As a random idea, why not have her do the C/P and NT courses before geometry? That would give her a 9th grade credit for discrete math (which is what I'd call those together) and a 10th grade credit for geometry, and those courses are also less challenging than geometry (according to AOPS). If she wanted to move through so that she could get the math required for physics or something it would be different, but if she's not interested in a STEM major and just loves AOPS, this side track seems totally reasonable. Both are offered this summer as well if she wanted to try it out.

Right-triangle trig (which is what they do in AOPS geometry) is much easier, I promise! (my precalc/trig students always breathe a sigh of relief when we get to this section) :D

It depends. One of my friends lost and drank wine almost every night, but she was tracking calories, not carbs. For most people (without metabolic conditions) the big reasons low-carb works are that: 1) You end up eating less, because it is just much more difficult to overeat when you are eating meats and veggies. They are very filling. 2) Because they are so filling, it is much easier to not end up with massive hunger pangs and eating everything in sight. This greatly increases diet adherence. 3) Low-carb diets give a massive decrease in water weight over the first week due to glycogen depletion (http://8fit.com/blog/glycogen-gluconeogenesis-and-water-weight/), which greatly increases motivation, again greatly increasing diet adherence. Furthermore, one high-carb day will result in a significant increase in water weight, which provides a giant motivation to not have them, again increasing adherence. Side note on 2) -- as part of a debate with a family member, I ended up doing Atkins induction for 8 weeks instead of what I was doing, which was cutting calories. I continued tracking my food to ensure I was still eating the exact same number of calories as before. I did lose weight at the same rate (my glycogen was already pretty depleted because I'd been cutting calories for a while, so I saw no massive drop at the beginning) but I felt like I was forcing myself to eat to hit the same number of calories, because of how filling the food is. The problem with adding in extra things is that when you start adding in alcohol, it adds: 1) more calories 2) increased chance of eating more food, because food and wine go together, and for many people alcohol makes them hungrier For this reason, it really isn't a good idea if you're doing a diet that doesn't involve tracking calories, but rather reduction through indirect means.

I suggest something in a worktext format. Some suggestions that should be easy to move into: Math Mammoth Horizons (solid Christian program -- not sure from your post whether you require completely secular programs)

Embassy's idea may work. They are correct that proofs are not necessary for the PSAT and SAT but the critical thinking skills those proofs will teach are absolutely very useful, especially if your dd is majoring anywhere in STEM, as proofs are something STEM students tend to struggle with (partly due to geometry teachers like these, GRRRRRR). I'd agree with them if your dd were a struggling student but clearly she's not. GRRR!

You could do AOPS intermediate algebra and then cover just the last few chapters of Dolciani. There are only 3 trig chapters. The AOPS intro B will cover enough algebra to do that so you could put it into a summer after geometry. I'd probably also do the prob/stats chapter and the matrices chapter from Dolciani if the school does them -- I don't see it mentioned in their alg 2/trig course description.

Yeah, this is another reason I went for primarily bodyweight + modifications. I was getting heavy enough that I was genuinely concerned.

What she said. If you're trying to lose weight without tracking calories by doing low-carb, you need to cut out alcohol.

17 day diet does claim that the lemon is essential. They claim it detoxifies and helps your digestion and a few other claims. I do not find their reasoning convincing, but then I find a lot of the reasoning there specious. You should definitely lose weight on it (it's really a modified low-carb diet) but a lot of the gimmicky bits (like not having fruit after 2pm) have no real backing behind them.

Voodoo doll. Fill it with pins for how many days left, pull out one each day ... (not really serious, but it would be funny).

I can't imagine a good reason not to if she is enjoying it and learning from it. It is a solid text. If she were finding it tediously easy I would have a different opinion.

Maybe we are talking past each other. Grant money *is* us paying for it. I have no issue with requiring students to use grants to pay for remedial education, as long as the grants are available. What it sounded like you were saying is that they would have to hire a private tutor to prepare themselves for college-level work (which I *would* find unacceptable) but with your clarification I see no issue.

That's funny, because I was actually going to PM the link to you before I thought that it might be of more general interest :D

So I originally saw this on facebook, so I'm going to provide the link to that for anyone who uses it: https://www.facebook.com/amightygirl/photos/a.360833590619627.72897.316489315054055/821438537892461/?type=1 Here is a non-FB article about them: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/26/worlds-first-all-female-patrol-protecting-south-africas-rhinos This might be of special interest to anyone who has a dd interested in wildlife conservation.

I snorted so hard when I read that I sprayed my drink on my monitor :(

I agree. That's what my mother says about the Regents in her days. I do think there should be a qualification for students who aren't college-ready but for whom more time in high school is not productive, but a college prep diploma should mean ready for college classes. There should also be one that says that a student possesses basic 8th grade skills in math and english (pre-algebra and maybe the first half of algebra) so that employers can actually rely on a high school diploma as a guarantee of functional literacy and numeracy. And there should be a diploma for people who aren't going to get to 8th grade level -- attendance diploma -- certifying that they showed up and tried, which would be enough for me if I'm hiring someone to dig ditches or sweep the floor.

If she finishes Jacobs Algebra I'd be surprised if she weren't prepared for their Algebra B class (second half of beginning algebra) but you should use the "do you need this?" test for placement when done.

How does someone who has a minimum wage job and isn't qualified for anything higher due to lack of education pay for tutors?

... this is exactly my point ... so I am not sure what is "unique to my state" since I can guarantee you that there are people with NY state diplomas who are not ready for college-level work, as I have friends who teach developmental classes there. GED classes are still not suitable for those students who already have a Regents Diploma but did not do the Advanced Diploma. Furthermore, people do move from state to state.

I've done it at the gym -- Squat just under 300 lbs and bench just over 100 -- but I really got kinda bored with going over there. I've been working my way through the startbodyweight program, which is tremendous fun. Edit: http://www.startbodyweight.com/ -- the progressions really start very gently and are well illustrated. If you've done nothing, the beginner routine at the top here -- http://www.startbodyweight.com/p/some-sample-custom-programs.html -- might be better.

I think you are misunderstanding what I am saying. If they have left high school with a diploma but not having learned the required math and english, GED classes are not really suitable. The problem is not really the dropouts -- it is the students who have been given diplomas without the requisite learning. Edit: Also, if they graduated many years ago and forgot their math, or if they graduated under different requirements -- some of my students graduated when the only HS math requirement was algebra 1 -- GED classes are again not suitable (because they have a diploma) and yet they are not at all prepared for college math.

The mindset of "fix the high schools first" pretty much throws away everyone who's already left high school -- because high school is not a lifetime opportunity. I'm really opposed to anything that says "you had your chance -- we're giving the money to people who had better schools/a family who pushed them more/whatever else the issues are" (because in my experience, one of the big issues people have is being raised in low-income homes where the only parent around is not really parenting). I'm fine with making a waiting period for continued attempts if people aren't trying on the first attempt, and quite honestly we'd save a lot more money by tightening up on federal student aid for people on probation/suspension (i.e. requiring a couple of years off for the first suspension and increasing from there) than we would by eliminating developmental ed, we wouldn't be targeting the people who can least afford their own education, and we'd be targeting people who've already shown that they aren't prepared to work at college.

Call a spade a spade. Why on earth should she pussyfoot around? It *is* sexist and posting it with this thread title will help stop someone else who does *not* hold that worldview from thinking it's going to be easily usable for them. Just because they have a sexist worldview doesn't make it not sexist.

Hey sparkly, here's a dish for you -- https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/72/ed/5e/72ed5ea6f9e31c74eb3596679a8d8604.jpg

The only major overlap with Precalc is in the trig section.