That makes sense. It seems like some here are doing them in 5-6th so I thought I would ask. So maybe for the time being I'll stick with oral questions and discussion and short book report and then move onto lit guides later. Thanks!

What is the main purpose of using these? It seems like it might possibly take the fun out of reading or does it really enhance understanding? We have never used them...my son doesn't really like reading fiction as it is, but his reading comprehension is below average. Would this help him or make his intersted level drop even further? Any good recommendations? We will be doing SOTW Ancients next year for a 5th grader and will be trying to cover some of the clasics - mostly read-alouds if that helps. Thanks!

Has anyone used these together? We are doing SOTW Ancients next year (5th and 6th) and I want to incorporate SOS as well. Suggestions?

And she is 12? Excellent writing! You must be so proud :)

Bump :)

ElizabethB...where do you suggest to starting in MCT after FLL? Island, Town...? I've been looking at MCT for years now and I'm really excited to use it, but not sure where to begin. I have a 5th grader FLL 3 because he needed remedial work and will go through both that and FLL 4 first. Thanks!

Having flashbacks!!! Something similar happened to my son, although the initial circumstances were different. He experienced bullying problems in K at school A, and they did little to nothing to resolve it, and their expectations for a Kindergartner were ridiculously high, so we changed schools. School B: He was behind a little, but nothing a good teacher couldn't fix. But the teacher wasn't good. she and the school were impatient and had ridiculous standards as well. He had a rough year to say the least and they held him back (so he did first grade twice). Truth was his dad and I were going through a divorce during that time and he couldn't focus. Since I was my own mess, I didn't see this as the main issue until later on. School knew he couldn't focus however and thought "all year" he may have a LD and didn't care enough to mention it until last few months of his second 1st grade year. So, here I had a kiddo that already started K at almost 6 years old, had some starting off issues, and went through an emotional rough patch. and so he was 8 doing 1st grade again. After two years of 1st grade at that school, I moved him back to School A (his dad had a stupid emotional attachment to School A, since that's where he and his siblings attended as a child...I should have said "I don't care" and and brought him home but I didn't). I taught my dd very successfully for 3 years at home, so I could have done it. After moving him back to School A for 2nd grade, its like he just gave up and stopped trying to learn altogether. His teacher that year was a brand new graduate, with no experience in dealing with a child that needed a bit of extra help. I asked repeatedly if ds could move to a different class or get extra help and the answer was no, he was fine where he was. Uh, no...he was not. He was hiding his homework underneath the bed and daydreaming at school and being largely ignored. I should have pulled him out then but I was trying to "make it on my own" as a single parent and didn't accept the offer to move in with my parents and home school him. I had to force the school to test him...it took a whole school year. Turns out, he had mild ADHD and a mild sensory processing disorder. Mild but yet enough to be a disaster. Fast forward to 3rd grade...he was still doing poorly (even with an in-school reading specialist, an IEP, after-schooling and a hired math tutor) and so I decided to move in with a relative and homeschool for the rest of 3rd. We spent most of the first 4 months "unschooling" because his attitude was so negative towards anything school related. So we read stories, did science projects and took lots of nature walks. May and june we did more formal schooling (attitude improved and he was doing great). His dad, however, insisted all along that this was not "doing school" and forced me to put him back in his old school (failure School A). The school immediately made me put him back in 3rd the next year without even testing him or talking to me about it, simply because he had been homeschooled. Fast forward past bad-decision-after-bad-decision-land and onto present...he is 12, in the 4th and doing "okay" according to the school...he could however "apply himself more". He is not doing okay -or anything resembling it- because his most recent report card was a B, a C, a D and an F. The F was in science - his favorite subject. When I questioned ds why he got an F, the answer was "they don't teach it right...it's all bookwork...that's not science", and "my special reading teacher keeps me with her during the first half of science class so I miss the instruction". (The teacher isn't helpful at getting him up to speed daily. I think its because she is old and doesn't want to mess with it personally). Called school...it's my sons fault, not brilliant science extraordinaire or the schools high standard science curriculum or the fact that he is in with a tutoring group instead of with his classmates. ...a tutoring group that more resembles study hall for the maladjusted. There's a multitude of problems with this school and yet they have an "excellent record". Our city just gave "report cards" to all of the schools in the district and ours received a B+....one of the highest in the district. That's a crock if you ask me. (The only thing that's truly high in that particular district are the property taxes). The principal treats both of us horribly, I think because I made such a stink about the bullying in K and now mostly because I pulled him out to homeschool in the 3rd. So...this will be his last year in public schools until high school (if I can afford private by then or get him into a good charter school). He and I are really happy with this decision and will not be looking back. My advice would be to teach him at home until he is up to speed. Your sons experience won't be the same as mine but after years of this nightmare experience, I wish I could just go back and spend that one year homeschooling him, until I had really found a better school for the rest. Sorry for the long-winded story. Good luck and trust your own instincts!! I feel your pain.

If your kiddo loves science, I would go heavy on the science and make it fun....lots of hands-on projects and experiments. History should be taught alongside geography and social studies. I plan on doing science everyday with my son since he loves it so much and doing history/geography 2-3 days a week.

Really wish I would have found OM and Waldorf....as well as Charlotte Mason, when he was younger. I could have saved us both a lot of heartache by never sending him to school in the first place and given him some creative room to enjoy his childhood and explore a bit more before the stress of formal schooling. Oh well :/

http://www.mathplace.com/developmental/developmental.asp

I have a 4th grader that I'm bringing home next year (he is supposed to be in the 6th) and I want a strong math program that will build mastery, so I was looking into Developmental Math and/or Math Mammoth. Has anyone used DM with success? Thanks!

Great! Thank you!

We afterschool anyway for about an hour a night plus his school homework, so it shouldn't be too much for me and probably will be easier on him. And my fiancé works week nights so he will be home with him in the daytime. Thanks for the responses. I feel a little better now.

So no Developmental Math users out there?

No, that was very helpful! Thank you! The science and the history parts are what really appealed to me and we are staring with another math program for remidial work and likely sticking to WWE and FLL which we liked and never finished last time. So is there a good place to find cheap, used copies of just the science and history sections for 5th grade? Thanks.

Well my son is an artist, so the drawing part may work. I wonder if that continues in the upper levels. Maybe I need to look at the samples more closely. Thank you for the response!

My 12 yo just finished Hatchet and now reading Brian's Winter, both by Gary Paulsen.

I've looked at samples and they look great but I guess more specific questions are: is the math section a spiral or mastery approach? Is the science hands-on (does it have good quality experiments to go along with the lessons)? Could the history be easily supplemented with SOTW (which I really love). Are there any major gaps anywhere in this curriculum? Because I also work, the thought of a boxed curriculum appeals to me this go-around but I don't want to short change his education in any way. I'm sure we would still supplement here and there...I just don't want to pay the heafty price of this curriculum if we have to fill in *too* many gaps. Thanks!

How strange...I just posted a question about Oak Meadow after reading about it on another thread. Have you used it personally?

I was looking through this site and I stumbled upon Oak Meadow...well re-stumbled...I remember years ago thinking this looked pretty cool for a boxed curriculum if I ever chose to home school again and go that route. Last time I home schooled I followed TWTM pretty closely...but this was with my dd who is very different than my son (who is a soon to be 5th grader). I was thinking about doing things more relaxed, eclectic, hands-on with him but this "most everything we need in one place" curriculum appeals to me since I will be working as well as teaching. Has your experience with this been positive? What do you like/not like about OM? Thanks!

http://www.mathplace.com/Developmental/Developmental.asp

Has anyone used either of these with success? I have a 4th grader that that does about average in math (and he likes it ok) but we both feel that he needs to build a stronger foundation before progressing and I wondered if these texts may be helpful. He is in public school now but will be home next year and I'm looking for a good place to start. We did Math Mammoth a couple of years back for only a few months and while *I* liked it, he doesn't remember it quite so fondly (but honestly, im not sure he gets warm fuzzies when thinking back on any textbook). I am considering trying either MM again or Developmental Math...or perhaps a combination of both? Thoughts? Thanks!

That would be great Coffee, thanks!

.

Thank you for all for the suggestions! (Keep them coming ;). I will definitely be looking into these. And I loved homeschooling...I've absolutely missed it, so I think this may be a fun project for me in the evenings and weekends. I know it will be hard work but I'm up for it. Lots to think about. Thank you ladies! I've so missed this forum :)