Hard work doesn't mean "not fun". Having young kids, I'm still of the idealistic impression that learning can be fun, even if it's hard. Perhaps I'm delusional, and time will surely tell me when the teenage years hit, but I believe that if I can help the kids be true to themselves, to believe that their thoughts are worth pursuing, to do their own research, etc, that they will be internally driven to life long careers and lifestyles that are rewarding all around. I believe in the idea that external motivators kill internal motivation and they put you at the mercy of a system or person to reward what THEY think is important. Perhaps I'm overstating the position. I don't think it works for everyone (seems to for DS, but not for DD), but it's still what I'm aspiring toward when I approach DS about his math issues.

Me too, M&M! Long live that brand of idealism!

I agree with you, master of none, with respect to my child. Did you see that I did PM you earlier for suggestions?

Thanks.

Here are a few ideas.

1. Zome (http://www.zometool.com/)
2. Equate, SET & other math games (http://www.mindwareonline.com) Mindware has a great selection of math games.
3. Math puzzles like sudoku and kakuro. See Mindware for more ideas.
4. Math books (http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/mathematics.htm)- I recommend The Number Devil, but there are many, many other good books on this list.
5. ClueFinders & Zoombinis (http://www.learningcompany.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=89) - I have found many Cluefinder and Zoombini titles on the discount software sites. My dd9 loves these games and will play them multiple times.
6. Math websites (http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/math.htm) There are great sites listed relating to topics such as tesselations, fractals, Fibonacci numbers, and others that you will not necessarily see in a regular math textbook.
7. Science applications- There are so many science applications, it just depends on your child's interests. My dd loves learning about chemistry. When I have time, I teach her some chemistry basics. She had fun building molecules out of magnetix. Here are a few interesting science websites.
http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visualelements//pages/pertable_fla.htm
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/elements/001_speak.html
http://cnse.albany.edu/Nano_for_Kids/nano_games.html

^^Thanks Texas Summer - you are good !

Thanks, Texas Summer. That list looks great. And thanks in particular for the science links. That's what DS loves.

BTW, Questions, we did get Destination math and while it is cartoonish and entertaining, it does seem to move too slow and is repetitive.

Sorry, Neato. Looking back, I think that was the problem with EPGY, too. You have to do all the problems before you can move on. I just saw on homeschool buyers co-op that they have a Destination Math that is tied to the Saxon Math curriculum. Makes me think that they just change the order of what they have and CTY may be a bit different (or more streamlined?). My DS liked it b/c he liked Digit, the colors and the animation. I think we're going to try Singapore so he gets used to writing his answers, and use either HeyMath or Destination Math to supplement/mix it up.

Well I think that's just a fabulous plan! Probably because we will do the same.

I've planned to supplement Singapore with Destination Math. Let's trade notes going forward. I am not pursuing HeyMath, so if you do, please let me know how it is.

Deal!