Try Life of Fred. The mathematics is strong and challenging and very complete. It is written directly to the student and intended to be self-taught, and complete solutions are provided to the exercises (indeed, teaching also happens in the solutions). The author is available to the student by email or phone for questions. My math professor husband and former tutor self are delighted with the quality of the content, and our sons love math using Fred. Older son uses it as his standalone (Fractions through Algebra now); younger is using elementary as a supplement to Singapore Primary Math.

:lol:

I think the theory is a good idea for public schools-- kids move around more often than they stay put (a kid who never moves in 12 years of education these days is a relative novelty) so having some common ground on what is taught in each grade and in what order would be vastly helpful in that sense. I believe the common core has no relevance to my particular brand of homeschooling, as we far outstrip what the schools are doing in any given year, and a) we are not planning to return to public schools and b) the common core plan as it stands is extremely disorganized and still lacks the rigor of a solid classical curriculum. Although a repeating set of 3 cycles of a 4 sets of history does not define "classical" it is a nice model, and makes more sense than teaching unrelated bits from across all geography and all time periods every year so that students have no mental organization of how anything relates to past or contemporaneous events, and the sciences are neither taught in-depth nor in a logically integrated fashion, but simply scattershot. We'll keep our schedule, which not only seems to make sense, but hopefully builds a scaffold that helps our kids make connections to the things that they learn, both within and across disciplines, from year to year, quite naturally. I just don't see those connections in the common core. I wish the theory behind the common core was more well considered-- perhaps they should read TWTM???

Have you done Penrose the Mathematical Cat, by Theoni Pappas?

I can always go back and find grammar errors I could have cleaned up, but one that really, really irks me when I catch myself at it is my " . . . also . . . as well" construct. I have no idea when I started to write and speak that way. I was raised better than that, and I was certainly taught better than that. I practiced better than that. It annoys me to no end to spot that construct in my writing repeatedly. That is all.

I would either use or supplement with Life of Fred: Decimals and Percents (the LoF: Fractions book comes first, but you said she was solid in fractions). After that you can continue in the LoF series or try AoPS pre-algebra, or give one of the standard algebra or pre-algebra programs a shot (pre-algebra is generally not strictly necessary; it is a review of early arithmetic and a preview of early algebra concepts, but if you are not sure whether there could be gaps to fill, it is not a terrible idea). But since you mentioned percentages and ratios as an area to fill in, LoF D&P would be a great book that will review past concepts well and fill that gap nicely, without taking too much time, and it will set up future concepts as well.

Very fun after-election map to look over (I apologize if I've already posted this-- it's been a really long day. A really, really, really, really long day. The kind of day that starts to make boarding school look temporarily attractive. The kind of day that makes you sympathize with Lois in "Malcolm in the Middle" even though you have kids who everyone normally tells you are angels. It has been a please pass another bottle of wine day). Anyway, this guy redrew the US map . . . first to stretch the states to reflect the size of each state's population, then he made another map to stretch the states to reflect the size of each state's electoral college votes. It's a little strange to see Delaware the same size as Wyoming! But seeing it this way, colored in according to how the states were called, makes the balance between red and blue states and how the election went, much more visually understandable. Apparently this guy, a physicist, is working on a county by county map (something I showed my DS11 today to let him know that the southern and midwestern worlds were more diverse than a simple state map would imply) as well. We love the county maps we have googled-- it was interesting to see some states that seemed to glow "bright red" where votes were actually in the close to 50/50 split range, and discuss a few counties that were amazingly homogeneous-- one candidate getting as little as 8% of the votes in a very few. So here are the stretchy maps: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2012/

I would get professional testing done. It is expensive, but it will allow you to find out what is really at issue here, so that you can address it while your DC is still elastic enough to benefit from intervention.

Just for Bill: Give a man a pituitary tumor, and he will lactate. As for the mammal thingie: It's a taxonomic chart of all living organisms. I consider myself to be a living organism, or at least I appear to be alive most days. Are we multicellular? Yes. Are our cells nucleated? Yes. Do we exhibit bilateral symmetry and differentiated tissues? Yes. Do we have a backbone? Yes. Therefore we are vertebrates. Do we give birth to live young? Do we produce milk? Do we have fur or hair? yes yes yes. Therefore, on the chart, we fall in line as mammals. QED. If you want to extend the taxonomic chart further, bully for you. Keep in mind that the definition of science is that it is testable. I am a Christian, but I consider that to be a matter of faith, not of science; my faith is not "testable" by the scientific method and therefore issues such as whether or not any given organism has a soul do not belong, for me, in matters of scientific taxonomy, as they are not testable scientifically, and confounding the two is like asking whether the wind is happy.

Yes, the electors are real people. In a real sense, you are actually voting for the electors, not the president directly. In some states, the names f the electors are present on the ballot as well. The rules for electors vary by state. Not all states bind their electors to vote for the popular vote, though most will. Two states, I believe Maine and Nebraska, can actually split the electoral votes between candidates (in 2008, according to the CNN map, NE had 4 votes go Republican and 1 go Democratic). The electors did not vote yet tonight; that will take place on a different date, and nothing is truly official until that vote takes place, though the outcome can generally be predicted.

On a Mac, look under Edit> Start Dictation

We are coloring them as the states are being projected. I watched how Delaware shaped up, and despite calling it very early, they were accurate. NBC was quite cautious about FL and OH. I thought they have done a nice job. If anything changes overnight, that will be a lesson in how individual votes count.

If you have an iPod or iPad, you can access it via the app for just $7/month. It gives you immediate access to all of the videos and quizzes; you just don't get the printable worksheets and teacher materials.

No wait at all. I went at about 10am this morning while most people were at work. Our polling place was pretty streamlined-- no "I Voted!" stickers, no cookies or juice, nothing. They did ask for ID, but were ready with alternate plans if you didn't have an ID or polling card with you; they were highly organized. DS11 is waiting up with the electoral college map, tracking election results (not to mention reviewing his geography :D ).

Now I'm really happy about the pre-colored map because of the meaning of the colors (the 2008 election results). We already have one state (Indiana) that has flipped from 2008, which will show the kids that not all states vote the same way each time. We're waiting to see how Maine's fourth electoral vote goes (Maine and Nebraska can split their electoral votes). If more states flip their votes from 2008, the colored numbers on the map will be a great lesson to the kids on why campaigns and their individual votes definitely matter.

Did you read the map legend? The colors show how each state voted in 2008. This is kind of cool; it lets the kids compare the last election to this one as the results begin to roll in. The purple states are great for additional discussion on how the electoral college works if you have not yet covered that with your DC, as the purple denote states where the votes were split, in states that allow that to happen.

The Happy Scientist just posted a unit on creating a science project that you might find interesting-- I believe he discusses the hypothesis and testing it etc. Robert Krampf always has a wonderful, accessible way of explaining things! You can find it on his website, TheHappyScientist.com

How did I not know there was a dictation function in MS Word? I just played with it for half an hour. It's a little annoying how short the recording session is, but that's a kind of small limitation . . . this thing correctly transcribed "cnidarian." I can say, "End Paragraph," or "Semi-colon," and it will stop typing and carry out the appropriate action. Okay, it has to type a semi-colon, but you get the drift. I dictated a page-long paper about annelida, nematoda, and cnidarians, and I tripped it up on annelida, but it otherwise committed very few errors on a somewhat technical subject. Color me impressed. So . . . although I am still faster at typing, there are times when I can even get jammed up a bit between brain and hands. I'd rather just say what I am thinking and have it transcribed. This will do that. So . . . now move on to DS9 who has dysgraphia and some other expressive language issues (though they are becoming more subtle to detect these days). He could dictate the rough draft of his papers sometimes, or dictate notes he is taking from a book or article as he reads, freeing up his hands from having to interfere with his thoughts. I think that for the kids, this feature has real possibilities . . .

My younger (just turned 9) has been adding in LoF elementary, because it adds in an enormous body of material that is simply not covered in Singapore, and even the material that is covered is covered differently (usually deeper, the way we read it together-- he is super bright, so there is no way we will breeze through a LoF book; there s too much material there!). He loves playing with Hands on Equations, Dragonbox, amend Khan Academy as well, and sometimes we'll toss in some MM. We will be covering Penrose the Mathematical Cat this year as well. With that, he will easily finish levels 4 and 5 of Singapore this year, in all likelihood. With a more average student I would neither move that fast nor add in as much extra stuff, but as a PP pointed out, it is more valuable to keep them interested and engaged (and very well grounded in what they learn, seeing it from multiple perspectives) than to zip through, sometimes, when they move this fast. Today he covered an entire chapter in one sitting, skipped the workbook, and got all of the problems in the IP book correct on the first try without breaking a sweat-- but he is a kid who will get locked into seeing things "the Singapore Way" if not exposed to multiple presentations; then he would have trouble unlocking word problems from elsewhere. For him, this is a language issue, not a math issue. I tell myself I would rather go deep than wide-- nobody is handing out medals for being first through algebra, so as long as he is not bored, the variety suits him well and is not confusing him. I don't think it's the right approach for all-- it is custom-designed just for him.

Why? That just sounds intelligent.

Quoting from another article (in Cinemablend; I don't know the quality of that source, but they quote from an article covering his signing of the Bill and Melinda Gates Charitiable Giving Pledge in 2010): "In the statement he made then, which you can read in full here, he talked about the importance of storytellers in education, and said "It’s scary to think of our education system as little better than an assembly line with producing diplomas as its only goal." So it's not just that Lucas will be donating money to schools-- he's trying to change the ways schools are structured and what students learn, an immense goal that really only someone with so much cash can accomplish." Time will tell whether his efforts make an impact or not. I am seeing different sources cite different charities, all sounding very authoritative about it; so I'm waiting a day or two for the dust to settle to see where the money is actually going.

The charity is yet to be announced. There is a hint that he is associated with a kind of educational innovation incubator with a decent reputation.

This makes the sellout to Disney a little more palatable. It's funny, my son was just asking why people who make millions or billions of dollars don't spend more on charity . . . I think I'll have to show him this article. He'll be pleased :). Sorry about the Huffington Post Link-- probably there will be some more credible sources covering this shortly. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/george-lucas-donate-4-billion_n_2067145.html

First of all, hugs to you, and I am so sorry for your loss. Nobody can take the place of your sister, and this woman may not be trying to do so. Everyone grieves differently, and there is no one "appropriate" period of time of enforced aloneness after a loss that one must endure. Even if your BIL remarries, that does not mean he will leave behind the love for your sister, his marriage, and his memories of her. My own sister lost her husband suddenly and tragically, way too young, when they still had young kids at home. Out of the blue, and not knowing anything about the loss of her husband, she was contacted (not romantically or 'searching'-- just saying 'hi, what's up with you?') by an old high school flame, and less than a year after the loss of my BIL, my sister was remarried. Her new husband has ENCOURAGED her to keep photos and mementos of her former husband around, particularly for the benefit of the children. He even helped her son (whom he has in the intervening years adopted) write letters to his Dad and "send them off" (by burning, etc) on the anniversary of my BIL's death, his birthday, etc. When my sister has some down days, when the memory of the way he died or their former anniversary hit, he respects her grief, and the love they shared. He does not in any way try to fill my BIL's shoes or erase the former marriage and relationship; he honors it and respects that it was a big part of my sister's life and the lives of their kids. They have a new life together, and he has been an amazing source of strength in helping my sister put her life back together again after a devastating loss. He has been a wonderful influence on the lives of my nephews and grand-niece and nephew, and is now a welcome member of the family. He is a wonderful man in his own right, and that fact does NOT diminish the fact that her former husband was also a wonderful man who loved her and their children. My deceased BIL is not forgotten or lesser; he is deceased and my sister is living and needs to go on living. It would not make sense to do so alone when there is someone to make a life with that is good for her. I think about my deceased BIL, his attitude toward life and how he lived his life. He lived each day fully, and took opportunities when he found them. He reached out and took care of others when they needed help. He saw that peoples' needs were fulfilled when he could do so. I truly believe he would not want my sister suffering alone just so that "other people" would feel she was respecting him somehow now that he is gone. He would want her to live in the now, in today's reality, which involves the fact that he is no longer here. Because he loved her, he would want her to be happy, safe, and secure. I understand your shock. But please understand, your BIL is not disrespecting your sister in any way by realizing that he is still alive. I did not have the honor of knowing your sister, but I would be surprised if she would want him to be lonely and unhappy for her. If he dates or marries another, even close in time to the loss of your sister, this does not require setting aside his memories of your sister, his love for her, or his honoring of her. He will likely continue to love her for the rest of his life, even as he realizes the need to continue on and to live the rest of his life, as unfairly separated from her as he was all too soon. I hope some of that makes sense. It likely does not make it easier, as grief is funny that way (not ha ha funny). Grief has its own timetable for each person, and that timetable is usually not linear-- it goes backwards and forwards, often at inconvenient times, sometimes up and down or in stomach twisting spirals. I just ask you to consider that your grief journey will be different from his, because your relationship to your sister is different from his relation ship to your sister; his was not trivial or less than yours, but different, and one person cannot fairly judge another's grief. Hugs again. None of this is ever easy.

I would buy the regular size. In general, the larger things are actually easier to hold for smaller hands. Wedgits are awesome :)