Welcome back, Lindsay! :seeya: I have a rising 9th grader in NY, too. We're planning on SWB's History of the Ancient World, the reading list from TWTM, Warriner's Grammar, AoPS Alg II, Chemistry with Zumdahl and Chemguy, Wordly Wise 9, & Spanish Now.

same here...

My daughter just did a "College and Careers" overnight at Rochester Institute of Technology. I have loved this school forever... it is the geekiest, most fun, greenest, most friendly college I've ever been to. I think there's lots of help for kids that need it, a non-drinking culture overall, and a huge Co-op program in the engineering dept that leads to 91% of kids with a job or in grad school within 6 months of graduation. I would love to see one of my kids end up there. Maybe she'll be the one! She really enjoyed her time there, especially in the math and engineering depts. Hopefully they will be generous with merit moolah. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rochester-institute-of-technology-2806 www.rit.edu

Hmmm.... Maybe your daughter was so successful because she took the pre-reqs for algebra 1 right there at the CC? I'd look very closely at the scope and sequence of what has been done and what would be expected in the College Algebra class before jumping in.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Best wishes to you both.

I highly recommend Ellen McHenry's "The Elements" and, if you get through that, "Carbon Chemistry." http://store.ellenjmchenry.com/ I see that the download version of The Elements costs about $15. They are entertaining, packed with information, and my middle-schoolers really liked them.

Oooh.... thanks for this... it looks awesome.

True... ours is a much smaller 'pile' for sophomore year. Things that were a bust: a beautiful round ottoman type storage thing that was a graduation gift... just too big for the teeny tiny hundred year old rooms... An all in one camping type food service thing... which she got for a pre-orientation camping trip, but didn't use all year after that. She'd rather have one real plate than that whole kit. She's leaving all extraneous books home this year... just no time to read most of them... and since she works in the campus library she can pick up reading material at her convenience. Those milk crate storage bin things.... not convenient... and not going to have too much to store in them this year. This year she's sticking with her laptop, textbooks, minimalist clothing, her backpack, minimalist shower supplies/first aid, and her bike. To my surprise, the bike was a big win last year. The campus is huge and she loved being able to zip from one side to the other when necessary.

Congratulations, mama, with a hug thrown in there, too. :party:

Both of my daughters did CalcBC with Mrs. Gilleran through Pennsylvania Homeschoolers.... they both really enjoyed the class and felt highly prepared for the exam. (They both scored very well, too.)

(((jennifer)))

hmmmm... well, the first thing that comes to mind is fiestaware..... But something that I find fun (and dare-i-say cheap!) is collecting restaurantware from goodwill and places like that. The options are generally not that colorful (there are a million patterns and the ones I find are usually neutral), but they are extremely durable, wash like a dream, and I have a fun treasure-hunt project that amuses me. I specifically hunt for Syracuse China Mesa Grande pieces - creamy white with brown flecks and brown rings: (darn - the image wouldn't transfer, but a google search will turn up lots. The dinner plates are slightly oval.) And another 'set' of Chenango china (a subsidiary of SC) that is completely white with a nice laurel leaf decoration around the edges. All together these dishes (at least 50 pieces) cost me less than $50 and they are going to last forever. The Syracuse China serving pieces that I have found are also very nice, well proportioned, and sturdy... all for $1 a piece. Happy Hunting!

ITA, and we followed the same plan here with the same results. (High but not perfect. In fact, dd#2 missed one math question on the SAT. And it was an EASY one! She's kicking herself and wishes she knew exactly which one. :) ) She really liked the PWN the SAT Math book. OP, IIRC, the AoPS prealg book is a little bit of a grab bag... what you get in there might not be strictly algebra. You could have him work through the Alcumus Pre-Alg topics (on the AoPS website) that are related to the algebra to try and get him up to speed on the Alg 1 Placement test. Alternately, you could pick and choose the topics in the PreAlg book that you feel would serve him best and skip the others for now.

If anything I might do a chem boot camp.... like Ellen McHenry's the Elements and Carbon Chem. Otherwise, my son really enjoyed The Way Life Works Good Luck!

:grouphug: Hugs and commiseration.....

Extremely happy dd here today. ;) (CalcBC, EngLang, PhysB) Congrats to all on fantastic scores! Woot! :party:

How to Train Your Dragon was/is a huge favorite around here. In fact, my daughter wrote a fan-fic Holiday story called "How to Survive Odin's Day" as a gift for her brother about the characters in the story that (if I might say so myself....) is awesome. If you'd like it I can ask her if it's ok to share it. Another one my kids read over and over (and over) was The Mysterious Benedict Society. I second the James Herriot suggestion above - "All Creatures Great and Small" and the rest are well worn here.

:seeya: Hi all. I am trying this time not to focus too heavily on weight loss goals, but fitness goals instead. (It's getting hard not to watch the scale tho... it has been years since I have been less than (insert number that I'm not.going.to.care.about.no.matter.what! here: ________ and I'm one pound away!!!) My lovely 16yodd has agreed to whip me into shape by training for my first 5K with me! My husband joined in, too. I am so glad and thankful that she is willing to do it. She's the one that keeps track of the couch to 5k times... she's the one that wears the watch... she's the one I follow, panting, as well as I can, and just have to put one foot in front of the other until she says to stop. So we are on week three. We might have to do week three again, because it's desperately hot and humid here right now so I was not able to notch up to the two five minute runs today... but that's OK. As long as I am out there at least walkjogrunning in some form I feel like it's progress. We did two miles all together today. We're trying all the different trails in the area, and today's was a keeper. I'd like to run there every day. Best to everyone with their personal goals this month!! Mine is just to keep on trucking and eventually run that 5k!

All of Jean's suggestions apply around here.... Shakespeare in the park...LOTS of concerts in parks all over the area ... a huge international jazz fest going on right now with tons of free events. Free tours of the large urban cemetery that are amazing. I never would have believed a cemetery tour could be as fantastic as this one until I went. Geology, history, architecture, politics, horticulture... all in a beautiful park-like setting. Lots of local theater groups giving very low cost summer performances. And our library's summer read program is always wonderful. They run a teen program simultaneously... with book club discussions. Our local astronomy club hosts open houses and free star parties in the local parks around here. Lots of very knowledgeable people in a field with 10 or so large scopes pointed at many cool astronomical objects and willing to tell you all sorts of amazing stuff about them. Add a thermos of hot chocolate and you've got a great night. We LOVE these events and have met some great people this way.

The kids and I have been playing around on this game all morning.... fun, fun, fun. Nothing like ignoring your actual responsibilities to do some casual math. It's learning, right?? http://euclidthegame.org/tutorial1.html It's still in Beta testing, so if you find an error or a solution that's not accepted, you can be part of making the game even better by contacting the designer.

Please don't ask. I am trying to ignore the fact that my youngest will be in HIGH SCHOOL. Ack. And here's me with no motivation to plan. Not to mention the college hunting with #2. Bad mommy. I wish they could all just hang around for a few more years and go back to read alouds with me.

I would recommend that your dd sign up for the SAT Question of the day... (going to head off to research how it works now... I think you get to it by creating an account at the college board and going there every day.... anyone know for sure? It used to be conveniently e-mailed to me each day, but not anymore.) It is a low stress way to practice every day and get familiar with the types of questions that will appear on the exam. If your daughter will be a junior next year and will take the SAT in 2015, I believe the exam will be in its current format. Also, I adore the algebra videos here. I don't know how well they would align with your textbook, but the concept discussion is clear as a bell and sometimes very amusing. The videos are labeled by topic.

:001_wub:

Like Jean, our library sometimes offers free test prep sessions run by an outside group (like Kaplan....). They take the test one day, and get the results and go over strategies at the next meeting. Maybe your library offers something similar? Honestly, there are some great test prep materials out there. If your student is able/willing to be disciplined about the prep I'd be willing to bet s/he would be able to make a huge jump in score by working through them. Here are a few of our favs: The Critical Reader The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar PWN the SAT Math Also, working through the Blue Book using the Xiggi method was very helpful. You can find instructions here: Xiggi Is your student testing before the new exam is released?

Oooh.... I would love to jump in on the meditation side... so far I haven't added yoga. I am the world's least flexible person.... can anyone recommend a (super, uber) gentle first venture into yoga that is doable for me? I've been meditating for a few months now... last night I used a guided meditation by Andrea Fella from audiodharma.org. She gives great dharma talks, too. Gathering materials to make my own zafu this week: http://etsybuddhists.blogspot.com/2011/02/tutorial-zafus-and-zabutons.html