I bet you have to use a cheerful tone of voice. Sounds like fun!

Hi! I'm not really a planner by temperament, but it seems like we stay on track better when I plan our lessons beforehand. So I finally bit the bullet last weekend and planned a week's worth of lessons. The kids got sick on Monday and stayed sick all week, and we did no school. This got me thinking, what if they had been only a little bit sick, and we did some of our plan? Do I just rewrite everything we didn't do in my planner for next week? Draw a million arrows? What if they're sick for two days? Draw a bunch of arrows until I run out of planned activities? This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to give up on planning, but I think it would be good if I can figure it out. Thanks! Heidi

OK, I'm only on page 3 of this thread, but I have to add my two cents about learning styles. I say definitely try to figure out your child's/children's learning styles. But don't be discouraged when even that involves some trial and error, especially when they're young. I had thought my dd5 would be a classic Perfect Paula, with maybe a bit of Wiggly Willy thrown in, just because she's young. So I expected her to like worksheets, and thought Saxon might be a good program for her. But I got MUS instead because I thought I couldn't stand Saxon, since I'm mostly Wiggly Willy, and don't have a Paula bone in my body. And MUS is still orderly, uses worksheets, and you can see progress. In reality, dd hates the worksheets, likes the manipulatives well enough, doesn't care about progress, and actually enjoys the math games that I come up with from other sources. So much for theory. So we're going to get RightStart and see how that goes. Live and learn.:001_rolleyes:

This is what I want to do, but organizing it all is the hard part for me, which is why I think I need to use the RS program straight up, and add things from there. I decided not to use Miquon as the organizing program, because dd is risk-averse, and I can just see her looking at those open-ended lab sheets (which I love) and saying, "I don't know what to do with this. Tell me the answer, Mom." So my plan is to start using Miquon for ideas she's already comfortable with, to get her used to their way of doing things. I'm hoping we can move to using Miquon sometimes for new concepts, and using it to explore, the way it was meant to be used. I love math, but I was bored stiff by the drudgery of math class in grade school, and I want to avoid that for my dd. Thanks for all the good ideas!

Thanks for all the replies! It helps to get many perspectives. I am leaning toward a combination of RS and Miquon, but I am going to let it simmer for a couple of days, forcing myself not to be impulsive. (I really want to get on the phone and order it right now!) Thanks for your help!

All that helps, thanks. I like the use of many ways to teach a concept. And it's good that it teaches multiple strategies for solving problems. My dd is good at math, but could use some encouragement in flexible thinking. Thanks for the input!

Thanks! Yes, I just found them in a catalog for $10 new, which isn't bad. Used would be even better. Thanks for the input.

For taking a break, I would recommend playing math games. Peggy Kaye has some great books with fun games for practicing many subjects. Games for Learning is one of them.

I'll just add my two cents that we are using SWR, and while it isn't perfect, it's working for us (dd is 5.5 and can read short books on her own). It can definitely hurt your brain when you're trying to understand it at the beginning, but as another poster said, it gets better, and isn't horribly time-consuming once you understand it.:iagree: We also didn't use it the way you're supposed to this last year, because dd is in Kindergarten this year, and the program requires more writing than dd was up for. I didn't want to hold up learning to read just because she couldn't do all that writing work. I just used the aspects of it that have to do with learning to read, and skipped the writing and spelling. I plan to use it as Sanseri intended next year, since dd now loves to write. A friend of mine likes Phonics Pathways, which sound similar to AAS. Like AAS, it has kids learning to read lists of words that are grouped according to spelling rules. And it's less than $20, if I recall correctly.

Hi! I am considering using Right Start math with my dd5 next year for first grade, because I've been told it has a lot of games and activities, and isn't so heavy on the worksheets. But I still need to know one thing: do the games have the kids practicing math on real objects, or mostly using number symbols? (I'd really like to find something that gives a lot of practice with objects, rather than only using the symbols.) Thanks! Heidi

Hi! We've been using Math-U-See, and I've decided that we need to switch to something else, possibly Miquon. I understand that Miquon uses Cuisenaire rods. Would it work to use the MUS blocks instead? (Similar concept, different size) I'd rather not keep buying expensive manipulatives, especially ones that do the same thing as the ones we already have. Thanks! Heidi

Hi! We've been using Math-U-See (alpha level) for my dd5 for Kindergarten. I'm not really pleased with it, so I decided we need to switch to something else. My short list is: Right Start Miquon Singapore (I'm open to other programs too) Here's why I'm not happy with MUS: 1) I had thought that since it uses manipulatives, it would be more fun than doing endless worksheets. As it happens, it's endless worksheets that you're supposed to figure out using the manipulatives. (boring, and not concrete enough IMO) So I've been supplementing with games and other activites that I find in various places, with an emphasis on counting, adding, and subtracting objects, not just working with symbols on a page. 2) MUS has a rather slow schedule. Multiplication is not even introduced until 3rd grade, and division not until 4th grade. I learned to multiply when I was five, and I'm supposed to wait three more years to teach my daughter? (It's also a problem relative to standardized tests.) 3) MUS uses a mastery approach, with a spiral aspect included in the review pages. I think this makes sense for kids to whom math does not come naturally, because it's just mean to make them go on before they truly understand something. But for us, I think it would be better to learn the concepts involved in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as early as possible, and then practice them all together, preferably with real objects, and in a fun way. Given all that, I would welcome any thoughts on what math program would be a good fit for us. Thank you! Heidi