If you think it is a problem, why not go back to CWP3? Calculations part should be easy for him now, and he will be able to concentrate on problem solving aspect. We use CWP3 after finishing BA3.

My son took ADAM this year and I felt it skipped some of the easier topics that were later marked as mastered. Still, it was a very long test. We split it over three days, but 4 probably would have been better.

I would have a meltdown if I refused to tell my son how to spell words he doesn't know. Or he would only use words he knows how to spell. It's just the way he is. So, he would rather use less sophisticated language than misspell words. It all depends on the child.

Build a pool and do the landscaping of our lot. OK, oversee all that, but it still feels like a huge undertaking. Study botany with my DS and plan a small vegetable garden that we'll hopefully plant after everything is finished. Survive having DD in a camp for 3 weeks. This will be the first time longer than 1 day for her being away from me. Plan HS for my DD. Probably the most exhausting project.

It probably wouldn't bother me too much, but it would bother my son. He refuses to write if he doesn't know the spelling. Luckily, he only has to ask once.

I would say that the writing in the botany book is not terrible. Yes, it could be much better, but then I haven't read a recently written MG/YA book that couldn't use improvement in this area. My 13 yo read it in one evening and asked for the next books, so to me it is a plus. Now, calling it a whole curriculum would be a stretch, IMO. Since the kids in the book have to plant a garden, I offered my son to plant our own garden, paying attention to nutritional needs of humans, nutritional values of various vegetables, their life cycles, their needs, etc and reading actual science books as needed. I think it will make a great year of botany. BTW, I also mentioned to him that we should write a book about it, and he agreed. Now, I am pretty sure the writing will be worse than Quarks, so we won't be publishing it :)

We ordered a large heavy dresser and a linen cabinet from them. The dresser was delivered to our second floor bedroom without any problems. The quality was nice, but I spent a lot of time reading reviews. The linen cabinet came in a box, I put it together myself. It is ok for the price.

I thought the purpose of this thread was to gather information about what exactly makes this particular book neutral/secular-friendly (or not). Why people want their materials to be that way is a different story, and honestly, absolutely not my business. BTW, in my case the last thing I am afraid of is my kids learning about creationism. They went to Catholic school. They also both know about evolution, and if anything, they will declare a book supporting creationism "stupid". It is not something I need to be said about a science book, because the next step would be doubting or rejecting everything else the book contains. Having said that, I don't think Quark Chronicles will trigger this response, so I will use it. Other parents may have different goals, and it may or may not suit them. And no, I don't think the design part was a slip. The book very carefully dances around this topic, and I feel like every word is deliberate. It tries to court both sides, and mostly succeeds, except for a few places where it just doesn't take that last step that seems logical from a secular point of view. Honestly, if I haven't read this thread before I started reading it, it might have slipped my attention altogether, but I was reading it very critically, so it stood out.

You know, in a number of threads religious people said that they don't feel comfortable teaching myths and fairy tales. I don't think an answer to just let the children enjoy a fun supplement would have been acceptable. We, as parents, want to know exactly what a book teaches and in what form before we spend money on it.

I am planning to use this for the next year botany class for DS9, so I read the book. Before reading, I also felt that there was no real need to include evolution. However, there was one chapter in the book that is a perfect place to discuss evolution, and it kind of tries to address different way plants adapt to conditions and competition, but instead of going there it says that some flowers are designed this way, and others are designed that way. It did feel a little wrong to me. So, it is not 100% secular-friendly, but I hope it's secular enough for my kids who after 3 years in a Catholic school turned into atheists and catch on every little bit of anything remotely not secular. So, I'll definitely use it, but not as a spine, but as an enticing book to kick-start the class.

I am an INTP. I test firmly on all 4 letters, and what I read describes me pretty well. My DH and DD test in the middle on 2 letters each, so the descriptions are hit and miss. So, yes, 16 types is not enough. Plus, I/E is tested wrong, The questions are mostly trying to determine how shy you are, but it is not what I/E is. My son would definitely test as an introvert on those tests, but he is a shy extrovert. So, guess who gets the brunt of his need to interact with someone all.the.time? My DD is introverted, but you would never tell when she is out. It is when she comes home, I see that she needs lots of time to recharge. So, yes, not very scientific. I can't tell for sure about J/P. It is called judging, but from what I see it is planners/let's see how it goes. All of us fall into P category, so it makes for a fun household. Maybe the lack of organizational skills results in many INTP realizing that they can't run a homeschool to their own liking? I mean, I like everything neat and organized, I just can't do it. If I need to set something in stone, I feel insecure for some reason. like, what if XYZ happens and I am tied to this decision? And schooling requires a lot of that, especially at highs chool level. OK, I'll post his now, since my INTP brain starts telling me that all I wrote is obvious and not of any interest to this discussion :)

All I get is an error page :(

Fencing. Sigh. Love the sport, hate the price. Classes, private lessons, competition registrations, travel, coaching fees, and of course equipment.

I recently helped friends who just moved to the US register their son for school in California. The language on the school district website was very interesting. The students without proper immigration status are not allowed to register. However, the district is not allowed to ask any confirmation of the legal immigration status of the student, only residence and age, which can be done with a foreign passport.

I knew they were transferable, but I wanted to make sure I can put them on her HS transcript, too. She wouldn't have any science there otherwise. It turned out not to be a problem though.

1) What state are you in? California 2) Do dual enrollment students pay tuition in your area? No, just some minimum fee ($46, I think) plus textbooks 3) Can dual enrollment students count their courses towards their HS diploma? I just read on the website of our CC that they can't. UC, on the other hand, can count them towards a-g. I need to look more into it. ETA: just found on their website that while they grant only a college credit, it is up to the high school administration whether or not grant a HS credit. That was a relief :) 4) How many credits can a dual enrollment student take? 6 credits in fall and spring, 3 in winter and summer. 5) Are there limits on the DE classes a student can take? I have no idea

I don't think my kids have ever been excited about anything educational. DS did ask to order BA4 early, but he didn't act particularly excited when they arrived, They do get excited over not-for-school books, and will occasionally fight over them, but I just want to see a sparkle of excitement over something actually educational. I guess I ask too much.

mamamoose - My DD had hard time doing dictations in 3rd (we tried using WWE2). I dropped it, although I admit that I was worried on more than one occasion when I would say something she was supposed to write down, and she would have a meltdown because I refused to dictate it word by word, although all she needed to write down was the main idea of what I said. Now I think it was more of "why would I care to remember it." Recently, in 8th, we were discussing something, and she then proceeded to write down my speech in its entirety, practically word for word. I was honestly surprised. So I guess she can hold an extensive thought in her head without years of dictation. I have no credentials whatsoever. I am still worried that my DD is not writing as well as she should at her age, but this particular thing is not a problem at all. ETA: One more thing. From my experience, the best thing for notetaking in college is not remembering every single word, it is the ability to listen and select the most important ideas and details to write down, because you can't write down every word.

Thinking about this makes me rather sad. I feel like we didn't do anything worth mentioning, and yet we were busy, and I am totally exhausted. I am taking the next week off. Anyway, for my 3rd grader who started homeschooling in November: Math: BA3 (finished 3D yesterday!) History: Prehistory, beginning of civilizations, Indus Vally civilization (not quite chronological, but that is how it happened) Writing: bits and pieces from everywhere. Hobbit lit guide from MP. Science: Cosmos series, a bunch of astronomy books, bits of biology and chemistry. Working on A Really Short History of Nearly Everything and How Life Works. French and Russian: did these two consistently, but I just can't say what was accomplished. I guess something was. 8th grader: Math: ready to tear my hair out. She did about 80% of algebra 1 from AOPS Intro to Algebra. Stopped, did about the same thing with Alcumus to blue. Started Khan Academy and getting closer to the same spot. I really hope to finish at least Algebra 1 by September. I keep telling myself that she should really have her foundations down after this nightmarish year. Writing: Half of EIL Intro to Literature. Then she fell in love with LOTR, read that and Silmarillion, read quite a bit on Tolkien himself. And she did Kidswrite Intermediate. Now that I got it all down, it seems almost like enough for a credit. History: US History (American Odyssey, some library books). Probably less than what could/should have been done. Science: such a mess this year, I don't even know where to start. But she is taking Paleobiology with labs this summer, so maybe that can be counted as science. Also French and Russian. Oh, and she took SAT as well, but didn't spend a lot of time preparing. Having it all written down does make it feel like something was actually done :)

Since the topic of other languages was brought up, I wanted to chime in with the Russian way. We had dictations the way Madteaparty described (I didn't quite get the part about punctuation. We had to punctuate on our own). We also had another exercise, which I am not sure how to translate. The point was that the teacher read a short story (up to several paragraphs, depending on grade) a couple of times, and we were supposed to write it down without missing any major points. Kind of like narration, but the goal was to stay very close to the original. It took off the pressure to remember every single word, or even remembering the spelling of a difficult word, since it could be replaced with a synonym, but forced us to keep a much larger piece of information committed to memory. Personally, I think it was a better exercise than English dictation, since it deals with a larger block of text, while focusing more on the meaning, not the little details. It is also far less frustrating.

Before I signed my DD for a summer camp, I considered DE for a fine art class (drawing or ceramics) to get it out of the way and to give her a taste of CC.

More than done here. So done, I am ready to send both of them to the nearest public school. At least, right now. Last week I announced Friday field trip day, and took them to a botanic garden. It was lovely. I think I'll do it again on Monday.

I also looked for it, and it does look good. AIMS site lists separate downloadable units that are parts of it, but at $2 per chapter it seems to be too expensive for what it is. I'll try to link it here

After doing a few experiments at home in middle school, I am sending her to CC. I am not confident at all in my ability to provide adequate lab experience for her.

We finished at 8pm tonight. My DS seemed happy, DD showed no emotions at all. Honestly, I only took her because DS felt more comfortable going with her. It is so interesting how different their personalities are. He neatly marked all his answers in the booklet, and asked to check "how many stupid mistakes he made". DD didn't mark them, just shrugged and said she remembers most of them anyway. Overall, it was a good experience, plus I got to just walk around a nice neighborhood with DH for an hour :)