You could save money and start with Thinking Blocks videos (free).

I bought it used from a friend who bought it from Staples. :)

It is best to start by topic. Dd8 is doing his fractions and ratios lessons along with building/factoring polys. Dd9 is working along with his "Jesse" videos on completing the square AND his "East Coast Crew" vids on functions. His "Commander Colby" vids are helpful also. I'm watching the precal vids. Ben is also tutoring the girls online because we love him so much. Starting in Sept, he will work with them weekly at their request. :) We met him and the boys on Maui in June. He came to our condo a couple times. Our kids played on the beach together. If we lived there our kids would be thicker than thieves. Ben, my husband and I chatted for hours. My ds thinks he's the coolest. He has opinions on just about everything. Very knowledgable on health & wellness. I digress.... Don't try and be too sequential with his website. He is random. He is crazy. Just roll with it. :)

:iagree: Until Rosie takes on this new project, I am using the c-rods with the videos from Thinking Blocks. Give it a try. Pics here. I am also starting to use the c-rods with the SM cwps/ips. It's a nice twist on an old favorite. You can use a white board to label. Or not. :) Rosie, re your OP....both girls use SM bars and HoE. They haven't had trouble going back and forth. Aly took a break from bar diagrams for June/July and it took a few lessons to get back into the swing of it again. The BA 3C samples look fantastic. We'll add it to the mix this winter. HTH!

:lol: Couldn't agree more.

Let me know if you need any tips on navigating his website. He is great about responding to emails as well.

:iagree::iagree::iagree: Beyond horrible. Go with MM mult/div blue and Rosie's videos.

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:lurk5: Great questions and responses. I'm :bigear:. We watched the Brian Green episode on the Multiverse last night. It was fabulous. My younger dds were sucked in from the first moment. Highly recommend. George's Secret Key To The Universe (Lucy/Stephen Hawking) is keeping dd9 quite entertained this week. Pics & info on the book here.

Dd9 isn't proficient with everything on that list. I doubt my older dc were before they started algebra years ago. This week dd9 is multiplying and simplifying radical expressions with polynomials -- yet....she still needs work on percents, metric conversions and exponents. I'm not worried about gaps since she is young. Layering different topics and skills seems to work for a lot of students who have an interest to start algebra early. I think it is Sharon in Austin who uses aops algebra and elementary math with her 'middle' girl. I thought that was a fabulous idea when I read that here about a year ago. To the OP, I am not an expert like mathwonk and others here. Our family enjoys math so it seemed natural to progress despite the gaps. My dds think 'math is fun' which is my ultimate goal. Every day is slightly different and we love it this way. Time will tell if this grand experiment worked. :) They came to me with these notes last week.

Buy a tub of C-rods and have him go through Rosie's fractions videos. You'll become a believer like I did. :)

Happy August! I'm Beth. I've been around since the old boards. My older dc homeschooled 'classically' during their middle school years only. Younger dds love homeschooling and the variety that comes with my hybrid approach to education. We take advantage of local classes, tutors, online classes and mom-taught subjects when they're lucky. Never a dull moment around here. We have a strong STEM focus. Other random details in my blog below if you're interested. Thanks for letting my play. :)

Summer Pics :) Thanks for stopping by....:auto:

Not much to offer you except that your plan sounds fantastic. Watching the plays 'live' at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland was a real treat for our family. We plan to visit OSF again soon. I have a few ideas here although my girls were much younger when we did this. I'll be :bigear: as you receive more ideas. :lurk5: ETA: When my dd15 was a tween we watched every Hollywood production of her favorite plays. She would follow along with our giant book of Shakespeare plays on her lap. I noticed on our Netflix history that she's been watching her old favorites again. Most have Kenneth Branagh whom we adore. We own Merchant with Al Pacino. Seriously, we love the modern Hollywood versions. My little girls are OBSESSED with Taming Of The Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor. Whatever works. :)

Yes. Dd9 finished basic math before starting alg. She is rusty on percents and forgets lengthy long div problems once in a while. We review as needed. :iagree: Coming at a topic with different resources has helped here. I also took the advice from parents here to re-do alg 1 with a 'harder/deeper' program the second time around. Dd9 used TT Alg 1 and a few chapters at the end of MUS Alg 1 (using the blocks) along with other resources last year. I consider that her gentle intro to algebra. I didn't have an agenda and I knew she would have gaps on some concepts because of her age. Thankfully she had a blast (most days :)) and is eager to learn more. She would still prefer to read mythology than do math. She's not one to sit and wrestle with problems. She likes to be taught which is why aops doesn't suit her at this point. Now she's going back to the beginning of algebra 1 starting with graphing and working through quadratics via Kinetic Books. KB will be a challenge for her and we may skip some of the problems/games if she's not ready. A year of maturity will open doors and insight that she didn't experience the first time through her 'light' intro to alg. It's a blessing to have so many fabulous options. Her online tutor, Rachna (Cybershala), is working with her on topics that I didn't hit until mid-high school. She is now working with Ben (Crewton Ramone) online weekly for a completely different take on algebra. Very non-traditional and radically different than Rachna. Abi loves it all. She is doing 'completing the square' problems with Ben in a hands-on conceptual way. KB lessons on completing the square will be great for reinforcement a practice. It's a win-win. Following KB 1 (in one year) she will do TT Alg 2 and begin TT Geometry. That could change and dd may end up attending our local STEM school. For now, she's enjoying what she's learning in a home setting. HTH!! I never imagined when we began homeschooling a couple years ago that our math lessons would look quite like this. I'm taking it month by month, year by year and following dd's interest and abilities. So thankful for the advice and wisdom here. :) ETA: After I wrote the above, I noticed Ben put a picture of Abi on his FB page today.

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Yes. Ds is doing the cc routine for his senior year. He started this summer with an audit of calc 1. Loves it. He is applying to colleges. He dreams of Cal Poly SLO. Time will tell. :)

Bumping to see if anyone else wants to chime in. :bigear: I made a few changes since I started this thread. Dd9 loves the Kinetic Books Alg 1 sample and wants to use it for alg for the year along w/ Rachna (via Cybershala) and Ben (Crewton Ramone). The rest of my changes aren't too exciting. More science & tech than I originally planned. Less history. Dd9's Landry classes start in a couple weeks so I'm pre-reading and gearing up mentally for a full load by mid-month. Anyone else is full school mode yet? :)

So happy for you!! God is sssssoooooo good! :party:

I love your idea of using the MUS videos as a supplement. Regarding Ben/CR... After spending a fair amount of time with him and his boys in Hawaii, I have a much better understanding of his personality and where he gets that 'vibe' that you mentioned. He has quite a backstory. I know he rubs some folks the wrong way. He's been 'playing math' with my girls via google chat. They enjoy him and his out-of-the-box thinking. Glad to hear others are learning from his methodology. I bought his blocks to make it easier for my girls to do math with him online. The MUS blocks & C-rods have received a lot of mileage around here over the last few months thanks to MUS, CR & Rosie. These manipulative-based programs can be used with other math materials. It's ok to mix & match. :)

Yes. Ben is CR. :)

That's where we are. Ds is working on his common app. We're editing his essay on type 1 diabetes. Gathering all the info. I will be :bigear: as we dive into this college app process. The toughest part for me is knowing how to help him help himself. He needs to own this yet I find myself taking ownership. I'll be relieved when this process is over in the fall/winter. :) :lurk5:

Elizabeth, Here are some ideas you might find useful on my Chinese language resources Pinterest board. My girls are using the Zhongwen books with a class/tutor. BetterChinese offers a free trial. It's fabulous. HTH!

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I enjoyed your blog and youtube videos. Your kids are darling. Welcome! :)