How about the quality of these kits? I couldn't bring myself to get them because the ones I could look into like the terrarium looked junky to me. Several of them had bad reviews on Amazon.com. I can't say for sure because we never got them.

I'm a vegetarian, and I'll answer from my point of view. I am not a strict vegan, though I do strongly disagree with cruelty to animals. I don't think eating meat is wrong, but I do have a problem with factory and cruel slaughterhouse practices at the major ones. I think if everyone would cut their meat eating way back, as a nation we could afford to raise our livestock in a more sustainable and humane way. The reason I don't eat meat is because my parents raised me as a vegetarian, and the thought of eating an animal sickens me in the same way most people feel about eating their pets. I realize my feelings are not shared by most people, so I wouldn't ever tell someone they shouldn't eat meat. My dog does eat meat, but I've made a compromise. I buy California Naturals brand sweet potato and herring dog food because I feel more comfortable with fish and the way they are raised. In the past I have used a brand of dog food that used meat from animals that were allowed to graze in the fields also. I realize a lot of what I do is personal preference, and not vegan approved.

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I like the idea of a logic stage board as well. The K-8 board moves very fast. It is hard to keep up with the stuff from the age group I'm looking for because it's often buried by K-4 stuff.

I'm going through CPO's labs right now and seeing which experiments are doable. So far I've only done two chapters, but most of them still are. In the following list I have not included all the easy to acquire things like candles and cups. Several of the experiments call for the geobox, but it looks like any plastic box will do. 1A stool, bucket with spigot (I'll use our Brita filter) stopwatch graduated cup or bucket 1B same as 1A 2A triple beam balance (I can borrow one from my mom) thermomter 2B Stream table. Can I build one? Maybe. Otherwise I'll have to do something else here. 3A geobox (For this application I believe I can build one with a sealable plastic box, plastic cups, glue, and tape) 3B density cubes (I found them online for about $20.) displacement tank (You could use a graduated beaker. You don't have to have their fancy setup.) 4A geobox (Use a basic plastic box) 4B sling psychrometer (You could buy one, but I also found directions on how to make one online) humidifier (You could use a steamy bathroom) 5A barometer-Quickly searching online, I found them for $20. 5B 2 plastic containers and a way to shine two equal lights equally close to the boxes 6A thermometer barometer hygrometer (All these are available for sale for reasonable prices) cloud chart (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pixdaus.com/pics/1244354881za6k5Kd.jpg&imgrefurl=http://pixdaus.com/single.php%3Fid%3D164013&h=605&w=900&sz=52&tbnid=g4pWjL1eM0ZaHM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=146&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcloud%2Bchart&zoom=1&q=cloud+chart&usg=__iuzEjHx9lTkl58vVWt9-BI_BqOE=&sa=X&ei=hnrhTJe1JcH78Ab-w6jdDw&ved=0CCsQ9QEwAg) Beaufort wind scale (available free online) 6B radar image plates (To do CPO's lab you need their specific plates. You could use the questions and a book about weather to discuss how Doppler radar works. 7A long pipette household supplies 7B plastic box wooden block

I'm using CPO life science this year. So far we're loving it. I'm still unsure about what we're going to do when we get near the end and the experiments include the optics kit and the physics stand. Has anyone actually looked at the kits? Why are they SO expensive? It looks like CPO's earth science uses the geobox a lot, and it's too much money too. I'm loving the lab manual and all the great experiments we're doing. The questions really make my son think about what he's doing and force him to articulate what it means. I wish we could do it again next year for earth science. Has anyone ever use the textbook, but used an alternative for the labs?

I can't find that "to the power of" symbol you're using, so I'll use ? instead. I also had to include the .... to get my spacing to hold. If this doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll try to write it another way. Since 9?6 is 9 times greater than 9?5, than the ratio of 9?5 to 9?6 is 1:9. If you think of it as a fraction: 9?5 ....1 ___ = __ 9?6 ....9 Use the same principle to find 3?8 / 3?7 3?8 ....3 ___ = __ 3?7 ....1 1/9 + 3 = 3 1/9

We have cork flooring that we installed in May. So far it's been great. In the beginning we realized we were hammering them together too hard, and it was buckling ever so slightly. It's not too bad, and we quickly adjusted our technique, so there is only one area, and it's not even noticable unless you run your hand over it and really think about it. So far I love it. It's very comfortable and easy to clean. We haven't had any fading problems, but ours are still new and we have a lot of shade, so I would be surprised if we did have that problem already.

I am absolutely sick to my stomach for you. I'm sorry you are having to go through all this.

This is shocking behavior. It sounds like you are going out of your way to be fair, trying to look at the situation objectively, even bringing your mom along as a third party. This boy has no right to treat your daughter like this. For the other mothers to just let it go is amazing to me. I've been in lots of hs group situations, and from what I've seen the other parents tend to be very concerned about teaching good manners and kind behavior. Even if your daughter was the most annoying kid in the world (doesn't sound like she is), his mother should view this as an opportunity to learn to how treat people we don't like kindly. I would try to change things, but if that didn't work, I would leave this co-op. It sounds like the negatives far outweigh the positives.

I don't think I would call myself a morning person, but I feel more satisfied with my productivity level if I get a semi-early start on the day. My daughter takes a long time to fully wake up. I've been viewing this as something she needs to get over. The early bird catches the worm and all that. Over the last week and a half I've taken to letting her sleep as late as she likes, which is around 8:30 til 9:00 am. I have been using that pre-wakeup time to do my chores and mess around online. Then we take a very leisurely breakfast and time to get dressed and ready, followed by her riding her bike while I walk the dog. Then we come home and dilly dally around for a little longer before starting school work. We've been starting around 11 am. I feel like this is a bad idea because I think it's seems undisciplined. I don't want to do them a disservice by not teaching them to instill what I consider a good habit, waking up early and being productive. On the other hand, since starting this new routine both my kids have been more cheerful and dedicated while they're doing their work. We're still able to get everything done by the time their ps friends are home and done with their homework even with the late start. And that is following TWTM guidelines for home educating a 6th and 4th grader. They want to move along and stay on task, so everything gets done faster. There have been a few times where we caught up on a little bit in the evening, but mostly they've been efficient. This just seems to work better for them, especially my daughter. Also, in the past where I have felt frazzled at the end of the day after a long day of school and cooking and cleaning, lately I have felt lighter and happier. I actually want to do fun things like go to the park and mess around with projects and have friends over. It's nice to get to the end of "schooltime" and know I've already done laundry and housecleaning. I've usually started dinner somewhere in there unless I have something really simple planned. As I'm writing this it sounds great, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm encouraging laziness by allowing this slow morning routine. Please give me your honest opinion on the matter.

http://rainbowresource.com/product/Student+Compound+Microscope+AP1510WL/004942/1288900306-2019090 I bought this one and I'm very happy with it. We haven't done high school yet, but I think it should be fine for that age.

Very good point, kidshappen. Thanks for all your input.

Thanks. He's a great teacher and the kids don't know about it. I only found out because it somehow came up in conversation between him and my husband about how he's spending his Friday nights. I was mostly just really surprised. I think of dudes that hang out in strip clubs as creepy, but he isn't creepy, and I suppose he has to pay the bills, and this works for him.

This doesn't sound all that surprising to me. I guess it could be a sign of molestation, but I suspect intersibling "exploring" before the age of 4 or 5 is more common that people like to admit. I would stop him, but I wouldn't freak out about it.