Congratulations! I *do* know how exciting that must be for your guy. Would you mind sharing how you achieved that? Though we participated in a fabulous math circle last year, it was quite a hike to get there and not realistic this year. I have had no response to a half dozen emails I sent seeking such a resource for my ds. I think I'm not a very good advocate. We have a good plan for this year, but maybe with some suggestions I might be able to make progress for next year. Thanks. And please update with how it goes!

Kathy, that is a great idea regardless of how we work the class. Thanks for posting the suggestion!

Thank you for the thoughtful responses. Long story, but the class is a kind of gateway or proving ground and will allow access to more options in the future. We are AoPSers. My face fell when I learned the text was Saxon so I am trying to make it work. I will look at Jacob's Alg since it is available at our library. Perhaps letting the teacher select Alcumus sets- the AoPS online problems that are categorized by topic and adjust in difficulty level to the student- will be an option. If I figure out a way to do this I will share what we did.

It's for a class that uses Saxon, but I'm trying to align to use AoPS text instead. It does look messy. Maybe picking Alcumus topics? I'm happy to hear any suggestions.

Has anyone gone through and correlated the two texts? I need to line up AoPS subjects in the Saxon order. Just checking to see if this has been done by anyone before I do it myself. Thanks!

I really have to agree that RSO Chem wouldn't be good for a 6th grader.

This probably isn't what you are looking for, but there are slideshows here https://njctl.org/courses/science/algebra-based-physics/ . It has a very kid friendly presentation that includes links. It might be useful if your kid wants a subject specific presentation.

My goodness, did I blow this. I clearly needed to pay attention to the guidelines here. I am so sorry for starting a political discussion. I had not noticed that this was a no-no. I didn’t even think about it since I usually am here looking intently for material reviews. If this is a violation- my apologies and delete it please. I don't have an issue with grandparents' or third party right btw, but it should be addressed by lowering the bar for defining "unfit" then. And I did read the bill. Yes, anyone with a relationship with the child can sue. I had wondered if anyone else was thinking about where this might go.

Hi. I’m a lurker/reader (esp when searching for new curriculum) but not a regular poster, but this seems important enough to mention and hopefully get people talking about. If this should be in chat instead of general, sorry. If you live in WA state you know that we have it pretty good as far as homeschool options. We also have reasonable rights as parents to make decisions for our kids on other issues. I read about a new bill last night, went to sleep and actually woke up feeling more and more uneasy about it. Under current state law, family, grandparents for example, can sue for visitation rights if parents are unfit, divorced or if even one parent feels that visitation is warranted. House bill 1506 was read last week and is going to executive session next week. It repeals the current ability of fit parents to decide visitation for their kids, but even more disturbingly, allows ANYONE with a relationship to the child– related or not- to sue for visitation and grants the state the power over FIT parents to make that decision. Please read this for yourself if you are a WA resident. I am so very much not an alarmist. But after reading HB 1506 and a few hours of sleep I feel that this is an uncomfortably slippery slope. If parents are fit, I mean the state determines that they are competent, loving parents acting in the best interests of their children, then legally, formally saying that the state has the better judgment and power to decide who spends time with those kids seems…wrong. We immunize, but wouldn’t this suggest that the state could make a better decision over whether a fit parent could opt not to, you know, just for that issue. We use a virtual academy. But wouldn’t this set a precedent that otherwise competent, fit parents take second fiddle to the state in deciding what’s best educationally for the child? I fully get that in a contentious family environment or divorce or for many reasons the courts have a place in intervening regarding visitation. It is the ballsy scope of allowing anyone with a relationship to the child to petition and the granting of the legal decisive power to the state over the rights of fit parents. Anyway, please read, let me know what you think. More importantly, let them know what you think. Ugh, do I just need to go back to sleep? If you are in a state that has such a law, can you offer an opinion too? Is it harder to homeschool or otherwise do you feel like as a parent you have fewer rights? Am I woefully out of touch with my parental rights? Thanks (I am def not a troll… just don’t think I have much to say). I haven't posted a link before so if this doesn't work, let me know. http://apps.leg.wa.g...=1506&year=2013

MelMichigan, Two thoughts- The first is that I'm told Alcumus strives for around 70%. So getting REALLY hard problems on Alcumus means your dd is getting the easier ones right so it is upping the ante?? The second thought is that Alcumus once got stuck on a Geometry strand for ds and before he could post about it, another kid posted the same. RR fixed it and we were back on track with more suitable class problems. It sounds like you want to help/get her help to work the problems. My kid is new to AoPS so we only know for that there are the discussion boards. I only wanted to let you know what happened with ds in case the Geometry seemed out of place to you for Pre-A 2. HTH.

I just have to say that the best guidance I found on accelerating math was through reading Developing Math Talent by Assouline and Lupkowski-Shoplik. My main take-away was that moving through the material by testing out (not skipping content) and actually learning what needs to be learned is an okay strategy. I think this can be applied to any curriculum. I do think SM SE with CWP is perfectly suited for this. I’ve been told that the danger of acceleration is of having a kid who doesn’t want to look back and sees math as a race. We’ll allow acceleration as long as no math snobbery develops. Now we do work ahead, but it does not define math around here. Ritsumei, my goodness, I know how you feel. “Go deep.†I’ve heard it, but how? I think I have an idea now as far as how to present problems. I think for elementary math you want to look for problems where the student doesn’t just solve the arithmetic. So, if the kid is working on surface area she can have light problems where she’s given a shape and asked to state the surface area. A (deeper?) problem can ask for how many bricks would be needed to build a townhouse, then 2, 3 and then n townhouses. It takes the problem and applies it to a situation without saying what arithmetic is to be used. Resources for this include Zaccaro’s books, CWP, Exemplars, Math Olympiads, etc. I’m still not sure if “deep†is the right word, but that’s what I’ve been able to gather for meaning. I'm certainly interested in hearing more clarification on the term.

Nice list. I'll add ThatQuiz Math, Molecules, ChemistryRef, Music Tool and games mine love that we call edutainment are Edge, iReverse (othello), and iQbloxingPro. Everybody loves Cut the Rope - even mom.

MSNative, Just to share another perspective... I had a musically inclined 3yr old too. I waited to start him on piano thinking it was too early. I believe it was actually Donna who explained that kids will advance at their own pace. Thank you for that btw!! So it isn't like the kid is being held back if there is a wait. We did start at 4 and 5 1/2 for the older 2. They both did traditional lessons. The teacher that took them only required that they read already and were interested. Both did fabulously with 30 min lessons. Now, I also have a younger child, 3 at the end of winter, who would like lessons too. Rather than spend the money, because I do think he could also sit through with a teacher, I am giving him fun lessons at home. He has his own special "practice" time and feels a part of the family music routine. Though he is a very beginning reader (self taught) I do not plan on working on note reading because I think he'll pick it up when he wants to. What I am doing with him is just fun. We walk fingers down the piano, sing notes, clap beats. What I have noticed with my own and stories from others is that starting music traditionally is fine for a child with perfect or near perfect pitch. Otherwise Suzuki sounds like the way to go as it develops the ear. Also, I envy those who had groups. My most musical kid is also the loneliest. Music classes like Suzuki ones sound like they foster camaraderie between the kids. But know it can be done, even traditionally, for some kids. Best to you.

Each state/district or school probably varies. In our case the school will test as part of the grade accelleration process even if you homeschool. You might call and see what the process is for grade accelleration, NOT early entry. I will add that we were advised to wait for ds5 to turn 6 for testing with WISC-IV. We also are debating whether to pay for private testing or to use the school counselor. From what I have read it seems wise to find someone experienced with testing properly and who understands kids and levels of giftedness. FWIW, we have had doors open from exposure, not test scores. Being in the community has been enough to let dc have access to programs above their age/grade level. So, if you want to do an archeology class at the zoo, maybe take a lighter class first where your ds can show what he's all about. We may have just been very, very lucky though. Good luck.