I don't use Singapore, just a bit familiar with them. I don't think you would be missing a lot by using US edition. Standards were designed to meet the requirements for CA. The placement tests for 1a & 1b on Singapore website should help to see the differences between what is covered in these editions. http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

Yes, singapore math has three different versions for Primary mathematics (elementary grades) - Common core, US edition and standards edition. Standards has a better home instructors guide and is a little more advanced in covering topics than Common core or US. US edition is also commonly used.

My 5 yr old uses Miquon along with RS-B. She plays with both C-rods and Abacus, though she likes abacus for arithmetic and popsicle sticks for place value. She uses Miquon as fun worksheets along with RS-B. I know it's not the usual way to do it, but she mostly uses abacus along with Miquon books - her preference though. C-rods are wonderful but it will take a while for kids to be able to start visualizing the rods/length in their head and find out what rod would equal a red and black. They could learn color-number/length correspondence in a day and when they see two red rods put together, they could guess the answer (length), but visualizing these in the head need bit more time than it does with abacus. It doesn't take that long with abacus IMO since they are seen in units and groupings of fives. I think this is why abacus started becoming DD first choice for arithmetic. Once they are able to visualize both can be wonderful for mental math but abacus gets her there sooner than C-rods for arithmetic. We play with both at home. This is based on our experience and I understand it could be different with other kids.

I get a lot of freebies for math on sparklebox.co.uk Would these work? http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/maths/calculations/addition-activities.html ETA: Link

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Magnetic-Lap-Boards/dp/B000QE00M8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1410705788&sr=8-6&keywords=learning+resources+magnetic+board This is the one. They aren't dry erase though.

Well said. And this is why I chose McRuffy over singapore or RS for K level. McRuffy does every operation on a number line before moving to using pictorial representation and introducing arithmetic symbols. Seeing the relationships on a numberline (Mcruffy is traditional math) helps her to figure out the fact families/relationships herself, and introducing the fact families later felt like giving shape to what she had been observing on a numberline. It could be MY approach and I could be wrong, but I wasn't comfortable introducing fact families (with picture counting) to help them see the relationships. It just felt like it could lead to the infamous "conceptual leaps" at a later stage. DD is my first child so my experience is very limited. Just my 2cents....

This is the cheapest I could find (dry-erase, magnetic, 2*3 for $27). Not sure about the quality though. I would probably give it a try. http://www.amazon.com/Quartet-Magnetic-Dry-Erase-Aluminum-MALUM2436/dp/B00J31YBES/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-4&keywords=magnetic+board

Nora Gaydos books. http://www.amazon.com/Now-Im-Reading-Level-One/dp/1584761598/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410458885&sr=8-2&keywords=ANIMAL+ANTICS The first helpful review gives an example from one of the books.

DD - 4. she knew her sounds before 3 (leap frog videos) but I never began anything on blending/phonics until she turned 4. She started reading CVC words after watching 'First Step Reading' videos on youtube.

We like McRuffy. Rightstart-A did not work for us (jumps around too much and a bit boring). I looked at Singapore essentials but it was a lot of counting with pictures to demonstrate addition/number concepts. McRuffy introduces concepts using a number line. I prefer this approach instead of having to count. We use our number balance along with McRuffy and its lot of fun (comparisons, addition, regrouping, etc..). Lessons are short and sweet. It looks colorful but not too much as the Earlybird series. Line spacing is good enough on McRuffy that it doesn't overwhelm my DD. We love the games and puzzles too. We would start using Singapore along with McRuffy in Grade-1. ETA: We also use cuisenaire rods along with cuisenaire 50-cm rod track. DD seems to enjoy (and get) manipulations on a number line than with counters or abacus.

Thank you. I totally understand it. It does feel complicated but also feels good to do it. I will keep this in mind. Just like OP said, its informal instruction for my DD. Its more of having fun playing games than any academic learning. Curricula is for me to serve as a guideline. When I see "readiness" clues from her, we do activities in a visual style so she gets to enjoy and learn her way. Absolutely no intentions of boasting, but just sharing what we do (not even sure if its good enough to share). Here's an example of our math (parking rods game). The idea is from this forum when a poster explained how she taught her VSL kid using number lines. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzhYJLMgCI4kR0tXa29XUl8zM00/edit?usp=sharing She can do addition with Crods without realizing them as addition, so we play with this number street and see how if 2 helps 8 to get to 10 faster, 8 returns the favor by helping 2 to get to 10 (and this mutual friendship makes it faster to reach 10 than crossing one house at a time). When she has a visual, she is comfortable with oral discussions and doesn't feel lost. So we take it at her pace based on how she enjoys it. She lights up and enjoys such games. PAL-reading is the only program we do as designed. She loves the activities and pace (her school teaches phonics and she is able to read beginner books so I continue do it at home to give a strong foundation and to help her with comprehension). I dont have any intentions of boasting and I do apologize if I come across that way. Sorry to derail the thread.

I agree with this. And, I do the same thing for a different reason. I dont think I know much about giftedness so I will refrain from that. My daughter is a strong VSL and seems accelerated. The curricula that we use at home challenges her at appropriate levels. This learning makes her feel confident. While I think she would understand the struggles of her peers, she needs enough challenges and learning to not let her perfectionism (coupled with being a strong VSL) damage her self-esteem. Being a VSL, she prefers a different learning approach and when she gets it at home she has her proud moments giving her self-confidence. She has become more active at her day care after we started doing our curricula at home (just an hour in a Montessori way) I would never want to move up so fast unless her emotional maturity and academic abilities align well. Please dont quote me, I sincerely apologize if I haven't phrased it right - its just being ESL or my inabilities to convey it.

Thank you for a serious answer. I would have appreciated if it had been given earlier. No, I didn't pay for Gardner's MI tests. I had an appointment with a psychotherapist to discuss my years of struggles trying to "fit in". I didn't go to get a "gifted" certificate. I don't need a number to boast but an answer for my struggles. It did give me an answer to lot of my questions and problems - helps me to position myself well understanding differences. It helps to gain balance between intensity/meaninglessness and abilities/perfectionism. I just needed a place a share without being judged. Yep, I realize I shouldn't have made this post here. I will sign-off with this one. I was trying to seek suggestions from gifted individuals but unfortunately I could only reach gifted brains. Yep, too much to ask a gifted brain to be considerate of one's emotions and give the benefit of doubt.

My first reply was labeled as "Personality A", second as "Personality B", third "Personality C".....Since some have decided not to accept anything that I write, no matter how many replies I could give, I said that. If one continues to label my replies, they have to be creative to go beyond the "Personality Z" label. I am sure gifted minds would come up with ideas. I am sorry it wasn't easy to figure out.

I don't need any affirmation. I don't have to convince you that I was able to get an appointment. There are tons of articles on internet that talk about difficulties of unidentified gifted. If you don't believe, ignore it. I just gave my reply.

Since I could never convince you with my reply, below are the words by my therapist/motivational coach. "Your intellectual abilities are like a hungry lion. If you don't feed it enough, it will go mad and make you frustrated". My frustrations/depression made me hate driving. I expect to start driving soon.

Well guys, I am back :) I wrote my first post here asking for motivation and you guys motivated me enough to go get my differences/weirdness labelled as "Giftedness". You replies were enough to push aside the extreme perfectionist in me and to begin my self-discovery looking for good qualities/abilities. Thank you. I did consult a Psychotherapist/Motivational Coach at a counseling center for gifted adults. Well, I was right. I am gifted (possibly highly gifted) and multi-potential. I did take several Gardner's multiple intelligences test and scored way-above average on Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Logical/mathematical and Visual/Spatial. My kinesthetic scores were very good too. I didn't reply to questions appearing to help me because (1) I never asked for any suggestions nor had any questions. When I was offered suggestions, I politely accepted them. (2) I could answer questions if you made genuine inquiries to help me. If you wanted me "justify" that I really am venting here, well, that's beyond the purpose of this thread. (3) Since you guys already CONCLUDED that I have ADHD, a possible multi-personality disorder, smart and extrovert but not gifted, and ofcourse ESL (is that a label here?), I didn't see a need to explain. Since I proved your conclusions wrong, here you go with my replies. If you dont need them, simply ignore them. (Well, you were right about one though - English is my second language). The state that would let an unlicensed teen driver (15½ years old) drive with an adult supervision is New Hampshire. No learner permit is required. I am trying not be offended by the statement that said I do not understand the difference between a state and country. Seriously? I am letting this go because I am considering (not concluding) it as a possible lack of experience with international travel and multi-cultural exposure. Well guys, language is a mere tool for communication. It would never ever equal communication. We can understand a 2yr old if we want to. We can overlook any conversation if our willingness has been turned off and assumptions on. It was my emotional state of mind that led me there. I knew I made mistakes but was too frustrated to go back and correct them (and it was clear enough to understand what I meant). Yes, I admit I make mistakes because I don't think in English (if you can understand what I mean). If you never had the chance to familiarize yourself with a second language, ignore this and consider me ESL. For what its worth, I have a 97% TOEIC score with 100% in writing. Well, I knew there are a freaking number of gifted minds on here. That is why I started my post saying Yep, totally wrong. Why would one think all posts with "gifted" as a subject line would be about boasting? - Unless you have been told at a young age that you are gifted/smart, you know you were "different" for a good reason, and you were brought up in a nurturing environment that encouraged you for "being different". Please understand, it isn't the same for UNIDENTIFIED gifted adults. My profound empathy for others made me take decisions ignoring my own interests, my multi-potential ability was ready to learn anything and everything that came its way and when it comes to actually doing them - my intellectual ability wasn't ready to settle for anything less (it didn't challenge my brain enough). You could consider this boasting, but it doesn't feel like a heaven to me. It becomes a terrible world of inner struggles. And, if at all one makes an attempt to share these struggles, sharing is seen as boasting, frustrations as dramatic and intellectual ability for abstract thoughts are seen as inconsistent/scattered/neuro disorders. And that is why I said "Talents are a responsibility". If you aren't aware enough to use them purposefully, its better they don't exist. It just becomes a baggage. I never assumed I knew everything about ADHD but you guys need to stop assuming you know everything about being "gifted". There is a dark side to it. Unless you have been certified as "gifted", everyone would be ready to conclude the "differences" as a neuro disorder. No one would be willing to accept that the other person could possibly be gifted (and hence the abstract thoughts). This is more than enough to create a self-doubt and affect confidence levels of a person. I have enough other things to brag about in my life - my husband for his unconditional love and for admiring me for who I am, my parents who taught me the moral values and to remain strong that I never fell for any addiction despite my frustrations and remain strong in my faith, my little one who has been my source of strength all these years and the very reason I want to get this fixed. I see giftedness as nothing but an enhanced ability to learn and explore, but not the right to conclude. Here comes the psychic part. Well I think I can be a good counselor because I empathize with people. I am considerate. I am courteous. I am not judgmental. I make genuine inquiries with due consideration to the individual's emotional state of mind. I don't shoot questions with an underlying curiosity to figure, rather, rule things out. Well, we just need to be open and willing to read a person's mind. It does not mean/need magic. For the comment on dissection and over-analysis by the gifted minds here - dissection and over-analysis are supposed to happen vertically and never horizontally. If dissection happens at a surface level, it would be a synonym for hurting. Unless it is done to identify the unsaid and unnoticed, its of no use. If you consider this as an unnecessary post, ignore it (or rate it one star). There were a lot of replies on here that weren't appropriate for a "venting" thread. So its alright to have one reply that seems unnecessary. Please note, I am not asking for any suggestions. However, I am happy to accept them or answer genuine questions. I reserve the right to "politely" refuse to answer any questions if I deem them uncomfortable. Please don't come back saying I am not making it favorable for you to answer my "unasked" questions. Thanks to those who had the willingness to see beyond my words and read my mind. Pod's mum - You were spot on about a very busy mind and fingers racing to match the speed. Yes, very true. I am aware that my vocabulary can never be compared with that of a native English speaker. But, whatever I know, I use them thoughtfully. Do gifted minds expect me to right a thesis on how frustrated I am? 67_others and Quill - thank you so much. No matter how illogical it may seem, I couldn't bring myself to justify that people could "have fun" while a person is trying to vent and talk about their years of emotional/physical pain. Why wouldn't I consider myself a victim? I don't regret having been gone unidentified - probably I wasn't mature enough to handle it. If I can help people around me bringing smiles to their faces and don't intentionally/unintentionally hurt people, I would call it a life with a purpose. Being aware of my giftedness would help me in making it more meaningful and its never too late for it. Thanks guys, I did learn a lot here.

Wow, I was venting out here hoping some kind encouraging words would make me stronger. If I can stay composed despite my already stressed brain having to assume an additional responsibility of being the clown here, that does mean I am stronger than I think and I could use that strength to let go off my stress baggages. I am sure my reply again would stir up another round of fun here, but I will save my replies because it cant go beyond Personality Z. I dont think its uncommon for people get into a life phase that completely drains them out emotionally and physically which leads them to lose their balance or clarity. And looking for kind encouraging words aren't bad either. I tried to politely accept the suggestions considering good intentions. I wasn't seeking appreciation or bragging because I consider talents as a responsibility to use them in a right way and if its not done its equivalent to not existing. I understand everyone was truly trying to help while having fun, but some encouraging words or completely ignoring this pointless thread instead of dissecting a stressed out brain would have been kind. And a special thanks to you Quill, for considering me.

Will do. Thanks.

I know it does seem like a pointless thread to many but I was just trying to vent. I wouldn't have even thought about "being gifted" if I hadn't noticed similar pattern/skills in my DD and I do want to encourage and support her. That made me realize the transformation I need to present myself as a confident person and help her find a balance between perfectionism and acknowledging abilities. Sorry for another post, but this thread tremendously helped me in understanding different perspectives and my own difficulties in getting my message across. I appreciate everyones time and thank you for your replies.

Thank you everyone. Yep, I did know I had talents to perform well. But my self-analysis coupled with perfectionism was all about "okay, I am good at this, keep it aside and let me look at what do I need to improve". I missed the line between acknowledging my abilities and being humble. If I had paid enough attention to my abilities and not feel the pressure to constantly work on improving myself, I wouldn't have been in this low-confidence trap. Even as a teen/young adult when I interacted with people, I was looking at how good they are and how much I could learn. And, all of these self-analysis was internalized that I never spoke about it. Since people saw me as a quiet person and that coupled with good grades and behavior, no one ever noticed I guess. For the first time, I am getting used to and giving importance to what I am good at instead of how could I be better? Thanks everyone for all your replies.

Yep. My natural instinct is to read what is said beyond words and understand them. It makes it difficult to write and I think I am making it more complex. Why in the world I couldn't write or say something that is easy to understand? and that seems normal. Simply put, I could have been a good counselor whose job is to understand look into their minds, take clues from body language and understand beyond what is said.

:) The state I lived in before my relocation (a couple of months back) doesn't require a license if you are 18 or older. You need a adult sitting beside you to guide/help.

ahh,Thank you for that reply. You saved everyone from having to read another paragraph. :rolleyes:

Thanks all. Its feels good to share and listen :) ADHD - no, I can effortlessly do any task that require extreme precision and patience. As an hobby, I have been into jewellery making too. Its the years of pain and stress that led me here. Its been hard for me to accept that I could be gifted but that seems to answer to all my questions. Why couldn't I easily fit in social circles and why I have been so self-critical about it. I am not self-motivated but very emotionally intense with abundant energy - root cause of my problems. If I had realized this before, I would have made decisions accordingly based what I could handle and regulate my energy/emotions. I am a very quick learner willing to learn any subject, but a natural in psychology, spirituality and philosophy. No wonder all my friends were 40+. I can read minds and I have a very good intuition. I could be a good counselor, but I need to accept that I can never be someone who is all fun and simple in thoughts - at-least not immediately. Last few years have been a roller-coaster ride with MIL loss and having to help my FIL with his insecurities, multiple relocations, pre-term delivery (high BP), C-section and post pregnancy issues that left me in constant pain for years. I moved away from my family and my husband was traveling/working crazy hours that left me lonely. I am not good at making friends too (I shouldn't expect all relationships to be meaningful). With the constant pain and loneliness for years, my self-confidence got shattered. From being someone good at public speaking and tutoring, I have gone to be someone who couldn't be heard by restaurant waiters when I place my order. I haven't driven in years because of my pain (in knees). I tried driving for a few miles but it was too overwhelming. I don't have a valid license right now and no motivation/confidence to appear for a test. Uhh, I should stop identifying myself with what I could/cant do. I cannot be good at partying or socializing, but I am good at other things that I could use to help others. Being good at math/science or language seems easy than having an interest in psychology, spirituality or intuition. Its easy to help but hard to be understood. This awareness makes me feel better and I could remind me to use some self-motivation and not be emotionally dependent needing assurances. Thanks all for listening to me.