:lurk5::lurk5:

Considering that they are asking kinders to do these, I think it's pretty advanced. The type of problem you quoted gets repeated throughout Y1, to reinforce the concepts of Right and Left (not a 5yo's forte). It teaches them ordinal numbers. It also teaches them that ordinals are relative respective to direction. Usually, the question you quoted is followed by "what position is it from the Left?" Around lesson 40-ish (going by memory), they start introducing variables by "covering" the missing number with a playing card. The child has to figure out the number behind the card that would balance out the equation, IF there is an equal sign in the middle. Sometimes the equation has < or >. I finished Lesson 100 of Year 1 with my 7yo first grader today, where she had to build a balanced algebraic equation, and then solve it. It said "Fox went hunting and wanted to catch 6 hens. If Fox had caught 2 more than he did, he would have had 2 less than 6. How many hens did Fox catch?" The 5yo is supposed to come up with "? + 2 = 6 - 2". I am definitely a MEP fan. I'm sticking with it!!

Good. Because I have toyed with the idea of using ETC with them, even though they are not beginning readers. But, really, there just aren't enough hours in a day to teach them everything I wish I could..... big sigh! :-)

bump

Trying to choose a handwriting program for my kiddos, 2nd and 5th grade. I know some of you love it, but I haven't considere HWT because handwriting does not bring tears to my children. LOL. They actually like it. RFH - I love the books. They're so pretty. And the blank sheets with borders.... Getty-Dubay - Is really popular, at least on this board. Apparently effective. Your thoughts on which to choose? It would be nice to have more compelling reasons than the above for my decision. ha, ha, ha!

I'm surprised nobody suggests WWE. I've never used it, but it is by SWB and I have read great things about it in other threads. Curious to hear why not?

Do you find that AAS helps your dc with reading, since the emphasis is on phonics rules. My dc (7 and 9) have just been brought home from PS, where the approach is semi-phonics, semi-whole language. They are okay readers, but I notice they hesitate when they find new words, even ones easily sounded out by basic phonics rules.

Oh, darn! Now, I'm in love with these..... and I thought I didn't like math that much! Okay, I found video clips of Hands On Equations on You Tube. There are a couple of clips of the kind you would buy in the DVDs, and then some other "home made" ones. Maybe if you take a look at them you'll be able to assess whether you need to buy the DVDs or not. I just queried "hands on equations" on You Tube, and there they were.

I have a Lego maniac ds almost 10. He could spend 17 hours straight putting things together following instructions, or creating them himself. He is meticulous with his Lego building, but not with ANYTHING else. Writing, math, reading (the list goes on) tends to be sloppy. He understands those concepts well, just does not apply care to execute in them. What kind of learner/doer is he? Does this mean he is visual/spatial? I would love to hear from other parents of Lego-maniacs. What interests did your child develop? I am sure his Lego-mania (also loves K'nex, and toys that similarly engage the brain) is pointing to an area of talent that translates to some sort of occupation. I would like to identify it, so I can cultivate that and help him explore areas that he will be really passionate about. I've thought engineering may turn out to be an area of interest, but the engineers I know tend to be meticulous in most areas of their lives.... Any thoughts?

Thanks, everyone. This is what I was thinking too. Something linked to engineering or architecture. He had a very heavy clay period, until mom (me) started putting some heavy boundaries on clay usage. It was everywhere! I may need to relax my laws. :-) He is definitely interested in robotics. He loves the lego designer software too. What is FLL competition? Also, did any of you notice sloppiness in other areas? I'm wondering if it is all linked, or if it is more of an unrelated flaw that needs careful correction. All my engineer friends tend to be fussy and meticulous in all aspects of their lives. So that is the piece of the puzzle that doesn't fit for me..

I have a Lego maniac ds almost 10. He could spend 17 hours straight putting things together following instructions, or creating them himself. He is meticulous with his Lego building, but not with ANYTHING else. Writing, math, reading (the list goes on) tends to be sloppy. What kind of learner/doer is he visual/spatial? I would love to hear from other parents of Lego-maniacs. What interests did your child develop? I am sure his Lego-mania (also loves K'nex, and toys that similarly engage the brain) is pointing to an area of talent that translates to some sort of occupation. I would like to identify it, so I can cultivate that and help him explore areas that he will be really passionate about.

... but that doesn't mean your 5yo can't do it. Mine just came out of PS. Yours already has Earlybird Singapore. Modifying for just 1 child has not been a problem. I follow the lesson plan as is, unless it calls for "pupils" to come to the front of the class. In those cases, we substitute "pupils" with classmates of the 'stuffed' variety, or any other thing, blocks, pencils, coins, beads, beans.... For the most part, yes. We skip some that my dd has already mastered. You know, we do not do any of the singing and dancing scheduled into the lesson plan, but if you have a wiggly willy that may good for you... I would say, in general, don't expect the next workbook activity to be practice for the oral activity. Each activity is separate from each other. I have only taught MEP Year 1, but I believe the concepts of even and odd, and the names of the different math symbols (addition, subtration, division, multiplication, greater than, less than, etc.) have already been taught to the children in what the UK calls "reception" or Pre-K. Mind-blowing, I know. I do not think they expect the children to have a complete understanding, or at all, of what each symbol means or does, but the materials seem to suggest that the children already recognize them. If your dc is unfamiliar with a concept MEP has not introduced, you can explain it yourself until dc gets it. It's okay if you don't finish the MEP lesson. Your child will need to know these concepts to go forward. It's hard to explain. By the CIMT's own admission, this program is only for the most advanced students in the UK. They don't assume everyone can do this. However, we homeschoolers do expect that. Of course, we have the advantage of one-to-one instruction, which they lack in a classroom environment. Inevitably, some children in the class won't fully understand everything. Because the teaching is all based on concrete objects (again, beads, beans, blocks, coins, grapes...) it is easier for children to understand the concept of inequalities. For us, it seems strange, because we know we didn't see some of these symbols until, ummm... 7th grade? I would say, try it. If you see your dc is struggling with these concepts, I think there is a way to gain access to the "Reception" materials from the CIMT. I think it's somewhere on their website. Or you can ask about it at their Yahoo Group. Hope this helps

Bill is also a great source for math wisdom. I always value his opinion. Plus, he always has the coolest mathematical designs attached to his signature!

Do you like these? How long have you used them? It's so hard when you can't look at these things in your hands until you've spent all this money on them. SIGH!

In the fall, for math, my children will continue to do MEP. My dd 7 will be in second grade. She will start MEP Y2. My ds almost 10 is currently working through Year 2. I hope with him, I will be working MEP 3 and starting MEP4. He is working rather quickly, as he had already learned some of the things in PS. But with MEP he is learning the reasoning behind the times tables, and not just the mechanics. I just brought both of them home from Pub school. We just started with MEP, and you may have noticed that the scope and sequence of MEP is very different from our traditional US math teaching methods. So I wanted my son to have the benefit of all the algebraic concepts, and mathematical thinking richness of MEP. BTW, Year 1 is UK Kindergaten. Y2 is 1st grade, and so on. Also, if you get tired of all the printing, I only print the dc's practice books, and read the lesson plans from my laptop. You will find that different lessons call for manipulatives. We use any toys at hand, blocks, legos, beads, raisins, walnuts. You need not buy fancy manips. Finally, if at all possible, try to print the practice book without scaling down. That is especially important in Year 2, where students are learning to measure. Which brings me to pointing out that MEP is from the UK, and therefore all measurements are in metric system and all money is, of course, pounds. We ignore pounds and say 'dollars' instead. My dc both already know how to count money and make change. But a heads up for you.

:drool: I know, I know. I think I am just smitten with the philosophy behind this program. Is there a lot of hands on? I've toyed with the idea of using this with both my dc during the summer, when I won't be teaching them anything else (at least not on purpose! :D)

Hello! and welcome!!! I use MEP. I started using it 6 weeks ago, and love it. The textbook is that: a textbook that they use in the UK. It is treated as supplemental material in MEP, as far as my experience goes. I do not worry about it, but you can order it through the same site where you download the MEP materials. The 'practice book' is the actual student practice book files that you can download from the website in pdf form. That is what your child would write on. It has all the written math exercises. Each page is one day's lesson. You guide your child through those by following the accompanying 'lesson plans'. Sometimes it refers to another "book". I can't remember right now, but I'll come edit this when it pops into my head. That is simply a notebook. It usually says something like "student may work to solve problem in copybook" or something to that effect. So bottom line, the child uses the 'practice book'; you teach from the 'Lesson Plan', and you use what they term "Copymasters" when you feel like you need to. This will be really obvious to you as you start working through the lessons. Some of the math puzzles (as we call them in my household) involve shapes connected by lines and such that are more easily printed than copied by hand. I enjoy MEP a lot. So I'll be happy to answer any questions. You can post here or PM me. Ivette

bumpity-bump! i need help...... i always do!

Dc entering 2nd and 5th grade. I need a science curriculum that will not consume me! I want to focus more on language in Elementary. Literate kids can learn anything! Preferably, I could teach both dc together. I've thought of Apologia, and was just looking at Christian Kids Explore. Experiments are fun and great teaching tools, but I would die if I had to do one every day. I think I can only handle one a week.... two on a good week. Affordability is not the most important factor, but golly! these things cost money:tongue_smilie: Tons of prep-time is not an option. Open and go is preferred, especially since I am using TOG. The rest of my curr. lineup is scripted. I've seen really good reviews of BFSU, and of NOEO on this forum. Real Science for Kids looks good but is graded.... HELP!!! :confused: There are so many programs to choose from!

Ha, ha, ha!! You sure know how to get this group riled up! Nothing like conflict over Latin to start of a Thursday morning!

A question about AAS. Why are there so many levels? Does the program continue to teach new rules... new exceptions?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: A quote from Merry's blog about AAS: "They can spell more words and if they do make a mistake, usually the mistake makes phonetic sense--no more simply "decorating with vowels" or adding extra letters because the word might need more! " (emphasis mine) Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!! This is too funny!! My kiddos do the same thing.... 'decorating with vowels' seems to be a common creative outlet for new spellers! Thanks for the review. Did you magnetize the tiles yourself? Or do they come magnetic? I can foresee my dc getting tired of the tiles sometimes, but I suspect they will want to use them now and then. Just like their math manips. Some days they love'em. Other days they don't want to touch anything! "I wanna do it in my head, mom!" So I back off. Merry, did you get separate student materials for each of your dc, or did you use one set for both?

So, I have eliminated Wordly Wise as an option... I agree with Merry that individual rules are easier to assimilate than lumping three or four possible ways of spelling 'long a'. That seems to me more of an approach where you have to spell from memory...

Okay! I am considering: -- All About Spelling -- __________ -- Spelling Workout -- Apples and Pears -- Spelling Power (this one sort of scares me, and I think it involves lots of teacher prep... you tell me) Throw in your favorite which I may have not mentioned. I am looking for short, yet effective teacher-led lessons. I am an advocate of learning spelling through phonetic rules. Why? Because it works. I taught my dc the other day that words ending in /k/ sound are spelled with 'ck' when the /k/ sound is preceded by a short vowel. This one rule has improved their spelling immensely, considering how ubiquitous this consonant digraph is in English. I actually observe them self-correct their writing based on this rule. Dc are 7 and almost 10. I will likely move to a spelling program that also teaches Latin, Greek and other root words later in their schooling, but for now, just want them to know the nuts and bolts of how spelling works.

Bumping.... I really worry more about my soon to be 5th grader....