Sometimes I do get concerned about whether we'll finish a book or unit by a certain time... Then I remind myself: I'm teaching my child, I'm not teaching a syllabus or textbook or grade level. Grade levels are arbitrary and artificial, my child is real. I'd just teach him where he's at. It truly doesn't matter what the grade level on the cover says. That said, if you don't think the program suits him or you, making changes can be good.

:iagree:

This snopes article only addresses the myth of drinking 8 glasses a day, not about clear urine. http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/ Who knew that there is a website dedicated to urine color! http://www.urinecolors.com/light_yellow_urine_color.php

My dog had a broken nail last week. She was limping and I took her to the vet who removed the whole thing and prescribed a course of antibiotics (it was stinky). She was fine as soon as the nail was gone.

Out of curiosity... do you actually... um... check? I can't imagine. As I understand it, there is no health benefit to drinking water (more than you're thirsty for). I've even heard that there is a slight decline in kidney function when you drink a lot of water. Here's an article from the Journal of Nephrology http://www.asn-online.org/press/pdf/2008-Media/Water%20Study.pdf

My daughter read it at the disturbingly young age of 6.:ohmy: She was at a Montessori school and the teacher felt that kids should choose their own books to read, so I didn't know about it until she told me afterwards. She loved the book... even went on to find the sequels. She felt very close to the character and it was her favorite book for a few years. I wouldn't have offered it to a 6 yr old. 9 is probably as young as I'd suggest.

I would suggest just shaving. It's simple, cheap, and can be done at home.

I don't "make" my kids drink any water. I figure they'll drink if they're thirsty. I have no idea how much or if they drink water at all. We keep milk in the fridge, but rarely have juice or soda (unless it's left over from a party or something).

Our bank had some requirements before we got our loan which included: -rebuilding the deck -removing the non-epa certified woodstove -cutting back bushes from the exterior wall of the house -putting a railing on an open loft We were able to tell the inspector when he returned that we wanted to do a more professional job than the one week would have allowed and we promised to complete the job this summer, so he signed off on it. The other tasks we did. Also, my parents were told they have to take moss off of their roof in order to get their mortgage.

We do! It started when we were afterschooling. Now that we're moving towards more full-time homeschooling, it's become a tradition. It's especially convenient during the summer. We eat dinner at around 6, then do our school work from 6:30-8:30ish. We always do math first (because I'm concerned they'll get tired). If my younger is feeling squirrely, I offer her the option to go to bed instead of doing work. It's never been taken up! In the fall, our schedule will also include 3 days/week at home for my older daughter, so we'll get some work done in the mornings too.

For fun reading, my 9 yr old daughter reads about 3-5 books per week I think. I don't really know. I also am very relaxed about letting her read pretty much whatever/whenever/wherever she wants. This fall, however, I'm going to also assign reading... I'm thinking of one book per week (mostly historical fiction - medieval Europe) to complement our history studies. I'm not sure if that's too much or not enough, though!

Vitamix! I didn't understand what a blender is supposed to do until I had a vitamix. It's quiet, fast, and doesn't leave chunks of banana or ice in my smoothie.

If you can afford it, I'd get the 3a/3b books and go through them anyway, perhaps combining lessons together to accelerate through. But... what I've found is that it's easier to start lower and move faster through material than it is to start higher, realize you missed something and then regret not having started at the "lower" level. Plus, with SM, you can add in the CWP and IP to make it more challenging. My daughter switched to SM this summer and I am having her work through the 3b book, even though much of it is review and she technically passed the 4b placement exam and could be in 5a. But... the measurement in the 3b book is very thorough and good (we did it all mentally which is a great exercise too), and there has been some new stuff (simplifying fractions, for instance).

I don't think the children's museum in Medford would be that great of a choice for a 9 year old. Try ScienceWorks in Ashland instead. (It pales in comparison to OMSI, but it's still very fun!). While in Ashland, watch a play at the Shakespeare festival... go to Lithia Park... take a day (or half-day) rafting trip down the Rogue river.

I think most second graders are too young to really get into a formal writing curriculum. All I really expect of my own 7 yr old daughter is to write legible sentences with a capital letter and a period and decent spelling (of at least sight words). One thing she loves... I've given her small blank books from the dollar store or craft store. She loves to write books -- complete with illustrations. She favors non-fiction writing about how to spot a fairy or the characteristics of cute kittens or all the flowers in our garden, but I'm sure she'd happily do a story too. Plus, they're so cute and she feels so proud of them.

I just started my (soon-to-be) 4th grader in Singapore this summer. I'm actually really happy I made the switch. She technically tested into 5a, but I wanted to start her in 3b because she had some gaps (measurement) that I wanted to make sure not to overlook and because I wanted her to get the idea of how Singapore math is presented. We'll just continue on with 4a because it's great, and I think the level is fine - neither too easy nor too hard. I haven't yet figured out how to use the IP or CWP though... For now, the textbook and workbook seem to be the perfect amount of work for one math-hating-kid.

We just finished our second year of ancients too (once with galore park, once with SOTW). We're moving into the middle ages now.

Are you looking for something more workbookish or something with lots of experiments?

Two years ago, we got a cheap flight to London and stayed in a youth hostel and enjoyed several days at the British Museum and Museum of London -- lots of ancient history there!

Who knows? I mean... an IQ test is an attempt at quantifying intelligence. It's sort of artificial to begin with. I guess the ideal IQ test is one that isn't limited by language or culture or educational background or literacy or disability. That said... I don't really think it's possible for a test to control for the quirks of any particular test-taker or to be predictive of a test-taker's score with a different set of abilities or skills or background.

I'd hesitate to make curriculum changes based on percentile ranks of a standardized test. They're just not that accurate. And anyway the 89th percentile is very high. Plus, she may have had a good day or a bad day. And really... what does it matter? I would probably stick with TT if it's working for your daughter. What makes you say she's not ready for pre-algebra? Pre-algebra is really the time to review all of elementary school math and get ready for algebra. It sounds like that's exactly what she needs. The only other thing that I can think of is the "Keys to" series. I've used it with remedial high school students and was pretty impressed by its gentle, incremental progression.

Minimus is a bit silly. Also, there are some Scholastic workbooks like Fractured Fairy Tales: Fractions and Decimals that are pretty silly. Not as silly as Fred though.

My younger daughter is like this... I've really brought my expectations down with her. We spent several days learning about the Great Wall of China only to find out she thought it was in Egypt. I want to bash my head against the wall.

Horrible history and horrible science and murderous maths are *very* silly.

If he's planning to go to a public hs and then on to college... I'd focus only on two things -- Math and Writing. He needs to be ready for algebra 1 by 9th grade if he's aiming for a 4 year university. I'd seriously think about Lial's Basic College Math because it goes through all of the elementary math that a person needs to know... and it's not aimed at elementary aged students. The Keys To series or Math Mammoth would work too, but Lial's is aimed at a remedial adult audience. Secondly, he needs to be able to write legible sentences with decent spelling. I'd think about Killgallon's Sentence Composing for Middle School. Unless his spelling and handwriting and mechanics are great, I'd also work on that (take your pick of curricular options for those!). Lots of high schoolers do not have organized writing, but spelling, handwriting and punctuation really ought to have been mastered before high school. With science or history or literature or any other subject... I think it's safe to say that in within the typical American educational system, no child will actually have the same set of knowledge or background as any other child and it won't be noticeable if he doesn't know a thing about chemistry or a thing about Shakespeare as long as he's ready to learn. But math and writing will likely be assessed.