If you have used one or both of these please tell my your opinions. My dd 6 has just finished etc 4 and I would like for her to have a good review of all the specail sounds etc... I like etc ok but I am worried she is not being challenged with it and is just able to provide the correct answer. I have heard Adventures in phonics is really good so just wanting others thoughts.

:bigear:

We do Classical Conversations also. I just do CC's latin at home. My dd is 6 and in 1st grade this year so this is all she can handle (and all I can handle:)). I am thinking of adding latin for children next year.

Thanks for the quick responses! I am most apalled by the fact that the parent's will see their childrens behavior and do nothing or come out with excuses for the bad behavior:confused: However, I realize we are not all going to have the same expectation or discipline our children the same way. In this particular case we are all paying money for this group and for the facilities. There is a discipline policy in place...which is to send for the parent if they are not in the room for some reason after one verbal warning. Unfortunately either that is not being done or the parent is the teacher. So frustrating!!

I am wondering how your exeriences have been with homeschool groups as far as discipline issues with the other children. We belong to a group that we really enjoy however, they is a real problem with some children that are completely disruptive. How have you seen this problem handled? There are other families that are upset with the behavior issues in their children's class and I would hate for people to leave due to this:001_unsure:

I have an xtra student this year...she is a first grader coming from a ps kindergarden. We are using the OPGTR and ETC 1 as she is still sounding out cvc words. She has a good grasp of the initial sound and short vowels in words but consistently misses the ending sound. Any ideas or things that have worked for you? We are going through a lesson a day in the OPGTR and she is doing a front/back in ETC. She often is missing the page that ask them to x the same word. If given a word orally she will say the sounds but she will identify the initial sound as the ending sound.

:lurk5:

How should I go about figuring out or assessing where a child is at with reading? I am planning to use the OPGTR and ETC with her. I am going to be homeschooling another families child along with my own this year for first grade. She is coming out of ps K. Should I start at the beginning and just go quickly through the lessons? Any advice would be appreciated:)

My dd6 will be starting first grade in two weeks...she did fantastic with K and is reading about a second grade level. I am loosely basing that on where she is at in OPGTR and her reading aloud "Nate the Great" books and "Magice Treehouse: books with about 85 to 90% accuracy. We are in the multi-syllable words in opgtr. A little background...we started opgtr in pre-k...didn't get very far due to all kinds of drama in our lives (i hate drama!) So by start of K she was reading cvc words well and working with blends easily. We (somewhat regrettfuly) switched to mfw first grade. I LOVED the program overall. However the phonics seemed disjointed and not a lot of review and actual teaching. So I had gotten CLE Language Arts 100. She worked through the first four light units with no problem!! I really liked them and she seemed to do well and retain what she learned. NOW....I am feeling really nutso figuring out what to use this year!! She liked cle la but she alos likes ETC. she has completed books 1and 2. We skipped 3 and started 4 this summer... Here are the plans for this year: Reading/phonics: Finish OPGTR Read through emerging readers set from HOD Silent reading time with books below reading level 15-20 minutes a day. Phonics/spelling/writing/grammar: THis was my original thoughts::Plan 1 Continue with etc as we complete OPGTR , aas1 for spelling, iew pal writing (going at her pace...not in a hurry), and fll 1. however... those blue lightunits still sitting on my shelf are screaming at me!! lol New Plan:Plan 2 Reading stays the same...opgtr,reading 20 minutes a day below level, work through emerging readers from hod CLE LA 1 (just started lu 5) Will be skipping spelling and writing instruction. Writing from IEW Pals' AAS 1 for spelling possibly a little extra gammar ( i love the poety memorization,the narrations, and simple oral grammar exercises) with FLL1. the lessons are very easy and some will get combined. Handwriting will come all...cle penmanship, copywork in IEW and FLL, dictation in AAS. Tell me this is a good plan!! I like the first one with etc but after working throuh it for a little bit longer I really feel like cle la is better at solidifying the concepts with opgtr. To top it off I am going to be homeschooling a friends dd that is the same age as mine. Very excited about this...just want to be effecient in what I choose for them both! Pleas share any thoughts!!

We have a dd6 that I have homeschooled for k and will hs this year for 1st. Both dh and I are in agreement and feel strongly about hs'ing her...however...I am beginning to struggle with the decision. She is our only child due to fertility problems. We have had over 7 miscarraiges in the past few years and recently found out the reason. I am glad to know the reason however I am feeling very sad that there is nothing that can be done for the problem. I am struggling with her being an only child( I was also...my mom most likely had same problem) and hs'ing her. I know other people hs their only children but I am just beginning to feel I guess guilty that she has no one to play when we finish school for the day. At this age we are done by lunchtime usually. We do the extra's (dance, art classes,etc)and belong to a great hs group once a week. Is this enough for her? we are the only family with an only child at our hs group...she has starting asking me why she doesn't have brothers and sisters...she understands (in a six year old way) that I have problems as she knew I lost a baby in teh second trimester last year . This summer she attended two different daycamps and she cried the first days at both....it made me feel terrible for her as the other kids were not crying. She is does fine once she has had time to warm-up in a new group/situation. Is this coming from her being with me the majority of the time and us not sending to her school? I am probably rambling:001_unsure: Just have never second guessed our decision until recently...If anyone has any thoughts or encouragement...kind of been there done that...please share with me.

HOD-Heart of Dakota SM-Singapore Math CC-Classical Conversations I hope this helps:) Was really wanting to hear from others what they do...I keep going back and forth.

Anyone??

I am about to drive my dh crazy so please please help me decide what to do next year!! My dd has completed first grade this year and has just taken off in her reading skills. She is easily able to read Magic Tree House books and has had no problem with comprehending what she reads. We belong to a Classical Conversations group and next year will be our third year in the program. So here is my dilemma... She loves (and so do I) CC....next year the focus in American History... do I use CC strictly as memory work and use an open and go type curriculum? I am really leaning toward HOD as we already use SM and I can easily use my own language arts. I love the way HOD lays out their history cycles ...spending time on American then a year of overview etc. Also, I love how the read alouds are set up and how history has them making a timeline, hands-on art projects and some basic geography. This all seems perfect for her! OR...do I use just CC as my curriculum guide for science and history? I keep reading my CC guide and I can see how it could be a very full curriculum but I just have a hard time envisioning it flowing I guess. If you have used just CC how did you schedule it? Did you just read books and/or have a spine? I looked at SOTW but the history sentences would span 3 volumes and skip around quit a bit. Also, not sure if either of us want to spend 12 weeks on the human body.... If you did use just CC did you feel like it was a disjointed or that important things got left out? I guess I just have a hard time seeing that this all I need to do... Sory this is so long!! Please tell me your thoughts or advice!!

:lurk5:

I am strongly leaning towards HOD Bigger for my dd next year. She is not quit ready for DITHOR and I think it would be too much for our day. I have not used HOD before and from the website/catalog I can't get a great idea what all is involved in the reading. I did really like the read alouds with the different genres being introduced. I was planning on using either vp first favorites or memoria presses Storytime Treasures but now I am thinking I might just use the emerging readers. If you have used this could you please tell me what all is involved? Do they just read the books aloud? does she have questions for the books? any activities? If you have used this or one of the other guides what did you like/dislike about them? I can not just use something as is....I have to tweak:) Could I use both and pick and choose which books? Thanks!!

:bigear::bigear:

:bigear:

For those who have used two or more curriculums at the same time I need your thoughts!! We completed Singarpore EB B (standards) in no time. I was planning to order 1a after Christmas. But then I got my hands on a rs b manual:confused: I love both...what do I do? 1.) I thought about just starting rsb (you could say using as spine) then incorporate sm 1a in as needed... OR 2.) I could stick with SM 1A as my spine and find lessons/games from rs that fit that lesson... OR 3.) I can not worry about lining them up and just do 2 lessons of each each week (the fifth day is a coop)... IF anyone here has done this please give me your thoughts and advice!! Don't know if dh would be agreeable to try out (ie. buy) MM...at least the blue units....I really want her to have a great foundation with math....she loved the sm eb B books!! They were just ok in my opinion...hoping adding in the HIG will help with my teaching.... Any thought or advice would be welcomed!!

She would love to have someone to write notes to and to hear from!! pm me if you can help!!

She likes to count on in her head, which she does well adding 1,2,and 3 to a number. If she has a problem like 4 +3= she can write or tell the answer in no time. However if i give her 4 bears and 3 bears and have her put them together to find the answer she just looks confused. Same with subtraction...at first she just wanted to add them..then she understood taking something away by me asking her mental math questions like "If you have 5 candies and I eat 2 of them how many do you have left?" Again she can answer me and she can usually write the answer down on paper. But if they show the picture of the little birds or in the textbook....it seems to confuse her...she just didn't see it that way. She just wanted to figure it out in her head counting on or backwards. She didn't know what to do when I gave her two groups of teddy bears to add...she couldn't remember if she should push them together or take some away. I hope this is not too confusing:confused: I am worried she is not going to be able to go forward until she understands what she is doing...I hope this makes more sense. Maybe she just doesn't like wasting time with bears and manipulatives...she loves games though.. ETA: I just felt like singapore and rs would go together really well. At least for the remainder of this year. After this year I plan to stick with Singapore... RS A would pick up at adding and really had some solid ways of presenting that concept with manipulatives and lots of games...

My dd is finishing SM kindergarden book B. I would love some thoughts on what to do next with her. She loves math and really likes the Singapore books. Last year we tried RS A and got to about lesson 38...our lives had some major turns and pretty much the rest of the year was haphazard at best. At that point RS A seemed to be too much for her developmentally so I shelved it. We eventually ordered Singapore Standards Kindergarden B in the summer and she has almost completed the book. I like Singapore and certainly seems to be a good fit for her right now. My concern is that I want her to understand the concepts behind the math. For instance, she loves to do mental math...she will play math games, do flash cards, and worksheets with addition without complaining and gets them correct...problem is she doesn't really understand the concept. Subtraction was the same...she could do the problems for the most part in her head or looking at the pictures but when asked to show with objects she couldn't do it for either addition or subtraction. After reading a lot of threads on Singapore 1A I am a little nervous it may go to quickly for her and she will end up frustrated and not understanding. So here is what I am thinking of...please tell me which plan seems to be the best to do for the rest of this year...and I am open to suggestions. 1. Finish Singapore Kindergarden B (by Christmas) and then work through the rest of RS A. I looked through it the other night and it seems like this would be the perfect time to go back. 2. Finish Singapore KB and just move on to 1A (using the HIG's) and if we get stuck then take a break with some games and other activities. 3. Finish Singapore KB. In January pick up RS A and finish it. Then either combine Singapore 1a with RS B or just move on with Singapore 1A. I don't want to jump all around with math curriculums...I love both of these!! So I am struggling with just picking one:confused: Thanks!!

:bigear:

I was just wondering if anyone had used these two together? My dd is doing MFW 1st which fits her perfectly for where we left off last year with her phonics. I am just thinking the phonics seems to move quickly in MFW. I have CLE's LA 100 and it seems like it would really fit nicely with MFW's phonics as practice/review and add in easy grammar practice. CLE's website showed the scope and sequence of their Learning to Read program and their LA program and where the LA program begins is exactly where she is at...she is reading cvc words with no problem and is moving forward easily. Just wondering others opinions...

My dd is going to do MFW 1st grade this fall and I am wondering after looking AAS online if I should go ahead and add that in. She loves to spell words and asked to do spelling this year. I think MFW 1st grade is a perfect fit for where she we stopped phonics for the summer and I am really excited to use it this year. I guess what I want to know is if it would be overkill or would it reinforce her spelling and reading. Anyways, just looking for some thoughts from those of you that have used either of these or both.

My dd is 5 and we have been using Righstart A this year. Very happy with it:) I am looking at Singapore Earlybird for her and wondered if I should use just the textbooks or go ahead and get the activity books. We are going slow in RS...at her pace due to age. She enjoys the manipulatives but loves doing a workbook page lol. Anyways, just looking for anyone with experience with Singapore. Thanks!!