We decided to add an earth science/geology class at Athena's -- my DS's first online class -- which starts in a few weeks. Since switching to Beast Academy, my son has little interest in working on Singapore. So, we're dropping it (except for the CWP books), and will instead supplement Beast with problem solving books from math competitions. We're also getting close to finishing MCT Island level, Song School Latin 2, and Shalom Uvrachah for Hebrew. So, I will be adding Killgallon's Story Grammar for Elementary, Minimus, and Shalom Ivrit for Hebrew.

You can still preorder the game here: http://www.definedmind.com/preorder/

Erika, did you watch the trials when they happened? I am curious what specific evidence led to your conclusion with such certainty. As this was not something that was on my radar until recently, I would love to hear more about the evidentiary basis for your opinion. :)

Athens, Georgia. It's a great college town (UGA) in the South with access to a math circle and other gifted events. I have friends that teach at UGA, and they love it.

I am also in the camp that believes that SA probably did it. Pouring gasoline on a cat and watching it burn alive puts one firmly in the psychopath category, IMHO. I also agree that the letters to his wife and the fact that he was quasi-stalking the victim were likely telling of his mental state. I just don't trust a heavily-edited documentary -- even one recorded over a number of years -- to give me insight into one's mental state on any given day, especially after being subjected to the trauma of 18 years of false imprisonment. The fact that there was no EDTA in the blood was also very convincing for me. At the same time, where *was* all the blood? I am less convinced of Brendan's guilt, and agree that he deserves a new trial.

Ok. Just finished, and now feel compelled to dust off the ole law degree and volunteer as appellate counsel! For anyone else interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/makingamurderer

Who else is completely addicted? I am on episode 6, and I debated staying up all night to finish it last night. :)

I have the first level Borac books and Zaccaro's Primary Grade Challenge Math. I would like to add more problem solving books to our collection since I think we are going to mostly phase out doing Singapore (except the CWP). We are using BA as our main math now, but I would like to have more supplements to mix things up. I am confused about the contents of the Zaccaro books. After we finish Primary Grade Challenge Math, which books do you suggest next? http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ed+zaccaro&sprefix=ed+zaccaro%2Caps%2C266&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aed+zaccaro Regarding the Moems books, are all 4 books necessary/helpful? http://store.moems.org/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=MOEMS&Screen=PLST Has anyone completed the upper level Borac books? Thoughts? http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cleo+borac&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acleo+borac Other supplements I am forgetting?

My AL is only 7, and probably not as accelerated as your DD, but we "officially" school 4 days/week. Math and logic are first up, then we buddy-read aloud for awhile, transition to writing or grammar (rotating WWE, MCT, spelling, and cursive), and finish up seatwork with foreign language (currently rotating Hebrew and Latin). Then, we generally eat lunch, watching science documentaries or carschool history with audiobooks. Afternoons are reserved for play, extracurriculars (different sports and guitar), and video games/Minecraft/TV/Stampy vids. My son likes to know what is coming up next, how much he has to do, etc. It's not exactly child-led, but we discuss what we want to learn/how things are going every few months so that he is on board with everything. Our days mostly run smoothly. When they don't, I generally know that something isn't a good fit/isn't developmentally appropriate, and I either table it for later or abandon it completely.

You might look into the self-paced math program at eIMACS. We are not there yet, but it is something I am considering adding down the road. https://www.eimacs.com/ Is there a math circle in your community? That could be another fun option. I hope that Quark will chime in. She has a lot of fun math resources from Dover and other publishers that she could probably recommend for your DD.

It's already been funded. Last day to back it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/definedmind/wordwright-build-words-with-meaning?ref=video

Thanks! I just renewed Cricket, Muse, and Dig!

I loved it as well. Link is at the bottom of this site: http://www.simplyjune.org/2015/12/downton-abbey-6-christmas-episode.html

O/T, but I would love to know the books and videos you used in your Game Theory class.

We keep trying to start it, but the kids keep interrupting. Everyone has told me that it is super addicting!

Yes, thank you, but it only covers the first two chapters. It's a very small part of the overall course covered in the book.

I'm looking at using Megawords next year for spelling. I am trying to get an idea of how long we should spend on each word list. We currently do Rod & Staff spelling twice per week -- one lesson per week split in half. Can we accomplish one word list per week with Megawords? The books don't seem to contain very many lessons/word lists. Did you blow through several of these books per year? I am trying to figure out a reasonable pace, as I need to request the books from our charter. Thanks so much.

Does anyone know how I can access the solutions to the exercises and problems at the end of each chapter? I couldn't find a solutions manual for the text and I don't have a Wiley access code? Any ideas? Also, has anyone tried to line up the videos from the Great Courses "Physics in Your Life" with the Bloomfield text? I know that Bloomfield also has some videos, but I curious if anyone has used GC videos with this book. Thanks so much.

Another reason to avoid Texas. Our obsession with guns in this country is pathological.

This is actually not true. Harvard and other large selective grad schools get most of their students from their undergraduates or those of peer institutions. In my class at Stanford Law, we had a huge number of Stanford, Harvard, and Yale undergrads, but not a single student from the very large Cal State system.

Big Picture Goals for Sacha: Improve and enjoy playing the guitar, surfing, and playing tennis/soccer. Participate in some sort of guitar performance. Audition for a play. Nail down arithmetic and increase problem solving ability, become more confident in math competitions. Do his best on the Exploratory Latin Exam. Improve typing skills. Begin Hebrew grammar and Torah study. Learn to read in French. Begin conceptual physics study! Continue programming in Scratch and Minecraft modding. Begin more creative writing. Begin online classes. Qualify for CTY programs. Learn to sail and tie his shoes! Big Picture Goals for Ronen: Graduate from speech therapy and swim school. Learn the alphabet and begin letter sounds. Develop number sense. Finish potty training. Big Picture Goals for Me: Read more books for pleasure. Travel, exercise, and volunteer more. More date nights! Save more money!

I'll throw out 'Ready Player One,' since it hasn't yet been mentioned -- especially good for gamers (and their Gen X parents).

I felt the same thing. But, it could also be that I've had the hots for Adam Driver since Girls. (Fans herself.)

Sacha (almost 7, in 1st grade) started MCT Island this year, and we both love it. We school 4 days per week, and currently do 2 days per week of WWE2 (condensing 4 days of narration, copywork, and dictation into 2 days) and 2 days of MCT. We're midway through Building Language and Practice Island, having already completed Grammar and Sentence Island. With the rate that he is gobbling it up, I can see that the rest of the Island level isn't going to last us much longer. We will continue doing WWE2 twice per week, which should finish up the level by the end of our school year in June. But, I am trying to figure out what to do with the two days a week that we will have open once we complete MCT Island. My options are: 1) Start Treasured Conversations grammar section to solidify what he has learned in MCT. I like TC, but it is *very* incremental, and I am afraid that Sacha really doesn't need this much grammar repetition. He really intuitively gets it. The paragraph construction section of TC seems too advanced for him at present. It would be a stretch, and I would really prefer to save it for next year. Less frustration all around. 2) Killgallon. I have Story Grammar, Sentence Composing, and Paragraphs for Elementary. Starting with SG, this book seems like a really worthwhile exercise for him to do. Bonus points: it looks doable for him (read: not a lot of writing). 3) Move onto MCT Town level, which I had planned to do next year. I haven't yet looked at it, so I don't really have an idea as to its appropriateness/difficulty. 4) CAP Fable -- this too looks a bit challenging for him, requiring original writing. Similar to the latter sections of TC, I was thinking of doing some of it next year. Cost is not a factor, as our charter will order whatever. Which would you use with an accelerated 7 year old? I am also open to other suggestions that I haven't considered. Thanks so much for your thoughts.

Don't delete -- I want to celebrate too!