Anna, Please note that my recommendation for Gruber's is from reading lots of cc posts - not from personal experience. It's more for learning the material. Once that's solid, nothing beats the questions from past college board tests. My dd did not use the Gruber's - just the blue book but the Gruber's is on its way from Amazon for my ds. It's great that your ds is starting so early. Practice will certainly raise scores especially the math and writing. Critical reading is a different animal - but lots of reading ala TWTM will help.

I found out about the curves from this thread on college confidential: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1407295-october-2012-cr-m-curves-4.html CR: 800,800,800,760,740,720,710,700 For Critical Reading, -0 (none wrong), -1 or -2 gives an 800, -3 gives a 760, -4 gives a 740, etc. Dd got a 760 (3 wrong) which was 99 percentile so she did better than 99 percent of the students. Note that the student is included so no one can be 100 percentile. M: 800,770,740,720,710,700 For Math, -0 gives an 800, -1 gives a 770, -2 gives a 740, etc. Basically the math was (relatively) easy, a lot of people got -0 and so the curve was very harsh. Dd got -1/770 which was 98 percentile. Writing: 800: MC80/9-12E , MC79/10-12E , MC76/12E 790: MC76/11E 780: MC79/9E 770: MC76/10E, MC71/12E 760: MC76/9E 750:MC77/9E 740: MC67/12E 730: 720:MC67/11E 700: MC69/9E , MC64/11E 690: MC71/8E , MC66/10E 680: 670: MC69/8E, MC66/9E 660: 650: 640: 630: MC64/8E 620: MC57/10E For Writing, these are the combinations posted. Either an 80 on MC with a 9-12 on essay, a 79 on MC with a 10-12 essay or a 76 on MC with a 12 on essay gave an 800. No one on cc posted scores with 77 or 78 so you have to wait for CollegeBoard to come out with those scores. CollegeConfidential is a fountain of information. Be careful not to be overwhelmed as the posters tend to be over/high-achievers. HTH.

For SAT Math, I recommend Gruber's Complete SAT Math Workbook http://www.amazon.com/Grubers-Complete-SAT-Math-Workbook/dp/1402253370/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351548840&sr=8-1&keywords=gruber%27s+sat+math The (October) math curve was extremely harsh. -1 was a 770 (dd's score - 98th percentile).

For diabetics, fast-acting carbs such as grains (whether whole or refined), beans, fruits (except avocado/olive), root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, yams) should be limited as much as possible. Slow-acting carbs such as green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, cheeses are better. Protein from meat, eggs, fish are like slow-acting carbs. I recommend Dr. Bernstein's "The Diabetes Solution."

If it's your forever house, definitely lower property taxes. Also, since you're home schooling, the quality of the public schools (usually better with higher property taxes) doesn't matter.

Don't ever buy a Windstar. Our transmission went and I think that's the most expensive repair there is. We've had 2 Toyota Siennas and are very pleased with them. No problems at all - basically just oil changes and tires. I'd also try the Honda Odyssey (had very good luck with Honda cars) but we need the Sienna's 8 seater. The middle seat of the Odyssey's 8 seat version is too small.

900 servings (drops) of 2000 iu D3 in olive oil for $9.99 at vita cost http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-vitamin-d-drops very reasonable

My teens (especially ds) aren't particularly consistent/diligent keeping their faces clean but have very little acne. I attribute it to 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons (depending on weight - dd is very petite) of Carlson (lemon-flavored) fish oil (very anti-inflammatory) everyday. Never had to give them anything topical. If they have oily fish (salmon, sardines), omega-3 eggs or chia seeds that day, I reduce to 1/2 of above.

May I respectfully suggest high fat/low carb (in the 30 to 40 gram range). If that doesn't work, have your doc check whether you are insulin resistant in a OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) and put you on Metformin. Metformin really makes you lose weight (I believe some people use it just for this), has been around for a long time, will help your lipid profile and has few side effects (mild diarrhea while adjusting, monitor B12).

I'm Jamaican. Dh is American. We live in S. Florida. I have always been very conscious of how I speak to dc because we homeschool. I played a lot of books on tape, TV, etc. There are some words and vowel sounds that the kids say that sound "Jamaican" but only a Jamaican who is listening very carefully (like me) would pick them out. My oldest has the slightest accent. My middle did a lot of speech therapy so I don't know what his accent is - probably a blend. My youngest (because I was lazy and played so many books on tape) gets a LOT of comments from his friends on why he speaks the way he does (kinda drags the last syllable). In the end, it all works out. They haven't a clue what my mom and brothers are talking about when we have family dinners and the patois is let loose :lol:

Florida Virtual School offers high school credit classes in Chinese 1, 2 and 3. It's free for Florida residents but pricey ($800 - iirc) for others. Dd took Chinese 1 years ago. It was the beta year and PowerGlide wrote segment 1. It was so bad that they switched curriculum mid year. A lot of kids struggled because the new curriculum assumed knowledge of the first semester which they hadn't done. Thankfully, dd had prior knowledge of Chinese and was okay. Powerglide was just horrible. The second semester's curriculum was okay. I've heard good things about BetterChinese.com too. I belong to a Chinese Church in South Florida and have quite a few friends who teach part time at the high schools. If you inquire at Chinese churches, maybe you can find one who will tutor part time. If you have a child who is very young (0-10), I recommend Learnables Chinese. We do not speak ANY Chinese and I played these tapes for my dd in the car from the time she was a baby. Her accent (I'm told) is excellent - not that I would know - I still can't differentiate the 4 tones of ma but she has an excellent ear for the language. She can tell who's from mainland China and who's from Taiwan by their accent.

Cut back on the carbs. Eat more fats. I pour oil over my food since going low-carb and can't keep the weight on. Unless you've got insulin resistance (then get a doc to put you on Metformin), you'll lose weight. I follow Dr. Bernstein's "Diabetes Solution" - about 30 g carb a day - mostly (non-starchy) vegetables - no grain, no fruit except avocados. No restriction on bacon, cheese, butter, even (gasp) pork rinds. Cholesterol at 162, blood pressure under 100/70 always (except when exercising), loads of energy, no mid-afternoon lull or after-meal sleepiness. Haven't been sick since starting the diet - no headaches, no pains, no aches. Everybody says I'm so thin but I don't dread clothes shopping now - everything looks fantastic on. I do miss my fruit though especially when my mango tree was in season.

Do you have College Board's Official SAT study guide? Lots of practice using past tests is key.

Do you mean that the insurance is more expensive because you have a third car (and full time access) as opposed to only 2 cars and sharing them?

Hang in there - ride out the storms.