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michmom

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  1. We did travel and went to Minnesota for testing with Deborah Ruf. We are in Michigan and felt, for us, it was worth it. Each family has to make its own decisions. We had already had testing done locally and felt we had exhausted the local options for getting the information we needed at the time. We had one of our sons tested earlier at the GDC and the experience with Deborah Ruf was a better one. Lynn
  2. I was referring to Algebra II, specifically Algebra and Trigonometry: Functions and Applications, by Paul A. Foerster. AOPS Intro to Algebra did cover more than the typical Algebra I course and certainly makes a student think more deeply about problems as well. There are parts of Foerster's book for Algebra II that we have already covered but still things that need to be covered for me to be convinced that we have really completed what is typical for Algebra II. I also took a look at our state standards and it is clear that there are still things according to those standards that need to be covered for Algebra II which is one reason why we are doing more algebra this coming year. I wish I could give you all of the specifics but we have not gotten into the Foerster book yet as we are finishing up AOPS geometry at the moment and I have on my list of things to do before the school year starts, to figure out exactly what we need to do in Foerster. Lynn
  3. Although my boys did not do the AOPS online class for algebra, they did use the AOPS algebra book that is used for the class. My understanding is that AOPS used to do a year-long class and go through the whole book (someone correct me if I am wrong) and now they have broken it up into Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 classes. I notice that they do use the book Introduction to Algebra for both classes. My boys did the whole book at home and then went on to the AOPS geometry book. We are now going back to algebra and using Foerster. There are certainly things in Foerster that they will have already covered but new things as well. You may want to do the pretest for geometry on the site. Here is the geometry page http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/School/courseinfo.php?course_id=intro:geometry You could also look on the forums at AOPS and see what others recommend. Good luck. Lynn
  4. We really liked the history and the art that dovetailed with the history. We did the history and art the whole way through. We did the four years chronological (although we did it faster than that) and then two years of US with the Hakim books and 2 years of World with Human Odyssey. We did use it as an independent so we were able to go at a faster pace and supplement with other sources. We also did not do any written worksheets, although we did the online portion. If I found information on any worksheets that I thought was helpful, I would have discussions with my boys who are close enough in age that they did the same level together which made for better discussion. For the art, we did all of the online parts and some projects when we thought it would add to the boys' knowledge of art history or art appreciation (or when they thought the project looked like fun). It was nice to have a couple of courses that were planned for me in large part since so much of what I do is from scratch. The boys absolutely love history and loved K12 history and art. Lynn
  5. I don't know the suggested age but both my boys read it themselves at ages 11 and 13 and loved it. We had lots of great discussions about it and they still say it was one of their favorite books which they cite for examples in many essays. Lynn
  6. I ordered a few weeks ago and had no problems at all. I received everything promptly. I do appreciate your mentioning the CDs. Since it is summer, I have not rushed to review everything and now I am thinking I ought to take a listen and make sure my CDs work. As always, everyone on this forum is so helpful. Lynn
  7. My older ds has 4 books plus some chapters and writing to do for AP Euro this summer and "optional" reading for another class. We have our younger ds enrolled in a writing class so he is reading in order to do some literary analysis for that class. Even without the required reading, they always read in the summer but the AP class has bumped this up a notch as the books are not what my son would typically choose for his summer reading. Lynn
  8. I actually get all of my cooking items from Amazon. I have Prime membership so shipping is free which helps. I think the UPS guy thinks I have a shopping addiction but I shop for almost everything on Amazon and it arrives in two days free shipping with Prime. Even if you do not buy from them, just looking gives you a great idea of what is out there since they have a great selection and you may be able to then find it somewhere else once you know the brand you want by plugging it in a Google search. Lynn
  9. Another vote for www.allrecipes.com and http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/ Both have recipes rated which I like so that you can search by ingredients or type of recipe or whatever you want and then rank according to rating. I hate spending a lot of time on a bad recipe. I also like being able to find a recipe using what I already have in the house. As someone mentioned, the comments can be incredibly helpful as well for the modifications that others have made. Finally, I use http://www.foodnetwork.com a lot as those recipes are also rated with great comments from those who have tried the recipes plus they are from some terrific chefs. Lynn
  10. I borrowed the DVDs from a friend so do not have them to review for your question but I do not recall any religious content. I do think that the DVDs were incredibly helpful and I had my two ds watch them with me. They really enjoyed watching them and thought he was an incredible speaker. For us, I can not imagine doing the program without the DVDs as he walks you through the analysis of several stories and really shows you how it is done so that you can apply the technique to any story. Lynn
  11. You've already gotten a great response about the online class. Another option to consider is using the book on your own. My two ds did all of Singapore and then used the AOPS Introduction to Algebra book on their own without doing the online course. We used the book along with the solutions manual. There is a pretest on the AOPS site to see if a student is ready for the material. The book is covered in two online courses so I would say it is a one-year course at home going at a normal pace. Lynn
  12. Although you have had lots of responses, I thought I would add one more success vote for the Novasure. I had it done about three years ago. Spotting for a few months and nothing since. I am so glad I got it done. Lynn
  13. We loved the course Discovering Music by Professor Carol. It goes beyond just American music so it may be more than you are seeking but thought I would mention it. My two ds really enjoyed watching her DVDs. It also comes with a coursebook and CDs. http://discoveringmusic.net/ Lynn
  14. I also do not know of any particular curriculum. My two ds are now young teens and after 8 years of homeschooling and a lot of experimenting, I found that any curriculum I used needed adjustments. I use something different for every subject as I find it is impossible to find something that fits all their needs. As the previous poster mentioned, I do try to accommodate them in the way I allow them to learn. We too have allowed them to sit on exercise balls which works really well for most things. When listening to me speak they are allowed to roll balls between each other or jump on a mini-tramp. I allow them to have fiddle toys in their hands as well. I have experimented to determine if they retain more with or without these things and they definitely retain more with these accommodations. I feel this is one of the advantages of homeschooling. As they have gotten older, these things are less necessary. The biggest adjustment was for me not to be distracted by these accommodations when I was trying to teach. Sorry I can not come up with a more direct answer to your question but I hope these alternatives help too. Lynn
  15. We play a ton of games in our house. We have not played Killer Bunnies. I have two ds - young teens. Pandemic is a great one as it is a cooperative game. Our new favorite is Dominion.We like almost all of the games from Days of Wonder including Ticket to Ride, Mystery of the Abbey and Mystery Express. Citadels is a great card game if they want a card game. Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne are old favorites as well. A great place to research games is http://www.boardgamegeek.com Lynn
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