I just received the 4th ed of Lials and wondering the best way to schedule this for my senior- it already seems more user friendly than our Foersters Lisa

It seems that most of the colleges she has looked at have the biology majors take at least basic calculus- I am afraid that if we do stats she will be less prepared for college level precalc/calc

Tsuga- that was a very helpful perspective- as one of those people that always just "got" math through college I look at her struggle as a "problem"- I will share this with her. The hard part is trying to find a curriculum that will challenge but not discourage.

She has not had any trig- the alg 2 stopped before the trig part of the foersters book

My rising senior is just finishing up Algebra2 with the Foersters book (following Kolbe syllabus). She has always been an average math student- not very intuitive and struggles with problems outside of the given examples. This year has really shaken her confidence in her math skills- first part of the book was fine but as it got harder she struggled more- that is why we are just now finishing and they only go through ch 8 for alg 2. We have the math without borders for assistance. She feels like she gets it when we watch the dvd and I explain, then she misses a bunch of the practice problems and we have to redo them together. Kolbe uses Foerster for PreCalc, and although I like the idea of a more vigorous math I am worried it will continue to decrease her confidence and college math will be a struggle. So do I try something less vigorous like TT to make her feel more successful, or continue on with the handholding through Foersters? Open to suggestions :) As a side note, she got a 23 on the math section of her ACT (30 overall) so she is generally a good student and wants to bring her math score up. She is considering biology/art for college to be a medical illustrator. Lisa

thank you! that was what I was needing to know- probably stick with Foersters since I have a syllabus from Kolbe to follow

I know they are both solid, but I was wondering if one was better for a "don't make me think too much outside the box" kind of kid, versus a program that makes a kid be very intuitive.

My rising junior is ready for algebra 2- finished jacobs algebra and geometry with a solid B but with lots of hand-holding and repeating. She does fine with follow the examples, but is not very good at thinking outside the box. Kolbe recommends Foerster Alg and Trig and the MWB videos (we are enrolled) but I am reading too many posts that have me afraid Foerster will be stretching her too much- she feels pretty good about math now and I don't want to blow it! I am considering chalk dust- I like Dana Mosely's presentation versus the white-board approach of MWB, but I don't know if there is much difference in the text. I am fine with math myself, I just have a hard time translating it to her- her right brain and my left brain clash! Btw, she is not going into a math-strong field but will need a decent background (considering vet med). Thanks for any advice! Lisa in MO

No, that wasn't it (though your links were very helpful- thanks!). It was an actual homeschool currculum company- some small site I had never seen before- thought I had bookmarked it but can't find it now :(

I once saw a mention of another option for a syllabus for the glencoe world geography book and I cannot find it now- does anyone know of another homeschooling resource that has this? It was much less expensive than the OM one. Thanks Lisa

I was thinking about using Oak Meadows Geograhy syllabus for my 8th grader next fall. I looked at Runkle but it seemed too heavy on earth science which we just spend all of 7th grade on. I like the cultural geography aspect of OM, and I like the syllabus. She is a strong reader. Anyone used it in middle school or have an opinion? I really don't want to design my own- it doesn't get done when I have to do that. Lisa

Birds have never bothered mine and I don't use netting. They do not spread like raspberries-they are more of a true bush. Lisa

Anyone?

I looked at the demos for 5th grade Math Matters today and it looked rather "fun" :) My daughter would like something more interactive and fun for her math (we are using MUS now, and she does fine but I think she would do better if it was presented in a more exciting format- this kiddo needs fun to stay engaged). Just wondering what others thought and I didn't find much on a search. Lisa

I am looking at adding or possibly switching to MM from MUS for my 4th grader (and using in the future with my 3yo twins) but I am wondering how much printing is involved. The download at the homeschool co-op is a good price, but if I have to print out worksheets for everyone I would think it would get expensive. Do you print it all off or have your kids work at the computer and copy problems? Or is it easier(and cheaper) to get the hard copy? Lisa

Thanks for the ideas- I think I will back up in CWP and try that, along with getting my 4th grade dd going on them too. I actually own the Zaccaro books- got them at a used sale and put them on the shelf- guess I should get them off :) Lisa

Thanks for the link-looks interesting, and a fun break from the usual!

My oldest (and unfortunately my homeschooling guinea pig :) ) is in 7th grade. We have used MUS all along with some general workbook supplements along the way, and we also did LoF Fractions and Decimals. She is currently in Pre-Algebra. She has never really like math, though she does ok. Though she can do the usual MUS type worksheets, she is really lacking in "thinking skills". Anything out of the ordinary and she is lost (I now realize that MUS was weak in teaching those skills esp word problems). So how do I improve this before she gets to algebra? More LoF (at first she liked them but was not so thrilled by Decimals), or try some remedial math with something else? She is easily frustrated, and I always want to solve things algebraically which she isn't ready for. I do have CWP for grades 5 and 6, and we have tried them, but I actually found them frustrating as I don't have the Singapore background and I couldn't figure out how to help her without using algebra. Any advice welcome- I really want to help her be stronger in math because I see her heading towards a science/medicine type future. Lisa

Used Seton for K and 1st, but then I read WTM and decided it was too "traditional school in a box" for us. Fiddled with Mother of Divine Grace for a few years, but hate her science. Using Kolbe for my 7th grader this year and I do like it for the upper grades- and they let you you be very flexible but it gives me some structure to follow (though of course I have to tweak it because I can't follow anything exactly :) ) It is too much for my 4th grader, though, so I do more of a relaxed wtm with her and add in religion stuff. Lisa

When my girls get really stuck in the "attitude" and become disrespectful, they get to call the "principal" at work and discuss their attitude. They each only had to do it once, now just a mention gets them at least to a point they are being respectful. They have also written paragraphs about how they should be behaving. Now they are 4th and 7th grade, and things are much better-it is easier to head off the bad attitudes now (except for those occasional bad 13 year old girl days). Lisa

Love Willa Cathers novels - easy to read,good character studies , and a good dose of early 1900 American pioneer life. Lisa

I tried the demo of planbook, and though it was pretty user friendly, it did not do what I needed (hour tracking- I live in MO) and a way to mark completed lessons. It is really made for the classroom. So I was having to print out the lessons and have the kids mark them off with their time, which was pretty much what I was doing with my own spreadsheet. I am seriously thinking of biting the bullet and getting Homeschool Tracker and running one of those programs that lets you use Windows. So many people are going with Macs these days, certainly some programmer will see the light and write a good tracking program! Lisa

We are doing Kolbe's Earth Science (Holt text)- we are only on ch 2, but I think it is a nice text and I like the lesson plans from Kolbe. My dd hates it, but she hates anything that is not biology related. It is pretty challenging. Lisa

Thanks for all the great ideas-now I will have to spend some time following links instead of planning school stuff :) Lisa

I actually hadn't thought of hiking, assuming it was all mountain peaks! A flat walk sounds fun! Thanks for the ideas- we kind of made last minute plans to go, so I didn't have time to request info my mail. Been looking on-line, but sometimes it is nice to get an actual recommendation on what is good. Lisa