The precalculus at Chalk Dust has 14 dvd's. Does the Houghton Mifflin also have 14? I see one for sale at Amazon, and it has 11 DVD's. I'm really wanting to get this, but I'm afraid I'll get the wrong thing and waste my money! Martha

My ds and dd used LCT I last year, and my ds is using LCT II this year (we actually did LCT I and the first 5 chapters of LCT II as per the book's recommendations for high school). I let my dd drop out to do Spanish after a few chapters of LCT II, not because she couldn't do it, but because she didn't like it. Unfortunately, she has been having a few "maturity" issues these last couple of years! My ds was 9th and 10th grades. My dd was 6th grade when she did LCT I. I don't think it was too hard for my dd. In fact, she got a gold medal for the NLE Latin I last year (as did my ds). You have to stay on top of the vocabulary, but it is pretty straight forward as far as the Latin goes. There are discrepancies here and there between the student and teacher's books, but I think the books are effective and easy to use. All this to say, I think your 8th grader could do this program. HTH Martha

It sounds like any of the classes might be helpful. For a transcript, would one language be better than another? It sounds like the VB class might be what I'm looking for... I have another question. I know there are some schools that have computer gaming as a major, but wouldn't that be a little restrictive? Would computer science be a major that he could choose that would allow him to work in the computer gaming industry? Sorry if that's a really dumb question. Martha

My ds thinks he wants to pursue a career in computer science. I guess what he really wants to do is develop computer games. He has no experience in computer programming, so I want to expose him to it as an elective next year (he will be a junior). *I* have absolutely no experience in this other than learning FORTRAN in the dark ages. I was thinking of signing him up for a class with Potter's School. Which would be better -- Visual Basic or Java? Does anyone have any experience with either of these classes with Potter's School? Or, does anyone have any better plan of attack? I'd love to hear any feedback or get direction from anyone who can lead this blind mom... Martha in GA

I actually bought mine (last month) for $239.99 from Harvest Essentials. They had them for $249.99 and I found a $10 coupon. Having said that, it doesn't look like they have that deal anymore. BUT, I just did a Google search with shopping, and you can get them for $249.99 with free shipping at a couple of places (I think AvantGardeGadgets was one of them). Hope that helps. Martha

This problem just "looks" different because it is in function notation. f(0)=5 is just a fancy way of saying (0,5) is one of your points on the graph [the value of the function f evaluated at x=0, is 5, or f(x)=5]; likewise, f(5)=0 means that (5,0) is on the graph. Now you have two points, and the slope is the rise (difference in y values) over the run (difference in x values), or (5-0)/(0-5)= -1. Hope this helps. Martha

I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but they are free daily editing activities: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/animalsAtoZ/animalsAtoZ036.shtml Martha

My dd is doing GVA this year. She is in 3rd grade, but tested into 4th grade math. Previously she had done Singapore through 3A, then I had her use CLE 3 Math for 2nd grade to slow her down in the Singapore Math because I felt she was too good at seeing patterns, but not necessarily understanding why she was doing something. Anyway, my intent, before we joined the VA, was to go back to Singapore this year. Even testing into 4th grade math for K12, she hasn't really learned anything, yet. We have tested through many sections; she will be learning multiplication by two digit numbers soon, which she hasn't done, yet. I have been adding a few days of Singapore Math on days when we just do an assessment and not the lesson. I guess I would say that I'm not all that impressed with K12 math, but other people seem to like it. If your son is "math bright" I would continue on with Singapore on the side if you can. Martha

The previous poster was correct in that it is the difference of two squares. Then, once you factor, you can rearrange the terms to get the difference of two squares, again, for each term. [(a^2 - b^2 - c^2) - 2bc] [(a^2 - b^2 - c^2) + 2bc] [a^2 - (b^2 + 2bc + c^2)] [a^2 - (b^2 - 2bc + c^2)] [a^2 - (b + c)^2] [ a^2 - (b - c)^2] [a - (b + c)] [a + (b + c)] [a - (b - c)] [a + (b - c)] (a - b - c)(a + b + c)(a - b + c)(a + b - c) I hope this formats correctly and that it is helpful. Martha

That was very helpful! Martha

Has anyone used thegreatbooks.com literature study guides? How do they compare with Progeny Press guides? Do they have discussion questions and essay questions? Is there anywhere to look at samples? Thanks, Martha

Actually, I am very familiar with WRTR, SWR, and the WISE guide. I used them for this ds when he was younger, but it wasn't carrying over to his writing, so I gave up. Actually, I wish you had been around when he was younger and given your advice about doing dictation from the WISE guide -- which I implemented with my dd last year with some success. My ds knows the rules (doesn't ALWAYS implement them, but we talk about them a lot!), but the schwa sound and inconsistencies of the English language throw him for a loop (recent misspellings include frollic and attatch). My ds is actually beginning high school, and we should be past this, but I feel a need to get him at least a little further along on his spelling ability. Maybe I could do dictation of the 1000 most common words or 1000 most commonly misspelled words, using WRTR methodology? Or studied dictation with Spelling Wise? Thanks again for taking your time to help me. Martha

that is really DOES come down to memorizing each individual word and seeing it in your mind (which, I suppose, is really his difficulty because ds is very auditory and global -- who needs details?)? Knowing that, would either sequential spelling or studied dictation be a better fit than Megawords? Martha

How does a poor speller know to spell gallon with 2 l's, but spell salad with only one l? My ds is a poor speller, so I was thinking of using Megawords with him, but I'm not sure it will help ... List 2 of Megawords 1 shows the VC/CV syllabication rules, but list 6 shows the exception to this rule (V/CV)--does it just boil down to memorizing the words? Also, my son has a terrible time figuring out what vowel to use when he hears the schwa sound. Again -- is it just memorizing words? Would something like Sequential Spelling work better for him? TIA Martha

for all your help. Do you think completing Notgrass would prepare a student for good SAT II scores in U.S. History? Martha

Where did you get tests? Did you have to go through the publisher? Martha

I'm desparately trying to decide what to use for my ds for U.S. History next year (10th grade). I'm torn between Notgrass and BJU -- are both of these complete and interesting? Would the BJU DVDs add much to the book? My ds enjoys history and is very auditory, if that helps. Oh, and has anyone used Hippocampus.org as their sole source of U.S. History? I realize it wouldn't be from a Christian perspective, but it would be inexpensive and all planned out... Martha

I would be interested in the Adult SS! Martha in GA

My ds15 is a terrible speller. I've been toying with the idea of pulling him through Megawords, but I was wondering if it would help him if his misspellings include words like: squirl (squirrel), frollic (frolic), consistant (consistent), etc. He especially seems to have trouble with schwa sounding vowels. He is a very auditory learner, and he doesn't seem to pay much attention to details -- he'll even misspell words that are right in front of him (e.g., in response to essay like questions). A second thought would be to just make him memorize the 1000? most commonly misspelled words? Or to use the sequential spelling for adults? Any thoughts? Martha

but I haven't used it. I bought this a couple of years ago, so I don't know if it's the most current edition (I have 2nd edition). The front page says the text may be copied by one teacher/parent for classroom or home school use. The picture studies are simply black and white line drawings (Queen Esther, Daniel in the Lion's Den, The Birth of christ, The Conversion of Paul). I hope that helps at least a little bit! Martha

I'm intrigued by the Thinkwell option... so, if I bought through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op, I would get 12 months subscription to the lectures, including tests and problems sets, right? And, I could buy the CDs for $25, but that wouldn't include tests and problems sets? Also, *I* really like having a textbook ... is there one that corresponds particularly well? One more question... If my ds is somewhat average in math and science, would the Thinkwell course be too difficult for him? I thought I read that they were college level? Martha

I've been thinking about using BJU Chemistry with the DVD option. I'm having troube justifying the $$ to RENT the DVDs, especially since I have 3 younger children. Are there any other chemistry programs with a "lecture" type component that would be a complete high school program? Plus, I would like pre-made tests (I hate generating tests of my own!). Martha

after my dd finished Singapore Math 6B (she finished at the end of 5th grade). She said she didn't feel comfortable with decimals, fractions, and percents -- this definitely shored up those concerns for her. I felt the book was a good pre-algebra book for her. I didn't just hand the book to her, though. I pretty much walked her through the book. Also, it only took us about half the year -- but that might have been because I walked her through the book. You can buy Russian Math 6 at www.perpendicularpress.com. Only some of the answers are available, though.

Has anyone used the Interactive Science from Singpapore for 7th grade? If so, did you like it? Is it easy for the student to learn on his own, or does it require teacher time? Martha in GA

For problem 11c and d: The ball will go into the basket when the height is 0. (The height is zero at the beginning and the end of the shot.). Setting the height equal to zero: d = 6t - 5t^2 0 = 6t - 5t^2 0 = t(6-5t) t = 0 and t = 6/5 or 1.2 seconds For part d, it says that the highest point will be halfway between the time it is thrown and the time it goes in the basket, which would be 0.6 seconds (half of 1.2 seconds from problems c). d = 6(0.6) - 5(0.6)^2 d = 3.6 - 5(0.36) d = 1.8 m You need to add the 3 m that the initial height above the gym floor, so the height is 1.8 + 3 = 4.8 m. Hope this formats correctly and makes sense! Martha in GA