are there any NYers here who can share their experience? my ds is in seventh gr now, he would like to go to high school. most of the stronger math students in our area take the ninth gr algebra regents exam in eighth grade, so he would like to do the same. he's about to complete saxon 8/7, we plan to start algebra in January. what curriculum do you recommend? does it matter if the curriculum is specifically geared towards regents prep? I hear (and I dont know if this is true) that the NYS regents in algebra is in its first year of common core, so I guess I need an algebra curric that is aligned with common core. would that be adequate?

my fifth grader started with Fred a few weeks ago (he is a very resistant math learner and was probably on a third gr level). we started with apples and that suited him just fine. I had him doing 4 or 5 lessons daily. we're up to Cats now. I like the extra stuff that's in there so I dont feel that its wasted time, especially since in my ds's case I need to build confidence.

I'm passionate about preserving emotional health in my children. which is why we are homeschooling in the first place. whatever methods help me accomplish that goal while educating them in the process, is fine by me. and if said method feeds my book-buying addiction, all the better.

I have a complainer. I limit him to five complaints per day. he can earn one extra by telling me 10 good things about his day. if he has more than five, he can write them down and tell me tomorrow (when they will count towards tomorrow's five). thus far he writes down at least 10 every night but hasnt ever used one the next day. he has also never tried earning an extra complaint. if he continues to complain after five, I just keep saying 'sorry. complaint dept is closed' until he gets annoyed and stops. if it goes on too long I make myself a cup of tea and lock myself in my bedroom with a book for 10 minutes. he hates that.

I use my grandfather's recipe, no measurements really. some grated potatoes (about 6 or so), squeeze out liquid. a grated onion. some oil (maybe about 1 or 2 Tbsp?). some salt. some sugar (about twice as much sugar as salt). some pepper if you like pepper (we do). 2 extra large eggs. no flour. he insisted on hand grating the potatoes, and it was delicious that way. but I have no patience for that. I put half the potatoes in the food processor with the blade and the other half processed with the shredding blade. that seems to get the texture right. kids eat them with applesauce or ketchup or plain.

I also knit hats. I knit one for my teen dd who has come to realize that my knitting is 'cool, in a old lady kind of way...not that youre an old lady mom, but you know what I mean' and I would love to learn to spin. or weave. or keep bees. you ladies are so so cool! and if only I could sing, but I cant carry a tune in a bucket :::jealous:::

I feel your pain. I'm not short (5'5")but I have a long torso and short legs. so pj pants are always too long and the tops too short. you can cut microfleece (I do it all the time) and you can also cut knit maxi skirts (I do that too). many of the maxi skirts come that way (unhemmed).

my 14 yo dd saw it last night and loved it! she hasnt read the books but now she wants to (first time she's actually requested a book!).

seems so strange. I have no idea what it might be but am sending prayers your way that it should be one of those things that 'just happen to happen and arent very likely to happen again'. I hope he feels better soon!

that is a good idea.

I also enjoy coloring. I have mom-only markers and coloring books (I like the geometric ones). my sister is into hooping, which I think is awesome. my dh's cousin jumps rope. do what brings you joy :)

we saw a cow's eye dissection at a science museum and then my 10 yo wanted to do more. I ordered the frog dissection kit from Home Science Tools and based on some reviews, I also got some extra pins. ds had some trouble making the cuts (not fine motor issue, just queasiness) so I did the actual dissecting and he poked and pulled and watched and asked a ton of questions. he was a bit surprised that 'its actually, like, a real frog!' (I'm not sure what he was expecting). overall, a good experience although when I asked him what he wanted to dissect next he said he thought that's enough for now, maybe when he's older. I think he doesnt like the idea of cutting up dead animals, even if he does love the idea of looking inside. I'm happy I bought only the frog kit, I was tempted to purchase a nicer set of tools and a bunch of specimen.

I also have a long torso, its hard to find tops sometimes. oldnavy used to have good ones but now they are polycotton and I think this years are slightly shorter. I've found some at banana republic too, and there's always landsend. I didnt like the ones from eddie bauer, the armholes were too tight for me. I do like the ones from J.Jill, but they are on the pricey end for me.

is this what you are looking for? http://sewplicity.blogspot.com/2012/02/tutorial-bedside-book-holder.html

congratulations! he is a beautiful baby! I used my pretty diapers. you spend so much time changing nappies you might as well have pretty ones! and I love receiving blankets. you can never have too many. keep one in the car, in the stroller, in the diaper bag, on the floor wherever you might want to set him down, etc. and then turn them into pretty diapers! favorite baby item, hands down, was my wrap.

there's some courtroom drama in "A Tale of Two Cities" isnt there? been a while since I read it, so I might be mixing it up, I do that sometimes.

you are so not alone. one day last week I just looked at my boys and said 'they dont pay me enough for this, I'm going to take a nap'. and, to their complete disbelief, I did. when I got up I was a bit more willing? able? to face the rest of the day, and they were shocked enough to do everything I asked of them without complaining. for an hour anyway. then I gave up, put on a history video and popped some popcorn. if I had cake (or pie or wine) I'd have had some of it. which is why I dont keep it around. and, if you are going to throw a table out the window, do remember to open it first. glass is a real PITA to clean up.

double post, sorry

thanks for all the responses. wood it is.

I'd like to buy some cuisenaire rods and I'm a bit overwhelmed by the options. plastic, wood, connecting, etc. what are your favorites?

I'm wondering the same thing. I have heard some hs'ers in my state say that they spend a few weeks 'teaching to the test' before administering. not feeding the answers but making sure the kids know the topics that will be tested. this concept offends me on many levels while at the same time seems like it has its place. in NY, students must either score above some percentile or show a years growth. and testing is required only every other year in 5th gr and up. I plan to test my younger ds (5th gr, using a CM approach) this year even though I dont have to just so that the following year he will (hopefully) be able to show a years growth.

what about EB White's books? Charlottes Web, Trumpet of the swan, Stuart Little?

I love hummus wrapped in a leaf of romaine lettuce. maybe with some chopped tomato, but only if the tomato is homegrown. store-bought plasticky tomatoes are an insult to the hummus. dh likes hummus on pretzels. dd likes it in a pita with lettuce. I cant imagine leaving out the tahini, it tastes so good!

my dh is like that too. some gifts that he liked were a gym membership, magazine subscrition (he likes mental floss and pop sci), a boat ride around NYC, I once ordered a box of honeybell oranges delivered around his birthday (those were soooo awesomely delicious!), I tracked down an OOP book that he had loaned to someone and never got back, I had his ugly, bulky carry-on that I hate repaired for him before an upcoming trip and once when I was really stumped I wrapped a big empty box. in the box was a note "this big box of nothing saved you $500". and then I gave him a new winter hat (boring but the box gave him a good laugh).

now I want that in print, I can totally see my kids reading that for fun. so much for free lessons :)