I'd do the MUS pre-algebra first and then the other pre-algebra. The MUS PA will complete the scope and sequence of MUS. I think you ought to be able to complete that and BJU pre-algebra in 3 semesters and it would probably work better for you than trying to go slowly through BJU.

Is Skyping in a possibility? Missing a couple days of class, as regentrude said, frequently puts students in a hole from which they struggle to recover. Alternatively, could she call and send a lovely card and some flowers as well?

A couple of things: 1) There is a maximum number of calories each pound of fat can release for use each day. If you go beyond that, you are going to be losing weight that is not fat, which for most is undesirable. The full article is behind a paywall, but the reference I found said that it was 31.4 calories/lb of fat. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15615615 for more information. Most people who are not already quite lean (as in, defined abs at the least) are not going to run into this, but it is the hard limit. 2) Decreased energy expenditure (the CO part of calories in/calories out) starts earlier for some than others. This applies especially with NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) -- see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12468415 for some information. This can result in seemingly paradoxical results where a lower calorie count does not result in much additional weight loss if NEAT is sufficiently reduced. 3) If calories are too low, getting adequate nutrition becomes a serious issue. Getting RDAs of nutrients on a sub-1200-calorie diet requires very careful planning. The best site I've found to make sure you're still getting enough nutrition is cronometer.com (basic level is free and very useful), although it doesn't have as much community as some others. 4) Adherence and psychological effects begin to become a problem at higher caloric deficits. It does not do any good to reduce your daily calories by an extra 500 for a week if you become unsustainably hungry and eat a quart of ice cream and a box of oreos on the 8th day. Bearing all this in mind, it's generally pretty safe to aim for 1% of your body weight per week. If you are very lean, this may be too high. If you're clinically obese (higher than 32% bodyfat for women -- see http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/ for information on visual estimation of bodyfat) and somewhat careful about including adequate nutrition, this can be pushed a bit higher, but generally 1% is a reasonable mark. I have little idea what your current weight and fat level are, but I know I saw a picture of you at a gathering, and I doubt it's high enough to sustain 3 lbs/week. Edit: It should go without saying, but if you are feeling weak, or if you lack energy to do enjoyable activities, your deficit is too high. The best thing to do there, assuming you are not ill, is to take a week of maintenance before beginning again at a somewhat higher calorie count.

It has trig in it. It has a more modern and expanded treatment of trigonometry than the algebra and trigonometry textbook, which is why Foerster recommends it. Here's the TOC: http://math.kendallhunt.com/documents/ALookInside/Precalculus/FPC2_TOC.pdf -- trigonometry is treated in chapters 2-6.

Hahaha. My mother used to hang on to the strap (she called it a Jesus strap) and audibly pray while I was driving. My father was banned from taking me out after a few lessons like "That ***hole just cut you off! Get in front of him and slam on the brakes!"

I went to Budapest and it was absolutely fantastic. I highly, highly recommend it. The mathematics was top-notch and living in an Eastern European culture (rather different than my rural American) was also wonderful. I just wish I could have afforded a full year instead of one semester.

I try to buy things like groceries. They try not to let me.

I was able to break through a complete plateau when I could only do 2 chinups by increasing the number of sets of 2 after I couldn't increase the number of reps per set. Careful about overuse injuries on this -- don't add more than one set per workout.

I agree with this. The bio majors usually take at least applied calculus which requires college algebra as a prerequisite, and especially since she struggled with algebra I would be very cautious about skipping algebra senior year.

I never found courses 4-6 online either, and I looked for them for a while. Here's the sections though so you can see what would have been covered next -- page 14 of http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED077720.pdf You can find them in some university libraries, and if you can possibly find them through inter-library loan it might be worth your while to order them and spend some time with a scanner. For example, Miami University of Ohio has course 4 -- http://www.lib.miamioh.edu/multifacet/record/mu3ugb1283419

Trying to get instruction in just one topic from Saxon is really a recipe for disaster, especially if you are not mathy yourself. You'd need to not just extract the information, but go through and pick out the problems that relate, plus pick out the problems that are relevant from the mixed review in future sections. It would be much easier to try to pare down Foerster.

Well, no. Because you'll be doing it at your pace, not a highly accelerated pace. You can enrich as you choose, which you wouldn't have time to at CC, and if she needs to stop and camp out on a chapter after zooming through 3 you can do that as well. AOPS would be the right program if you had a kid who NEEDED challenge and cried when having to work problems that were too easy because "this is stupid mom, why do they ask questions like this? How can I show my work? It's obvious that the answer is ..." and such like that. You do not have to use the hardest program available in every area. You've listed Lial's, Derek Owens, Dolciani, and Jousting Armadillos. All of these are perfectly adequate and will prepare her for any algebra 1 course she wants to do. If you want instruction from someone else (given Jann's classes don't fit), I'd go with DO. If you want to do it yourself for another year, pick one of the others. You're going to give yourself fits looking for the perfect program. There is no perfect program. But none of these are going to damage her future in any way, shape, or form, even if she changes her mind and wants to major in mathematics.

If you go with Lial's, go with amazon and an older edition. You can get a 3rd edition for less than $2 and absolutely nothing has changed with the math since then. I'd actually go ahead and order it today so that you and she can look through it and see if you'd like to use it. Even if you don't use it, it may be a useful resource for extra explanations. Note that you do not do all the problems.

If she's struggling but still managed to make it through I think moving to a less rigorous precalculus is exactly right.

If there's something you don't know how to rephrase, you can search google for more explanations, or even come and ask on this website. There are usually people who can either explain it again or give you a helpful web link. But Jann's class or Derek Owens class would be great options.

Math U See is a pretty weak curriculum. Some people have had good results from it, but I really wouldn't use it except in a few cases: 1) The student really just wants to git r done and doesn't like math. 2) The student is weaker and needs a less challenging curriculum. 3) The student is young and planning on doing a more challenging course later. There are so many options it is easy to get completely overwhelmed. But there are many, many good options which will adequately prepare a child for a challenging algebra 1. You are absolutely not going to ruin her life by picking the wrong pre-algebra.

It won't. If AOPS doesn't work out, Derek Owens, TabletClass, and Jann in TX's math classes are all decent choices that involve outsourcing.

I don't think doing only test-prep specific math is a good plan at this level, but rather working through something that is designed to find and fix holes. Since she's got her senior year coming up I would actually recommend math at the CC, at whatever level she places into. This will accomplish several things: 1) It will help her score better on the tests. 2) It will give her some outside grades, which (if good) will lend a lot of credibility to whatever transcript she can come up with. 3) It will prepare her for external grades and deadlines, which, if she has never done any sort of outside class, can be overwhelming. If she reads and enjoys reading and uses proper grammar when she speaks she'll probably be ok in english/humanities courses. Taking Spanish at the CC is a fine plan for getting her two years of language credits.

Martin-Gay is a decent textbook similar to Lial's. Even if she doesn't like the class, there's absolutely no reason you couldn't use it for pre-algebra. I'd check with the instructor about using a hardcover edition instead. Even if you need to get a new edition, the resale value is much higher, and rental is a possibility. We've gone to requiring online access code and listing the textbook as optional since for the program we use there is an ebook version of the text included with the access code.

When you end up with King Arthur, you might want to look at Mary Stewart's series (at least The Wicked Day, for a somewhat sympathetic and non-traditional portrayal of Mordred) and you might also include Anne McCaffrey's Black Horses for the King as a light but enjoyable read. I very much enjoyed this book -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Compleat_Enchanter -- although I have no idea if it would fit in with what you're trying to do. It references Celtic, Arthurian, and Norse mythology. Even if you don't use it as part of your literature study, it might be fun for her just to read.

I don't mean "go to each store this week to make a list" but rather "when you go to x store because they have a big sale on something, write down the prices of all your staples as well". After a while, you'll start to see where the best deals are.

Ha. I think the best way for you to do this (seriously) would be to just write down ONLY the cheapest price per unit at each store each week. Most of the stores calculate this for you.

I only track prices for stuff that I buy lots of all the time. For something that I rarely buy it's a lot less essential. For example, I'm ok with buying expensive ice cream since I buy it about once a year. I do highly recommend finding the online price fliers for all the local groceries and watching for sales. When you get a sale on something you KNOW you will consume, buy as much as you can reasonably store and consume before it goes off. For example, whenever I see chicken leg quarters on sale I put at least 50 lbs in my freezer. As far as the groceries you listed, when I lived in a place that had more choice I usually stopped at Aldi first since it was variable what they'd have each week. I'd buy produce/dairy there if it was a good price. Their produce prices were usually cheaper than anything else. Then I'd go to the other grocery store to get the stuff that Aldi didn't have.

Given the age and that he hasn't officially had a pre-algebra yet, I'd be inclined to either do a pre-algebra course (my first choice) or plan to spread algebra over two years. I think Lial pre-algebra would probably be a good fit for him at this stage (and cheap, too) and prepare him well for really excelling in either algebra you've listed in 8th. Edit: Jousting Armadillos might also be a good fit, although it's a little more expensive and a little more teacher-intensive.

Chickens are one of nature's walking garbage disposals. :D They'll eat pretty much anything as long as it's in small enough chunks for them to swallow or soft enough for them to peck at it.