Do they have their own ideas? I'd ask them to brainstorm a few ideas, write them on a white board and require them to work on the project for a certain amount of time like at least a few days before switching if they happen to not like it, depending on the scope of the project.

Board games was the most enduring toy. All the neighborhood kids played them from age around 7 through to around 13. I remember doing pretend imaginative play through sophomore year but I had younger siblings I was playing with. I do not remember playing with my peers that way except in school related theatrical activities.

I've used both in the past. I prefer FAN for my child who does not write anything down except the final answer. He's only 7 so it's not a big deal but I like to give him practice at showing his answer occasionally. FAN, at least in the first two levels, has fill in the blanks spaces at the beginning of each section to write out the problem with a bar model, standard arithmetic sentence, and number bond model. However, CWP has better, more challenging problems with greater breadth. I'm thinking of doing every FAN book because they are short and maybe doing every other CWP for the rest of elementary.

What kind of topics? Arithmetic concepts or things that don't come up frequently like rotational symmetry? If it's the latter I personally don't worry about it if a quick reminder of the definition allows him to continue the review easily.

I like them both. I think Little Men might appeal more to two kids at your son's ages. Not just because they're boys instead of girls but because it's a funner book. It's been awhile since I read them but I believe Little Women had a lot more struggle in it beyond normal childhood mishaps. Things like poverty, war, family member death. There is certainly struggle in Little Men too (they're all orphans after all) but it's more as background story if I remember correctly. They do not need to be read in order at all. Jo is not really a leading character that evolves in Little Men.

What if he focused on one reading at a time, to reduce time lost on switching gears so much, and rotated the reading focus each week to get through everything?

My kid loosely finished 4th grade math and still does not have instant recall of every single multiplication fact. You can still move forward, whenever she's otherwise ready, into multidigit multiplication and division and that will be continued practice of the facts. About every 3-4 months I spend a couple weeks doing drills of the facts and each time there seems to be a few more facts that he's internalized. Sometimes he forgets one that was previously learned but he relearns it quickly. When I first started teaching him multiplication I had to compute quite a lot of the facts first myself to jog my memory.

That's why I love Mep Reception for an introduction to semi formal math lessons.

Yes but that's a good thing isn't it? It's built in mental math practice especially when the kid doesn't compute the same way every time.

I personally wouldn't hold off on the missing number problems. I would supply the answer for her though until she starts getting it on her own.

I'm not sure if you would call these tricks. I show them with rods. I teach: 3s: double then add 4s: double double 7s: 7×7 is the perfect square closest to fifty 9s: multiply by 10 then subtract

Ten frame First make sure she can recognize all the numbers with counters from 1-10. Show her by filling up the first five then the second five. In other words she should be able to see that 8 is 5+3 and 10-2. Then work on each fact one at a time starting with 9 (because one empty space is easiest to visualize). Ask her all the facts with just 9 counters (10-1=? 9+?=10, etc). Then remove the nine counters and ask her to look at the empty ten frame and Ask her the same nine facts questions. If she can't do it ask her to point to where the nine counters would end on the empty ten frame and ask her all variations of the facts questions again with her finger there. Then try again without the finger or counters. Repeat as necessary until she can visualize and answer the questions without the counters Or the ten frame (ask her to visualize it in her mind). Then move on to the 8s, 7s, 6s. You can also easily do through 20 with a double ten frame if she picks this up quickly. Each day review the previous fact at whatever level she can do (with counters, finger, empty frame, or pure visualization).

Would he do better with discovery based math? If it's only for a little while maybe you can do something like pattern block or geoboard programs found at RR (sorry I can't link right now) along with Prodigy and maybe a CTC workbook or Singapore CWP once a week.

I'm going to be taking over music education for my kids for the next six months or so until we resume formal lessons. I primarily plan to maintain skills level in violin and piano and focus on sight reading fluency. I have basic resources for that. What I'm looking for are fun extra stuff to do. Perhaps ear training rhythm exercises. Maybe even an introductory sight reading singing curriculum. Or a unit study that mixes skills with appreciation. Or a simple composition program. I already have These Amazing Musical Instruments and Can You Hear It. I've seen solfege videos online and random web games and such. I'm looking for something more fleshed out. Kids are 7 and 4 (and tag along toddler).

My kid slowed down at that point as well. However, we did move forward into the basics of the next level (switched out of Singapore) while continuing to practice multiplication and division.

My gifted writing phobic son is in first grade right now. What you have listed would not be too much for him in terms of subjects or curricula, but would be much too much teacher led time with specific required output for him (and me!). Can you maintain all those teacher led things? Will he work independently? Does he like the discovery aspect of Miquon?

Have you asked your kids what they prefer? If it's only one month, can't you still just relax and go to the pool the other summer months?

Well in our case I taught it next because that is what DS commonly sees in tests, math books and computer programs, math videos, pretty much everything math. Its a long accepted method so if he's going to be able to understand what he sees he needs to learn it.

Are there actually studies on that? Stairs are hard for me so I go down with my right foot and hang on with my right hand. I'm right handed.

Would you mind listing the books and resources you found most enlightening or entertaining?

In addition to the above two my kids like Reverso poetry.

Thanks everyone.

I have not used CLE but I also recommend the Process Skills books which can be done on grade level. If she can also use practice on basic operations she might find the Mindware books fun. My kid who just finished BA4 is going through the Algebra Antics one. If she's familiar with order of operations it can be used as a fun practice for all four operations and I think it has a very little bit of fractions and decimals as well. If you're interested I can look through and check on that.

You're right. I asked him and after thinking a moment he came up with ten. I asked how he got that and he said taking away from a negative is going the opposite direction.

No I don't think so. I gave him a few problems like -9-2 and -4+6. I asked him to describe what he's doing when he evaluates an expression like that and the above is what he told me. It sounds like he's thinking of the signs as directions. ETA: He's also done work with coordinate graphing and translation so thinking of operations in movement is not new to him.