luciana11tx Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 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 so... 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Just finishing up 3rd grade for the second time. Here's what we have used and have had good experiences with: Math-Singapore History-SOTW Science-Ugh. Science is always hard for us because we're secular. I'm moderately okay with Real Science for Kids. I use a lot of Janice Van Cleave's Science for EveryKid series of experiments books. Language Arts-WWE, FLL, Spelling Workout, and Vocabulary Every X Grader Needs to Know Spanish-My oldest started Spanish for Children this year. It's by Classical Academic Press. We also use all of their Latin for Children series. Art & Music I just teach what period we're covering in history. We get bios from the library on artists and musicians. YouTube is great for music. My kiddos aren't crafty or artsy so it's mostly theoretical. My oldest isn't interested in learning an instrument. I'm trying to find time for my 9yo to learn guitar. HTH! FWIW, I don't think it's too much. If he has trouble concentrating on so much at one time, break it up with play between. Make a schedule and post it so he knows what to expect and stick with it. Good luck! 3rd Grade is fun! Oh, and my 3rd grader is also learning cursive this year and is doing some beginning logic for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Welcome to the board. I actually live very close to you. I'll send you a pm about some homeschool stuff in the area. Your plans look good so far. I use mus and we really like it. We tried Horizons first and it wasn't a good fit at all. Have you been to HEP off of 45 and Fuqua? They have a lot of the materials you are interested in and they don't mind if you come and browse through the books before you buy. I have spent hours in there looking through stuff before I buy it. My suggestion would be buy a couple of things and start those and then add additional subjects. SOTW is my daughter's favorite subject. Most 7 year olds are easily distracted so I wouldn't worry about that. I find that most people who pull out of ps end up trying to make their homeschool look like "real" school for a while but then find what works best for them. One of the things I like most about homeschooling is the flexibility. For example, we take breaks throughout the year and not an official summer break/fall start. Taking three months off at a time wouldn't work well for us. Instead we take off as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 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. 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. If there is too much writing involved, GWG can often be done verbally. I did that until kiddo was writing solidly enough to all his writing work AND grammar in writing. What level of WWE? I'd "under shoot" until you know he is solid with what he is doing. If his handwriting is too small for the lower level books, use a notebook for the writing, and you have a pristine book to sell. I found my wiggly boy "playing" with the AAS stuff. It was too colorful, and he zipped all the tiles around like cars. PS, this type of query usually flies best on K-8. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Everything looks great that you picked. As for math, how independent do you want it to be? MUS or MM would be less teacher involved whereas RS is very teacher involved. I love RS and recommend it, but not everyone likes how teacher intensive it is. My order of preference: RS MM or Singapore MUS or Saxon How is his reading? Some people use AAS as phonics, but I don't use it that way. A 7 yr old usually still needs reading instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I'm also in Texas, near Austin. :-) If you had asked me first, I'd have told you just to take your little guy out of school and not worry about buying something yet. I would especially NOT have recommended Alpha Omega, so don't feel bad that y'all don't like it. :glare: Ok, I know what SOTW is, but I'm fuzzy on AG and UILE. Sorry. I would probably not do formal science with an 8yo, unless I could find some fun, hands-on things that the younger siblings could also do, more along the lines of Charlotte Mason. Or just things like growing a crystal garden, or planting lima beans in wet cotton in a glass. Or an Usborne book or two, with easy activities that take little planning. I would probably start with AAS, then add in FLL when it feels right, and add WWE later. IOW, I wouldn't start with a full load of "language arts" all at once. AAS would be the most important, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I found my wiggly boy "playing" with the AAS stuff. It was too colorful, and he zipped all the tiles around like cars. My 8 yr old does this too. Tiles, or cars, often crash into each other. The sound effects during spelling are very interesting. But we get spelling done, and it's fun for him. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Hi, I responded to you on the K-8 board. And welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunriseiz Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 If you had asked me first, I'd have told you just to take your little guy out of school and not worry about buying something yet. I would especially NOT have recommended Alpha Omega, so don't feel bad that y'all don't like it. :glare: Ok, I know what SOTW is, but I'm fuzzy on AG and UILE. Sorry. I would probably not do formal science with an 8yo, unless I could find some fun, hands-on things that the younger siblings could also do, more along the lines of Charlotte Mason. Or just things like growing a crystal garden, or planting lima beans in wet cotton in a glass. Or an Usborne book or two, with easy activities that take little planning. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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