My kids favorite are SOTW series and magic tree house series

California - Singapore Math connection? Humm....never heard of singapore until I arrived here in Home schooling world and two of my yahoos are PS and the two older were as well.... News to me...but I can say we love Kumon... and the kids get it in terms of how much it helping them with day to day math.

Jackie, I hear you on the not having enough time thing. Have you thought about "soundbites" of learning. Like 15 minutes of math every other night and 15 minutes of langage arts every other night and tie in the reading to be the special treat like a book on tape in the car? I am shocked (okay I should not be as I have been told) about the amount ofgood childrens books on tape or CD at the library. Almost half of our sonlight books are on tape so that we can listen to them in the car or the kids can listen to them while playing in their rooms...or better yet...while doing math drills. My kids love to listen to books on tape while doing math and since they are getting all of the problems right, I guess they can process more than one thing at a time (unlike their mom!). I find that I can find time when it is in the car and I have a capitive audience. We also play math DVDs in the car on division and addition and they suck it up....and have not caught on to the fact that they are learning.

Okay please fess up northern CA posters. Where are your charter schools and what are their names...and how did you find them? samba in sac

It is hard to stay on track and sooooooo easy to get side tracked. We do Kumon everday reading and math. Reading 30 minutes before bed is a given. I package it as they have to go to bed at 8:30 but may read till 9 pm. I make sure they are reading good books and not garbage books...I love sonlight for their books. We also spend three nights a week reading the history of the world and listen to it in the car.... they LOVE it! We also read one sonlight read aloud book a month from their core program. If we are lucky (and I like thebook) we can get through two books a month. I like to have one fiction and one historical fiction that is tied in with what we are reading in the SOTW. With science this summer we will focus on one topic a week and study it. There is not much science in school for them and since we all like it ... it is like a special treat. We are getting ready to launch our volcano we just built. I try to package in the afterschool stuff as fun and so far it is working as they have not caught on to what I am doing. They know the Kumon is work but the other stuff to them is fun time. I also cut TV time down to a quarter and use it as a reward and will rent a historical movie or classic movie for them to watch and they fall for it as a special treat. Tv really does make them and their brains lazy I have found. We cannot cut it out for good as there are some really good programs on the history, animal and discovery channel that are quite enjoyable. But Disney Channel....yuck. preteen garbage... yuck yuck..

Several reasons: - My kids are highly social and love interacting with OTHERs (not so much each other) - My yahoos will fight with each other since they are all so close in age (mulitples issue) - I work out of the house and my job is stresseful and I do not like being so distracted with the yahoos when I am trying to work - I live in a very expensive area of the country and so I need to work....granted I have scaled it down to parttime but it is distracting when yahoos are home...like now which is spring break. - I honestly do not think I have the patience and temperment to stay home full time and teach my yahoos five days a week or four days a week all that they need to be taught to meet state requirements. I LOVE teaching my kids, but I like knowing the basics are covered and that I can supplement what they are learning or what I think they are missing. - I'm fortunate to live in a good school area for an inner city and have a principle that lets me pick my yahoos teachers. - I hate the ghetto influence that inner city schools have but that is life here in CA. - I hated the private school we were in and like the public better but wish it placed more emphasis on academics. In my dream world my yahoos would be going to a classical WTM approach charter school that was 3 - 4 days a week with one or two days set aside for mom teaching. That would make me very happy. Well so my for my dream.... off to watch the dinasaurs hatch and the volcano blow...all of course with Jimmy Buffet playing in the background.

I am looking at buying the level three book to continue the series. Do I need to by both the book and the workbook or will just the workbook do? I will be afterschooling the third graders in language arts. Also is there a cd for level three? My yahoos LOVE the 1-2 CD. Thanks

Wow, I'm jealous....no new catalogue here...wish I had one to look at...and you would think with the money I spent this year, I'd be on the top of their mail out list!!! LOL!!!!:lol: samba

Welcome out west....it is like they say in the movies....it is a wild wild west so brace yourself for lots of change. As a native of this big state I welcome you. samba in sac - way up younder from LA LA land---in the flat hot lands where the tomatoes grow plentiful...

I thought they looked great and that my daughter who is eight would like the workbooks becuase she loves puzzles and problem solving. She does not like the workbooks and will not use them. Her twin brother had NO interest. I'm going to hold on to them until the next set of yahoos reaches the age of interest to see if I can get them to use the workbooks... If they won't it looks like it will just be me using them:-) I think it is a kid by kid kinda thing.... Just my two cents

Thank you thank you.... it is so nice to know we are not alone. My 8 year old son would rather have a root canal then write anything. I feel like we are working at a three year olds level. I know all things will happen with time, but some days it just gets the best of me. I think I will print out this post to read and reread. Samba

Well that does make sense, but where do you find the book? I looked on Amazon, where I bought the first one but there is no sign of one..

Is there a sequel for level 3 & 4? I know there are work books for each level, but does the lessons book end at level 2? or do you buy the workbooks to continue? Also are there CD companions? My yahoos LOVE the CD and listen to it all the time. I would love to find more? Samba in Sac

I'm trying to keep my mind open but when it comes to meds it is hard. I want to believe so much that my son is fine and just selective about his focus and attention. This year we moved my son from private to public school. My son gets along well with everyone and does have some visual processing and spatial issues which we have been able to identify....but this year his teacher is suggesting we look at medicating him. He will not focus at school he is very figety and cannot sit still. He complains that my son does not pay attention and when he calls in him in class my son does not have a clue what he is talking about. My son is in 2nd grade and this is the fourth year in a row I have heard the same story. Here is where I am challenged. My son is not a dull guy (of course we all think our kids are smart but he does get stuff) but does not like to write becuase it is very hard for him and barely legible. He hates math becuase of the writing so he zones out. He is only just starting to read as his vison is improving and making it easier for him to read. Since he is in a public school where the focus is language arts and math---the subjects he does not care for...he zones and cannot sit still and acts like everything you tell him is being told to him for the first time----I know this becuase I afterschool him in these areas....and that is how he acts for me everynight. Now, I started afterschooling him so that he would continue his passion for learning and knowledge. My son loves history and science. When it comes to reading about science, he can still for an hour. When he is doing an experiment he is totally focused. When he is reading an airplane manual he has no probelm focusing and reading...volcanos can consume him for an entire afternoon. When it is something he likes, he is lazer focused and can sit still without going to the bathroom every five minutes or falling out of his chair every two minutes. It is as though I have two different sons. Because I know he can focus and be attentive, I think he does not need meds.....yet when I sit down with him on subjects or situations he does not like ...out comes antsy boy who would drive anyone nuts. I'm really torn with how to approach this. I want to be open minded, but I do not want to medicate my son to make it easier for the teacher or me when it comes to doing school work. DH is completely opposed to any medication, but if I have a compelling case I know he would be willing to try if I thought it was the right thing to do. I just don't know. How do you know. I have not talked with the pediatrican yet but think I will schedule an appointment. Our peds is a personal family friend who has known my son since birth. The peds is also a train/plane science nutcase like my son....he thinks my son is very bright.....the school thinks he is below basic level...and of course I think he is excentric and smart and will come into his own time... Sorry for the rambling...this is a very hard subjct for me. I'm wondering if I should give something a try over the summer and see how it goes, yet I hate the thought that I am treating my son like a guinne pig. your thoughts insight and wisdom is greatly welcome.

We attempting to cover: History Geography Math Reading - Comprehension Grammer Vocabulary Science It is a lot to tackle in the afterhours. I am trying to get us on a daily schedule for each item but so far I'm playing each night as it comes and work off my list. Math and reading are the easiest. History and literature reading are the second tier that is next and the others I squeeze in. How are you all scheduling your activies and what activies are you doing? Samba

To quote my son.... "I would rather have a root canal than write mom" and this is coming from the boy who has had two root canals. He is 8 years old and does every avoidance thing he can thing of to not write. When he does write it is barely legible. He has always struggled with fine motor issues and we have tried programs like writing without tears and such with no success. My son politely refuses to do the simplest art projects and will only pick up a crayon if threatened. He hates anything that requires him to write or use his hands. I'm not sure what to do at this point. You are not alone. dawn in sac

Who is RR? In our house RR can only mean one thing..... TRAINS! LOL:lol: RR anyone?

Were a big family of budding Science junkies and I would like to purchase a used microscope for the kids to use. Do you have any suggestions for what to buy what to look for and what to stay away from? It's been a long time since I used one in college and I cannot remember what type of power and such that I want. My yahoos are soon to be kinders and second graders. Thanks for you input and wisdom.

I'm trying to figure this out too. I'm interested in seeing what others say.

I am wondering how to do this too? I have not figured it out. Curious to hear from the wisdom of others...

Okay Okay I get the bird ...... but I do not get ________ the mouse box. ??? can someone wake me up and clue me in.... cause it's late in the afternoon and this ole brain is notawork'n samba

Thanks Y'all for the feedback. I just ordered volume one off amazon. Cannot wait for them to arrive....

I'm new to HS and so I do not have a wealth of information to share. What I can say is I really like sonlight and my yahoos appear to as well. I love that it is all there in a box and a binder tells me what to do. It works for my personality and my timelimits. I also like that it fits how I operate and that it is gives us an outline of what to do and how to do it and then in my usual fashion --- I go off and do my own thing -- but the binder outline and books are awesome and that it serves as a cornerstone to what I am teaching my yahoos.

Is anyone teaching their children mandarin chinese? I'm interested in taking this on and starting this summer. I can speak two year old baby mandarin but would love to become more fluent as well as have my yahoos speak it. Not sure where to start.

My son who hates to write or do anything with his hands LOVES words and will stop me when we are reading and he hears a new word for the first time. He wants to know what it means and how it is spelled. I could read the dictionary to them but thought I'd rather just get them some vocabulary books to boost their love of words. Any suggestions?