See, that is exactly the challenge that makes my dd love AoPS preA -- we talk about doing things SMART rather than HARD. She gets this deliciously wicked smile when she sees some "sneaky" way to solve the problem. In the example of adding 1 to 20, the two preceding worked problems required the student to think about the order of addition to make it easier (making 10s). If your child is younger or not as "mathy" I recommend reading ahead through the lesson and reviewing each lesson problem as the kid does them (at least at first), so you can make sure they "see" the trick in the earlier problems. They really DO telegraph and build thru the example problems, but if a kid toughed thru the previous examples they won't be prepared for the next.

One of the happiest days of my life was when an orthopedist told me I should NEVER run, not even for a bus. :D I was 16yo. Something about how it would put too much stress on my joints because my calf bones have a little too much twist in them. I'd say your knees are telling you something (and pgc is a bit rash to avoid a running program, isn't it? :lol: <jk>). I'd go ahead and use the bike instead. Do you have a bike computer? I find them very motivational. I love cycling gently rolling hills -- goal is to get into anaerobic by the crest of each hill, but not so much that you can't free spin on the way down and be ready to hit the next hill. That challenge (along with bettering my pace) did wonders. Unfortunately, I have to settle with using the elliptical trainer -- after 3 pgcies my bosom is now in the way of cycling. :glare:

I LOVE martial arts and am so glad my kids enjoy it. But ANY abusive or demeaning talk from an instructor and I'd find another activity. The 2 things I will not tolerate in a MA program is a blasé attitude towards injury, and a hostile club culture (either from teachers or other students). Those are deal-breakers for me. The kids' instructor is a 5th degree blackbelt and retired school teacher, and I can't imagine her being harsh with the kids, though she is strict (in a good way). As to kids and testing -- optional. I don't really "get" kids and testing since they usually have to start over when they join the adult class. It's ok as long as it fosters a sense of accomplishment and responsibility. I've told my dc's that they don't have to test. I know you're in a tough spot, but I would be talking to my dc about respect and that respect does not mean tolerating abuse or that his teacher's behavior is ok. If he wants to quit, he can always pick it up as an adult. Here's hoping your dh gets that job and you move somewhere with a great kids' program!

...and I love having a place to HEAR about exciting stuff like this! I've placed holds on the other 2 at our local library...THANKS! :D

I'm sure some can handle it -- I just haven't seen any yet. :D Around here the public libraries are located IN the public high schools. Result is we get to see first hand LOTS of kids who won't look up from their cell phones long enough to figure out how to open a door. Eye contact? forgetaboutit. I'm also used to our girls sky ping with teen family who are obviously posting on FB AND texting friends at the same time as skyping. IMO kids don't know how to just...be...anymore, without the constant interaction of tv, computers, and cell phones. They post youtube videos instead of writing their own (bad teen) poetry. Obviously we're in the minority here, but I would just echo the caution that it's easier to delay than to take it back. So just be sure it's what you want and your family (not just your child) is ready for it. To me it's just one more complication I can live without. And do. Just fine. :lol:

Um, maybe when/if they move away for college. Between watching 14yos paw the library door with one hand while texting with the other, and seeing them sit in cars texting each other (in the same car)...NOT something I'm willing to encourage let alone pay for. We have a cell phone, but only 3 people have the number. We use it just for emergency or the "hey, I'm at the store, need anything?" kind of calls. We do not enable texting and if we did get our kids a phone for some practical need, we wouldn't enable texting then either. Maybe funny since we're a very techie family. Just more into programming our phones not to ring outside of a 2hr window each day rather than bringing in more constant "connection" to... twaddle. :D Yes, I have no trouble ignoring a ringing phone. I guess I'll just put the money we save in the "my parents ruined my life by not getting my a cell phone and letting me text like a zombie" therapy fund. :lol:

I agree: Contemporary thought is myths of dragons most likely originated when people came across dino fossils and didn't know what they were. Dinos and dragons are fundamentally different, though. Dragons are serpents or reptiles. Dinos have hips structures akin to birds (hips under the body, opposed to reptiles that have legs coming out the side). Early dino reconstructions were bad about that (whole dragging belly on the ground and looking like giant iguanas). Similar theories about flood stories as well -- tons of fish and sea life fossils on those middle east mountains (as well as mountains around the world). If you think the world always looks like it does now it makes sense to assume how else would bones and shells get on top of a mountain except via some huge flood? Abram came from Ur, so similarities with Gilgamesh creation tales isn't surprising. All of this of course is reconstruction. We don't know what early people thought when they discovered fossils or whether dinos and tales of dragons have any connection at all.

Chalk me up as one of those who gets totally ticked off when folks bring their snotty "it's just a cold" sicko kid to an event when they could have easily not brought them. I don't freak out over illness, but I have 2 kids with immature overactive immune systems and what may be a simple cold to your child when you so *thoughtfully* give it to MY child means febrile seizures (real FUN to hold your infant who is seizing knowing their heart isn't beating and they aren't breathing consistently for 5 minutes), temps in excess of 104F and vomiting to the point of needing an IV. So please consider that "just a cold" isn't just a cold for quite a few kids. Other's inconsideration means that I can't take my kids in public for 6mo of the year until they grow out of it (around 6-7yo). I think a lot about the many kids to whom a cold is life threatening and how nice it must be for them to know YOUR kid is roaming the stores spewing germs around. If you are contagious -- stay home. Recognize there is a difference between a 7yo that can cough in a sleeve and blow their nose, wash their hands, and a 3yo who wipes snot on everything they see. Is the convenience of taking the sick kid shopping with you really worth making other families sick and miserable for weeks? How many people inhaling your kid's germs are happily shopping for those last things for the big family vacation they have been saving for all year? Maybe they have a newborn at home, or elderly parents with chronic illness? We aren't designed to be constantly exposed to germs -- that's all part of modern living where West Nile is global. SO keep those germs LOCAL when you can -- stay home. And using the argument that some folks have jobs/schools that don't let them stay home doesn't excuse you when you DO have a choice. If your kids are too young to contain their germs or their illness is super contagious, please, just keep them home. I promise to do the same. :D

Thanks for the insights and ideas. I think I'll try to use materials I have (ETC primers and 100EZ) with him as long as he's willing and interested and see how it goes. :)

fwiw, a later school (hs or college) should view a "B" in Algebra as better than an "A" in pre-Algebra. In other words, they will consider the level of work, not just the GPA, especially if it's just one grade bringing it down. It sounds like ds is ready to prove himself, so hopefully those easy errors will be in the past!

Accelerating doesn't have to just mean "speeding up"! t don't know how you'd do this in a spiral program, but what we did with dd#1 was work several strands of mathematics simultaneously. For example, in one day she would do a lesson in arithmetic (conceptual and drill), one in shapes/geometry, one in measurement, maybe one in probability or graphs. Math really isn't ONE subject, so we just broke it down into independent "strands" and worked in each of them. I think the continuity of subjects really helped with retention (similar to what spiral tries to do) because she wasn't doing a couple weeks of one topic and then not seeing it until the next year. It also preserved more time for absorption of newer concepts and math facts, since she wasn't progressing thru them faster, just doing other stuff and not stopping the math facts to do the other strands. This approach will end up with the child grade levels ahead, but without speeding up the individual topics, which may be good or bad depending on your point of view. I agree with working in extra word problems and puzzles, if they are interested. Few children that are good at math with become mathematicians, but good solid problem solving skills and confidence in math as a tool is useful in almost any profession! I also think a big issue is WHY they are accelerating. A lot of kids will plateau, which is fine. IMO a lot of acceleration thru early grades is because SOME kids are naturally intuitive with math and abstract thinkers. Math curric assumes younger kids are concrete thinkers and teaches to that. A concrete thinker sees "2+3=5" as an independent thing to "3+2=5", whereas to an abstract thinker the whole fact family is immediately obvious. This makes most curric a bad fit for the abstract thinker (or at least BORING), since a lot of time is spent teaching something that doesn't need to be taught. By the time you reach upper elementary, it's assumed kids are at least somewhat capable of abstraction and the gap/acceleration may disappear at that point. But grade levels 1-5 are painfully repetitious for some kids (same concepts, just more digits), and I don't see a problem moving at your child's speed thru it until you get to more meaty, interesting problems, or use some higher level problems and simplify the numbers for the younger child to supplement. ETA: @jennynd: in our case we used K12 for K-2A (thru first semester of 2nd grade). She did ALL the lessons (didn't skip), but in K she did Math 1&2, in 1st she did Math 3 and first half of Math 4. In 2nd grade they changed math programs and we changed VA, so she restarted Math 4, completing 4th grade math plus some extra work. Even so, the redundancy in math was killing her enthusiasm (she looked at Math 5 and rolled her eyes saying, "I've done this already!"), and last year (2nd grade) she went from loving math to dreading it. So, now in 3rd grade she's doing AoPS preAlgebra plus Math Olympiad problems and LOVING math again. I think that's a really important consideration, whatever the content, kids should ENJOY math in elementary school. If your kid is enjoying it AND retaining it, you're probably on a good path. If either of those isn't true, something is wrong.

Awesome! Thanks for this!

Thanks for the replies. Has anyone successfully taught phonics to a child around the 3yo mark? It's a couple months until his 3rd bday, but he can identify the first and last sounds of words and breezes thru the ETC A (pre)book and enjoys it -- with that typical 2 minute focus of his age.

@Beth: I don't think it's so much a slippery slope as a bell curve. :D Of COURSE we judge other parenting choices! :lol: Sometimes we look and judge it to be so wonderful we choose to adopt it. Sometimes we look and say it's effective/not but will/won't work for OUR child. And yes, sometimes we look at a parenting style and think "wow, I can't see any situation that's a good idea" -- such as abusive behavior. So, it's a bell curve from "No one should ever" to "not for me" to "mmm, might work" to "best idea ever!" Of course, there is a difference between judging a parenting style (necessary to learn) and judging the parent (not productive). Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! :D

From about.com: << Definition: Hothouse children are children whose parents push them into learning more quickly and earlier than is appropriate for the cognitive age of the children. >> I think some examples are mixing up pushy parents and abusive parents. A parent can hothouse their child without being critical or harsh on their child. I'm sure a lot of well-meaning parents hothouse. They just put too much pressure and emphasis on learning things before the child is ready. I'm sure that can be done sweetly and lovingly. They may even back off (a bit) -- but there is still an unrelenting pressure to excel. But it's still pushing before they are cognitively ready. ;) Just drawing the distinction. :D If I'm honest, one of the greatest challenges in parenting (esp of a gifted/accelerated child) is keeping in tune with their cognitive level, which is a moving target. Am I going too fast? Am I going too slow? Especially in the early years, it's hit-or-miss. I guess the key is being responsive to your individual child.

I have 3 kids. My oldest dd is 8yo and is ahead across the board by a couple grades (reads 450 wpm and started AoPS preA this year, for example). Her 6yo sister is typical sleeper middle child -- just as sharp and intuitive in math, but would easily be overlooked. Both started in reading/arithmetic right around their 5th birthday and accelerated from there. So I "get" that. Not so much my youngest. :lol: My question is about my 3rd child. DS taught himself his letters and letter sounds before his 2nd birthday, and by 2.5 could identify first and last sounds and which letter made them. I have just lightly been using "Get Ready for the Code A" 1-2 minutes a day (after that he smiles and makes a game of answering exactly wrong, so we stop then) as I hoped he'd get more mature before tackling real "reading". Well, this morning I said, "hi, baby" and he looked thoughtful and replied, "b" /a/ "b" /eh/, then sounded it out as "/b/ /ay/ /b/ /ee/." After a few seconds I realized that he had dealt with the long vowels by reasoning that if "a" says /a/, that /a/ must say "a", and that since "e" says /e/, that /e/ must say "e". I feel like my not-quite 3yo needs to learn the rules before he comes up with his own. But I don't know how to teach such a young child to read. So, for those of you who have btdt, how do you handle the early reader? I'm comfortable with 100EZL (used it with my 2 girls and loved the blending), has anyone used it with a young child? I was thinking of using it (albeit very slowly) with ETC for fun. Suggestions? Also, he loves to count to 20 and can do addition/subtraction in his heads to 10, and I don't really want to start any formal math, but any great games to suggest?

Not amazing, it's just that my kiddos are just naturally abstract thinkers, so math comes easily. DD#1 blew thru math 1-4, but somewhere in the last year her attitude changed from loving math to dreading it. She rolled her eyes at 5th grade math, and she said, "done that" and was bored and started to hide when it was time for math. I LOVE math, so it was breaking my heart. That's when I realized math 2-5 is just the same stuff repeated year-after-year with more digits and complex decimals/fractions. I switched to challenge problems (math magic and smarty pants) and saw a big improvement. A week after starting the math olympiad and preA books she is yelling "I LOVE math!" from the rooftops. A month in and she's even drawing pictures and signs of "I love math!" and covering them with math problems she creates. I was afraid she had turned into a math hater, but changing to more challenging curricula turned her around. I just share this to encourage anyone who has seen the light go off for math to not be afraid to mix things up. I was hoping she'd like it more, but I NEVER thought I'd see such a dramatic turn around! :)

8yo dd: AoPS preAlgebra; Math Olympiad problems; and a sprinkling of MM and Sadlier-Oxford. We also work math into science and general life. 6yo dd: MM, Sadlier-Oxford PiM, and DK's "Go Diego Go" 1st grade level workbook I think you can work most things together. I think it is easier if they aren't spiral, unless your primary is spiral and you are using others to reinforce/extend. The more I do it, the less I feel bound to any particular math curriculum. They are just resources to help. :D

Did you give specific recommendations or just say "you can do better"? If you are going to critique, you need to use a specific rubric (grading) and she needs to know ahead of time what that is. I agree with the other responses about free writing versus a focus on a specific technique (like alliteration). My dd is younger, but writes well. What we do is she free writes something. No criticism from me. Then I have her take it and rework for a certain affect. Maybe take a story and write a poem. Maybe see how many alliterations she can work in. Maybe rhyming. Maybe add 10 adjectives, or change every one she already wrote with a new, more precise word. Maybe try to change the tone from happy to a mystery to science fiction to scary. Often creating several versions of the same story. I only comment on how well she incorporates the new goals into the writing (as well as general GUM/spelling/etc errors). My perfectionist dd loves it and it is teaching her to embrace plasticity of writing instead of seeking "perfection". Bottom line, if your dc can demonstrate the various components/techniques, and follow conventions/rules/GUM, then creative writing should be about expression. Other formal forms of writing have different rules, and you can talk about being more persuasive, clearer, more evocative. But I think you have to do that from a mentor socratic position. As soon as you "grade" the work, she's done. fwiw, I find evaluating a child's writing extremely difficult -- it's hard to adjust my expectations. That's why I look for concrete measures and make sure I'm being clear about expectations. I refuse to grade art at all. :D

If you want to educate yourself, I'd skip Lamarck. THere are lots of really good, enjoyable books on evolution that have come out in the past few years. I enjoy Prothero, SHubin, Coyne and even Dawkins (when he sticks to evolutionary biology and stays out of religion). Here are a few: http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-What-Fossils-Say-Matters/dp/0231139624/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I180X3VND7ZC2J&colid=1MNGEV8TWKWDW http://www.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry-Coyne/dp/0143116649/ref=pd_sim_b1 http://www.amazon.com/Your-Inner-Fish-Journey-3-5-Billion-Year/dp/0307277453/ref=pd_sim_b1 And tracing back human ancestry: http://www.amazon.com/Ancestors-Tale-Pilgrimage-Dawn-Evolution/dp/061861916X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=IZ3A82GXYI3JM&colid=1MNGEV8TWKWDW A fun bit about the fact each cell contains 2 distinct DNAs: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/organelles/ and http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/2k2endosymb.html Kenkins and Loxton have great books for the elementary thru MS levels -- and a good gentle primer for us adults. :lol: There are also some great NOVA and BBC series -- "becoming human" and others. Mind you, this is all really just evolution -- prehistory covers a lot more, including geology and big bang theory. Usborne's encyclopedia covers a lot as I understand and KF puts out a whole encyclopedia on prehistory and evolution. I'd either start with movies or get some of the books from the library and browse until you find something that catches your interest. HTHs

I believe we parent in reaction to our own upbringing: we either strive to give the kids what we had or to make sure they never have to go thru what we did. :D In general, I try to give my kids what I have and dh tries to make sure they never go through what he did and fortunately that usually puts us on exactly the same page! :lol: There are specific things I do quite differently than my parents, and I think the differences are usually tied to hot-buttons (after all, we do thing differently for a REASON, right?).

The book by White with a title like, "The first 3 years" is a solid research-based intro to child development and what a baby needs during each phase of its early life. Th push for books early mainly has to do with building a habit in the adult -- young kids are MUCH more into REAL people and faces -- YOUR face, than anything else. Their eyesight isn't so great yet, either. Rule of thumb is follow their interest -- narrate about whatever has their attention for the moment. Another great book is "Becoming Attached" -- summarizes attachment theory and research over the past few decades. Used as a college text, so not a cozy reading book, but some interesting bits if you like that type of thing. Enjoy, read as long as you are all enjoying it and don't be afraid to put a book down mid-sentense if their attention wanders. Enjoy!

I just started my 8yo in AoPS preAlgebra. She was bored with the content of 5th grade math, and is real liking moving beyond plug-and-chug arithmetic. We are just doing it 1-2 days right now and games plus daily problems from the math olympiad the rest (we do math 7 days/wk). That seems to work for us. I'm in no hurry -- so if she takes 2 years (or more) to complete preA that's fine by me. I just want her to be doing something she find interesting. The authors of AoPS argue against hurrying into calculus because it just means more tools in the toolbox when most kids benefit more from learning better how to use the tools they already have. I feel that way about arithmetic and preA -- rather dd learn how to masterfully use the simple tools than overload her with advanced tools. I also added math to her science work (science pre-MS is often qualitative instead of quantitative, but easy to add some computations back in). Anyway, she went from balking at ANY math (out of boredom) to really enjoying math again, so far I'm happy. Her problem solving skills are improving and my little perfectionist is enjoying wrestling with real problems. I'm glad they have those "extra" texts -- we may need them later on.

Well, I think you are looking at two good sources. I got mine from another source: microscopenet.com -- both they and amscope have ebay storefronts. You should compare the prices on their own sites and ebay since one is often a bit more than the other. I went with the one with the feature set I wanted and the best price: http://www.microscopenet.com/ I have a Barska trionocular stereo and a "40x~2000x LED Trinocular Compound Microscope, Reversed Nosepiece". The second was from the site I mentioned and I like it a lot. I have a usb camera connected to the tropic port (3rd) so I can show the pics on the computer and take snapshots. You could also just slide it into a viewing port when you want to do that (if you get a binocular). I use photo booth to snap the pics. LED is even, long-lasting, and cool to the touch which makes it safer for the kiddos. Not a necessity, but nice. I don't think you need a zoom feature on a stereo scope, but having 3-4 magnifications on a turret is nice. The whole body should be made of metal (plastic scopes are really just toys and won't keep alignment). Soooo can't point out a specific one, but I think Amscope or microscopenet are both reliably good. A basic solid scope will serve you well. Paying more from one source or another for the same specs won't get you more -- they're all made in China these days (except for a few $2K+ made in Japan).

Maybe Eclectic? I think most homeschoolers don't subscribe to one philosophy but try to take the best from each and apply it to their own situation. That style will tend to change over time. Perhaps use the classical approach as a spine but be open (and allow time) for serendipity. If it makes you feel better, maybe coin your OWN term for your style...something like "classically adaptive" or "responsive/relaxed trivium" ....pr just call it "education, Wendy's way!" :D