Reading this thread led me to thinking about other threads and I wanted to pull up and share a thread from the past: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/452223-any-veterans-here-who-have-hs-their-children-successfully/?p=4657801 I love DianeW88's post - I have it printed out and posted on my fridge. :) I think she was saying what FaithManor, Joanne, and others have been saying - as homeschoolers, we need to encourage each other to do what we need to do to get the teaching done. "Neglect" is a harsh word and I don't think I'd call it that but when homeschooling mamas are struggling, we don't do them any favours by telling them that it's OK because they can make it up in a few years. For some kids - yes, they may be able to do 3 years of math in a few months. Most can't. It's not always better because it's home. As a previous poster stated, I know I'll be ruffling feathers by saying all of this and I'm sorry for that. I do think "homeschool fails" are homeschooling's dirty little secret (I seem to remember reading that in another thread from about the same time period as the last one but I can't find it) and it's not just spectacular fails that we would all, without hesitation, call neglect or abuse. It's the non-spectacular ones where we start out with the best of intentions and then it just... gets away from us. We need to support each other in those times but it isn't going to help anyone when we trot out the mantra, "It's OK. Whatever you do, it's better than they'd get at public school.". That just isn't always true. We need to encourage the struggling mamas to get back on track and if they are in a situation where it just isn't possible for the moment that there's no shame in putting the kids in public or private school until things get sorted out. Homeschooling is hard, exhausting, and time consuming. If we choose to do it all the way through, we ARE it, educationally, for our kids. There is no one else to pick up the slack. And now, to follow DianeW88's advice, I need to get off the Internet and do some marking from this week. :)

I think that's the same microscope I purchased back in 2009. :) At that time it was called the Ultimate Home Microscope??? - something like that. We've not had any problems with it and we love that it has the magnification necessary to do oil immersion. We paid the extra $ to get the version with a teaching scope but that was just my preference - definitely not a necessity. We didn't go with a binocular model, either. I've taught my dd to keep both eyes open when using the monocular eye piece - it helps the user to not end up with a slamming headache from keeping one eye squinted shut :) and it means they can keep looking into the eye piece and still sketch a diagram at the same time by shifting eye focus back and forth from the eyepiece to the diagram. I think you made a good choice. :)

I noticed there are some folks asking questions about various topics and curricula. You might get a response if you start a separate thread - I think this thread is thought of by most posters as a list of resources and info and they don't think to check here to answer questions. Just a thought. :) There was a good microscope thread on the K-8 board, Orthodox6. Here's the link: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/318982-im-going-to-need-to-buy-a-microscope/ Which microscope did you buy, Orthodox6? Would you be willing to share a link?

Thought folks might be interested in the Snopes page on this: http://www.snopes.com/info/news/daterapenails.asp

Like CK12 but for post-secondary? That would be nice. :) I'm teaching from a custom edition chem text. It's parts of two different texts combined. I think my program head was trying to do the same thing - cut costs for students. The custom text is only marginally cheaper, though, and can't be resold except to students attending the same college and taking the same course. It's also poor quality - the binding on my copy split right between the two textbook halves.

I can't speak to the anatomy but can maybe give you a little more info on the chem. It would give the student the equivalent of a Reg Chem course. It's fairly "git-r-done" :D and comes complete with quizzes, tests, notes, worksheets, and labs. You only need kitchen or household stuff to complete the labs. If you have a STEM-bound kid, you'll need something after this course - preferably an Honours or AP option that has "chemical" labs as opposed to kitchen-chemistry labs. That's my opinion - others may disagree. ;) If you're only looking to have a "git-r-done" option for Reg Chem for a kid who's not interested in pursuing anything in the STEM field, then I think it's a good program. I did once have a few very nice email exchanges with the author over how he deals with molecular geometry and defining polarity in terms of molecular symmetry but it's not the kind of thing that would make or break a course. :) I think it's a good, solid course. Make sure you have your kiddos look over the samples on his website - not everyone enjoys his sense of humour. ;)

Well... If gifted is seen as a "different kind of wiring" then, yes - those folks would still be gifted as adults. :) Other folks may disagree, of course, and that's OK. :) To clarify - I don't go around trying to classify people into two boxes - gifted and non-gifted. :D It was just an interesting bit from the book and I wondered if others had experienced it or if their children had experienced it. One of the laments expressed was that it was difficult to find families with kids with similar "wiring" without coming out and using the dreaded "g" word ;) so I wondered if the "there's something about the eyes" comment struck a chord with anyone or with anyone's children. That's all. :) Funny side story... When I started homeschooling, I met a whole bunch of other homeschoolers that I hadn't know previously. One of them struck me as... different. :) She and I began hanging out together more and more and eventually it came out that both of us were thinking the same thing about the other - "I wonder if she's gifted?" The problem was that, knowing the current general view of the word, neither one of us wanted to say it out loud for fear of offending the other. :D Turns out that she and I had both been tested as kids, had eerily similar test scores, and she had specialized in gifted ed during her Ed degree. Once we got past the initial awkward verbal dance, it was wonderful to be able to talk to someone else about all things gifted. :)

Wasn't that why they introduced the terms "moderately gifted", "highly gifted", "profoundly gifted", etc.? And I absolutely agree - that 60+ point range on the IQ scale can make a WORLD of difference. I always use the phrase "his/her brain is wired differently" when describing gifted individuals. Most of the time, there doesn't seem to be a problem with this phrasing but then some folks can take offense at almost anything. ;) In the book "Gifted Grownups", there was a bit on how gifted individuals recognized other gifted individuals without knowing them personally. Many gifted individuals said that there was something about the eyes of other gifted individuals that led them to believe the other person was possibly gifted. I don't know if that rings true for anyone, or for your children, but I thought it was an interesting things to consider. Has anyone ever met someone and, after only a few introductory exchanges, thought to themselves, "I think that person is gifted."?

A random pondering... I realize this is the Accelerated Board. :) Do you think some equate "gifted" with "accelerated" and others do not? Do you think this happens IRL, as well? Do you suppose that could be part of the misunderstanding between individuals? For me, gifted doesn't always mean accelerated and accelerated doesn't always mean gifted but maybe others think about the two terms in a different way than I do and I just don't realize it. Forgive me if this has been discussed before and I missed it. I was just sitting here working on my course lesson plans for the fall (I get to teach more chem courses at the college - yeah! :) ) and was letting my mind wander while I plan.

I'm a terrible communicator, especially on the internet. I was actually trying to get across what you stated above, 8! :) I meant for my original post to be supportive of those whose gifted kids don't present in the "usual" (and I mean for there to be big, sarcastic quotes around "usual" :) ) way. If the only way we have to identify giftedness is indirectly (since we can't "see" inside a individual's brain to see how they process) through the use of testing or by measuring achievement, we're bound to misidentify and misunderstand those who don't present in a way that is compatible with our current ways of identifying (testing, achievement, etc.). Giftedness is SO much more than a test score or how an individual does in academics. That's why I think it's very important to talk to our gifted kids about what it's like when they become gifted adults. The giftedness is still there even after "school" is done. :)

Just to play devil's advocate, 8... ;) Do you think there could be a factor at play (in your ds's case or in other cases) that is either subconscious or unconscious that could be skewing the test results? Even the structure of the test itself? I could be way off - it's just something I was thinking about. :)

To expand on my apology... :) I didn't mean to make anyone or their children feel even more misunderstood. I was just pondering this some more and I wonder, like some pps, if gifted individuals who test and show low processing speeds actually have higher processing speeds but the testing environment or other factors (2E, etc.) are skewing the results. I know :) - it's neither here nor there with regards to those individuals. We don't have any way of directly observing processing speeds - only the indirect correlation the test results show. The test results tell us what they tell us and we work with the info they give. My apologies again. :)

My apologies - I have a lot to learn. :)

I think I've only ever posted a few times in this subforum but I lurk a lot. :) I felt as though I wanted to jump in on this thread - I hope that's OK. I've always thought that "gifted" referred to individuals whose mental processing speeds were simply faster than the average - it's an innate wiring difference in the brain of gifted individuals. Achievement levels (whether that be academic, social, emotional, athletic, etc.) aren't the deciding factor - processing speed is. Granted, processing speed is difficult to measure so we tend to use achievement output (grades, test scores, psych evaluations, etc.) as a way to make an educated guess at what the individual's processing speed might be. It's an imperfect way of going about identifying gifted individuals, that's for certain. There are so many factors that can skew achievement output and reduce the correlation between the output measured and the actual mental processing speed of the individual. My understanding of giftedness (faster mental processing speeds) fits well with the idea that giftedness isn't something that one grows out of. If giftedness was something based on achieving, say, two grades ahead on an evaluation then once the individual reached adulthood, the definition would no longer have any meaning. I think this is an important point to make to our gifted youngsters - they will ALWAYS be gifted - it's not something they grow out of as adults. They will always have quicker mental processing speeds than the average and that's OK - everyone's brain is wired differently. Just my thoughts, though. Feel free to agree or disagree at will. :D ETA: This faster processing speed doesn't necessarily occur in the same areas of the brain for all gifted individuals. That's why we can have gifted individuals who are gifted at math (faster at seeing and recognizing patterns), gifted in languages (faster at relating and comparing structures of languages), gifted socially (faster at reading and processing social clues and signals), etc. For all, the common factor is the increased mental processing speed.

Odd. I get the same incorrect redirect. I've tried logging out and back in a few times but it doesn't seem to help. Hopefully, Justin can sort it out. :)

How do people feel about talking on a non-Bluetooth enabled cell phone while driving? (In other words, one you have to hold to your ear.) More or less distracting than talking on a hands-free device?

I find it odd that he covers equilibrium from a mathematical standpoint (or, at least, I think he does based on chapter descriptions) but doesn't seem to cover kinetics at all. The mathematical treatment of equilibrium is inherently based on the concepts of kinetics. But, then, I have seen other chem curricula and texts do that same thing. :) Dr. Schmidt just seems so thorough - I was surprised to see him go this route.

You're pretty much describing where I live. Maybe we're going to be neighbours... ;) Patience and fortitude. :) You haven't mentioned anything about this but I would make sure your whole family is on board. Living where you describe takes tons of time management for anything outside of the home (activities, grocery shopping, etc.) and the time needed for upkeep on a rural property can suck up just about all of your free time. It takes me 6-7 hours on a riding lawn mower to cut all of my lawn (around 3 acres of lawn) and our trails and riding/training area for the horses. If the whole family isn't on board and willing to work together, it can quickly become overwhelming. If you have a long driveway and/or large parking area for your vehicles, snow removal alone will take hours and hours. Will you have a plow on the front of a 4x4 truck? A tractor? I think a snowblower will be required at the bare minimum. Also make sure you have newer, reliable vehicles for travelling to and from town. I'm not sure what climate zone you'll be in but here it routinely gets down to -30 or -40 in winter and having a vehicle break down on a deserted country road where you may or may not have cell service can be life-endangering, not just an inconvenience. On the other hand, I wish I could somehow make the internet capable of transmitting smells in order to share with everyone what it smells like when I walk out my door. :) The wild clover and honeysuckle are blooming and the smell is... amazing. I can open my windows, have that lovely smell fill my house, and not hear anything except the wind in the trees and birdsong. That's what helps to refill my stocks of patience and fortitude. :)

I just received an email for a flash sale at Home Science Tools and thought I would share in case anyone is looking to order science supplies for next year. :) The pertinent details are: Save 12% on $99+ orders with code FLASH14* *DETAILS: Cart must total $99 or more before shipping and handling. Discount applies to products only, excluding gift cards. Can't combine offers. Expires 7/23/14. Hope it helps someone!

I just received an email for a flash sale at Home Science Tools and thought I would share in case anyone is looking to order science supplies for next year. :) The pertinent details are: Save 12% on $99+ orders with code FLASH14* *DETAILS: Cart must total $99 or more before shipping and handling. Discount applies to products only, excluding gift cards. Can't combine offers. Expires 7/23/14. Hope it helps someone!

If she is strong in math, then you could go with pretty much any of the programs in the pinned chem thread that are listed under "Reg Chem". If you feel she will be headed into a STEM career, you should probably be looking at the Honours Chem choices. If she's not sure, you may want to go with an Honours Chem choice anyway so as to not close any doors prematurely. If you're looking at having her do AP Chem, that's a whole different ball of wax. :) If you want something that's all laid out for you and comes complete with everything you need, including labs and lab equipment, then you may need to go with one of the big publishers - Apologia, etc. If you'd prefer a secular option, I'm not sure a completely secular one exists that is open and go. Kolbe has two choices for chemistry and I find their courses are very, very easy to secularize - they only come with virtual labs, however. You'd have to use The Home Scientist's kits or put together your own kit if you wanted a hands-on lab experience. The Kolbe option with the Charlesworth text is the easier option and the Prentice Hall text is the more rigourous option. Some of the other texts, such as Chang or some of the Zumdahl texts, are more rigourous than Prentice Hall but would require you to come up with your own schedule and tests or use ones that you can find online - Dr. Tang's materials have been used by forum members before. If it comes down to a matter of your dd's preference for writing styles, then I would show her excerpts from as many texts and programs as you can and find out what she finds the most readable and then go from there. If she ends up choosing a text that doesn't come as part of an open and go program, there are many nerdy, chem-obsessed forum members here that could help you flesh out a program based on a particular text if that's not something you feel comfortable doing. :)

OP - how are your dd's math skills? That will probably determine, more than anything else, what she should be looking at for chemistry.

What type of career path is your dd looking into? Whether a particular program is "enough" depends on what direction she's headed in. :)

Another Pyr owner here. :) We have two and they are outside 24/7. I'm in Northwestern Ontario and it regularly gets down to significantly below freezing here - the Pyrs love it. I'm also on 160 acres with some horses so there is lots for the Pyrs to do outside - mostly patrolling the yard, watching the horses, and attempting to herd/guard the barn cats (you can guess how well that goes over ;) ). We're outside a lot as well. I love our Pyrs but they aren't "players" - they don't/won't fetch and don't really like to run around so if you're looking for a dog that will play with kids, that might be something to consider. Ours find the highest point of land near us, lie down, and pretend to sleep while actually guarding us. :D I tried to teach them to fetch - it was a complete bust. A friend even brought over her dog for a doggy playdate - he was a champion fetcher and I figured it would give my puppies the right idea. They just watched me throw the ball, looked at the ball, looked at me, looked at the ball, and then flopped down. It was kind of like, "You threw it; you go and get it."

Well... They obviously should have included central Canada on the map - then you'd have your green. :) I'm from Northwestern Ontario - born, raised, and now living here again - and I would pronounce it half-way between "sir-up" and "sear-up" which is how I'm reading the map's "green" pronunciation.