When I signed up to coach for FLL, I thought it was a robotics competition. I had no idea I was also signing up for a science fair and a skit. I just felt like there were too many things going on apart from robot building. I think successful teams are large and delegate the different jobs to different students. But I had a team with just 3 kids, so everyone got to have a role in every aspect of FLL. I thought they had a richer experience, but it was more work and we didn't advance. Does anyone else (besides me) that FLL should really be about the robot competition and the other stuff just dilutes the effort?

I should add that this isn't the case in all areas. We are in Northern California, and there was one team that blew everyone else away in the robot competition. It was a big team with a huge contingent of parents there. But they didn't advance to the next level of competition. We were shocked and speculating on where they failed. Was it the project? Was there too much parental involvment? While I didn't directly observe parental involvement, I wouldn't put it past them. I agree that it is loud, but our concern is about hearing damage (due to dh having tinnitus). I am in the habit of carrying ear protection in my purse for these sorts of events, not just FLL where amplified sound is present.

If you decide to go with Python, we've had a good experience so far (half way through the book) with Python Programming for Absolute Beginners by Michael Dawson. The author's paradigm is to create games of increasing complexity as you learn more programming tools. HTH.

My dd11 and I are mathy and we started with Pre Algebra. We begin by reading the introduction together. Then I have her do the problems on her own...as many as she can before she is reduced to guessing, LOL! Then we work through the problems together at the white board. I try not to do the problems for her, but lead her to seeing the path to the solution. Sometimes it works...sometimes not so much. We continue this way, with her working through the problems and us working together as needed. Then she watches the correspoding aops video online and continues with the exercises in much the same way as the problems. That is, she attempts as many as possible without having to resort to guessing or giving up. We do the problems together before she continue with more exercises. Using this approach, she works roughly a half hour a day on math, so it takes us several days to finish a section and several weeks to complete a chapter. This is a much slower pace than the online classes, but suits us fine. Hope this helps! We do love this curriculum and are grateful to Rusczyk for creating it.

Are you in the Bay Area? You might try joining BAGHS (bay area gifted homeschoolers) for more support.

For elementary there are 10 years worth of exams (5 exams per year) so plenty to keep you busy! In the middle school section there are 7 years of exams. I like having the stratification of levels of difficulty. I regret buying all three books (vol. 1, vol. 2, and Creative Problem Solving...I think you got a discount if ordered all three at once!). Now wish I had only purchased vol. 2 since that's the only book we ever use. BTW, if you register a team at moems, you also receive a few of the most recent exams for practice as well.

For contest prep you can also find old Math Kangaroo exams available for sale on their site. They start at 1st grade through high school. HTH.

If you are looking for contest problems for practice, I recommend vol. 2. In that book, the tests are divided into elementary and middle school. In vol. 1 there are a bunch of exams, but it isn't clear which grade level they are.

MOEMS elementary is for 4th-6th graders, but younger kids can participate. More info at moems.org Math Kangaroo begins in 1st grade, more info at mathkangaroo.org I proctored both exams for homeschoolers (including my own kids). MK is very receptive toward homeschoolers participating. MOEMS is becoming more restrictive and favors students who are enrolled in regular school. HTH!

Hi: Many of the problems in the AOPS Prealgebra book contain problems from MOEMS and Mathcounts, and are quite challenging to my dd11. We have not used the other AOPS book you mentioned. For additional practice, I can also recommend this book: http://tinyurl.com/moemsv2 which has both elementary and middle school problems. We will also be using the AMC8 problems for practice which can be obtained from the maa.org website.

After doing this for several weeks, I realize you are totally correct. It is really hard to plan each week, so I just play it by ear depending on how she's getting it.

Are you referring to MOEMS? (moems.org) I ran a team of homeschooled kids for a couple of years, and in the off season, we take practice tests as a group for practice. I copy the tests from their books which you can buy from the website. THey are getting a little weird about homeschoolers now. (I think it has something to do with cheating among schooled kids.) Anyway, you can do it officially and receive the awards and certificates and what not, or use old exams for practice. I like that each exam is <30 minutes long, so it gives you plenty of time to take the exam and then review teh questions after, and you're done in an hour. That makes it convenient for everyone to schedule. The problems are fun and challenging, too, and gives younger kids exposure to fun math outside all the algorithms they learn in their regular curricula. Good luck! --Vida

How about: Cosmos by Sagan (We're reading Magic of Reality, too! My kids are now asking detailed questions about how glass can be a liquid. Who knew?)

Sorry, I'm late to the discussion, but I didn't see anyone mention MOEMS. Look at their bookstore at moems.org. Their books of old exams have lots of good math problems with detailed solutions in the back. Good luck!

We're doing AOPS PreAlgebra at home, without the online class. I'm trying to figure out how to pace the book. Doing one section each day (1.2, 1.3, 1.4,...) seems too fast. We tried that in chapter one, and retention was not so good. Dd is in 5th grade and relatively mathy, as is Mom. I don't have her read and do the problems on her own. We read and work through them together at the white board. Then she does the exercises on her own, and we review them together at the white board. I am considering reviewing the problems at the start of a section on one day, then have the student do the exercise problems for the same section the following day. At the end of each chapter, spend one day on review problems and another day on challenge problems. How much do you have your student do each day? Thanks! --Vida

I'm so with you. I'm having a hard time getting others to participate. Did you feel like it is more difficult for individuals to advance than teams? Congratulations to your dd! Keep us informed about her progress! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! Congrats to you, too!

Thank you! I'll definitely look in to these resources. I'm glad I have the summer to recruit team members!

Thank you, Kathy. I think I may be in the same boat, with fewer than 4 kids. Can you explain why it is more likely for a team to advance than an individual?

I'm just becoming familiar with MathCounts, and considering coaching a HS group next year. I understand from the manual that a group consists of a team of 4 plus 6 individuals. They recommend that the best students be placed on the team. Trouble is, I don't always know who the best students are. Have any of you coached a MC group? Is there a huge difference in the experiences of students competing as a team versus as individuals? (Are teams more fun?) How did you select who should be on a team and who should be an individual? THanks so much! --Vida

Who is your writing coach at WriteGuide? I just started by dd with Mrs. Foley.

We use singapore and I supplement with the Math Olympiad practice tests. IMO, these cover very different aspects of math. SM teaches the standard stuff: how to do the standard operations, calculate areas, handle fractions, etc. I use the Math Olympiad books specifically to prepare my kids for MOEMS. These are challenging problems that do not require much of the computation that one learns in SM. They are more like brainteasers. Scattered here and there are some pre-algebra questions, but their solutions do not use the bar method. I think it's important to learn both problem solving approaches, but I don't think there is much overlap. Good luck! --Vida

THank you! I have ordered the Math Mammoth for Integers and will consider switching after 5B. What a great resource, I wish I had joined WTM sooner!

Hi: I'm subscribed to the K-8 forum. does this automatically get me subscribed to the sub-forum, Logic stage? Many thanks from a newbie!

Thank you, I will check the other threads. I can't believe dd is nearly up to logic stage already. Time flies!

Thanks, wapiti. I will definitely look into it.