This. Couldn't have said it better myself D

How hideous is shipping!!!! And the tanking Aussie dollar! Gah, these forums cost me a fortune.....

Oh look, With Rigor For All just fell into my shopping cart and now its on its way to Sydney! How did that happen? D

I have science degree and worked in medical research and biostatistics. I've written a string of papers full of number crunching. I've never even seen a graphing calculator. They aren't part of the Australian maths curriculum. D

Just bought Stephen Fry's book. Thanks, enablers!

Because I am very tired and scanning too quickly, I read this thread title as " Best smelling dog poo?" No matter what I wash my labrador with, her poo still smells terrible.....

DS15 made a comment about "feminazis" on International Women's Day. Its not a mistake he will be repeating......

I'll second the recommendation for Conceptual Physical Science Explorations. You could also use the Integrated Sciences version. DS15 and I are using the college level text (Conceptual Integrated Sciences) at the moment (he's a STEM type and needs high level science). DS does not tolerate anything that isn't straight to the point. CIS is very well set up, presents info in short, clear bites, is easy to take notes from, and has loads of questions to work through at the end of each chapter. The physics videos on the website are excellent, too. I think its one of my best-ever homeschool purchases. For the record, as a research scientist, I don't think its possible to be awful at science. You can be disinterested, you can have insufficient maths skills to do physics and chemistry calculations, you can need better, different or more visual explanations, and you can have poorly developed critical thinking skills and understanding of the scientific method, but you can't be awful - science is a series of skills building on knowledge. She's in year 9. She isn't old enough to be awful at anything, especially not science. And she has loads of time to mature, work out her learning style and cover the required material. If she's worked her way through one grammar program, move on to application. If she wants to be a writer, she needs to write. Any grammar holes can be plugged in the editing process. D

Its on the "banned story list", along with The Velveteen Rabbit. As far as DS15 is concerned, they are all still living in Pooh Corner and Christopher Robin is still in short pants. I cry through most of AA Milne, especially the poem about the dragons........

End of Ordinary, your son is quite fabulous. I am an activist. I was deeply humbled by Dae's speech. It was the Easter message of hope that I needed. Please pass on my thanks to him Danielle

You could try Tim Flannery's book, Atmosphere of Hope. Flannery is a very well regarded Australian scientist. The book does have some Australian-specific content, but lots of US and other international info as well. Its not hugely optimistic and it was written prior to the Paris conferences but it is readily understandable by a bright 13 year old and provides some examples of large-scale solutions. Other things to try might include individual and household actions. Maybe research what other households are doing to cut emissions (planting trees, relocalising food, eating less meat and processed food, refusing packaging, reducing consumption, power use, air-miles etc). Australia has a group called One Million Women where you pledge to do a variety of things and they calculate your carbon savings. I'm pretty cynical about a lot of this stuff, but for a 13 year old who is finding this hard to cope with, it might help. I have no idea what the equivalent male American version is, but I bet its out there! And for what it worth, I'm with your son - we're in really deep do-do here and no one really seems to give a toss as long as we keep buying crap...... Part of me thinks we need to stop telling our kids that it will be alright because it won't be. Maybe if they get angry enough, we grown-ups might start to make the necessary changes. D

Ditch grammar, vocab and spelling. Its time to apply those skills, not keep going over them in isolation. Read, read, read, discuss, analyse good lit (and even some bad lit), write and debate. Debating was the key to my ability to write well, structure an argument and state my case. Read some key works, depending on his areas of interest - Dawkins' The Selfish Gene (I am not a huge Dawkins fan, but it was an important work), Hawkings' Brief History of Time, some classic sci-fi like Shelley's Frankenstein, Asimov and Jules Verne, some steam-punk eg Terry Pratchett, Rachel Carson for ecology, and make sure he has covered nerdy staples like Monty Python, Tolkien and Hitchhikers Guide. He will have to cover fiction, obviously, but that doesn't have to be dreary. You could also do a unit on making science palatable to lay readers. Chaz Orzel's physics for dogs books, Dawkins Magic of Reality (great info, loads of it, but most interesting to me because of his fairly snarky tone), Hazen and Trefil, even Life of Fred would all fit. Tim Flannery's books on climate change would be essentials if I was doing this with DS (and I think I just might). Add Alcumus as a case study - a great presenter makes for easy learning of difficult info. For output I would expect an essay on each work with a discussion of techniques used and the pros and cons, and a final powerpoint presentation comparing the effectiveness of each (obviously entirely subjective!). You could also do an ethics of science unit, or base it around a particular area of science. i'm working on a plan for a robotics unit that covers science and literature. Or you could send him to the library, tell him to pick a unifying topic and find 8 books and both of you make it up from there. Actually, that sounds like a highschool version of 8Fillstheheart's Homeschooling at the Helm. Perfect! I wonder if I can get DS15 to do that... (He's welding a motor onto a bicycle in the shed atm....) D

I am a scientist (molecular biology and then epidemiology - you go where the money is in science). Good scientists need strong English skills. By way of explaination, let me give you an idea of the scientist's year: Jan-Feb: write grants for major national funding body. Five pages to tell them what, how, and why this research is a good idea and why I should have a job for the next couple of years. Funding is tight and highly competitive - if my writing is unclear, boring or poorly structured, there will be no money for me (its likely there will be no money anyway....) March -May: while doing experiments, crunching info and planning my next move, I am also writing a couple of papers for publication in peer reviewed journals. The editors are harsh - those papers must be clear, concise, well argued and within the endless guidelines of the journal. They will be reviewed by my competitors who would prefer that I didn't get credit for this wonderful body of knowledge, so I must be able to defend my findings. The paper will probably come back to me for editing before publication. My grant success is dependent on my publication record. June- July: submit another research grant, write a response to reviewers comments for the earlier grant (this is a good sign) and write a couple of abstracts for a conference I want to go to later this year. My employer will only fund the trip if I am presenting. Write two posters for a small research gig locally (more nuisance value than anything - I need to get it done in under two days). August- Sept: no external demands. Wooohooo - I get to spend some uninterumpted time in the lab and write up my own stuff for my higher degree (scientists are almost always working on a higher degree). Just when it all looked quiet, I'm asked to contribute to a methods handbook for the international not-for-profit I work for. Hello 5 am teleconferences and late night writing sessions. October: go to international conference. 10min presentation of my work in front of world experts. 5 mins question time where I have to defend my work. Highly stressful, invigorating, loads of workshops, huge volume of new information and horrible jetlag. November -December: two small conferences, a couple more papers, and no funding for me! Start writing grants to get a jump on next year. This is obviously quite simplistic, but science has a desperate need for people who can communicate well, to both scientists and non-scientists. And to do that, they need to understand literature as a part of culture. D

Cutting out all sugar (including the hidden stuff in crackers, pasta sauce etc) fixed mine. If I eat anything with sugar in it, its back to reflux land. Giving up sugar isn't fun (I had a big sweet tooth), and you will have to cook more and read the labels on everything, but it is absolutely worth it. No reflux and no brain fog. D

This is a magnificent book - not for the faint-hearted, but moving, thought provoking and beautifully written. One of my all-time favourites D

Try this article called, appropriately, "The Fragile Male". http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119278/ Its been a while since I did any research in this field, but I remember this being discussed back in the late 80s when I was at Uni. I arrived home late from a meeting tonight. DS15 emerged at midnight looking like he hadn't been fed for a week, downed a plate of food and a glass of milk, played the guitar for 15mins, and wandered back to bed. Lucky he's an only - I couldn't afford to feed any more! He just lies around growing all day. He's just topped 6 feet.

"what they're watching on tv is more important than people with whom they've committed to socialize" This. This exactly. And in my family it would be just plain rude. Sport and TV are not more important than people. If they are, you probably don't like those people very much and should probably stay home D

I'm the child of a depression-era father (Dad was born in 1920, me in 1969). Dad always bought food in bulk, something I do as well. I definitely associate a full pantry, full water tanks and decent wood pile with security. I've tried going without it but it makes me too uncomfortable. I live in a flood prone area. I have a minimum of two weeks non-perishable food, fresh water, gas for cooking, and matches and candles on hand (two weeks is the likely amount of time we'd have to go without power, which means sewer and water as well). In reality, with the garden, we could live for a couple of months if it rained a few times. The food would be boring, but we'd be well fed. Its not hoarding if you might need it, right? My step-father grew up on the Gilbert Islands. The supply ship came every 6 months. His toilet paper hoarding is legendary.

But Charles did visit the Wilder boys. And they invited him to come back often. They made no move to give Charles that wheat - he took it. It wasn't just enough seed to survive on the next year, it was seed to generate a fat profit. And it wasn't just wheat - they had ham, coffee, sugar, maple syrup and firewood. Meanwhile, in the house next door, two adults and four children lived on a starvation diet of wheat ground in a coffee grinder and twisted hay till their hands bled so thay could stay warm. Yes, the Wilder boys set themselves up better than Charles Ingalls. Does that make ignoring the plight of the people next door OK? In my country, we have names for people who ignore their neighbours in times of need while living well themselves.

I've been rubbish! Its soooo hot and humid here (we're breaking all historical records), something has eaten most of my veggie patch, the kitchen feels like a little piece of hell by 6pm, I'm not sleeping and I just want to live on iced water and take-away. The good news is that its also too hot to drive to the shops, and the shock of exiting the shops' aircon is so dreadful that spending half an hour in the cool simply isn't worth it. I'm not spending much, but I'm not doing much either beyond watering to keep the garden alive (our tanks are empty - I'm dreading the water bill). Please make summer end!!!! D

Thanks Kirsten, for being so rude and patronising! I was really enjoying this thread, but truly thanks for killing it off for me. No I am not a farmer, but I do live on the driest inhabited continent on the planet. I get that 20-30 miles is a long way so you don't have to shout it at me (we have big distances in Australia, too, but we were a bit light on pack animals - we used convicts, a few of which I have descended from). I teach people how to grow food so I do understand how seeds work, and I understand a little bit about sharing resources to ensure survival. D

This thread is facinating. I held off reading the later books with DS until he was a little bit older. the Long Winter is grim. I am still struck by the Wilder boys hoarding seed wheat in the walls while they knew people around them were starving. The fact that this selfishness is never commented on is amazing to me. D

We need to do this, too, but I can't face it. DS15 is a bear in the mornings!!!!!

Nan, you are brilliant! I just picked up a copy for under $15, including shipping. Thank you so much!!!!

We're using Bravewriter's Help for High School this year. DS15 is in year 10. He is behind in writing. He hates the physical act of writing (he has dyspraxia) but he hates the mental act of thinking even more! Help for High School isn't fun, but it is working. I'd love to use Writing with a Thesis next, but its expensive and postage to Australia is staggering. D