My son has been working in Alcumus for a couple of weeks and has been working on prealgebra, but Alcumus has been giving him a lot of questions from Counting and Probability -- at this point more than from the "prealgebra" section. Is this considered to be part of prealgebra? I am wondering if he accidentally reset his focus topic.

The middle line on the bass clef is "d" for "dead center ( I have been learning piano at a comparable age).

We liked Wheel on the School as a read aloud and enjoyed listening to Hans Brinker in the car.

Question on testing twins -- deleted details for privacy.

Interesting! Thanks for posting.

My pediatrician suggested giving them something good to think about when they go to bed. This has worked well with my kids and they still ask me at night, "Can you give me something to think about?". It can be something we are going to do during the week, thinking about their next Lego creation etc. I have been surprised how much this helps. I also second the recommendation on allergy-proofing the bed for the breathing and itching issues.

I taught a conversational Spanish class for high school in a co-op this spring and used a combination of Duolingo (free) and Mi Vida Loca (www.bbc.com) . It went very well. They used the programs at home and we reviewed vocabulary and grammar in class. Breaking the Barrier has a guide on their website called "The Perfect Spanish Lesson" that I used as a format. Hope this helps! Duolingo is great for several reasons but it is especially fun because the whole class can " friend" each other through Duolingo and track everyone else's progress through the levels.

Thanks! These look great!

That is fun! My kids are reading those books this year and will be interested to know that. We all love C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.

We bought an LG fridge and the ice maker quit within a year. Otherwise we have liked it-- we have had it for approx 18 months

We signed up and started on literacy --thanks for the info!

Double post

US history and US geography are favorites here.

Does anyone know of a testing service in the Spokane area? Edugreat looks good but the closest they list is Moses Lake.

My ds used the Star Wars Craft Book to sew a Bantha (creature) last summer for the fair. It was really cute but still interesting for him (perfect size for his Han Solo action figure). With everything that he learned , he can now mend seams and sew on buttons--just thinking something like that might be a fun approach. As far as mending goes-- Maybe something to add would be sewing denim versus standard weight cloth.

Robert Krampf/happy scientist website has short videos and science photo of the day. Some things are free and some available for $20 subscription.

Try listening to some on YouTube. Jabberwocky performed by the Muppets is great. Also, Daffodils by Jeremy Iron. Ozmandias by Ben Kingsley. I think you can also find some of Robert Frost reading his own poetry. It makes a big difference hearing it read by a professional, especially by the poet themselves.

I have been wondering about HOTS also and just checked the forum at Singapore Math Inc. Here is the answer posted by the forum administrator as of January 24, 2013: Question: Is the material that was previously in the HOTS books now included in the Activity Guide for the new science books? Answer from Administrator: No. Unfortunately not. I hope there will be HOTS for this but there are not yet. I am disappointed because part of the reason that I selected this curriculum was because of the additional challenge of the HOTS questions.

We just got ours today. Love it! My kids used the puppets as flash cards to test me on my Shakespeare knowledge!

What are some suggestions for ways for 12 year old boys to spend their free time? They have structured activities, friends etc but there are those times when we are home for the evening (like now) where they don't have anything to do. It would be very easy for them to spend their time flipping channels, playing video games etc. but ultimately that isn't very satisfying for anyone. it just feels like a waste of an evening to them and to us (parents). There are times that I need downtime and they need a break from each other, so what I am really looking for are suggestions for things for them to do by themselves that are relatively absorbing and that don't feel like school. I would really appreciate any ideas on this. It has become an ongoing issue for us. As they are getting older, some of the things that used to occupy them no longer satisfy like they used to. Of course, the grey February weather is a factor for us too at this time of year.

I love to read but I was not interested in getting a Kindle. I just never gave it a thought. My husband was the one who thought that I would like it, so he bought it for me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I love it and interestingly it has not replaced my "real" books, it has just given me an additional avenue to read and discover books. A Kindle allows you to download samples of books that you might be interested in, so I use that option frequently. Even if a book is not something that I want to buy for the Kindle, it is easily allows me to preview books that I might want to buy in hard copy. Also, it provides easy access to reviews of books, so that helps me in purchasing or reading decisions also. I definitely recommend getting a Kindle because it can enrich your reading experience, rather than just replace books altogether.

Just ordered one -- couldn't resist!

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I like World Vegetarian a lot. I have it in paperback and I prefer it to having it on a Kindle just because it is easier for me to browse through. I have too many cookbooks though, so it would be nice to have it on the Kindle to save space.

Would this be a good game for 12 year olds? It says it is for 16+ and it sounds like it fun, but I am wondering if it is more fun for older teens and adults. I have been wanting to get a new board game. Another option would be Bananagrams-- we haven't played this but have heard that it is fun. Would you recommend one of these games? Or maybe a different one? Thanks!