Kerileanne, I know what you mean. 5 years is a long time, my next oldest is almost exactly the same age as yours. I find it harder to remember what we did than I'd imagine. So I am very thankful for the records I did keep. Is your 5 year old in school or at home?

Sorry Linzy, I missed this until it was bumped...

Alex has a December birthday so will officially start Kindy this year. She is going to be homeschooled out of necessity. She really liked the idea of going to school (she went part-time to a Montessori program this last year during my very difficult pregnancy!) but it really is not feasible. The school even cobbled together a program for her kindy year where they would allow her to go part time Kindy (a first!) and homeschool the rest. She would have spent mornings in the Lower Elementary with 1st-3rd graders, math in the Upper Elementary with 4th-6th graders, and gone back to kindy for afternoon special subjects like art and music. Homeschool with me the other 2.5 days per week. All for the full-time price, and the LE teacher flat out told me that she didn't think she could challenge her there.
That isn't to say she wouldn't learn things...but this last year she learned all the wrong things, . She picks up behaviors, and being with kids twice her age is very problematic:)  in addition, I would say my daughter is at the lower end of the social/behavior spectrum for her chronological age. She has serious physical and emotional overexciteabilities:)

So. Homeschooling it is! I am extremely nervous about doing it officially as she is exhausting😄, but excited as well. It is a bit daunting because we get through so much material schooling 3 days per week that I am wondering how we will do with 4-5:)
However, she is very interested in helping with Max's EL program, and this time daddy is very excited too. He built Max's crawling track, and included some modifications...before he covered it with foam he drilled holes and installed t-nuts in the plywood so that rockclimbing holds can be bolted on as soon as it isn't needed for crawling. He has it all planned out to increase the incline gradually and have the baby climbing like a champ before he can walk!

Congratulations on your little sweetie, she is beautiful:)

I love the idea of the blog. My 5 year old is doing amazing things as a result of our EL adventure, and I now have a 2 month old little boy! I am a bit surprised at the little details I have forgotten (some of which comes flooding back when I do something with Max) so I think it will be fantastic to have the journey chronicled.

These early days are so much fun...and now you will have a beautiful record.

Hello!
You are starting at pretty much the perfect time:) you have gotten to know your new baby and are getting a good feel for when they are calm and more receptive to interaction and stimulation:). Definitely start with the Doman Mom site, there is a wealth of information.

I am excited to be starting the EL journey all over again with my own 2 month old. I have an extremely advanced five-year-old with whom I did EL: you can read all about our journey here in the archives as well. Everything we did paid off tremendously...truly, the biggest gifts we could have given her are ability to read anything and everything, and her love of learning. She has a fantastic love of math and numbers. So much so that she thinks the grade levels on her math books should correspond with her age instead, and will probably outpace that this year, .

Start with what you want to teach. In the meantime you can start with Doman activities for infants. I think that the most important cornerstone is teaching your baby to read. There are many ways to do this, many programs you can use including the fabulous BK products. Then you can decide what else you want to add in.

I actually think that many of the old members with success stories still pop back over to check but rarely post as their kiddos have grown. However, if you have specific questions please ask as I am sure they will be happy to respond:)

Glad to hear you will soon have three little repair persons gleefully putting everything broken to rights

Alex is doing really well! We really need to do an update post to share, but suffice to say (for now!) that all the EL work with her has paid off in spades. It is really pretty unbelievable, although I am going to need to outsource her math classes long before she hits double digits age wise. But she has a Skyped-based math mentor (for algebra concepts!) so we will figure it out. She will officially be in Kindy this next fall:)
Her biggest, greatest source of pleasure at the moment however? She is a proud big sister to a beautiful little boy. Maximilian was born in April and Alex is determined to be a huge part of his EL! Funnily enough, when I was pregnant she read to him A LOT in the womb...and her would literally migrate to one side or he other to get close to her voice

One other idea regarding independence: do you guys have those prepaid Visa or Mastercards available in Oz? They can be reloaded. I got one for Alex to use for smaller everyday transactions ai wanted her to be able to do...including one for her allowance. You can even track purchases online and then it isn't disastrous if one is lost:)

Hi MandaB:)

I can't believe the kids are so old now! Glad to hear they are doing well.

This topic is one that I have put a great deal of thought into as independence in Alex is one of my largest goals for her. I can tell you some of the things I have done and plan to do. Of course, some of it will be for purposes of this thread only, as Alex is just five and your kiddos are older.

When I was brainstorming ideas on how to foster her independence, i decided that most independent actions stem from confidence. So I thought the first step would be to ensure she was confident in taking the 'babysteps', sort of a scaffolding approach to independence. I am attempting a condensed 'watch me, do it with me, do it yourself' approach... it occurred to me that even the illusion of independence would be enough for many things. So we tried an experiment:
Alex has always loved going to the dry cleaners to take daddy's shirts. Because of my wheelchair and the lack of convenient access to a ramp into the building, I used to take advantage of the very American convenience of a drive-thru dry cleaners:). However, I noticed that the place was perfect for our experiment. Alex was familiar with the place and the people, as well as the procedure for dropping off/picking up. A few other key features made the place perfect. The shop is located in a small strip where you can literally pull into a parking spots few feet from the door of the glass-fronted shop. I can see directly into the place from my van. So I phone the place and let them know Alex is coming in, and allow her to go in by herself. She takes the shirts and my debit card, marches up to the counter and relays instructions such as how many items, how much starch, etc., and picks up completed items. She brings them to the van along with the receipt for my signature and then takes it back once I have signed. She LOVES to do this, and it really opened my eyes to the possibilities. I just had to set her up for success, provide her with the experience and tools to be confident, and then make sure that given her age I could show that she was being monitored:)
I now have all sorts of errands, activities, and tasks at home we are working on. We are always looking for more! Here are a few ideas:
1. Trip/activity planning- one weekend per month we put Alex in charge of planning our day. She must research online what and where she wants to go. I help her brainstorm sometimes, but ahe is in charge of writing out our plan. She must check opening times/closing times, costs, wheelchair access, meal planning if we need a picnic and so on. We have taught her to use a map app on her IPhone (not as bad as it sounds, it was cheaper to hand down daddy's than to get her a new IPod!) so she can find the best route and plan times. She must research weather and all applicable information as well. She usually has a budget to work with, but everything must be put onto paper as a sort of proposal:) it is a lot of fun and it has given her a better understanding of planning!
2. Learning to balance her 'checkbook.' She gets an allowance, and I gave her a blank checkbook register that we do mock transactions as well as real ones so she can practice the skill.
3. Household repairs- there are so many small things that go wrong in a house that people often pay to have repaired. YouTube has any number of videos on simple repairs so when something goes wrong we put her in charge of learning how to repair it if possible. Of course, much of it she is too young to do (such as the replacement of a cracked electrical outlet the other day!) but she is old enough to seach YouTube and find videos of HOW to do it. She made a list of things we needed for the repair, then we took her to the DiY store where she located the items with us in tow. She then was in charge of directing daddy as he fixed it. As she gets older we will gradually allow her to do much more.
4. Auto maintenance- everyone should know how to perform basic auto maintenance, including oil/fluid checks, tire changes, and safety checks. We have taught Alex to check fluids and tire pressure, but also to converse with the mechanics at the shop when we take it in.
5. Meal planning and prep- my goal is to completely turn over the reigns to Alex one night per week this year. She is to plan a healthy dinner, make a shopping list for ingredients within a budget, shop, and prepare the dinner. Obviously she will be very limited by what she can currently safely cook, but we can start small. She can now make a lovely salad, and does roasted potatoes/veggies in the toaster oven. She did some vegetarian boxed cutlets with them and sliced a loaf of bread for her first dinner...of coarse, this was quite some time in practicing with me first. Your kiddos would feasibly be able to each take a day and cook! Imagine the possibilities, . Just be prepared for some strange ideas!
6. Laundry- washing, folding, ironing, sewing buttons and other small repairs.
7. Speaking in public- there are so many opportunities for this that are available. After Alex decided she wanted to memorize the Gettysburg Address (long story) I decided to phone and ask the organizers of a small function for MLK day if she could deliver the speech for them. They were thrilled, and the experience really gave Alex the confidence I was hoping for. I don't think she would have been able to find her own words to speak in front of so many right now, but delivering someone else's powerful message empowered her. I will continue to look for opportunities.
8. Kids choice- have them choose things they want to do/learn. Things they maybe think would be fun or cool. One of Alex's early ideas was to learn to Frenchbraid hair. She hasn't gotten it, but she did have to track down ideas and videos on HOW to do it. We keep a running list of things she wants to learn how to do. We have a second list for experiences and places she wants to visit...many of which will probably never happen, at least as long as she lives at home:)
9. Public transportation- this is a difficult one in the US. She won't be doing it on her own, but I want her to be able to read time tables and plan routes. We practiced this in England and France this year, but this will be an ongoing thing.
10) our Random Acts of Kindness book- there are tons of ideas on Pinterest for these, but she has gotten some great ideas from this. When she has an idea (such as we used our huge collection of sample toiletries from hotels to make gift bags for a local family shelter) I have her either phone the organizers (usually I phone first to arrange for her to 'arrange' things out of earshot-again, this will change as she ages) or allow her to do the talking in person.
11) doing things for neighbors/walking to their house on her own to take them items.
12) starting a business- I bought a composting set and she will be raising red wiggler worms! Who knew? But here they are sold to other composters ( she will be making kits), fishermen, and bait shops. For a first business, it is relatively low key and inexpensive...and super low maintenance:)

Anyway, these are some of the things we have been working on. There are others, but not all are fleshed out yet. I would love more ideas and input, so maybe others will jump in.

Perfect timing!

I get to stock up on new language packs to go with LR...since I am ready to start EL for a second go round! Alex has a little brother Max, and I am so excited to board the EL train with our newest little passenger😄

A new study down at Emory has found that given the right circumstances, babies under 2 CAN learn from videos...something EL parents are fully aware of:)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150122133215.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28Latest+Science+News+--+ScienceDaily%29

I am always frustrated by the research conducted into EL as they tend to leave out vital components, use misguided or misleading definitions, or make generalizations that simply do not seem to make common sense.
I am always excited to see research, however necessary further studies and replication may be needed, that not only keep an open mind but show the possibilities of EL. My personal experience has been nothing short of amazing and I hope that so many more parents can enjoy that special experience with their kids!

Sounds as though you have a pretty well-rounded list to work from:) and I say that as someone who used virtually everything on it with my own LO, who is now FIVE...and am busily pulling together materials for the birth of our son in April. It is going to be so much fun, and so interesting to see how the same materials work for a second child. The scientist in me begs for replication.

A couple of things:
ASL via Baby Signing Time and Signing Time...how much time you devote to it, I think, largely depends upon what you plan to do with it in the future. There have been some other benefits, which I will attempt to lay out.
We did ASL with Alex from infancy, so there is a bit of a difference between that and starting it at 9 months. We still use it, and have every intention of continuing as an additional language/skill. One of the most beautiful benefits was that we were able to 'see inside Alex's mind' because she could sign sentences long before she could speak. This, for us, also meant that she could tell us what she read before she could speak the words!
We also use ASL as a kinesthetic bridge between languages for purpose of vocabulary. So she will sign the word and then use the word in whatever language. It really seems to help.
Some of the benefits seem to be in terms of fine motor control. She was a very early writer and still has really great penmanship in both print and cursive. The neuropsych team who did her evaluations believes that the physical act of signing, especially precise finger-spelling, was a large contributing factor. At one point I read a study about fine motor skills and origami--if you want to improve penmanship and strengthen little hands, origami works wonders. It is possible that ASL did the same thing:)
Spelling-Alex (who turned 5 in December), is quite a great little speller and hopes to compete in high-level spelling bees. She has been through 6/7 levels of the AAS program, which takes to to post HS spelling levels. When she spells orally, she tends to finger spell against her leg. She says she 'sees' the word this way. In reading through spelling bee materials it turns out that this, or similar physical helps is employed routinely at the higher competitive levels!
All that being said, I would not say we devoted a significant portion of time to it. She did watch the videos (they have the printed word on the screen so double as reading practice), and we just incorporated the signs into our day and when I read to her. I never really included them into our regular EL lineup.  If you aren't interested in taking it much further, it may well be time better spent on other EL activities:)

The other thing that jumps out at me: math.
When Alex was tiny, I went through a huge realization. When you look at how much time is devoted to things like literacy (even though it was hands down the best gift we gave her!) and how much time is comparatively spent on math, it is no wonder at all that it becomes almost an after thought in many circles. I became a bit fanatic about introducing Alex to it...it helped that she seemed to LOVE numbers and beg for more, but there is so much you can do. Even at 9 months. I highly recommend that you start with the very practical book 'Marshmallow Math' to see fun ways to begin incorporating into your lifestyle. Our math work has paid off huge dividends. I have a child who loves math. She currently goes to a Montessori preschool 3 mornings per week, primarily because I needed a rest during this difficult pregnancy. Next year for Kindy she will have to be completely homeschooled...but on Weds she goes to the 4th-6th grade classroom to work with their math specialist!

I also second Korrale's mention of the Montessori materials for the very young, and the book she referenced was very helpful in teaching ME to incorporate fun hands-on EL into day-to-day.

If there was one other book I would recommend you read as part of your EL program, it would be Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck. It is phenomenal, and may just give you a life-altering perspective on how to approach EL, parenting, and your own outlook.

Congrats on the birth of your son, and a big welcome to BrillKids!
Sounds like he is getting lots of reading time already:)
I am also in central Texas

Buy a head torch or flashlight!

Seriously, starting at about that age I would put my dd into bed roughly 15 minutes before her actual bedtime, but 'allow' her to stay up '15 minutes late' if she wanted to read by flashlight. She thought she was getting one over on me:)
At age 4 that time has lengthened, but it is beautiful time for her.she doesn't miss out on me reading to her (and I plan to read aloud to her until she moves out!) and it is a quiet, down-time activity.

Other ideas: we have a designated quiet-time every day...she reads to me, we do a read-aloud on whatever book we are working on, our math read aloud, and then she has quiet time for a bit.

Have your child read aloud to dolls or stuffed friends. Many kids love getting a chance to be the teacher. At that age I told my child that her poor stuffed chicken (best friend) could not read! It was so sad, , and Alex made sure to read LOTS of books to that stuffed friend.

Pics please!!!

You got it!

Hubby already took it over, but we are attending the party this weekend so I will have plenty of photo ops!
It was so simple...10 dowels with plastic balls to match RS colors. Why didn't I think of that when Alex was younger?!
Speaking of RS, a shameless plug. I am convinced that their AL Abacus and methods for place value are the sole reason Alex is where she is in math now...she was recently given the ADAM-7, which tests 44 sub categories, and tested solidly in the 4th grade level for almost every one!

Yeah!

I just popped back in to see how everyone is and found updates:)

Cokers4Life-
So glad that you are having such success! Any new videos?!

CVMomma-
Now I feel incredibly guilty! Last time I updated you were pregnant...now you have a crawler!
Congrats, congrats, congrats:)

Ha!
TmT-
I just happened to pop back in to see how everyone was, and look what I found:)

I actually just MADE one of these for a friends b-day. Their kiddo is turning 2. I used recycled plastic balls from the ball pit Alex had when she was younger...we just, uh, skewered them on dowels!
Too cool...

Wow, we need an update thread

(Hurries off to resurrect one...)

TheyCan,
I have a LO (turning 4 in a week!) who is starting 3A, and we have been pulling supplementals from 5/4 for awhile on things like measurement and for extra practice.
I can tell you a little bit about both Singapore 3A and 5/4, and we did both RS A and RS B, but did not do RS C.
I think a lot depends upon what you are hoping to get out of it, what your plans are as far as school (are you homeschooling, planning on attending a school where standardized testing is abundant, etc.)

We worked through RS A and B when Alex was much younger (along with Singapore Early Bird), and I think it is an absolutely awesome program. I absolutely do not think that Alex would be where she is in math now if not for the tremendous base that RS provided, especially with number sense and place value.
That being said, I have a bit of a concern that RS does not align with so many programs and grade levels. A big problem if one thinks even the possibility for say, a private school or specialized class, may exist. We are also planning on doing different math competitions, as Alex really enjoys the challenge. She has been introduced to a taste of that competition through Soroban lessons/school, and has 'the bug.' I know that the new edition of RS has attempted to fix this juxtaposition, but 1) it came too late for us 2) I still have my doubts after comparing it to Singapore--and level C is not out yet!

So. We transitioned to Singapore. I honestly LOVE the way Singapore gloved into Alex's knowledge base from RS. Because of her age, even though I gave her the placement test and she tested out, I had her work through 1A and 1B because I wanted her to have the practice, work on her writing skills, and I wanted to have physical proof if we ever opted to send her to school! She would fly through 10-15 pages per day
We then did 2A and have finished 2B, but we have continued to work on 'extra'. Beast Academy, Penrose puzzles, living math books, fun things.  So she continues to fly through the books because she is learning way ahead of them.  We pull pages from Saxon for things as well.

I would think the issue you are going to have is lining up what you have done in RS C with Singapore 3A. You will have a HUGE head start on both programs, Singapore and Saxon, because of his background with place value specifically, but there will be gaps. Especially if you go with Singapore. I think you will probably need to give him the placement tests from their website, as there are specific things that may be a problem. For example, Singapore works on multiplication and basic division even in level 2A, and again in 2B. You are expected to be working on nailing all the facts down outside of the workbook as well. Also, keep in mind that the Singapore way of math is very, very different from the way it is taught in Saxon! Oh, and one important thing: Singapore 2B/3A is considered normal for 3rd grade because of the material! I would probably suggest that you start with 2B, maybe even 2A if he hasn't done a ton of things like multiplication word problems and basic division. But because of his background he will fly through!

Saxon- I know that a lot of people really like Saxon. I DO think it is an extremely solid math program, and there are obviously some wonderful success stories (even within BK and friends !)
But I think that there are more than a few excellent math programs, and the benefits typically arise more from the amount of time spent diligently working on them than the specific programs themselves. And my child would literally lose her love of all things math if I had her do Saxon more than as an occasional supplement! The sections on measurement are particularly well done compared to Singapore as it is written in terms of metric and you will want to make sure to teach our silly US measurement system:) although, definitely teach the metric too as he will need it for all things science.

I would also suggest that you search the threads at WTM as I have found a plethora of old threads regarding the two math programs, comparing them all the way to high school. Lots of useful info, although you must squint through a lot of negativity regarding other posters individual views sometimes!

Have I mentioned how great the support and general positivity in BrillKids are recently?! I absolutely cannot imagine BK posters behaving so rudely toward each other
 
Have you seen the scope of Saxon 5/4 and Singapore 3A? If you can give me a better idea of how well he has the basic operations and math facts down I can probably tell a bit more...

Oh! And Rightstart math always has a cyber Monday sale (Mon) only on their overstock and gently-used materials, as well as demo materials. Pair that with free shipping in the US and that is about as good as a RS sale gets:)