SongSchool Latin review

i love this program
very teacher friendly, you don't need a answer key or a teachers guide
easy to use even if you never took a day of Latin in school
the book has a great pronunciation guide
and all the songs are sung in both classical and ecclesiastical Latin
for $15 you get a workbook and CD
the book is broken up into 31 weekly lessons of about 3 pages each
the lessons are quite short taking about 15 minutes to do
each lesson starts with learning a simple song or two
then you trace the words, fill in the blanks, color etc
most lessons teach about 4 or 5 basic Latin words or phases
the songs are easy to learn, pleasant, and sung by both a male and female

(sung to the tune of My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean)
 My pater is really my father, My mater is really my mom.
 My frater is my little brother,  And I am the soror, you see.

 Pater,pater. Pater is really my father.
 Mater, mater. Mater is really my mom

 repeat with: "My soror is my little sister, And I am the frater, you see"

we try to listen to the CD three times a week and then work on one lesson a week
so far my 3 year old loves it
the program is marketed for kinder through third grade
i feel it could be used with younger children if you modify it a bit
for example i'm making flash cards with all the words in the program (about a hundred)
so instead of writing the answer she can simply pick a card
for example i place three cards on the table for her to choose from, bene, optime, and pessime
then ask, "How do you feel when you fall and scrape your knee?"       

 LilyAndOwensMom

i think your foam numbers should work just fine
who knows they may work better as each one feels different
the ones i use are hand made on cardboard not wood and over 25 years old
but they do the job so i don't think it really matters

 

i wouldn't use dvds till months maybe years later
like Skylark said there are a lot more important bonding moments to focus on
best wishes
 

NadiaD

after looking over the Early Bird books
i think you could probably start them as early as 18 months maybe sooner depending on your child
you would of course have to modify the program as your child would still be far to young for the writing part
one thing i find helpful to use when working with a pre writing child is sand paper numbers
this is a Montessori material that is easy to make and very useful
so instead of writing the number in the book the child can simply pick the correct numeral card for problem solving

as far as what i would do differently with my daughter
it's hard to say we will be using math dots again and i hope they will work for her
one thing i plan to start a lot sooner is working with patterns
this is a very important yet often neglected area of math
i may also start Miquon Math with her in kinder instead of first grade
but mostly i will try to be far more consistent with her rather than change anything
as i feel very happy with the program i'm already using with muse
 

these are all the cards i bought from A Beka
i highly recommend them   
a little pricey so look around for a good deal

Eastern Hemisphere Map Skill Cards
59 cards (9" x 12")
$22

Western Hemisphere Map Skill Cards
30 cards (9" x 12")
$20

Nifty Fifty Flashcards
100 cards (9" x 12")
$30(new)
Two flashcards are included for each
state. One shows the state’s location
with information about the state on the
back. The other card is a labeled map
on one side, unlabeled on the other.

(my one issue with the map cards is that they are bigger then most sheet protectors, but you can find some 9x12 plastic sleeves at office depot for $8)
of course you could use them without it as they are pretty strong cards with a light plastic finish 

these other cards are great for teaching EK to young ones
but you can continue to use them in older grades as well

Insects
114 cards (51/2" x 81/2")
Teaches and reviews metamorphosis, classification,
identification, and terminology

Flowers
74 cards (51/2" x 81/2")
$23
Common wildflowers and garden flowers with
information about range, habitat, flowering
season, and more.


Birds of North America
31 cards (81/2" x 11")
$19
Includes all state and provincial birds, range
maps, and interesting
facts.

yes you can keep the wrap on and take her in and out
sometimes when its hot i use it without a shirt so we get a lot of skin to skin contact
you can nurse with it on but i almost never do 

i have tried a few different ones and so far i really like the Moby wrap carrier $40
(of course if your a do-it-yourself kinda gal you could make one)
the moby wrap is very comfortable, versatile, and adjustable
it also keeps the baby very close and snug right next to you
some reviewers had trouble learning how to wrap it   
i found after watching a youtube video it was rather simple
i only wish i bought the wrap right way, my back would have thanked me
best of luck
t

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/O78_qhy2eQ0&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/O78_qhy2eQ0&rel=1</a>

wow this totally made my day!
congrats to all the winners
of course we all win using this great program 
thanks brillkids 

that is a great site
i'm always looking up reviews there

waterdreamer
i've been interested in math u see for years now
how are you and your son enjoying the program?

thanks so much for the reply
i'm really unsure about ECing but i would love to give it a try
karma to you

thanks so much for the link
great article
karma

my husband hates "dogs are a man's best friend" as he can't stand dogs
it also seems to bore the child after a while
oh well i just hope they develop a real ek program 

for a in depth look at what is wrong with american math please look at this site
www.illinoisloop.org/mathprograms.html

Kumon Math

Kumon is a very popular math program that combines at-home daily worksheets with weekly visits to a Kumon center
parents are highly involved and much of the work is done at home
it uses a series of graded math worksheets that students work through independently
the student is tested at the start of their program and begins at a level that is easy for them
no calculators are used in the program
one of the great advantages of Kumon is that it allows students to progress at their own pace

many students complain that the worksheets are boring, often students are required to repeat worksheets as many as 6 or 8 times
Kumon only focuses on the key skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in the early stages
there is almost no emphasis on mixed practice, or on maintaining skills that were mastered at one time
it can also be very expensive for parents as much as $100 a month

Singapore Math

the students in Singapore consistently top the world in math achievement
in the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Singapore ranked number 1 followed by South Korea and Hong Kong
even low achievers in Singapore outperform the international average
so in that sense Singapore has best math program
 
Singapore emphasizes thinking
Singapore Math avoids reliance on memorized formulas and algorithms so there is not as much emphasis on repetitive practice exercises
SM strives to give students an understanding of math concepts by walking students through each component of a problem
and then presenting them with the whole problem to solve
students are trained to think actively as they work through each step of a problem instead of plugging the problem into a formula

SM has a strong emphasis on problem solving and model drawing

Singapore Math is a mastery program, meaning students are taught a concept once and once only
each level builds upon preceding levels, and assumes that what was taught need not be taught again
when the same topic is revisited next year, it is discussed at a higher level

Singapore Math uses a distinctive concrete-pictorial-abstract approach
for example, introduction of abstract decimal fractions is preceded by their pictorial model of centimeters and millimeters on a metric ruler
but even earlier addition and subtraction of decimals is studied in the concrete form of dollars and cents

systematic use of word problems are a big part of the program and are started in kindergarten
students learn when to add and when to subtract relying on the meaning of the situation
formulations are free of any redundancies, and challenge student's understanding of mathematics
this is different from U.S. curricula, where word problems are to show "applications" of math and are spiced with immaterial details
the need for repetitive drill is minimized by clever sequencing of the topics

other difference is the use of bar-models in teaching problem solving (a form of pre-algebra)
this consists simply in representing (mentally or graphically) arithmetical quantities by line segments
such line segments are regularly used to show and teach one's thinking process in solving an arithmetical problem
the segments are typeset as colorful "bars" of a fixed width (hence bar-models)

in the early grades SM uses a lot of manipulatives and hands on math
so it's great for most learning styles

note in singapore children do drills and math facts in a separate class   
so you will need to supplement these
another possible problem with SM is it's probably very different from how you learned math
this may make it difficult to teach
(i have not found it that hard)

Miquon Math
Miquon Math Materials lead children through an exploration of mathematical relationships
concrete models are not supplements to the written work but instead are the basis of it and are used continuously
Miquon Math introduces all four arithmetic operations and work with fractions in the first year
by the third year, students are graphing algebraic equations
the program encourages creative thinking
it uses manipulatives for all the problem so it's a great option for kids who can't sit still
and who doesn't love playing with blocks?
it's very cheap and can also be used as a supplemental program
the program only goes to third grade though
and it also requires more time from the teacher than the conventional curricula
to use this program you need Cuisenaire rods as well as the teachers guide

Saxon Math

is a math program developed by former Air Force officer and high-school math instructor John Saxon
Saxon Math is very popular with the home school world, and is also used in some public and private schools
tests show that the use of Saxon Math increases algebra enrollment by up to 400 percent
and that Saxon Math students radically outperform students using other math programs
Saxon Math is distinctly American and is arguably the best american program available 

Saxon emphasizes practice
after concepts are introduced, Saxon moves immediately into practice exercises to help cement the concept in the student’s mind
Saxon requires students to memorize formulas, achieve fluent recall of math facts and apply algorithms to solve problems
the detailed explanations of each lesson enable a far greater degree of independent work

Saxon Math is a program built on spiral review
concepts are presented to the student one part at a time, across several lessons
they retain what they’ve learned through constant repetition throughout the year
new material presented and practiced in each lesson
many parents say that the spiral review method has made all the difference for their students
and a number of other programs adopted the method after Saxon Math’s success became obvious

Saxon kindergarten math curriculum is extremely easy to use because the lesson is entirely scripted
almost no teacher prep time needed
and has a lot of manipulative exercises (does not use manipulatives in later levels)

some problems with saxon are that it can be a bit of a drill and kill
some kids find the program to be boring
it's also expensive



 

hi NadiaD
those sites can be very confusing
i spent many long hours researching not fun
to start 1st grade with Math in Focus you will need the following books plus manipulatives
 Student Book A
 Student Book B

 Student Workbook A
 Student Workbook B

 you don't need the teachers guides at this level
 and depending on the age of your child i wouldn't get the Assessments ether
 they sell this as the Math in Focus Grade 1 Student Materials Bundle (Book A/B and Workbook A/B Set) for $52.00
 the books are in full color and very easy to use (my opinion)

you will also need the following manipulatives which you can easily find online or at your local teacher supply store
(i didn't buy from the site as they were very expensive,  i believe the set they sell is big enough for a classroom to use)
 Unifix Cubes   $12
 Attribute blocks ( i like to use the MightyMind game) $17
 Balance scale with bucket $10
 clock
 Ten Frame Cards (very important, easy to make)
 counters
 
all the rest were household items

we choose to start with the two year kindergarten program for a few reasons
1 i was new to Singapore math and i wanted to start from the beginning
2 muse wasn't even 3 yet so i didn't want too much writing
3 i want her first workbooks to be easy for her as to build confidence

so far we are very happy with are decision
even though she knew a lot of the material already it was good practice
and somethings like graphs and even and odd numbers she had never done before
she moved along very quickly finishing each book in about 2.5 months
(the books i used have about 80 pages in each but are no longer available)
i would advise you to look at the virtual sample of the program
as you can look at all the books and decide which ones are best for your child
 
 

yes i would love if brillkids made a ek program
like the multisensory only with real facts
i hate the opinions like "girls like to use pink"