I recently asked this of my friend who is an astronomy/physics professor. He said that a high quality pair of binoculars was a better investment than most telescopes for youth. He said they are easier to use and much less frustrating.

A full year $20 subscription to http://edhelper.com/ could cover just about every subject for both kids.

I feel your pain. My dd is the same. I try to get her to say/write (summarize the problem) in words, then replace with numbers and symbols. A pumpkin is 7 times as much as bananas. replace with: A pumpkin/ 21 is/ "=" bananas/ bananas Which gives you: 21 = 7 x bananas

I found this website while searching for AP test prep guides. Has anyone used Shmoop? (Really, what an odd name.) http://www.shmoop.com/ap-exams/

For my natural speller, I didn't use any program.

I also go over every missed problem with my dd. If there is a lack of understanding (vs. rushing or silly mistakes), we review that concept and I create additional problems for her to do.

Cranberry Pecan. Nothing else comes close.

They poop on the deck! They have an acre to free-range, but won't stay off the deck.

:iagree: I have read all the posts in this thread. I will not attack you one bit! Divy up the supplies. Drop the co-op. Find other ways for dd to socialize. Save your sanity and let it go. No guilt. I am hugely impressed that you have continued for so long. BTW, YOU ALREADY HAVE helped the mom with cancer. You already have given her x times of watching her children at the expense of your own. That doesn't mean you must continue to do so.

Sorry, I can't ease your fears. My dd was in full-time public school gifted for grades 1-5. This is the only math program they used and did not supplement. She started the gifted program being fantastic at math (from natural ability and home learning). By the time she hit middle school she was confused why she didn't know basic algorithms & times tables like the kids in the regular classes. Her confidence tanked. In high school, she hated math. Now in college, her math professor wonders how she comes up with some of the crazy logic for (wrongly) solving the problems. She still always scored very high on standardized tests including the SAT, but she does not have the computational skills and higher understanding needed for science and math fields. I would absolutely not use it as a stand alone. I have no qualms in saying that it ruined math for my daughter.

That's really good advice. Thanks for sharing.

If I put off the science for another year, what books would be your top recommendations to have around for casual reading? What about any video series? He loves 'Bill Nye the Science Guy' and 'How It's Made'. Are there any other good shows out there? We really loved the Let's Read and Find Out About Science series that others have mentioned. Those are great casual reading. I got lots of them from Ebay. Look for postings that contain multiple books so the shipping costs doesn't overwhelm you. Pair that up with Bill Nye or Magic School Bus videos (youtube, maybe elsewhere on internet??) and that makes a great science education at this age.

Maybe you could lend it to someone in your hometown who needs it sooner. I've lent material to a person I didn't know (she posted a need for a book on a local yahoo homeschool board) and it was returned promptly and in excellent condition.

I keep thinking of Plato Science for my dd, but I hate that you pay for a daily time slot of 3-4 hours. Our schedule is different every day, and I don't want to pay their price for 24 hour access. We did the demo (on volcanoes) and it seemed quite good. https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=1024&c=1

I've seen a couple of those, and I have to agree with you. Blech.

At least some of them are on youtube. They are cut into 2 videos per episode because they are too long for 1. Our library also has them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbc85dv3ouk

This is the only way I could get it to work, also. While playing the DVR shows, I could record them to a DVD. Yep, incredibly time consuming and a big hassle.

nm

I am not familiar with any of these Spanish resources. But for this: "I don't feel like we have been able to spend enough time on fundamental things like the alphabet, numbers, months, time, greetings, common nouns, verb conjugating, etc. The program introduces these things, but doesn't have review built in." you could try reviewing the topics on studyspanish.com. If you can't find the topic you are interested in, do a "search this site" at the bottom of the page. I clicked that, put in "time" and all the time lessons were listed. There are quizzes and tests associated with each lesson.

We do a lot of traveling with ds's sports. Most families just book for 4, then spread out on the floor as needed. Maybe not ethical or legal, but it is very common.

The free shipping is very addicting. I certainly spend more money on Amazon because of the shipping. I even get some of my groceries from them. I haven't got in the habit of using it for videos.

Done. My dd had AP psych last year so I knew there was going to be a twist. My results may have also been skewed because I HATE that song!!!

I know some owners whose policy is that SSN is required, but bank account is not. They tell people to just ignore that part of the application. The reason it is even on the standard application is in case someone skips out owing rent/damage. It is another tool to track you down. Some owners require it, some don't.

You can set quite a few parameters on Superkids worksheets. Here is the link for multiplication. http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/multiply/times1.shtml

I also think taking away recess generally makes for poorer behaved kids and I think it is generally a lousy way to discipline. Kids need to get up and move. Kids need fresh air. When my dd was in public school, her 3rd grade teacher would take recess away from her for not having her homework done.....She was sick for several days, and on her first day back, she did not have the homework done that was assigned WHILE she was home sick. He and the principal both got a piece of my mind! The principal (and school district policy) supported me, but the teacher continued with this sort of antics. The teacher told me that if I cared that much about recess, then I would come to the school and get dd's homework & have her do it while she was sick. This was *one* of the reasons I pulled her out to homeschool.