I used Right Start with two of my daughters.  I may end up back there, who knows?  I used Transition Lessons, Level C, Level D and Level E with my eldest.  I used A through C with my second daughter.  Now, after my eldest made it through E; she didn’t want to do the Right Start Geometry; so we had to find something else.  I ended up going with Math Mammoth for her to simply reinforce what she was fuzzy on.  So, my second daughter had been in tears over Right Start for months.  I ended up switching her over to Math Mammoth too.  A few months later, she’s in tears everday again.  Not sure what I’m going to do.  Thankfully, next week is our last week of this school year.
As for Right Start.  I feel it is a fabulous curriculum.  Just be aware that it can be teacher intensive.  This isn’t something you can just give your child and go off to help the others or do something else.  You have to be actively involved. 
The different ways in which learning occurs are fabulous, and a lot of light bulbs went off for even myself.  It isn’t for every child though, as you can probably guess.
Hope this helps.

We used it for years and then I switched because it is so teacher intensive and we were having a very difficult year for other reasons.  My oldest got partway through the geometry.  My kids compare all the math programs we’ve tried to Righstart and nothing has come close.  Even though it’s intensive we plan to start it up again in the fall with my K and 1st grader.  I thinking that even if we just do 1/2 lessons every day it will still be worth it.  There is a lot of practice leading up to learning something new (i.e. lots of skip counting before learning about multiplication) but not as much review.  That’s pretty easy to do though with basic worksheets like Calculadder.  To me it’s like the phonics (Righstart) vs whole word (rest).  I love it and really hope I can make it work again.

ooops by 1/2 lessons I meant that we would do 1/2 lesson one day and 1/2 the next.  It definitely wouldn’t be a good idea to cut the page down the middle with that program.

Alba, I don’t know of a good magazine, but would love to hear of one!  I think you could take some of the magazines that your daughter wants to read, pre-read them, select some things for her to look at WITH you and discuss the good and the bad.  Use some of these things as a learning moment.

Yes, I thought I had done my research with Girls Life but it looks like I would need to read every issue before she does. I will not be re-subscribing. As a parent of four (3 in middle school), it is difficult to watch over every aspect of their media intake. I do my best to monitor TV, internet, texting, magazines, friendships, etc. but especially during the school year, the information comes in at them so fast, I can’t keep up. Any ideas on how mothers can do it without going crazy?

There’s a magazine by the Society of Christ called “Love One Another.”  It’s light on fluff, but really draws teens/young people into issues that affect them & interest them.  There’s an “about us” tab on the website:
http://www.loveoneanothermagazine.org

If it doesn’t fill the craving for your teens, I think it would definitely be a healthy supplement for their reading.

You could try http://www.susiemag.com  It’s Christian, not specifically Catholic.  I don’t get the magazine nor have I read it but I have heard of it.

http://korministries.com/brio-km//faqs.php

Above is a link to Brio Magazine. It is Christian (not Catholic), but has a very trendy set up so your girls won’t feel abnormal.

There used to be a Catholic girls teen magazing caled True Girl. It was wonderful. Unforunately it folded due to funds. The forum attached to it (moderated) is still thriving with lots of wonderful Catholic teen girls who talk about fashion, dating/courting, the Faith, education etc….

How funny! Actually there IS A NEW UP AND COMING CATHOLIC YOUNG WOMEN’S MAGAZINE!!!!! , i’m actually a contributor and I plan on spreading the magazine hopefully around my area, some may have heard of it… it’s called Radiant

here is their website:
http://www.be-radiant.com/

their age group is 15-27
o AND their subscription is SO WELL PRICED…

My almost 12 year old enjoys American Girl magazine.  I have also seen Kiki at the public library.  It focuses on fashion for a younger teen secular audience, but can be used if mom reads through it first.

I’ve used http://www.armoredpenguin.com/wordsearch/

Try:  http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/

never mind, I found one!

thanks Jean and Lisa, I didn’t hit refresh before posting, and I just saw your replies.

Can’t resist posting - here’s another one: http://www.teacherly.com/  What did you find?

I also want to throw out http://www.puzzle-maker.com/ for crossword puzzles. I use it all the time for work.

Based on my experience (5.5 yo boy, 2.5 yo girl, newborn), if you can go “cold turkey” off tv for a week, then it kind of breaks their addiction and it’s easier to return tv to “special treat/reward” status.

We cycle back and forth, depending on my state, the weather, etc.  We actually do not own a tv, but use the “Watch Instantly” feature on Netflix thru the computer, plus a dvd player for selected dvds.  I like to sit down and spend about an hour researching and selecting Netflix kids stuff before I put it in our Watch instantly queue, then when I have to resort to it for a sanity break, I can put it on right away and know that it’s “safe” viewing.

Do you think audio books might work?  By age 3, my little guy could operate a little tape player and really enjoyed listening to/following along w/ books he chose at the library.

Also, EWTN has a Kids Club section of their website, with some really nice features for kids of all ages to explore safely.  They even have the Holy Heroes “Glory Stories” about saints.  Some are appropriate for some 4 year olds.

Oops, posted in the wrong spot originally!

JClub: A Catholic Place for Kids has some fun games for little ones. It’s run by the Daughters of St. Paul…and, full disclosure, I work for these great Sisters. I still think the games are a blast and I admit that I struggle with some of the “hard” level games! http://www.jclubcatholic.org

How old is your infant?  I’ve found that I *need* the t.v. those first 6 months to help with the other kids.  So, I don’t worry much about t.v. until I’m better rested.  I see it as a temporary problem.  In between babies (6) we always get back to minimal t.v. watching, and during the school year we watch no t.v m-th.  I think you’re being too hard on yourself   In fact, I joke that I can’t wait until our 18 month will actually sit and watch a show for 10 minutes . . . so often I am desperate for those ten minutes!