and then told my son which pages to skip. He is really not interested in opening himself up to unwanted images or issues, so I know he won't read what is inappropriate. The other option is to do this book as a readaloud, and skip the section that is inappropriate. It was only a couple of pages that I made him skip. But I had to read the whole thing myself to find those pages. I understand the argument that Veritas makes, and they say there's nothing more explicit than the Bible, but I think we still need to be careful of what we choose to explose our children, especially boys, to.

My dd is about to start Singapore PM 5B. She is not very strong in math, and I am wondering if she needs to do all of Singapore 6 before switching to the Lial's series (Basic College Math). My older son just started Introductory Algebra, and is enjoying it a lot. I like Singapore the best - but it is a challenge for her, and I wonder if the Lial's explanations might help. Also, would she do Basic College Math and then Prealgebra?

We've always used Iowa tests, but Seton is cheaper, so I'm wondering if we should switch. Are they still secular tests, or are they geared to users of Catholic materials?

then you could use any number of textbooks written for schools. They are really expensive new, but if you choose an older edition (from the long ago era of 5 years ago), then you should be able to find used copies of both student and teacher's edition. I just bought a student edition and solutions manual for Lial's Algebra for $20, which included $8 shipping from Amazon marketplace. I got the Foerster's algebra book for $12. If you are specifically wanting a text written for homeschoolers, then I would agree - most of it is religious. But in terms of the entire textbook market, the religious books are the minority.

I am also considering the videos offered here: http://www.mathwithoutborders.com/ They match the Foerster's text, and are just $60....but then, $60 is more than I have this month after buying a Lial's text & solutions manual ($20), and Foerster's textbook ($10). The teacher's manual is much more affordable right now - about $10! Thank you for your help.

Is it true that you can mix editions? I've ordered a 1999 student text - could I use a 1994 teacher's edition with that?

Is there a difference in Foerster editions? Is there a solutions manual? Lizzybee- did your dd finish the algebra portion of NEM1? If so, how did you transition to Foerster? On another thread someone recommended doing the chapter reviews or tests until they became difficult...is that what you did? Thanks! As for Dolciani's - I'm going to pass on the "more challenging" for now - I need something straightforward. I think if I weren't so burned out from NEM, I might have chosen it, though. At this point I'd like ds to regain some of the time he's spent in the last year and a half.

I am trying to decide between these two texts for my ds. He's done all the algebra in NEM1, and half the geometry. We're going to switch over to something that is hopefully a little easier to use! Anything you can tell me about these would be so helpful! Trish

Ds hasn't really made any math progress in the last year and a half! He's worked really hard on NEM, with very challenging problems, and now he gets to start right where he would have last year without having done NEM? It's always hardest for the oldest, isn't it?

Ds has finished all the algebra portion of NEM, and we're going to switch to another program. Would he need Algebra I still, or could he get away with Algebra II since there is review at the beginning? We do have the Intermediate Algebra CD's from Thinkwell that he has started, and he'll continue to use those as a resource, but we want a different text. I've heard good things about Lial's - and older editions look fairly cheap (which is a necessity right now). Which Lial's would you advise at this point?

I haven't tested my ds5, but when he taught himself the concept of multiplication, figured out his own methods for adding 3-4 digit numbers, and whizzed through the math books so that we're now in Singapore 2A Intensive Practice...I know he is at least accelerated. He also is interested in numbers. Before he turned 5, he'd figured out how calendars work and counted down the days from about 46 days away. One day we're sitting in the car and he tells me that if you add all the numbers from 1-10 you get 55. He then continued to progress up to 25 - all in his head. He does this sort of thing a lot. He's fascinated with time, and tries to find something special about various times: 5:55 because he's five; 8:44 because 4 + 4 is 8, and so on. He fits a lot of the gifted characteristics that I've read, but I don't know if we'd ever test - just not enough money to do that!

I have 3 dc: ds 13 (nearly 14) in 8th grade; He was my early reader (age 3). He's currently doing Omnibus I, finishing NEM1, just starting Apologia Biology, and is improving his German (fluent receptive, weak in speaking) His real love, though, is piano, and that's where he likes to spend his free time. dd11 is in 5th grade; She began reading later, but is my book devourer. She's currently using Ambleside, just starting Year 6. She's in Singapore 5A, having despised math for some time, but has sped up lately because of ds5. She's doing Rod and Staff English 6, no formal science. Has a sudden interest in horses and is now our resident expert. She's in her 4th year of piano, but only plays when required. ds5 is in kindergarten: After trying him out in K math, he has moved forward to 2nd grade. We are using German 1st grade materials for his schooling this year, except for math, which we've changed over for Singapore.

it is NOT as teacher intensive as what I was doing before. Because of its structure, ds (13) can do each day of reading and work on his own, and then we can discuss - I print out the sessions from the CD so that I know what to expect. I find that even without reading the books, I am able to interact with him on the issue being discussed. And I know what he's gotten from the book because the expected answer is right there for me. I have started slipping discussions into once/week, which I need to try to fix soon. I think it's much better to go through each day with him. But we are really enjoying it. Next year we'll do Omnibus II, and then III, so that we complete the historical cycle. But then I think we will do something different. For 11th-12th we'll do more literary analysis/composition, and for the history aspect we'll probably go over British history (dh is British), and then non-western history.

and I've been a bit discouraged lately, because although I just turned 40 this year, most people I know think I'm a good deal older than that because of the gray. I made a decision to not color anymore about 8 years ago, before I had too much gray. I had an aunt who colored her hair, and then when she stopped - she was ALL gray! I remember the shock of seeing her go from black to gray. I decided then I wouldn't ever do that. At that point, it would be so much money and time to keep the gray from peeking out, that imho it wouldn't be worth it. OTOH, I only know a few women who don't color their hair. And I do find it disheartening when I look older than someone who is actually younger than I am - mostly due to the hair color. I once read about someone who went to Africa and was concerned about still being able to color her hair - until she got there, and realized that many, many people don't live long enough for gray hair to be an issue.