I downloaded and watched your sample lessons of Math Without Borders program just as a comparison to other programs we have used and audited. 1. Are the Math Without Borders video lessons the same as the ones you do for Forester??? Or are these two separate products? 2. Do your video lessons contain full out demonstrations of solutions to ALL the problems or do you demonstrate the concept with an example problem only. This feature is why so many of us nonmath moms like Teaching Textbooks.

Chris, don't feel too bad. My ds scored just over 1000 on crit & math on his first try. And this is with tutoring once a week by a high school senior who got nearly perfect SAT scores (but who also didn't do very well his SAT the first time). On the college confidential site lots of kids who'd taken the SAT were commenting that their scores dropped and that the June SAT was harder. So this was a particularly tough one and ds's tutor heard the same from his classmates at school. On the other hand ds scored a 10 on his essay which is a big relief ...this is the same kid who stared for a week or two at a blank piece of paper:blink:, unable to write an essay and this has gone on for years. He also did fairly well with writing section (580), but said he had never ever seen those vocabulary words that were on the June SAT. I think ABeka Grammar helped with the sentence improvements. But at least he will have 21-24 college credits by end of senior year like your ds's. I think colleges will see beyond the SAT's when then see how well our kids have done in college. BTW, the kids on college conf. site said that a program called Direct Hits Vocabulary had the most SAT words on the June test. I know ABeka Grammar helped ds with the writing section, although he usually got all the problems correct in the Official blue book. I know Rocket Review was great for essay writing. Two weeks before the SAT test DS's DVD drive in his laptop died just as he was starting Chalkdust SAT Math, so I guess I will have him go through that this summer. Critical Reading takes lots of practice, doing them over and over again and looking for patterns. That was our tutor's advice. The first time he took the SAT he got in low 500's, but after MUCH practice he ended up getting in mid 700's. So don't give up.

I have a November birthday, so I graduated and went off to live in a dorm in Boston at 17. I also moved to NYC on my own at 19 which was definitely scarey. But it wasn't too bad ... and I am female. On the other hand, my ds has a late September birthday, and we put him in a pre-one class (against the teacher's advice) that they used to have at the school. This comes after kindergarden and before 1st grade and they had to have fall birthdays to be in the class. I haven't read the other posts yet, but maybe he could work part-time and go to college part-time until the following year. Or, could he do a gap year and travel?

And in the end, you rode off into the sunset, happily ever after? :auto: Sounds like you had to pay for the good stuff with the bad. I'm jealous that you have a new car. My wagon has 140,000 miles and the check engine light is always on. Enjoy your new van!

My ds has done Scouts and is getting ready to complete his project for Eagle rank. Since he was 7 (with cub scouts) he has done the Scout Food Drive going door to door, selling candy bars at the grocery store (the money went to a needy family during the holidays), and stocking shelves at the Food Bank. Through the Lions Club he has helped my husband direct traffic for a road race (over 3,000 runners) which also raised money to help needy families. I would like him to volunteer next at the hospital or at a local soup kitchen. It changes your perspective on everything.

I very quickly breezed through your blog and wrongly got the impression that you were unschooling your children.:blushing:..(who BTW look just like mine). I actually think unschooling can work great with extremely self-directed children. This was not said in a negative, judgemental way...please don't take it that way. I actually think it is reassuring that you were homeschooled and have decided to homeschool your children. Hope the tone that was conveyed was a helpful one, not a lecturing one.

As plaid dad has said, the visual and auditory noise in some environments creates chaos that overstimulates some kids. Unlike the sparse classrooms of the past, today's classrooms are cluttered with posters, full bins holding every temptation, round tables w/students facing each other (as opposed to separate desks facing the teacher), and you name it...it's on the wall. Lots of noise coming from other rooms, outside, hallways. Think about it, many years ago kids stayed home with their mothers (or fathers) until they were 5 or 6. Now kids are put in groups as infants or toddlers in daycare or preschool. My ds started to calm down after about a year of homeschooling (age 7/8). BUT, we did keep TV to a minimum, make sure he got lots of exercise, and he really needed structure and routine. I know you are an unschooler, but some kids thrive on the predictability of a schedule/routine...just knowing what comes next seems to calm them down. Otherwise, they tend to get nervous and a little panicky and they feel they need to exert control over their environment. We also found that contingencies (OK, bribes!LOL) help them cooperate..."after you finish X, then you get to do Y." With ds, we also had to limit group activities and make sure there was a place he could go to just let loose and be as physical as he wanted, but also a special daily quiet time/place too. I can remember the cub scout meetings were no picnic, with most of the boys having a problem being quite, sitting, and listening. So I am sure you boy(s) have plenty of company.

Favorite Math: Saxon Math drills (early elementary) Singapore Math (late elementary) Teaching Textbooks (geometry) Lial Intermediate Algebra Favorite English: Abeka Grammar (middle school) - ds thought SAT sentence correction section "easy" Writing Step-By-Step (early middle school for 5 paragraph essay) Writeshop (late middle school) Sequential Spelling (late middle school) - helped dysgraphic nonspeller to spell Progeny Press, Masterprose, & PinkMonkey online (lit guides) Wordly Wise 3000 (middle school, high school) whole novels instead of anthologies Favorite History: Cornerstone history books & biographies (elementary) Hakim's History of US (middle school) PA Homeschoolers AP classes (high school) Least Favorites: Apologia Chemistry (but it may have been because of the subject) Saxon Math (high school)

I walked from the parking lot with one of the proctors. I told him my son has 10 pencils, a pencil sharpener, TI-83, water bottles and snacks in a large ziplock bag. Can he bring all this in? He said "he can bring in 100 pencils if he wants." ...and that anything they can't leave at their desk they can put on the teacher's desk in the front of the room. Now the instructions from the college board said to bring in 2 pencils, so I assumed that was a rule. I guess these are just guidelines.

My son took the SAT last Saturday. The day before the test I told my son to go into the store and pick out some trail mix (he came out with Nutrigrain bars, Yuk). Trail mix is recommended when the Boy Scouts do their annual trek to the top of a New Hampshire mountain. Like the Snickers bar, it has nuts (protein), but also dried fruit (glucose), just a lot healthier than the Snickers bar which could be too sweet (w/high fructose corn syrup) on a nervous stomach which could make you thirsty. I have read lots of studies that say the brain works best on glucose. But I have never heard about the cinnamon theory...hmmm...I think I will try this as my memory is slowly turning mush. If cinnamon regulates blood sugar levels, this makes sense as far as consistency is concerned. No energy spikes or crashes=endurance. LOL, I am so glad I was not the only one worried about the rest rooms and nervous stomachs. In fact, I kept it to myself for fear I would be accused of being an obsessive-compulsive, overprotective mom.

Thank you for that valuable information. Do you think Conceptual Physics is advanced (i.e. thorough) enough when compared to what seniors in ps are taking, especially since they are required to have completed or be taking precalc or calculus? Is it thorough enough for a student wanting to major in computer engineering??? I remember seeing experiments right in the textbook? Are these experiments as user friendly if self-teaching (by the student) as Apologia? Have you tried Thinkwell Physics? To everyone else...has anyone tried PA Homeschoolers AP Physics or ApexLearning AP Physics? Can a student keep up if taking precal concurrently? Opinions about Thinkwell Physics?

Now, McConnellboys...if I was psychic, would I be asking for the answer?LOL Mary, I love the kinetic books website. It looks interesting, graphic, and there are different levels including AP Physics. I am very familiar with Conceptual Physics, and unfortunately, sold every imaginable publication that goes with Conceptual Physics text earlier in the year (even the overhead transparencies) that came with the set. CP looks great, I just didn't think it was meant for high school seniors because 9th graders are using it in a nearby private school and they are taking it concurrently with Algebra II.

I know about Saxon, Thinkwell (which looks good), and Apologia. Wondering what else is good for physics.

I did a little checking online and these prompts might be of help to your dc this week: http://tengrrl.com/tens/018.shtml