My sons take the SAT evey year as well and it is definitely content related with science and history. I'm not sure how old your son is. Our scores in history have ranged from 97 percent to 70 percent and it is all about what was covered and whether I covered those exact questions or not. Science and history are SO subjective. They may also have asked him a question in a way he didn't understand. Do NOT worry about the science and history scores. If you REALLY want to, then go buy a test prep book specifically for Stanford and they will probably give you the list of topics they test over. I didn't find that particularly important, but math is another story:glare: I keep trying to get everything covered before the test and we never do. Christine

Ok, I never took economics and so to be honest, I do not understand how our government or our economy functions at all. Here are my random thoughts. People have no personal responsiblity anymore. They are encouraged to spend and have many credit cards and to buy the most house they can afford. The economy is judged by consumer spending. But people cannot spend forever. In a way, it seems like the housing crisis has been caused by greed and people need to lie in their own bed and not be rescued by the government. I mean, we rented and saved our money. We bought a small house, made more than the minimum payment. We moved and bought a bigger house but one that was still way below our means and paid it off in 6 years. We then took the money we were paying on our mortgage and divided it into categories: mission work, retirement, kids' college (had already been saving, just upped it) , vacations. Now yes, I know with my husband's job we have been blessed, but believe me it is a matter of scale. I cannot tell you how many people I know are in financial trouble because they have 3 houses or buy a new car every year or whatever. It is all according to scale. But anyway, it seems to me that people in our country need to scale back and live within their means but everything I keep hearing on the news talks about cutting interest rates, bailing out banks so that consumer spending will keep going. But we can't keep consuming more and more forever, can we??? How long can the government keep spending and spending. I'm sorry that people bought houses with adjustable arms that went way up, but didn't they research and understand what they were buying??? Why should my tax dollars go to bailing them out, when I was responsible??? I just don't see how our economy works. Christine

...Oh..I've forgotten to check whether he finished his writing...his math...his whatever. A lot of what oldest was doing was for co-op, so it had a built in accountability. I've forgotten to check their rooms and they are suddenly messy... oh yes, have they worked with the dogs... ACK. To much going on for my little brain.:confused:

No it is not. You don't know me. You don't know who I am. I don't see you face to face. That is why it seems like people are sometimes a little ruder here on the boards than they would be if they were talking to someone in "real life" At least I hope so:001_huh: Some of the posts I've read have been pretty rude. Christine

But I have a math phobic 2 years behind my oldest who this would be perfect for and I wouldn't worry about his being left behind. If TT can help him really GET math then I think he can catch up later. I just worry about my oldest who is REALLY bright and might be attending college early and loves math and computers and needs a strong math program. Christine

Really:) I sure hope so. It is a food group, isn't it? Seriously, reading isn't the problem. He grabs science books off the shelves to read. I just have almost nothing in writing from this year. Christine

Thank you SO much. I think my son will love this. Christine

Algebra Should I switch Algebra programs? My oldest is 7th grade and is about halfway through TT Algebra partly because we stopped to do other things: ALEKS 8th grade for a month, ACT prep for a couple of weeks before he took it as part of the Duke program. He is enjoying the program. However, I keep hearing that if you have an advance math type student going to college, this isn't tough enough. So... since we were already ahead he could just keep working on TT Algebra and then stop wherever we are. Then as an 8th grader he could do Chalkdust Algebra, which is where he would be in ps anyway in the honors program. Maybe he could skip parts of it... He might be going to ps for high school, so that would alleviate problems. Or should I just keep going with TT since he likes it? Christine

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Should I switch Algebra programs? My oldest is 7th grade and is about halfway through TT Algebra partly because we stopped to do other things: ALEKS 8th grade for a month, ACT prep for a couple of weeks before he took it as part of the Duke program. He is enjoying the program. However, I keep hearing that if you have an advance math type student going to college, this isn't tough enough. So... since we were already ahead he could just keep working on TT Algebra and then stop wherever we are. Then as an 8th grader he could do Chalkdust Algebra, which is where he would be in ps anyway in the honors program. Maybe he could skip parts of it... He might be going to ps for high school, so that would alleviate problems. Or should I just keep going with TT since he likes it? Christine

Is this what you used. http://www.chalkdust.com/basic.html So this is for 6th grade. Would this be good for a person who hates math...mainly because it takes work and isn't something you can do instantly. It takes too much focus and time in his opinion. Christine

I have a boy that sounds like he would love this. Where is the site. I googled but just got a discussion of it, not an actual class. Christine

By the time I check on a post I made the day before, it is on page 10 or later. It takes me forever to find it. I wonder if they might consider in the curriculum section dividing it into math, science, language arts, general, etc. It might help some. This board is so busy.. Christine

Help me decide what to do for math and science for the rest of the year for my 5th grader and then next year. Next week he will be doing his annual standardized testing at a local Christian school. The next week his daddy will be off and we will be on vacation, so I have a couple of weeks to get ready. I need to concentrate on fractions. I noticed Math U See's Epsilon covers fractions. Co-op if over and my responsiblities with children's choir will be over May 4th do I would have the time to concentrate on this with him. Or I could do Key to Fractions. I already have the answer key as I had my oldest do this series with Singapore. I've skanned my Horizons 5 book and what is left: multiplying and diving fractions, ratios(which I "think" he knows), decimals: I know that he can add, subtract and identify them already, but I know we covered multiplying and diving them last year, but I bet he has forgotten what to do with the decimal when you mulitply. I know that I would need to concentrate on the percent as a fraction, percent as a decimal. Once again, there is Math U See Zeta or Keys to Fractions that cover this. Temperature and units of measure, which I think he knows, metric which I'm sure he has forgotten, graphs which he knows, and probability. So... do I just drop Saxon where it is and concentrate on fractions and percents? Then change curriculum?? I'm looking at Chalk Dust, possibly as it has a DVD which has a lecturer that is supposed to be interesting. Basic Math??? I need something that is not teacher intensive. TT 7 might also be a possibility. I gave him the placement test for it last year and he could have taken it this year if I had wanted him to. I just need something he can do independently. I do not have the time to teach him myself all year. Science. Science has been a hodge podge of various materials. He read the 2nd half of Zoology I and did a few notebook pages (He had done the part about birds with his brother a couple of years ago). I stopped when they announced they were doing Zoology I at the co-op next year. So he will have that in co-op, but he has already done it and so I don't think it counts enough. He has a 5th grade test prep he's gone through. He studied Archimedes because it went with his TOG. Next year he will study Galileo and several scientists with TOG. He is interested in Zoology 3 that is coming out. He loves animals. So I guess we could start that and finish it next year... SOS caught my eye as it is all on computer and graded on computer and it would be completely independent. However, if he does TT next year then would all of science and math on computer be too much. I really need something independent that I don't have to keep up with. He is getting lost in the shuffle. I enjoy TOG and we do it all together and so my focus is on that and next year my oldest will be doing some rhetoric work which is A LOT more literary analysis which will take time for me to do it with my oldest as well as our normall weekly history discussions. My oldest will be doing Biology, which I have to keep up with. Then there is my girl who is in kindergarten this year. I HAVE to devote time to her to get her to read fluently. She is currently souding out CVC words and we will be covering the silent e after these next 2 weeks off. I feel like math is important at this stage as well, so she needs solid basics. I will also continue teaching children's choir and a class at the co-op (which will be doing a musical that I already did with my children's choir, so not too much prep) So to be honest, I didn't keep up with these areas and I need something he can be independent on or something that I can work with him only at certain times. HELP!! Christine

I was wondering about Chalk Dust for my soon to be 6th grader. Would basic math be good for him? I hear the lecturer is VERY interesting. Christine

Boy does it!!! I am SO excited this year NOT to have a garden. It has comsumed my time from April to July for the last 10 years. I normally have to stop homeschooling by May to keep up with it all. Now we still have our fruit trees and tons of blackberry bushes, so I will still be making peach and blackberry jelly, canning pears, etc. But no corn,squash, peas, homemade hot sauce with our tomatoes and jalepanoes, green peppers, zuccinni, green beans, etc. Dh wants to give it a rest and I am SO glad. The house might actually get clean!! Generally starting in about mid-May we would spend several hours in the morning, weeding, harvesting, etc. Then in the hot part of the day I would spend 3 hours or more putting up the stuff, making jams, blanching and freezing, etc. It consumed my summer, so I had no time to do anything else like enjoy the summer. It is A LOT of work. Christine

The not having any friends thread really spoke to me. Don't you think that part of it is being SO different. Like many of you, we limit electronics at our house. We don't have cable tv, do not have x-box or Playstation, etc. My children do not have a cell phone. Every child in my church has a cell phone that is junior high and older and many of the elementary children do. One of my 6yo daughter's friends got a cell phone for Easter.:001_huh: My 6yo and my 11yo get along VERY well with everyone and are very social, but are different. My 13yo is not social AT ALL. But still it is sad when you only have 2 people to invite to a birthday party and they are my middle one's friend. (My boys' birthdays and 3 days apart and they have joint parties.) We live on 50 acres in a small town. We have done soccer, baseball, basketball at various times. My oldest is just not very co-ordinated. We have a local homeschool group and co-op we participate in and the younger two have fit in well, but not my oldest. No one has clicked. And to be honest, he doesn't care. He would be perfectly content to stay at home 24/7 and never interact with anyone which REALLY worries my dh. But he has NOTHING in common with the kids at church. He just talks to the adult teachers in the youth. He was shaking his head when he went last year to disciple now weekend. He was spending the night with the other middle school kids and all of their phones were ringing in the middle of the night because their girl friends were calling them!!!! I have a friend from my MOPS days whose son was in Christian school and he went to ps and is in 7th grade like my son and he has been getting teased mercilessly for being gay because he doesn't have a girlfriend. Even at church they are so preoccupied with who is with whom. My boys could care less. Don't tell me to leave the church because dh loves it there and is a deacon. He is really worried about my oldest, but I am not. At the same time and here is the real question of my post. What are our children going to do when they leave the nest, go to college and the work world and they are SO different from the rest of the world??? Christine

I thought it might be helpful if you knew what I do 4 am or so- get up, eat breakfast and have devotional. Then get on the computer 6am- go take shower, talk with hubby, get dressed, etc. tell hubby goodbye, start laundry 7am- Get children up to do their morning routine, work on money on computer, balance checkbook, pay bills, whatever financial stuff needs doing 8am- start school. Boys have piano practice, math, devotions and my younger one is SUPPOSEd to do vision therapy which is a daily battle during this time period (I start with his hated subjects math and vision therapy first so they can supposedly get finished. He normally does some of math and tries to barter not doing his therapy until later. Therapy takes 45 minutes or so) I do various things at this time. My dh always has an assignment. Today my daughter and I have a doctor's appointment at 8:30am (I have poison ivy that I have been batttling for over a month and prednisone did nothing.. sigh) daghter has a urinary tract infection, so I will leave the boys working. Also,,,found out last night that oldest broke both contacts...think they were too brittle from polishing. He didn't want to tell me ... so I have to call/go by to order new ones at some point. 9:30 Break - Run around outside. Physical activity of some kind 10 (Hopefully today I will be back by now, so I will grade their work and make my younger boy go back and do the math he skipped.) TOG block.. I am currently reading them Augustus Caesar's world aloud they read their history, literature, SAP, Mapwork, whatever needs to be done. Writing and language arts are in this block as well. Typically this block is when I work with my girl. She is a late sleeper and so she is generally getting up during that 8am block, having breakfast, a bath, etc. So during this block I am working on her with phonics, math, handwriting.. probably an hour tops. Then she goes to play while I check on help brothers and make sure they are on task. 12 Play outside 12:20-1 Lunch and readaloud. I am currently working on Ides of April 1-3 2nd piano practice for boys, oldest is doing computer class, oldest does physical science..I find something for younger boy to do to count for science, vision therapy if it didn't fit in first block goes here, finish up any TOG work that didn't get done. They both work on speeches for speech class. Daughter and I will work on reading a BOB book and do a couple of other workbook things and then once again she goes to play. I normally work on church stuff if possible during this time period or whatever assignment my dh gives me. I need to work on our applications for Ethiopia mission work today and pack for my son for a surprise trip with his dad this weekend. 3-3:30 30 minute house cleanup...thougth I have really been trying to clean up as we go, but it is hard Mondays are like that and we have tennis lessons for the boys at 4:30. Tuesdays are like that until 1 when I have to leave to take my daughter to dance. Boys and I get a treat a Dairy Queen that 45 minutes and I continue a readalud. Then I drive boys to their piano lessons which take an hour each.During those 2 hours I take my invalid father to Walmart, get his haircut, etc. I pick up my sons and drop them at home and take my daughter to soccer practice. I return home with her at 7 or so. Wednesday We leave at 8 am for homeschool co-op which lasts until 1:30, then go straight to church where I get ready to direct my children's choir at 3. Church activities last until 9pm for me, but dh gets the children most of the time after theirs are over at 7. Thursdays are the regular schedule. Megan has soccer practice at 5:30. Fridays are the regular schedule.Although it is now getting to be outside chores time. We live on 50 acres so we will start to spend time mowing, weeding, etc. Saturday is soccer, piano competitions and outside work around here. Sometime church activites. That is my day and week. Life needs to fit in there as well: getting tires aligned, seeing accountants, dentists, etc. I can't figure out how to do that kind of stuff without losing school. I make it in the afternoons, most of the time. (Our doctor doesn't work on Thrusday afternoons, hence the appointment for daughter and I.) Christine

Ok.. how do you teach math... If that is what I need to do..Sigh. I've always just handed the boys a book. (Remember, I didn't start homeschooling them until after 1st and 3rd) My K girl seems to be intuitive like my oldest. But even her...what should I be doing other than opening up the Singapore book and doing it with her. Well, I guess I do more with her but it is just life. She brings me coins and we talk about them...what they are what they are worth..etc. But I am already totollay overwhelmed with what I have to do and the thought of adding in one more thing...

He turns 11 tomorrow and my best gift to him will be to tell him no math. Telling him that he will do math throughout the summer... well, you will be able to hear the screams of frustration in protest... Sigh. I just get so tired of fighting him everyday over math. Christine

I guess I want him to be able to do Algebra by at least 9th grade. Don't I need to finish the books to get there? Christine

Ok...if some of you say that we need to camp on fractions for awhile. Then how in the world do you finish the book. He is on Horizon lesson113 and we are going to have trouble finishing before the end of June anyway.

What is qbasic?? A pogramming language... I say that like I know what it is. My oldest LOVES computers and is great with them and would probably be ready to program, but He is SO far above what I am able to do on the computer. How do you find a class and monitor him??? Christine

I tried the pizza thing and said, "ok, we have 3 pizza's to eat for dinner and you and Brian finished 3/4 of one pizza. How much do your sister and i have to eat?" He said without a pause, " 1 and 1/4. "Yes!!!!! I answer, so what is the difference between saying 3 pizzas and we ate 7/8 of one.???" OH.... he said, you just divide the pizza into 8 pieces...so you have 2 and 1/8 left." YES!!! maybe we are making progress. It didn't help that this lesson also had long division in it ( 4 numbers divided by 2 numbers and added in multiplying fractions as the new concept. Sigh...