What's in bold, i believe is his problem. My son is 12 (soon to be 13) and is definitely in puberty. I don't feel I need to go back and review concepts, I think he needs to pay more attention to detail, especially in these mult-step equations. For some reason, in hindsight, I don't think CLE was a good fit for him. A question about TabletClass. Is there a text for the Pre-Algebra course? Is it self-paced or do you need to finish the course during a set time? I see that you purchase a year's subscription; is that a school year or an actual calendar year?

Posted in the chat board by accident. My question had to do with the utter confusion and frustration I have after reviewing the materials for Irasshai. I purchased the text and workbook and he'll watch the videos on GPB. There is just so much information, I'm not sure how to break it up into consumable pieces. If you have used this with your ds or dd, how much of the material did you use? There is quite a bit of speaking assignments in the workbook. Where did they get the "speaking" practice? I'm feeling very overwhelmed and inadequate with regard to giving him a solid experience. If you are familiar with the program, please chime in on how you proceeded.

Sorry. Wrong board.

I've purchased Irasshai for my 10th grade son to study in the fall. I have the text and workbook, and he'll watch the videos. After reviewing the material tonight, this is me :confused: :eek: :crying: You get the point. If your ds or dd has used this program, what components did you use? How did you schedule the course? How did they get the "interactive" portion done? Who did they practice speaking with? It looks like so much to learn, and I'm not sure how to break it up into consumable pieces. If you are familiar with this program, please chime in. I'm trying to write a syllabus for this course.

Thanks for all the suggestions. You're right, bottom line is a solid math foundation, not if he's doing algebra in the 8th grade.

Derek Owens offers math courses starting at Pre-Algebra (which you can purchase). The other math courses are distant-learning, and right now it costs $58/month. But since it's self-paced, you can accomplish the course in less than 9 months. It's DVD based; and there are homework assignments and tests that you turn in and he grades. He keeps a transcript of the student's grades throughout the year. If you have questions, you can e-mail him and usually get a response by the next day. My oldest son has used his courses for Algebra, Physical Science and Physics with much success. Saxon also has dvd's to go along with its courses. There is Saxon Teacher, and Art Reed DVDs. Teaching Textbook is another option. TabletClass math offers video lectures, but I believe they cover pre-algebra through algebra 2 (No Pre-Calculus or Calculus).

My thought was to use either AoPS's Pre-Algebra or TabletClass. But I think both will be slightly boring at the beginning and then pick up. He understands the concepts, but it's the follow through. Maybe Jacobs Algebra would work for him. He considers himself good at math, and I think I blew it by putting him in CLE 700 after MM, instead of Pre-Algebra, and now it's messing with his head a bit that he may be taking Pre-Algebra in the 8th grade. Thanks for the suggestions.

My middle ds did MM 4, 5, and 6, but afterward, he was not comfortable doing Algebra. So for this past year, we choice CLE 700 because it has the spiral approach, and he did really well. He also did well with MM, he just wanted more review. He finished early, so I started using Lial's Introductory Algebra with him for the past several weeks (I already own it), and I don't see him using this for 8th grade. He's making silly mistakes, like not including the right signs (+ or _). And he dreads the thought of doing math with this text. I actually feel CLE 700 set him back a bit. I'm thinking he may need another Pre-Algebra course, but with more vigor or just another Algebra program. How would you proceed?

Call of the Wild White Fang Where the Red Fern Grows The Giver Phantom Tollbooth

Yeah, it would get costly and I actually agree with what you all have said. My husband is willing to make those sacrifices. It is a Brand New house with lots of upgrades, and it was still cheaper. Moving to a house in our current area means buying a resell and probably less square footage. But those travel costs would suck all the disposal income. I think we'll keep looking locally. Thanks for the input.

This would be an upgrade of from our town home (with very little yard) to about 500 extra sq. ft. and a backyard. But it's still in the suburbs, so not a huge yard, but definitely a step up for us.

I would start with Ancients. The book is written at a level where he could do the readings independently, and I would also buy the activity book. There are extra readings, map work, discussion questions (that you could do orally or written) and other hands-on activities included. I would not purchase the tests booklet. You can purchase them online at Peace Hill Press, and you may find them on Amazon. I would definitely start at the beginning.

If you could purchase a house about 45 minutes from where you currently live, just to get it at about $80,000 less than the purchase price in your current area, would you get it? Basically getting more bang for your buck. The kicker is that your "life" would still be 45 minutes away. My husbands commute daily, and mine on a part-time basis? And I would still continue to homeschool. Plus activities/volunteer position my oldest ds does currently. Just need some objective perspectives.

I don't bash the public schools, but I have experienced the negatives (my oldest was in ps through 5th grade, middle son through 2nd grade). It does no good to not be open to the fact that there are negative aspects to the public school system, without it being considered "bashing". On the flip side, there are also negative aspects about home schooling. One really needs to be very objective. And be very satisfied with the choices one makes, without having to bash the alternative. I've actually stopped listening to friends/family's views, even when they agree with me, because they're not living it.

I used McGruffy for K-2 with my youngest son. I chose it because it was plenty for his attention span, lots of manipulatives to solidify the lesson. He really enjoyed it and was sorry when we stopped. We switched to Math Mammoth because I thought it would be a better fit for the long hall. He was able to transition without any problems. He will be doing MM5 this fall.

A few things stick out. Your overall calorie intake seems low based on your workout schedule. The dizziness may stem from low blood sugar, which could be caused by not getting enough carbohydrates before you workout. It's actually better to eat light 1/2 to 1 hour before you workout, AND a protein/carb snack after you work out. It could also be the loss of salt in your blood, which could be replenished with sports drinks (1 cup). Drinking just water will not fix this imbalance. Although of course you should hydrate with 16-24 ounces of water 2 hours before your activity. But I would definitely pick up your caloric intake. JMHO :001_smile:

:iagree: I received our shipment a few days ago, and after reviewing it, it felt like Labs with the text as the supplement. :001_smile: The Labs are an integral part of this curriculum. When deciding to homeschool high school, I knew science was going to cost me, especially chemistry and biology.

I too agree that it's wordy, and it takes some maturity on the students part to get through the book/activities. My ds is finishing the book this week, but he is a 7th grader. It worked fine for him, but there were days when his thought it was too much, but he was able to accomplish it anyway. My impressions is that it is aimed for the 6th-8th grade student, but that's JMHO.

Discovery of Deduction wordy and boring for my ds (at the time 8tn grade). It also got to be quite difficult for this age level. We made it about 1/2 way through. We dropped it, and now he get's his practice in logic from other areas (ie. geometry and computer programming). I'm fine with that.

My son completed Algebra 2 a couple of weeks ago using Saxon Teacher. He didn't use the dvd for the teaching portion, just for the solutions portion, and that was on occasion, so I'm not sure it was worth the money. But he appreciated that the solutions were talked out. For Advanced Math, I purchased Art Reed DVD's along with the Solutions Manual. Art Reed teaches the topic and doesn't focus on the examples in the book. But for this level of math, I wanted him to have someone "teach" the material. If he has a difficulty, he can still view how the problems are worked in the Solutions Manual. So far, this method is working. I've heard better comments for Art Reed over DIVE, so we tried Art Reed.

My son is finishing with MM 4B this week, and he got through division by knowing his multiplication facts really well. We go over division a little, but knowing his multiplication facts forwards and backwards, worked well for him. He was able to think "backward" fairly quickly. By the way, we still drill those daily, going for speed.

For the 3 R's, I have no problem meeting each child's individual needs. I've combined history, science, music, Latin, art without a thought.

Sorry for your loss. But there is comfort in knowing you were there with him and that is was beautiful and something you wont' regret.

I used this program a couple of years ago, with a then 3rd and 5th grader. It was perfect for my 3rd grader, and too easy for my 5th grader. At the time, I just purchased the items as we moved along the curriculum, many were household items or inexpensive to purchase. The experiments are really very basic/simple as chemistry goes. For your 6th grader, I would consider: Real Science 4 Kids, NOEO Chemistry II, Elemental Science (Logic Level). It is hard to know what would be a good fit, but even with little to no experience in chemistry, RSO Chemistry for your 6th grader would probably be boring.

My son has an interview this Friday for the local art museum. He's asked to be considered for assisting with the children's programs and helping install the rotating exhibits.