I got a reply from customer service. The tree indeed has secret hearts! The answer your son gave above is exactly right :)

My son plays on and off (a lot when he is into it). Currently he is working through assigned problems because I want him to :) He did complete the background assessment. He didn't seem bothered by it. I noticed that the dashboard's graph is showing no activity. However, the little message at the top right is showing me that he completed the work I assigned. Maybe there's a temporary glitch. Edit to add: The assessment will automatically assign harder questions randomly. When my son started playing (who is K5) got a question similar to 57+23. He did not know how to answer that. So the program didn't ask again. I guess my point it that I don't think the program lingers on easy questions or questions that are too hard.

We listen to audiobooks regularly. We get them from the library and sometimes it's a trial and error sort of thing. Memorable books include Charlotte's Web, The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Make Way for Ducklings and various recordings by Robert Munsch. DS5 has recently listened and enjoyed the non-classic Stink (read by Bart Simpson's voice), Magic tree house series and How to eat fried worms.

Opg=Ordinary parent guide :)

Fwiw I love AAR. DS is doing AAR2 and DD is on Pre-AAR. Even with the early level it is 20 minutes of parent intensive time. I cannot think of anything hands off while doing this program. I suppose I could have DS copy some fluency words and DD will color the craft sheet by herself, but otherwise I'm right there one-on-one most of the time. It is open and go, but you do have to stay w the child. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can see how this conversation could be completely incomprehensible unless your kids play this. It's hilarious.

Ooohh thank you. I remember mentioning to him that perhaps he needed to be a higher level to fight him. I'm not sure why he always ends up with tree guy lol. DS has fire pets. I'll tell him. Thank you.

My son has been playing Prodigy math for a little while and he is level 31 (if this makes any difference). We use the free version. Recently he is at a level where he has to battle a tree (looks like a tree to me). The tree has no hearts. Even if he answers the questions correctly he looses hearts and therefore always looses. This tree guy is making Prodigy math less enjoyable for my kid as he is "stuck". And Prodigy math is part of our math drill... lol Anyone has experience with this? I have just contacted customer service and if they reply I'll post the answer here. Just figured that since there are so many prodigy math users here maybe someone has an answer. Thanks.

I don't know what age group you are looking for but two books I have read to my children come to mind and you can expand as needed (my kids are 4 and 5, but these books are a good foundation for slightly older elementary students as well). These are just picture books, but the first one comes with ideas for extra reading and a useful website :) 1. Our family tree: an evolution story The author and some teachers have a list of activities to do based on that book on her website here: http://lisawestbergpeters.com/blog2/readers-activities/our-family-tree-an-evolution-story/ Edit to add: I don't understand the picture at the top of the page on the author's webpage which is unrelated to the book I mention as she has written other books. The information is useful. 2. For younger kids: Grandmother Fish I've seen this book and read it to my kids. Maybe we will buy it if it becomes available before m kids are too old for it. This one is directed a younger kids than the book above. http://www.amazon.com/Grandmother-Fish-childs-first-Evolution/dp/0986288403/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Has she tried computer programming? She may enjoy it. And yes, back when I took that class I am pretty sure calculus was a pre-requisite. You know, before multivariable calculus I LIKED math. Yet I hated computer programming. I suppose the point is, you have to try it out first to decide if you like it or not. She is young enough that I would agree with your DH in that trig/pre-calculus in high school will at least open the doors for her to have the choice of trying other careers in the event that she changes her mind later. If STEM is out, I would encourage statistics, some sort of financial based math?

I meant to quote you on the last two posts and I don't know how to erase/repost using my phone as my computer won't start due to root beer ... Thank you :)

Yes! I just re-read what you wrote there. The reason I remember you is because you sounded so much like me! Yup. I too have a "fancy" degree lol. You are a lawyer I was a scientist. And you son sounds like mine. He teaches his sister which is adorable and sometimes not. She wants to tell me a story about talking unicorns and he wants to tell her that unicorns are fictional (again) and I again tell him that it's ok to imagine flying unicorns (again). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you. After I posted this I was a little worried to have revealed too much. I've read your posts. I didn't post on the 1st grade planning thread when it first came live because I wasn't sure what we were going to do. Last night I was going to write my plans and realized what a turn the thread took! I liked your posts there :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have two kids that are 22 months apart. DS is 5 but and be 6 this summer and DD recently turned 4. DS is the oldest and started blending (cat, Sam...) when he was 4. DD is not there yet and is still learning her letters. I want to be the same with both kiddos so, like when DS turned 4, I started homeschool with her. She is super excited to do homeschool like her brother too. I got her the AAR pre-reading and we are doing Saxon K twice a week and even then we sometimes do one or the other as her attention span is very short. She will happily color/paint or glue on the AAR craft sheet for 20 minutes and then she is done and it's fine. Anyway, we already had a few puppets and one of them is a zebra. So I've called her Ziggy the Zebra and she helps DD with AAR and Saxon. Now my son, who is half way through AAR2 and Singapore 1B and this weekend was voluntarily using his dinosaur books to map out in a world map where fossils have been found (ok kid)... so I tend to forget that he's you know, 5. Well, he wants to have a homeschool puppet. He was very jealous and irritated his sister had a puppet actually. I'm like ok, sorry. So now we have T. rex the Tiger as well Ziggy the Zebra. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didn't read the whole thread. But one suggestion would be to go with all secular materials (check in the secular homeschooler forums) and add Seton Religion, Sunday school at church and your regular devotions and such at home. And then use the Divine Mercy and other prayers as copy work. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just saw the email. I'll check them out when I get a chance. I typically listen to Audible and Stitcher. I wonder if they have the podcasts I always listen to (news mostly). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok sorry Sometimes making comments here is intimidating and scary as you can't really erase any blunders and I rarely have the time/desire to google and check.

I am happy for her. Surely she had the scores, grades and so on needed to get in. I liked her essay and obviously a majority of Ivy League faculty and such thought so too. My personal thoughts? Witty, funny, intelligent. I chuckled as I read her words. This would have been a standout among science or engineering degree applicants if that's what she's going for. Science needs good writers and communicators (global warming anyone?). Like it or not perhaps the other faculty kept a going back to the only kid (or kids) they remembered. I have no idea what she wants to do or what she was applying for. I wonder if English faculty would have enjoyed her essay. Now I want to know what she is going to study and where. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Our assigned elementary school is one of the best in our area. They proudly show it with a banner outside the school and greatchools.com rates them at a 10/10. To top it off, we can use a walking trail to get to the school by simply crossing the street at a traffic light. At my DD4s pace, we would walk to the school in about 15 minutes. Why not? Well, first we rent in this lovely area. We are likely to move next year around March when our contract is over. When we move, I'm sure it will not be to such a good school district. To add to that, my husband gets reassigned for work every few years. When my son was a toddler DH brought up the idea of homeschooling when we were discussing his education and my worry that relatively frequent moves would result in an uncertain education. We are a happy family, we just happen to move often due to work. So the frequent moves are a primary reason. Currently we live in CA and we are using a Charter. I'm glad the charter will allow us to move within reason and stay with them and their learning center. That way We will keep a certain level of stability as long as we are here. Eventually we will move elsewhere, but we hope to keep the kids pursuing the same sort of interests (music, sports). Now that I am homeschooling I have other reasons. I'm glad that I found this way of educating my children early on. If we are ever somewhere for a long period of time, I'm not sure I'll put my kids in school. We will see. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Please after you resolve the issue with Amazon and the vendor (or not), please leave feedback on the vendor either way. Sometimes it is a bit complicated to figure out how to leave vendor feedback, but it should be in your order information. It is useful to hear from real people and their experiences. I've bought about 5 used books from various Amazon vendors, including a used (but really new) ETC book. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is what I was going to say :) They have samples on the website and placement tests. I just started pre-reading with DD. First lesson's craft was my kind of craft (color, glue googly eyes on alligator) and a very fun rhyming game. Pre-reading is heavy on the rhyming and learning letters. AAR1 is more phonics which sounds that it is what you need good luck.

Singapore math. I only have experience with the kinder and first grade books but I've used Saxon K, some of Saxon 1 and some of MM1. When I got Singapore my thought was that it is sort of in between Saxon and MM. This is why: 1. Singapore is loosely scripted. It has explanations for a short teacher lesson. At least so far in my experience with 1B it involves manipulatives. Then, the home instruction manual tells you exactly what problems from the textbook and workbook your student needs to work on for that unit. 2. I like that it is very straightforward for me. It takes away some of the questions that have been in my mind. For example, they bluntly tell you that if your student does not yet master the mental math for addition and subtraction facts up to 18 to stop at unit 3 and work on that. Only move to unit 4 when that is mastered. Ok - for me, those are the kind of instructions I appreciate that I did not see in MM.

As many of you may know a few years ago a group of scientists found that some groups of humans were in fact part Neanderthal and hinted that we may find other ancient DNAs on our genomes. Well, I was catching up with my science news and found a quick article titled: Evidence mounts for interbreeding bonanza in ancient human species Here's a link for those who find the topic interesting. http://www.nature.com/news/evidence-mounts-for-interbreeding-bonanza-in-ancient-human-species-1.19394

In part what happens is that we get to a unit (like the patterns) and it's something we have already done. We supplement with stepping stones and mind benders, my son plays with prodigy math and we did Saxon K last year. So most of the work on that particular unit, for example, is overkill. No SS and no Science; which is really what *we* are using MBTP for. A while back I bought FLL for $4, and I prefer it for grammar at my son's stage. My son and I enjoyed all the units that are heavy on social studies. However, it feels a bit constraining when my son decided to obsess over the time traveler Usborne book with my husband, and ask for more info. This was a book they read for bedtime. Not our "official" homeschool. That was more spontaneous and more fun for my child, if you know what I mean. This was our first "real" homeschool year. I'm learning about myself and my child. It's possible that unit studies are not for us. At least not all the time :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've listened to an interview with the MBTP "guy" and so on. He made sense. I'm thinking I will check MBTP again when my son is older for the literature units. I have twtm :) I need to read the first grade information soon Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk