We will only be using MM too. I think it will be fine. It's seems pretty thorough and focuses on mastery of a topic before moving on to the next. I'm very excited that we found it and can't wait to start using it ! I used just Saxon with my dd, then Lial's for pre-algebra and she did just fine. I think if we had added more math it would have been overkill. Good luck!!

Thanks Val! I will keep you in mind if I have any specific questions :) Anyone else?

how similar are FLL 3 & 4? Do they present the same material? I know we eventually want to move to MCT in a year or two, after he gets the basics down in FLL. I'm hearing that there is much redundancy in 1 & 2 and I don't want to do both 3 & 4 unless there is a necessary progression. What are your thoughts? My son is coming home from ps and is in the 3rd grade but has just turned 10. I have only looked through the samples online. Thanks.

I am pulling my child out of ps and we are in Oklahoma. Thanks.

So would it be overkill to use this as a supplement for WWE?

anyone?

"Please, please, please read Liping Ma's book, Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Teachi...tt_at_ep_dpi_1" Does anyone know where I can I find this book, in used condition, for a good price? Its over $30 on Amazon.com and my library doesnt carry it. Thanks.

:bigear:

http://www.classicalwriting.com/Primer.htm Has anyone used this? I'm looking at this to supplement WWE with a 10 yob. Also, do they progress in difficulty? Do you have to do them in order? As I recall, there was nature study to go along with the seasons, so if we started with Winter and ended with Autumn, would that be alright?

Do you choose them yourself or have your dc pick them? Do you have a list of must reads or a shelf loaded with books above their reading level and/or books they would never read on their own? or is it more random? I initially didn't really want to "schedule" read-alouds, but now I'm afraid if I dont have a game plan, this will quickly fall off of our "we intend to do this" list. We have totally slacked in this area so far. Thanks!

Thank you all for your replies! These look so fun :)

No, I haven't placed him in WWE yet. I plan to go through the sample lessons with him until we find a good spot. I said WWE 1 after looking through the material and comparing that to what he has done in ps. His writing/spelling is very poor and he will probably need a lot of remedial work. I really want to spend most of our time on language art skills. Even if he places in 2 or 3, would it not be beneficial to start at the beginning? Does the material repeat itself in the following workbooks? Im really woried about the dictation. I did some with him over the summer and he could not remember a thing I said. He has trouble really listening and his comprehension is poor while reading and listening.

After looking through parts of the Complete Writer and esp FLL 3, it seems like we can go through these fairly quickly. Has anyone done an entire weeks lesson (in either text) in one day? Is that too much to ask of a 10 year old, even if we break it down into two chunks of time? We have roughly 22 weeks to get through the material before summer break (jan-june) and I would like to get through FLL 3 and WWE 1 in that time. I wont push him if it seems too much or if he isnt grasping the material or anything and it would be nice to have some wiggle room if he gets stumpted on something...but it seems like the lessons are teeny tiny compared to what he is now doing in ps. I dont want to make it *too* easy lol. I had planned on at least an hour total to do language arts every day and that would just include FLL, WWE and AAS. Thanks for the input!

Yes lots of sight words! I think the way he was taught combined with the fact that he had to do the 1st grade twice (at a school he hated) is the main cause of his attitude and dislike of reading. I definitely have a lot of backtracking to do. Your article looks great! Thanks for passing it along! Cant wait to read it :)

I'm not sure about foreign languages at this point. I think I will wait until he has a better understanding of English. Maybe next fall. I will be learning French so I was thinking about having him learn with me (because that would be easier and help us both) but then again my dd started with Latin, then moved to French later on and I always thought I would do it the same way with ds but in reality...I'm having a hard time seeing him being excited (or even willing) to learn any foreign language. At this point, he hates school, hates reading and has a bad attitude. We will have to work on this first.

Very glad to hear this!! Last night I actually found some lesson plans on the internet to go along with the Magic School Bus. I probably won’t use them much, as I am letting him lead, but it did point me to a lot of resources I didn’t know existed that will fit along nicely with the topics in this series. I’m really excited about this part of our curriculum!!

Mallory, is this dictation from the first week in WWE 2? Are the dictations easier in level one? I know my son wouldn't be able to write that piece very well.

How long do you spend per day on AAS if you finished it that quickly? Do you double up on lessons?

Guesthollow? Is that a website?

:bigear:

He has been in ps (really cant wait until I can stop saying that :)) but he will be coming home after winter break. He is 10 and in the 3rd (supposed to be in 4th). This is what I have so far: Language Arts: AAS 1 -I want to start at the beginning, he is a very poor speller. FLL 3 WWE -still need to place but I will get the Complete Writer and do the sample lessons, as someone here recommended, until we find a place that fits. Math: Math Mammoth -still need to place for this (but im thinking 2B-we seem so far behind in everything!) but first we will spend a couple of weeks memorizing basic math facts History: SOTW 1 with stuff from the AG (since we are starting in January, we will only work up to the end of Greece. I want to take our time and my goal right now is to build a love of history and not so much drill facts into his head.) Evan-Moor geography -for basic map skills History Pockets (Egypt and Greece) tons of reading and projects Science: Magic School Bus Science… (ds’s idea) He loves these books and is a science kid, so we will read these and study the topic presented at our own leisure. Next year we will do something more scheduled and focused, but for now we are doing science for fun’s sake only. We will also be doing some nature study and we will plan and plant a garden in the spring. We will have a daily read-aloud in the morning and he will be doing a lot more independent reading than he is used to. We will also try to incorporate some kind of art program because he loves to draw, paint, cut up things etc. but I really just want to focus on the core subjects for the rest of this year and we will definitely flesh out more next fall. Did I forget anything? I feel like I am... Thank you all so much :D

Archimedes Stephen Hawking Marie Curie Louis Pasteur Johannes Kepler Edwin Hubble

When giving your dc placement tests, do you just set it in front of them and walk away or are you there to answer questions? How much hand holding do you do? I definitely foresee issues/questions/(pleading really) with the story problems but I want him placed accurately. Thank you :)

My son loves this sort of thing (very artistic) but Im thinking the ancient civ one looks kind of young for him...he is in the 3rd but almost 10. Has anyone done the ones on Egypt, Greece, etc?

has anyone used these? Trying to think of fun ways to supplement SOTW1. We have the activity guide and will be reading lots of library books and Im not sure we really need anything else but these looked really cool. I looked at Egypt and Greece. Are they worth the time/money?