luciana11tx Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) I started January of this year (2012) with Horizon 5-pack curriculum and let me just say it is really NOT working for us... I wanted your recommendations on Math for 3rd grade... My plan is: Math-MUS or MM or Singapore or RS or Saxon. History-SOTW AG and UILE. Science-Nancy Larson Science. Language Arts-AAS, WWE and FLL Spanish-Rossetta Stone Level 1 Art & Music (haven't gotten to research that yet) It's a lot. And I've gotten most of the ideas from reading this forum. I don't know anyone who home schools and I'm totally relying on other people's experiences. If you have any advice on any of these choices (or others) pleeease share. I thought I would say something about my ds; he is 7 now and very ADHD when around his sisters. But as soon as we have some time alone he gets to work well. He has the shortest attention spam I've ever seen but when I tell him real life stories or read him books he actually listens and pays attention. I pulled him from ps mid-year of 2nd grade. I tried imitating a ps setting and it is awful. As soon as he sees me explaining anything on the whiteboard his eyes go everywhere in the room as to looking for something interesting and doesn't hear a word I'm saying... Now I'm ready to mix and match from as many different books as needed to find what's right for us. No more 5-subject packs for me!! Wow this is much longer than I thought I was going to write (sorry). Anyways thanks if you read all this and took the time to comment. :001_smile: ***I forgot to say I was born in Argentina and I can read, write and speak fluent Spanish. However, my son's 1st language is English. I want him to be bilingual eventually but right now we're just concentrating on an English curriculum and Spanish being an "extra-curricular" subject. (I picked Rossetta Stone because I want him to learn the South American type of Spanish instead of the Mexican one that most home school books teach) Edited March 10, 2012 by luciana11tx Rossetta Stone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I think you're headed in the right direction. Singapore and MM come very highly recommended here. A note on RS, it's a little more complicated to just jump in at level C. You'll need the transition lessons to get your DS accustomed to the "Right Start way" of thinking about numbers. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luciana11tx Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) Thanks!!! (I'm not really sure about the difference between k-8 and general forum... most of the questions I have are about "new home schooler" and curriculum related) Edited March 8, 2012 by luciana11tx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 That looks like a great selection! I have ds8 who will be doing mostly 3rdat grade next year. He, like your son, needs alone time to focus, so I could see how the lifepacs weren't working so well! I do my best to keep workbook activities to a minimum with him:) You might be surprised to find other people that homeschool. When we first started I didn't really know anyone, but now we have a whole group and we get together for field trips and such. Hope you have a better year next year- the first year is always the hardest:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LezliU Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 These do look like good selections. I have taught in a public school before and have found that those with short attention spans (or with ADHD) usually do really well with hands-on curriculum. The more "school-like" it is, the harder time they have focusing, from my experience. Try to steer clear of worksheets and lectures, whenever possible. I'm slowly learning NOT to imitate public school :) I have only used Horizons and Singapore for math, but from what I've seen of MUS, it looks like it would be GREAT for hands-on. AAS is also great for hands-on! SOTW is of course great -- Mystery of History is similar, but taught more from a biblical perspective. Be sure to incorporate lots of activities into this to make it fun! Here are a couple of resources for you -- Check out Cathy Duffy's "100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum" from your library. She separates curriculum depending on kids' learning styles, so it might help you narrow down your choices. Also, something like unit studies might be a good choice for him - something very hands-on. Have you looked into KONOS before? http://www.konos.com/www/index.html Charlotte Mason's methods of homeschooling include LOTS of books and nature study... he might do well with that. Also, the great thing about homeschooling is that you don't HAVE to sit in a chair to do school :) If he does better doing his work while he's standing up or laying down, let him. Let him have choices - "Do you want to do your math on the couch or on the porch?" Give him something to do with his hands when you need to read or "lecture" (play dough, coloring book, etc.). Keep each activity pretty short and move on to something else quickly. Plan out a schedule and post it so he knows what's coming next. HTH some! Lezli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Your choices look good! For math, I only have personal experience with Singapore (and WE LOVE IT!) but here is what I've heard about your other choices... MUS - Good at explaining place value concepts. Hands-on. Gets "behind" in the upper grades. Mastery. MM - Conceptual program (that's good!). Lots of review. Printing COULD get expensive. B&W, not cartoony. Similar to Singapore in what it teaches. Goes slower than Singapore in the early grades, but ends up about even by Grade 6. Written to the student so only one book at a time. Mastery. Singapore - We've really enjoyed this. I've learned along with my oldest. Strong in mental math and conceptual skills. 3 books to juggle (Teacher's guide, Workbook, Textbook). Lots of game suggestions in the Home Instructor's Guides. Easy to accelerate through if needed. Can buy extra practice books if needed. Mastery. The mental leaps expected in these books can be too much for some kids. If that happens people seem to switch to MM which takes you through everything in a more step-by-step fashion. RS - Very hands-on. Lots of games. (This might be your best option with an ADHD child who doesn't like "schoolish" stuff.) Strong in conceptual understanding and mental math. I really like the abacus used in this program! Saxon - Spiral. Incremental. Algorithm-based (which is why I wouldn't use it. I want my kids to understand deep in their bones what math is all about). Kids who use this score well on standardized tests. (That is usually the positive I hear about this curriculum. ST scores are not important to me so it doesn't sway me, but you may be different.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Math- Check out Beast Academy coming in the next week or so. It's for 3rd grade and comic book style. Perfect for a short attention span kid. You can see examples on their website and on their facebook page. Full color textbook with a WB that even looks fun. After seeing it my 3rd grader has refused to do any math other then learning times table until it comes out.... and she's a math hating girl. You could also ad Life of Fred. Math as a story... good for cuddle time. He won't even know he's doing math. If he's up to it you could try Michael Clay Thompson for Grammar (Island level) lots of learning in a fun, gentle, cuddle on the couch style too. All your other choices look great. Edited March 9, 2012 by foxbridgeacademy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Rosie gave good info on the math. I have a hands on kid. He loves MUS and AAS. They're multi-sensory and work well for him. His history and storytime is read to him. Sometimes he likes to snuggle while I read, other times he colors, sometimes he builds with Legos. Our science is mostly hands on activities with only short readings. That works well for him. I think as long as you're not trying to do everything everyday what you have planned should work. Whatever math you go with make sure to do the placement test. Best wishes and welcome to homeschooling! ETA: Not to add more to your plate, but I've heard a lot love CLE math. Edited March 9, 2012 by raceNzanesmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 It looks mostly good. RS is really good for a hands-on learner, though it is a little difficult to transition to the RS way. We use MM and it works well here. To echo another poster, Beast Academy might be right up his alley when it comes out in a week or two. I wouldn't use Rosetta Stone for Spanish. It's not particularly engaging and there are other choices. He might enjoy La Clase Divertida, which has a lot of projects and video lessons, or Getting Started with Spanish is a good basic resource. We are using GSWS and Salsa videos. Ariel really enjoys it. I really like Atelier for art, since I don't have to teach the lessons, they're more likely to get done. Mark Kistler's drawing lessons are good, and boy-friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I am going to send you a pm. I started January of this year (2012) with Horizon 5-pack curriculum and let me just say it is really NOT working for us... I wanted your recommendations on Math for 3rd grade... My plan is: Math-MUS or MM or Singapore or RS or Saxon. History-SOTW AG and UILE. Science-Nancy Larson Science. Language Arts-AAS, WWE and FLL Spanish-Rossetta Stone Level 1 Art & Music (haven't gotten to research that yet) It's a lot. And I've gotten most of the ideas from reading this forum. I don't know anyone who home schools and I'm totally relying on other people's experiences. If you have any advice on any of these choices (or others) pleeease share. I thought I would say something about my ds; he is 7 now and very ADHD when around his sisters. But as soon as we have some time alone he gets to work well. He has the shortest attention spam I've ever seen but when I tell him real life stories or read him books he actually listens and pays attention. I pulled him from ps mid-year of 2nd grade. I tried imitating a ps setting and it is awful. As soon as he sees me explaining anything on the whiteboard his eyes go everywhere in the room as to looking for something interesting and doesn't hear a word I'm saying... Now I'm ready to mix and match from as many different books as needed to find what's right for us. No more 5-subject packs for me!! Wow this is much longer than I thought I was going to write (sorry). Anyways thanks if you read all this and took the time to comment. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Reads a Lot Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Welcome to homeschooling! This is another plug for RightStart Math. My son had a very short attention span when we pulled him from ps in the middle of first grade and he really struggled in math. RightStart has been the perfect program, and I find myself being the RS cheerleader b/c I want other people to experience it, too :D RS makes math fun and he has learned his math facts seamlessly while playing games, too busy trying to beat me to notice that he's learning! I looked at MUS, too, but decided against it when a friend showed me her materials and I saw the pages of worksheets. I knew my son wouldn't do well with those b/c they looked just like the ones he hated in school. RS has way fewer worksheets in Level B. And still not as many in Level C as other programs. The best thing I figured out this year was to let my son jump on a trampoline while I read history to him. He jumps outside when it's warm enough (while I stand outside the net and read), and we got a mini tramp from Craig's List for the winter. He bounces away, listens avidly, and retains everything from our TruthQuest History. It's amazing!! Homeschooling is a blast--best of luck! Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 It can take a while to find a good fit with curriculum. I think your choices look good. I've used most of those and really like them. I'd just like to mention that it can help with attention span to have your child run around a bit before school starts and to take some running around breaks during the day. Also, I had one who had trouble focusing, and I had to train her to learn to pay attention to something. We started with five minutes and an timer. It took a good year to get her to focus for twenty minutes, but it was worth it. We use the small, lap-sized white boards too, and I give her some markers to 'interact' with what I'm drawing on there to show her. Sometimes 'interacting' means drawing princesses next to my breakdown of our current math concept but at least we are 'on the same page', right? You can get a lot done if you read aloud. I'm sure your child can read SOTW himself but I found mine liked to listen to me read while they played with clay or legos or drew. I would just ask that if we were reading about say ancient times that my child drew or made something at least a little bit related while I read. It was better than watching her sigh and moan and stare at the page for an hour and not really read anything (she is much better now, but not unless she is reading something that catches her interest). Sometimes we would role-play or do something silly to keep her interested in history. Now it is her favorite subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luciana11tx Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 This is so helpful! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) We are finishing 3rd. I'll copy my sig as it is now to show what we are using. Math: MathUSee, Life of Fred, SM word problems. History/ Geography/ Science/ Reading: SOTW, Magic Tree House and its Fact Trackers, National Geographic materials; BBC, NOVA and other films, RS4K, and more. Writing: IEW, Zaner-Bloser (G.U.M, Strategies for Writers), WWE, and more. And more includes MCT for grammar. What works well for one child may not work well for another. Having gotten a sense of what is not working well can help you to figure out what may be better. Some programs you can see samples of online. Others have good return policies, so you can look and see. Still others allow a dip in with just a single workbook, rather than a whole program. I also started with a full curriculum package, and then realized I had to get individual components that would fit my son. In my case particularly because he is at different levels in different subjects and has very different learning styles in various areas. We have not been able to do a foreign language, but have just started a bit of Latin study via MCT. DS has been doing some art on many days (no program for this), and we listen to some mainly classical music, and I hope he will get back to playing an instrument, but that got sidetracked. Edited March 9, 2012 by Pen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Your choices look excellent. As for math Rosie gave you a great synopsis of the programs. I will add my experience. We pulled our son in the middle of 1st grade, and our sons sound very similar....:D. I began our math journey with Saxon. It is the most like the "school " experience and I read great reviews. But we found it tooooooo much math work for the results. With the math meeting book and gathering supplies it was taking over our life and it is very teacher intensive. Next we bought MM. I love it and wish I could begin homeschooling math with them, but the problem my son had was that the problems were very easy, yet the math concepts were different then anything he had ever seen. He wanted to solve the problem his way and not with mental math. So at the beginning of second grade we switched to MUS Beta. No complaints, it got the job done but math was my sons least favorite subject. We finished the year with it, and I started looking for another program for 3rd grade. But I didn't want my son to lose anything over the summer so I picked up Miquon. The orange, red, and blue book, and told him he could do any 3 pages from any of the books each day. The pages have very little on them so it is about 15 minutes to do 3 pages. But they make a child look at math differently, have tons of number bonds and play, and the parent shouldn't even be teaching because it is all about self discovery. I chose Teaching Textbooks for our 3rd grade year and we are almost finished with it. We both love it! It is spiral so there is review. The lecture teaches the concepts so there isn't any type of power struggle, it is complete and he is retaining very well. We use it on level even though some people believe it is behind. I do still have him play with miquon when he is in the zone and flies through math quickly, and he will complete most of it this summer. Next year we will keep TT, so for a hopper like me that should tell you something. :D. Instead of Miquon for supplementing, we will use Life of Fred Fractions. So what I learned and paid.for Dearly, is that I doubt if there is a perfect math program. That while I love Singapore and MM it is hard to switch math philosophy midstream (and that is exactly what must happen, it isn't something you can just begin at grade level) that MUS is complete but bored my kiddo to tears, and that Teaching Textbooks is solid, but to get more mental math and to accelerate a persons natural inclination for mental shortcuts and see connections it is good to use a.supplement. That was our experience on the math merry go round, and barring anything unforeseen we plan on sticking with TT and playing with Miquon and LOF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I started January of this year (2012) with Horizon 5-pack curriculum and let me just say it is really NOT working for us... I wanted your recommendations on Math for 3rd grade... My plan is: Math-MUS or MM or Singapore or RS or Saxon. History-SOTW AG and UILE. Science-Nancy Larson Science. Language Arts-AAS, WWE and FLL Spanish-Rossetta Stone Level 1 Art & Music (haven't gotten to research that yet) It's a lot. And I've gotten most of the ideas from reading this forum. I don't know anyone who home schools and I'm totally relying on other people's experiences. If you have any advice on any of these choices (or others) pleeease share. I thought I would say something about my ds; he is 7 now and very ADHD when around his sisters. But as soon as we have some time alone he gets to work well. He has the shortest attention spam I've ever seen but when I tell him real life stories or read him books he actually listens and pays attention. I pulled him from ps mid-year of 2nd grade. I tried imitating a ps setting and it is awful. As soon as he sees me explaining anything on the whiteboard his eyes go everywhere in the room as to looking for something interesting and doesn't hear a word I'm saying... Now I'm ready to mix and match from as many different books as needed to find what's right for us. No more 5-subject packs for me!! Wow this is much longer than I thought I was going to write (sorry). Anyways thanks if you read all this and took the time to comment. :001_smile: Your History, Science and Language Arts choices look great. I would chime in with those who would not use Rosetta Stone at this point. If it were me, I would leave Spanish for now, or find a more engaging, basic resource. I would also second Teaching Textbooks for elementary math - it was the best fit for my can't-sit-for-more-than-20-minutes eldest child, and is a good fit for the other two, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 he is 7 now and very ADHD when around his sisters. But as soon as we have some time alone he gets to work well. My 7 year old boy is like this also. He's not ADHD in the least, but he is very easily distracted by his brothers, and he works best with me sitting right there "at elbow". Your LA choices should be perfect for this type of child. ;) Your other stuff looks great too. For math, my son has used Saxon (at school), Math Mammoth, and Singapore. He likes Singapore the best, as do I. Math Mammoth comes in second. Saxon... the incremental spiral drove both of us nuts. DS thinks like me - give me the info, let me practice the info to mastery, then move on to the next topic, occasionally revisiting the topic but not everyday. MM and SM have both been that style and thus worked for us. We switched to SM a few months ago for the better presentation - it's more "fun". I really like MM also, and it was a good fit for us since we had to accelerate to where my son really was in math. Doing that with SM would have been $$$. The suggestion a PP made about Beast Academy is an excellent one. That is an engaging curriculum! We did the sample chapter, and even though DS will be in SM 5 by time all of BA 3rd grade is ready, DS still wants me to get BA for fun. I'm still waiting to see what the price is as to whether I'll pick it up as a fun supplement (and for future use as a main program by little brothers ;) ). 3A and 3B are supposed to be out in another week or so, I believe. There are several samples on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/beastacademymath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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