My son is a little panicky about the AOPS online class. Can anyone explain how it works exactly? Specifically the one through AOPS? It looks like a set time Each week. What if you miss it? What do they do during that time? How does the rest of the week flow - homework from that one weekly lesson? Do you parents do the class too? How do you help them when they need it? Just work through the answers with them? Would love detailed thoughts on the process!

I have an incredibly strong-willed child. I think I need to check this one out.

Okay so you would recommend going directly with AOPS then? I had no idea about a stretch class - I'll look into it. Two hours a day on math sounds reasonable going forward.

Good to know! Which online class are you doing?

My son will be finishing Beast Academy soon (once 5D comes out) and he just took the readiness test for AOPS and got a near perfect score, so he will be ready to start that next. I was thinking it would be best for him to take a class with it though. I do not feel comfortable continuing on teaching at this level, especially knowing how challenging AOPS is (Beast Academy was hard enough -- I'm just thankful I had all the answers in front of me, ha!) So I was wondering what online class is a favorite to go along with AOPS Pre-Algebra?

Well I had him do the assessment for Elements of Mathematics Foundations. He got 50%. Yikes! Then I had him do the pre-readiness for AOPS, he got 96% (one wrong) and was able to fix the last problem once I showed him one tiny thing he had forgotten. I think that shows that AOPS is the direction we should go. He has done REALLY well under Beast Academy, and they are the same company, so it does make sense to continue on with this path for him. Seeing the two test results really helped solidify that, I think.

Have added a bunch to my list! If anyone else has more recommendations, we are always looking for exciting and thrilling read alouds :)

We want to set up a space in the garage as a makerspace for our son. Where should we start? He is obsessed with soldering after trying it at the makerfaire a few months ago, and he is always building, creating, etc. we thought we might just dive in and create a safe workspace for him to do all his creating. I recently subscribe to Make magazine, just waiting for the first issue to show up.

Oh yes I recently read that too - excellent!

We haven't done any of those. I'll check them ou! Did you know a sequel to The War That Saved My Life is coming out in October? I almost screamed when I heard. I cannot wait!! And would you believe my son is loving A Night Divided even more than War?

I wanted to share my two favorites right now (that my son could not get enough of): - The War That Saved My Life, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - A Night Divided, Jennifer Nielsen Both of these are so good and favorites of all time. Only problem is I've got my son (almost 11) hooked on these exciting and thrilling historical fiction books and I need more that are equally as good! Any recommendations?

Totally agree with this 100%. My daughter did Singapore all the way through and though she is very good at math, I do not think Beast Academy would have been a great fit for her. I think Singapore is more straight forward, whereas BA requires more conceptual thinking. There are some problems so advanced that my husband and I couldn't figure out without the answers, and even after reading the answers, it took us a while to grasp it fully. I remember when it first came out, people were saying they were using it as a fun supplement. But that has not been our experience at all. The Practice book is challenging and a full curriculum. We usually spend 1-2 hours on math every day, five days a week, and we'll be happy to finish year 5 within 9.5 to 10 months.

My son is 10.5 and we've gone through them all up to 5c (will do 5d when it comes out). It's a challenging curriculum and very different from Singapore (what I used with my daughter). I would say it's definitely advanced and the kids need to use deep thinking with many of the problems (especially the starred ones). My son will be very ready for pre-algebra after this. He just took a standardized test and he scored at the 99th percentile. I read the guide aloud with him and then set him free on the practice book.

That's what I thought! So everyone is supposed to stay at the same level for the sake of the SAT? Seems kind of backwards to me, especially for a kid who wants to be an engineer.

So the educational specialist had the following to say. Thoughts? Seems insane that a kid should be "held back" because of standardized testing - the joys of playing the game? "So I think he would be fine moving into the next level of math that you are planning on for next year. He obviously is very knowledgable in math and it is good to keep challenging him each year. You will want to be careful in not getting him too ahead in math because by the time he takes the SAT in high school he will have done the math on that so very long ago that it will be a struggle for him to recall everything with accuracy. "

Thanks for all the feedback so far!!

That would be awesome! Thank you!!

My son, oy. I was a picky kid so I like to think he'll grow out of it. I sure hope so. But it's hard. I sometimes cook his favorites but since he likes so little, I usually just cook what I want and try to keep some stuff simple so he'll eat (like some spaghetti without sauce).

We have been studying slavery in the US in our American HIstory, but my son is interested in studying slavery around the world in current day. I'm wondering what would be good resources for this? He is almost 11. TIA!

Zinc supplements REALLY helped my daughter.

Time for kids subscription and listening to NPR - that's what we do :) plus lots of juicy conversations about what's happening in the world!

Okay thanks. I'll have him do the placement test at least, to see what it says.

Whoa! That is a crazy claim!! So what do they do for the rest of their high school years if they finish Calculus by grade 8, and can it all be done online? The reason I ask is because he will definitely be going to a more regular school setting for high school (I know I can't do it).

My son is 3/4 of the way through Beast Academy 5 (we're on 5C and just waiting for the last book to come out 5D). He has done very well (there are some things that are SOOOO hard and that frustrates him, but on the whole he has done very well). We've always known he is naturally good at math, but he does have to work at it too. We are part of a charter here in California this year (to keep me on track) so he had to do MAPS testing (standardized testing) and he got a REALLY high score in math (higher than any I've seen). So he's clearly learning math. I cannot teach him Pre-Algebra. I taught my daughter and it was too challenging for us both. But the main issue is that he needs someone great at math and I've decided this is the end of the road with me for teaching him math. I want better for him. So - is AOPS the best choice or is there another? And which online class would be best to support him through the challenges? I see TWTM has a class offered. I know we'll need to probably decide soon because these things sell out quickly I believe. TIA!

We LOVED Stranger Things. We tried Longmire (the first episode) and couldn't get into it. Does it get better?