I don't really have an opinion as I haven't read the thread. Just responding to the idea that prealgebra math is just all review. Which does not have to be true.

I haven't read the whole thread. Just the part about his cousin doing algebra in 6th, so wondering the pros and cons of following this time table for her ds.

At some point a kid has to learn how to do more than drill and kill. You can use any program you want and beef it up, or explain it deeply. But I think you know what I mean that some kids just learn algebra as a manipulation of numbers and letters with no idea how to use it or why to use it. If you haven't seen this in you experience, you should meet the kids I tutor!

I completely agree. And I'm guessing that is what a school kid in 6th grade algebra will be doing.

MIT requires all students to take Calculus 1 and 2 in their first year. 1) They can take the final exam and place out Calc 1 and calc 2 2) They can take the final exam and place out of Calc 1, and take calc 2 in the fall term 3) They can do an accelerated class in fall term: Calc1 for 4 weeks, and then Calc 2 for the rest of the fall term. 4) They can do the standard stream: Calc 1 in the fall term, Calc 2 in the spring term 5) They can do the stretch class: Calc 1 in the fall term and in January term (so an extra 4 weeks) and then Calc 2 in the spring term The point is that even at MIT, a large percentage of the class still takes calculus and doesn't jump into multivariate. MIT knows that some kids have to take or retake calc, and some of them even need a stretch class.

Yup. Math U See vs AoPS for intro Algebra in 6th would be 2 totally different experiences. People say 'algebra' in 6th, but really we have no idea what they are talking about.

You and I agree! I've never been in any hurry over here with my boys.

Agreed. We did lots and lots of fun wonderful math without getting into algorithmic algebra. This training allowed my younger boy to be able to do 3 equations 3 unknowns from a word problem without having ever seen the algebraic algorithm. Way more powerful mathematical training if you can intuitively see and understand relationships and not rely on plug and chug. So it is not that I held him back, we did algebra level work but not with algorithms.

Singapore was just computation and word problems, a basic program. Life of Fred was story form and he loved it. He got through the Biology and Economics book. I think maybe the physics too, but I can't remember. Mathematics: A Human Endeavor expanded him out into more interesting/beautiful math that did not require much algebra. AoPS was theory. I stalled him because of his dysgraphia. He could not Encode language into mathematics, so pushing forward in algorithmic algebra was not where I wanted to go. Sure he could have pounded out algebra in the way schools do, but without the ability to use it or understand it in a meaningful way. I think it is critical to engage a kid with where they are at, and from my point of view if you cannot *use* math, then learning algorithmic skills is a waste of time.

Agreed.

I did 4 pre-algebra math programs over 3 years with my younger boy: Singapore, part of AoPS, Life of Fred, and Mathematics: A human endeavor. Definitely, NOT review. He loved each one for different reasons. My older boy did Algebra for 3 years with AoPS. There was simply no need to call it done in a year and move on to geometry. I think that math is what you make of it. I would be very hesitant to keep a child's math progression tied to competition with a school kid.

Notice that with all these descriptions I'm focusing on skills learned in the lab rather than on the content of the lab.

Here are my descriptions for Physics and Chemistry that were run through the New Zealand national exams and assessments. Physics with Lab – NCEA level 3. (Te Kura, 1 credit) This course built on concepts covered in a first-year Physics course. Topics included mechanics, electromagnetism, wave systems, and modern physics. This course had a strong written component in addition to quantitative problem solving. The lab component focused on data analysis and error analysis, with instruction provided through Te Kura. Lab reports required data transformation, error measurements, and identification of mathematical relationships. Variation of results from expected values were discussed in terms of both theory and data collection. Texts: Materials published by Te Kura NCEA level-3 exams and assessments: 19 Excellence credits earned. 4 in progress Chemistry with Lab – NCEA level 3. (Te Kura, 1 credit) This course built on concepts covered in a first-year Chemistry course which was self-studied. Topics included thermochemical principles and the properties of particles and substances, equilibrium principles in aqueous systems, and oxidation-reduction processes. A detailed unit on spectroscopic analysis of organic compounds focused on analytical skills in interpreting complex graphical data. The lab component focused on data collection and quantitative analysis using lab equipment provided by Te Kura. More advanced labs were completed at the Laboratory at Te Kura and at Victoria University of Wellington. Texts: Materials published by Te Kura NCEA level-3 exams and assessments: 16 Excellence credits earned

This was my course description for Biology. This was a homeschool course so I put more detail into it than for his other 2 lab sciences. Sorry for the poor formatting. Biology with Lab. (1 credit) This second-year Biology course covered cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, evolution, ecology, animal diversity, plant diversity, and human anatomy. The laboratory component included a large-scale investigation focusing on how biotic and abiotic factors affect competition and predation in the rocky intertidal zone. It required familiarity with the ecological literature, identification of an interesting question, and the design of appropriate methods. This course had a strong statistical component and results were analyzed using R (The R Project for Statistical Computing). The course also included a unit on human manipulation of genetic transfer including recombinant DNA, amplification with PCR, recombinant plasmids, transgenesis, CRISPR, gene therapy, and cloning. This course included a research paper, a scientific paper, and short essays. Textbooks: Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life, Cecie Starr and Ralph Taggart Handbook of Biological Statistics. by John McDonald R Programming, by Wikibooks

I think we are adapting to these crazy times. Last March, I was desperate to get my son back when all hell broke loose and lockdown in the USA and NZ was imminent. And now a year later, he will be returning to USA in 2 weeks, having already flown there and back in August and November. Fear and uncertainty has been replaced with caution and risk assessment.

The case has been linked to the quarantine facility. It was caught from someone on the same floor (they know this through genome testing), but they are using CCTV to try to identify how so they can prevent it in the future with this more contagious strain. The person left quarantine with 2 negative tests and started feeling ill 3 days later and got tested ASAP. Luckily, she was really good about scanning the covid app, so they know exactly where and when she was during those days and have contacted all the people who were at those stores/locations and put out a list to the community. Currently her two closest contacts (husband and hair dresser) have tested negative so they are thinking she got tested quite early and before being very contagious. They are currently testing all other close contacts and we will know the results today, and asking all her casual contacts to self isolate. They have opened up capacity to test the entire region, and there are currently 4 hours wait times. So far, it looks like she did everything right, and as of now they know of no community spread. This location is a 12 hour drive from me. ETA: been announced that 15 of her 18 close contacts have tested negative. Waiting on the other 3 tests. Looking good.

My younger son has grapheme-color synesthesia and ordinal-linguistic personification. I asked him just now how this helped him in his school work, and he believes that it has made him more creative. But on the negative side, it made math quite mucky as his personification meant that he found negative numbers to be evil, so bauked at those types of problems and at the time I did not know why. He would see a page of yellow vs blue numbers, and would get confused because he kept looking for patterns when there were none. It has also made graphing quite odd as the different parts of the axes are colored based on negative and positive x and y. He also said that when learning to type that his right had was in the yellow spectrum and his left was blue. So it was incredibly confusing for him to have p which is purple to him be on the yellow side, and q which is yellow to him be on the blue side. I never knew he saw these things until he told me when he was about 10. He just didn't know it was unusual or that it explained some of the trouble he was having in math.

I think ???? @lewelma has a kid at MIT?? Maybe she can give some input on courses you should pursue or other considerations. ....................... If your ds is serious, most of the students at MIT have won some national competition. It could be attending MOP for math, or a national physics camp, but my ds also has friends who have won the national cello competition and another who was a national tennis player. For those who are less privileged with fewer opportunities (and MIT accepts lots of these), they need to show that they have taken advantage of everything that was open to them. So they might have never taken calculus, but they might start a tutoring center, or be taking care of their 4 siblings and grandparents, or they might be the breadwinner for the family. Basically, kids that will excel at MIT (and thus are the ones that MIT admits), have a huge drive to do more than school work, and they create their own opportunities rather than having them handed to them on a plate.

I did for biology because we only did 1 big investigation rather than weekly labs. Also, one of his universities required 3 lab sciences so I thought they might read that description in particular as Biology was run by me. Chemistry and Physics were officially through a school, so I was less worried about them.

My older ds's did not attend university young. After taking 2 university math classes at our local university, he found that they were just too easy and he would rather self study. He did not want to be the top student at 5 years younger than the others. We did some research and found that all the universities in NZ were at the same level, and that there was no place for him here. Once he decided that he would be going overseas for university, I wanted him to be 18. He started 5 days before his 18th birthday. MIT allowed him to skip undergraduate math classes, and start with grad classes in his Freshman year.

We have had 3 female prime ministers in the last 24 years. In my experience they are called in casual conversation: Shipley, Helen Clark, and Jacinda. Jenny Shipley has a very common first name, so is called Shipley Helen Clark has a common first and last name, so is called Helen Clark. Plus, Clark can be a male first name (and is actually Jacinda's partner's name). Jacinda Ardern has a uncommon both first and last names, and is known as Jacinda in casual conversation, but Ardern in the press. People might have started calling her, Jacinda, when the press named her meteoric rise "Jacindamania." As for our one male PM in the past 24 years: John Key is typically called John Key, not John or Key. John is common, and Key is short so easily misheard.

Before you do any elimination diet, make sure you do a celiac test or any other tests. Once you start feeling better by removing the offending foods, you have really very little interest in putting the food back in your diet for 10 weeks so that they can test you to prove it is the problem. As me how I know. Look into the FODMAP died if you are considering fructose intolerance.

I thought you guys might enjoy this image. The main online newspaper here is trying to get New Zealanders to be better about scanning the QR codes as a way of protecting the country from the new more contagious strain. The image made me smile -- the kiwi is a weird-looking bird! https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/123966930/stop-scanner-time-on-the-push-to-get-every-kiwi-scanning-every-time

I charge a flat fee of 30% loading for my noncontact hours to adapt the program to the student. So for 10 hours in person for a 10 week term, I charge 3 hours noncontact to plan. I charge an extra 30% for every class I teach even if the in person hours don't change. So if I'm teaching Physics and Algebra, I charge 6 hours noncontact for 10 in person hours. I can charge 30% rather than 100% as EKS stated because we have a national curriculum that I work with and because I teach multiple kids at the same level, so the work I do for one I can often use for another.

yes. Doctor's visit required. People here are not getting tested much because we don't have covid, and haven't since May 11th. So we don't have drive through clinics or anything like that. After the doc appointment, the nurses have to get all suited up just for the one test, and then they have to print and certify the documentation. Because New Zealanders are not travelling overseas as they are not likely to be able to get back in because quarantine is full, this means that this is an unusual ask. To get an "I'm negative" certificate is expensive because it is a one off and not set up for bulk processing. I was told $160 for evidence that my ds is negative. The USA is not giving an exemption for people travelling from NZ.