mathnerd Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 (edited) I already knew that AOPS is awesome (not talking about just their books and Alcumus) - because my son contacted them with some questions and got an immediate response with answers and encouragement from an author of the books. For him, it was like getting in touch with celebrities :) But, I got further proof of how cool they are this week - my son is taking a "Creative Comic Book design" class for summer and decided to draw monsters for his personal comic book for this class. He, of course, wanted to pull out his old Beast Academy books that he hoards and re-reads all the time to get ideas from Grogg and Lizzie who were his favorites. I already knew that there were a lot of references to popular culture in there. But, this time, I suddenly recognized scenes from the Princess Bride (Inigo Montoya immortalized inside BA 4B!). They put a lot of thought into those books - helps me overlook the fact that their books take a long time to be published. I had a lot of fun playing the relevant movie clips from youtube for my son who had no clue what I was talking about. Edited August 19, 2016 by mathnerd 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 My kiddo was born a little early for the BA books. I so wish we could have used them! For us, we will always be grateful and consider them super cool for the letter of recommendation they wrote for DS last spring. I think it did a lot to give him a chance to attend the summer opportunity he so wanted to go to. DS has taken a lot of math and all from so many different sources. AoPS was the one source DS has been using consistently (even though he never used their books or classes as core curriculum). They asked him just a couple of questions and then sent the letter to the summer program in just a matter of days without DS needing to remind them or anything like that. So yeah, when your DS is ready and if relevant, consider them for recommendations at some point too! :001_smile: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Dd noticed the pidgeon from Don't Let the Pidgeon Drive the Bus hidden in a scene. She was giddy the whole day. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. A Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 My middle dd just pointed out Lotso from Toy Story in one of the level 3 books the other day. He looked like part of the trash pile in one frame and in the next he was crawling away! I never would have noticed myself. Now I pay even closer attention when we read. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 My DD#1 nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement when she found the Mo Willems pigeon! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 Last time we were visiting my folks, I noticed that the "published by" address inside of the BA books was only a mile from their house. Dd was so excited, we stopped by there, but to her disappointment they said no, we couldn't come in. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Richard always responds promptly and graciously when I think I've found a typo or error something wasn't quite clear to us. How many people would leave a lucrative career in investment banking to publish math textbooks? He's a hero, IMO. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Richard always responds promptly and graciously when I think I've found a typo or error something wasn't quite clear to us. How many people would leave a lucrative career in investment banking to publish math textbooks? He's a hero, IMO. Just a funny... When Crazypants was little Blue's Clues was his absolute favorite show. I set him up to watch a few AOPS videos today and it hit me how much RR looked like Steve. And sounded like Steve. And acted like Steve. And I thought that was random and crazy. Then DH came along, saw the video, and turned to me and said "That guy looks like Steve!" You know all those wild conspiracy theories on the internet about "What happened to Steve?" I have a new one. Steve embraced his alter ego to start a math company. I'm sure I could write a 5 picture-slide article with tons of slow-loading advertisements proving that it's true. :laugh: On the real-world side of things, Crazypants is still fond of Steve/Richard, and is thoroughly enjoying the videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 It's fun to see him live-these kids running up to this unassuming guy to get his autograph. I think he enjoys doing the workshops for the kids as much as the kids enjoy going to them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Just a funny... When Crazypants was little Blue's Clues was his absolute favorite show. I set him up to watch a few AOPS videos today and it hit me how much RR looked like Steve. And sounded like Steve. And acted like Steve. And I thought that was random and crazy. Then DH came along, saw the video, and turned to me and said "That guy looks like Steve!" You know all those wild conspiracy theories on the internet about "What happened to Steve?" I have a new one. Steve embraced his alter ego to start a math company. I'm sure I could write a 5 picture-slide article with tons of slow-loading advertisements proving that it's true. :laugh: On the real-world side of things, Crazypants is still fond of Steve/Richard, and is thoroughly enjoying the videos. Oh my gosh. I had never watched any of the AOPS videos (and had no clue what RR looked like), but after this post I looked them up. You are SO. RIGHT. I showed one to DH and he said, "Is he going to skidoo into that equation?" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 You know that thread on another forum about silly reasons for liking or disliking curriculum? If someone reminded me of Steve from Blues Clues, well that's a mighty big plus for me :001_smile: Ah, Steve, those were the good ol' days... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Another "yay for the AOPS company!" here - when we ordered BA3, somehow I got two full sets, shipped in different boxes and arriving on the same day. Checked my CC statement and I was only charged for one. I emailed the company to let them know and they responded nearly immediately to tell me there had been a glitch on their end and I should not bother sending the books back; I was instructed to pass them on to another educator or library who would find them useful. What amazing customer service! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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