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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Definitely check their specials. Often times, their annual pass can work out cheaper than a two day pass. As others mentioned, staying at one of their hotels is a great deal if you can swing it due to the benefit of getting to go in the express line. You can do this on the day you check in the hotel even if your room is not ready as well as the day you leave. We zoomed through all of the rides even when there were long lines of people. It made all of the difference in the world. Plus, we really like all of the hotels - we have stayed at all three on site hotels but they are at different price ranges. They do run specials on the hotels as well so check that. The other advantage of staying at the onsite hotels is that there are several "wet" rides at Universal so we always take one morning or one afternoon and wear bathing suits under our shorts and shoes without socks or other appropriate attire that dries fast and do all of the wet rides and then return to the hotel to change before going back to the parks. That way you do not slosh around the parks all day in wet shoes and wet clothes. We love Disney but Islands of Adventure is now our favorite park. Some rides we ride numerous times, especially Spiderman. In Universal Studios we have favorites as well including Men in Black but there are fun things in both parks. We easily spend two days there just returning to our favorites. Lynn

We used the first two volumes of Human Odyssey with the K12 program. My two ds both liked it but they had done K12 history for many years and we had done a lot of history on the side as well. They love history. We did not stick to the way K12 did the program. I personally do not like a lot of writing for writing's sake. The boys write a lot for composition but I do not have them fill out worksheets in other subjects so we orally went over a lot of the things that K12 would have had them do in writing. Some of the K12 activities are optional and we would skip those and do our own thing with other sources in areas that were of particular interest. So, bottom line, we did do all of the reading in Human Odyssey and used that as the spine which worked well, we used some of the K12 material both online and in the teacher/student manuals and then we did our own thing. Done this way, it was a big success. Lynn

I am determined that my boys will not be leaving my house without knowing how to cook.:001_smile: One actually loves to cook, while the other is a bit more reluctant but has still done pretty well. They are attending two weeks of culinary school this summer. After a thorough search, I did find a few cookbooks that I thought were the best for teaching them. I really like the Better Homes and Gardens "Anyone Can Cook" and Anyone Can Bake." They are very visual with tons of photos and the first one actually comes with a DVD. http://www.amazon.com/Anyone-Can-Cook-Step-Step/dp/0470500670/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278200162&sr=1-2 http://www.amazon.com/Anyone-Better-Homes-Gardens-Kitchen/dp/047050059X/ref=pd_cp_b_3 We also bought the Food Network's "How to Boil Water" which is not as thorough as the first two but was still good for them to learn. http://www.amazon.com/Boil-Water-LASTFood-Network-Kitchens/dp/0696226863/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c Lynn

I still think Robin Miller is the one you are thinking of unless there is actually a show I have missed.:001_smile: The problem is on the website the videos do not show a whole show, just clips. For example, the first video is Jamaican Jerk Flank Steak http://www.foodnetwork.com/robin-miller12/video/index.html They just show a short clip that shows you how to make the first meal but she says at the beginning of the clip she is making enough that you can make two completely different meals for later in the week. If you just find when she is on next in your area and watch a show you'll be able to see if she is the one. If not, back to the drawing board.:001_smile: She also has several books but I have not tried them. For me, I had several "misses" with her recipes and moved on. I am big into freezer cooking and found some books I really like that work for me and that has been my solution for saving time and money. Lynn

I majored in government before I went to law school. You can, however, major in anything. The ones who seemed to do best in law school were the mathematicians as they were very logical and got to the point. Some of the rest of us were a little too wordy.:001_smile: Law school teaches you a new way of thinking and writing and those with the math and science degrees who did not have to undo what they had learned seemed to be at an advantage. Depending on the type of law you want to practice, speech or debate can also help. I became a litigator (court room) so the ability to speak well and argue my point is an asset. There are other types of law that are transactional in nature and this is not as important. These days, the ability to attract clients is incredibly important, ie to be a "rainmaker." Therefore, social skills and business skills are more relevant than ever. HTH Lynn

Some of her recipes have worked for me and others have not. What I do now is go on the Food Network site and look at the reviews and comments for a recipe she does on the show or even look at other recipes. Then I can see which ones folks have rated highly and which ones don't seem as popular. People also are good at posting modifications they have made to make a recipe better. Robin Miller's page is http://www.foodnetwork.com/robin-miller/index.html I do this for the other Food Network shows I watch as well. You may already know all of this but thought I would add this just in case you did not since I have found it really helpful. Lynn

Great idea. Thanks. I will send books as well. Along the same lines, does anyone have any great ideas for places to donate children's books, novels and other books that are in great condition that might not be appropriate for this place other than your local library? I am always looking for where they might be put to the best use as we have so many books. Thanks. Lynn

I think what someone said about everyone's experiences being unique is true. I'm sure you'll always find someone with a horror story about almost every computer. That being said, we have two Dell laptops now, as well as several desktops. One of the laptops has taken every abuse for several years that my two ds can dish out and we have had no problems at all. My husband has a masters in computer engineering (but is a pilot by occupation) and he is pretty particular about his computers. He loves to search Dell's website for the refurbished computers to find a great deal. He says that supposedly many of them are ones customers order with their specifications and then do not buy for whatever reason. The ones we have gotten look brand new. I know he has been pleased with the deals he has found. Lynn

I did this with my parents who are in their eighties. I prepared questions in advance based on several books that I have on doing family video histories. Basically, I chose questions that I thought were applicable to their lives that I thought they might desire to answer. By giving them the questions in advance, it gave them a chance to think about them and jog each other's memories. It also allowed them to tell me which questions they did not have any answers to as they did not remember something or they were not comfortable answering the question. This was good as I then knew not to ask the question and it made editing the video easier. I then videotaped them with me off camera asking the questions and them answering. It took a while so we stretched it out over time. I all so grateful that I took the time to get this history and I learned things that I never knew. I wish that I had done this with my grandparents before they passed. Lynn

I know that there was just recently a thread on best bread machine/maker so you might want to do a search. I also vote for the Zojirushi. I have used mine a lot and it has held up well. Here is a link to a site I use for reviews because it summarizes reviews from other sites. It ranks the Zojirushi the highest but gives other options for best budget bread maker, etc. http://www.consumersearch.com/bread-...20100627194553 If the long link does not work just go to http://www.consumersearch.com and search for "bread machine." Lynn