This is my hybrid approach for Dd8/grade 3. Our local ALE is moving near our house. Aly is excited to take a few more classes 2x/week at this little public school for homeschoolers. She currently takes science and LOVES it. Not sure if we will stick with the literacy & math. It will be an add-on to our main programs. CLE Bible 3, The Action Bible WWE3/WWW3/MCT Island homegrown lit & non-fiction Beast, SM 4A wb, SM 3 cwp/ip, HoE, MM Fractions (finish), TT6 for review CBoUSH Science Fusion, EE, EiE, homegrown electronics course Enrichment classes at ps 2x/week: Social Studies, Science, Literacy, Math (EnVision), Art Mandarin tutor/class/BetterChinese Piano & Violin lessons Tennis 4-H FLL Robotics team, OMSI labs/classes

Dd7 & I watched Rosie's newest video this morning together. Aly paused the video and said, "Mom, Um...I'm not trying to be rude...but...She's a better teacher than you are." I said, "I know. She's awesome." :)

:lurk5: Ds visited, met w/ an undergrad advisor & sat in on an EE class at UW last month.

Dd14 is transferring to a different private school starting this fall. It offers a more rigorous program, lots of APs, better theater/music, more opportunities, etc. Dd14 'shadowed' a few weeks ago and was thrilled to see the freshman English class analyzing Julius Caesar and Our Town. She is currently 'Emily' in her school's production of Our Town this spring. Her current class only read To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord Of The Flies, Animal Farm and a bunch of poetry. It has been ok but dd wants more. She'll be at cc for Spanish 5 in one year. How time flies.... Ds16 is going to CC for his senior year since he has outgrown his high school on a few different levels. He took advantage of every opportunity and now it's time to move on. A bittersweet decision. We love this little school but God is leading us in a different direction. This school has been fantastic. Lovely people...

A sweet workout uses both methods. Light/fast, heavy/slow. On the same day or rotating throughout the week. Add some cardio and you're golden. AoPS is wonderful for students who love the discovery method. Dd9 would not enjoy a full diet of that. Not now at this age. Plus, there are better options for her at this stage in the game. The hybrid approach is best for her with a combo of discovery & direct instruction taught by a fabulous teacher (of which I am not). I am able to flesh out what she is learning in her various resources. Dh & I go over her homework. We do math together often but at this point, I need a solid answer key handy. A complete solutions guide is ideal. Thankfully dh is extremely mathy and can help out when I fall short. I am keenly aware of my abilities (or lack thereof). Thank God I have so many fantastic options. I do my best w/ the DNA I am blessed with. I plan to learn through precal w/ Abi. This should be interesting. :tongue_smilie: I digress... This morning in her online session with Rachna, Abi 'discovered' the shortcut for multiplying certain binomials. Rachna directly instructed her in a way that got Abi's wheels turning. It is a thrill to watch. Afterwards I asked Abi what she learned. She said, "Mom, Rachna said the little kid way is using FOIL for some problems. She wants me to use the grown up way like this: (she then got out a piece of paper and wrote this out) (a + b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2 (a - b)^2 = a^2 – 2ab + b^2 (a - b)(a + b) = a^2 - b^2 I like it better. I'll show you. (2x - 5b)^2...." Today I will have her build some problems with the MUS blocks and have her 'teach' me. All this to say...She. Loves. It. All those neurons firing and it isn't even 9 AM on Memorial Day. Now they're both outside on the fort having a morning picnic and 'cuddle time' with the dog. I can't emphasize enough how thrilled she is when she learns something new about algebra. Why in the world would I hold a kid back who digs special products or quadratics for the sake of 'mastering' more basic math? My only fear is that she surpasses me by age 10. I spend hours each week self-educating. It has become my passion. I'm so thankful I have the time and opportunity to do this. What a gift. Pardon the ramblings. Happy Memorial Day. :)

Thank you!

We use TT along w/ other resources. Link below in siggy if you would like some more ideas.

We skipped SM 3b text/wb since dd7 is doing BA3a/b along w/ SM 2 cwp. Beast is much more enjoyable than SM 3b (which is my least favorite level). Don't ask me why. It just is. :tongue_smilie: Dd7 uses MUS blocks w/ some BA problems. Seemed logical since she was building squares. Your dc may not need the concrete.

Nope. But it looks great.

EE Intermediate :)

Ha! How far south? I haven't noticed. Off to look... :auto: Glad to help. I'm really just learning as I go. Course corrections and all that jazz. :)

It's a lot more work for me -- and significantly more expensive -- but extremely more fun & rewarding for all involved. My kids LOVE it. This summer we're paperless. We're doing everything hands-on. I'm so excited to use Rosie's new videos and lessons and Crewton Ramone's lessons along w/ HoE for dd7. Dd9 will do Crewton Ramone's squares & quadratics lessons along w/ some MUS lessons. I am having a ball planning it out. The girls will have a ball learning it. I'm not worried about whether dd9 will get enough 'tough' math by high school. She's only 9. For now, she is moving forward and has developed a strong self-confidence regarding math (ETA: especially algebra). That is worth its weight in gold. This anxiety-prone perfectionist is all smiles now during math. Yay, God. :) I've said before here so many times: Doing the same math day after day, year after year, would make me poke my eyes out. Talk about a kill-joy for teacher & student, imho. We're not a cookie-cutter family so we don't do anything cookie-cutter. That is so not us. If I cracked opened Singapore day after day for 6 years I would literally hate it. And so would my dc. Yes, my way is much more work compared to some alternatives. But the results are fantastic.

Welcome. You belong. :)

I wish I could help. My older dc used the original version years ago and I bought a new version for dds. We start in Sept. Much of it is read of the screen but the student workbook is very meaty also. I'm thrilled that nearly everything is in that box. Have you called EE?

Yep. This.

:iagree: That is the class my ds is taking. Loves it.

:iagree: I have 2 older kids who weren't interested in alg until grade 7. (ETA: Ds would have loved more math earlier. But, no. I chose more Latin for him. Ding-dong me. He would have been better off starting alg earlier. He was ready.) My comments above address the myth that it will be a disservice to start alg too quickly after 'speeding' through the basics. For some students, they don't need 5 years of basic math.

:iagree::iagree::iagree: You're such a trendsetter, Rosie! Our new c-rods arrived today. "Two tubs of bliss" -- according to dds. It was like Christmas morning when the UPS man delivered the box today. Now they can do the lessons the way you have presented them. :) Thank you!

What's wrong with a 9-year-old doing algebra? If a child is ready, she is ready. Without a solid foundation in the basics, and a love for problem solving, algebra would be a disaster for a youngster who starts too early. Only parents can gauge the readiness. Dd never realized how amazing math is until she started algebra. It really is the promised land for some kids. Dd9 used TT 3-alg 1 along w/ SM 1-5 cwp/ip, HoE, MM blue supplements and other 'Asian/conceptual' programs over the last couple years. I chose resources to target certain areas. TT was ideal for her for so many reasons. She could be in control. She could go at her own pace. She only needed to see something one time to learn it so she skipped tons of practice problems. TT is perfect for a certain type of learner. The highlight of last year (while dd plowed through 'basic' math) was doing complex word problems with her online tutor. It took a fair amount of time, energy and $$, but it was sssooooo worth it for dd to have someone passionate, enthusiastic and professional fan the algebra flame in dd. I blame HoE for lighting the fire. :) Rachna and other resources (especially our math-rich home) have kept it alive and strong. I can't imagine the flame going out any time soon. Now it is really getting fun for her. I don't understand the angst regarding youngers doing algebra. As I said, if the foundation was weak, a student would not -- nor could not -- do quadratics at 9. Each kid is so different. I only chime in to say that comments like "TT and MUS are easy" are not necessarily helpful unless you know the circumstances surrounding why parents choose those resources for their kiddos. I had someone tell me on this subforum a year ago that I was doing it wrong -- that I would short-change dd if we continued down the path we were on w/ TT. One glimpse into our world and anyone can see that my plan has worked beautifully. I had the pulse on what was needed and I wasn't swayed by the 'experts' here. As for MUS (which you claim is 'easy')...dd9 is LOVING it for algebra 1. I took this pic of her yesterday doing math -- long after her math hour was over. She is just about to delve into quadratics because MUS makes it fun. Is that so terrible? :confused::bigear: ETA: I found my dds doing MUS alg 1 lesson 24 last night -- at 10 PM for fun. Together. In their jammies. Not sure how that can be a problem. :)

:iagree: This verbal problems book is the one to purchase (not the little one that comes with the kit): THE HANDS-ON EQUATIONS VERBAL PROBLEMS BOOK [VPB-1000] Price:$35.00 More than 350 verbal problems with solutions! Included in this resource are number, consecutive number, age, coin and distance problems for all three levels of Hands-On Equations. ISBN#: 978-0-9618105-1-1 This booklet has kept dd9 busy for months. Well worth $35 imho.

My older dc haven't had ANY trouble with peer, social, emotional or academic issues going from homeschool to private high school (thank God). They are thriving in classes, sports, leadership, etc. Rlugbill, sorry to hear your dd struggled. It is fabulous to have options. :001_smile:

Ds 16 started with Hello World (Python) and is now doing Stanford's free online course. He may have enjoyed Scratch as a younger learner. He doesn't seem interested in Alice or Game Maker. He dabbles in Arduino. Start with Scratch, Alice, Hello World.

:iagree::iagree::iagree: Plus...challenging algebra word problems -- and computations -- are more fun for advanced youngsters than anything in cwp/ip. How fun is basic arithmetic? It is BORING. (eta: Boring compared to alg, IMHO.)

Ideas in blog below. :001_smile:

I am correcting myself now. MUS is the best alg for a youngster. Thank you, 8, for unknowingly prompting me to take a look at MUS alg 1 (honors). I am adding tougher word problems to the mix from AoPS. Thanks!