Thanks. So not as nice and pretty as 5's, but something about the visuals is more appealing to me and still seems easier to view than tiny squares.

Thanks Heather. Is it at least more intuitive like RS then? MM has these strange layouts of units in 4's and such so they make a nice square or rectangle. It's weird after RS.

I'm having some trouble with the visuals in MM since we are used to RS. RS discourages counting and puts things in 5's and 10's so you can see a number without counting or thinking about it. MM does not do this, the units are laid out in random amounts that make the groups of units look 'pretty.' We are having to count and they are tiny and it's confusing. Does SM group and lay them out more like RS?

Thanks. I think I will break it up into 1/2 - 1 hour chunks. I actually chose what I chose for various reasons, but I think the kids still need teacher-intensive stuff at these ages, especially my new first-grader. That said, I am trying to introduce the idea of more independent work to my 3rd grader, one of the reasons I have switched him in math from RS to MM. Honestly, all of the WTM stuff is teacher intensive...FLL, WWE...it's all back-and-forth. I like the idea of them taking turns playing with the 2 year old, I hated that she watched tv the past 3 days LOL. That wasn't going to work out for the year! I'm not sure about assigning reading, DS reads a lot on his own and I think I'd like to keep the internal drive to read alive. Extra memorization could be nice. Hmmmm, maybe somethings on audio, like a classical music program or other books to listen to could work?

LOL Thanks...my sister saw it on a greeting card somewhere and sent it to me...I love it. :) We are doing History, Science, and languages together, but the other stuff separate. My curricula are all pretty teacher-intensive though, so that's the real issue at hand. I'm just not sure how to balance that time.

This is the first year both older kids are being schooled. I had this great schedule laid out to follow, where we would do math, then handwriting, FLL, winterpromise, spanish, lunch, spelling, WWE. The only problem is...it's not quite working how I'd hoped. Because both kids need one on one for their subjects, I feel like they each sit with nothing to do. Would I be better off working with each for an hour alternatively, then coming together for WP, Spanish, Latin, and Science? Or bouncing back and forth with each having short breaks? Or some other way? Any ideas? Thanks!

I agree on WWE2...I think 1 will be toooo easy.

Argh see now I wonder if I should just be doing Singapore. We did RS, but I feel the need to move on from that at this point to something a little more independent, so I chose MM. DS is doing some review and relearning subtraction since the RS way didn't mesh well with us last year. It's been a fight and today is only the 3rd day of school. :( He says it's confusing, and on some levels I can see why. Why doesn't MM group items into 5's like RS? I thought that was a big part of the Asian way. I see DS having to count the little unit boxes and whatnot instead of being able to look at it and "see." And they are very tiny, it's a little dizzying. I wonder if the pages of SM would be more appealing, even though the teaching method is less appealing to me! When teaching SM, though, is it take a few minutes and teach and then the child practices, or is it more time intensive like RS, where the whole thing is back and forth between us?

Our first day started last night....when DD2 woke up at 10pm and was up until 3am...ugh. We were going to start at 9am this morning...let's just say that didn't happen LOL!!! We got rolling around 11am. DS whined and cried with math bc he just doesn't want to do stuff. Then he was excited for spelling but cried bc he didn't know every single thing for AAS 1. He was already upset he and little sis were starting on the same level. Oy. It was kinda rough, but overall ok. DD1 was SO EXCITED about school today and the best student ever!!!!

:) Looks like he loves math, lol! If you are going to order B soon anyway, I would really consider just using it. A is the first 25 or so lessons of B stretched out over more lessons. Just a thought for you. :)

I think he'll still figure it out. It's reinforced over and over. Honestly, being able to see it that way already will most likely help him as the levels go on. He can still see it that way, and try to see it other ways. I also think you should do B with him, A will probably go way too slow if he can do that kind of math in his head already!

I don't know, but I'm certainly interested in the answer! :) I was planning RSO too but have so far only printed out the free part.

It's so great seeing everyone's success so far!!! We start Monday and I'm getting nervous LOL! I just filed 3 weeks of MM for DS though, and a couple weeks of Latin so we can get started and see how they go. I'm getting MM3 in the HSBC so I won't have it til Sept, but I had already bought the add/subtract book from 2nd grade to help DS get caught up in subtraction since it wasn't solidified for him last year. Because of filing though, I discovered we can cover the whole book in 3 weeks and jump into MM3, and probably skip the first 20-40 pages so we won't really be behind at all. :) I can't wait to see how it all falls into place next week!!! Oh, and while I was going through old papers from last year, I found stuff I'd printed for Presidents' Day (And never did, of course). The wonderful thing is instead of shoving it away somewhere to be forgotten about again, I put it in my "February" folder. :D Love it!!! It stands a chance of making an appearance now!

I really shouldn't read threads like this. I have already have AS1 planned but then I see that SOTW (which I do have on audio and have an AG, incidentally) can be done so much faster....don't make me change what I already spent a fortune on, LOL!!! We don't do SL anymore bc the books are just toooo heavy and too many for our family. We did about half of AW last year and enjoyed it, so I'm hoping AS1 goes just as easily. It's definitely less reading than SL was. Also....I try to find whatever audiobooks I can, it saves my voice and has become something great to look forward to on car trips (or even short rides). We moved last spring and the road trips involved became my 'catch up' time on read alouds. ;)

Actually, there are Lego Leagues that compete, and their are all kinds of educational Lego sets to learn about robotics and all kinds of engineering-type things. The latter are pricey, can often be bought on HSBC.

Yes, this is my plan now too. I LOVE love love RS B, but not C as much. I'm switching DS to MM3 for this year, but still doing RS B with DD1. I don't think any program can beat the foundation and teaching style. It's the perfect fit for the age, IMO!

I agree with Siloam above. The problems with retention do not sound like a program problem, IMO. Honestly, it sounds like there should have been some intermittent review over the summer. I would review and reinforce and then trod forward. In public school, they do spend the first several weeks reviewing. Actually, if you had completed each RS level, the first several chapters of each new level are review too. (Not saying you necessarily should have finished each one, because we didn't finish last year either, just pointing it out.)

I didn't, and regret it. I think it's another thing that has added to DS's atrocious handwriting...not having him do it often enough!

We used RS for 2 years, and I'm switching my oldest to Math Mammoth this year. It's so much more independent!!! I loved RS B however and will use that with DD1, but will skip C this time bc I hate how they do subtraction and move her into MM2 at that time.

Looks like fun. :) I'd heard of the cones before but never the crowning! Maybe I need to make something too now, though the kids have all dug through all my new supplies already lol. We never really officially ended last year bc of moving and other craziness, so it would be great to have a ceremony to start this one! What is your march?

I love, love, love Headsprout. I love that it teaches in a different way than any other program I've encountered. I love that it works to help your child succeed. I love that it teaches permanent sounds first...like they learn "sh" and "ee" very early on, because these combos always make that sound. Not the ridiculous "a" sounds cvc programs teach, when "a" makes 3 distinct sounds, which can be confusing to an emerging reader. The program is fantastic!!

I really, really love Headsprout. Two kids have now gone through it. They have their first book after like 4 lessons. It's fabulous, engaging, and they learn to read well. :)

Sounds like they changed it, because it was the Real Mother Goose when I used it a couple years ago. I can't imagine it matters.

Congratulations!!!!:lol: The only thing I have left to do right now is Latin and Spanish. Need to make Latin copies, and I think I will just leave Spanish in the workbooks, they are small anyway. I'm saving the rest of the paper crafts and such til a couple months in, to make sure we enjoy doing them enough before I spend all my time getting them ready. ;) I'm pretty darn happy with what I've done though, it's ten times more than I've ever planned before!!!!!

Nope, got a boy in there. LOL I'll have to ask him what he thinks this afternoon after camp.