the "teacher" but not as interesting as it sounded. WS--maybe it gets better, but it didn't tickle my fancy. WWE seems like it may be my best option since FLL is working so well with us now. But if I start a 4th grader, where do I begin?

We have a tv, but only watch movies or educational stuff on it. It's a special treat for the kids on weekends, etc. Dad does watch it at night after kids are in bed. Our evenings...after dinner, bathtime, teeth brushing, we do games together (as a treat on days that the kids were particularly well-behaved), or read. We used to do a family reading time, but found that we couldn't get very far in the books b/c the boys would bicker and we would have to stop reading to deal with them. We've now returned to individual reading in their bedrooms and this helps settle them down much better. The boys read some to us in books they can read, then we read about a chapter in a book we read to them, we alternate each night (mom and dad) with the kids--I go to Keegan's room and dad goes to Kameron's room, then rotate the next night. The baby goes to bed 30 mins. sooner than the boys.

I think it depends on the severity of his teeth. If he had slightly crooked teeth, they are less prone to go crooked again, but if he had very crooked teeth, they are very likely to be crooked again without regular use of the retainer. I am speaking from experience. My dh had braces for 5 yrs, threw his retainer away, and now has very crooked teeth. His teeth don't even come together enough to bite into food. And he feels too old to get them now. I had braces in adulthood, after having very crooked teeth. I wore my retainer faithfully--until I was pregnant and had terrible headaches, which were intensified by the pressure of the retainer. I stopped wearing it for a long time, and yes, my teeth are moving again. I'm getting back into the routine of wearing it at night again, and it helps.

What is WWE and WT? I'm new to this abbreviation stuff. I was a bit tired when I posted my question last night...so I have more to add now: Is there a writing program that is combined with a literature program? We haven't done any "official" lit program, but read reads tons of classics, etc. And is there a great program out there that combines all the LA areas: grammar, literature (comprehension, etc), and writing into one package that ties together more neatly. I just feel like it's too much to do so many different areas and I'm looking to compact some of the curriculum.

I checked out Expl. Ed. and it looks great, but the K-3 looks too simple, and are things we've already covered. But then the 4-6 (intermediate) looks a little complex for them. They have great mental / thinking capabilities, but are lacking in advanced reading and writing skills. I usually modify our material to what they can do. Are the lessons done only on the computer, or do you teach the lessons? It mentions that experiments take 30-45 mins. How long are the lessons? Thanks, Angie

We use the lined paper from Handwriting Without Tears. It is not bound, but it comes as hole-punched, loose notebook paper. I just put it in a 3 ring notebook and use it for all subjects. It also has extra spaces between the thinner lines. My ds8 has become SO much more neat with his handwriting since we started to use this paper. I think it's a great transition from the primary grade lined paper. Looks something like this: _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

Don't feel bad that you may use boxed curricula. You're still doing more than most parents who stick their kids in ps. There are good choices for curricula too. Designing your own curriculum is great for tailoring it the way you want/need, but not necessary. As far as one going into K next year. Grade K is the easiest to do at home. It requires 1-2 hours of work, and just lots of reading to them, and doing art work, playing. Your choice, good luck.

It sounds like you are doing a lot of prep work. Is that because of your curriculum choice or because you don't have the money to buy something that has all the materials ready-made? I use saxon math, and I just bought the complete set--teacher manual, student workbooks, meeting book, and fact cards. I bought the parts individually to save money and got them for half the regular cost. It's easy to use and I don't prepare ahead. Some of the lessons work through recipes though, so I do look for those ahead of time to make sure I have ingredients. I also like that saxon includes frequent a assessments, so we don't get too far ahead when they don't get something.

At that age, I wouldn't focus on memorization of math facts. I would work more with manipulation of the numbers on her own, there is always time to memorize next year or the year after. My son has always been advanced in math, and I only started memorizing facts this year (3rd grade). He has picked it up so much easier because he has a better grasp on the numbers. I really feel that it is important to get ahold of the number concepts and manipulation first. Ideas: show her how to move the numbers around--this increases speed, and helps with memorization later. EX: 9 + 6= (I would show my child how to take one away from the 6 and add it to the 9, thus making a 10 and a 5, which is easier to add). Show number relations (things that add up to 5 or 10). Do a lot of work with values--which numbers are <,>,=. My son did a lot of number reversals in grade 1. so when I asked which is greater 13, or 31, he got confused. I think that when they start doing double-digit addition, and they learn to add from the right side to the left, it also got them to read the numbers from right to left instead of left to right. Practice, practice, practice