Because we sped along at a brisk pace earlier (not because my daughter has huge math talents or love of math), we ended up finishing SM 6 at the end of 4th. So we have spent 5th and 6th grade floating around pre-algebra type topics with Galore Park SYRWTL Maths 2&3, Keys to Algebra, CWP 4-6, and Zacarro. We'll start Algebra 1 officially in 7th which feels right. In truth, much of the Algebra I book I have for her is review, but I think that's a-ok. Our local schools teach pre-algebra in 7th and 8th and Algebra in 9th as their standard college prep track and Algebra I in 8th for the honors track. I think it's totally reasonable.

I do that too! I think I just like *my* wheel better than any one elses... or else just have too much time on my hands.

My soon-to-be sister-in-law works there as a software engineer and took my daughters and me on a tour last year. It was truly awesome! She a young cool 20-something and absolutely inspired my girls to want to learn more about computers. While my girls are unlikely to ever work for Google, I love that they have a great role model in the technology field and have seen a company that is trying to do things differently for their employees.

We've been using MP Geography 1 & 2 this year. It's not exciting, but it gets the job done. I tie it into our literature and history studies. Next year we'll use Mapping the world with art which I am positive I'll enjoy more...

K12 Human Odyssey 2 & 3 is what we used. Volume 3 starts in the 20th century, so we had to get volume 2 to cover the 1800's. We are just using them as reference now, but I like them as much as OUP.

I'm in a similar boat. I have conceptual physics on my shelf, but I think it might be meatier than what I'm looking for in 7th grade. We've read the first two Story of Science, so we may just continue that... add in some documentaries, horrible science (Fatal Forces, etc...), Milestones in Science kit, maybe some accessible popular physics book, perhaps a unit on electricity with Snap Circuits. I want it to be fun and interesting... and not very mathy. My girl likes her literature and history and I want her to see that physics is fun... so I don't want too rigorous of a program.

I think it's easy to fall into the idea that it's about us... that our teaching is what drives our students to progress and that if we provide everything they need and more, shouldn't they progress faster or better? I wish it worked that way -- but it doesn't! Maybe think back to when your kids were learning to talk. Unless there is terrible neglect, a child will learn to talk and there is really nothing that parents do to make the speech come sooner or later. We just provide an environment of language, and kids learn. But the rate of their development is outside of our control. Or think about when your children learned to swim. You can provide examples and lessons and time to practice, but whether they master swimming quickly or take a bit longer to learn has very little to do with you and a lot more to do with their own development and motivation and aptitude. Anyway, reading is like any skill. If you (as a teacher) provide the environment to learn and they're ready to do it, it'll happen. But controlling the rate of their learning is just not possible.

Honestly, the idea of reading levels gets to be somewhat arbitrary after a child has learned to read. What kind of screening was this? Nationally normed? Reliability? Validity? Even if it was an ideal test that everyone agreed was entirely accurate, it sounds like your kids did fine. Why are you concerned? The best way to improve reading skills is just to read. There are some specific ways to encourage comprehension if you feel your daughter is reading without understanding.

http://learner.org/courses/worldlit/. We read many of these books and watched these videos in preparation. With study guides and an essay, I think it was a great way to study world literature.

I like EPS materials -- Writing Skills and The Paragraph Book are both solid, easy to use and inexpensive.

We'll be taking a trip to Germany (with a side trip to Paris) in June DD 12 will do a ballet intensive at her home studio and then go to Concordia language village for French DD 10 will do some day camps and then a 2 week overnight nike tennis camp Both kids will do some light math every day. DD10 will continue Apples and Pears spelling and DD12 will work on duolingo.

K12 Human odyssey volume 3!

I just called the customer service number at Pearson and placed the order. They set up the oasis account and emailed me a form to sign and send back. It was a little annoying, but not a big deal.

I think Singapore primary math has been awesome, but I haven't been all that excited sbout their middle school programs. I don't know anything about Horizon, but it gets good reviews here. Assuming your 6th grader is at grade level, I would look at: Math Mammoth 6, Saxon 7/6, Holt course 1 or Galore Park SYRWTL Maths 1. Any of those feed nicely into a pre-algebra course. It's nice to stick with one publisher for elementary , but for middle school and high school math , many of us switch regularly - one publisher for prealgebra, another for algebra 1, etc...

Look into EPS Rules of the Game 1. We've really liked the series. You could alternate it with EPS Writing Skills to get more writing mechanics.

HITS: Apples and Pears Beast Academy SYRWL Maths 3 McHenry Elements and Carbon Chemistry MP Geography (though not interesting) Rules of the game 2 Duolingo Story of science (Doing my own thing for history) MISSES: Art of Argument Too many math supplements Caesars English

Horrible histories

You might take a look at history portfolios. http://www.homeschooljourney.com

My 11 yr old DD is really bright and does great at math, but once I saw the AOPS pre-algebra book in person, I realized it wouldn't work for her. She learns math quickly, but she takes no pleasure in it. She gets annoyed by being asked to think too much. She doesn't mind problem solving, but talking or thinking about why math works is not interesting for her. We do like the videos though.

My almost 12 yr old has always been sensitive to babyish themes, but she adores McHenry's materials and has learned a ton. I have too... I would use it anyway. The material in it isn't babyish at all. She doesn't speak down to kids or underestimate their ability to learn some real science.

Oxford University Press World in Ancient Times series has a book on Africa and another on Asia.

I grade entirely on assessments, not on daily work. I give quizzes for geography, math, history, chemistry and French. I don't bother grading English... though I might when we do a unit study. The geography and French quizzes come from their textbooks, the math is the chapter review, I create quizzes / tests for chemistry and history.

Sure - some people get really stressed out or don't know the little tricks to do well on multiple choice tests or don't bubble we'll or just don't care to try very hard. On the other hand, I've heard my students or their parents claim they didn't test well when I know perfectly well they just didn't know the material... It can be a powerful excuse for some.

I don't know about sailing, but when rafting in OR in winter and spring, we use NRS wetsuits - 3 or 4mm in colder weather and hydro skin in the spring.

That doesn't seem much like perimenopause. I'm no expert, but I've found that when a physician (other than an endocrinologist or gynecologist) says a problem may be hormone related, it can sometimes mean they don't really know the cause. Because hormones is not specific and their interactions are complicated, it sounds better to suggest hormones could be to blame, than admitting you just don't know. Anyway, it's good you're getting the heart issue figured out, but I wouldn't worry that you're entering menopause just yet!