We used AARs and really did enjoy it. It was worth the money for us

Have you looked at Nora Gaydos readers? We have those and while they're similar in levels to the BOB books, the pictures are colorful and the stories are a funnier. We also have some used school style readers. Right now we have the SRA Basic Reading Series. There are levels that are a little more advanced than the BOB books. The stories seem more appealing as well.

Have you been doing Phonics Pathways daily with your daughter? 5 is still young, but I don't see why you couldn't do 5 minutes of daily phonics. I don't think learning to read has to be challenging. I do think it is necessary to take breaks and not allow them to get too frustrated though. I'll tell you a little of what we do. We're using Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading with my almost 5yo. It's taken us a year to get half way through (115 lessons). What we do is a section at a time (usually 10 or so lessons) and then I'll reassess. If she still seems to need help on those concepts, we take a break for a week and just review. During review weeks we will play games with past words, read phonics readers, and write words. Then we move on. Right now we are on a review break after hitting the half way point. I find that stopping and reviewing helps with frustration. That way they can gain some fluency before moving on

I talked to my primary care Friday and he didn't seem too concerned. But I plan to call my obgyn today because I feel that they may be more knowledgeable. I'm definitely not pregnant, but I did experience the high bpm occasionally too during that.

I went off of a low dose birth control pill a few weeks ago. I had the normal symptoms: acne, cramping, period. But I also started feeling heart palpitations and started taking notice that my resting heart rate has been as low as 88bpm (which is still high) and as high as 122 bpm. I'm slightly overweight and get normal everyday exercise (walking), so I'm not an athlete by any means and could use more exercise and weight loss. I called my pcp and they said it could be a hormonal symptom of going off bcp and to Coke in if it gets as high as 140. Tonight after sitting for 1.5hrs it hit 122. No other symptoms. Only feel my heart pounding and racing. Has anyone else experienced this going off bcp? I plan to call my obgyn tomorrow and talk with her

I wouldn't go with AAR Pre. It is pretty straightforward and not too intensive. It's fun and comprehensive. It's provides a strong foundation for phonemic awareness. Another though it Logic of English.

Also Duck Duck Moose just made all their apps free and they have Math and reading

Teach your Monster to Read. It's a website (free) and iPad app ($5). We use the iPad and love it. Great phonics program.

Also, my 2.5 and 4.5yo love Teach Your Monster to Read. We have the paid version on our iPad. I'm not sure it works on an iPhone. It's pretty simple and teaches only sounds of letters, not names. My 2.5yo does letter sounds when he does play it (which isn't often) and my 4.5yo is reading with it.

AAR-Pre would be perfect. I don't think you'd even need to March slowly since it is pretty gentle and doesn't actually have the student reading anything. It's divided in 3 parts: 1. Uppercase letters 2. Lowercase letters 3. Letter sounds It does an excellent job building phonemic awareness. Rhyming, oral blending, clapping syllables, recognizing sounds at the beginning/end of a word, etc. We did it starting shortly After 3. My daughter loved it. She had tons of fun with Ziggy the zebra and the crafts. Doing one lesson a day was definitely doable.

Is a Little History of Science secular?

Thanks! I looked at that one as well. The only downside is that it's only $10, so it's not a full credits worth. That is definitely on my to-buy list though.

We have SOTW on Cd right now. We just started listening to volume 1 with my almost 5yo. We listen while driving and she enjoys it so far. I have 1 audible credit I am hoping to use on something similar to SOTW but better for younger students. Ideally I would want it to be worth at least $15 so that it's a full credits worth. I've looked at A Child's History of the World. Any suggestions?

I wouldn't worry about combining them. From what I've read here, a lot of families keep kids separate for math and reading.

If he has gaps in his phonics ability then I would definitely do a phonics program. It doesn't have to be AAR, but that she probably easiest since you will eventually need it for your younger kiddo.

You're not it doing any phonics with the 7yo beyond the readers? What phonics program did he do? Our phonics program goes through a 4th grade reading level and multisyllable words. I plan to do phonics with dd until she is reading multisyllable words fluently. I would assume a 7yo could still benefit from a phonics program. Typically AAS1 is done while the student is doing AAR 2. At least that's what all about learning press suggests. I don't see any harm in doing AAR 2 with him if he could still use phonics.

My daughter uses BrainPop Jr. Mostly she watches the videos on topics that interest her. I haven't shown her the games yet. But the videos are excellent.

The Ramona Collection. Dd 4.5 and ds 2.5 have listened to it twice! The BFG Pippilongstocking Winnie The pooh and The House on Pooh Corner The Wind in the Willows The Beatrix Potter collection

I thought the app was just the videos? I'm not 100% sure though. We add a link to the iPads homescreen so that dd can access the website easily.

Our school has a link and password info on a student resources page of their site

Our school district has a subscription so we use that.

Thanks. I just looked up dyspraxia and she doesn't have any of the symptoms. Not typically clumsy, does puzzles, logos and building toys, has been eating with a fork and spoon since 12-14months old, etc. I'll definitely have them look into it though if we do get the appointment.

That's interesting. Dd is pretty advanced fine motor wise and has been since infancy, so I've never thought about that. I will look into it for sure. We've had a hard time getting an OT evaluation and I've heard the wait list is several months long. But, getting a referral from neurology might be easier. Hopefully we're able to see both.

She's been writing for over a year now and writing/drawing is one of her primary activities. I haven't seen any issues there. She writes well for her age and draws well. And has excellent fine motor skills. How else would dysgraphia present?

I've actually been wondering about that with the sensory things as well. A friend who is an OT mentioned a possible connection We did see the neuro at the children's hospital and they're excellent. If we got a referral it would be to them again. Thanks! I searched a little too, but hadn't found that. I'll have to look some more.