I could have written your post. Last week we did an day in which we followed whatever the kids wanted to learn and it was a lot of fun for them. I couldn't believe the twists and turns... My new plan starting in May (after 2 sets of house guests leave) is to start and end earlier and try to finish the day with the rabbit trails. I feel like my kids could follow these for hours but their PS friends arrive promptly at 3:00 everyday and distract them. So we'll see. If it doesn't work I might try to devote a whole day each week to "learn what you want" and see what happens.

Yeah, I hadn't thought about that level within college ratings...

Yes, absolutely. When I read the article before posting it I was skimming by the end but I went back and read it and I agree with you. Very backhanded, no?

We enjoyed it a lot, especially the "creature's eye view" in the evolution of the eye section. We also liked the hall of extinction stuff and talked about how some people, including Sir David Attenborough, believe we are entering a sixth mass extinction. I liked this episode better than the first.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/19/jrr-tolkien-beowulf-translation-published Here's a link to a well-known lecture of Tolkien's about Beowulf: http://teacherweb.com/NJ/DeptfordTownshipHighSchool/MrMosiondz/Tolkien-Beowulf-the-Monsters-amp-the-Critics.pdf

We've gone a few times and it was great. DH took them so I don't know all the details but they enjoyed it quite a bit. They brought home a biosphere project and did some other things on-site. They also have a 3-d printer and do programming stuff for Raspberry Pi and the other similar one whose name I'm forgetting (Arduino?) We've gotten away from it but I am hoping to re-ignite their interest with a trip to Maker Faire in May.

Just putting in my pitch for McGuffey readers. We've gotten a lot out of them: reading ability (inc. cursive), good stories, discussions about character, and exposure to a more old-timey reading/writing style.

She was fine. :) People who wear Islamic clothing deal with a lot more than curious 5 year olds.

My DS was in the 8th percentile and improved with eggs, kefir, and cod liver oil. He's still thin but better.

I don't drink alcohol (not sure of the connection here?) but I would only call if I had a problem. "Out late" for me means DH will be asleep when I leave the location. I do gently wake him when I get into bed to let him know I'm home.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Too bad it's not as easy as getting an AP course certified. From http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/updating-your-course-list/school-program/index.html:

I'm glad I asked...this just sounds so fantastic! :hurray:

Can you tell us more about the program? I can guess the idea from your post, but do have any details? Do the students have assigned research mentors and extra opportunities? Is this a subset of the honors program he got into? Or something additional? Sorry, just curious. :o And congrats!

And I only pick from the top because of my (mostly) irrational fear of tarantulas.... :lol:

I don't put any produce in bags unless here are a lot of small items like new potatoes or sprouts. I bring my own produce bags. I've never seen anyone put bananas in bags. If you want to bring your own bags and save natural resources, these are good: http://www.reuseit.com/reusable-produce-bags/flip-and-tumble-flip-and-tumble-reusable-produce-bags-set-of-5.htm

:hurray: :grouphug:

I also don't enjoy it. It's tiring (TMJ) and I feel like it's so much slower than reading to myself. But I do love the discussions, looking up places on maps, etc. I have built up my stamina over time, from 10-15 minutes to 45 or so. Sometimes I split the reading into 2 sessions, one after lunch, one as the last thing we do for the school day. I don't enjoy bedtime stories; I'm usually bushed by then. I stick with it because I do believe in the benefits. The kids listen to audio books during lunch so there's that too. Thats said...the best reader I know is DH. He reads 2-3 books/week and before we had kids could read 1500 pages in a weekend, all with excellent comprehension and recall, even years later. His mom was a librarian and he was raised in a very bookish home, but nobody read to him after early elementary. I also love to read, but am much slower. I don't recall anyone reading anything to me ever, except when I was being taught to read.

I walked away from a full ride to medical school for similar reasons as this girl, although I was on a normal age-track. The funny thing is I don't regret it at all now. I did get burned out trying to maintain my image of what people thought I should be like. If you can influence her at all, try and get her to read "Mindset" by Carol Dweck. It saved my sanity and I wish I'd read it when I was her age.

I can't believe I forgot to include the actual course page with the registration link at the bottom: https://www.edx.org/course/linuxfoundationx/linuxfoundationx-lfs101x-introduction-1621

8uuuuuhyuytr31`iuytrewq

50 cents for American Book Company's 1880 Seven American Classics, Supplementary to Fifth Reader. Not only do I love the content, the students (all from Alexandria, KY) wrote their names in the front of the book each year and made some other notations such as "War was declared in South Africa Oct 12th 1899." Because it was a one-off I don't have the readers or other supplementary books. I'll either track them down or just use it as a supplement to McGuffey's 5th next year.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

What a bunch of unthinking idiots. I'm sorry this is happening. It's crazy that your son has to put up with this to rise above the rules and be a decent human being. Ugh. I guess a positive side would be that he's seeing it's more important to do the right thing than follow the bureaucracy, even if you have to take your lumps.

The class is normally $2400. We're going to have DS audit it rather than sign up for assignments and such. He's young but I'm familiar with Linux and DH uses it exclusively so we can walk him through it. There are no prerequisites except the basic ability to use a computer. More here: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/03/2400-introduction-to-linux-course-will-be-free-and-online-this-summer/