We do the pre-test in SWO and base the exercises on how many ds misses. If he misses more than three, he does all the pages. If he misses 1-2, he does one or two exercises. If he gets them all correct, we do the "bonus words" for fun, and put it aside to do the next chapter the next day. When he finishes the series, I figure we'll move on to vocabulary...

I don't often post here because I don't seem to have many "accelerated" issues anymore, I guess. But the Algebra thread below got me curious to see where we are headed--I figured Algebra in 6th sounded just about right--and now I'm all freaked out. I hadn't yet projected out our current math plans since we switched to doing EPGY. My son loves it, begs to do 3 or more math "sessions" online of 20 minutes each a day (I've capped him at 3). We actually took off three months from math because we couldn't afford the tuition, and he jumped back in with no problem at all and kept on moving ahead full speed. (In the interim we just did informal math and a book of word problems) I expected at least some need for review! So, at this rate he's doing just over 2 "years" worth of math a year... so even conservatively estimating his pace, and with EPGY having a 7th grade "honors pre-algebra" and "honors pre-calc" and all that, he'll still be in calculus by 6th grade. That isn't possible, is it? He's going to have to slow down here soon! I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. He doesn't really seem like a "math head", if you know what I mean. I think his verbal gifts are far stronger than his abstract ones.... but now I'm a bit freaked out. He'll slow down, right? Does all that other stuff from the other thread apply to us as well? Are there people who have radically accelerated successfully? EPGY is self paced, they even offer college and graduate level courses, so that isn't the problem-- it's more a "should I LET him just keep moving, even to really difficult topics"? Or will he end up burned out in the end?

Yes, they are more dangerous. Of course you know more people injured in car accidents, because more people drive cars for far more miles. Even motorcycle riders often ride recreationally, rather than for regular transportation. The chance per vehicle mile of being injured or killed is significantly greater. Only you can decide if it is a worthwhile risk for you and yours to take. This is from the Insurance Information Institute. http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/motorcycle/ KEY FACTS According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2006, 4,810 people died in motorcycle crashes, up 5.1 percent from 4,576 in 2005 to the highest level since 1981. Motorcycle crash fatalities have increased every year for the past nine years. There were 6.2 million motorcycles on U.S. roads in 2005, according to the latest data available from the Federal Highway Administration, compared with 137.4 million passenger cars. Motorcycles accounted nearly 3 percent of all registered motor vehicles and 0.4 percent of vehicle miles traveled in 2006, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Some 104,000 motorcycles were involved in crashes in 2006, including property damage-only crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Motorcyclists were 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash in 2006, per vehicle mile traveled, and 8 times more likely to be injured,according to NHTSA. The fatality rate for motorcyclists in 2006 was 5.5 times the fatality rate for passenger car occupants per registered vehicle, according to the latest data from NHTSA.

Some thoughts: The distinction between historian and poet is not in the one writing prose and the other verse... the one describes the thing that has been, and the other a kind of thing that might be. Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are of the nature rather of universals, whereas those of history are singulars. ~Aristotle, On Poetics (italics are mine) Poetry is what gets lost in translation. -- Robert Frost Poems are feelings wrapped in words. We love to read poetry here. We'll sit and read and re-read a single poem, talking about how it makes us feel, why, does it tell a story, what it means, etc. I think I enjoy poetry so much because it is about Truth rather than fact. Kind of like faith, ya know?

Lol! Such different opinions, even from Austen-philes. I happen to LOVE Emma, then Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion would be next for me. Oh, to be reading them for the first time again.... sigh....

I, personally, am VERY impressed with all you have survived and achieved over the past few years. While things are difficult right now (aren't they always?:tongue_smilie:), you have made marvellously brave choices for yourself and your children. Nothing but admiration and "Happy Birthday!"s from here!

You can download them in ZIP format here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/938#files If you ever lose game rules, boardgamegeek.com is a good place to look!

So sorry for your loss, I'll keep you in my prayers.

Fantastic! I PMed you back!

A friend of mine has just finished potty training her second child, both girls who trained early around 2. She's got a huge layette of very nice gently used MotherEase cloth diapers (and all the snapping covers that go with them, of the various sizes). She hates to see them go to waste, doesn't know anyone who uses cloth now, and wants them to go to someone who will use them and appreciate them as much as she has... all she's asking is shipping cost from So Cal. PM me if you are interested, or know of a good home for her diapers! First come, first served!

Me too! We have great pictures from our January vacation... My folks live in Land O' Lakes, and they do sell real estate and could probably give you some info about that area... pm me if you are intersted.

About three years ago now I was with my younger ds at Gymboree. We only did activities there with him for a few months. We were sitting in a circle with our babies, clapping hands, etc... and I realized I recognized the woman sitting across from me. She was a tall blond woman with a German accent... "Excuse me," I asked, "But did you move here from Germany about 10 years ago?" "Yes..." "You flew here on Delta from Frankfurt in 1995." That's right... I sat next to her on an airplane 10 years previously, when I was on my way back from work as a missionary in Kazakhstan. I changed planes in Frankfurt. I even remembered that she had been wearing jeans and a black leather jacket, and hadn't believed me when I told her there would be no smoking in the airport after we landed. She didn't remember me at all, naturally. I guess if we lived in a small town or something it wouldn't be that odd, but I very rarely run into people I know out in public and I LIVE here--along with 20 million or so other people.

5' 6"

I got 85%... boy, I bombed that economic section! :tongue_smilie:

We're heading out in about an hour to the Getty Villa (yes, instead of Disneyland today), and I thought it would be nice to have a quick reference to print and take with us (rather than carry D'Aulaires around, say). Any ideas? Gotta run take a shower... thanks! Oh, and for those who haven't been to LA, the Getty Villa is: http://www.getty.edu/visit/events/villa.html Great for that ancients year!

My 4yo ds is just learning to read and write... he just is starting to blend words, but he has been writing letters on his own (just by eyeballing and copying) for over a year now. He seems to have excellent eye/hand coordination for his age, particularly compared to my writing challenged 6yo. He is also a lefty, the only one we know of in our extended family. When he writes in a workbook (like HWT) he does just fine copying the model. BUT when he writes himself, he writes mirror writing... from right to left, with each letter printed correctly, but completely backwards. He just wrote his name and his brother's name on opposite sides of a piece of paper, and holding it up to the light it is written just perfectly on the other side! Is there some magic to helping him remember the left to right, or which way letters go, or something... I like that he enjoys writing words for fun, he spends a lot of his free time "writing", but I also don't want him to write backwards forever. Even though part of me thinks it's kind of cool that he does it so well. ;)

I love Disney... I love travelling to "real" places too, but I don't see them as mutually exclusive. I enjoy the fun, even the familiarity of it. I like singing along on Pirates of the Carribean, and pretending to be scared in the Haunted Mansion, and all that stuff. If we lived in Florida I'm sure we'd go to Disneyworld more often, but we're off to Disneyland tomorrow! :p

I think I've spent around $700 for next year for a Ker and 2nd grader... but that doesn't include EPGY, which is tuition based (we get financial aid which helps), or activies like Karate. I tend to buy new curriculum, but we use the library a lot as well for supplementary reading.

B.A. in International Studies, National Security Issues focus, Russian minor M.Div. in... Divinity studies!

B.A. in International Studies, National Security Issues focus,

Johns Hopkins for my B.A., Claremont School of Theology for my M.Div.

My 6yo ds (yes, the challenging one) has been taking Karate since last September. I asked a lot of people about schools around here, and chose to check out the school we use because while I had many others recommended, I had eight recommendations for this same school. I feel ds has been challenged to learn a lot of self control and discipline--class starts with a short meditation time. Classes can be large, but there are multiple instructors per class and it is a large studio with multiple classes (pre-school, kids, adults) happening simultaneously. There has been a good balance between communicating with us about our son and recognizing his challenges, and requiring him to have self control. He often has one-on-one instruction which is perfect for him! One of the things I like is the mental memorization work and emphasis on good behavior, academic achievement and respect. At orange belt level (the second belt, where my ds is now) kids have to memorize "home rules for children" including keeping their room clean, speaking respectfully to their mother and father, etc. On tuesday thier instructor was telling the kids -- "Karate is important, but school always comes first!" (I translate that to mean "education", I don't think it's intended as a ps bias or anything). They have a quiet homework room in the back (as well as a toddler toy/play room), and lots of kids actually come after school and park themselves and use it. They are welcoming of homeschoolers--one homeschool mom I know started her kids there some years ago, and is now a black belt herself! I also like how diverse the school is (I guess pretty normal for here in LA), but the owner is Persian and students come from all backgrounds, though there are many Farsi speaking parents around as well. Anyhow, as a "newbie" karate parent, we're pretty happy... I'm going to link an article on thier site about how to choose a martial arts school: http://www.teamkaratecenters.com/new/find_school_1.asp

I don't know how she got into it, but my aunt does phone customer support out of her home. She answers calls from people using home dialysis machines. Sometimes she gets lots of calls, other times just a few... she just has to be there and available to answer. If you are really interested, I could email her for info?

I enjoy listening to classical music, and now that we have a faster computer that is located in our school space, I'm looking for a station to have on in the background... of school, my day, quiet time, etc. On the radio I listen to our local classical station (KUSC) which I enjoy, but maybe there are some great ones out there I've never even heard of! Do you have a favorite station you listen to online? I'm particular to: Commercial free Low talk (or very good informational background talk!) Streaming that shows info on the song being played Emphasis on "classic" composers, with some new ones introduced as well--maybe 75/25 with more obscure composers Mozart. I really love Mozart.

We'll be using the REAL science Earth/Space for next year. We're doing Life Science this year, and it has been a big hit! I've got the curriculum in hand (just came last week) and we're excited to start it. I do wish there were more levels of this program--it's looking less and less likely she'll be writing any more, and the first two are really fabulous, IMHO! We do some additional reading and worksheets because my ds LOVES science--using the Evan-Moore "Giant Science Resource Book", a McGraw-Hill textbook and lots of library books!