And why, if we use it several days in a row and I'm not seated beside him the whole time, I require a specific amount of progress. It's fairly hard to scam going from 12% to 19%, KWIM?

You DO realize that that article is from 2012, right? Then you misunderstood the terminology being used. "Drill and kill" refers to pages like what my daughter was just doing; 40 problems of the same thing or slight variations on the theme. ...Think basketball drills, basic training drills, or marching band drills. "Drill" means to repeat a skill until one does it without thinking. And repeat and repeat and repeat…that's the "kill." Maybe TT is throwing her off? I thought I was pretty clear, actually, when I was asking if it was ready to be a contender against Saxon, et.al., but apparently not. Most homeschool math series are used with a teacher, this would be no different. To clear any confusion: "Stand alone math program" merely refers to bumping Khan up out of its current status as "supplement" and into full "math program." How it's utilized is then up to the parent and student, just like with any other program. :)

I've found the same, actually, when it's a skill he's struggling with. However, Buck seems to be fluent enough in math (or just old enough, maybe) that he knows when he's struggling and when he just needs a few more attempts. "Mom! I am NOT getting this circle graphing thing!" So then we sit there together, go through the video and discuss, and then through the practice problems. Click.

Hmmm…maybe it'll be difficult to get a good discussion on this as it seems a lot of people don't really know how to navigate it. Not that it's their fault or anything, I mean, a bad UI is a bad UI. Just that it's hard to get an honest feel for something when you don't know what's actually supposed to be available! ETA: Though clearly it's not ready to be a contender unless they make their UI significantly simpler...

:confused: I must be looking at a different Khan… (Or maybe this is another one of those cases where people use the phrase "drill and kill" differently than we do in educational circles?) Doing enough to get five (or whatever you have yours set at) in a row correct, then seeing it again once or twice in mastery challenges, doesn't really strike me as drill and kill. Instruction is via the videos that are directly linked within each skill set or mastery test, and that article doesn't have anything to do with what your post says.

Buck is on Khan (again!). He hates Khan, but he loves it, if that makes sense… (Our actual math program is Saxon Algebra 2 and we use Khan as filler, time-kill, change of pace, reinforcement, etc.) And I'm wondering--Is Khan to the point of being a stand-alone program? I can see where in the not-so-distant-past, it wasn't. It was nothing but a collection of videos, then a collect of videos and skills tests. But now? Now it's a full series of skills, directed to specific levels and courses. There's still no Scope/Sequence type of presentation, but does there have to be? What are the thoughts on this? Is Khan ready to present itself as a viable alternative to TT or Saxon or even the much-venerated AoPS?

So did you replace the HD? They're a fairly simple fix...

Yeah, i'm betting they're probably covered in multiple layers of lead-based paint. The way I understand it, it's the dust/chips that are the problem, not so much when you're removing it with solvents, though.

I'm currently typing on the second-hand MacBook I got off eBay a couple years ago (I also got my iPhone 4S there, and am currently shopping for an iPad mini. ;) ) Only my Mac desktops are purchased new. Really, you want to find a seller with plenty of positive feedback. Don't go for someone with less than 100. They might be perfectly honest, but just don't. And make sure to read their feedback to ensure it's current-ish. Don't buy from someone who uses stock photos. Only purchase something you've looked at. Do your research first on which model(s) you want, don't just hit eBay hoping for a deal. You don't want to find out your great deal has long been known as a lemon in the Apple world. Make sure you check "Completed listings" on the left-hand navigation menu, so you know how much these are actually going for before you just click someone's Buy it Now price. eBay will be significantly cheaper than the Apple Store's refurbished models, but as a trade-off in price, it probably won't come with a warranty of any sort. (Though there are sellers who offer 30/60/90day warranties, as well as eBay's guaranteed non-DOA)

My folks have an enormous old Craftsman-era house that they've taken a bunch of doors out of over the years. Between just leaving the doorways with no door, or removing an entire wall that held the door, they ended up with a half dozen of them that have been in the basement between 10 and 30 years. They gave them to DH and I for our new house and I'm thrilled! :) These things were original to their house, so we're talking century-old solid oak doors, complete with all the original hardware and glass knobs. BUT, they're all painted and not even the same colors! One is an ugly shade of brown, one is a dirty yellow…several are white on one side, but not the other. All of them are chipped. Dad asked if I was going to strip them and start over or just leave them as-is as a kind of shabby-chic thing. (The house interior is all exposed pine siding, so EVERY color of paint will go with the rest of it)

Not even remotely. However, on the other side of that, it drives me batty when people say you can tell a homeschool family by their: trips to the museums/concerts/making change at WalMart into a math lesson/etc/etc. ANY involved parent does that stuff, not just homeschoolers.

Thats not legal...

But again, they can do whatever they want. It doesn't affect me as a homeschooler. For that matter, it doesn't affect my public schooler, either, as we're in a state that never adopted CC...

Yes, and schools are STILL allowed to require higher standards than CC. But that article actually supports my point. It says the SAT will test lower Algebra II standards and that more students will enter college with sub-par math skills. This means colleges will then have to offer more remediation courses to get those students up to level for higher math classes. OTOH, if you are a student coming out of a somewhat rigorous school/homeschool, you're already ahead of your peers. (But personally, I would just avoid the whole SAT issue and take the ACT instead. It doesn't change every few years like the SAT does!)

This is an interesting thread. In other words, Trap's scheduled week's vacation, every month, which he devotes to the kids and I, probably isn't as bad as I think it is...

In my part of the world, a tradtional M-F, 8-5 ("banker's hours") job is a pretty rare thing, even for those of us with degrees. I envy those of you who have them! :) Working from home would be more likely, with the assumption that WE create the business...

Excluding sleep, obviously, how much time do you actually get with your husband (or your kids with their dad)? DH had been working in the ND and PA oil/gas fields. It was 800 and 1300 miles from home, respectively. He was VERY good at his job. In less than a year, he'd moved from truck driver up to VP of operations and has standing job offers scattered throughout both fields. But he was SOO far from home. He was doing a schedule of 6weeks on, 2weeks home until a month ago, when he quit and came home. So now he's home (at a pay cut) but really doesn't have any more actual TIME at home. In fact, because he has a fairly goofy schedule, he probably has less... He's sitting on a job offer in eastern CO (only 200 miles from home) at a 3wks on/1off schedule. Its basically a full week's vacation, every month. And, because he's so close to home, he could theoretically take his 24hr restart at home, too, each week. So I find myself wondering, is "quality time" such an elusive thing for *everyone*? Or just us...

Not really. Most of the standards are really nothing new. For that matter, most of the *educated* complaints aren't so much about the standards themselves but rather the timeline of their implementation and the assessments. Neither of these things really have much to do with college-level admission tests...

PS: I see I forgot to answer the original question. I started homeschooling under No Child Left Behind, because I had a kid who was being left behind. ;)

And in case anyone missed it, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS CORE CURRICULUM! (not that this annoys me or anything. ;) ) As mentioned above, Common Core is nothing more than a framework of standards that schools are supposed to be hitting at certain ages. Technically, states/districts are allowed to implement them the same as they always have, since most states have had some sort of standards framework for 20 or 30 years… Or, they can opt out entirely. Nebraska, for example, was a state that never signed on to CC in the first place. The tricky wicket isn't so much the standards, but rather the testing of success at each level, as well as what is done with those test results. Also, there are dozens (hundreds?) of "curriculum" providers who will be CC compliant. BUT IT WON'T AFFECT HOMESCHOOLERS, EVEN IF IT'S A SERIES WE'VE ALWAYS USED. No more so than Clinton's Goals 2000 did, or Bush's No Child Left Behind… (though because of the high-stakes testing implemented, NCLB was probably the most disastrous piece in the last 20 years. If people want to get worked up about this, get rid of that little gem) As homeschoolers, we set our own standards and find our own methods of testing our success. Common Core is just the current political pawn that's being used to drive the educational system batty and whip a political base (in this case, Republicans) into a frenzy.

Fons and Porter is my favorite magazine for quilting projects. They're geared more toward beginners, they have a LOT of tips every issue, and they usually give several different sizes for each bed-quilt type project they publish.

off to investigate further!

Additionally, you can track his percent progress...

The giftedness means he's already working ABOVE grade level in several areas. Holding him back even further because he had dyslexia wasn't even on my radar! That's the chief blessing of homeschooling a 2E; (within reason, of course) you can adjust work as necessary and call it ALL by grade level. ;)

Honestly, I think the better question will be: Do you need these classes on her transcript? That is, will you still end up with 3 or 4 math classes, 2-4 science w/labs, etc? Because if you WILL, it doesn't matter what she does an 8th grader, or what you call it. The natural assumption will be if she did pre-calc as a freshman, it's because she had Algebra 1&2 in middle school… And so on.