... the real answer is he does any math I have around. Early elementary - Miquon + Singapore math Late elementary - Singapore + CWP ... then I move on to Art of Problem Solving. Dabble with NEM when we want a break.

I personally love learning the way that Excellence in Literature teaches. I bought the books to start working through some of the classics myself and if it can get me to do this, then it is working wonders. I've had friends use this with their kids and both student and teacher have enjoyed. I plan on starting my kids next year.

The book is at the printer ... it shouldn't be much longer. :001_smile:

I haven't done it yet, but I'm planning on using these books and quest guides this year. So far in reviewing the quest guide, I've been impressed with the activities for my son.

I've been very resistant to taking my chem lab to any co-op. I don't want to transport a lot of glassware, deal with kids breaking things outside of my garage, deal with transporting chemicals, and the disposal issues. I teach a group of six students out of my Garage. I teach a three hour class once per week, for nine weeks. To finish the entire book (Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments) it takes four sessions of the nine week, three hours classes. I am teaching a chemistry based class at co-op this fall for jr/sr high based on Brian Rohrig's book 101 Intriguing Labs, Projects, and Activities for the Chemistry Classroom. This is a fantastic book with great ideas for a co-op setting. His other books are also great to do at home or in a co-op setting for a wide range of ages. The chemicals in the intriguing labs book are not easily obtainable if you are not used to ordering chemicals however. There are lots of fun chemistry experiments on the chemistry about.com website. I have a large variety of chemistry experiments that I've collected over the years and had lots of fun teaching an elementary chemistry lab in co-op this past year and pulling in chemicals that I own anyway. Feel free to ask specifics if you wish.

I teach a chem lab for high school students from the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry. I've taken one student through the entire book, and have several more that will finish soon. It's a lot of work and I love the labs. I do it all in my garage or outside. The author has recently also put out a microchemistry version for homeschoolers that don't want to deal with everything in a bigger scale. Feel free to ask me anything - you might have to private message me as I might not check back here.

My son did mathcounts this past year by himself and it was a fantastic experience. He got to be around other kids that love math and had a lot of fun watching the countdown round. Our chapter is also very competitive. He did great as a sixth grader and hopes to make it to state next year. I agree with the resources above for preparation.

Hang in there. It can be hard to find the right doctors for your situation. I have a son with Tourette's and a daughter that tics worse but hasn't yet ticced long enough for a Tourette's diagnosis. We've been going to the Tourette's clinic through Cincinatti Children's and have been very happy. We've been working on CBIT through the neurologist office and we're set up to see a psychiatrist that works with all their hardest Tourette's patients. Feel free to private message me if you want any specific info from me or just keep venting and working on finding the right medical care for your child.

I love chem lab... but I do the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Laboratory. As far as your choices for BJU, I like the BJU chem lab book (don't love it). I think microchemistry is a good way to go if you can't spend the time or money on something bigger, but microchemistry is never as fun in my opinion. I also think the learning is much closer to book learning than hands on learning. I you can spend the time and money on the BJU set, that would be my preference between your choices.

I also don't worry too much about lining it up with Apologia (or anything else). I've taught Thompson's book to a number of students and there are many routes you can take through the book. Start at the beginning. I always start students with labs 6.1 (separations), 6.3 purify copper sulfate, the chp. 7 labs to make molar solutions and then skip to the chemical reactions of chp.9. This gives the students a great foundation and then they can navigate in many different directions.

Kitchen Table Math - series of three books - here's the amazon.com link http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Wrights-Kitchen-Table-Math/dp/1934124036

Not specificallly what you are asking for... but you might be interested in Kitchen Table Math put out be Art of Problem Solving - it has great ideas for all areas of math including number recognition.

I like IEW - Excellence in Writing.

I haven't finished the book yet, but I think many do this before Algebra. What we've done so far is fine to do before algebra and if it gets too hard, you can always shelve it and move on to algebra for awhile.

Excellence in Literature might suit your needs.

Some great ideas above... Also on the Arbor Scientific website are some free downloadable supplemental labs by Paul Hewitt. Here's the link: http://www.arborsci.com/Labs/CP_Labs_Selection_2.aspx?utm_source=CP%2Bsuppliment&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=CP%2Bsuppliment

The beauty of working with a young child (or any child) is that we can be flexible in our homeschooling. It's not unusual for us to only tackle two or three problems in AoPS in a day and then move on to something else - we work on NEM as an easier break from AoPS when needed.

Family night to Krispy Kreme Donuts - probably not what you're looking for, but it's been a reward in our home for certain things.

:iagree:

I think LOF Decimals would be a great review and teach any concepts she's not clear on. I think it would be much more fun to tackle LOF for the summer rather than a dry boring math text. I also think it should take care of any problems she's having with decimals. While it starts at the beginning of decimals, it gets much more challenging through the book.

Taking time off often helps, but if she's already been through two algebra programs that might not be all she needs. Getting an outside option is often helpful. In kids that I've tutored that need help in algebra, I've often been able to point them in a helpful direction. Sometimes they are missing some fundamentals like basic arithmetic ideas or problem solving abilities. Sometimes they just need it explained in a different way. Often I can point out things that will help that they never thought of before.

My dysgraphic son would dictate to me exactly what to write. I'd move on and continue to work on division slowly. With some of my kids, I need to pull another math source either for reinforcement or a different approach to teaching.

I'd pick either SOTW or CHOW and then supplement with other stories from the time periods.

I agree that my first thought was that AoPS doesn't teach to that goal. I love AoPS and it teaches how to THINK and apply the math, the goal of the SAT problems are a little different.

I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for, but here's a free downloadable middle school chemistry unit from the American Chemical Society. http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/