Since you asked about books, I would buy a copy of In Quest of the Universe. It's an astronomy textbook that was recommended on this board, and I'm reading for fun. It has lovely full color illustrations, and I would use it as a reference. PBS has many, many documentaries about space, too many to list here. The new Cosmos and anything else with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Here is a transcript of a radio program about deaf culture and its history that I heard some time ago.

Hi: Quite by accident, my dd's and I read and discussed Plato's Allegory of the Cave, and now I'm smitten with philosophy. It also helps that I just read a NYT article that makes reference to this work ("At best, you might succeed in talking to someone who can tell you he has seen the shadows on the cave wall.") Had I read this 2 weeks ago, I would have completely missed this reference! Can you help me compile a list of essential beginning reading in philosophy? Or does an anthology already exist? As a math/science gal, this is completely out of my element. Thanks!

Thank you!

I remember my college started at the end of September. I hated it. I was so eager to start school and get on with it. Summer was over, eveyone else was gone, I wanted to get started already.

Classic physics: Thinking Physics Modern physics: Relativity Visualized

True, it probably doesn't mention homeschooling once, but it so validated our decision to do so. It's been a couple of years since I've read it, but I still think about the author's insights.

Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More than Peers.

Some kids who are interested in robotics could also benefit from learning about electronics. I've compiled some resources on another thread.

My kids don't do Alcumus, probably for the reasons cited by OP. But they attempt all problems, exercises, review exercises and challenge problems. If it's in the text, we at least attempt the the problems and review the solutions. We gave up on the videos and don't do alcumus, or really anything else other than the text.

Yes, and as was mentioned by a PP, the exams go directly to the librarian, not to the parent. You do need to obtain special permission as a homeschooler, but once you've been approved, you're good to go. I'm not happy about the extra hoops, and consider myself lucky that we have come to know a very nice librarian.

Yes, and as was mentioned by a PP, the exams go directly to the librarian, not to the parent. You do need to obtain special permission as a homeschooler, but once you've been approved, you're good to go. I'm not happy about the extra hoops, and consider myself lucky that we have come to know a very nice librarian.

Our librarian proctors the exam for us.

Good question. I thought direct objects must always be nouns. So when TO PUT THE FIRE OUT is labeled as a direct object, I thought TO PUT would be acting as a noun. But in re-reading MCT, it says that infinitive phrases can be nouns or modifiers. "He lived to read." TO READ is acting as an adverb. So maybe TO PUT is acting as an adverb?

It isn't hard to run your own center. I've hosted a Math Kangaroo at my library for the past few years. MK is very homeschool-friendly.

I'm happy with the change this year that you can have private registration directly to their website. This saves me having to collect everyone's personal information and money and register them individually myself. Now I can just give everyone the password and they can register themselves.

This is from MCT's Practice Voyage: Acrid fumes poured from the engine room; we hoped to put the fire out. TO PUT THE FIRE OUT is described by MCT as a direct object and infinitive phrase. OUT is labeled as an adverb, but we can't figure out what it is modifying. It can't modify TO PUT because it TO PUT is a noun and adverbs only modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. So what is OUT modifying? Thank you for your help!

"They told us that students would benefit from more time on the multiple-choice section of the exam and that the free-response section was providing more time than students needed." My dd14 who took the exam this year agreed with this statement and thinks the above change is a good thing.

While maybe not bankrupt you, it is a hobby that to some extent requires some spending, though as you learn more, you get better at repurposing items. (Here it helps to have an experienced hobbyist helping you.) For example, I was watching a video on how to make a DIY paper plate speaker (a great project, btw!) and the guy said he needed some copper wire. So instead of just going to radio shack for some wire, he kicked open an obsolete television and pulled out some wire! (Skip to 1:35 for this scene.) In any case, I firmly believe it is money well spent. If you end up using the Make: Electronics book by Charles Platt, I'm happy to help you make purchasing decisions.

Hear hear! I am also annoyed by "math is fun" and "engineering is fun!". Sure it's fun now when we make the led light up, but your intro electronics class is going to be a lot of work. However, you will gain the satisfaction of a job well done or new skills learned. Not really fun though. I feel like we're doing a disservice particularly to underserved students when we paint this happy picture for them. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Darn. I just received an email from a girl's mom telling me she won't be participating. I don't know if it's the way I run the meetings or if students aren't well prepared for problem solving at this level. I'll keep my fingers cross that we don't lose any more students this month.

Sadly, the discussion has already happened. They were to read it in class, and discuss it immediately after. She was not prepared for the difficulty of the reading material (my fault!), and was totally lost during the discussion. She needed dh to help her understand what it all means.

If I may, I just checked with dh on what the heck dd14 has been doing all weekend, cooped up in her room with schoolwork. He tells me that the students read Plato's The Cave during history class, which I'm not familiar with, but dh didn't read until a philosophy class in college. Is The Cave considered accessible to high school freshmen? (Maybe this is a topic for a separate thread.) I ask because we've done easy history in middle school (primarily Joy Hakim's History of US), and she's not been exposed to material like this. This also goes against my philosophy to create a more or less "pointy" (as opposed to "well-rounded," 10 AP classes by senior year) kid. I don't want to neglect entirely subjects that don't interest her, but if she isn't a history buff, why push her into advanced history?

Good question. After about a week she came home in tears because of her disappointment. But she gave school another week and is seeing some more positives. For me it's been something of a roller coaster. When we signed the papers last spring, mentally/psychologically I had handed the reins to the school. But as I heard her complaints this fall and contrasted them with the lovely homeschooling stories I read about here, plus the neat opportunities she'll be giving up, I'm feeling sad. Now I really want to lobby her to come back because I feel like I can offer her a superior education and extracurricular opportunities. But she already knows my position, she already knows what I have to offer. She's already told me she's going to give the school another week to redeem itself, so all I can do is wait. And also research what was suggested by PPs for some flexibility by the school.

More wisdom from the WTM board. (Where would I be without WTM?) Yes, thank you for this reminder. I will redouble my efforts to shut my mouth, and step back and let her decide. You are right, that it isn't easy.