The play is not a musical, so it cant be music. It is one semester long and involves 6-8 hours per week of practice; toward the last couple weeks it is probably more like ten hours a week or more. Can I count this as a high school "art" credit-or do they mean something more like painting or whatever? If not, what can I count it for? (I'm new at this!) Also, would it be a full credit or half credit?

Thank you so much! We will stick to splitting the middle term then; seems best to use the one that always works. THANK YOU!

We're muddling our way through Foerster's Algebra 1 and I'm horrible at math! Quick question: there MUST be an easier way to factor quadratic trinomials where the first coefficient is not one OTHER than just trial and error! Right?? for example: 3x squared -11x-4 You have to write down all the possibilities that multiply to -4, in all the different orders, and then just try them all to see what works!! What!!?? like -2 and 2, 2 and -2, -1 and 4, 4 and -1, 1 and -4, and -4 and 1 just fiddle with it til you find one that works does NOT seem efficient! Later in the book we learned how to do it more efficiently by splitting the middle term ie- ax squared + bx+ c you first multiply a by c, then look for two factors of ac whose sum is b, and then split the middle term and factor by grouping So we figured, wow, that's more efficient than the stupid trial and error thing, let's do that all the time for factoring ones w/ first coefficient not 1 Will that always work, for every problem, if I just teach her to always split the middle term for those rather than do trial and error? or is there yet another easier way? thanks so much!

I was so blessed to wake up and find so many helpful posts-thank you all! Lori is correct-I will have dd take high school math throughout high school, I just meant the dual enrollment wouldn't include college math. (and Anne, e are not in a county w/ free dual enrollment, unfortunately!) I'm grateful to everyone for all the CC, associate's, gap year, etc. info-I am clueless on all this and it really helped me. After looking all this over and thinking about it, it seems like it would be pretty tough to get around math or math testing, especially since she's currently thinking of nursing (although that may change). I was really pleased to hear that the ACT is only 1/4 math-that is great to know, teachermom, as dd is really bright in every other area than math. It encouraged me to hear your son's score, even with an average math. She will be doing her math from here on in a co-op two days/wk instead of at home with me (I'm a crummy math teacher) so I'm hoping that will help some. 1Togo-your post really encouraged me and it's great to see exactly what resources you used. The BCP sounds great-but expensive. I'm going to PM you. Thanks!

OK, I see now-it's that our state doesn't have FREE dual enrollment, that was what I was thinking! I'm in NY.

Thanks so far! I don't know exactly what dual enrollment is, but I do know that we don't have dual enrollment in our state. It would basically be just her taking college courses during high school (but not college math courses) in the hopes of avoiding testing, if that makes sense.

I am seriously concerned that my daughter cannot do well on the SAT math portion, to the point of trying to figure out how we can avoid having to have her do testing. It's not a learning disability, she just struggles terribly and always has. I don't think there is any feasible way she could do well at all on the math portion of SAT. Someone was telling me that if a student does a significant amount of college classes in 11-12 grade, colleges won't need to see SAT or other test scores; is that correct? We have a homeschool co-op here that offers quite a few courses given by college professors for college credit, and/or there is a community college nearby, so I'm starting to think we should do this, but I want to find out if it's true that she wouldn't need to take SATs then. And would a downfall of taking a lot of college work during high school be that the student can't get freshman status for financial aid? Because we will DEFINITELY need financial aid. Thanks! (note: dc is entering 10th grade this fall)

Thanks for the answers so far. It isn't that I'm worried about the homeschool police (or anyone else)-lol! I just want to make sure she has "covered" the equivalent of a normal Algebra 1 course so she will be ready for Alg 2. Please keep the answers coming! I appreciate it so much!

We are pushing to get through before she has to start Saxon Geometry in a co-op in early September. We got delayed by switching Alg programs partway through and some medical issues. It's going very slow, taking two days per lesson and that's just doing the odds. We're on section 9-5. She is understanding ok though. She has always been extremely weak in math. Can we be done with Algebra 1 before we do the Chapter 14 "Functions and Advanced Topics"? And feel that we would be comparable to having finished a normal (not challenging) Algebra 1 program? She'd be doing Saxon Geometry this fall and Saxon Algebra 2 the next year, if that helps. Also, is there ANYTHING else we can skip in Foerster's to get through more quickly-things that are maybe considered not necessary to a normal Algebra 1 course? Thanks so much!

We had a terrible problem last year with deer and are about to plant our flower garden and don't want the deer eating our $$$$ investment in flowers! Thanks!

Dh needs to eat heart-healthy, but now due to circumstances for awhile I will need to make the absolute fastest, low to no-prep dinners. Here's some ideas of the type of thing I've been doing and what I mean, but I need many, many more please! -throw seasoning on chicken and cook in George Foreman grill with microwaved yam -cook whole wheat pasta, drain, throw in spinach and raw minced garlic (from a jar) and olive oil -throw a piece of fish on cookie sheet, drizzle w/ olive oil and dill seasoning, side dishes-Success Rice (brown rice) in a bag, mixed frozen veggies Anything is fine-soups, whatever, as long as it's super easy like the ones listed above! I'm trying to keep expenses down too, if possible. THANK YOU so much!!!

Wow, these posts are so helpful to making a decision! Lots of good detail. I guess if I could find the right situation... What is the going rate per hour for tutors in your area? Maybe if I just did a couple students a week, like Chris said... thanks so much!

I need to find part-time work around homeschooling and several people have mentioned this would be a good fit for me (I'm known as a good teacher at my homeschool co-op), and I do think I would like it. Also, it seems it would bring in more money per hour than working retail or whatever! But how easy is it to break into tutoring without a teaching degree? How did you go about finding clients? How did you know HOW to tutor? In other words, are you basically just helping them with their homework, or what exactly are you doing? (I realize this may sound like a dumb question, sorry!) What do you charge? Have you been able to get a lot of work this way, and is it worth it? Any tips? Would there be any demand for English, history, writing, etc, tutors? (I am not math/science oriented!) Thanks for any information!!

I want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for taking the time to address my concerns. It means so much to me, and I really feel so much better about it, knowing that we DO have time to get her ready! Also, 8Fill-I wanted to mention regarding Foerster's word problems-I know exactly what you mean, and I can't explain it-but it is like in a section of word problems, she sees what needs to be done in one, and applies it to the others in that section, kind of as a formula. I'm looking at 2.8 as an example-she sees in that section how to go about setting them up, and knows the other ones in that section are similar. Now, if I randomly went back and gave her one of those problems again, even an identical problem that she already did, she would look at it blankly because by now she has forgotten the "formula" she was using to solve that "type" of word problem. Or if I mixed up a bunch of word problem "types", even ones she has done already, she wouldn't be able to do them bcuz she they are all mixed up and not following their "type" of problem like they were when they were each in their own section. KWIM? (Note: she does all the word problems in every section-sometimes we may skip one if it is too similar to the very next problem.) I do love Foerster's word problems-the step by step instructions he gives (write the definition of x, then write an expression...) have made them the first word problems she has been able to do!

8Fill-what did you mean? I didn't understand your last statement. I'm foggy w/ cold meds today, so it's probably clear but I am not getting it. She is only on Chapter 6 of Foerster's, so that's one thing that may be throwing me when looking at the samples. But what is scaring me is that the problems are presented in such an unfamiliar way-very wordy and complicated, mainly stemming from the fact that she can't do word problems, just looks at it and panics and doesn't know what they want. And that is in EASY word problems. She is not analytical at all.

We on are the East Coast, and as far as I ever knew, the ACT is more "frowned upon" than the SAT, which is the gold standard. I could be wrong-this is just my layperson's interpretation. Yes, my panic is almost completely over the extensively-wordy math problems of the new SAT. Foerster's word problems are great, but very topic specific to each chapter (therefore, dd learns the formula and does them by rote). I'd love something with a nice mix of various kinds of word problems.

Okay, thank you for helping me calm down, I'm breathing a little bit easier. Every single post on here so far had something in it that I needed to hear that really helped me understand the situation better, and the personal experiences, advice and support mean so much to me!! The sad thing is, dd is stellar to the point of gifted in humanties type classes, so I hate to see math hold her back from scholarships, etc. Is the ACT truly as well thought of as the SAT by colleges? I thought colleges *required* SAT scores-and even if they don't wouldn't it look funny to not even *have* an SAT score? We will keep plugging along, and meanwhile I want to plug some holes. Any ideas for materials to help her get used to word problems and graph interpretation? (in an incremental fashion, starting from very simple and working into harder ones) She hasn't done much of either and the word problems especially are a major weakness. One quick question not math related-I'm reading the new SAT doesn't have much vocabulary. Does that mean no more "studying vocab for the SAT", like most SAT test prep has included up til now? Thanks to all for the posts so far!!!

She is an excellent student but terrible in math, I mean terrible, always has been (no learning disabilities). She is currently doing Foerster's Algebra 1 (not quite halfway through, in Chapter 6), and we're also going through Horizons Pre-Algebra for spiral basic math practice. Well, I looked at the sample math questions for the new PSAT/SAT (she will take the PSAT this October), and she literally would not be able to do ONE of them. Honestly, I even had a hard time and barely understood them (I'm awful in math too.) I was trying to read them and my mind just cannot even comprehend how to even attempt them, and she will be ten times as lost. Please help-what is our best course of action here to prep? How can I shore up her math weaknesses and make sure she is ready for the PSAT? Basically, picture if your child couldn't do any of the problems in the samples (the NEW samples, which are all word problems)-what would you do? I want to cry right now. Seriously, I am the worst homeschool mother ever. I have totally failed. :crying: I desperately need specific pointers on what to do to remedy this, PLEASE!!!!! Should I take her out of Foerster's Algebra and put her in something like Saxon, which is probably better test prep? She cried every day in Saxon 8/7 though, and the Foerster's is working, but I don't see anything like what we're doing so far in Foerster's on the SAT sample questions! I just want her to ace the SATs-they are so important. She will never be good at math but she needs to do well on the SAT for nursing school, her dream. HELPPPPPP ETA: I just went back and looked at the samples again, and I am literally almost in a panic attack. They all look like a foreign language. How did this happen???!!!

Thank you-this helped me so much!

We're running way behind on math this year due to much serious illness, surgeries, etc. We're already going to have to do math all this summer to finish Alg 1 in time for dd to start Geometry in a co-op this September. This is for 9th grade dd who is extremely weak in math. The Foerster's Algebra 1 is working well for her though (we are on Chapter 6, Lesson 7). BUT I don't want to push her to have to learn extra/advanced topics that would not be included in a regular, basic Algebra 1 text. We don't have time for that and she certainly doesn't have the inclination for that. So is there anything in Foersters that we can safely skip? Thanks!

He was such an easy boy.....until hormones hit! (he just turned 12) Now he is easily angered, short-tempered, wavers between "sad or mad" (his own words), rude, mouthy, and irritable. And he gets very mopey too. We have him signed up for a spring sport (four days a week); meanwhile, I'm starting some mild weight training with him for physical outlet. We've talked about it so he knows this is a normal thing to feel this way, etc. But somehow we need to find a way to live with him thru this time! He sees after he has hurt everyone that it was wrong but he just can't control himself in the moment (don't we all understand that aspect of hormones!?!) He is also very tired all the time, so we changed his bedtime to earlier. He is having a lot of trouble with focus on his schoolwork too, from the hormones. Older dd (now 15) went thru all this but we expected it since she is a girl and dramatic personality :) It just threw me to have this happen with my more low-key kid! Feel free to link me to past threads, as I'm sure this has been discussed before!

Thanks for all these great responses! We'll go with the acid. (note: we did not try tea tree oil-I can't believe there was actually something we didn't try! But her apt is Thurs so no time to try it now! Thanks!)

I really thought most podiatrists now did cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen)-that that is the new state of the art wart treatment? But the two recommended podiatrists I called for my daughter's wart (on foot) said they treat warts with a strong acid, and it takes a few treatments (or more). Then we have to treat it at home with weaker acid in between. I was hoping it would just be a one-time visit to freeze it off with cryotherapy! What has been your experience with wart treatment at a podiatrist's office? What is generally done? BTW, we have tried EIGHT months of EVERY home treatment on this wart and nothing has helped, so I am done with that and want a professional now!

Thanks for the great replies so far, and hopefully this thread is helping others too! I am going to check these out-plz keep them coming! MEmama-a friend has IEW SWI-B that I could borrow BUT I have a question for you: ds did IEW for two years (3-4 grade) and it was just rewriting fables, story sequence, etc. I think maaaaybe there was a tiny essay thing for a couple weeks at the end. Does the SWI-B have a lot more essay writing than that? I am not seeing it when I look at the scope and sequence-looks basically like rewriting from key word outlines, which we did a lot of. Thanks.

Thanks for the excellent question! I used WWS 1 with older dd (in fact, we beta-tested it!) and use it in my co-op class, so I do love it, and will be using portions of it with ds. (outlining, narration, etc-mainly as a way to help him learn to read for information, find what's important in a passage, etc-he is not a strong reader) That being said---it's kind of convoluted for this boy for the actual writing portion. He needs a curriculum that is more like Jump In (which we used and loved last year), something that teaches how to write an essay like they would traditionally do in a classroom (topic sentence, supporting, conclusion)-but with a lot of scaffolding (reminding them to make sure to use transitions, etc.) It's hard to explain-does that make any sense? If not, I'll try to clarify more!