I think you could block history into Saturday sessions, which would both give her more time to explore and free up time during the week. If you did science in the summer and history on Saturdays, you'd get it in without significantly altering what you're doing.

I see what you did there!

1) Try having her put her hands over her ears. For many this makes it easier to hear themselves sing. 2) I did not learn to sing on-pitch until I started playing the recorder. I still cannot sing a song on-pitch if I haven't played it on my recorder. I don't know why. I can't hear the intervals when someone sings them but I can hear them when I *play* them. Since she is learning to play the piano, is she (or you) playing the melody of the songs she's trying to learn?

The more you explain, the more they feel like they can argue.

Can she hear when other people are off-key, just not herself?

It's working fine for me today, but there have been instances in the past where it's gone out for a while.

Still not as good as the sugar free gummi bears. I thought I was gonna die laughing.

"I'm sorry, but we're busy with school."

That comb looks like the one I bought at a big-box store -- but I have completely forgotten which one. I can vouch for its usefulness though, and how crappy the cheap plastic ones are. ETA: Found it online at CVS -- walmart and target and walgreens don't seem to sell them in-store. CVS doesn't say whether or not they do, but you might as well look if there's one near you -- I know I found it in-store. The short-pin was pretty useless but the long-pin was very, very useful. http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-detail/CVS-Lice-Removal-Combs-&-Magnifying-Glass?skuId=873584

Make sure to report back what you thought of it ;)

That text (and similar) are listed under Allendoerfer's name. The thing about any scale like this is that it's not absolute categorization and many texts can fit into at least two groups based on choice of word problems. I would definitely classify Jacobs (and Foerster) as suitable for honors classes but both are also suitable for 'standard' or 'average' classes based on judicious omission of challenging problems and less necessary sections.

This is another great idea I need to use when I teach trigonometry.

This book does not cover everything that is in a modern pre-calculus course, and labeling it that would be a misrepresentation of what the book covers. Algebra 2 or Algebra 2 with Trigonometry (if you do the trig, obviously) are both fine labels.

The specific ones I'm thinking of are Allendoerfer and Oakley's Principles of Mathematics (intended for college freshmen with 2-3 years of high school math, but covers pre-calculus), the Elements of Mathematics series, and possibly the Unified Modern Mathematics series someone recently posted -- I'm not sure about that one yet because I have yet to have a chance to read through it. There are others that I've heard mentioned, though, but haven't seen -- Frank Allen's Algebra texts, Moise + Downs Geometry. While I'm thinking about it I'll add Solomonovich's Geometry (which is more recent and can actually be obtained new) to the list as an extremely rigorous, probably too rigorous for most students textbook.

Proofs are good tools for reasoning and logical thought, as well as being a traditional part of mathematics. However, they are one of the more difficult parts of geometry, and not tested on the SAT/ACT, so many parents of struggling students (as well as many public schools) choose to do a more informal geometry which does not include them. I would at least do them as homework if the student can possibly handle them. If they cannot, I would use informal geometry.

When it is College Algebra + Trigonometry (one semester of each) at the CC/State University, these two courses combined cover roughly one full-year high school precalculus class. So you could choose (assuming the student took both in the same year) between one credit for precalc and one half-credit for CA + one half-credit for Trig -- both would be legit. I wouldn't assign 2 if they were taken in the same year; it looks like padding.

I really like Sassenach's note, as well as the reasoning.

I also think that conceptual physics is too light for a senior who is planning an engineering major. I'll let someone else critique the other 3.

I would definitely consider Foerster's an honors level but not an AOPS level class. It is a rigorous algebra 2 suitable for students intending any major. Quite honestly I think your list should have 4 options -- light, standard, honors, and super-honors. Super-honors would contain courses like AOPS and a few of the '60s era textbooks that still survive -- also calculus textbooks like Spivak's and Apostol's. These courses go far beyond what an honors class at most universities would cover and serve as excellent preparation for mathematical sciences majors or as a great challenge for students who really like math, but are too much for a student who doesn't LIKE math to be expected to wade through no matter what they want to major in. Honors would be courses like Foerster's which are demanding, rigorous courses suitable for students regardless of intended major. Light courses, on the other hand, would be suitable for struggling learners who are prepared to move beyond middle-school material, but not really ready for the level of abstraction needed in a standard course. They would also be a great middle-school or earlier preparation for young, accelerated students who have thoroughly understood arithmetic but are not yet prepared for the rigorous level of thought in an honors or super-honors course.

well I dreamed that I showed up and they'd assigned me to teach Latin 101 at the university -- I had ONE YEAR of Latin in HS about 20 years ago.

I have heard reviews from people who used to who say that it was a lifesaver and the only thing that finally helped their dc understand math. Alas, nobody knows if it's going to do that for your dd until you try it. Given that your DD wants to be a nursing major and struggles with math, I would worry most about getting her a sound foundation in basic algebra rather than making sure it is rigorous. My developmental math classes are full of students who want to be nurses, and quite honestly most of them are so far behind in pre-algebra and algebra 1 skills that they never get there -- they end up changing majors. This is also likely to be the best strategy for the SAT. Remember, the best program for your dd is going to be the program that helps her finally understand basic algebra. Not a more rigorous program that is over her head. Math relief doesn't seem to cover functions, trigonometry, and some graphing (of non-linear functions). These are covered in many algebra 2 courses. I would say that this might make moving directly to pre-calculus challenging -- your dd may be able to handle it, but it might be a wiser idea to give her 4 years of HS math where they look like alg 1, alg 2, geom (and for geometry I would not worry much about proofs, but rather informal geometry and reasoning -- during the geometry year I would continue reviewing algebra), and then do college algebra (half of precalculus) rather than precalculus. College algebra is usually a 3-credit college-credit course and thus I would definitely consider it worthy of one high school credit for a non-mathematically inclined student. If she improves at math and finishes early, I would consider a semester of statistics rather than moving on to the trigonometry half of pre-calculus. Many nursing programs require statistics now. I think either Fresh Approach or Math Relief has a reasonable chance of working for your dd. I have heard more positive reviews of Math Relief, but that is quite probably because it has been around longer. I think the big thing I'd be guided by is whether your DD would rather learn (and whether YOU think she would learn BETTER) from a DVD or from a chatty textbook with everything a teacher would say written down. ETA: (btw, I'm not stalking you -- I just click on all the threads that say "math" :) )

I think as long as he's happily doing it and seems engaged you're fine. Horizons is a solid program.

+1. Honestly, I'd be inclined to just count it as half a credit on the basis of the completed labs. I just don't think I could justifiably say someone learned physical science when they sometimes needed direction to look up the answers in the textbook. I'd be more inclined to call it something esoteric like "introduction to laboratory science" and just assign half-credit for that.

While they could, it's often a lot more difficult to get funding for a second bachelor's. On your second one -- I'd really like a high school model that kept both paths open as separate tracks. So some tracks might have early specialization, while other tracks might be open to all-rounders. The early-specialization ones might end up taking more courses through distance education and/or independent study. I would look at something like England, where the IB and A levels are both options in different schools. The IB specializes, yes, but nowhere near as narrowly.

Haha, yes, that thought also went through my head.