This is what we'll be doing. DS has scored slightly better on practice ACTs than SATs, but he wants to give SET a try.

DS plays sometimes, but DD has no interest. I haven't heard any of her girl friends talk about it either, although I know a few boys her age who are pretty into it.

I've honestly never heard of kids only being allowed to take certain books out of the library. When my DS was in public school for K and 1st, he brought home plenty of chapter books (including Eragon) for DH and I to read to him. Is the library open after school? I'd probably drop in if she doesn't respond by Tuesday or Wednesday.

I don't think he's too young for contacts at all. My DS started wearing them for sports at 8 and semi-regularly at 10. That said, I would seriously encourage him to pick a different sport. At that age, he would have no control over which position he plays.

I would, as long as she doesn't have any problems with sitting still for that length of time. My kids loved it at 7 and 10.

I haven't seen the higher levels of LOF, but I've read that there's no advanced algebra necessary to do geometry, it's just the author's opinion that geometry should be done later because it is more difficult. With an advanced student, I don't think following a traditional math sequence matters nearly as much as it would with a high school student, and the order should be based on the student's interests, abilities and maturity. My DS completed algebra 2 before starting geometry. I didn't see any issues with this, because he has enough time to finish both before writing the PSAT and to review algebra between geometry and pre-calc if necessary. I can see it being an issue for schools to have to spend the first few weeks of pre-calc reviewing algebra, but at home I don't think this would pose a problem. DS has since switched to AoPS, so he'll go through Intermediate Algebra before hitting pre-calc anyway.

This was my first thought. I can understand being pickier about a good athlete following the rules, but throwing a softball at a kid is just weird. :confused1:

DS played a few years of flag football and is constantly playing touch football with his friends, but we decided that tackle wasn't worth the risk. I don't think you're being over-protective at all.

I avoid "kiddo" because I've heard too many coaches/teachers/camp counselors use it when they don't know a kid's name, but I've never heard of any connection to children with special needs.

We're planning to do a year along those lines for DS, but for almost the opposite reason. He's on the old end for his grade and fairly advanced, so we always considered the possibility of graduating him a year early. We've decided not do, and instead he'll have a more relaxed and self-directed 8th grade. My tentative plan is to continue with math (maybe something outside the typical sequence?) and writing (will WWS 3 be out? hmm), but to let him choose the rest. I'm sure he'll want to continue with his foreign languages, and he definitely has enough academic interests to keep him going for the year. He's already taking advantage of Coursera, so I think OpenCourseWare will play a big role. Travel will be limited, but we'll hopefully be able to take a few short trips.

DS used the Standards edition from 3A-6B independently without the HIG.

Thanks for posting this. Using Music Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements looks great! :)

I wouldn't enroll her again, but I wouldn't consider it quitting.

My DH is my best friend now, but we weren't friends before we started dating. It worked out well for us (clearly!) because we both found it really special and exciting to get to know each other as the relationship progressed. That said, I've never discouraged my nephews (18&21, they've mostly lived with us since 11&14) from dating friends. The only thing I've suggested they keep in mind is that if a relationship or asking a girl out could jeopardize their entire group of friends, they better be pretty sure about it before making a move. They claim that no one casually dates multiple people anymore, so that's not an issue.

Definitely these two. A few others, mostly recommended by the quirky men in my life: The Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood, by Mark Kurzem The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews, by Peter Duffy. (Apparently, this one is better than Defiance, which is about the same men.) Life in a Jar: The Irina Sendler Project, by Jack Mayer The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller The Forbidden Experiment, by Roger Shattuck

I don't see why dd13 can't learn it on her own if she wants to, but I would only put her in lessons if it was possible for dd10 to also take them. I do think it sounds like it's time for dd10 to either find a new teacher or a new instrument.

I have Safari, Chrome and Firefox. I don't really know why I have them all or what makes one better than the other, but I do the same as you - switch browsers for whatever works on each one. Both of those websites are working for me right now in Chrome though.

I've just started using Sentence Island with my accelerated 3rd grader.

Not much. We memorize vocab for foreign languages, times tables and the occasional poem. DS has a fantastic memory and he always remembers dates in history, definitions of science vocab and quotes from literature, which I think is really cool, but unnecessary.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

My 12yo has done well with Google Calendar. He "shares" his calendar with me, so I can update it too. Every morning, he does his work for his online class first, and he's gotten into a good routine of checking his e-mail and calendar before he gets started.

Here it is. It was under "Samples". :)

I wouldn't be worried at 7. My kids are both pretty natural spellers, and have always been able to tell if a word looks wrong. If she's rushing, DD will still slip up with homophones or -ant/-ent words, but not too often.

We have a lot of activities, but we still manage to have family dinners most nights. Right now, only one activity is in the evening - the others are after school or on the weekend. When baseball season gets started, we'll be down to 3-4 family dinners per week, but we'll still have them whenever possible.

DS takes his extracurriculars pretty seriously. Right now he's playing travel basketball and indoor soccer, doing some baseball clinics and taking piano lessons. He starts soccer try-outs next week and will play through the spring. Baseball try-outs are a few weeks later. When the baseball seasons starts, he'll also be volunteering with the Challenger division as a buddy for a boy his age. DS is a kid who likes to keep busy and when he's not at one of his activities, he's practicing in the backyard or with friends. DD is a little more relaxed. She's taking weekly ballet, piano and flute lessons and plays indoor soccer.