This is encouraging. Just as a PSA, be aware that most ophthalmologists - generally - do not check for developmental vision issues (tracking, convergence, etc., tasks involving how the eyes work together) anywhere close to the extent that a COVD optometrist does. Developmental vision issues are the sorts of issues that can result in handwriting difficulties, trouble with spelling, missed math signs, and general frustration because - like many learning issues of one sort or another, even "mild" ones - completing tasks can take up a great amount of energy. The greater the effort, the greater the balking at work. I agree w/the others about streamlining for a while while you figure things out.

If you read older threads, this would be a common complaint about Saxon. I would think about whether it's a good fit for your students and your goals. One hour per day at the prealgebra level would be completely reasonable, generally speaking, not specific to Saxon. There are a lot of prealgebra programs out there to choose from. If you might want to go in the opposite direction, take a look at AoPS Prealgebra.

Frustration, spelling, handwriting, adding where she should be subtracting even though she is otherwise capable of the calculation. This is not an uncommon combination. My two cents: I would assume bad attitude dead last in the list of possibilities. Consider getting vision checked - a regular annual checkup, but with a COVD optometrist, who can screen for developmental vision issues and discuss whether a full eval may or may not be needed. Also, for skills you are certain she already knows/remembers how to do, if she doesn't actually need the review, I'm not sure I'd put her through that, at least not more than a few problems as her personal review needs dictate. Allow her to work on a white board and see whether that helps at all. White boards allow for larger writing and less friction and may make for a more pleasant experience.

I would also consider what the nap schedule is - it's all connected. And bedtimes. Being overtired makes it harder to sleep through the night.

I have a lot of meds and supplements. I use a kitchen cabinet with a little plastic set of shelves designed for spices. Like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0036OQU4C/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1504476744&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=spice+shelves&dpPl=1&dpID=41PN87M5FvL&ref=plSrch

LOL dear of course it wasn't you. There is some glitch in the data tree (that can't be the right word, but you get my drift)

I am having the same problem with the old giant thread on prealgebra choices. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/342798-pre-algebra-fence-straddlers-master-thread/ It got stuck under OneStep's social group somehow:

If I'm not mistaken, a student who has completed Singapore Standards through grade 6 should be more than ready for prealgebra. What is "best" will depend on the type of student. Consider your plans for algebra and up - that may help you choose a prealgebra. For a bright student who enjoys puzzle solving, my absolute favorite is AoPS Prealgebra. For something more straightforward, I like Dolciani's Prealgebra, An Accelerated Course. To go directly to algebra, I like Jacobs' Elementary Algebra, though even there I prefer a prealgebra first. For a student who may be entering school around the prealgebra or algebra levels, that may involve a few additional considerations. Here is the old giant thread of prealgebra choices: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/342798-pre-algebra-fence-straddlers-master-thread/ I don't think it's been added to in ages, and now there's a website problem with the link - it got tucked under OneStep's social group somehow and I can't open it.

Maybe those things that fix sagging couches?

New, modern methods - 3D computer-guided surgery, no splints, no packing, supposedly an expert doc (sub-specialist). Hopefully tomorrow he will be done wearing a gauze pad for drainage, done with the bulk of the stuffiness/swelling over the weekend, and generally all cleared up within a week. The plan is to return to school on Tuesday. Doc said about one-third as bad as a T&A (which he had last March). I'm sure it'll be a fun weekend! The doc did find some infection areas after all, up in some corner of the ethmoid sinuses, and sent them off for culture. Fingers crossed that this is what we've been looking for, for >3 yrs, sigh.

You may recall that in pans world, there is an increased risk of mania, so the usual suggestion for meds is low and slow, starting super low at about one-tenth of a normal dose. Our update, on the sleep, we are now working an unexpected angle. My kiddo was just taken back into surgery for sinus (septoplasty, turbinoidectomy, ethmoidectomy ). The insides are kinda mangled lol; rhinologist took one look at him and was like duh, no wonder he doesn't sleep. I was surprised because he only has mild postnatal drip, no obvious infection. Anyway, we shall see. Possible additional bonus: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28012531 (sorry I would say more but on my phone)

Fascinating. Wish I had thought to get tutoring before a couple of placement tests - not that I couldn't do it myself, but if I had found someone who might know about the particular school's placement tests, and then, being not mom, could make them do more sufficient review, that would have been huge.

The problem (for you/us) with Common Core was that it pushed a few of the simpler alg 1 topics (like definition of a function) down into middle school. On the high school angle, should it come to that, I wouldn't feel the need to disclose the afterschooling possibility, at least not yet. I'd just ask what the process is for math placement testing as most high schools have such a process (and sometimes it's in APRIL rather than August!). If you don't hear the "right" answer from the counselor, email a math teacher or the math dept chair at the high school to ask. Also find out what text/program the high school uses for alg 1 - ETA, this is a better question for a math teacher as they are more likely to tell you - they want to be helpful, whereas the counselor may not even know. Sometimes that's not the whole story - if by any chance you know someone with a child there in 9th this year, see if you can get your hands on a syllabus or final exam review, anything. Sometimes you can find stuff with creative googling and/or poking around on the school website (e.g. clicking on teachers' names to see if you can hunt down a class web page). If you can't get any info, I'd use, say, last year's exams from NYS Regents for placement test practice - they are available on line. And yes, a lot of the differences to pick up on will be language-oriented, names for things, ways problems are worded, not exactly mathematical depth. ETA, on emailing math teachers, I would try to figure out who teaches alg 1 and then start out such an email with something like: "question from prospective parent Hello Ms. Smith, We are trying to make decisions about high school and it would help us greatly if we could know what math program(s) your school uses, especially for Algebra 1. If you could shed some light on what the school uses we would be so grateful!! Thank you very much!"

Reading your OP again, this definitely sounds to me like the difference between a common-core-ish sequence and the traditional sequence. The test anxiety is a separate matter and will have to be dealt with regardless. I would meet in person with whichever math teacher or math department chair is friendlier and make your best case, promising to teach that 5 min of topics, bring samples of their work, etc. (BTDT, taught the topics right before the middle school's placement test, no problems; still the middle school's default position was to place on the lower level until I pushed back during the first week of school - boring for them - and at that point, the school gave in easily, probably tired of standing firm against pushy parents.) The worst they can do is say no, in which case I'd afterschool alg 1, though afterschooling in 8th gr would be a chore to avoid if possible.

I would try for #1 (BTDT, kind of, multiple times) with the backup being #3. It's an awkward "that mom" conversation, to be sure. Mostly, the response depends on the perspective of the school. ETA, I'd also look at differences in sequence between what you know they know and what the school teaches for prealgebra and algebra 1 (even, or especially, if you afterschool alg 1 and will need them to pass a high school placement test in one year). I think it would be much easier to afterschool alg 1 on top of a school repeat of prealgebra in 8th than it would be to shoehorn in an additional year of high school math during high school to get to calc in 12th. (Check the high school's math track)

Fascinating. It just so happens that some brands of IVIg are stabilized with glycine (vs others with sorbitol or something), and I have seen people wonder out loud on the internet whether the glycine was especially helpful for that particular person or problematic for others. (There is also an OTC supplement though my understanding is that would involve large quantities of the size where you'd want a doc's input.)

It would be interesting to find out what this looks like, if anyone knows. I assume this is relevant only for a high level of selectivity, but... how high, top 10-20 only or top-30-ish? and do the adcoms literally sit there with two or three files open, comparing student A with student B? just wondering...

I too was surprised when I read that comment about the SAT2. I suppose it goes back to the purpose of the various tests - AP tests originally were for credit and/or placement. Senior year AP scores cannot be taken into consideration for admission due to the timing, limiting the available scores to ones from junior year or earlier. AFAIK there is no college that absolutely requires AP scores be reported or sent, though I don't know which ones might state some sort of recommendation to do so (check college websites; recommended is usually interpreted as required). In contrast, some super-selective schools very explicitly require SAT2s and/or the "recommendation" (read as "requirement") to provide SAT2s is more explicit. AFAIK, SAT2s have always been specifically about admission, though recently I read about using a foreign language SAT2 to place out of a college graduation requirement. For US schools, the AP exam scores are self-reported on the Common App, where there would be an opportunity to cherry-pick. The student has College Board send an official score report during the summer after senior year to the one college they plan on attending. (N.B., there are also discussions at CC about whether the UCs specifically care or not, as they use their own app.) You might be in a different situation altogether with the UK schools. They might want an official score report as part of the application package. I do not know whether the student can choose specific APs to send on the official score report or whether all are sent - I suspect the latter but I really don't know. Disclaimer for lurkers, I'm only reporting what I read on CC, which may not be accurate and colleges will differ. Nothing can replace thorough parsing of the language on a college's admissions website.

It is pinned, but no one can open it unless they are also in the social group.

This question of self-reporting AP exam scores on the Common App applies *only* to AP courses taken junior year or earlier. Senior year AP exams don't even take place until May, while admissions decisions typically come out in March or months earlier for EA/ED. From what I have read, no college, not even a super-selective one, is going to rescind admission for a student failing or not taking an AP exam senior year (whereas if the student had a D or F in the course, recision is possible). I have now gone through tons of threads on CC on this common question. The advice varies as follows: - The exam scores play little to no role whatsoever in admission at most colleges. - Some super-selective schools will look for the scores after seeing the AP courses listed on the transcript, and in theory, they could be tie breakers between similar applicants (and of course at that level, applicants need any tiny edge they can get), tossing someone in the reject pile if the scores are low or not present. The types of students admitted to Harvard will typically have all 5's or 4's and 5's. - But, low scores are unlikely to be the primary reason a student is not admitted. - And, this may matter only for, or more for, exams in the subject of the prospective major. - Some have not reported AP exam scores and still been admitted to highly selective schools. - The exam scores can be a boost but not a hindrance. - Or low scores can hurt more than high scores can help. - The exam scores can indicate grade inflation or poor course quality where the grade is high but the exam score low. - Or the regional adcom is already familiar with the rigor of the high school in question and can make judgements based on grades. - If a score is not reported, there may be the assumption that the student failed it. - Or not. Adcoms don't have time or energy to speculate; it's just a data point that is not there. (On the low-income as a reason for not taking, I'm not sure how they can be certain which students are low-income, necessarily.) - SAT2s matter much, much more than APs for admission to highly-selective schools. - If the score is 1 or 2, better to not self-report the score on the Common App, even if the speculation is that the student failed. What to do with a 3 depends on the colleges. A few of the more recent threads, though there are dozens: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1968369-do-ap-exams-affect-college-admissions.html http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2008325-do-highly-selective-colleges-really-care-about-ap-scores-p1.html http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1991517-taking-the-ap-class-without-the-ap-test-p1.html All these discussions involve B&M students. For homeschoolers, I imagine that AP exam scores may have much greater importance or at least greater utility.

My twins have a different relationship (um, they don't usually get along except for rare family vacation moments), so my thoughts probably won't apply, but I'll throw in my two cents anyway. I'd be pretty matter-of-fact about it; it's just part of life. I don't see this as a huge deal at all - annoying, to the extent that actual money is at play with the colleges the student will be applying to, but relatively meaningless beyond that, and that is probably where I'd put my emphasis. At this point, it's not as though he got rejected from a school his brother was admitted to. My twin B tends to do much better on standardized tests than twin A. He's presumably highly-gifted but has all manner of health and other issues such that no one would want to trade lives with him. Twin A is more even across the board. They will probably get the same grades in the two classes they take together at high school, but twin B is a year ahead of twin A in math. Such is life. They have a long way to go in the next 2-3 yrs, but at this point, it would not surprise me at all if they either didn't apply to any of the same schools (most likely situation) or if there were reach schools where one was admitted but the other rejected.

My oldest did a trip to Washington DC in 8th grade with her private school. It was expensive but memorable for her. My boys' charter had an 8th grade trip that included visiting Google in Kansas City or someplace similar. They did not go. I don't know what the regular neighborhood middle school does.

Same sort of problem happened just now with a random thread from the Gen Ed board http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/656388-mm-old-6-vs-new-7/ The tags are only mm and math, at least as far as I can tell. Onestep, the social group it thinks it is a part of is yours, Middle/High School W/Learning Challeng Perhaps this is a clue to the problem, at the top of the page: The Well-Trained Mind Community → Groups → Middle/High School W/Learning Challeng → Group Discussion → General Education Discussion Board

I'm just going by what I have read as my oldest is only a junior, so take all this with a large grain of salt. Reporting all SAT subject test scores will depend on the college - there might be a few schools that require all scores sent, officially, for the application, probably the same schools that require all SAT1 scores sent. And, of course, requirements for homeschoolers may be all over the map, so those should be checked carefully. AP may be entirely different. My understanding is that AP scores are self-reported on the Common App and then the student has an official report sent - later, after acceptance - from CB to the college the student is planning on attending, for credit and/or placement purposes. I suspect that the effect of not self-reporting a score for an AP course taken junior year will depend on the class, the particular student and the colleges in question. (Also note that the AP exams for the senior year AP courses will not have been taken prior to application and acceptance.) The discussions I have read over at CC about reporting AP scores or not go both ways. ETA, might be helpful to google the discussions yourself, site:collegeconfidential.com not report AP exam score. But, bear in mind that homeschoolers may have additional reasons to report scores (prove grades) and additional ways to avoid reporting scores if the exam did not go well (if the course was not an officially-designated AP course). Also, does anyone know whether there are still only 8 slots on the Common App for reporting AP and SAT2? I saw an older thread that said as much, such that many people wouldn't be able to fit them all.

Two cents from a non-homeschooler: Some people here have labeled a non-approved course with the usual description followed by "with AP exam." I've read mixed opinions for B&M kids on whether the grade in the AP course is more important than the score on the exam, whether to even report scores that are less than 4 on the Common App, etc. I imagine that the reverse would be true for homeschoolers, that the exam score may be more important than the grade - perhaps those with experience will chime in. A separate question for AP Human Geo is whether top-20 schools even care about that course, as it has a reputation of being one of the lighter APs (e.g., my kids' private school doesn't even offer it). I don't know, but presume, that a student trying to rack up APs for the AP Scholar designation does so with the exam, not the taking of the approved course, but I don't really know - if AP Scholar is the goal, I'm sure a quick check of the CB website should answer that question. If that's the case, you could just label "Human Geography with AP exam" and then have your student take the test.