First, that anyone even wants a high school class ring. I thought they went the way of the letter sweater! Second, that Wal-Mart sells customized class rings!!! Customized! From Wal-Mart! I would never have even thought to ask.

We had the text also, so he could reference it while doing the problems. He is very audio oriented and listened to it while walking the dog. He retained an amazing amount that way. (Definitely a learning style issue, I HAVE to read it to remember or use the info.) However, I didn't get it for chemistry. I actually ordered it but it never came, and I didn't reorder. Chemistry has too much math that just has to be done with pencil and paper. We will probably get it again for physics, unless he does Giancoli.

I didn't even attempt to read it straight through. Even the old Penguin Classic )small print, no pictures) is OK if you read about an event (say Thermopylae) in a history book or story (or movie) look at a map, then read about the same event in Herodotus. The main problem is that "we" have no (real) idea who and where the histories take place, so it's like reading meaningless babble. (I know we all know its about the area around the Mediteranean, but that's not detailed enough to make it interesting.) The Landmark edition sounds neat. Now I'll have to go look for it.:001_smile:

I have never heard of Cathswapchat and would like to check it out. Thanks

I read all the assigned books. And tons of others. By 2nd grade, I was adept at holding the book just under my desk so I could read in any class (not just chemistry lectures) . I listened with half an ear, so I could answer if the teacher called on me. It worked really well til I got caught in Freshman English in college! And at my college, they actually cared! Looking at the Great Books lists, though, I do think I missed a few:001_smile:. My reading level has dropped because I've spent so much time pre-reading books for my dc. I really need to read "real" books again!

You don't need a bank account if you link it to a credit card. How safe you feel about depends onyour credit card's policies. BTW, this forum is the only place I've seen people ask for a non-credit card Paypal and I just don't buy from them unless thye'll take a check in the mail instead.

Isn't soy supposed to be an estrogen mimicking substance to ease the effects of menopause? Couldn't it have an effect at puberty also? Soy is in formula, soy milk, cooking oil, almost all prepaed foods, etc. What do you think?

I started Nautilus at 14. I was also swimming. The "y" type place my dc swim even has a program of individual instruction for 12 -16 year olds in the Nautilus room, free weight room and "treadmill" room. They promote it for sport pre training to help prevent injuries. They do incredibly light weights and 20-30 reps. It won't stunt their growth or hurt their joints. What he should NOT do, is go into a gym on his own and start trying to lift as much as he can, without paying any attention to form. That will hurt him. Warm up and stretching are important too.

and the first time he got a virus (picked up at a 6 mo. well-child visit), I didn't even recognize it. Ds spit up so much, I was surprised he gained weight at all. The difference between "spit up" and "throw up" was in even more volume. It looked the same, smelled the same, etc and he didn't act sick in any other way. If he's getting dehydrated, I'd take him in (check the fontanelle or skin) otherwise I'd give it a day or two. There have been a lot of stomach viruses this year. Throwing up is also more likely to come out his nose than spitting up.

I just got some pictures from my dd(14) who is doing 7th grade in Switzerland. She spent the weekend with her godfather in Germany and one of the pictures is her behind him on a motorcycle! Oh well. I guess the year abroad really is widening her horizons.:001_smile: Frankly, I'll lose more sleep over an unaccompanied young girl taking a train from one end of the country to the other than I will over this.

Algebra in 8th grade is pretty normal around here. Colleges say two or three years of a lab science; they don't usually specify and don't care what came before at all. The most common are biology, chemistry and physics, with the fourth year varying widely. If she can handle biology now, the 8th grade "teaser" courses are a waste of time. Don't limit yourself to Glencoe. There are tons of materials out there available on CD-ROM or DVD. She could do everything on the computer and need no books at all. Personally, I wouldn't drop the foreign languages. They have come in handy all my life and fluency is so easily lost. German, Spanish and French can be used in many countries that don't speak those languages as a primary language, because of colonization and trade ties in their history. Auralog and Rosetta Stone make this easy on the computer too. You can keep up the writing within the framework of history papers, essay questions etc and lab reports without doing it as a separate subject. Once grammar is done, that's enough writing. I would feel tortured without literature on a boat for three years. Even if it's not a subject, download a ton of good books she can read on the computer or an ereader. A few "real" books would be nice if there's room. Enough "Great Books," math and science will ensure she's getting the BEST education possible.

but watched The 300 Spartans (1962). It was pretty good. dd(11) liked it and it included a lot of the more famous quotes from Herodotus. There was some violence (it is a war movie, after all) but all sex was limited to fully clothed necking.

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She reads almost exclusively Nancy Drew (old version). We still read aloud with her. She loves it. She's our youngest and still enjoys cuddling up with a book. No one else does:confused: anymore. She has practically memorized the Nancy Drews and really loves them as free reading. Before Nancy Drew, it was the Famous Five by Enid Blyton. Before that reading was like pulling teeth (last January,when we started homeschooling her.) Dh and I pick the books for read alouds, sometimes sharing the reading and sometimes just being "too busy to read right now" so she'll pick it up and keep going. These are better literature or tied to her history study. The combo has improved her reading dramatically in the last year. Of course it counts. When the whole class sits and fidgets while each person reads a sentence, they count it! Your way is an improvement.

Thank you. Could you also tell me how to do sec, csc and cot? I think ds is going to be using one of his Border's gift cards for a certain Dummies book tomorrow!

Does anyone know how to enter trig functions with degrees and minutes into this calculator? I can't find it in the manual. It is so much easier to use the tables! Thanks

I am surprised teachers are still discussing dropping cursive. I thought they were over that. There was an article recently (in the last 2-3 years, somewhere in the mainstream media) about a correlation between scores on the SAT essay and whether they were printed or written. Cursive won. It was followed by a lengthy discussion of how lack of handwriting skills inhibits the develop of other communication skills (complete sentences, paragraph & essay organization, spelling, etc). Sorry, I can't link to it.

and didn't see any bears. Granted, I was in the Army and hiking/camping was part of work, not play. So we did not go into the "back country" at all. We saw the geysers, the forests (before the fire) and all the "sites." We parked in parking lots and walked on sidewalks and boardwalks, ate at the restaurants and bought souvenirs. They were just starting to deter the bears back then, but there weren't any near the parking lots or geysers! Yellowstone can be as "civilized" or "wild" an experience as you want to make it. We were driving through so we did not try to get a room, but I have heard it fills up way ahead of time also.

I just noticed this. Did you mean a Navy base? If so, call housing. You know they are going to want those super-clean when you move out so you may as well call now so you can enjoy them too.:)

Mine (Marvin) have a "secret" button on them to make them come out easily. If you can figure out who made your windows, you could call and ask about it.

Ds(16) didn't like it. It is primarily fill-in-the-blank questions from the text and some vocab. All the writing is in the "extras" at the end of each section, a selectionof "springboard" questions. His lit analysis has always been either oral or essay format, and he really doesn't like fill-in-the-blanks. I think the workbook could be filled in almost as fast as you can write, and is more busywork than challenging, thought provoking questions. The "extras" were the most interesting thing, but none of them sparked his interest. It actually DECREASED his interest in LOTR. He disliked it so much , he asked to switch to Format Writing in Feb.

My dc swim every day. Dd washes her hair and puts conditioner on EVERY time. Ds rushes out. He doesn't want to take a shower there. Someone has convinced him that shampoo is bad for suits:confused:. (After swimming for 30 years, I doubt that claim!) He then proceeds to complain about how long she takes in the locker room. Dd has foot long, curly hair. It is smooth and shiny with no tangles. She brushes it every morning and washes it after swimming every night. Ds has hair < 1-2 inches. It is tough, wiry, dull and will stand straight up without gel. He brushes or washes his hair under duress only. Then, with a straight face, he blames it on the chlorine.:lol: Nexxus Humectress is a great conditioner. I'v found that shampoo doesn't matter that much but the conditioner does. Suave makes a knock-off of Humectress and another one that claims to smooth hair. We use either. They use too much at a time (and share in the locker room) to buy Nexxus.

I don't think dd (14) is shaving yet (certainly wasn't when she left) and dd (11) certainly isn't. I was in high school and shaved for a swim meet. The new razors are so much better. But back then, they weren't really concerned with the blood running down my leg on the starting block!:001_smile:

I could never convince my mom that French Fries were a vegetable either.:)

The orthodontist recommended Tylenol (I ignored it). They also gave dd a rubber thing to chew on that was supposed to make her teeth not hurt. She ignored that. I made soft (pasta) dinners for a day or two, then expected her to eat normally. A waterpik is the only way to get the thing even half way clean. They also gave us a couple of weird shaped brushes that helped. Dd was 7, so I cleaned her teeth after she did. They still needed it. This went on for about 6 months. Enjoy.