Fence is the subject. The sentence is basically inverted from normal order.

I read aloud while my kids eat their morning snacks. It's great because it kills two birds with one stone, and their mouths are busy anyhow so it's easy for their ears to listen. I find the end of meals (whether right after that snacktime read-aloud or as we are clearing dinner dishes) to be a great time to go over memory work together pretty informally. And I've been amazed at how much my kids have learned by simply pursuing things that interest them. Just taking the time to talk about or look up answers to questions they have can get you into lots of great topics. And since they often forget most of what they've learned, I figure this age is mostly for exposure anyhow...right? ;-)

I'm no longer in a small space (woot!), but I'm trying to maintain the same mentality. Seriously consider what is important. Sure, kids love pom-poms, glitter glue, tissue paper, wiggly scissors, and all those crazy art supplies, but is the benefit really worth the space taken and mess made? After briefly thinking we "needed" those things once we had more space, I realized that mostly those things just got dragged around the house, left on the floor, smeared haphazardly over paper and then left unwanted... They didn't enrich our lives. The same went for rarely-used toys they might someday suddenly love, most things requiring batteries, and an overabundance of anything (like the hundreds of Hot Wheels inherited from DH's childhood collection). Decide what storage space you have, and only keep what will fit in that space. You will be forced to keep weeding and to seriously consider priorities. If you have an attic or basement or other storage space, you can choose to have some items you rotate out in order to keep your small supply interesting. Avoid cluttering your space, though; I've found everyone is happier and plays more nicely with more open space and less clutter. Initially, I had one 4' wide x 6' tall bookshelf. The bottom shelves held some plastic bins with toys, the middle shelves were filled with books, and the top shelf was for my manuals and things I didn't want readily accessible. The bottom shelf of the linen closet held paper and art supplies, and we had a couple more bins for toys under the coffee table. You really don't need much--you just think you do. And you tend to fill whatever space you have available. (Don't ask how many books I've purchased since we got the space for more shelves!)

:iagree: I used 2nd edition A-C. A was fine; I used it more-or-less as an informal guide for play-based math since my kids were little but interested in numbers and equations. I am one who has a love affair with B. My older two kids (little guy hasn't started yet) have come out of RS with an awesome grasp on numbers--and they are very different personalities and learning styles. As for my opinion of C, Jackie has captured it exactly, so I won't bother to rewrite it. ODS moved through level C material in something like 2.5 months of 4-day weeks--even with almost all of the geometry/drawing lessons. Since he kept sighing and asking for "hard math," I've moved him on to Beast, which is absolutely perfect for him. It requires him to problem solve and put various aspects of math together in a fun, non-contrived-seeming way. DD started throwing fits over math a short way into RS-C; after trying to adapt it to make it work (after all, I loved B...and I paid for C!), I pulled her off midway through. She doesn't love challenge but she is very visual; Singapore has been a great conceptual fit for her. I can use my RS manipulatives if ever she needs them, there's lots of white space, puzzle-y pages, cute cartoony drawings... It strikes me as being kinda the written version of RS--RS if it was done in a workbook with cute pictures to illustrate concepts. That said, I decided to back her up to 2A in case the RS scope & sequence left her with any Singapore holes, but 2A has been way easy for her, to the point where we skipped at least half of the pages and finished in 3 months of 3-days-a-week. Even 2B looks like there's not much new material. In her case, it's fine, since I want to rebuild her confidence and love of math...but I think I could have easily moved to level 3 after half of RS-C. Frankly, I probably could have started her on Beast if I weren't concerned about her ability to tackle the challenge without hating math.

My older two are exactly the same ages as yours! Recently we've enjoyed - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - Pippi Longstocking (Well, they loved it...I was just annoyed at Pippi.) - All-of-a-Kind Family - The Trumpet of the Swan (ODS is currently re-reading it on his own.) - Usborne Illustrated Greek Myths - Mr. Popper's Penguins - Farmer Boy (Though I thought Little House in the Big Woods was even better-written; we read several Little House last fall.)

Another vote for My Father's Dragon--the kids and I both love it! For her to read on her own: My kids loved Tedd Arnold's series about Huggly, the Monster Under the Bed. They're not scary, more silly (though the monsters nearly get caught in every book)--but the reading level of those books ranges from mid-1st to mid-2nd, if I remember correctly, which would be perfect. A lot of the Magic Tree House books also involve mythical animals--a sea serpent helps them in the Viking book, Pegasus saves them in the Olympics book... DD still loves these because there's the perfect hint of danger without being truly scary. Those, of course, are more 2nd-3rd grade reading level (with the later books being longer and more complex).

Oooo! I am SO excited about this--and it's for Android! This never happens to me!

I'm always long-winded, so I apologize in advance. Feel free to skim. ODS started taking classical guitar lessons over the summer. I like the lessons quite a bit for a young learner (not quite 7) because they're much like Suzuki. He's in a group lesson (3 being the ideal group size) because that's what the program recommends. He is in a class with two girls almost exactly his age. I do agree with the studio that lessons are more fun with other kids and that it's good to learn how to play with others right from the start. The problem is the pacing. DS is super passionate about guitar and also has more free time than the other kids, since they're in school. When we were getting new material, he'd practice for at least an hour each day, and he mastered new songs quickly. We got our last new material 3.5 weeks ago (4 lessons ago). It was a song with 3 parts, and DS had mastered two of them by the next lesson; the other girls were still working on the first part. By the following week, DS had nailed all three parts. This week, after two more weeks of practice on the same material, one girl had tentatively learned all three parts, and the other girl had just mastered the first one. The teacher had been really good about always having something new to work on--fingering corrections; a different, jazzier tempo for an old song; a new exercise. Three lessons ago he suggested playing along to a metronome, which DS has loved. Two lessons ago he suggested altering a warmup slightly--something that didn't really excite DS. This past lesson, he had nothing new to suggest, despite my request for a challenge. Next week there is no lesson, so we have two weeks with absolutely nothing new to work on; he said we'd probably get the next song in three more weeks. The teacher did email later that night and offer to think of something for DS, but I haven't heard from him since then. DS's motivation has tanked. Last night he actually asked to play a game on the guitar tuning app instead of practicing. This from a kid who was practicing 90 minutes a day as of two weeks ago (and still 45 minutes last week). I emailed the teacher again, but here's my question: In your experience, are group lessons generally a good thing? Does the pacing gradually even out as everyone gets used to the instrument? I don't know if this is normal growing pains with a group that just started 3 months ago (and had several weeks where one student or another was out for vacation), or if it's going to continue to be frustrating and I should look for an alternative. I'm hoping the teacher would say something if he thought it was going to be a long-term problem, but I don't know.

Whoa! This perfectly describes my daughter! I'm comforted to know that this approach is working, since it's just what I'm planning to try. I also feel a bit better knowing that there are other kids like this, so it's not something I have somehow driven her to... Whoops! Forgot to multi-quote, but in response to what extra is needed--occasional review of algorithms might be helpful (if DD forgets something--like long subtraction, for instance--she will probably flip out about having to relearn it, being perfectionistic and all), and a bit of drill on facts (like multiplication), since the focus is on concept mastery and usage of skills and not memorization. (And while it's great that my kid can deduce 8x7 by breaking it up, he'll be much happier down the road doing algebra if he has these basic facts down cold.)

Nature-y, survival-type books seem to be pretty universally loved by boys--think Jean Craighead George or Gary Paulsen. In the 4th-5th reading range, the Magic School Bus has chapter books that my kids find fun, and those mix fact with crazy fiction.

We're using Beast as our main curriculum for ODS. When we started, I had him do three random review problems each day (from unused worksheets in RS-C, our last program) just to rotate through various topics and keep them fairly fresh. At the moment, he's doing enough of his own supplementing, specifically through the online Prodigy game, so I don't feel the need to add any more review right now. At some point I'll probably do some drill so his multiplication is memorized, but he's pretty fast at figuring things out by going from what he knows, at the moment. He's pretty intuitive with math, though, so even if he initially can't remember how to do something, one moment of pondering will have him re-creating the algorithm. I think when DD is doing Beast, she will need more extensive review. She tends to get frustrated more easily and isn't quite as math-intuitive, so I don't want her forgetting skills and having to relearn them. With her I may do a page of Singapore and one of Beast each day or something similar--that would also ease the frustration of the "hard" math, since it would be balanced by something she finds simple.

We start our day with prayer together, but out Bible reading time is immediately after dinner. We often read our Bible story while the kids are still finishing eating; since we require everyone to stay at the table until everyone else is done eating (within reason), it works well. We also have a memory verse (Sunday School or one I pick) that we review as a family immediately after our Bible reading is done. The older two kids have daily Bible study activities to do via Community Bible Study; DH does those with them while I am getting the little guy tucked in for the night. It doesn't take long, and once they're done they brush teeth and get jammied and are ready for me to spend some pre-bed one-on-one with them. I'm not a morning person, either. DH and I sit down together almost every evening while the older kids are still awake reading in their rooms for some Bible study and prayer. It works well because we don't feel like we're free yet, since the kids aren't officially and finally tucked, but we have some mostly-quiet in-between time. Then once the kids are down, we introverts can go our separate ways. I'd say just find something that works into your family's schedule; the timing isn't important.

RS is a bit spendy, but B was absolutely awesome for foundational math concepts. It does just like you're talking about, picking one number at a time and working on how to add it. For example, they have you learn to add tens. That's pretty simple, so then they say, "Well, nine is just one less than ten, right? So if you're adding nine, it's just one less than if you added ten!" And then you do a bunch of practicing with games or worksheets or oral math before moving on to sevens and eights. I loved it for making the process seem common-sense instead of getting abstract (like your vacuum cleaner example!), and once the process is understood, the child is scaffolded until they have achieved mastery--very methodical, no confusing conceptual leaps. Both kids who have gone through RS-B so far have come out with a really impressive concept of numbers and an ability to manipulate numbers and use what they know to solve difficult problems.

Wait--where are these tests for other subjects? Is there anything specifically for geography? ODS's current bedtime reading is The Geography Bee: Complete Preparation Handbook, from which he has me quiz him before tuck-in. After inquiring as to the nature of a "bee," he's asked several times if there are any geography contests he can be in. I asked if he wanted to try a math contest (since he LOVES math, too), but he didn't bite. (Although with his ADD, I'm wondering how successful he'd be at anything timed and in an unusual location/distracting surroundings.)

My DD is currently reading our Magic Tree House collection through for a second time, having already exhausted the library's additional titles. :-) She, too, seems to be a series kinda gal, and she has very strong opinions on books--there are a lot she just quits on because she doesn't like them enough. (Unlike her mother, who feels obligated to finish any book she starts. The only one I didn't finish was Across Five Aprils which I got midway through around age 14; I felt guilty for so long that I checked it out and read it in my 20s!) She has also loved Ron Roy's Calendar Mysteries and A to Z Mysteries--both are series, with the calendar ones being slightly lower reading level than the A to Z (like 2nd-3rd as compared to 3rd to 4th). Boxcar Children Ramona books Magic School Bus chapter books

I used ODS's 5th birthday as an excuse to start a little formal work, but I started with handwriting. Once he had finished the first two books of handwriting (a few months), we moved on to AAS1. At that point he was reading around a 2nd grade level, and writing was slow but doable. We flew through AAS 1, but took a few months off near the end for a cross-country move. By the time we started level 2, handwriting was no longer an issue for him. DD--14 mos younger--tagged along for all that work. Her handwriting wasn't as neat, but it was doable. I've noticed that now at 5.5, her handwriting is suddenly looking much nicer. Neither of my kids really liked the tiles--too tedious for them--but the whiteboard is a big hit. I give them the option of whiteboard or notebook, and they hardly ever choose their notebooks. Whiteboards are also easier for early writers due to the smooth slide of the marker, and ours are mounted on the wall which is another tip they give for early writers.

This is my exact problem. For my ADHD child, he really needs me there in order to complete spelling in a timely manner (though I'm moving to HTTS because he's going through levels too quickly to be cost-effective and we don't use all the pieces), but my daughter does well with independent work. I'm going to try R&S spelling for her. Folks on here have touted it as the workbook form of AAS. Another alternative would be to type a list of words into Spelling City. You could introduce the rule to your child on Monday, write it out or post it to be read daily, assign a Spelling City activity every day, and assess at the end of the week. You could also generate your own computer-free activities--alphabetize the words one day, sort them by spelling rule another day, write them in cursive and in print, make them into sentences... You could have a permanent list of options and have your child choose one each day.

I loved RS-B for both of my older two, but so far C hasn't been a good fit for either. ODS is very intuitive about math. I found C to have waaaay too much review for him. He didn't need to be re-taught the algorithm for long addition problems step-by-step just like B had done; he already understood it. He intuitively applied the addition algorithm to subtraction, so that didn't need to be taught. For him I skipped everything that was review (a lot!) and ended up doing two or three lessons worth of material most days. I was surprised that he was capable of doing the precise geometry on his own, and I found the geometry pretty ingenious. We did those lessons one-a-day because they were so persnickety; we did ditch the last couple just because he was getting fatigued with all the precise drawing day after day. Otherwise I'd look at what the next couple lessons were trying to teach, see how much he understood (often giving him a sample problem and seeing what he could do), and teach anything he didn't yet know, assigning just enough problems to ensure he understood each concept. After finishing C in something like 2 months, he moved on to Beast Academy 3, which is perfect for him. DD was a perfect fit for RS as far as pacing was concerned. She didn't need all their review (I often skipped the start-of-lesson review and didn't do the games every time), but otherwise the way the topics built on each other was perfect for her. Unfortunately, she was frustrated by the use of games in RS. She enjoyed them in B, but by C she just really wanted to see exactly what she needed to accomplish and get 'er done...but so much of RS is the games. Midway through C, she was prickly at the very thought of math, so I decided to stop her and switch to Singapore. She loves the cutesy aspects of Singapore--the cartoony drawings, the fact that many worksheets are puzzles. (I'm still using the RS manipulatives to teach her any new concepts, though!) I backed up to 2A because I wanted math to feel easy initially so she'd rebuild her confidence and love of it. (She really does like it, but she got convinced that she didn't and that she was terrible at it.) I find Singapore to be way too repetitive and simple for her. (We're nearly done with 2A after 2.5 mos of doing only a page or two--not a complete lesson, which is generally 3-4 pages--per day, skipping when it gets too repetitive.) Unfortunately, the Intensive Practice books pretty much do away with the cutesy stuff that she likes, so I've decided just to keep going as we are. I plan to have her do at least 2B and 3A before trying Beast. She isn't a fan of struggling, but I'm hoping she'll have the maturity for a bit of struggle in another year or so. FWIW, RS's content isn't too far off Singapore's. Singapore reviews place value and works on long addition and subtraction and multiplying by 2 and 3 in level 2A, as well as doing a bit with measurement and capacity. 2B has some more addition and subtraction, more multiplication and division, and money. So I guess Singapore hits multiplication/division harder, but I think if the concept is already understood/established like RS does, then the facts won't be hard to pick up.

Avi's True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is historical fiction, but I used it as a read-aloud when I taught B&M school and the kids really liked it. That said, Charlotte is about 12 in the story and ends up being falsely accused of murder at sea; it's a fairly clean book (I read it in a Christian school), but it's pretty intense (she's in danger of a death sentence), so she may or may not be ready for it yet. (It sure is a good read, though--my students loved it!) I also loved Gary Paulsen's books when I was a kid, even though they're about boys. I've read Esperanza Rising, but for whatever reason it didn't stick in my mind, so I guess I'm no help there.

My oldest started asking waaaay too many questions when I was pregnant with my youngest--and he was just turning three. I answered as simply but honestly as I could. Over the years it's come up a few more times, and this year he's been super interested in it. I went into pretty great detail with him on a few occasions, but he still had questions, so I finally went to the library. A few people referenced the book It's Perfectly Normal up-thread. That same series has It's So Amazing for ages 8+ and It's Not the Stork for ages 4+. I checked out both of the lower-level books, gave Stork to him to read on its own (more pictures!) and went through parts of Amazing with him because it had more detail but was way textier. He looked through the books and asked questions for several days and now seems satisfied. Prior to this, I have talked numerous times about touch and how our bodies are wired to sense danger. I've emphasized that if the kids don't feel right about something--even if they don't know why--they should trust their intuition and say no or leave. And, like others have said, I've tried to emphazise that they can come to me with anything at all, even if someone tells them it's a secret or if they're afraid I will be angry. I'm not sure what detail I'll go into with my other kids yet, or how I'll broach the topic if they don't ask as many questions as my oldest. My middle has a super vague idea of how babies are made and a more concrete idea of periods (partly because my oldest started asking about the feminine product dispensers in restrooms--awkward convo to have in a public restroom)... I guess I'll see. I do have to say, though--when I was teaching, I was told of a fourth grader that was pregnant at another school. That experience totally changed my mental timeline for talking to my kids. I didn't know the specifics of sex and periods until the end of 5th grade when school gave its presentation! I'd rather have them find out the details from me well before they get any input from others.

From the extensive reading I've done on here, it sounds like How To Teach Spelling is basically AAS in one book without manipulatives, and Rod & Staff Spelling by Sound and Structure is essentially AAS in workbook form. I'm getting both, since I like the idea of AAS but don't need all the fiddly pieces; I have one who would take hours to finish a workbook page but can zip through with one-on-one and one child who is very visual and enjoys workbooks and would probably flourish in R&S.

I had gotten a book from Rainbow, but it just wasn't right for my kids. I ended up finding this free worksheet maker that I fell in love with. I used the typical letter progression of other programs, but this allowed me to set the line height to suit my kids as they learned and also to customize our practice, so I could do exactly as much as I thought they needed, include their names, etc. And I could always make another sheet if they needed more or less practice. So it was a little legwork, but nice-looking, custom, and free. (And it looks pretty much like what I learned in school, which made my life easier. I think it's like ZB.) And yes, cursive does help with letter reversals. Sorry I've got no input on ZB itself, though.

On a totally different note-- You said she seems not to really care. Could she be purposely "phoning it in" to some extent because she has noticed that her brother is a strong speller, and if she's not putting forth effort she doesn't have to feel bad about not getting it right away? The only reason I ask is because my older two--son and daughter--are 14 mos apart, and I've ended up separating them for almost every subject (except science, history, art--things that I'm not aiming for any particular mastery or correct answers yet) because DD absolutely shuts down if she thinks her brother might possibly be doing better than she. It's a nuisance, but I work with them both individually. I've taken to having one kid work on a cleaning task (part of our daily work anyhow) while I have the other at the whiteboard, and then they switch. I try to keep it to about 15 minutes. They COULD do more, but I feel like their concentration is at its best for about that long, so those are my prime moments for retention. Then I make some excuse early on for getting them on different schedules ("I spent too long talking about __ with you, so we didn't get quite as far. That's okay, it doesn't matter--we'll get to the rest eventually.") and erase the board between lessons so they can't compare pacing or ability. It's made my daughter significantly calmer, and it allows me to focus the attention on her attitude and thought processes in a way that's more helpful for her long-term development. Not sure if that's at all applicable to your situation, but thought I'd pitch in FWIW.

Oooh, what a fun topic! My board book/toddler book picks would be: Goodnight Moon Brown Bear Pajama Time Moo, Baa, LaLaLa Very Hungry Caterpillar The Little Red Caboose Dr. Seuss' ABC We're Going on a Bear Hunt 100 First Words Something Richard Scarry--probably Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, which has a storyline AND lots to look at...though What Do People Do All Day is awesome for preschoolers. Picture Books: I need the Frances books by the Hobans, especially A Baby Sister for Frances and Bread and Jam for Frances, though I own and love several more. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Make Way for Ducklings A few Little Critter books like I Was So Mad and Me, Too! But No Elephants (an obscure book I loved so much as a child that I tracked it down on eBay in college--my kids have loved it, too) Stop that Ball and A Fly Went By by McClintock (though arguably these could go to toddler books--since my kids started loving them at 2--or Early Readers...but they're a bit long for that) A book of fables and one of fairy tales, well illustrated. For early readers I'm all over Elephant and Piggie. I bought a few because it seemed like they were always checked out when we wanted them. Fly Guy is a good step-up, as is Huggly. Chapter Books (younger): Little House Trumpet of the Swan and Charlotte's Web by White A few Ramona books My Father's Dragon Mr. Popper's Penguins Magic School Bus chapter books serve double-duty for us as fun and informational--and the library doesn't have them! And there's the catch--our old library system was epic and county-wide, so we could get our hands on virtually anything. Where we live now, each town has its own single library (and ours is a mere 20 years old). We have something like 26 public elementary schools in town and the children's section of the library here is no larger than in my old town, where there were only three schools--and a whole county of books to choose from. Here there are only five Elephant and Piggie titles, about 12 assorted Magic Tree House books... So even though I got rid of something like 1000 books a few years ago, figuring I had no need to house them under my roof when I could check them out any time I wanted, I now find myself haunting Half Price Books' bargain shelf and re-stocking because we're constantly running out of reading material.

I LOVE the Lots to Cuddle Babies. They have realistic (and adorable) plastic faces, hands, and feet and soft bodies. The ones I linked are 20" dolls, but they make various sizes. (There are also Lots to Love Babies, which are all plastic so you can bathe them.) Dolls come in Anglo, Asian, Black, and Hispanic, which I also appreciate. The ones pictured online have more girl-colored outfits, but in the store (I actually got ours from Kmart), there were dolls with generic or traditional boy-colored outfits. They appear to be made by JC Toys.