Thanks Lori D, that is really helpful.

I'm going to use Hewitt"s CP with my daughter next year. I've been looking at the TOPS units Lori D mentions above and they look great, but would be quite expensive to buy all of them. Are there other options for labs that would be less expensive. I'm so pleased to see the videos, and I've got tests from another kind person on the boards. Not sure about labs though. I haven't bought the book yet, so I don't know if labs are included in the chapters, and how good/doable they are at home. Any lab advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know anything about fish water ph but wondered how long you had the fish. We bought some a few years back and they died very quickly and we think it was because they received a dose of radiation as we left the store, from the alarms to catch shop lifters. We bought some more and this time held them up above the alarms so they didn't get radiated and they lived a considerable length of time. Probably nothing to do with your difficulty but thought I'd mention it.

Praying!

We tried to. We had a good view of the moon but couldn't see Mars well. Oh well, the moon was beautiful!

Giving this a bump in case any of the evening crowd have some advice

Does anyone have any insights into the difference between the Tetrix and Matrix building kits? We are forming a new team and need to decide which kit to buy. I can't find very much information about the differences between the two, or their pros and cons. I would really appreciate any opinions/information etc. Thanks, Trenna

We've used MCT Grammar Town, in fact am using it for the 2nd time with dd 4th gr, and then AG, after trying KISS for a while. I really liked the fact that MCT gave a sense of the big picture fairly quickly. Now, going through in detail with AG is going well for dd 8th gr. They do say in AG that there may be differences of opinion, and if the student can support their opinion then that is fine. My understanding is that there do seem to be differences of opinion about grammar, I always thought it would be much more black and white. I think it's impossible to find something absolutely perfect, and the differences in opinion allow for some practice in critical thinking.

Thanks, good to know!

Thanks!

Thanks, another vote for a useful course to take. Good to know. I'm not sure if dd will take the SAT but it sounds like she would learn some useful skills.

Thanks, it sounds like a useful class.

Thanks, good to know. Was your ds familiar with IEW prior to the workshop?

Some how I managed to post on a social group last time, which I am not allowed to view now - weird. Anyway, hopefully this time it will work. Has anyone's student attended one of these IEW seminars, and was it a good thing to do. I'm trying to decide about my dd ( 8th gr this year going into 9th) attending one which will take place close by in April. It mentions SAT/ACT essay preparation, and of course the SAT is scheduled to be changed. Also my dd has never done IEW, she has been doing WWS. It did say in the information that it was not necessary to have done any previous IEW, but wondered if that is so. Any information or feedback anyone has would be appreciated. Thanks, Trenna

Thanks, very helpful!

Have any of your students done the IEW High School Writing Intensive seminar? It's a 1 day course from 9 am to 4 pm. There is one scheduled close to me and I'm trying to decide if my dd ( 8th gr this year, going into 9th) should do it. I would really appreciate any feedback you may be able to give me. My dd has not done any IEW writing before; she has been using WWS. She is a pretty strong writer. The guidelines say it is not necessary to have had exposure to IEW but wondered what you thought. Is this something worthwhile for her to do - it says it covers the SAT/ACT essay, but of course the SAT, at least, is changing. Thanks, Trenna

We did WWE 2 and are now trying W&R, but we will be going back to WWE 3 when we finish fable. I much prefer teaching WWE and it is so quick and efficient that it leaves time for other writing in science and history. I also much prefer the dictations in WWE. My dd10 is a reluctant writer, although her grammar and spelling are great, and she can write good sentences etc, but just really doesn't like to. I tried W&R because I hoped it might be the magic answer. No such luck, I'm afraid. Writing is just going to be hard work for us and I guess I need to get to grips with that. My older dd is much more of a natural writer. We just did writing across the curriculum with her, a la WTM, and then WWS and she is doing very well.

What about "meeting" those types of kids in on-line classes?

I haven't used their Biology, but we are using their Life Science course for 8th gr and I think it is thorough and easy to use, in that it is open and go. The Life Science course does not have it's own lab component, they recommend a book to use, so I don't know anything about their own lab materials. We are really enjoying our year and dd13 is learning a lot.

Just wanted to add that my dd is really excited about this and is really enjoying reading all your words of wisdom!

Wow! Thank you angela in ohio for the detailed plan you typed out. Very helpful and I really appreciate it. I feel like I have a much clearer idea, now, of the areas I need to be thinking about in detail.

Thank you so much MSNative for all the information you've given me! I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the advice!

I've received some good advice and information but thought I'd give the thread a bump this morning in case anyone else has anything to add.

Thank you so much! Great information and tips. I'd be very interested if you think of any thing else.