Aaaand my hubby and I owe you a sincere debt of gratitude, lol! We are on day 3 of a six-week driving/camping tour of every science museum and National Park/landmark we can cram into the time. We are already rethinking the wisdom of this as my kids do not ride in the car well:) I downloaded this at the hotel and my dd6, who has read at least 30 books in that series, is content, happy, and quiet! The silence is broken only when she giggles or exclaims in excitement. So cool:)

I THINK it was the cumulative effects of the last year...she is the youngest girl in the coop (age 6) but is working ahead of the majority of the high school girls there. Whenever she 'talks math' she gets these horrible blank stares and pitying looks from the 'older' girls she likes. Her favorite teenage girl openly shuttered and said 'ooh, why do you like maatthhh so much?!' Luckily, my kiddo generally doesn't care (or is oblivious!( and does her own thing...but I hate that she is subjected to all those ridiculous comments and the like. I honestly think other girls are a big reason why girls don't seem to pursue math as much. Only in areas where it becomes 'cool' or they have support have I seen active and open love of math in girls. Unfortunately, we live in an area where there aren't math circles or events within a reasonable distance. We continue to investigate the possibility of starting a club or circle but so far I am mostly met with skeptical looks or Luke-warm reception at best. Not to mention a few comments about the age of my kiddo. I think most are convinced that because of her age our circle would involve basic addition and subtraction in the form of worksheets and flashcards!

We are on vacation at the moment, but I showed this to her at breakfast this morning...she asked how many weeks were left before we head home so she could start the new math books I just recieved for Fall:)

What I would do: Give her those reload able Visa cards and find a good location to keep them if they go unspent...and then congratulate myself ifor discovering a lovely, sneaky way to save for college! Those cards might just come in handy when she needs books, last minute whatevers:)

Thank you for the link! Although I showed it to my little mathematician before bed thinking she would love it...aaandd appprently not. She was in absolute hysterics because 'they are aaallll BOYS mom! Why? I don't understand...girls can be good at math, right?' 😥 yes. Yes, they can:(

Lol, my hubby and I are chemists, and he teaches university-level chemistry. We had decided not to renew our annual C&E subscription...until dd6 exclaimed in utter dismay: but what will I DO without Newscripts!!!!

Daniel Velotti, who was a nationally-ranked chess player and the father/coach of Luke Velotti (I think is currently top-ranked under 14) has a really neat chess school/franchises out west where I am from. We came across it when I was home visiting. He offers lessons, camps, all sorts of fun things for kids, with his primary focus young kids. The lessons can be via Skype and online group/individual lessons. My kiddo is going to do a camp there this summer on holiday and Skype lessons:) http://www.danielvellotti.com

Lol, my dd would love your son:) She wants to write a series of books for kids, sort of a choose your own adventure series, but only prime numbers and prime-numbered pages and so on will be clues?! Go for it:)

Those ingredients are what I use to make roastedveggie enchiladas. I chop them into smallish pieces and roast them in the oven with olive oil and s&p. I usually throw in some cherry tomatoes and corn, but it isn't necessary. When they are done I add lime juice and a bit of cilantro. Roll them in corn tortillas with a bit of cheese (for some) and I top with tomatillo sauce. We usually have beans, rice, and fresh avocado with them...

One idea: When my kiddo needed a bit of fact recall practice but HATED the traditional mad minute/timed practice things I gave her ONE 3 digit by 3 digit multiplication problem and ONE long division problem as a warm up on the dry erase board. They took very little time and practiced those facts. Wr also split math into days and sessions... I also leave up 'challenge problems' from various sources, especially Beast, that she can choose to solve ( or not) whenever for a small treat.

I love HOE...it is a perfect supplement for teaching young kids algebraic thinking... But I have a very accelerated math kiddo. We have intentionally utilized a system of various math 'threads' to balance the need for 'more, more, new', the practice/Memorization of facts, and the incremental problem-solving needs. We break our math into parts. She has daily math review, which takes just a few minutes. Mental math, just a few minutes. Beast academy, which can take an hour, but we rotate this with Singapore and Singapore CWP. I leave up challenge problems on the whiteboard...but what has been the most effective for fractions, decimals, and percents are the Key to series. I highly recommend them, especially for youngsters who need a lovely, incremental approach that is not dumbed down. I started with the first two Key to Fractions books (which gets you to multiplying/dividing fractions) and then ran the 1st decimals and 1st Percents book alongside. It really was perfect. It really hit the sweet spot because it was challenging, with practice problems I could tailor to her needs. And cheap! We also did Life of Fred fractions, and Decimals Percents. But she already had it down, so finished them in a couple of weeks.

Yes. An herein lies another problem. There are financial incentives to acquiring paperwork for the dog. We had friends move across country and take their THREE dogs with them. They took a weekend class for $50, ordered vests, and all three dogs flew for free in the cabin. Hotels can't deny them or charge pet fees, and they were able to obtain housing where otherwise the owners specified no pets. Such obvious abuses are causing problems for legitimate service dogs...and it is blatantly obvious within a few minutes which service animals have been properly trained! As someone in a wheelchair who could really benefit from a service animal (but can't due to severe allergies) it really offends me. True service animals are incredibly amazing and provide a level of autonomy and independence that is unachievable without them. I would hate to see people lose that due to the abuse of the entitled few...

I need to plan for Alex (age 6, rising first grader next year!) I have put it off and put it off as ai know she grows by leaps and bounds.. I feel like she would enjoy more writing of stories/poems/plays...but output is never going to catch up to her. Here are some things we have covered...please feel free to suggest outside the box as she is ALL over the place due to asynchrous development: We have done AAS levels 1-7. Writing stations each week. Megawords 1 and 3 MCT island level Greek/Latin roots via Rummy Roots 1/2 and Greek/Latin root flash cards Weekly poetry study/memorization Jot it down Evan-Moor paragraph editing 2&3 Fundamental story events and literary devices It seems like quite a lot, but she really enjoys it! We have also done a typing program so that she can somewhat balance her output... But she also had beautiful manuscript and cursive. Where should I go for next year?! She is also working through MCT Caesar's English, if that helps...

From looking at all of our local schools they ALL insist they are child-led, and will differentiate. The reality is very different from the propaganda. Talk to other parents! That being said, you are not new to the game. In your situation I would be looking at how it can meet the things that cannot be met at home...and planning on after schooling her primary academics.

Oh wow! The other day I was outside with the baby in our yard. We live right next to a large Uni campus. A young, very fit man, maybe 20 or so was out running with his dog, without his shirt. He ran right up to our yard waving, very friendly and loudly saying how great it was to run into me! He was chatting away about how big the baby was getting, details from my life, and asking where my daughter was😳 I had no clue. My neighbor was grinning and laughing from across the street. Turns out it was one of my husband's students from a YEAR ago when he showed pictures in class of his brand new baby son to explain why he missed class:)

This wouldn't be an ongoing thing, but have you heard of Lemonade day? It is a national day where cities agree to waive permits and fees to set up a 'stand' (doesn't have to be lemonade/just lemonade) and local businesses agree to host the kids! It is designed to teach business and entrepreunurial skills. This year it is being held on May 1st. The pink has all sorts of teaching materials, and has links to cities and businesses participating: https://lemonadeday.org

The American Chemical Society put out a cookbook that goes through the chemistry. It also has lots of links to things like the Steve Spangler science of cooking, the tv show Good Eats with Alton Brown (food science) and more. Here is the link with lots of great resources. This is something I got for fun, but ended up doing quite a bit more with my kiddo than intended because it is just fun! We are chemists, and I learned a lot:) http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/students/highschool/chemistryclubs/activities/food-and-chemistry.html

Can you not get the bunk bed set with the trundle, call the top bunk the sleepwalkers 'bed', but have her actually sleep on the trundle for now? Safe sleeping, an extra bed for later, and she has a bed she can lay on for reading or playing and display:)

Funnily enough, we had an in-depth conversation about this today. Alex is young (6) and so far seems to be globally gifted...but had more than her fair share of social/emotional issues, which we are really trying to devote more time to working on. She loves a game called Top Trumps. We were playing a Greek a Mythology version today. If you are not familiar with it, each player draws a card and chooses a category such as strength, wisdom, etc. Each character has definite strengths and weaknesses. This was a great way to have an open dialogue on the subject, and how we can work on them, recognize that each individual is unique and different and had their own place... Following this thread because I can see that it will be an ongoing issue.

Obviously,it could be she is developing an allergy to something...but this sounds just like what happens to myself and my daughter with oral allergy syndrome. Basically, when your body is overtaxed by seasonal allergies to pollen, eating foods in the same pollen group trigger a more serious immune response. It is why I can normally eat say avocados, but at times they make my mouth swell up and itch:(

Sounds like you have/or been recommended much of what we are doing with my kiddo. However, if you haven't seen the Peter Weatherall chemistry videos, definitely take a look. Order the whole set for a ridiculously inexpensive price. The Human Body videos alone are worth it! http://kidsinglish.com/video_clips/chem_vids_short_clips/chem-songbook.html You said she wants to memorize the periodic table: have you seen the awesome New Periodic Table song by ASAP science? It works really well:) As a total brag😄I am linking my dd's video of her singing it. She learned it for Daddy as a surprise bday present. Funnily enough, he won an award at the uni where he teaches and he used the video--she got a standing ovation from a room full of chemists:)

I could not do 2 full days out, but strongly believe that it is child dependent. My kiddo really, really needs structure. This year we did a small coop where I actually taught a people in history class (strong science bent!). My dd learned nothing, as it was material I had previously taught her. It was good for her in many ways, but I discovered that we lost pretty much the day prior to coop in preparation and the day after as my child is a creature that requires structure...it meant that for a one day Class we essentially lost three days!!! Right now I believe the coop is important for her, but we now do school 7 days per week (although weekends are primarily games!) as she seriously needs this for structure and to be happy:(

I probably have a bit of an unusual view of it, but we are finishing up level 7 this week. That being said, my dd is 6. She has enjoyed the Greek/Latin root section the most, but it was pretty much old hat as we have been playing rummy roots for quite some time. She wants to do spelling bees so we have compromised on National Spelling Bee prep and word root study...we will continue periodically reviewing the AAS review concepts, but focus on word roots and origins, with emphasis on vocabulary!

Dd6 received hers today. She got a gold and was over the moon!

We started my dd on audiobooks before she was two with the most fabulous stories I can recommend for that age. The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales comes with a picture book of 20 very short stories. It is an Usborne 'spot the duck' book so we started by reading them aloud and finding the duck on every page. They all start out the same way, have an incredibly soothing British narration, and I have never met a child that didn't love them. I have probably bought the set 10 times now for various friends:) Best introduction ever, and she used them at bedtime and quiet time for nearly 2 years off and on. She was recently ill and asked for them as a comfort thing:) They allowed her to start audiobooks that were short, sweet, and engaging...and helped her learn to listen. We made it a point to play them very quietly so that if she wanted to hear she had to lay still and quiet:) ETA: forgot the link! http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Farmyard-Tales-Usbourne/dp/0794509029