I do "worry" about grade level with our core program, which is part of the reason we do R&S math daily. With our supplement, Singapore, we just plug along and make steady progress. We school year round, so we have extra time to keep up with the math. We're currently on grade level with Singapore, but a year ahead with R&S. I can see us getting a bit behind with Singapore as we move ahead, but since it's an advanced program, I'm not too concerned. One of the main reasons I supplement is that my ds is very bright, as well as "mathy," and he seems to thrive on the challenge of Singapore IP. As far as time per day, here's a "cut and paste" from a response I made to another post: My son is doing 3rd grade math. We spread the math out in different segments during our day: 30 minutes - R&S math assignment, done independently 20-30 mintutes - math lesson with me (this includes all of the R&S TM, some Singapore instruction and occasional supplemental math) 5 minutes - flash cards & speed drill 15 minutes - 2 pages of Singapore IP, done independently, unless it's a tricky assignment

We've sputtered through a few attempts to supplement R&S math. What is currently working for us is to do R&S in the morning and then before lunch do our supplement (which is currently Singapore). I've grown to love the thoroughness and effectiveness of R&S math and have found it works best for my ds to do it consistently, day after day. Others might have different experiences, but for us, when I tried to alternate, it frustrated and overwhelmed my ds. I also took time to thoroughly evaluate the upper levels of R&S and what I found was that I was often supplementing in areas that are eventually covered by R&S. The only exception is areas like probability and sequences. I will say I did change this course when R&S introduced multiplication, as I felt it was very weak in the conceptual presentation. Instead of supplementing later in the day, I temporarily set aside R&S and used MM and Singapore to give a solid foundation in the concept of multiplication. After a week or so, we resumed R&S, while continuing to use Singapore WB & IP for reinforcement.

My son is doing 3rd grade math. We spread the math out in different segments during our day: 30 minutes - R&S math assignment, done independently 20-30 mintutes - math lesson with me (this includes all of the R&S TM, some Singapore instruction and occasional supplemental math) 5 minutes - flash cards & speed drill 15 minutes - 2 pages of Singapore IP, done independently, unless it's a tricky assignment

We use R&S math and in their 5th grade book they list 8 rules for using Roman numerals. Rule 8 states, "Use I before V or X, the next two higher digits. Do not use I before L or C."

Would mind giving the link to the message board where you found this information? I'm very interested in researching this in more detail, as I use quite a bit of R&S's materials. Thanks so much.

I've "been there, done that," with feeling the pressure from others. From my hindsight (and learning from many mistakes), may I share with you that trying to "turn around dc poor handwriting quickly" is going to cause unnecessary stress for both you and your little boy? The best thing you could do, as hard as it is, is to let your friends comments go in one ear and out the other and then gently and patiently work on your son's handwriting at home. Have you used a handwriting program in the past? I have noticed that children who use the workbooks tend to have neater handwriting than those who are taught the formation of letters and then moved quickly to copywork or just daily work (i.e., other subjects). Boys, especially, tend to need a lot of practice, and having each letter formed correctly, right in front of them as they are practicing (as is done in handwriting workbooks), makes a huge difference. We loved the Zaner-Bloser handwriting workbooks. They are short, sweet and very effective, and I love how my ds doesn't feel overwhelmed with all the work but actually enjoys the workbooks. We used K, 1 & 2M, so yes, my ds did three years of manuscript practice, but it only takes him about 10 minutes a day and the end result has been very neat handwriting. We're now onto 3 (cursive) with the same results.

We use Beyond and the Emerging Readers. From my experience, I think it'd be worth it to buy the Beyond manual. Here's an except from the introduction to the Emerging Reader's schedule: "Questions for each day vary to include all the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy so that you have variety in what you ask your child each lesson. The level of the questions is listed in parentheses following each question. Narration starters are also given for your child at least once each week." Here's an example from Unit 9, Day 4, after reading out of one of the Bibles: Describe the first church. (knowledge) Why was Peter able to heal the lame man? (analysis) What happened to Saul? (comprehension) and Day 5: Tell me about Paul's journeys. (narration) Describe John's vision. (narration) The schedule also includes a suggested supplementary title each week, for the child to read on his own. (The supplementary books are not listed elsewhere on the HOD site.) These have been very helpful for my son and much enjoyed by both my ds and me.

Think pairs of letters. ab bb cb db The first letter in each pair is alphabetical. (a, b, c, d, e, ...) The second letter in each pair is always b. The next six letters would be e,b,f,b,g,b.

R&S's reading actually goes through grade 9, but in a different format for the upper levels. Grades 1-4 are based on Bible stores, whereas grades 5-9 are literature and poetry. Here's a link: http://rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Reading_and_Literature/ ~~~~~~~~~~~ To the OP: We've used R&S's reading for grades 1-2 and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I've been very pleased with the progress our ds has made as a result of the program. The only drawback is that there is a lot of writing, which caused some struggles in the beginning. My ds has grown with the program, however, and now easily completes the daily work.

We've been choosing "read alouds" from this list for years and have been very pleased: http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html

Have you checked your local library? Our library has hundreds of audiobooks available for loan, either through downloads from the main library site or actual cassettes & CD's. They've even started having MP3 players available for loan, with books already downloaded on them. Pretty neat, huh? :001_smile:

Just in case anyone is interested, both www.cbd.com and www.rainbowresource.com sell Saxon for less than the sale price on the Classical Conversations site.

Since R&S is Mennonite, they tend to use a lot of farming examples in their books. The pigs, sheep, horse & bull are just a fun way of showing the different place values. As we went through all of R&S 1, 2 and so far a third of 3, we honestly didn't find it abstract at all, but rather it helped my ds understand better. Very simply put, the book explained how each of the animals on Farmer Brown's farm have a place in the barn, just as ones, tens and hundreds have special places. I think the animals are meant to be a picture clue to help the children remember where each place belongs. Perhaps it's because I'm a former math teacher or perhaps my ds just happens to be very mathy, but it all made perfect sense to him the way R&S described it; plus, the animals made it fun for him, as have the nature themes of each book. (1 - ducks; 2 - bees; 3 - ocean). At first, I thought it was a little silly and an overkill, but you know what? My ds LOVES the themes running throughout and it has made the program more interesting for him. Most importantly, I am absolutely thrilled at all he has learned as he has progressed through the R&S curriculum, not only in skill developement and learning the facts, but in conceptual understanding, as well. :)

Oh, yes! We did this a lot and it really helped. As my ds has matured, I do find I can have longer lessons and cover more, but with Math 2, we did sometimes break things up. I even occasionally break things up with Math 3, although the lessons take me a lot less time than Math 2. I usually gauge it by my ds's response. We follow a schedule during the day, but I have math & spelling in the same block, so if my ds is showing signs of drifting or losing focus, I know it's time to change gears a bit. I've found great success with switching over to spelling, working a bit and then coming back to the math. I also supplement with Singapore Math, so that helps change things up a bit for us, as well.

I know my opinion won't be popular, but honestly? I'd stick with it. We've been through R&S Math 1, 2 and now are on lesson 25 of 3. At the beginning of R&S Math 2, we had a similar situation where my son would feel overwhelmed by seeing all four pages and it would take him a good 45 minutes or more to finish, not to mention the extra time spent dawdling or complaining. Like you, I feel that learning the facts is vital to success in math and I knew R&S would do the job, so we pushed ahead. Sometimes it was a struggle, but ds knew there was no play time until his work was done. I frequently encouraged him by taking the time to explain to him the purpose of the drill, why R&S had so much and why it was important for him to do it. My ds likes construction, so I compared it to cementing the facts in his head and how that, in turn, would make things so much easier for him later on. In retrospect, I am so glad we made that decision. By the end of Math 2, he was flying through the four pages in no more than 15 minutes and now that he is in Math 3, he knows his facts so well that he loves doing the math work and never complains, but instead is excited to show me how fast he can work. Today's assignment included 35 "3-digit plus 3-digit" problems, with carrying to both the tens and hundreds places and my ds completed them all in 7 minutes. I know, without a doubt, that last year's drill made all the difference for him. As an added bonus, he also has seen for himself what I meant about the drill paying off; as a result, he's much more compliant in all areas, as he understands there's a purpose for what he is doing, even if he doesn't see it right away. I've seen so many times that parents switch when the going gets tough and end up regretting it in the long run. I'm not saying switching is always wrong; sometimes it is important and necessary. I just know, as a former math teacher, that R&S is a very solid program that produces excellent results and I know from our personal experience that sticking it out is well worth it. One last thought - I am a stickler, as I do everything in the TM and I make my ds do every problem assigned, but one thing I don't do in Math 3 is have my son re-write the problems on his own paper, but instead let him write in the textbook. That has saved tons of time for us!

I have used Rod and Staff Phonics for 2 years, but have only previewed AAS. My thought is that they complement each other very well, but that using both would be redundant at the 1st grade level. Rod and Staff's 1st grade phonics incorporates spelling and even does sentence dictation in units 4 & 5, with the purpose of applying the spelling rules emphasized with each lesson. Since R&S has a separate program for spelling in 2nd grade, the phonics curriculum does not cover spelling in the same way as with first. All that to say, I could see using R&S Phonics 2 with AAS, but not Phonics 1.

When my ds was having a similar situation with R&S Reading, we started doing just half an assignment a day. It made a huge difference in getting ds over the hump and in reducing my frustration of always feeling behind each day. After awhile, he was able to get back on track with 1 lesson a day. In our family, we have found it works better to give ds the extra time he needs now and then just go through the summer or part of the next year to finish, rather than push him to the point of exasperation, when he's not ready. Also, though it went totally against my grain, I have let ds write in his Math 3 textbook and I'm planning on having him do the same, when feasible, as he proceeds through Math 4 on up. Some problems do need to be done on paper, but for the drill type problems, it's saved ds so much time just to write the answers in the book.

We use R&S as our core program, five days a week. We've been through 1&2 and are now in 3. On Monday-Thursday, we supplement with Singapore and on Fridays we do math lab activities (ex. probability, geoboards, pattern blocks, etc.). I do think R&S is complete on its own, but I have a very bright, mathy child who I felt needed extra stimulation. Last year, R&S 2 had a lot of writing, so we tended mostly to do the IP. This year, per my husband's suggestion, we let ds write in his textbook instead of copying over the problems and ds is able to finish each assignment in about 10 minutes, allowing us to do Singapore's WB, IP & CWP. I make sure to do a lot of hands on with Singapore, using the TB as a guide, as well as Heart of Dakota's suggestions. I especially like the Singapore IP, as it really makes ds think, since some of the challenging problems can be very tricky. Ds likes to call them brain teasers. :001_smile:

If your 2nd grader places into Bigger, I would go that route for her, but I would highly recommend doing Little Hearts with your K'er. It's a beautiful program that only takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours a day and is perfectly suited for a K'er or 1st grader. Although it's nice to combine, I think your K'er would really be missing out, as Bigger is geared for a much older child. We're doing Beyond now, with a very bright 2nd grader, and it's a perfect fit. Although he would have enjoyed the readings from Bigger as a K'er, he wouldn't have been ready for all the writing and other activities present in Bigger. I wish I had a link, but I remember Carrie talking about being much more stressed trying to combine her children than when she decided to have them each have their own program, due to the constant tweaking she needed to do. Perhaps you could post your question over on the HOD board and get some seasoned advice from the ladies over there. :)

We used Rod and Staff Phonics and Reading last year and loved it. It was the perfect fit for my ds. By the end of the 1st grade books, he was reading at a 4th grade level. We started the 2nd grade books in early spring. Ds has been flying through the phonics, but the reading takes a lot more time. We started by doing a half a lesson a day and that seemed to be just right for him, as each lesson has a lot of writing (4 workbook pages). I've found that as ds has adjusted, he's become a lot faster so for the upcoming school year, we're going to try doing a full lesson a day, but keeping in mind the option of slowing down, if necessary. (As another alternative, we might do some of the vocabulary work orally.) All in all, the R&S BNRS is a very thorough and well organized program. I'm amazed at all my ds has learned - I've even learned a lot myself! Even my dh has commented on how impressed he is with our ds's knowledge of Bible stories.

If you pronounce it uh-PA-low-GI-uh, the PA and GI are accented, but not the low.

So how is Usborne supposed to be pronounced? I thought it should be us-born, but then I wondered if I'm wrong and it should be pronounced yous-born. :bigear:

I bought the teacher's guide and was not impressed at all. I felt there was very little detailed guidance on how to form the cursive letters, unlike other teacher's guides (i.e., Zaner-Bloser and Rod & Staff). The one thing I did like was the animal stories (for the K book) that corresponded to each letter of the alphabet. I just browsed through my guide and don't see anything about the blank pages in the back, so perhaps they're just extra practice pages.

According to http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-145--/, there are 48 lessons including 8 review lessons.

My little boy will be 8 next month. I'd give anything to go back to when he had just turned 5. Instead of starting a formal K year, I would have done HOD's LHFHG. It would have been a perfect introduction into homeschooling, yet in a gentle way. I don't know much about MFW, but I highly recommend any of HOD's programs.