DD 9yo just isn't doing well with All About Spelling. For whatever reason it just isn't her style of learning, although I do feel like it is the best way to learn spelling. Is there any other spelling curriculum that I could switch her to? I really like to avoid workbook based curriculum because that would just frustrate her even more!

Rocket math Stack the States Stack the countries oregon trail miss spell's class pop math bob books letter dive textropolis fishtropolis EZ chinese Brain pop Does Angry birds count? lol! (perhaps physics? lol)

Have you looked at writing tales? We have enjoyed it thoroughly this year. Level1 is for grades 3 or 4. Level 2 is for grades 4 or 5.

I can only speak for Artistic pursuits as that is the only one I have had experience with. It is a delightful, complete, easy to implement art history and art making experience (both are important). Students are introduced to artists from various periods, discuss the artwork and art style and any techniques used, then create an artwork using information gained from the lesson. They use real art materials that are easy to obtain and inexpensive and the results from the student work always turn out beautifully well. It is scripted for you to read and discuss with the student or for older students to read and do on their own. I find the program to be very well written. My children have enjoyed doing it.

So you don't think I would need to have my daughter do the SWI b/4 we jump into the ancients? that is my biggest concern.

We have worked through Writing tales 2 this year and have loved it. Well, ok, some stories are kinda long, but otherwise it's gone well for a reluctant writer (and by reluctant, I mean DOES NOT LIKE TO WRITE AT ALL IF IT IS FOR SCHOOL!!!!!) I have decided to do ancient world history next year, so ordered the IEW ancients theme based writing. In previewing the materials, I noticed that it is assumed that you have the IEW seminar on DVD and are familiar with the method. None of which i have. lol! are we going to be totally stumped next year? i really want to do this. It seems do-able and I have my teaching degree so I do have a clue, kwim? Please, please, please tell me that it will be OK. I seriously can't afford any more curriculum!

some books you could read to her: D is for Dinosaur Daniil the Dinosaur What really happened to the dinosaurs? I'm sure there are many others, but those were our favorites when we did a dinos unit study this year!

SOUNDS GOOD 2 me! I always say less is more. you don't want to push too much when they are younger otherwise they will resist when they are older. Be sure to do lots of reading out loud together too! For math, RS or MUS could be an option.

RS is very teacher intensive so if you have more than 1 or 2 kids in RS, it is very difficult to teach. My oldest has done right start B-E and succeeded. I am very uncomfortable with how long they wait to teach division. BUT at least she had her multiplication facts down really well and division was a breeze! I would love to stick with it, but just can't manage teaching 4 lessons from 4 different levels. I have found that MUS is much easier on the teacher while still using a similar approach. I like the mastery of MUS and am much more comfy with that. I LOVE the games in RS and will continue to use them even as my kids need them to reinforce the concepts in MUS. I don't believe RS D to be very dependent on the manips. I believe if your child is past manips then just don't use them. They can visualize well enough if they are bored with them, which is the whole goal of RS. For my third grader we have barely picked up the manips during level D. She just doesn't need them. Sometimes RS gives too many different ways to solve the same problem. i realize this is good math thinking skills, but it tends to confuse many children. This is prob. the only "problem" that I have with RS!

I like the idea of the book. I have not read it to my children yet. I find it hard for me to even read it to myself. I also don't like reading things off of my computer screen or my ipod. makes for too much eye strain!

http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/p/free-printables.html found this last night while poking around on the internet. I let the two older girls use it tonight (ages almost 9 and just about 11) and they seemed to enjoy it. It helped them to actively listen to the sermon which in turn caused them to listen more than they usually. Pretty good if you ask me!

I liked typing that in all caps. It was fun and I wasn't even yelling! LOL! Wondering if anyone combines math u see and life of fred. I stumbled upon LOF and think oldest DD will just ADORE it--the younger ones too! BUT (there is always a but, isn't there) I'm wondering if it is truly enough to be a complete program on its own. There doesn't seem to be much work in a chapter/lesson. I'm concerned that she will need much more. My original plan (thank you LOF for messing that up!) was to finish RS E then move into MUS. (I am using MUS alpha with my 7yo and it's easy to implement and takes less time than RS.) Basically I thought if dd tests into the fractions level of MUS then she could work through the LOF level because I'm not totally convinced that LOF will give her the math education she needs...or that I want her to have.

As far as the cost goes: it is reasonable if you are able to reuse it. And really, compared to other curriculums it's not that high of a cost. i really like how RS has worked with my oldest 2. they really have their facts down and i contribute that to RS. the games are fun but sometimes i get really sick of playing them. you are going to have manipulatives with any good math curriculum...it helps younger students to work from manipulatives as it shows them concretely why a problem works the way it does. I don't think it's fair to young children to make them work everything out on paper without actually seeing it. Seeing it is what creates pictures in their minds. That's what Dr. Cotter told me on the phone when I was having a very hard time with one of my children mastering things in RS. Yes, Dr. Cotter actually called me! She knows what she is talking about! eventually they move away from manipulatives. They won't use them forever! oldest daughter is in level E and we hardly ever pull out manipulatives. That said, RS just wasn't clicking in my 7yo's mind! She struggled every day. Forgot almost everything from last year. I realized that she needed to work on 1 concept at a time. RS does more of a spiral approach. She needed lots of review. We have switched her to MUS. I thought MUS was expensive compared to RS but there are fewer manips to keep track of :) DD7yo loves the DVD teacher and we just work through lessons at her pace. makes much more sense to her. BUT I still like RS the best, it just didn't work for her unfortunately!

I did try MM this summer. ALL of them HATED it--I think RS has spoiled them and they couldn't translate from the games to the worksheets! LOL! I feel like with my 7yo she just isn't getting it! I really HATE to go back to the beginning of B but that is really what I need to do. That is why i'm thinking of going with MUS. maybe something fresh? I do know that when we did math last year she loved it and caught on really quickly. Today we were reviewing counting by 5 and she just couldn't do it, even with the abacus! didn't understand even how the abacus works! it's been like that all week this week and last week too! She couldn't remember what makes 10 which is something she had totally MASTERED mid year last year and never batted an eye over it! I really really really don't want to go back and start over....

my 7yo and 8yo don't remember anything from last year!!!!!!!!!!!! im so frustrated right now about it. we stopped when they were halfway through their levels...b and c. i've been reviewing strategies and playing games for the past weeks but they just don't get it. i really don't want to start over! but either i do that or switch...am thinking about math u see. i understand it's similar. another thing about right start. it just takes SO LONG! today it took us 2.5 hours to get through three lessons with each lesson requiring a game plus they did review practice sheets. 10 yo is doing ok with the curriculum just starting level E with her. i am concerned that she hasn't done much division now that she is in grade 5. but it looks as if she will get to that eventually this year! what should i do? start over or change? i'm sick of the games and 7yo doesn't really enjoy them though she will play them. 10yo loves the games. 8yo will do whatever i ask. but i have noticed that she doesn't really concentrate on them. so it is only working for 1 of my dc. i also have a kindergartener who needs to begin math soon! what to do? what to do?

is there any word on whether there will be a sale this year? i think last year around march or april there was a % off sale, just wondering if it will happen again this year and when it would maybe be?

i thought i read somewhere that it would be out in april don't take my word for it though

Right Start hands down. they have placement tests/questions although i would suggest starting with level B it gets pretty advanced pretty quick!

We get very frustrated over the length of the dictations about half way through WWE 2. Then they just get longer as the WWE levels progress. I have to say that I disagree with the length of the passages. there is no possible way for an ADULT to remember an entire paragraph that was read to them 2 times and then write it down without any helps which is what the child is supposed to be able to do by the end of the levels. BUT I do like how they teach the child to summarize and give a concise but relevant narration. I don't think there is enough copywork either, I think the child should copy something EVERY DAY until 3rd grade or so and then proceed into dictation. If we were to continue to use WWE past level 2 I would probably use the narration part as is, but switch the dictations so they aren't so long!

I very much suspect that DD10 has dyslexia. I have done some reading about it and asked a few questions, filled out checklists, etc. but what do I do now? Do I go to our pediatrician and ask for help? Do I find a dyslexia institute and request testing? What all is involved in actually finding a diagnosis? What is the procedure for helping her (and me!) to cope with her learning difference? I am convinced that in order for her to go any further in her education, this really needs to be addressed.

Saxon is very repetitive and boring. It teaches strategies similar to but not exactly the same as RS. you will likely find yourself crossing out or skipping much of the practice pages if you dd masters a concept. it is generally written for school classrooms and is very effective when used in classroom situations. That is not to say that it can't be effectively used in a homeschool situation, but you will have to adjust some things and not do so much of the repetition b/c it will kill the child's love for learning! i've never used CLE, but have a friend who is using it and she likes it well enough and so do her boys. I LOVE RS--wish I had been taught this way--I have picked up so many tips and tricks and had so many "AHA!" moments! It is WONDERFUL in the way it really cements math concepts. The kids actually UNDERSTAND why math works rather than just repeat formulas. They learn strategies which help them to know their basic facts, not just memorize them, etc. BUT it is very teacher intensive. We are doing levels B, C, and D this year and it takes a lot of my time (60-90 minutes) but I totally feel like it's worth it! Plus the middle dd who is in level C gets math super easily so it's really easy and fun to teach her--many times she can do an entire lesson very quickly. With the other 2 there is a bit of a challenge, but we just break it down and sometimes do a lesson over 2 or 3 days whatever it takes for them to completely understand what is being taught. You could always try level B...it would give her a good foundation of the facts and many other math concepts like money and time that you are looking for!

YES! You are doing enough. We use WWE, FLL, AAS, and my dc read tons from the library, etc. I consider it enough.

I will be placing my dd9 (she'll be 10 when we finish FLL 4 and just finishing grade 4) directly into Abeka grade 6 (God' Gift of Language C). She should have absolutely NO problem with it! FLL is VERY well written and she is already starting to get bored with all the review. In fact she could prob. start Abeka C tomorrow and not bat an eye! I don't think my DD is ultra smart, but I do think that FLL has more than prepared her to be successful in grammar. I will not have her do the writing assignments in Abeka, just the grammar/language parts. I think a lower level would be way to simple and too much repetition. We will continue to work through our spelling curriculum (all about spelling) and writing with ease. These are her weakest areas, so they need the work, but the foundation is definitely laid for her to be successful thanks to FLL!

I too am having a hard time digging in my heels and getting the ball rolling so to speak. I've decided to just keep adding a subject every few days, you know, sort of ease ourselves into the routine. Today we did just math and reading. Tomorrow will likely be the same. After lunch we are going swimming though! I feel like I need to keep bribing myself more so than my kdis. I keep giving myself little pep talks all day ("You can do it...2 math lessons down, 1 more to go!", etc.) I usually look forward to the start of school (I am a licensed teacher!) but this year I'm having SUCH a hard time of really getting going! I know HS is the way for us to go in our current situation, but I did seriously consider enrolling in a CS this year (and begging for a teaching job there in order to pay for it!)

DD9 has been complaining of mild toothache pain on several occasions. Went to the dentist today. She has some infection under 2 baby teeth and they will have to be pulled. She also has 5 cavities in other baby teeth. Tomorrow we go back at 4PM for him to pull the 2 baby teeth and fill the cavities. I'm just frustrated b/c I'm wondering how things can get that bad between the last cleaning in Jan. and now. She had 6 fillings done in Jan/Feb! Part of me thinks perhaps the dentist is milking us b/c we have medicaid. I'm frustrated b/c medicaid will probably end at the end of July (haven't heard for sure) and she will need a spacer which will have to be paid for out of our pocket--which leaves us with an interesting decision: spacer or food? Please don't judge me/us...and b/4 you ask, yes we brush teeth and really well too. I think she's just inherited bad teeth from dad and grandma. My step daughter has had TONS of dental work done and has had many baby teeth pulled as well as my DH and his mom. She had false teeth very early in life b/c of her bad teeth. Just venting! Thanks!