I don't think the American people will forget this decision any time soon. I doubt these people will be "safe" in several years. I found this interesting article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/01/paul.qanda/index.html This man makes sense to me. He also doesn't change his views based on the latest poll.

Then let private companies or individual Americans buy them and when the market rebounds (which it will) Americans will profit, not the Government.

Yes, the media outlets are owned by powers on Wall Street who would love to have us bail them out. One interesting thing is that both Conservative Republicans and Michael Moore and many other Democrats are against this. People who are a huge part of the problem are trying to "fix it." In a normal business situation, the management would be fired or an investigation would be launched and someone would be possibly going to jail.

I did, and I plan to contact them today as well.

You are correct, they did not address the three concerns in a satisfactory way.

It is good that it did not pass. You will notice Congress living up to it's 10% approval rating by the fact that it was seriously considered in the first place. Here is a letter from several economists pertaining to the failed bill: http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/mortgage_protest.htm

Thank you for posting this.

I am very much against this current bailout they are proposing in Washington. It should not happen. It will cost MUCH MORE than we are being told. The taxpayer will NOT get their money back for this. There is no reform written into this. There is no guarantee this will work. The fact that they are trying to get this passed so quickly is a very red flag. If this is so important why can't we understand it for awhile before they send it through. This will affect our children and grandchildren. I encourage everyone to contact their congressmen and congresswoman and tell them to vote against it. What we are heading for is a BIGGER government, and the goverment owning equity in businesses. This is the path to socialism. It does not matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, this is not good for America, nor is it good for capitalism no matter what we are being told. I do understand numbers, and this is not good. We have to pay attention to what they are doing in Congress and not simply TRUST them because they are either a Republican or Democrat.

I do not like to get involved in political discussions, but I think this is important. I am against this bailout. It should not happen. It will cost MUCH more than we are being told. The taxpayer will NOT get their money back for this. There is no reform written into this. There is no guarantee this will work. The fact that they are trying to get this passed so quickly is a very red flag. I encourage everyone to contact their congressmen and congresswoman and tell them to vote against it. What we are heading for is a BIGGER government, and the goverment owning equity in businesses. This is the path to socialism. It does not matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, this is not good for America, nor is it good for capitalism no matter what we are being told. Okay, I'm done. ;)

Although my daughter's former public school was considering switching to Everyday Math it was currently using TERC Investigations. It made my decision to homeschool so much easier.;)

I have several degrees in math and have taught for several years at the college level. You don't need certification to teach at the college level. In fact we had a couple of hours of training the week before the Fall semester began to practice teaching, and that was about it. :iagree: Requiring home school teachers to be certified would be illogical. Who in the public school (or government) is qualified to certify a parent teaching their own child?

I use Saxon (one year ahead of the child's "grade level".) We also use Singapore's CWP (one year behind the Saxon level we're using). I usually throw in some type of math manipulative I can find that relates to the subject we're learning for fun and better understanding.

I would have her stop the timing, or double or even triple the time. I do not grade my kids on timing. My thought is that math is better done correctly than quickly. The goal of the timing is to get the child to focus and tune out distractions. This is a nice goal, but not worth frustrating her over at this point. I'd come back to it later.

Hi Sharon, I'm newer to HSing as well. I have a 3rd and 1st grader this year. My thoughts are that the WTM is a bit weak on the Natural Sciences. We are using several Harcourt Science Books and Nebel's Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. I spent several hours the other night going over the books combining the best of each. That is my way of handling the subject of Science. Good luck to you on your HSing journey.:)

Have you thought about contacting Rightstart about the parts you don't understand? Do they have a forum like Singapore does? I afterschooled my second grade daughter all last school year with Saxon 3 and Singapore Math 2 Workbook only. We'd spend about 1.5 hours per day on it. My daughter really enjoys math (as do I) so it was mostly pleasurable for us, but at times she was in tears. The tear moments eventually were replaced with "ah ha" moments. It was win win for us. I got to the point, too, thinking that I'd have to let the school's requests come before what I thought the priorities should be, so now I am full time homeschooling my children. I haven't used RightStart, but I have heard good things about it. Mathematics is easier understood with a picture or manipulative/visual aid for most people. I like Saxon because you don't have to go searching to fill in the holes. I like Singapore because it makes you think (especially the challenging word problems). Singapore's CWPs are what math is all about. First you feel frustrated, and then you get it. In the mean time, your mind has been stretched and you grow from the experience. However, before attempting logic, its good to have addition, subtraction, multiplication and division mastered. Singapore is a good test to see if you've gotten what Saxon has drilled you on for years. This is my understanding. My advice would be to consult with RS to see if they have any help on the website. I can tell you that the Saxon/Singapore combo worked for us. Hope that helps...:)

Ours takes an hour or less with Saxon. Time spent on math is time well spent because it is one of the more important subjects.

My reason was simply that I was unhappy with the Math curriculum being used at our public school. When I contacted the school and suggested they change it, they told me that they review the curriculum every seven years. They said I'd have to wait until then to attempt to get it changed. So I decided to afterschool in the meantime. Afterschooling gave me a glimpse at how much I enjoyed teaching them at home, and so I decided to do it full time. Homeschooling allows me to change the curriculum when I think it is best for them and not have to pass it through some teacher's board, nor wait seven years until the review session rolls around. ;)

I think it would be a good idea to use both. I think you would get a lot out of it. One thing that helped me greatly in Math was drawing pictures of problems I needed to solve. I am a fan of mathematics you can see. :) I also think it is wise to not rely totally on one math program. Honestly, I think Saxon is the most thorough. However, my children have benefited from using Singapore simply for variety (and Singapore presents ideas better than Saxon on some things.) I think using MUS to supplement would not be a bad idea. The hard part is that it would require a great deal of work on the teacher's part. I'm sorry I don't have a nice easy answer for you.

I have heard people tell me that their children were not prepared for public school high school math courses using Math U See. I know that a lot of people like this program. I am not here to bash it, nor to say that all students who use MUS will be unprepared. However, I think you should stick with Saxon 5/4. My daughter finished Saxon 3, and she has transitioned nicely to Saxon 5/4. Give it a real try. If after several months its not working, than by all means try something else. If your child did well in Saxon 3, why would he not do well in Saxon 5/4? The way Saxon 5/4 is set up is more closely related to the way I taught Math at the college level. This is good preparation for your child.

I am a fan of Saxon Math, but the linking cubes could use some revision. We use Legos as well, or I find some other way to discuss subjects involving linking cubes. :iagree:

I saw that there are many sites that you can pay for literature units, but I wanted to exhaust the free sites first. Thank you, Dawn. This is great!

That is good. Thank you!

I'm looking for 3rd to 5th grade level website(s) for free literature lessons which include reading comprehension questions and other activities for classics like Little House on the Prairie and others. I know there was a post about this awhile back, but I can't find it. Thank you.

I think this problem is written in a confusing way. There is before Sandy has this many, and then after Sandy has this many... Before: Sandy=Wendy-41 After: Sandy+13=Wendy-41+13=Wendy-28 Now we know that After: (Sandy+13)=(Wendy-28)=(1/2)Wendy So: 2(Wendy-28)=Wendy Therefore: 2Wendy-56=Wendy Which implies: Wendy=56 coins

:iagree: If I really understand a subject and topic I am teaching then I don't need to follow an exact script, and I present it in a much clearer way. Visual aids are helpful, too.